Beth Sanders

“Win Build and Send. Make disciples and bear much fruit.” These were the words that kept ringing in my ears shortly after I received Christ into my life while I was in college in 1975. I was immediately discipled by godly and dynamic Campus Crusade for Christ (CCC) missionaries who nurtured and trained me how to minister to others also. As I grew in my Christian life, my passion to bear much fruit for the Lord kept increasing which led to my joining CCC as a full time missionary.

My passion to help reach the Philippines for Christ continued until the tragic death of my godly mother in California. Against my will, I left the Philippines to join my family in San Diego with the plan to encourage and minister to them for just one month then come back to the Philippines to continue my missionary work.

But, God changed my wonderful plan for my life. That one month plan became 21 years instead. I completed my Masters in Business Management and enjoyed pursuing my career in Accounting at Chase Manhattan Financial Services. My passion to bear much fruit however, continued even across the world. With God’s power, grace and mercy, He blessed me with a fruitful ministry in San Diego with my family, community and my church, where I met my godly husband during the prayer meeting. He was a beloved youth leader and passionate bible teacher. We served the Lord together and six years later he asked me to marry him. We continued to serve God together and expressed our desire to become full time missionaries someday.

God blessed us with 3 wonderful children, Leah, Bekah and Andrew, a nice home, a stable job, a fruitful ministry in our church, at work and community. Little by little, my heart for the Philippines completely faded away. Philippines became just a part of my history, a place that I might visit someday with my children to show my roots, but never to live again.
But again, God in His wonderful way, changed my wonderful plan for my life. Martin, a lay pastor in our church, Maranatha chapel in San Diego, was asked by our senior pastor to come to the Philippines with another missionary to scout the land just see how our church can send short term mission groups to the Philippines. Instead of just scouting the land, God put a desire in his heart to come back not just for 2 weeks but as full time missionary with our family. To leave everything behind, including his job of 23 years as senior electronic applications engineer . I said, “Dear, I’ll be behind you, far, far behind. I wanted to obey God but according to my time table.” Maybe when my children are older and in college. But, Martin in his godly attitude, never forced me but continued to abide in God’s word and prayed for God to change my heart instead.

With desperation, I appealed to God presenting him a long list of “why Beth Sanders should not go back to the Philippines.” Number one of which was my love and concern for our children. I asked God to speak to me and give me direction and confirmation in context or out of context to prove my husband wrong. God met me at my level through His word. As I continued my daily devotion reading Isaiah chapter 32, I came across verse 9.
Isaiah 32: 9 “Rise up, you women who are at ease, and hear my voice; give ear to my word, you complacent daughters.”

I closed my Bible and argued with God. “That was so out of context Lord. That was not for me”, I said. But my heart was pounding. I knew it was for me.

God was right. He made me realized how my heart had become complacent, and too contented with my daily routine, amidst the many blessings He has given me. I was no longer excited for God to do new and greater things in and through my life. I did not want Him to shake my comfortable nest.

(Garden experience with God)
God in his creative ways comforted me while I was gardening in my backyard one day. For some reason, almost everything that I planted in my yard died except for the one geranium by my fence. It grew so big with beautiful flowers and healthy branches. However, it started to cover the sprinkler and the light that my husband installed. I made a decision to uproot it and planted it by my side yard where there was an empty spot. It looked beautiful as it added color to the empty spot. But as the summer heat hit it at noon, it started to slowly wither. In just few days the leaves started to dry and the branches just laid weak. But I faithfully watered it hoping it will grow again. Sure enough, after 2 weeks the branches started to stand and leaves started to sprout then some flowers budded too. I was so happy as I watched it grew back to health. All of a sudden God, in His still small voice spoke to me and ask, “Beth, did you get the message. That’s how you are. I have planted you in San Diego for 21 years and made you bloom and now I will uproot you and plant you in Manila. Yes, you can get dry and wither when discouraged if you don’t stay attached to the vine. But if you continue to stay attached to the vine and water yourself with God’s word daily, I will sustain you. I will make you bloom again where you are planted and bear much fruit that remain.” Crying by my plant I repented and said, “ Yes Lord, I got your message.”

So, I decided to obey God and submit to my husband. He reminded me that everything I have came from Him including our children and He can take it away if He wants to. He also comforted me with His promise in Jeremiah 29:11; ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” I surrendered my children to God believing that He is much more concern with the life and future of my children more than I am as their mother.

After more than one year of preparation, we came to Manila with our 3 young children. However, I did not tell Martin that I secretly made a commitment with God for only 2 years. So I came to Manila with a mission: to minister to the Filipino women with a sense of urgency to bear much fruit fast so I can go back home with a fruitful ministry. I shared the gospel to every human being that I came in contact with in my neighborhood but no fruit came out for the first 6 months . I was running out of time and feeling like a failure. I got so discouraged and depressed and thought it was a mistake that we came. I was ready to go back to San Diego especially when I saw my children crying and missing their many friends.

Until on New Year’s Eve, God brought to my remembrance His promise before we left in John 15: 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” He assured me not to fear and that He has gone before us and will continue to be with us. That He is not concern about the success of the ministry He has called us to do, and the number of women I minister to but rather with the condition of my heart. He wants my heart to be completely devoted to Him as His child not to the ministry. That the ministry should be just an overflow of my private walk with Him as I abide in His word and be motivated by His love. He revealed my selfish agenda and wrong intention for rushing to bear fruit- just so I can do the ministry with success and go back home to San Diego.

Prostrating myself on the floor, I repented to God and devoted my heart back to Him. He gave me a new heart, one that is motivated by His love resulting to true joy and excitement to stay in the Philippines as long as He wants us to stay.

Few days later, after I made my heart right with God, He directed me to a handful of women to invest my life by discipling them, who in just a short period of time started to bear much fruit also and still continue to do so. The 4 became 10, then 20 then 50 and still continue to bear much fruit, not by my might nor my power but by His spirit alone.
It’s been almost 9 years now, and as I look back, I praise God for His grace that enabled me to obey Him and submit to my husband. I could have missed out from the many blessings of knowing Him deeper and witnessing the work that He has done and still continues to do in and through my life, my family and the many lives whom we have the privilege to minister to.

God showed me that the best place to be is not California, but it is at the very center of God’s will and if Manila it is, so be it. It is my prayer that when God looks into my heart daily, He will find it completely acceptable and devoted to Him and hear Him say, “ Well done Beth, my good and faithful servant.”, then make Him smile. That’s enough to motivate me, to abide in Him daily so I do not miss out on His perfect will for my life, until that day when I see Him face to face.

May it be the choice of our heart, to intentionally abide in His word and His love daily resulting to bearing much fruit that remain for the audience of “one” alone. To God be the glory. God bless you .