Alvin Jamisola

Monthly Prayer Report

Praise God for our successful planning and evaluation time for the next year. I praise God for the wisdom, knowledge, provision, and availability of my core leaders as we evaluated the progress of the ministry in our church planting area. We have seen the challenges we face and overcome for the past two years of working here in the area where God has called us to minister. We thank God for renewing our love, passion, and compassion for the people here in the community where they need the love, care, and salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ. We ask our Lord to give us special favor and provide for all we need as we plan our monthly activities. These events are designed to be a bridge for connecting to the people and bringing them to salvation and personal relationships with God.

Pray for God’s financial and technical provision for our plan to do Pray, Care, and Share ministry this month. We will be doing house-to-house evangelism and giving bundles of joy.
Pray for Rutchiel and Marlon and their family; they are new members of our core group.
Pray they will grow spiritually their faith in God will deepen.
Pray for the family of Anthony and Genie; we pray for God to give special favor to them as Anthony is jobless, pray that they may grow and deepen their faith and for their daily provision.

In previous updates, I mentioned the renovation of our house church center. We praise the Lord for His provision as the gathering area is now extended and we are using it for our Sunday Bible Study and youth discipleship and music training every Saturday. The capacity of the seating in this renovated area is greater than before, we can now separate the kids for their Bible story from the adults during worship.

Since our gathering area expanded, our family room was decreased. The owner allowed us to expand the house area into a two-story building and the expense will be deducted from monthly rental fees. We look forward to having the entire second floor as the worship area.

Pray for wisdom and God’s financial provision for our desire in expanding God’s territory.
Pray for ventilation of the area and a sound system.
Pray for volunteers as the work in this area expands.

After our corporate worship, we gather in small groups for follow-up questions. We discuss how they can apply the message personally to their lives and in their families. We divide the groups by age groups. The women are led by my wife and Genie, one of our core leaders. The men’s group is led by Anthony. My daughter Eunice leads the youth, and the kids are led by Carlos and Ashly Mae. Through these small groups, they can share and express something they understand and learn from the message. This setting is the best way for the believers to grow in their spiritual lives and cultivate and deepen their relationship with God. They can discuss challenges, praises, and questions within the group. Small groups also provide support for a plethora of life matters to ask for prayer regarding jobs, relationships, and other life decisions. This time is a great opportunity to fellowship together and pray for one another.

I felt beyond blessed, loved, and appreciated on the third Sunday. I was surprised that my core leaders and members planned to surprise me in celebration of pastor’s appreciation month. After our Sunday worship, they prepared a program for me. They created a video presentation and gave me a token, some of the members gave messages of appreciation and prayed for me. I am thankful to God for their lives. I praise God for giving me opportunities to minister and shepherd them. I will be forever grateful for their support and love.

Pray for the spiritual growth of our existing Bible studies and God’s advanced ministering power to the people of the community.
Pray for wisdom, knowledge, strength, and good health for the students to study as they complete their modular and online classes.
Pray for God to break and destroy every evil practice and stronghold in the community.

Fall 2021

We praise God that He answered our prayers for the success of the wedding of Anthony and Genie. Thank you for your prayers. The past two months before the marriage were tough for them. Anthony had lost his job and they almost lost hope of being united in married because of the finances. But the Lord is great! He made it happen despite the challenges, problems, and trials along the way. He is indeed the God of all comfort and the great Provider. He gave so much more than we could ever imagine. Praise the Lord for the victory and the answered prayers.

Praise the Lord for the blessings and opportunities He gave us to connect with the people in the community. Our denomination, the Evangelical Free Church of the Philippines, created a feeding program called “Cooking for a Cause.” Their mission is to give a meal to the poorest family once a week for two months. We praise God that our area, Calero Liloan on the north side of Cebu, was selected.

On Monday afternoons, my wife and I travel by motorbike almost an hour from our house to the evangelical office and back to prepare the food and bring it to our area. We were granted twenty families that are beneficiaries of the feeding program. I divided the ministry area into three groups.

In our first area to drop off food packs, before we distributed the food, I preached about the needs of life, the physical and spiritual needs of human beings. I presented the four spiritual laws. We were blessed and thankful to God for the chance and great privilege to be his mouthpiece.

One of our beneficiaries during the “pray, care, and share” program became active Bible study members. They are the couple Marlon and Rutchiel. They are attending our Sunday house church along with their two kids. The first time, they were beneficiaries of the feeding program, now they are volunteering with us. God gave us twenty new families to receive food. And God is using the lives of this couple to share His blessings tangibly with others. Since we have three areas for food distribution, they assist in giving out food packs and praying for the families.

Annie is one of our active Bible study members. She is the type of person who is inquisitive, asks a lot of questions, and is genuinely curious about the goodness of God, maybe because she lost her husband due to illness. I praise God that she surrendered her life to Jesus and is eagerly studying His word. She has begun to start understanding life and God’s sovereignty. Presently she is one of our volunteers in the third area to help distribute food packs. She shares God’s Word through gospel tracks and prays with the families.

The deepest need of men is not food or clothing or shelter. It is God. We praise the Lord, through the feeding program, we shared God’s love and that God is the source of everything. We thank God that these six family beneficiaries in the west coast area that we opened last month are active and eager to join our Bible study every Wednesday.

