This month we saw our prayers answered! Back in March we had a difficult time getting permits from the government official in our area and were even harassed by them as well. Now almost seven months later the local officials appreciate our work in the community. We no longer have problems with the work we are doing amongst the youth. The Barangay police and officials are kind to us and apologetic for what happened in the past. They now understand our work and have expressed gratitude for the work we do spiritually and morally in our town.
We continue to help the community and the children. The parents are thrilled with the help we offer teaching people to increase their livelihood. I praise God because there is no barrier to sharing the gospel here. We use the barangay hall freely, and the children play, read, and hear the word of God joyfully.
In Sapangdako Cebu City, I gathered all my leaders at the barangay hall for a meeting and bible study. I taught them how to be good servants from the Bible. We had one complaint after we use the hall and the complaint was that the hall was left dirty with garbage on the floor. I did not believe the criticism because we cleaned the area before we left. However, I used this as a teaching moment that we are to be good servants because God opened the doors for us to use the hall and that we should be diligent in keeping it clean. During our meetings, the leaders suggested that we clean the building before we use it, and pick up right after. One of my leaders suggested we donate paint for the hall. I’m happy with their suggestions and willingness to help keep the place clean.
During my bible study in the capitol (Downtown Cebu City) I shared God’s word with Brother Samuel who was not able to walk, but now he can walk short distances. We prayed, and I helped him with some acupuncture.
Brother Samuel is 78 years old and is very thankful to the Lord because he can walk short distances. In his testimony, he shared last week that his brother died due to a lung cancer. He thanked God for giving him a chance to continue to serve him in this life.
Prayer Request:
- Pray for healing for Brother Samuel and that he will know Gods purpose in his life.
- Pray Brother Berting and Samuel will worship the Lord every Sunday.
My bible study in Sitio Kaymitohan has more women who multi-task by listening to my teaching while they prepare hanging rice to sell. Their chief source of income is to make and sell things from food to trinkets. Even though they are busy, they continue to take time to listen to God’s word. They have proven that they can earn while they learn.
I thank God for continuing to bless my family and ministry this year. In October our leaders decided to have an evangelism crusade in the CPDRC Jail. (Editors contextual note: this is the same prison that rose to prominence with choreographed dances done by the inmates beginning in 2006.) We invited several evangelism ministries to join us, and they helped by sending volunteers and financial support. We ministered to 2,300 inmates including their families and were able to provide food and beverages ass well. Our great God gave us a group of 20 people to help evangelize in the jail, and the leaders we have raised up in prison handled the praise and worship. For this event, we had three preachers, one came from the US, and the other two came from Manila.
This crusade was very timely for the inmates and their relatives. Most of their families are not Christians, and after the preaching and altar calls, we were amazed to see many inmates and their loved ones decided to profess faith in Jesus and repent of their sins. They came forward, and all the leaders prayed for them. Many inmates were happy because their families also came to profess faith in Jesus. Approximately 4,000 people heard the word of God this day, and almost half of them received Jesus. After this event, we gave the inmate bread and juice for their snacks. The warden of the jail was so happy because he believes that Jesus has touched the lives of many.
Only God can change lives through His word, and the jail is God’s chosen place for them to hear about salvation. Our leader in the prison and his brother Lem always pray that the CPDRC jail will become the most peaceful jail in the world. Thank God for his mercy and grace because our leaders in jail have the heart to evangelize prisoners to become strong believers in our Lord.
Plan and Prayer Request:
- Pray that our one to one evangelism through the parents and leaders will be successful.
- Pray for guitars for our worship music.
- Pray for the leaders of the church.
- Pray for the family of Brother Lem, our worker in Jail.
- Pray for the family of Elvie Rivera, our worker for the women’s and children’s ministry.
- Pray for me as a pastor, for my spiritual needs, physical strength, knowledge, and wisdom.
- Pray for my family, my wife Grace’s health, my older son Joseph James for his studies, my daughter Anna Margarett for her studies, my son John Paul for his studies, and my youngest Joshua Dale for his health.
- Pray for all our church members and their financial needs these coming months.
- Pray for Charlyn Badayos and family for their needs of a church to join in their area.
Without the support of White Fields it would have been very difficult to do what we do now. Thank you for helping kickstart our ability to minister to our people!
Pastor Dale