Letter from Gene Tabor, March 31, 1998

Fighting, promiscuity, weapons, gangs, and overcrowding are a few of the problems that high school students face at one of the largest public schools in Metro Manila. Rose has taught Mathematics for 15 years at the school and was named chair of the department in 1996. She persuaded the school to invite the executive officer of Reach (Philippines), Mario Garcia, to speak to the 2,000 boys during a special values seminar. At that seminar, most of the boys prayed to accept Christ—but there were too many to adequately follow up.

Rose is not required to teach or be an advisor to a class since she chairs the department. However, she insisted that her principal allow her to continue teaching. "I don’t want to lose my teaching assignment. Otherwise, I won’t have time to talk to the students," says Rose. Rose goes the "second mile" beyond teaching with her students. She invites her students to Bible studies, helps some of them financially—and even gives them a place to stay when they have no home to go to.

A case in point is Lourdes, a former student who suffered from tuberculosis, a disease which is endemic in urban centers of the Philippines. Rose supported her emotionally and financially—waiting and praying for her to gain enough strength for an operation to remove one lung late last year. She did not survive. Lourdes died in December, leaving Rose with an enormous medical debt (half a year’s salary) that she willingly assumed.

But God is gracious. Recently, a Chinese businessman sent an anonymous gift to the Manila office with the general wish for it to be used to minister among the poor. The Philippine Board voted to pay off Lourdes’ medical bills held by Rose—and allocated most of the funds for the expansion of our micro-enterprise loan programs. Yes!

Last year, Rose and other Reach staff held an eight-week values seminar for selected students. There was singing, small group discussion, and activities to reinforce key issues. Topics covered were self-esteem, family, and God’s role in daily life—with the relevance of the gospel linked to the topics. The seminar was followed by a swimming party where the gospel was clearly presented. A weekly Bible study was started for follow-up.

Here’s a personal request—from half-way around the world. Cliff and Jeannie Peters (our daughter) are missionaries with United World Mission in Sucre, Bolivia with their three children. The AIM mission school there needs an elementary school teacher desperately—or they can’t accommodate children not from their mission. Please pray for a teacher. If you know someone who might help in this way, please write

UWM, P.O. Box 250, Union Mills, NC 28167, or

call Cathy Dale at (704)287-8996, ext. 265 or

email: 73410,[email protected].

Thank you for your support of the Reach ministry, one which characteristically multiplies your ministry investment many times over through committed disciples like Rose.

Depending upon His grace,

Gene Tabor

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Letter from Gene Tabor, April 30, 1998

Geoffrey Beltran teaches the nationally mandated values program to high-schoolers in Cabagan, Isabela. To personalize the students assignments, he requires them to record what they are learning in a diary. As he checks their work, he notes Biblical passages for them to look up that address their questions. In the course of each semester, he shares the gospel in each class.

It was not always that easy. A co-teacher at one high school accused him of coming to preach, not to teach. A petition declaring that he was violating educational codes and sowing confusion among students was circulated to stop him. When the effort failed, he was transferred to another school. Leaders from a somewhat cultic local church also came to his home warning him to leave their youth alone. Geoffrey says he felt no fear and refused to stop meeting students during free time.

Geoffrey is also a gifted translator. He has translated songs, Bible stories (used in film strips), and Reach's scripture memory program into his Ibanag dialect. He translated—and subsequently became one of voices for—the Ibanag dramatization of "The Greatest Story Ever Told." This video is available to other Christian groups and has had a powerful impact for the gospel among Ibanags in the Cagayan Valley.

Several years ago, Geoffrey was one of three Ibanags who worked for six years with Wycliffe Bible Translations to produce the first Ibanag New Testament. What a privilege! He is currently working on Proverbs, Exodus and Job.

Geoffrey's ministry activities include serving on the Reach planning team in Cabagan, speaking at high school and undergraduate fellowships. He and Manny Beltran, a cousin who is coordinator for the Cabagan ministry, alternate in producing radio devotionals for the Cabagan ministry's weekly program slot on the local radio station. Ann Sablan, another Reach member, directs programming for the station.

Please ask God for wisdom and protection for Geoffrey and his wife as they minister and guide their children Abby and D. J. Your partnership is vital in supporting Reach ministries throughout the Philippines, ministries which characteristically multiply disciples and courageous lay leaders such as Geoffrey. Thank you for your recent gift of $ «amt».

Depending upon His grace,

Gene Tabor

Letter from Gene Tabor, May 31, 1998

My two-week trip to the Philippines in April was a bittersweet experience. First, the bad news.

