My name is Lanie Navarra Ocasla Bradfield, I was born in the Southern Philippines in the village of Del Pilar / Cagdianao in the Surigao Del Norte Municipality which has a population of about 800 people. I was baptized in the Protestant faith. My father and grandmother were the ones who
influenced me and brought me to the Christian faith. They taught
me some old hymns and we spent time with the Lord before bed
time and sunrise, or when the alarm clock, which was, “the rooster”
began to crow. This meant it was time to sing and give praises to the
Lord. I left Del Pilar at age 8 yrs old, but everything still remains
vivid and unforgettable. I will never forget the dear memories I have
of my father and what he meant to me. My father had a fishing
business and always welcomed everyone into our home, always
ready and willing to help, even if it meant giving away the very last
of what he had. He was a humble man.
I am now living in Moorpark California in the United States and have recently become a U.S. citizen.
Our family had been attending the Presbyterian Church in Moorpark. This had now become our home church. We decided to make a commitment by becoming members. Since that decision we have grown together with other fellow Christians of our congregation. We have spent time together growing and learning from each other in a very joyful atmosphere. It has taken lots of bible study and as the study got deeper and became more serious I realized the Lord had been speaking to me in his words. Sometimes I doubted and did not believe he was speaking and communicating to me. Sometimes I found myself laughing; often I thought that if God is a living God then his words should be real. I had many questions for God and asked him to reveal himself to me. But as time went by, I have watched him become more real. The more I prayed, obeyed, and surrendered myself to the Lord, the more amazing his speaking to me had become, more than I ever would have believed. Because of this experience I found myself asking is that you Lord? I have figured out as long as I am in his will everything will be fine and that has me really excited and sometimes terrified at the same time. So, I have tried to say yes to God and not be outside of his will even when that means getting outside of my comfort zone.
A few years ago I was watching a television program about children
in Africa dying from starvation and many kinds of diseases. For
some reason I wanted to watch it everyday and I begin to ask myself
what can I do to give hope to these helpless people. I found myself
crying out to God and wanting to go to Africa and help. My husband
Scott asked me what I would like to do to help. I said I wanted to find
out how I can go on a mission to Africa. Scott suggested I go on a
mission to the Philippines. He said thereare so many poor people
suffering there, they are your people and culture, you already have a
direct connection to them and also you speak the language. Then the
idea spoke to me as if God was saying that’s right and I thought can
it be that God is speaking through my husband? If so, God is truly
sending me there, now what am I going to do and what shall I do
when I get there. I thought no this is only my imagination, it can’t be God. But why do I feel this strong conviction to help the poor not knowing where to begin and where the resources will be coming from. During this time we were considering putting in a swimming pool and I thought this is crazy, putting a pool in our backyard while my heart has been crying out to help the poor. It wasn’t making any sense to me so I quietly began to keep praying without telling my husband, because he might not like what I had in mind. I slowly said to Scott without pressuring him for a yes or no answer if we should think of using some of the money towards my mission. I remember asking God as if it was just between me and the Lord, if He really wanted me to do this then He needed to talk to my husband and if he agrees to support me then I will know that He is calling me to go. Wow it didn’t take a long time before my husband started saying maybe the pool is not a good idea, it’s a lot of money to put this big hole in our backyard. My heart was at peace thinking that the Lord has something to do with my husband’s change of heart. I was shocked with glee. God is really sending me, saying Go! To my surprise even my daughter said, mom its okay we don’t really need a swimming pool and besides God already gave us a pool and it’s a big one, he gave us the ocean for all to swim in for free. Where was she coming from, most kids would love their own pool so why is she saying this. I thought God is speaking through my daughter too.
Then the planning began, I realized I needed Gods direction on the
steps ahead. At first, I didn’t want to tell anyone, I wasn’t sure if
people would laugh at me. Then the excitement began, at that time
God had given me many scriptures to put together so I would have
His word and his knowledge to go forward. I had been collecting and
putting these pieces together to guide and direct my steps. I have
received so much support from our small group bible study and
from our Congregation. Many have offered prayers and donated used
clothing and others monetary donations for my first mission. We
were able to purchase bibles in the Cebuano dialect. The blessings
have been overflowing. We also fed almost everyone in the Del Pilar
village; many went home with bibles and a good portion of rice, due
to the generosity of our members and the support from our pastors.
It was very much by God’s desire, the hearts of many were touched, and only by God’s purpose and grace could we do this and it couldn’t possibly have been done with out the overwhelming support from everyone. This experience has really humbled me and my family and I realized God has designed everyone as an instrument, to make all things work out according to his will and to his glory. For nothing is impossible with God.
IN JESUS CHRIST AMEN!
