Unforgettable Days in the Philippines
On January 25 at 12:13 P.M., the United Airlines Boeing 777 lifted off at Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C., to fly to Tokyo.
On board was a Work and Witness team of seven men and five women from the Gaithersburg, Maryland, Church of the Nazarene. They would change to Japan Airlines in Tokyo, and fly on to Manila where they were to work on the huge library on the campus of Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary (APNTS) in Manila.
At 84 years of age, I was the only one of the team whose ticket stipulated that I would need a wheelchair on arrival at the Tokyo Airport. When the team disembarked, twelve wheelchairs were waiting, each marked with the name of a team member! The error was quickly corrected and my wheelchair attendant directed the team to follow her through the airport to the Japan Airlines where we boarded our plane to Manila.
A bus from the seminary met us at the Manila Airport and by 2:00 A.M. the team was bedded down in the singles dormitory, and in a large vacant missionary home at the top of the campus. Here they would live for two weeks, cook their meals, hold devotions each morning, and get acquainted with several missionaries who came to give their personal testimonies to the team at the noon mealtime.
I was privileged to stay in the apartment of my son, Floyd T. Cunningham, recently appointed interim president of APNTS, a personal treat for both of us. Not only did the team work on the huge library on campus from 8 A.M. to 4 P.M. daily, we enjoyed producing a chapel service, conducted a children's program, distributed children's clothing we had taken with us, visited classrooms, and visited the large Nazarene church at Tay Tay where General Superintendent Jesse C. Middendorf ordained fifteen young Asians to the Christian ministry, most of whom had graduated from APNTS.
Not being able to do manual labor, I was pleased to be asked to speak at the student prayer meeting on Wednesday evening, and to lead a covenant group of nine students in one of the missionary's homes.
On Sunday the entire team visited Bethany Church of the Nazarene in Antipolo where they sang and gave testimonies.
There I had opportunity to testify that the day we became Nazarenes was one of the most wonderful days in the life of our family, for that decision changed our lives.
This was my fourth Work and Witness trip to APTNTS.
In 2004, our team worked on the ground floor of the education and evangelism center, which houses the administrative and faculty offices. But I was disappointed to learn that the second and third floors of that magnificent building standing in the center of the campus (meant for a 500 seat auditorium and the library) are still incomplete.
My stay those two weeks in the Philippines was unforgettable. We mingled with both students and faculty and could feel their deep commitment to their call. We left behind a seminary in the heart of Asia which maintains the standards of Nazarene higher education. It is a unique place.
Floyd Cunningham has visions for the days ahead. My prayer is that God will touch the hearts of many Nazarenes to send teams and gifts to make APNTS all that it can be in the midst of the Asia-Pacific region to prepare dedicated Asian youth, in the Wesleyan tradition, for the work to which God has called them.
—Eleanor Cunningham
Please note: All facts, figures, and titles were accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of original publication but may have since changed.