The twin plagues of the El Niño weather pattern and of the currency crisis in Asia have severely impacted the Philippines. Unstable winds and excessive rain in the Americas are only half of El Niño’s split personality. In Southeast Asia, El Niño manifests itself as drought in the lowlands, fires in the forests and grasslands, and famine in the mountains and remote areas. No doubt you’ve heard of rioting in Indonesia because of the 80%-90% de facto devaluation of their currency and consequent unavailability of basic necessities. Philippine currency was devalued by only 40%—a more moderate reduction than in most Southeast Asian countries. One result of the financial crisis in the Philippines is across-the-board reduction of government personnel. Three hundred thousand jobs are being eliminated. Several of our self-supporting staff may be affected.

Almost in contrast, my trip also celebrated a quiet milestone; the completion of a "build-up phase" for our Reach missionary staff—people equipped and gifted to encourage and multiply the impact of others. We are not abandoning our basic pattern of depending upon committed and trained laymen to staff our disciplemaking ministries. That just doesn’t make sense in the Third World—a world of scarcity. But a careful balance of complementary strategies can make a radical difference. Do you remember memorizing your "Times Tables" in elementary school? Just look at God’s kingdom adjusted version below:

Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand..."––

Figure that! Please pray that the missionary staff in this photograph will be catalysts for discipleship multiplication to the max. This is not just a metaphor. It is characteristic of a movement. Your understanding, prayer and support are so important in this process.

Depending upon His grace,

Gene Tabor

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Letter from Gene Tabor, June 30, 1998

A feeling of anxiety has permeated our Thursday night Bible study the last several weeks. For Seng and Irene, it’s an appropriate feeling. They are from Indonesia and their friends and relatives are at risk in Jakarta and in Celebes Islands.

Ten days ago, Seng’s sister was home with her three children on the main street of Sunter, an area on the north side of Jakarta. She heard the noise of a mob coming down the street. As they reached their home, she grabbed her children (ages six, nine and thirteen) and fled through the back door as rocks smashed their front windows. She escaped through an alley and found refuge in the home of an influential Indonesian neighbor. Her house, the house of Seng’s brother next door, and many others of Chinese ancestry in the area were burned to the ground. The house was still smoldering when Seng talked to her on the telephone several days later. The second floor contained large stocks of valuable wood used in her interior decorating business.

The loss of property and emotional damage is extensive. All of us kneel with Seng and Irene in gratefulness to the Lord that no one in their family was injured or killed. To put this in context, the current unrest in Indonesia is due to graft, corruption and mismanagement by the ruling oligarchy. Devaluation of the currency (or hyperinflation) is the inevitable result—and the poor always end up suffering. Middle class businessmen usually get caught in a cost/demand price squeeze. Frustration and anger flare out of control. In much of Southeast Asia, citizens of Chinese descent tend to dominate the small business and manufacturing sectors. In Indonesia, there is another inflammatory factor. The vast majority of Indo-Malay Indonesians are Muslim. Indonesians of Chinese ancestry tend to be Buddhist or Christian.

For some historical perspective, twenty plus years ago, the thousands of Vietnamese "boat people" refugees were predominately nationals of ethnic Chinese descent. Examples abound on every continent. The human tendency to seek out and vilify "scapegoats" is both ugly and universal. I suspect it will persist until we resolve this inner compulsion by accepting Jesus as the Lamb of God—because "the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:6

Beyond safety, Seng and Irene are concerned that their extended family truly find Christ. Seng’s sister was a practicing Catholic until she married her businessman husband—when she returned to folk Buddhism and astrology "to help succeed in business." In our Bible study of the Armor of God, we were concentrating on communication of the gospel; "your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace." Because of the crisis, we’re studying the four principles of prayer in Ephesians 6:18,19. We’re learning to use "all kinds of prayer and requests."

This is a microcosm of the torn and broken world we live in. This is also a metaphor of the Reach ministry taking place in city and campus, residence and office, country after country. We are grateful for your partnership. We need your prayers. (I’m very concerned about another Indonesian colaborer we haven’t heard from in several weeks.) We need your financial support in a special way at this time.

Depending upon His grace,

Gene Tabor

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Letter from Gene Tabor, August 31, 1998

Jim and Anne Ouano were financially strapped from over-borrowing. Both worked at good jobs while living in Cagayan de Oro, one of the more prosperous cities in northern Mindanao. Jim, a chemistry instructor at Mindanao State University, had a strong ministry there years ago as an undergraduate student. He commuted by bus to work in a Muslim area, Marawi City, several times a week, several hours each way. This left the children under the care of non-Christian helpers for most of the day.