Pray for spiritual growth for our existing Bible studies and God’s advance ministering power to the people in the community.
Pray for God to provide a larger space to rent for worship somewhere inside the community.
Pray for guidance, strength, and wisdom for my family.
Pray for the sixteen young people who took the training, to know the Lord and use what they learned for His glory.
Pray for spiritual growth and extra strength for my wife as she trains and disciple these young people.

June 2021

We praise God for sustaining our weekly Bible studies. We thank Him for guidance, strength, wisdom, protection, and provision for my core leaders and me.

I sincerely thank our White Fields prayer partners for helping us in the ministry. The Lord has answered our prayer requests for a new open house for Bible study in the west coast area. We praise the Lord for answered prayer. We officially started our Bible study with two families. Our contact people in this location is a couple named Rodrigo and Gina. We connected with them through one of my existing Bible study contacts, Rita, who told us about the couple and their interest in hosting a Bible study. We praise God for their eagerness to study God’s Word.

God answered more than what we asked or dreamed. After our Bible study in this area started, a friend of mine called me asking if we had an available outreach location for a feeding program for the children. Since we just started this new Bible study in the west area, my core leaders and I decided to hold the feeding program in the same spot to begin children’s outreach.

Praise God for His amazing provision for food, transportation, and workers. The sixteen youth who are doing the weekly music training are also volunteering in this children’s outreach. The area is about ten to fifteen minutes’ walk from our location. We praise God for protection and strength. The youth are impressive; they carried the kid chairs the whole way despite the sun’s heat.

My friend and I traveled about three hours to collect the food for the children. The core leaders and volunteers gathered the children, played games, and talked with the parents. My wife shared the Word of God.

After the event, we went back to the house to debrief with the volunteers and evaluate with my core leaders. We praise God for this great opportunity and excellent start for the children’s outreach in this area.

Pray for God’s provision as we continue His work in this area.
Pray for these precious children to be guided by the Word of God as they go through life’s journey.

As parents, it is our goal and joy to see our children and family walking in righteousness with God. But raising Godly children and leading a Godly family during this wicked generation who rejects God is impossible in our own strength, so we need to trust and rely on God.

I praise God for providing fathers who are active in our house church. I have observed that many times only mothers join the church activities. But since we started the work, God has already brought men to our church, and their families are eager to participate. Two of the fathers could not join our celebration due to their work schedules, but we celebrated with the other fathers.

The sixteen youth who attend the Saturday music training and discipleship group performed a special song to the Lord as our perfect Father and their earthly fathers. We praise the Lord for these youth who have dedicated their God-given musical talents on guitar, beatbox, and singing, to the Lord. We are blessed to see them grow in knowledge and confidence in the Lord. In the past two months, God has worked amazingly in their lives.

Pray for spiritual growth for our existing Bible studies and God’s advancing ministering power to the people in the community.
Pray for God to provide a larger space to rent for worship somewhere in the local area.
Pray for guidance, strength, and wisdom for my family.

Pray for the sixteen young people in the music training to continue knowing the Lord and using what they learn for His glory. Pray for spiritual growth and extra strength for my wife as she trains and disciples these youth.

Pray for financial provision for Anthony and Genie, my core leaders, as they settle down in marriage at the end of the month.

May 2021

One of the loveliest masterpieces of God is the heart of a mother. Praise God that, as of now, He has entrusted to us ten wonderful mothers to minister. Praise God for their lives and how God is working in them. Praise God for their passion and eagerness to know God deeper. As our way of appreciating them, we gave them a simple token and prayed a blessing on their lives during our simbalay (house church). After our worship and the mother’s appreciation, we took their picture outside, and it was a great joy to see their beautiful smiles.

In God, we will not be disappointed; this is one of the best lessons I have learned and experienced since my first day starting full-time work in God’s vineyard. Evidence of this fact is how God provided me with the best music team, my family. I am not good at music, but God provides. My wife leads the worship, my eldest daughter Eunice is our guitarist. My youngest daughter Ashley Mae and my son Carlos do the beatbox. Thank you to God for giving them talent and skills in music for his glory.

Praise God for sustaining our youth music training, from technical to financial needs; God has poured out His blessings. Praise God for giving the youth the passion and eagerness to learn music and the great opportunity and privilege from my wife to disciple them. We desire that these musicians become the praise and worship ministry by the end of this year.

Pray for these sixteen young people that they will know the Lord through this training and use what they have learned for His glory.
Pray for spiritual growth and extra strength for my wife as she trains and disciples these youth.

Praise God for sustaining our weekly Bible studies in different areas. Thank the Lord for the guidance, strength, wisdom, protection, and provision He has provided to my core leaders and me.

As we do our weekly routine of house-to-house visits to encourage and follow up with one another, God has opened up opportunities to show love and care in the life of Jenavel. She is the youngest sister of Geramie, one of our active members in the Bible study. Geramie asked us to pray for Jenavel, who has been suffering from stomach pain for almost a month. Praise God for giving my core leaders the privilege to comfort and pray over Jenavel and her family.

Pray for wisdom and knowledge as we desire to open another house Bible study in the west area about a ten-to-fifteen-minute walk from our location.

Pray for spiritual growth in our existing Bible studies and God’s advancing ministering power to the people in the community.
Pray for God to provide a bigger space to rent for worship somewhere in the neighborhood.
Pray for guidance, strength, and wisdom for my family.

Pray with us for financial provision for Anthony and Genie, my core leaders. They will be getting married next month. Unfortunately, Anthony has been out of work for about a month now. The big government project near his workplace and the shipyard that he worked for closed soon, and he was suspended without due process.

