December 2015
The month of October was very special for us; we celebrated the founding anniversary of the church. We concluded our 6th anniversary with the theme The good hand of the Lord is upon us, taken from Nehemiah 2:18. The story goes back to the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem, tasked under Nehemiah. The book inspired us!
We encouraged one of our attendees (under our new membership program) to give a testimony of her newfound faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Here is her testimony.
“My name is Marisol and I am 27 years old. I became a widow at the age of 24. I entered into a relationship at the age of 18; we lived together as husband and wife without the blessings of marriage. The Lord gave us two sons, the eldest is 7 years old and the youngest is two years old. My pain started when police, as a case of mistaken identity, shot my live-in partner. I was away from home, working at a business, when I heard the event regarding my partner. I went home hoping to find out what had really happened. When I arrived at the scene, blood was scattered and traces of my partner’s body indicated that he was pulled away from the scene. I did not see his body at this time. I tried looking everywhere, but the authorities and my in-laws conspired against me. My in-laws agreed to an extra judicial settlement for the possible legal charges to be filed against the officers who are directly involved in the operation. This may lead them into a summary dismissal that will mean loss of a benefits promotion for them, and eventually dismissal from the service. When I discovered that, I felt really bad. Despite rumors that my sons and I have received our share in relation to the settlement they had made, I have received nothing. In this time of mourning, I wanted to go see the wake of my partner. I then decided to go back to my mother in San Narciso, Quezon with my two sons. Life is not so promising in this town and to earn a living is very difficult. I make charcoal with my cousin at the mountain and earn a very small amount. What a desperate situation I am now in. I fell to my knees and cried out “Lord, what sins have I committed to have experience the hardships that I do now?” He did not answer me right away, but he did answer my prayer.
My younger sister Bel and Pastor Dan prayed about my situation. They told me that if I could travel back to Laguna, there might be a job offering that would help ease and meet our daily needs. Without hesitation, I went back to Laguna, landing my feet at Pastor Dan’s church. He helped me look for a job and also introduced me to my “new husband”, no other than our Lord Jesus Christ. Now I am being discipled by Pastor Dan’s wife, sister Cora, and I am growing daily in my relationship with Him. Now I am at peace with God, devoting myself to my work and at church. I also regularly attend a discipleship program.”
- Praise Him! Please pray for Marisol, for her newfound faith, and that she will be able to share her journey, from her life of pain to a life of peace in the Lord.
The campus ministry is very exciting, and it is amazing what God has been doing in the lives of the students. Our prospect student leader attended a one-day seminar reunion at Campus Crusade for Christ at the University of the Philippines Los Banos, Laguna. The books that she had received blessed her, especially a leadership book by John Maxwell. She told us that she would now disregard all the pocket book novels that she used to read before and will replace them with the Bible and some books written by Christian authors.
- Please pray that these college students may grow in their relationship with Him.
- Pray for my eldest son, who is a leader in the campus ministry; that he will continue to be encouraged in the work of the Lord. Please also pray for him as he is considering his ministry partner for life.
Other ministries in the church are doing well. Our Sunday worship has a steady weekly attendance of 35-50 people. We have three discipleship groups for leadership training (men’s, women’s, and young people).
- Pray that these groups will continually grow in the Lord.
My family and I are doing well, only my health has a minor problem. I am now on medication for a kidney stone and prostrate enlargement.
- Pray that with this medication, the health issue will be corrected, and things will return back to normal.
Thank you for your prayers!
Pastor Danilo