During our recent trip to the Philippines, we were honored to take part in the 45th Anniversary Celebration of the Tanay First Baptist Church in the little mountain town of Rizal. This church has an amazing history. The founding pastor, Eriberto S. Tica, was an altar boy preparing to be a priest. One day, an anonymous missionary handed him a Gideon New Testament. He began to read it daily, and soon finished the entire New Testament. After rereading John 1-3, the Holy Spirit convicted Eriberto of the truth of the Gospel, and he accepted Christ as his personal Savior. He immediately began telling others about the wonderful truths he was learning from God's Word. His wife Claudia, who was a singer in a spiritualist church, soon became a Christian. Because of his choice to follow Christ, Eriberto lost his inheritance, but he would not be dissuaded, and in 1967, the First Baptist Church in Tanay was assembled by the friends and family members with whom he had been sharing the Gospel. He and Claudia began to pray that all of their five sons would become pastors. All five did indeed become pastors as well as 15 grandsons! In addition, many of their granddaughters, nieces, and nephews are also involved in full-time ministry. Today, dozens of churches, Christian schools, and Bible colleges are scattered throughout the Philippines as a result of the seed that was sown by that one missionary whose name has been forgotten. Eriberto Tica died in 1980, at the age of 74. Thousands of Filipino people must have been on hand to welcome him to heaven! Thousands more will join them as the fruit continues to multiply.
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Angie Harris
Alan's wife. Traveling full-time with Alan since 1984. ArchivesCategories |