April 2021

Remembering the passion week gave us a long weekly holiday. It was a privilege to have fellowship and bonding time with my core leaders and family. We had a wonderful time spent in prayer, family devotion, planning, and going to church. It also was an excellent opportunity to cultivate relationships with each other as core leaders in God’s Work.

We thank God for answering our prayers for the junior youth music training. At our first meeting, we had eight young people. At the next meeting, the number had doubled. Now we have sixteen trainees and decided to cap the number due to limited instruments and space. My wife and kids are teaching the basics of playing the guitar and beatbox. Once the students progress past the basic skills, we plan to recruit another trainer.

I thank God for opening the door to reach the young people in the community. I am also grateful for God’s sustaining grace and strength for my wife as she focuses on musical training and discipleship of the youth. Before we start music training, we do our devotion and prayer. Afterward, we provided lunch.

Pray for these sixteen youth to come to know the Lord through this training and use their music to glorify God.
Pray for spiritual growth and extra strength for my wife as she trains and disciple these young people.
Pray for financial provision as we continue God’s ministry.

Our house church (Simbalay) and weekly Bible studies are continuing. We praise God that we can continue to minister to the people. It has been a great challenge to teach since many cannot read the Bible due to little education. But people love to hear and listen to God’s Word even if they cannot read it for their own. Most people in this area see little value in education; some do not even go to school to learn. The parents and children are primarily focused on their daily survival. Their minds are consumed with getting fish and selling fish to earn income. This scenario can be complex and tests our patience in teaching and reaching them. But despite the obstacles, I trust and believe in God’s ministering power by the Holy Spirit to use the church to reach people with the gospel message.

Pray for wisdom and knowledge in ministering to the people.
Pray for spiritual growth and God’s advancing ministering power to the people in the community.
Pray for God to provide a larger space to rent for worship service.
Pray for God’s guidance, strength, and wisdom for my family.

March – 2021

Praise the Lord for our ministry continuing in the community. A few months ago, we typically had ten people who regularly attended the Sunday afternoon worship. Our capacity is twenty people in our area with the need to follow safety protocols and social distancing. God is adding two to three new attendees every Sunday. Since we face the positive challenge of outgrowing our space in the house church, we gather these participants in their homes. This month, we struggled with adequate space for the children’s Sunday school. We are no longer renting the room at the back of the house because of the limits of our financial budget, and it is too small for the number of kids and not well ventilated. We rented it to test it for a month, and the church leaders decided to look for another option.

Pray for the children’s area.
Pray for a space for the adults.
Pray for the spiritual growth of God’s redeemed people.
Pray for God’s advancing ministering power to the people in the community.

One of our active Sunday attendees in the house church is Rutchiel. She was one of the recipients of our bundles of joy in December. Her son has a health problem with his intestines. Despite her son’s physical condition, Rutchiel finds hope in the Lord, and we see her eagerness to learn God’s Word. She is excited to attend every Sunday for worship. Rutchiel has shared her joy with her husband, Marlon, and the kids. The whole family is active and eager to cultivate their faith. We planned a musical training for the junior youth this month. Rutchiel’s son will be at this training; he is very excited, and so are his parents.

Pray for complete healing for Rutchiel’s son, Cloudy

Pray for spiritual growth for Marlon and Rutchiel

Every Sunday, I minister to Johnny’s family at their home. He is a construction worker and has eight daughters and two sons. The whole family is eager and excited to study God’s Word. They wanted to join our fellowship in the house church, but it made more sense to worship at their house. The primary reasons are the limited space in the house church, and the family had transportation issues. We thank God that four of Johnny’s children will be joining the music training.

Pray for a tent and chairs to use the space outside Johnny’s house for church services.
Pray for the five junior youth doing music training.
Pray for God’s guidance and wisdom for the trainers and provision.

Pray for God to provide a larger space to rent for worship somewhere in the community.
Pray for guidance, strength, and wisdom for my family.

February 2021

February is the month of love and an excellent opportunity to share God’s love. We planned to hold a couples’ date night with the Bible study contacts in our community. A simple dinner date for them to refresh and renew their marriage covenant and an opportunity to share God’s idea of love and connect with them. As we discussed our plans, one of our concerns was the venue. We praise the Lord for wisdom; He gave me the idea of removing a wall of our living room to create a bigger space. I praise God that the owner of the house we rent gave me permission for this renovation.

We praise God for answering our prayers and His wondrous work as we hosted the couples’ dinner date. From the start of our planning to the end of the event, God poured out His guidance, provision, and wisdom. Everyone was excited as it was our first time holding an event.

We were glad to serve and impart the Biblical principles of building a happy home to these ten young couples. We praise God for the success of the event despite the limited space. For most couples, this was their first time on a date, as work is busy and they lack the budget for such luxuries.

Our normal situation is that we cannot do Bible study if it is raining, as we typically meet in an open and potentially muddy space. But since our house now has more room, we decided to do our Bible study inside. As everyone sells fish in the morning for income, we meet together in the afternoon on Sundays.

Two different Bible study groups now meet in our house church. We borrowed twenty plastic chairs and a portable speaker from our mother church to use for worship.

As we do not have gadgets nor a projector, my wife wrote the lyrics of the songs on paper so everyone can see them. My wife taught new songs at each meeting, and my daughter plays the guitar.

