Forgiven Ministry, Inc. - The Story of Forgiven Ministry

Jack, Renay, Mark and I sat in the airport in Detroit Michigan having no idea what God had in store for us in the days ahead. I can still see Jack (my dear husband) as he continued to look at our tickets. I could not help but wonder if I should pinch him so that he would know we were really going overseas to minister. The excitement grew as we got our first glimpse of the 747 airplane, which would be our home for the next 20 hours or 10,000 miles. I had never seen an airplane with an upstairs much less boarded one. My prayer for days had been that I sleep the entire trip and not have jet lag in the Philippines. God truly answered my request with so much love and care. What a heavenly Father we serve! Jack and Mark could have had some of that Holy Rest if they had not kept their eyes glued the window of the airplane. Time soon became so confused that our group so knew it was daylight or darkness. We arrived in Japan and were so thrilled to be there. I will say this and know it is true. This team was one of a kind. I did not see another person that resembled our group. I had promised my five grandsons that I would bring them a postcard from Japan with their name written in Japanese. I had not realized how difficult it would be to express my wishes to one of their countrymen. I was so pleased when I saw a man whom I felt could do the job. I soon realized that I had not made myself clear when I viewed the card. He had written the word Japan instead of their names. This was only the beginning of our journey.

Next stop: Manila What a reunion as we met a missionary couple outside the airport. They have been missionaries to the Philippines for the past twelve years. They have been very dear friends of Jack and myself for years. They had wanted so much for us to come to their mission field and minister among the Filipino people for years. The prayer and dream had finally come true. We had great accommodations and wonderful hosts while in Manila. Thank you again for your love and care IMB, Shirley and Darrell.
Our team ministered at Joy Fellowship, which is a group of college students whom God has raised up to be leaders among their people. What a great time of fellowship, praise and worship we experienced during this service. The tambourine dancers brought much praise to the Lord. I was privileged to share my testimony about God’s love and forgiveness. The altar was filled with broken and tears. A great day on our journey of praise.

Davau, here we come! Pastor Arnel Tan was waiting so patiently in the churchyard as we arrived just on time for the service. A beautiful church much like our Baptist churches in the South was nestled in the city of Davau. I was so excited as we met to pray for the service with the members of the Chinese Baptist Church. There was so much freedom to speak about God’s wonderful love and forgiveness to the Chinese people. Renay did a beautiful job of singing “Sweet Sweet Spirit”. The isle of the church was filled with people coming forward to seek God for their needs. The altar was once again filled with brokeness and weeping. God had truly made His presence known during this service. I was just the speaker, Jesus was the Honored Guest. Members of the church treated us to a delicious meal. The next morning Jack and I stepped out in faith to do our first live interview on radio. I could not believe how God was using my testimony on Far East Broadcasting. Pastor Arnel interviewed us with so much wisdom and love. I know that God filled Jack and I with the words that came from our lips. Thank you Jesus for the opportunity to share about you with so many. Thank you Pastor Arnel for so graciously leading us through the interview. The staff at Far East Broadcasting was so encouraging to us during our visit.

Cebu, a city of thirteen million souls. Jack and I left part of our heart in Cebu at Project Mercy. Two of the most wonderful people I have ever met are Boboy and Bayon. This husband and wife team left secular jobs to work with children in Project Mercy. They minister to many children who do not have a chance for love, security and most of all, knowledge of Jesus Christ. The excitement grew as the three- year anniversary grew near. I had come so many miles to speak to the families and children of Project Mercy but God had brought me to Cebu to speak to my heart. We are so complacent in America that we do not care what God’s people in third world countries are experiencing. Bayon took our team to Trash City where 200 families live in the trash of Cebu. In the midst of all this poverty we saw smiles on the faces of the children. If only we could be satisfied with the blessings of each day that our Lord has given us. Some of the children were naked and I am sure hungry. I pray that God will allow me to go back to Cebu and work with Boboy and Bayon again. His mighty hand is upon Project Mercy. My heart was so touched as I met a young boy named Ezekiel. Ezekiel’s father was in prison and God had a special plan for me in Ezekiel’s life. The next day our team visited the jail where we ministered to men, women and young men. My passion is sharing Christ to inmates and witnessing to them about my life as a child of an inmate. Many decisions were made this day and Bayon did a wonderful job interpreting for me. I knew that this day had been anointed and used by God. As we were leaving the jail, I saw an inmate crying as he held to the bars.
I walked over to him and through the interpreter, I learned that he was the father of Ezekiel. How marvelous and mighty are the plans of our Father. The father shared how he wanted to tell his son that he loved him and never wanted his son to come to prison. I was delighted to tell him that I had met Ezekiel the night before and would share his love with the son immediately. Boboy and I met with Ezekiel that night and expressed the love that his father had for him. Since our return to the USA I have learned that they have visited each other twice and a new relationship has begun. God divinely planned this in His great timing. We celebrated the love of our Father with ice cream and cake for the children. We were honored to be a part of the anniversary celebration. The Honorable Mayor and his wife were guests of the event. You could see the influence of the work of Project Mercy in the families that attended the celebration.
Thank you Jesus for allowing us to be a part of this work. A special thanks to Linda of IMB for giving of her time and loves to assist us during our stay.

Last Stop: Dipolog City, Philippines God truly calmed the sea for us to travel to Dipolog. All week the weather had been unusual for the season. The airboat, which we were to travel to Dipolog, had been canceled several times due to rough seas and high winds. Our home church began to pray for our safe voyage to be able to complete our mission trip on time. The sky was blue, the sea was calm and we knew our Lord had answered the prayers of His people. We were reunited with our son-in- law, Mark Marshall, who had been with IMB missionary in the mountains of Dipolog City while we ministered throughout the Philippines. The next three days were filled with so much of God’s love and provision. The people of Dipolog were so gracious to each of us and we lacked for nothing. A big thanks to each of you from our heart. Renay and I ministered at the IMB mission church church, Dipolog Christian Church. There was such an anointing on the service that the message of forgiveness was manifested in the lives of the people. The church decided to repeat the service on Monday night and over 100 professionals came to hear what God had done in the life of my father. I personally counseled with a judge and a young man to whom God brought victory to their lives. Thank you Lord for allowing Jack and I to be a part of your work. Thank you IMB missionaries for being obedient to God and extending the invitation to us . We will never be the same for what we experienced. Thank you Robert, Bina Lim, Bobby and Nene’ for the abundance of food that you provided and the love we felt from each of you. JP and Linda were such a blessing to us. A special thanks to Pastor Rio for the coconut milk.

Headed for Home Thinking our work was done and we could rest for 10,000 miles; boy, was I surprised!
A precious young Filipino mother, who had left her two small children to earn money in the US, sat beside Jack and I for the entire trip. God had placed her in our path to minister to and share the hope that we have in Him. I am so thankful for the privilege God gave us to comfort her in this time of trouble. As I began this journal of our trip I cited Jeremiah 29:11. The unexpected end may not have come yet. To God BE the Glory, Great Things He Has Done!

Until He Comes,
Scottie Barnes