International Gospel Outreach

Institute for World Ministry

IWM

Testimonies

How IGO Mission School Helped Us

We are not sure where we would be today if it hadn’t been for the IGO Mission School.

For many years we struggled with the thought of going into the mission work. However, we weren’t sure how to do it. We knew that many mainline mission boards would not accept us, because of age limitations, or because most of them would not allow a person to go to his or her own country as a missionary. That left us out on both issues. We were both over 50 years old, and Edith was from the country we felt God was calling us, the Philippines.

We finally got serious about the matter, and in 1998 we started consulting ministry friends, pastors and missionaries we knew, seeking their advice as to what we should do.  Some suggested we develop our own Missions Board and go as independent missionaries. We began to pray and fast about this matter. Then, one day the great God of the universe sent a person who was going to be a guest lecturer at the IGO/Missions School, in Mobile, Alabama. He invited us to go with him. Little did we know that God was about to give us the directions for which we had asked.  That evening was the beginning of our journey into our present mission work here in Dulag, Leyte, the Philippines, which is now going on 10 years of service.

Praise the Lord for His directions. The moment we walked into our first mission class, we knew that this was where God wanted us to be. For the next 13 weeks, that impression grew even stronger. It was here we learned what it really meant to be a missionary. We heard from various guest missionary speakers, who came and shared their experiences on the field. Oh, they didn’t just tell us the good parts of their mission work, but also the heartaches and trials they endured over the years. Also, we learned from the school about the academic and practical issues we would have to deal with on a daily bases. The school helped broaden our knowledge of mission work and provided us the necessary tools to help us with our calling. 

The one thing that stands out regarding our mission school days, was the writing and developing of our own mission plan, with our very own goals and objectives in mind. It was that plan that we reviewed often in our first few years on the field, which helped to keep us focused on what we wanted to accomplish. . Oh yes! We were open to the leading of the Holy Ghost and deviated now and then from the original plan, but for the most part, we stuck to our plan and even to this day we are more in-line with our original plan than in the beginning. Praise God, He never let us down as long as we kept Him in focus and the calling He had given us. 

The continuous support we receive from the IGO staff, supporting pastors, churches, friends and family only encourages us to move forward towards our high calling in Christ Jesus and stay on the field.

In His Service

Terry & Edith Elbin

Missionaries In

Dulag, Leyte, Philippines

Terry & Edith Elbin