The first gathering was immensely challenging the whole day since there was no electricity and no volunteers. Everyone was busy preparing their homes for the coming typhoon Auring that would make landfall that day. Yet, we still held our worship service.

After the singing, my wife gathered the children at the back of our house for a separate learning time. Separating the group minimized the crowd and noise in the worship hall. I also then could focus the attention of the parents on the Bible.

At the back of our rented house was a vacant room that we rented during the couples’ night. This place is indeed useful since our ministry is growing. Now we are officially renting it for the children’s church as there is a lack of space in the house. The kids gathered have parents who attend the service. The parents are thankful that the children are also having church during their own time of hearing the message.

Our weekly Bible studies in other areas are continuing. Praise God for their eagerness and passion for learning. Some of the participants are now attending the Sunday worship service.

Pray that we can purchase plastic chairs to use for worship, so we no longer need to borrow them.
Pray for a speaker and sound system. Also, we would like to get two exhaust fans and four ceiling fans for the children’s room and worship hall to create a comfortable worship space.
Pray for the advancing power of God; I have now started to infiltrate the neighborhood to the west of our target outreach.

January 2021

I praise the Lord for another year to experience His goodness and faithfulness. I thank Him for His continued provision and sustenance and for answering our prayers. Despite the covid crisis, God’s working power is unstoppable. We resumed our Bible studies and children’s outreach programs after the holiday vacation. Thank God that we could visit again the people we saw during our Pray, Care, and Share ministry last month. Through this outreach event, I had the opportunity to connect with them.

We have witnessed how God has sustained and cared for the family of Reynaldo and Jirah during this pandemic. Jirah gave birth to her fourth child, just two weeks before I saw the family. Jirah is a faithful Bible study member who would speak only a few words but sat quietly in the corner and listened to God’s Word. One afternoon, when I visited the family, my heart was dampened seeing the three kids eating rice without viand (any meat, seafood, or vegetable dish that accompanies rice in a typical Filipino meal). Her husband, Reynaldo, was sitting quietly in the corner of the housekeeping watch over their newborn baby. Jirah was not home because she was at the well washing their clothes. I had a long conversation with Reynaldo about life and am grateful to hear his story.

Reynaldo has been out of work since last fall because of the lockdown. He is a construction worker, but his contractor had no more projects. Reynaldo has had difficulty in finding a new job and so is relying on fishing for a living. The family is in great need of finances and prayers.

After our conversation, I went home and shared with my wife about the family’s situation. We decided to go back to their home and bring food and fruit for the family. Reynaldo became emotional as he prayed with me, and I shared the hope we have in Christ. I thank the Lord for the opportunity to pray for them and share hope in God.

Pray for Reynaldo and Jirah to have wisdom and perseverance as they go through the challenges of life.
Pray for their four children – Prince, Fernando, Rey, Princess Mae, and Baby Lourdes – to have good health, protection, and strength.
Pray for the whole family to put their hope and trust in God.
Pray for construction work for Reynaldo.

The children’s outreach and Bible studies resumed after the winter vacation. We thank God for the privilege of sharing the gospel despite the covid crisis and resulting lockdown situation. Our ministry has faced many challenges and difficulties during this last year in this area. Our Bible study’s location was not originally our target area where we planned to start church planting work, but God guided us here this last year. We gathered quietly for Bible study, even with the strict restrictions. The longing to learn and know God, His grace, and His goodness, persuade us to meet weekly. God is faithful to add the people. I have witnessed their spiritual growth. We especially thank God that the people who received a bundle of Joy at Christmas are now a part of the Bible studies.

As I do the Bible study with the parents, my wife gathers the children in a separate group to learn God’s Word. Large social gatherings are still prohibited in this area, so we meet in small groups for Bible studies. We thank God for the eager listening of the adults.

Pray for God’s perfect time to resume the kid’s outreach in the area.
Pray for connections to the parents through the children.
Pray for God’s advancing ministering power in the lives of the individuals.
Pray for protection and provision.

One of our approaches to connect with the community is to introduce the livelihood program to supplement their income and provide the opportunity to learn how to manage our God-given time, resources, family, and self. Our ministry approach is holistic, to target and reach all the family needs, not just the spiritual ones.

We connected with Sis. Elvie, who gave her time for the worship on laundry soap-making. The women’s group launched this program just recently.

Pray for God’s provision, both financially and volunteers, to guide the groups as we launch this livelihood program.
Pray for God to open their hearts and minds so the participants may learn and apply the livelihood program we teach and the Biblical values.
Pray for God’s guidance and wisdom as we plan to rent a property for our worship gathering.
Pray for my wife and me as we minister to the couples and families.

December 2020

Our children’s outreach on Saturday afternoons in Pilapilan Liloan is continuing. We thank God for giving us this ministry area in Liloan. We could not hold a Christmas celebration for the kids due to lack of time, but when we gave out Christmas bundles for the adult Bible study, we gave each of the kids a gift. We thank God for His provision and guidance. The children’s outreach has an average of fifteen kids per meeting. We gather them in a shaded place to minister to their needs and share about Jesus.

Pray for their children to grow up to know Jesus Christ.
Pray for their families to come to know the Lord through their witness.
Pray for good health, protection, and provision for the children and their families.
Pray for a table and small stools for them to sit on.

