The Terminal

In the movie, Terminal, Tom Hanks plays the role of a man who lives for a time in a busy metropolitan airport. What a noisy, chaotic experience it was for him. A week at the Yun Jin Lyso Ministry Center, isn’t quite as hectic and disjointed as an airport, but it is quite a stretch from life in Canon City, Colorado. Putting aside the cultural shock issues, which are significant and real in and of themselves, there are amazing stories to be seen and experienced. The YMC is a blessing that followed a tragic story. Twenty days after Yun Jin and Amos were married, she was killed in a car accident. Amos chose to us the funds from her death to make an investment for eternity. So the ministry center was purchased in conjunction with Kids International Ministry.
In the past 6 days, I met Bruce and his partner from Texas. They were just finishing up a 3 day tour of preaching and teaching in several public schools. Then there was a team of 6 or so who had also been sharing in the schools about HIV/aids, from a Christian perspective. In the states we insist on keeping God out of the schools, here it seems to be just the opposite. Then we met Nolan and his basketball team from the US, who have been playing 2-3 games a day with all kinds of Filipino teams. They share their testimonies, the gospel message and Christian literature. Ruth and Paul arrived from Australia about the same time that my wife and I did. They left their cattle ranch to serve for 2 years as the high school chaplain at Faith Academy, the nearby school for missionary kids. 3 Koreans then appeared one morning. One of them, Steve, brought several rebuilt computers for the lab for the community school next door. His mother and sister have been helping in the New Faith Family Children’s Home a block away. It was a real stretch out of their comfort zones. 5 nannies left for the states on Sunday. They had been here for 2 months to help in the Children’s Home nursery. They were a real blessing, to be sure. Pam and her daughters spent a month here helping out wherever they could. They were on break from their school in Korea. Check out the beautifully framed pictures Pam left all around the YMC. Tina and Nate left their 2 small boys with their parents for two weeks to help with computer matters and also in the Children’s Home. They call home everyday to check on their boys. 6 young people from Germany stopped in overnight on their way to Batangus, somewhere south of Manila. They had Bibles with them, but I didn’t get a chance to catch their mission. I met Bill and his daughter, Mary today. They converted part of the YMC into an office for their ministry to publish and distribute the first and only street magazine in Manila. Its purpose is to help those who are impoverished all over the city. Alex and his wife Chris stopped in for dinner the other night. Their ministry sells a hundred thousand thread bracelets every month to help keep the women and young girls out of prostitution on the island of Mindoro. Then Carmine showed up from Utah. He is an architect who is here to help with designs and plans for future expansions with the ministry. Building is a constant way of life here as they rush to keep up with the ever increasing people needs. Then there is Joe and Neil who pop in and out to help wherever there is a need. Christie and Amber who have been living at the YMC, teach classes at the school next door. Chris and Kim stop in for meals occasionally. Kim is the headmaster of the community school and Chris spends his time discipling several Filipinos among other ministries.
The ministry center is not exactly Grand Central Station, but you don’t want to sit still very long or you might find yourself being caught up in the swirl of genuine Christian ministry. It’s not just the name of a building - it’s the activity that takes place in and around this ” terminal” of life.

Larry and Joyce Chell
They serve at Christian Family Fellowship in Canon City, Colorado and are in the Philippines visiting their daughter Daisy.