When Jim read Straight Talk to Men by James Dobson, he realized it was his God-given privilege and responsibility to raise his children and to see that they grow up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Until then his vision for his family was to own a house and car, and to send his children to good schools.

He and Anne agreed that she should stop working and that they should move to Marawi City so Jim could spend more time with the family. God honored their decision by providing a house when few were available. Now Jim is home every day and stops by for lunch. They realized that financially, Anne’s salary in Cagayan de Oro City was just covering Jim’s traveling and paying for the helpers -- expenses they no longer have. Now they have started by repaying the debts that accumulated, too.

"We’re happy in our situation," says Jim. They have more resources and time to share with MSU students who treat them like parents. Jim says he is submitting his character to God and learning about dependence and humility.

"What’s important," says Jim, "is that my children will fear the Lord."

Disciplemaking ministries that are strong enough to make a significant impact on a university campus are usually the result of many trained and dedicated people working and praying together. Please pray for this kind of leadership build up at Mindanao State University and several other collegiate ministries scattered around Mindanao. (Jim’s younger brother, Josue, was previously appointed as a collegiate ministry intern on this strategic campus.)

In a similar way, your understanding and backing is germane to the Reach ministry as a whole.

Depending upon His grace,
Gene Tabor

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Letter from Gene Tabor, September 30, 1998

Ed Jimenez worked fourteen years for the Philippines’ Central Bank where his responsibilities ultimately included the bank’s foreign exchange portfolio for the Philippines. God used his Christian testimony and integrity from day one to the present. Hundreds of lives were changed in the Lord through regular Bible studies, individual counseling and special events.

In 1993, Ed gave up his job and the security of a substantial retirement package to help a Christian development organization’s loan program for the poor.

Ed developed new projects; wrote funding proposals to lending agencies; and taught field officers how to conduct personal and group Bible study, memorize scripture and perform basic follow-up. He is now the executive officer of an umbrella organization of Philippine Christian development agencies. Ed has used his expertise to advise REACH Inc., regarding its own development projects.

Oyay met the Lord in the early 70s at the University of the Philippines in Los Baños (UPLB). Instead of studying in the U.S. after graduation, she chose to work and share the gospel with officemates and follow-up members in the ministry. She works at the National Post-Harvest Institute for Research and Extension in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija. She splits her week between offices in Metro Manila and Muñoz.

In 1996, she was named Distinguished Alumni of the Year in the College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology at UPLB for promoting professional practice and integrity. She is a former president of the Philippine Society of Agricultural Engineers. She lends her professional skills to the ministry by serving as the chair of the Board of Trustees for REACH, Inc.

File, I am so grateful to serve in the Reach ministry with men and women like Ed and Oyay. (By the way, Filipinos often shorten given names, so Oyay comes from Gloria.) I am grateful, too, for your continued prayers and financial support to undergird the disciplemaking ministry. It does matter.

Depending upon His grace,
Gene Tabor

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Letter from Gene Tabor, November 30, 1998

Janice B. Llanes is the first member of her family to attend college, thanks to a scholarship given to her by the Metro Manila-REACH ministry.

Janice is a first-year student at the Technological University of the Philippines as an Environmental Studies student with a major in Chemistry.

She is a former student of Rose Molina at Quirino High School in Quezon City and attended the high school summer camp in April.

"She wants to teach someday," says Rose.

She is the youngest of five and the only girl. She says she never knew her father because he left the family after she was born. She hopes to find him someday after she finishes college.

On February 26, 1996, Janice accepted Christ during a Bible study conducted by REACH at Quirino High School.

Since then, her relationship with the Lord has deepened through seeing His help with her problems. She is currently studying the Dilemma of Choice with her Bible study leader, Dolly Angeles, also a high school teacher at Quirino High School.

I’m writing this letter from Manila (the office pictured), then continuing on to Hong Kong and New Delhi, India. I’m so very thankful for the dedicated staff and co-workers that are the heart of this ministry. For the most part, I simply listen, affirm and encourage what they are already doing. That is important, too.

Thank you for your part in making this trip possible.

Depending upon His grace,
Gene Tabor

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Letter from Gene, February 28, 1999

Few things are more devastating than the accidental death of a child. Dealing with the loss may take months—and sometimes years. So, please pray for the family of Jun and Gayla Anderson in the death of their son, Junuel, on December 28. Pray for God, the Holy Spirit, to heal their anguish and emptiness with His presence and comfort.

Early in January, Reach missionary Joe Boeve, e-mailed: "It happens! Your worst fear as a parent. In a few hours I will be conducting a funeral service for 2-year-old Junuel Anderson. He was the child of some Reach friends, Gayla and Jun Anderson, who wandered off while his mother was resting and fell, unobserved, into an excavation pit and drowned in its muddy water. I thank God that his parents are believers so that there is hope and the confidence that Junuel is now playing at the feet of the Savior."

