Volume 45   Number 1                                                                                    September 2002

The Lord has truly been gracious in granting Roman (“Roger”) Wanasen and your editor a happy trip to London, England. The following is a brief account of this trip, with many thanks to all the brethren who prayed for us and made this work possible.

First, the background for this trip: Brother Roman Wanasen, who most of us know as “Roger”, is a part of a large Filipino family composed of 9 brothers and 3 sisters. “Roger” is the third child in the family. His two older siblings, sister Tess & brother Rogelio (the original “Roger”), live in London not far from each other. This report will be referring to them by their given names.

A few years ago, it was Rogelio who invited Roman and your editor to come to England to help them start a congregation in their home and to reach out to their family and the Filipinos they know in London, a considerable number. We talked about it for a few years before we were able to carry out the plan, thanks to the grace of God and the kindness of our brethren in the United States.

I left the U.S. on Monday, August 12th and arrived late at night in London. Rogelio Wanasen met me at Heathrow Airport and he was accompanied by another brother, Robert Wanasen, who lives in Spain but came to London to study the Bible with us. They greeted me warmly then led me to the Underground Rail where we took the Piccadilly Line to the Wood Green station (about an hour’s ride total) located just a couple of blocks from where Rogelio & Patty Wanasen live at 6 Temple Terrace, Vincent Road. I was welcomed to their home very kindly in typical Filipino fashion. Their two sons, Richard & Jayson, are well-mannered and polite young men who are also members of the church. After a meal and short get-acquainted visit, it was after 1 in the morning and so they took me to rest at the flat where Roman and I would be staying for the two weeks on 57 Burgoyne Road in Harringey, about a mile away. While I rested there for a few hours, they went back to Heathrow Airport to pick up Roman, who arrived early that morning, and then they came by to pick me up about 10:30 on Tuesday morning. Over the course of the next two weeks, we had Bible studies with the Wanasens’ , Robert Wanasen, Leo & Joselyn Mina (Joselyn is one of the three Wanasen sisters who has recently come to London from Spain and is presently unsure how long they will remain), and various other friends and acquaintances, mostly Filipino. We were thankful to be able to teach many lessons, and most of them directly benefited Roger, Robert, & Leo. Richard brought several friends on the first Lord’s Day and we had a five-hour study with them in which they asked a lot of questions about the Bible and issues of this life. This was one of the highlights of the trip for us to be able to see young people who are unaccustomed to the Bible actually hold one in their hands and look up references. We are praying that the good seed will find a few good hearts and bear fruit someday.

The first Lord’s Day (August 18) was a wonderful day as we had 22 attend the morning service. There were even more who came through the rest of the day to either study or just to socialize. Sister Patty, who worked so hard taking care of us during the two weeks, estimated at least 50 or more during the course of that day. The second Lord’s day we didn’t have as many, yet it was a better day because it began with the baptisms of three happy souls; Rosalina Dela Pena, Rosslyn Fabellar, and Evelyn Brown. The management of an indoor swimming pool was kind enough to work with us and open up their facility (for a nominal fee) so that we could baptize the women at a little past 7 in the morning. Sis. Rosslyn is the girlfriend of Richard, and she risked much by being baptized. Yet we know she is pleasing God by putting Him first and she has our admiration for her willingness to make a stand for the Lord. We encouraged her to be strong in the faith and to be very sure she sets a good example at home so that others in her family might be won to the Lord. Sis. Rosalina was very hospitable to us and opened her home for one Bible study, as well as setting up another one for us. I could tell she was very happy after her baptism. Evelyn Brown is a Filipina (niece of bro. Max Dumaguing, one of Roman’s elders in Resurreccion) who is married to Marcus Brown, an Englishman who studied with us on both Lord’s Days and one Saturday. He showed an eagerness to discuss religious issues, though he is not yet a Christian and says he is still keeping an “open mind” on spiritual issues. We pray that he will be persuaded some day so that he can also be a member of the Lord’s Body.

We are obviously concerned about the future for this little flock and want them to grow stronger in the faith. The congregation presently has 7 members, and the number is 10 if you count the three from Spain, but Robert plans to go back to Spain before too long. Leo & Joselyn will probably stay in London longer, maybe a few years. They will all need continued teaching in order to grow and develop, and follow-up visits will help them as well. Roman and I will stay in contact with them through our email correspondence, and we hope that we may visit them again in the future, if the Lord wills. We are also working on other arrangements which will help them to mature in the Lord.

These brethren, and all the Filipinos we met, were especially kind to us, and we appreciate their love to us. It was a pleasure to work with Roman again, and to get to know his family much better. During our stay, we talked to many different people with various ideas about God and how to serve Him. From the young people who questioned belief in God or the Bible, to the very religious people who thought we were lacking in our faith because we perform no miracles, it is evident that there is great ignorance of God’s Word. We must teach the Word of God at every opportunity so that we can dispel some of this darkness. It was wonderful to see the young people who were enlightened by the Lamp of God’s Word when someone just took the time to listen to them and present Bible answers.

May the Lord bless our brethren in London, and may we all be found faithful in Jesus at His coming.