The adult Bible study is continuing; we thank the Lord for the people’s eagerness to study and learn His Word. We have visited them twice a month for the past few months, but we are planning to go weekly this year. Our prayer for this area is that God will give us a place to rent for a worship gathering. We thank God for His provision to provide the participants with Christmas bundles. There are seven regular attendees, and we also extended God’s blessing and provision to ten families near our bible study area.

Pray for the ten families that the seed of the gospel that we sowed this season will grow.
Pray for a place to gather for corporate worship.
Pray for the spiritual growth of the seven regular attendees.

We thank God for His indescribable gift of Jesus Christ, the greatest gift of all. We were able to hold a Christmas celebration with the kids in our village. We praise God for His special provision, from the food, gifts, and toys to the volunteers who assisted my wife with the kids. Three of the children’s parents volunteer to help. God used two people to donate used toys for the kids. God indeed is the great Provider.

Pray for the children to grow in their faith in God and for this new generation to follow God.
Pray for their parents to have open eyes to spiritual matters so they may come to know God and support their children in the faith.

We thank God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ just as 1st Corinthians 15:57 reminds us. In previous reports, I shared our desire to distribute “bundles of joy” for Christmas. I asked for your prayers for God’s provision for finances and logistics. We praise the Lord for answering our prayers. God has been gracious and faithful to us in our ministry. I thank the Lord for His constant provision and for my wife and kids, who assist me. From the start of our planning, we desired to give our existing Bible study attendees gifts and reach the west and east side of our church planting area. Due to the pandemic situation, we cannot easily enter an area without having a contact person. Yet God provided volunteers to go with us and eagerly share the love of Christ and boldly declare His Word to others.

Susan is our contact person in the west area. God made it possible to extend our ministry and gave us Susan as the entry person. Susan is an old single lady selling pancakes in our compound. I talked to her about God, and during our conversation, I noticed that Susan already has a personal relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. We talked further, and I learned that Susan is an active member of a Baptist church. Two weeks before our scheduled time for giving Christmas bundles, my wife and I set out to find Susan’s house. We praise God for guiding us to their home; we are now using it as a base for prayers and briefing the volunteers before evangelism and outreach. God granted me the words to explain to Susan our vision and mission to the community; she decided to go with us for the entire day.

Pray for our outreach and evangelism to the west area.
Pray for Susan to grow in her faith and for evangelism opportunities to arise.

God made each of us unique. He gave us different skills and talents. He is the one who provides for our daily needs in remarkable ways. Proof of God’s love and care is evident in the life of Leny. I praised God for caring for Leny and his family. I also praise God for giving me opportunities to minister to them. Leny is a carpenter and already a senior citizen. He can no longer build houses, and his wife has no work. Some of his children have their own families, and his son is a motorcycle driver. Leny used his skills to make a “bugsay”, a paddle used on a boat. He also made a boat to sell. We were happy to share physical food and the Word of God with the entire family, including his wife and two daughters. Leny’s eldest son died a year ago when he was fishing in the open ocean and got hit by lightning.

Pray for Leny and his entire family to come to know the Lord Jesus Christ.
Pray for their daily needs.

After doing house-to-house evangelism in the morning to seventeen homes in the west area, we took a break for lunch. During the afternoon, we proceeded to the east side of the community. We do not have a contact person there, but Ailene and Genie have some relatives in that area, so we let them be our guides.

We met Mother Maria; she was happy for us to visit and share the blessings and the Word of God. It had been almost twenty years since they had seen Ailene and Genie. The two women grew up here, but they got married at a young age and moved away due to family problems. Genie shared the gospel for the first time. While Genie and I shared the goodness and love of God with Maria, we were not aware that Rutchil was at the back door listening.

Rutchil is Maria’s youngest daughter. After our conversation with Maria, Rutchil came to us and asked us to pray for her son, Cloud Ethon, who has difficulty releasing his bowel. Rutchil said they have gone to some doctors to check her child’s condition, but they could not find the reasons or diagnose anything. Rutchil was emotional and cried as she shared her story. We prayed with her and her child after Ailene shared the hope we have in Jesus. As we were leaving, Rutchill asked if it was possible to do an outreach program for the children. She offered to help gather them.

Pray for Rutchin to find hope in Christ.
Pray for God’s provision for the medical assessment of her son, Cloud Ethon’s health condition.
Pray for healing.

We distributed fifty packs of the Christmas Bundle of Joy to our Bible study regular attendees and the poorest and jobless families in our church planting area. We prayed and shared the gospel with every family we visited. I thank the Lord for this open door for evangelism and for the opportunity to connect with more people in the community and minister to them. I am amazed at how God is working in us and through us.

The village we visited has make-shift houses made of lightweight recycled materials. We spent the entire day walking and one-on-one and group evangelism as our Pray, Care, Share ministry. We touched lives for Jesus Christ. We reached out to twenty families on that day.

Pray that we can do Bible studies with the families we visited.
Pray for blessings on this opportunity to connect with the people in our extended area.
Pray for the seeds of the gospel to grow in their hearts and minds growing into personal relationships with God.

It was a great joy to me as a father watching my daughter Eunice getting outside her comfort zone and sharing the gospel for the first time. Genie and Grace, two of our volunteers, also shared for the first time. I was happy to see their boldness to share God’s love with others despite their fears. I pray they will make proclaiming the gospel a lifestyle habit and not stop as just this event.

Pray for God’s sustaining grace to my family and ministry.
Pray for strength, protection, wisdom, and spiritual growth.
Pray for God to provide leaders from among my Bible study groups to help expand the ministry.
Pray for God to continue to pour out blessings on this community, to break and destroy all strongholds and evil practices.

