FROM TRAINING TO MISSION: GOD'S PROVISION IN DEBORAH'S JOURNEY

Despite obstacles — from not having a passport, to lacking money for her visa and daily needs — God miraculously provided for Deborah every step of the way. What began as her first mission training has now become a life of faith in Thailand, where she serves as a missionary and worship leader, continually witnessing God’s provision and miracles.

From Training to Mission: God’s Provision in Deborah’s Journey

In 2023, Deborah De Guzman attended International Teams Access 1 training which was held in Nueva Ecija. After the training, Bishop JM and Bishop Dong encouraged her and her sister to attend the Access 2 training in Taiwan. During that time, her mother received an impression from the Lord that she would indeed attend the training and was confirmed by her father and their spiritual parents. 

How God made it possible for her to join the training was pivotal for her. International Teams staff assisted her with the online registration and airplane ticket booking. However, she didn’t have the most important thing she needed, her passport. She had it processed just 2 weeks before her flight to Taiwan. It worried her greatly as she was unsure if she would get her passport on time but her parents kept her encouraged. Indeed, this tested her patience and faith in the Lord. A week before her flight, she received it!

Despite the rollercoaster ride of emotions, still the plan of the Lord prevailed. She and her family saw the hands of the Lord upon her journey. He provided everything including the finances she needed. For Deborah, this first step was vital as she knew she didn’t do it by herself. God used her family to get her out of her comfort zone.

During Access 2 Training in Taiwan, she was used by God to be a translator to her Malaysian groupmate. She translated the whole session and even Tagalog songs for her. She considered this a great experience and thanked the Lord for the friendship she developed with her new Malaysian friend. By God’s grace, she passed the training.

After a month, Deborah attended the Global Mission Summit in Baguio. There she received a confirmation that she would join the conference in Thailand and this time not as a trainee but as a missionary. Her parents mortgaged their farmland to provide for her financial needs and even the members of their church in Carrangalan contributed. God provided for her through the people around her.

Her journey continued in Thailand but this time she was alone and away from her family. In this country, her faith in the Lord grew deeper as she experienced  Him in her life personally. There she also found a spiritual family. She finds working and at the same time doing missions very challenging but rewarding, knowing she serves the Lord in the land where He assigned her. Now, she is privileged to serve the Lord as part of the worship team of Gift Church.

Deborah has been living in Thailand for 2 years and she witnesses God’s miracles through simple things in her daily life. One of the miracles that is worth sharing happened in the first month of the year 2025. She wrote in her notebook on the 17th of January,” Lord, I don’t want to end this year without any major changes in my life. I want to see something impossible to take place this year.” That was also the time she needed to extend her visa that would expire on the 28th of that month. For that, she needed money for the visa extension fee plus her fare and food. Her school would pay for her visa extension. That left her needing only the money for the bus fare to Lat Phrao.

On January 19, although she only had 37 Baht in her bank account, she remained unworried. Since she didn’t have enough fare to go to the school from the church, she asked a churchmate if she had extra cash to lend her. This churchmate willingly lent her money that would be enough for her to survive the whole week. From Monday to Friday, she read her bible and spent time with the Lord. Without telling anyone, she kept her need for provision just between her and God. In one of her conversations with Him, she said, “Lord, I want to go back to church this Friday evening because I really want to attend the Sunday service but my money isn’t enough to take me there. Bahala ka na Lord kase I really can’t go if I don’t have pamasahe (Lord, it’s all up to You, because I really can’t go if I don’t have the fare).” She also boldly told Him, "Lord, kelangan ko din mag ayos ng visa sa immigration, I need pamasahe too (Lord, I also need to process my visa at the  immigration, and I need money for the bus fare too)." 

Friday afternoon, just when she was ready to go to Lat Phrao, she received a message on a group chat about Thailand’s announcement on their Facebook post that from January 25 to January 30 all MRTs and bus fares would be free of charge because the government encouraged people to use public transportation instead of private vehicles to minimize air pollution.  For her it was unimaginable to think that God would use the severe pollution in Thailand to provide her free transportations. This really surprised her and couldn’t help but thank God for this. Her desire was not to miss the Lord’s day and to meet her churchmates who are dear to her heart. With this orchestration from the Lord, she didn’t need to worry about her bus fares. He got them covered. As for her visa extension, she was able to process it without worrying about the bus fares. That’s how God answered her prayer of provision in the most impossible way. 

Deborah’s experiences from her first mission training to being now in the mission field shows that God is really our Great Provider. We need not worry and just boldly present our requests to His throne of grace (“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”- Hebrews 4:16). In His perfect time in an unimaginable way, we will be amazed by His answer.