Adventist Mission

Meet the Papaionnous

Kim and Esther and their four children, Revel, Loukas, Niki,and Kellita
serve as misisonaries in the Philippines.

Reaching Hearts in the Philippines

by Kim Papaioannou

I work as a professor of theology in the Philippines. For me, missionary work usually involves teaching classes and advising students. But at times I get the opportunity to share the gospel with non-believers. One such opportunity came last October, when I was invited to speak at an evangelistic campaign in the remote village of Cabayugan.

Located in the middle of beautiful jungle, Cabayugan has no electricity grid, water mains, or drainage. Most people live in bamboo huts.

Power is by portable generators. A highlight of the week- long meetings was Thursday night when I was to invite attendees to give their life to Jesus in baptism. It had been dry for most of the week. But an hour before the meeting it began to pour down with rain. Oh Lord, I thought, why now, why tonight? How will the people come? How will they wade through the muddy jungle paths in the dark? That night we had a packed hall, higher attendance than any previous night.

As I began to preach the generator stopped. The lights went out and the sound system and projector stopped working. Our assistants rushed to restart it but it stopped again. It seems the enemy of souls did not want those precious people to give their lives to Jesus and he was doing everything he could to disrupt it. But the meeting went on and when the call was made, nearly everybody stood up. Hallelujah, what an experience!

On Sabbath the day began in brilliant sunshine. After the morning meetings and a fellowship lunch we made our way to the beach where the baptism would be held. Six pastors would lead out in 59 baptisms. Suddenly the sky darkened and it began to drizzle.

As we went into the water the drizzle turned to heavy rain. A strong wind began to lash against us and the sea swelled up into angry waves. Oh Lord, I thought, why now? How will these people come into the water and how can we baptize them? More than once we fell under the water by the power of the waves. But they were determined and were all baptized.

As we came out of the water, the wind suddenly subsided and the waves eased. Wow, the great controversy before us. First the rain and the generator on Thursday; now the heavy rain and the strong wind that both started and stopped suddenly; the enemy of souls was trying hard to disrupt but the Lord had triumphed! Hallelujah!

The world is one vast mission field. Precious souls are waiting to be called to the Lord’s heavenly banquet. Every Adventist believer is called to be a missionary for Jesus in whatever capacity He appoints. Let us all work in unity and humility to help prepare the world for the coming of Jesus.

Originally from Greece, the Papaionannou family has ministered in Greece and the United Kingdom. Currently Kim teaches New Testament at AIIAS (Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies) in the Philippines while Esther is working towards her master's degree in education and looks after their four children.