November 2020

“Pray without ceasing.” As part of preparing the area and entrusting God for everything we do in the ministry, we are doing prayer walks every Saturday morning. My family and I walked through the community in the early morning hours and prayed for God to open two new outreach areas for Bible study. We petitioned God for guidance and wisdom for our Pray, Care, and Share ministry at its three locations during the Christmas season. We gave a bundle pack of essential items to the most impoverished families. We also request God to guide us to a contact person that can help our connections to the community and make the work of the Lord possible and efficient.

Pray for God’s provision as we reach this community.
Pray for technical support.
Pray for God to provide a contact person for the west and north side.
Pray for wisdom and guidance for our desire to do house to house outreach.

Praise the Lord that our children’s outreach continues despite the pandemic. We thank God for the willingness of the parents and the kid’s excitement to attend each weekend. I find opportunities to connect with the parents while my wife is teaching the kids. I minister to the adults by sharing the love of God.

Pray for protection and good health for the precious children.
Pray for leading and provision for a larger area of gathering.
Pray for my wife’s strength and wisdom in reaching the kids in the community.

“Therefore, just as you received Jesus Christ as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built-in Him, and firm in your faith just as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:6-7.

Our mission statement in the church is “leading people have personal and growing relationships with God” with the vision of “multiplying healthy churches in our community and beyond.” Our weekly Bible studies have continued in the coast area despite the complex coordination of schedules since the people are always busy earning their daily income. We thank God for the passion, perseverance, and opportunity to share His Word with the community.

My wife and I started to arrange individual Bible studies from the current group to strengthen their faith and train them for leadership. We are now in the process of equipping the members to do the ministry.

Pray for them to be firmly rooted in God’s Word.
Pray for protection and guidance for the Bible study participants.
Pray for the leadership training and for leaders to help expand the ministry.
Pray for God to go before us and prepare the hearts of the people.
Pray for God to pour out blessings in this community and destroy the strongholds and evil practices.

“Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in His ways. You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours.” Psalm 128:1-2

One of the active attendees of the Bible study is Porra. She is a mother, and her daughter Marilou helps her earn their income. They sell fish, so every afternoon, they prepare and preserve the fish. In the early morning, they walk to the next town to sell their fish.

Pray for protection, good health, and strength for this family.
Pray for wisdom so they can effectively manage their time and income.
Pray for spiritual growth that they will have the courage to share with their family.

October 2020

I shared how we started the children’s outreach and adult Bible study inside the compound we rent in previous reports. We gather the children in the vacant lot beside our house, but this area is too muddy due to the unfavorable weather. My wife and I decided to move the children inside our home instead, between the kitchen and living room area. Due to the current pandemic situation, we have a maximum of ten kids since larger groups are not allowed.

Pray that we can resume our outreach outside and that we can gather larger groups again soon.
Pray for God’s leading and provision for a more appropriately sized area.
Pray for my wife’s strength and wisdom in reaching the kids in the community.

Despite the business of our schedules and the challenges of the children’s new method of education, we are managing our time wisely. We thank God for providing the wisdom and strength for us to balance our family, study, and ministry times. My three assistants in ministry and my prayer warriors (my family) are so excited for our weekly Bible study. They get to see their new friends each week.

Pray for the spiritual growth of my children and humble hearts.
Pray for my family to have strength, protection, and wisdom.
Pray for provision and guidance for my kids as they navigate the new standard way of education.
Pray for my wife to have strength as she manages her time with family, ministry, and online education.

I thank God for His sustaining grace and renewed strength every day. He enables me to continue the work that He entrusted to my family and me. Our weekly house-to-house Bible studies have continued. I praise God for the additional contact for Bible studies. Praise God for His favor and privilege He has given me to minister to these people even during the pandemic time.

As I have mentioned before, it is more challenging to arrange the Bible study schedule in the coastal area due to their fishing livelihood. But despite this issue, God has given us the perseverance to share His Word with the community. I have also shared our need for Bibles. We praise God for answering our prayers. We were able to give new Bibles to the study participants.

Pray for the people’s spiritual growth that they may have a personal and growing relationship with God.
Pray for God to provide leaders from the Bible study group that can help me expand the ministry.
Pray that God will continue preparing and ministering before us in this community.
Pray for God to pour out His blessings and destroy all strongholds and evil practices.
Pray for God to guide our efforts to propose a livelihood program to the community.

God is the God of endless opportunities to do good. He is the God of open doors. While walking home from the Bible study, I met Edna. She lives beside the seashore with her family. Edna shared the hardships and struggles her family has suffered from the pandemic. Authorities imprisoned her son six years ago on illegal drug charges. They have been unable to do anything to get him released from a lack of finances. I listened to her story and praised God for the opportunity to comfort her. I shared with her the incredible love and grace of God. Edna is willing and eager to do a Bibles study in her home and a children’s outreach to her four grandchildren. We visited them the following day. Edna was happy to receive her new Bible.

Pray for Edmund, Edna’s son, to be released from prison and for God to speak to Him.
Pray for Edmund’s wife and three children, for God to continue providing them comfort, good health, and protection.
Pray that we can minister to the whole family, and each will have a personal and growing relationship with God.

September 2020

This month we were able to continue our house-to-house Bible studies. I praised God for the addition of another group. We now have six groups that I meet with each week. I praise God for his favor, wisdom, protection, and privilege He has given me to minister to the people even during the pandemic.

