Rick Newton Cross Carrier

From my heart-Feb. 24, 2012…
Praise the Lord! As I write this, we are sailing between the islands in the Philippines… the last several days have been pure JOY!!  Though the sights, sounds and smells are all too familiar to me since I have been in so many places in this world, to Doreen, it is a first to a poorer country. To me it is a reminder that we are back on the front lines, so in that I actually have to say, I enjoy them, for I have so long been hungering with all my heart to get back to the mission field where I’ve been called! These multitudes of sights, sounds and smells help me to embrace the variety of God’s world and his love for all mankind! Whether it is the stench of the dumps in Nicaragua or the variety of smells of flowers in Fiji, Holland or New Zeland. I welcome them all because when I smell them, I know I am in the trenches for Jesus and this great big world NEEDS HIM!!
As we sit here looking out the big window in our cabin watching the islands and mountains go by, we do not know what awaits us ahead. All we know is that it is the island of Cebu! I look forward to carrying the Cross there. It was received well in Manila. Now we are taking it to another island. It is warmer there they say, and more rural. No matter, we go in His love! My prayer is that the Lord will allow me to feel a little of His heart for this people. He has always done that before and that is exactly why carrying the Cross and serving Him has the richness for me that it does. For life is not worth living till we look beyond ourselves and live for what’s important to HIM!!
Tonight we just enjoyed a quiet evening on board the ship. Dinner together was beautiful! Later, I walked out on deck for quiet time and to pray.
Sat. Feb.25…
Well, we will soon be docking in Cebu. Only the Lord knows what we will find there. We are ready, Jesus is with us! As we sail in, a beautiful rainbow welcomes us. We can see the storm clouds moving out. The sun is now up. We will dock at pier 5. We just received a text and we will have friends (we have not met), meet us at the dock. P.T.L!!!

The three wheeled motorcycle, is a common means of getting around. It is an adventure though. You sit scrunched down in this little sidecar built for thee Filipino and hang on as your driver zips in and out of this vast sea of traffic. If you can picture New York City meets Mexico with a little of Rome thrown in you get the picture. But that’s the way many make their living. Well I want to tell you of just one of these drivers I met one day while caring the cross. I tell you, I loved this guy right from the start. He is about 30 years old, a little of what we might call simple or slow. He had this old beat up tryc. When he saw the Cross, he pulled right over to talk. In his beautiful way he told me how he loved Jesus. I’m telling you it brought tears to my eyes as he talked. He knew he was slow, but with such joy he told me what Jesus meant to him. How he knew the Lord had forgiven him. He also told me how people picked on him because of his faith and even the scars he has on his back from a beating he received in Mindanao. We shared together for quite a while, then had prayer. i prayed God would bless his little business and keep his bike running. I asked the Lord to prosper him and watch over him. Then I gave him a bunch of Jesus stickers which he put in the little cab of the sidecar, so his fares could see them. He was dirty, but I hugged him anyway, then shouldered the Cross and headed on knowing I won’t see him again till Heaven. Please pray for Jimmy! He is a dear brother and one of Gods special soldiers.

Manilla, one of the larger cities in the world! Unbelievable traffic, hordes of people, horns honking, all of the hustle and bustle of a major city and a 12 foot Cross with a message of hope! Doreen and I stepped out and carried the cross into the middle of all of this. We saw people surprised and stunned as they saw this large Cross being carried by a white man, but Oh how they received the tracks and stickers that share the message of God’s love. We saw people come out of their houses and businesses and road side stands eager to learn what we were doing. After about 1 mile of the indescribable noise of traffic and horns honking, we turned into a “neighborhood” where some of Manilas’ poor live in conditions that much of the world has never seen! The gracious Filipino people received us with smiles, kindness and offerings of cold drink. Adult and children would gather around the Cross to hear the message of Christ’s love for them. You could see the joy in their faces when we told them that God knows where they live, knows each of them personally and He loves them with all of His heart. In no time, we found that we had given out thousands of stickers and tracks. We rejoiced in thinking about how statisticians tell us that 3% of all people saved, are saved through a Gospel track. They say, a picture is worth a thousand words…