Major Shootout while Craig McCord was preaching – Please Pray!
Prayer is needed. Even as this request was sent Helicopters were flying over!
The McCord Family made their journey into the interior of the Phillipines and arrived on Friday evening. On Saturday Jan.30, 2010 they were horrified to see soldiers, dropped from helicopters near their location. In addition to the other soldiers there were 28 heavily armed Filipino Army soldiers walking literally, right through their front yard (Brother Tolino’s house). There were young soldiers with M-16 A2’s, CAR-15’s, and M-14’s as well as grenade launchers, etc. Craig was very nervous because he had heard that there had been two big gunfights recently. Although the NPA is the theoretical enemy, stories were circulating of soldiers randomly taking hikers into custody on exactly the roads where they share the Gospel.
Sunday Jan. 31st 2010- Craig met with the elders before their church service, when a very large volume of shooting began., which was very close, less than a mile away and it continued for 40 minutes. Few people arrived at the service because of the very loud report of the weapons. Craig was prepared to preach on a particular topic but changed it to discuss “Prayer, the God of Peace and the Peace of God,” as revealed in Phil.4:4-10. The elders urged him to leave, but he went on with the service preaching on God’s peace, even as the rattle of gunfire and explosions continued. By the end of the service they could see soldiers carrying another soldier either dead or wounded across from the church.
Please pray for them in their new church and the people who live there who cannot simply leave the area when the shooting starts. Pray for the light of Jesus to pierce the darkness here and that His peace will reign there. There are so many barriers resulting from the demonic past. The land, and rice fields, the children the houses, have all been dedicated to demons in the past. All the rituals and sacrifices so faithfully observed for centuries has placed a satanic lock on this area and it will require significant prayer to break these strongholds. With bullets flying all over the trails they hike to minister to the villages, they have another very serious consideration to pray about. They are praying that God will give them a spirit of boldness (not recklessness) to preach the Gospel and encourage the churches. Please pray with the McCords and share this. They have NOT changed any of our plans to go to the remote places at this time. Ask that they “wait in hope upon the Lord; that He be their help and shield; that their hearts rejoice in Him, for they trust in His holy name. (Psalm 33: 20 & 21)!