Gayla and Jun recently moved from Los Baños to Santa Rosa, Laguna but had not established a new church home. They visited a neighborhood church a few times but the pastor was not willing to hold this funeral in their church. So, Joe conducted a memorial service in the Anderson home.

There is a larger perspective to this. The Andersons moved to be closer to Gayla’s ministry job in Santa Rosa with Reach, one which impacts forty or more poor families. Here is how God prepared her for that ministry.

I’ve known Gayla for years. She grew up conservatively, attended an exclusive Catholic high school, prayed the rosary, and considered becoming a nun. In college, her religious orientation drew her to InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. "I wanted to join a Bible study because I thought I knew a lot about the Bible," she said. It was a shock when she realized that she wasn’t a Christian. She spent three months of sleepless nights, wrestling with God. Finally, she challenged God to reveal the truth to her. A gospel tract ended Gayla’s struggle and answered her prayer in 1975. Joy filled her heart when she understood God offered forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Her spiritual growth was slow. Many theological issues needed to be resolved. The frustrations often led to tears but also increased her hunger for God.

Gayla started working with the poor in 1986. Reading the Psalms created a desire to work with people in need. She was excited when Tess Rosacia, her spiritual mentor, told her about a development project she was starting. Gayla assisted Tess in testing, monitoring, and teaching management skills to provincial agricultural workers. The work often required trekking on foot to isolated communities, spending three or four days living with families and swarms of flies. She and Tess often used their visits to develop relationships with the families and share Christ. Gayla has tempered her original idealism. "Selfishness is irrespective of social status," she says.

For the last several years, Gayla has been the Project Loan Officer for the first of three Reach micro-enterprise credit programs for the entrepreneurial poor. Sixty or more families have moved toward self-sufficiency. Scores of people have come to Christ. Pray that these sufferings will be used by God to strengthen this ministry. Thank you for your part in this ministry that ministers to rich and poor alike.

In awe of His sovereign grace,

Gene Tabor

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April 30, 1999

"The heart and legs of the collegiate ministry in Butuan City are the ministry assistants," says Gary Miller, Reach missionary in Mindanao. Ministry assistants work for the ministry after graduation and receive a small financial compensation. Jobs are difficult to find, and the arrangement is beneficial for the ministry and the individual. Ministry assistants gain ministry experience, test their commitments, and get mentoring from seasoned staff workers.

"Hopefully, they are with us long enough to catch the vision of disciplemaking," says Gary.

Cerina Cuizon is an Education graduate in Mathematics. She attended the World Missions course at Living Springs in April 1997 and became a ministry assistant the following June. She leads Bible studies, helps the Millers in Reach activities and oversees the Reach Center where she lives with several women committed to making disciples. She sees that rules are observed, the bills are paid, and that conflicts that arise are resolved. From the compensation she receives, she also supports a sister attending the college.

Cerina became a Christian in 1995. She did not understand the gospel when Susan Montilla, a Reach-trained faculty member, presented it but she prayed because a companion did. She grew up as a Rizalian (a Philippine cult). It was difficult to understand that there was only one God because she prayed to so many. Babeth Gonzales discipled her and as they talked, Cerina finally understood the gospel and later prayed again on her own to accept Christ.

The first time Cerina led a Bible study, she felt hesitant and intimidated. One member was a pastor's daughter. Cerina says her confidence grew as she learned to depend on God. Students come and go, but Cerina says she keeps looking for FAT (faithful, available and teachable) people. She says she is not the same person anymore. She is less shy and is learning not to fix her eyes on problems that arise or on other leaders––but on Christ.

Cerina and about twenty other young leaders from all of our collegiate ministries attended the five-day Leadership Training Institute over the Easter weekend. I was there along with 144 others (not including 38 kids) and shared several of the messages. So, let me extend my personal thanks for your support for this growing ministry.

Depending upon His grace,

Gene Tabor

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Letter from Gene Tabor, July 31, 1999

Mars Gabriel did not know that a game of basketball would change his life. The day was July 18, 1996. A friend from Reach invited him to join a few Reach guys for a game after class. Mars was a second-year student at Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) in Batac. After the game, Teody Solsoloy shared the gospel and Mars accepted Christ. He eventually joined a training apartment and discipled new Christians. As a collegiate team member, he often spoke during fellowships when Teody was on study leave in Los Baños.

