August 2022
Six youth campers who attended the White Fields youth camp came from Carreta Chinese Cemetery Ministry. They were all excited and happy because this was their first time joining a youth activity. These youth come from very tough backgrounds. Paulo’s mother is imprisoned for life. Kenneth’s father is a motorcycle (habal habal) driver. And Genevieve’s father is detained in the Cebu City Jail.
All six were excited to participate in the games and other activities. Before they could get their food at mealtime, they had to memorize the verse. Sometimes they found it difficult to memorize the verses but they tried hard and were very motivated. Sometimes we helped them and guided them in how to properly memorize verses.
On the last day of camp, the youth of Carreta were assigned to lead worship. So, they gathered and had an urgent practice. The six campers were shy and afraid because this was their first-time leading worship in front of so many people. But I encouraged them and reminded them that they were doing it for God’s glory.
Paulo was the lead singer. Genevieve and Shayne were backup singers. Kobe played bass guitar and the others played keyboard, drums, and guitar. These six campers have been trained and taught by Pastor RJ how to play musical instruments and had voice lessons. They are in the music team ministry at our church and despite how nervous they were, they did an amazing job of leading the worship service.
We praise and thank God for the learning, excitement, and experiences of these youth during their three-day camp. We are grateful to White Fields and Pastor Steve for this opportunity and for sponsoring these youth to attend the White Fields’ youth camp.
I first met Joy at a house Bible study in Carreta. He washes clothes in the neighborhood for a fee, this is his source of income. When he first attended the Bible study, the sisters introduced me to Joy, but I did not recognize that he was gay because he did not talk or open his mouth. Later he attended a Sunday fellowship and after the service, I approached him, when he started talking, then I realized he was gay. I encouraged him to regularly attend the Bible study and Sunday services. I visited him in his mausoleum house to pray for him.
Rommel is a security guard and lives near my rented room. He is assisting me in the Carreta Ministry, and he is willing to grow in faith with his commitment to the Lord. Rommel has two children from an unwed relationship. He and his live-in partner separated three years ago. I encouraged him to enroll in the CKC School of Theology and he plans to take four subjects on his day off. I praise the Lord because of Rommel’s willingness to grow and learn more about our loving and living God.
We are thankful to the Lord for surprises. One day, the Korean pastor called me up and asked if I could get bananas from CKC. So as soon as I could, I went to pick up a load of bananas and distributed them to the brethren in Carreta. Indeed, these bananas were a blessing to many people. Praise the Lord.
Pastor Art invited me to preach on his birthday. There were a lot of invited guests, and I gladly shared a few verses from Ecclesiastes. I thank God because many in the audience were policemen, and they had the opportunity to hear the gospel that night. Sometime later during the program, Pastor Art approached me and gave me a portable and rechargeable speaker. I am quite sure it will be useful in the ministry. Thank you, Jesus.
- Pray that Joy will continue to know God and will grow in faith.
- Pray that Bro. Rommel will continue to attend Bible school at CKC-SOT.
- Pray for more youth to listen to God’s Word.
- Pray for God to provide musical instruments for Carreta.
- Pray for healing and recovery. I crashed on my motorcycle, and I find my right foot and hand difficult to move and stiff.
July 2022
Amy is a restaurant employee in a place in front of the big mall in Mabolo; sometimes she is able to attend Bible study but usually is too busy with her job. She is not always able to attend the Sunday fellowship because she even works on Sundays. One afternoon, I visited her house, and she was at home, so I asked her why she was not at work. She told me that she was too upset to go in because her son was in prison. Amy asked me to reach out to her son in jail. I prayed with her for peace and trust in the Lord.
- Pray for God to comfort and give peace to Amy and her family.
The police officers, barangay officials, churches, and community members organized themselves to promote the peace and development of their locality. One of the activities of the program is to hold a Values lesson for all the constituents of the community. We thanked God that I was asked to be a resource speaker to expound upon Family, Commitment, and Compassion.
Our youth were very active before the pandemic but due to the lockdown and restrictions, the numbers were drastically reduced, and ultimately, the fellowship was stopped. With the slow opening of the city and the lifting of the restrictions, I have started to visit the youth at their homes once again a few young people have expressed their willingness to return to the fellowship.
- Pray for more youth to listen to God’s Word.
- Pray for the youth to be excited and eager to grow in their faith in the youth camp.
Our prayer meetings are continuing; we continue to lift Pastor Steve up in prayers too.