Scheduling has been challenging due to the source of income as we are in a coastal area. Most of the people are only available in the afternoon. They spend their nights on the sea catching fish, and in the morning, they sleep and sell their fish. Sometimes, since they rely on the sea movement, they cannot attend the group if the tide is high in the afternoon. God is faithful, and He has given my family and me to have passion and perseverance to share His Word in our community.

Pray for the spiritual growth of the believers.
Pray for God to provide leaders from the Bible study group so we can expand the ministry.
Pray that the hearts of the people will be ready for the gospel and break all strongholds and evil practices.
Pray for God to guide us as we propose the livelihood program to the community.

Praise God for answering our prayers. I mentioned the story of Ivy and Paul in my previous report. Two weeks later, they called us and asked to do a Bible study with us. It was not only this young couple who wanted to study the Bible but the owner of their rental house too.

Linda is Filipino-Chinese. She had a mild stroke and so has suffered physical discomfort for many years. Linda has no family and is single. She is a licensed pharmacist who enjoyed worldly pleasures and wealth during her younger years. Then she decided to sell her property, house, and cars and live a simple life away from the city, searching for value, meaning, and purpose in life. During one of our Bible studies, Linda cried out to the Lord to surrender her life to Jesus Christ. She desires to have a personal and growing relationship with Him. Ivy, Paul, and Linda wanted to do a weekly Bible study, but we decided to meet once a month in their house due to the long-distance and scheduling challenges.

Pray for Ivy, Paul, and Linda to grow in their faith with eagerness and desire to know God more.
Pray for protection and strength on our travel each month.

My wife has an online class each morning and a part-time job in the afternoons, so her only empty time is the weekend. So, my children stepped up to assist me in the Bible studies during the week. My eldest daughter, Eunice, is the guitarist. Ashly Mae leads the singing, and Carlos does the opening prayer. I praise God, and I am thankful that He has provided a supportive family, especially as I do not yet have volunteers and community leaders to share the burden.

Pray for the love and joy of my children in ministry.
Pray for their spiritual growth and for them to have humble hearts.
Pray for the Bible study participants to grow in faith and knowledge.

We have started a children’s outreach and adult Bible study inside the compound where we rent. We gather the children in a vacant area in front of the owner’s shop. We praise God for the owner’s willingness to allow us to use the space for an hour and a half. They also took a break from work to attend the adult Bible study. The adult group includes Perla and Nicolas, the owners, and a renter, Jelyn. Pray for more children to join the outreach. Pray for wisdom and provision for operational expenses. Pray for more volunteers as we desire to expand the children’s ministry. Pray for the Holy Spirit to work in the hearts of the people. Pray for salvation, unity, and reconciliation between the relatives regarding the conflict regarding inheritance and

August 2020

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we receive from God.

Since the start of the lockdown in the last few months, we have distributed food packs to families in the church planting area. This month, God enabled us to share His blessings with our neighbors. We gave them the tangible gift of God’s love through gifts of rice. We also had the opportunity to pray for them. Eight families received food, they are all relatives, and one owns the home we rented. Unfortunately, the relatives are not in the right relationship due to inheritance property issues.

Pray for the families to come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Pray for their relationship to God, for we believe that if they are reconciled to God, then they will be reconciled to each other.
Pray for blessings to this community.
Pray for God to break and destroy all strongholds, bondage, and evil practices.

My wife started her Company of Three Bible study with two young moms, Ivy and Jellyn, in our home. Ivy is twenty-five and has a two-year-old son. Jellyn is eighteen and has a baby girl. When we first started the Bible study, Ivy and Jellyn both lived in our neighborhood. Their live-in partners are construction workers. The two mothers are eager and passionate to know God’s Word. My wife meets with them every Thursday. They study the Bible, tell life stories, and share each other’s burdens and problems. We praise God that they desire to learn His word.

Pray for Ivy and Jellyn to have open hearts as they learn and grow.
Pray for wisdom for my wife and me as we teach them from God’s Word.
Pray for their live-in partners, as we have challenged Ivy and Jellyn to share what they are learning.
Pray for friendships to develop.

We thank the Lord for the privilege of extending help and comfort to Ivy and her live-in partner Paul.

Ivy was our next-door neighbor and recently spent the night at our house because her drunk in-laws were harassing her. Early the next morning, we rushed Ivy to the hospital because she had collapsed from uncontrolled emotion and fear. We praise God for His comfort, provision, and strength that she recovered a few hours later and was released. Paul was not around because he can only visit for a short time, three to five hours, every two weeks due to the pandemic situation. The company rules are that he needs to stay on the project site. To avoid further conflicts and preserve family relationships, Paul and Ivy decided to move away from where their parents live and start a new beginning. Their new rented home is about forty to forty-five minutes on the motorbike from our house.

We praise God for turning trials in their lives into triumph. Thank the Lord for His sustaining grace.

Pray that we can continue to minister to Paul and Ivy despite the fact they are further away.
Pray for the couple and their two-year-old son as they start a new chapter for their family.
Pray for comfort, provision, and strength.
Pray for Ivy’s protection as Paul will still be only able to visit them twice a month during the pandemic.

