On February 5, 2017, the two American football league champions (AFC and NFC) competed against each other in Super Bowl LI (51). The final score was 34-28. The AFC champions, the New England Patriots, defeated the NFC champions, the Atlanta Falcons. The game was an epic battle and went into overtime to decide the victor. It was an exciting game right up to the very end.

The New England Patriots are an interesting team because they represent an entire area versus an individual city or state. New England is an area in the Northeast corner of the USA. The six states that comprise New England are Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. I am proud to say that I was born and raised in Connecticut.

Oddly enough, I was not a Patriots fan while growing up. Most football fans living in New England would say they are Patriots fans, but since we lived closer to New York, I favored the New York Giants.

If a Patriot fan stops being a fan of the Patriots, they are considered ex-Patriots. Tracy and I are also considered expatriates. That sounds like an odd term doesn’t it? It is not because we are no longer fans of the New England Patriots, it is because we are Americans working abroad. Wikipedia defines an expatriate as “A person temporarily or permanently residing in a country other than that of their citizenship.” An abbreviated form of the word that is often used is “expat.”

The term “expat” is certainly not a biblical term. Even the word “missionary” is not in the Bible. We are nothing special. We are sinners just like everyone else. But we have a relationship with Jesus Christ and we want to be obedient to Him. We are simply following the call of God and serving Him here in the Philippines. Our goal and purpose is not to promote ourselves but to worship and praise God by bringing glory to His name.

Michael & Tracy Burr

L IV ING ABROAD

1st Quarter 2017 March 2017

Inside the Lines Page 2

Three years ago, we knew God was calling us to the Philippines. Although we were not exactly sure of where and what ministry we would be involved in, we knew we were called to work in disciple-making and with children. During the week of our recent ministry trips, we watched God directing our path and shaping a new ministry.

On Monday March 20, we left our house very early in the morning to head for NAIA (Ninoy Aquino International Airport) in Manila for our 8:20am flight time and the first leg of our three upcoming conferences. The team had been planning this trip for several months. Brothers Ron and Brad flew to Manila from the states to join us. Ron is the visionary for the ministry of training and equipping pastors so they can be more effective in their ministries. Brad is the strategist helping the team to define our goals and achieve them. We all boarded our flight together for the Visayan region of the

Philippines. Our team of thirteen met before the conference for the first of many strategic planning sessions. All of us see the need for helping to train and equip pastors here in the Philippines. God has brought each person to this team for a reason and each member has a unique giftedness, making a well-rounded group.

The team chose the name “All 4 Christ Ministries” and a theme verse from Romans: Based on our visionary’s idea, the number 4 in “All 4 Christ” is symbolic of a four-legged stool. Each leg of the stool represents a specific area: Exaltation, Education, Evangelism, and Empowerment. The meetings were rich with healthy discussions on how we can work together to equip and

empower undertrained pastors.

Our role with this ministry will be in disciples making disciples and church planting/multiplication—training and equipping pastors using biblically based ways of disciple-making that encourage growth through loving accountability in sharing the word of God with those that do not have a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior to multiply His kingdom. All to the glory of God.

The three seminars that took place this week with our team were in Bacolod, Rizal, and Davao. Our roles were as follows:

Mike – Conducted 6 one-hour long interactive training sessions at each location with a focus on disciples making disciples and church planting/multiplication.

Tracy – Assisted with administration and registration needs, as well as encouraging pastoras, pastors wives, and the young adults in attendance that are studying to be future leaders in ministry.

The formation of this new ministry fits well into our ministry plans and we are very excited about it! We also see the potential for bringing these disciple-making and church multiplication methods into squatter communities.

The team is still forming, details are being worked out, roles are being established, and the ministry is taking shape. Thank you Lord for opening doors and always providing.

“For from him and through

him and for him are all things.

To him be the glory forever!

Amen” (Romans 11:36, NIV).

LIFE & MINISTRY UPDATE

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My journal entry from February 26, 2014 Some names and locations have been

changed for confidentiality purposes.

During this vision trip to Manila, Philippines, we have seen some extreme poverty and some very difficult living situations. We also saw many outreach ministries already established in these communities. Physical needs are being met, the gospel is being presented, and people are coming to Christ. Today, however, was an exceptionally difficult day.

