In Lieu of Flowers, we'd like to invite you to help fulfil one of Bernice Nelson's final wishes.

Flowers fade, but a legacy continues for generations.  [ click on the banner graphic above to watch the video ]

Before Mom went home to be with the Lord, one of her final wishes was for Dad (Ronald) to make one more journey back to the Philippines—a country and people they loved and faithfully served together for decades.

Dad lovingly cared for Mom every single day as she courageously battled illness. This journey is our family's way of fulfilling one of her final wishes while giving Dad the opportunity to return one last time to the people and places they loved together.

Before Mom and Dad entered full-time missions in 1981–1982, they had already been faithfully serving the Lord for years. Their ministry journey began in 1975, and over the next five decades they devoted their lives to sharing the love of Christ. While their ministry took them to Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Kenya, and other nations, they always returned to the Philippines, where they planted churches, encouraged pastors, ministered among tribal communities, and conducted evening Bible training schools for men and women who longed to grow in their faith but could not leave their jobs or families to attend full-time Bible college.

In later years, they faithfully stood behind Shannon and me as we established and led Clean Water International, praying for us, encouraging us, and championing the ministry as it brought safe drinking water to thousands of families across the Philippines. Their unwavering support and steadfast faith became an important part of the legacy that continues today.

This October, I have the privilege of taking Dad back for The Legacy Journey to the Philippines.

This journey is about reconnecting with the people and communities Mom and Dad invested in over five decades of ministry. Together, we hope to visit pastors and churches, return to the T'boli communities in Lake Sebu, encourage Clean Water International's disaster response team, celebrate new clean water projects, reconnect with longtime ministry partners in Bukidnon, and revisit the Bible training ministry and communities in Bohol where they faithfully served.

More than anything, this journey is about encouragement, remembrance, gratitude, and passing the torch to the next generation. It is an opportunity for Dad to thank those who have faithfully served the Lord over the years, encourage young leaders to continue the work, and see the fruit of the seeds he and Mom planted decades ago.

If you feel led to honour Mom's final wish, your gift will help make The Legacy Journey to the Philippines possible while encouraging pastors, churches, ministry partners, and communities throughout the Philippines. More importantly, it will honour a lifetime of faithful service to Christ and continue the legacy Mom and Dad began more than fifty years ago.

"Only one life, 'twill soon be past. Only what's done for Christ will last."
— C. T. Studd

Thank you for honouring our dear Mom, grandmother, and great-grandmother, Bernice Nelson, and for blessing Dad as he returns one final time to the people and places that meant so much to them both.

With our heartfelt gratitude,

Ronald Nelson
Darrell & Shannon Nelson (Son & Daughter-in-law)
Debbie & Gerald Evans (Daughter & Son-in-law)

* The banner at the top is a video which you can click to play.