Mars made a commitment to God after graduation to serve in Batac. He reviewed and took his board exam in Electrical Engineering in Manila in 1989. He returned to Batac to serve and to wait for his test results. The results never came. A fire destroyed the papers and exams were rescheduled. Lacking money for more review classes, he held his own review session with God and his old notes. This time, the results came and his name was on the list.

A teaching position opened at MMSU so Mars applied. Based on his interview and demonstrations, he was ranked first out of four candidates. But the president was temporarily in the Visayas (island in SE Philippines) so his recommendation sat on his desk. The Mt. Pinatubo volcanic eruption further delayed the president’s return. By the time he arrived, one of the new graduates had placed in the top 20 nationally on the latest board exam—and Mars’ job recommendation was withdrawn.

Mars says he rebelled against his earlier commitment and returned to Manila. He was confident that he could find a job there quickly. Friends with lesser qualifications landed jobs but no one would hire Mars. Then, he remembered his earlier commitment and returned to Batac. For one semester, he drove a passenger tricycle but he was content because he was serving God. In 1992, he married Auring and was hired as an instructor at the College of Technology at MMSU in Laoag.

Another test of his commitment came in 1994, one that sidelined his ministry. He was advised to take a course in Ceramic Engineering because nearby companies would need consultants. The course took all of his evenings and weekends. After one semester, Mars sensed God telling him not to enroll again—but he went ahead. In December, he was riding his motorcycle to work when a jeepney hit him at an intersection. The blow threw him off the bike. Fortunately, he wore a helmet but his foot was broken and a metal rod had to be placed in his leg. He was unable to attend classes and was forced to drop the course.

People in the ministry assisted him in the hospital, gave money and encouraged him. After one month, he could walk without crutches. Today, he still plays basketball and feels no after-effects. He said, "Although it was painful, there was no other way because I was not listening to Him." Recently, Mars was asked—and has committed—to spearhead the undergraduate ministry at MMSU. Mars says he wants to make disciples and is inspired when he remembers the time and effort spent by the one who discipled him—especially on a one-to-one basis.

I believe that Mars has learned some of the lessons of Jonah. Pray that his ministry will impact MMSU as Jonah’s did Nineveh. Thank you for your prayer and support in extending these disciplemaking ministries.

Depending upon His grace,

Gene Tabor

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Letter from Gene Tabor, September 11, 1999

The third most populous city in the Philippines is Davao City in southern Mindanao. Filipinos like to say that it is the largest city in the world. I’m a bit reluctant to accept that—since I come from Los Angeles, California (465 square miles). But I’ve never seen the statistics on Davao City. Still, it does make a point. The land area is huge and travel can be very time consuming.

The Reach leadership in Davao are professionals and are very busy. Perhaps for that reason, a campus ministry has never flourished. When Cynthia Ubiña arrived in Davao City in October1998, Nars Lozada, the Reach liaison officer for southern Mindanao noted that her arrival was the answer to two years of prayer for a full-time campus worker.

For years, Cynthia worked in northern Luzon as a professional in government service. In that context, she ministered well, producing clusters of disciples of Jesus Christ in every location she was assigned. It is clear in Cynthia’s mind that leaving her job for a Reach assignment on another island with a different dialect was no mistake. The sovereignty of God is plain to see.

The campus ministry started at the University of Southeastern Philippines (USEP) with a Jericho Walk around the main campus plus the campus of the College of Development and Management (CDM). Two students, Bein and Gina, the daughter and niece of Bong Pafin, the Davao ministry coordinator, walked and prayed with Cynthia. Later, seven of their classmates attended the first evangelistic meeting and all of them received Christ as Savior and Lord. As of December, there were 23 students attending their Bible study (10 from the main campus and 13 from CDM). In another evangelistic meeting in a boarding house, ten students and two adults received Christ.

The Reach ministry is not yet recognized by the university so Bible study is held under the trees provided with benches. Cynthia recently wrote, "God has shown me that if He truly draws people to Him (John 6:44), no outward distractions could hinder them from listening and learning from God." Right on!

Cynthia listed the following answers to prayer: (1) "Karel Kalaw and Lea Gammad, both graduates of the University of the Philippines (UP) at Los Baños and contacts of Reach ministry there, were hired as instructors at UP Mindanao and USEP, respectively. (2) Majal Balito, one of the kids that I handled in Bible study when I was in Batac, Ilocos Norte, is now enrolled as a freshman at UP Mindanao. I believe God purposely brought them here to establish the campus ministry."

Please pray for these collegiate ministries—especially at the newly established University of the Philippines in Mindanao. Thank you for your investment in the Reach disciplemaking ministry.

Depending upon His grace,

Gene Tabor