Mike and I went with Kuya Luv and Kuya Dave as part of ACTION’s Street Impact Team along with another young lady who was part of a ministry team that we had visited earlier that same day. She took us to an area beneath an overpass of a large freeway that her team had just recently discovered. As we walked further under the bridge, we began to see some people gathered together. There were several shelters there made from cardboard, plastic sheets, and other scrap materials. This was a small community of about 3 or 4 families.

Mike went along with Dave and the young lady we were with and walked ahead to talk to the families that had shelters right next to each other. I followed Luv to an open area where there was one family a little secluded from the rest.

As we walked up to their humble living area, I was struck first by the piles of trash and pieces of concrete that surrounded us. In the middle of these piles were several small tables, wooden pallets, and a few crates. There was a mother nursing her baby as her other three young children were playing nearby. Only the older boy was fully clothed and none of them were wearing shoes.

There were several pairs of very worn flip-flops scattered around a make-shift fence that appeared to be their sleeping area. There was a homemade cradle and two mattresses on the ground with soiled pillows and sheets. The mattresses were small and it looked like this was where the three older children slept. A larger area was screened off with some kind of of green mesh and was probably mom & dad’s sleeping area.

Tracy’s Journal Notes

...Continued on page 4

“For the needy shall not always be forgotten; the expectation of the poor shall not perish forever”

(Psalm 9:18, NKJV).

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Tracy’s Journal Notes continued...They spoke no English so Luv talked to them only in Tagalog. Since I couldn’t understand a word, I just stood and observed what was going on around me. Every so often, Luv would translate a few details of their conversation. He told me that their names were Angelino and Angela. Angelino was 25 and Angela was 23. They already had four children: a 5 year-old boy, twogirls ages 4 and 1, and a 1 month old baby boy.

Angela told him that her parents first moved to the area in 2002 looking for work and found their home under this bridge. Angela met Angelino about 5 years later and they have been living here ever since. Luv asked how someone would find them if they needed to and Angelino replied that his address is “K_____ Bridge.”

As Luv was talking to Angelino, Angela sat down on the edge of a pallet and picked up a pen and a small scrap of paper and began to write. I tried to imagine what she was writing. Maybe it was a note to remind her of our visit; maybe it was her way of journaling things to share with her children in the future; or maybe she was just doodling for something to do as she listened to yet another person asking about the details of their lives and wondering if anyone would ever be able to help them escape the poverty they were in.

As Luv was still talking, Angelino walked over to what must have been their “pantry” for lack of a better word. It was a small table with an old plastic crate on top that held a few jars and plastic food containers. He reached in and grabbed a container that had some pieces of coconut and began to eat a few bites. His older son came over and found a container of sardines and started eating. There were only a few bites left, but it must have been saved for a future meal, as dad appeared to scold him. The boy quickly took one last bite and brought the sardines back to the crate, covered the container, and put it away. Obviously, there was no refrigeration here and I wondered how long the food had been sitting there.

It seemed as though the older children were in charge of caring for the 1 year-old girl, as mom was focused on the baby. When the 1 year old cried, the boy went over to a table and grabbed a Tootsie Pop that was about half the size of when it was new and gave it to her as a pacifier. When the baby cried, the same pacifier was taken from the 1 year-old and given to the baby. At the end of our visit, Luv prayed with the family.

The most difficult part of this visit was turning around and just walking away. I had no idea if anyone here accepted Christ or if there was even a plan to help them. This being my first mission trip ever, I was overwhelmed by everything I was seeing this week and I didn’t know what questions to ask or even how to ask them. Angelino, Angela, and their four children are in my prayers daily.

P.S. added later: I was encouraged when after a few days, we saw the pastor of an outreach ministry post some pictures on Facebook of this same area under the bridge. There are many people reaching out to them and they are not being forgotten.

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Many families come from the provinces to the city thinking they can

make a better life. They are soon confronted with the reality of the lack

of work and find it too expensive to go back home to their province.

ACTION USA • PO Box 398, Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043-0398 • Tel. 425.775.4800

ACTION Philippines • PO Box 110, Greenhills Post Office,1502 Metro Manila • Tel. 011.632.477.3559

ACTION Canada • 3015 A 21st Street NE, Calgary, Alberta, T2E 7T1 • Tel. 403.204.1421

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