A letter from Paul Matheny and Mary Nebelsick in the U.S., on Interpretation Assignment from the Philippines
fall 2014 - "Jesus loves me, this I know"
Dear Friends,
Paul and I are blessed to be here in Louisville, Kentucky, during our interpretation assignment. We are truly grateful that your continued prayers and financial gifts have made our stay here possible. We are staying in a lovely apartment at the Furlough Home on the Louisville Seminary campus. I grew up on the hill opposite the seminary campus, so this homecoming has been a bit nostalgic. When anyone visits I take them to my former haunts and tell them things like, “This is my beloved Belknap Elementary School and this is Gardencourt, where I took ballet lessons.”
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Melissa K. Nebelsick and Rachel Marie Matheny, grandmother and granddaughter
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Pastor Jasmine Ochave and Deaconal Ministry and Music Ministry Julie Ann Valle
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Rev. Dr. Mariano C. Apilado and Rev. Robert Alguso
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UCCP Greenbreeze Choir
It has been a time that has been sprinkled with sadness as well as with joy. Our daughter, Rachel Marie, has gone to Germany for her first semester of college, and this separation has been especially poignant. As a missionary family we are very close and being apart has forced us to forge bonds across oceans and miles. Skype has been especially helpful. It is amazing how much time we spend talking about what might seem insignificant. Yet these “inconsequential” conversations bind our lives together with supple cords of love and camaraderie.
On the other end of the generational scale Paul and I are grateful to be able to spend time with our mothers. Both Paul’s and my mother live in Louisville and it is a great gift to be been able to once again integrate our lives with theirs. I was grateful to be able to be with my mother during her last hospitalization. As our parents get older, their health becomes more delicate and it is a godsend to be here when they need us.
We have also had the time to visit many of the churches in the Mid-Kentucky Presbytery. The more churches we visit, the more honored I feel to be part of a presbytery that takes ministry and mission seriously. Of course we began our visits by attending Second Presbyterian Church, where I grew up. I have never failed to be inspired by Rev. Steve Jester’s preaching. The beauty of the sanctuary returns me to my childhood when my parents, brothers, and I would crowd into a pew to hear the sonorous preaching and the glorious choir. Before she left for Germany Rachel Marie joined the summer choir and helped fill the magnificent sanctuary with song.
Many of the churches in the Philippines began with song. Our students tell us how their great-grandparents were some of the first Protestant Christians in the Philippines. One of their great-grandfathers was a carpenter. While he worked he sang hymns. Children gathered around him and listened intently. At noon the children sat at his feet and waited while he ate his modest lunch of a handful of sweet potatoes. When he finished they begged him to teach them the happy songs of Jesus. The more they sang, the more children gathered. When the carpenter completed his job he told the children that if they wanted to learn more songs, they should join him on Sunday morning under the same tree where they met at lunch. Every Sunday morning the children gathered. They brought their parents. Their parents brought their parents.
Soon a church was formed and the hymns proclaiming God’s love echoed throughout the small village. The first church buildings were built of bamboo poles and woven mats. The roofs were made of overlapping Nipa leaves. This type of building protected the congregation from sun and rain but allowed the songs to soar beyond the walls. God’s love proclaimed by children’s voices evangelized many in the villages. These children are the elder pastors of today. Their voices continue to proclaim God’s love in the sanctuaries of the churches.
Please continue to pray for us and for all our church workers in the Philippines who continue to teach our children to sing the stories of Jesus. We also thank you again for your continued financial support of us and our ministry, which allows us to continue the work of the first missionaries and the first evangelists.
In Christ,
Mary and Paul
The 2014 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 238
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