ACM is the missionary training arm of The 700 Club Asia
Understanding God’s Heartbeat PDF Print E-mail
Florena Garucha, M.D., set aside her stethoscope to listen to God’s call and followed a different kind of heartbeat. Florena Garucha, M.D.

She goes from one church to another to rally the inner calling of Christians for cross-cultural missions.

“There was a vision for me that the Lord will use me to heal tired flesh and broken souls. And for me, that is the start of my ministry,” said Dr. Garucha.

Her desire for missions started at the Missionary Training Institute in Malaysia. That desire burgeoned into a flaming passion when Asian Center for Missions conducted the Kairos course in Iloilo City.

“Kairos brought us missions awareness,” said the 43-year-old family physician. “Before this course, I was just involved with our local church. I came to know how insignificant I am in terms of my relation as a person in the entire universe that God has created. It humbled me down.”

“Kairos opened my heart for the love and concern about unreached peoples outside our locality. I was not aware of other unreached tribes here in the Philippines until I took the missionary training course. It stirred up my deep concern for them and other religious blocks. I am deeply gratified learning about this,” added Dr. Garucha, who presides over the Pototan Baptist Church board of trustees in Iloilo City.

Pototan Baptist Church is involved with Central Coastline Baptist Church, an organization of 30 churches in six towns in Iloilo province.

“Breaking the barricade in diversity between church denominations is one of the key elements for the expansion of God’s kingdom,” Dr. Garucha said. Her position brought her to the path of opportunity by taking the responsibility of mobilizing other regions and the biggest Baptist church organizations in the Philippines, vastly extending from inner IIoilo City and other towns in northern and southern Iloilo.

Part of Dr. Garucha’s responsibilities are promoting missions awareness among local churches, encouraging them to pray for senders and goers to unevangelized people groups in the world, and conducting missions training seminars.