There are changes coming for the Wilkins…

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

This verse is a comfort for us during this time of change. We can rest in the truth of God’s word, knowing that God does have a plan for us and that He will lead us on the right path when we place our trust in Him.

Jeremiah 29:11

Then the precious moments of saying goodbye to our family and friends and actually getting on the plane to come. God filled us with purpose, faith and vision for our work as we acclimated to our new life. It was an adjustment to live a life of ministry. We have learned so much!

Over the past 6 plus years we have grown so much. The Lord has taught us not to focus on ourselves and our weaknesses… but on who HE is and what HE wants to do in His kingdom. He has blessed us to see how the “lay-person” gifts He has given us are just what was needed to do the work He had prepared for us. We have enjoyed working on W&W or now called Nazarene Missions Teams (NMT). We love to see two cultures that God brings together to learn from each other and work on projects. Things our North American teams share with us are “I can’t believe how much great ministry is done here with so little resources!”, or “we have learned many new things about working in our community.”, or “there are so many young people working in the church here”. The host churches and ministries often express awe that someone would come around to the other side of the planet to serve with them. That is the Global Church, and it is beautiful!

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 4: 10-11

We have forged many friendships at Asia Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary (APNTS). Over the years Kevin has served as the Facilities and Projects Development Director and I have assisted the president. We have served under two presidents and through one pandemic. As with everyone, we remember March of 2020 and the difficult season that the pandemic began in the Philippines. I am thankful for Kevin’s leadership as we navigated through the government regulations and the reality that many people were hungry and fearful of being locked down and unable to work. The Lord was faithful and I am grateful for the opportunity to partner together with a great group of leaders, faculty, students and staff. As big things are coming to APNTS in the next couple of years, we are sad that we will not be here but, we are excited to see all that God will do in the seminary in the next years and across the AP region as more and more Nazarene pastors and leaders have access to quality education at the seminary. The AP region is one of the fastest growing regions in the Church of the Nazarene.

Our Mission

Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary, a graduate school in the Wesleyan tradition, exists to prepare men and women for Christlike leadership and excellence in ministry.

https://apnts.edu.ph/who-we-are/mission-and-vision/

We don’t have words for our Filipino church partners and friends, who have invited us into their ministries, their churches, and welcomed our teams and loved and supported us. We have served under two wonderful Field Strategy Coordinators. We appreciate Rev. Stephen Gualberto who chose to take a chance on us and teach us so many things and continues to be a good friend. We have enjoyed our time with Rev. Arnel Piliin and his passion for the growth of the church in the Philippines-Micronesia Field and his ability to empower the people who work under him. We will never forget our travels around the Philippines with the Piliin’s visiting churches and attending meetings. Such a wonderful friendship.

Then, there is our missionary family here. We are blessed to know authentic folks who humbly serve the Field, Region and APNTS, often putting in way too many hours. We have learned from each one of them. We praise God for the work they do and for all they have taught us. We love our MK’s and we will miss them. We thank God for these friendships. (missing some in this photo)

We must confess that one of our favorite things of the past few years is the wonderful partnership with Nazarene Youth International (NYI) in both the Philippines and in our regional position as Nazarene Missions Teams coordinator. The Asia Pacific Region is very excited about raising up a generation of leaders who have a passion for missions and ministry. For Kevin and I, if you want to raise up people passionate about Missions, then we need to send out more short-term team opportunities… That is what we have been working on. Dr. Mark Louw, our regional director, asked what would be needed to move this idea of NMT forward on our region. We felt that people are excited about it but it is hard to raise project funds in the churches. So, Dr. Mark made Alabaster Funds available to the churches. Each district could apply for one Alabaster project with the idea that they would then host a NYI team to work on the project. This has been a complete success. The members of the team support their own travel costs and ground expenses. In the Philippines there have been six teams in the past 3 years and we anticipate 2 more to finish out this year. We have built deep friendships and shared passion with young people from all over the Philippines. Our teammates have been from different districts , both men and women and all quite skilled in ministry and leadership. We have been able to share our testimony of God’s calling in our lives and encourage them to use their time on the team as a space to listen for God and his calling in their lives. Many have expressed interest in missions or new ministries in their churches. We are so excited to partner with this group and see all that God is doing in their lives. Kevin has given many lessons on power tools! The last project we went on, the Team Leader was the NYI Field Coordinator and the site coordinator was a local NYI leader… All we had to do was show up and enjoy the trip. What a blessing to see these young people trained in short term missions and using those skills to accomplish the goals of this trip. We are going to miss these NMT trips and especially our NYI friends around the Philippines.

As the Regional NMT coordinators we were asked to recreate this around the region. One thing we have learned is that we don’t necessarily need a huge project fund. $1,000 or $2,000 can supply funds for ministry projects and light construction work. So in 2023 a Global Mission Project was approved and immediately fully funded to provide for these project funds. Each Field in the AP region was given the opportunity to use $2,000 last year to fund a NYI/NMT project. Last year we had three teams from Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia serve in their Fields and this year I am hoping that all 6 of our Fields will participate. We have already had an international NYI team from Korea come to APNTS and do some great work this year! We have had discussions across the region about local teams going district to district and to expand on this, Australia/New Zealand is planning a trip to Melanesia/South Pacific in 2025 and there is discussion in Sealands to partner with the Philippines-Micronesia Field. We are sad to miss out on these opportunities ourselves… but we are so super excited to see what will happen all across the region as NYI teams travel and serve and partner with each other. Our prayer is that as they serve together relationships are formed for future work together. Also, we pray that as these young people serve in missions, they will hear God’s voice in fresh ways, and that some would hear Him call them into cross cultural missions.

Then there is our precious Shechem Children’s Home. A Nazarene Compassionate Ministries project for children rescued from Online Sexual Abuse & Exploitation (OSAEC) in Manila. It is so precious to our hearts. I plan to stay on the Board and continue serving in Donor relations in North America. We love the children who have been served and we are always amazed at God’s Transforming work in their lives as they receive the trauma informed care they need to heal. Shechem is currently beginning a major renovation. The children are living in temporary housing while it is completed. If you are interested in giving to this project please click here… www.ncm.org/shechem.

So, now what? Well, we will travel in April to California to move into our home there. We will then return to Manila after 3 weeks of vacation, for a week of AP Regional Meetings, the APNTS graduation, to lead 2 more teams and to finish up. In June we will move back to California. To be honest, we have not had a clear message from God in what he has for us next. Our short term goal is to downsize. The first step is to sell our home in LA, which will require living there for 2 years first so that we can take advantage of a capital gains deduction. As Kevin turns 62 this year, it was evident to us that now was the time to begin this process. Our lives have been shaped by serving the past 6 years in Asia. We are confident that God has a plan for us in ministry to his Kingdom wherever we are. We are listening for what that might be. In the mean time, we look forward to more time with family and a season of rest and listening to God for the next step.

A big thank you to our generous financial partners. When we began this journey, we did not really know how to have the faith that God would provide for us. You have shown us what God’s provision looks like over a long period of time. We are so blessed! We are ready to say, thank you for your faithfulness, we have enough to complete our assignment. If you are interested in supporting any of our favorite ministries in the Asia Pacific Region, we would love to talk to you about what some options would be. We love you!

Kevin and Janet