Timothy and a couple of the mothers wanted to serve God through music, so they decided to practice after the Sunday service. Timothy knows how to play the guitar, but he only knew songs from the Catholic mass. Rommel and Jayson volunteered to play the guitar and beatbox with them. They encouraged the three to learn some new Gospel songs. They are trying hard to learn and practice Cebuano gospel songs. Praise the Lord for willing souls and talent in music.
- Pray for God to provide musical instruments and a sound system to the Cebu Chinese Cemetery fellowship.
- Pray for my family and me.
- Pray for my strength and for healing.
February 2022
The people of Carreta were depressed and discouraged after Typhoon Odette. Thus, it was very timely for Cebu Korean Church to give words of comfort and encouragement. Through their actions, they gave spiritual comfort and fellowship. Towards the end of their program, Pastor Part, the associate pastor, the elders, and his team distributed fifty food packs. Each pack contained five kilos of rice, sardines, noodles, and washable face masks. Praise the Lord for His Faithfulness.
“Give us this day our daily bread.”
Milagros, one of our church attendees, has been a widow for almost two years. She had been praying all day on that particular day for food since they had no money to purchase enough for dinner. She asked God for strength and prayed continuously. She praised the Lord because, on that same day, CKC gave them a pack of food. Now they can eat, not only on that one day but for the whole week. Also, her family is not the only one who has food, but the entire Carreta Community was fed. Thanks be to God.
The typhoon damaged the tent where we were worshipping, so then we were only meeting for worship inside the mausoleum. The increasing number of attendees meant that we did not fit inside so we desperately needed the extended space of the tent. The destroyed tent was replaced by a thick tarp; thank you to our mission partners and friends!
Every Valentine’s Day, we gave something special to the women in the church. For the past four years, we gave them roses. But this time, we got cupcakes for everyone. The youth were in charge of distributing the cupcakes and making sure every mom received one. They enjoyed and valued this simple act of appreciation.
Every Tuesday evening, we gather our leaders to study the discipleship lesson. This topic was about “Spiritual Gifts” and the module was taken from our mentorship time with Pastor Cris at Mambaling church every Monday. Then I relay the lesson every Tuesday for our weekly leader’s meeting. They were eager and excited to answer the questions in the modules. The leaders now understand that they have spiritual gifts and they want to start ministering in the church using these spiritual gifts. Praise God for the growth of the church leaders through this weekly ministry time.
- Pray for the leaders to continue to grow as they study God’s Word.
Annabel is one of the leaders in the church and is very supportive of the ministry. One time I conducted visitation in a specific area, and I met one mother. I proposed having a Bible study in their vicinity. This mom agreed and Annabel did the follow-up with the family through the Bible study. Their first topic was “The Lost Sheep.” After the discussion, Annabel prayed for them, and three mothers accepted the Lord Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Praise God.
- Pray that these new believers will grow in their faith.
Bro. Ali is an active attendee at the church. At one Sunday fellowship, I did not see him, so I decided to visit him at his house. He was struggling as his feet were swollen. I prayed and comforted him. Bro. Ali was happy to hear that I was concerned with his physical and spiritual health.
- Pray for Bro. Ali’s feet to heal.
Children’s ministry resumed this month. Previously, many police officers and village watchmen were strictly monitoring the area to enforce covid restrictions, so we could not gather the children. Once we were able to gather the kids again, many children came and were in awe to hear the Bible stories for the first time. They learned new songs and were actively involved in the Bible study. For many this was their first time, some of the children were shy and others were outgoing, cooperative, and had lots of fun. They sang Cebuano songs, and after the storytelling and dramatization, we gave them a piece of bread for a snack. Two young people assisted in the children’s ministry.
- Pray for the children to continue to faithfully attend the children’s ministry.
Norie is a new attendee in our fellowship and is the caretaker of the mausoleum. She was invited by Marimie. For several months, we prayed that the steward of this mausoleum would come and join us in fellowship. Finally, we met her, she is a widow working in a small eatery in front of a mall in Cebu City. For a month now she has been regularly attending the Sunday fellowship. We are temporarily using this mausoleum and Norie communicated with the owner to request they contact her first before they come to this place. If the owner wanted to come on a Sunday morning, then we cannot gather. But we thank the Lord that we have had continuous fellowship here for about a year now.
- Pray for musical instruments to use for the fellowship.
- Pray for more monoblock chairs for use.
- Pray for the new Bible study started by Annabel to grow.
- Pray that I can have a motorcycle or four-wheeler to use for the ministry.
- Pray that we can find a place outside the cemetery to use for our fellowship.