In previous reports, I mentioned and requested your prayers for our desire to do house to house Bible studies and small groups. The reasons for the smaller gatherings were to follow the safety health protocols and avoid more massive crowds. This month our province moved from General Community Quarantine to Modified General Community Quarantine, so we were allowed to continue the Bible study. We praise the Lord for continuing to minister to the hearts of His children. We have five existing groups each week and expect to have more starting in the next few weeks. Glory to God. We are amazed at the eagerness and availability of the believers to learn and study His word.

Pray for the believers to continue to seek and learn God’s Word.
Pray for wisdom for my wife and me to manage our schedules, especially during the tie my wife is studying.
Pray for wisdom and strength and that God will help me balance my time as a husband, father, and minister.

Every family is precious in the eyes of God. Family is a picture of God’s genuine love for the church. The importance of family is one of our core values. I thank God for giving me a wonderful family with big hearts of ministry. As a father, it brings me joy to see my children’s passion for sharing God’s love with the community’s children. We do family devotions, studying everyday evangelism, and learning strategies of how to share the gospel. We focus on family, so my wife and I spend time each Sunday before and after the virtual worship to be with our kids.

Pray for my family’s strength, protection, wisdom, and spiritual growth.
Pray for provision, guidance, and understanding to the kids as they engage the new standard method of studying for the upcoming school year.
Pray for my wife, for strength, spiritual growth, wisdom, and time management for her online schooling.
Pray for a reliable internet connection, essential for the new school’s new methods this year.

July 2020

“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.” Isaiah 61:1-3

For the past six months of the pandemic, God has been faithful in providing for our daily needs and bringing comfort to my family and ministry. With God’s overflowing provision, favor, and guidance, we have shared these blessings with the community. Despite not being able to regularly visit people due to border controls and the current situation, we have still been able to bring relief goods. This ministry has helped us create and build relationships with people and has led to multiple opportunities to do house-to-house Bible studies.

Pray for enough time to follow-up with the families and conduct Bible studies.
Pray that God will continue to work in advance in the hearts of the people.
Pray for friendships.
Pray for the families in the community, for God to provide them with health, peace, strength, and hope during this challenging time.
Pray for this current crisis to draw people to God and lead them to recognize Him as the source of hope and eternal life.

“But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds, we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5

God is the God who heals not only our spiritual problems but also our emotional and physical illnesses. Amie is one of our volunteers who was touched as we prayed for her daughter, Kristel Mae, who had an ear infection after swimming in the ocean. A week before that, we prayed for her sister, Eunice, who had a skin infection on her left leg. We praise God for His favor, Eunice is healed.

Pray for the complete healing of Kristel Mae and good health.
Pray for protection and provision for the family.

“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” Psalms 24:1

After months of praying, committing our plans and desires to God for a rental house within our target area, our prayers have been answered. We desired to rent this home so that even during the pandemic situation, ministry and sharing the gospel to the people would continue without hesitation or restrictions. Praise God for granting our request above what we asked for by providing a safer and more convenient house. The Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) was applied which resulted in our application to rent a home in another village or across the border being approved. We did have health protocols to follow. We moved in and underwent the five-day quarantine with our body temperatures monitored twice a day. We praise God for His provision and strength. After our quarantine, my wife and I decided to re-dedicate the home. We give thanks to the leaders who celebrated with us, and we are grateful to our family, who are team players.

Pray for the continued provision for my family and protection during this pandemic.
Pray for strength for the long road ahead, spiritual boldness, passion, and wisdom in presenting the gospel to our neighbors and everyone in the community.
Pray for open doors for the gospel.
Pray for God to lead us to the “person of peace” in the community.
Pray for the Lord to lead us to the right person or couple to mentor future additions to the leadership and core team.

After the five days of being home-quarantined, we can finally visit the community, do house-to-house visits, and evangelism without hesitations and borders issues. This time, my wife and I were not the only ones visiting, but our three kids also went with us to meet new friends and embrace their new comfort zone.

Pray for additional people for the Bible study.
Pray for wisdom in managing our schedule for house-to-house Bible study.
Pray for the community, for God to break and destroy all strongholds and evil practices.

June 2020

We seek to maximize our God-given strength and embrace the new normal situation. The pandemic has brought difficulties in reaching the community as we cannot easily access the local border or travel to the village. Our desire to rent a house within the area has not yet been granted.

Praise God that the Cebu province has been released from the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) to the General Community Quarantine (GCQ). Some transactions can operate, and the borders in the villages are no longer as strict. There are still restrictions, and riding on the back of the motorcycle is prohibited, so it is a struggle for my wife and me to visit the community. Despite this hindrance, we do not let it stop us from praying, caring, and sharing with the people. We thank the Lord for the wisdom and strength He provides. My wife and I are doing a prayer walk every other morning from our house to the community. It takes us about forty to forty-five minutes to walk this distance. We travel on an empty road, go uphill then downhill, and through the river to reach our mission place—what a great bonding experience for us and excellent physical exercise.

At first, it was only my wife and I doing the prayer walk and house visits. But we praise God that after a few days, two more believers joined us on this narrow road. Greg and Ailyn walk over thirty minutes from their house to ours before starting the target area. They have been married for fourteen years and have seven children. When we first started walking, Ailyn commented that it was their first time as a couple to walk together.

Pray for Greg and Ailyn to keep the fire in their hearts burning with love for each other, passion for serving Christ, and compassion for the lost.
Pray for God to provide for the family, especially during this pandemic, as Greg has no permanent income.
Pray for wisdom and comfort for Ailyn as she faces family troubles. Her parents have marital challenges, and as the eldest, due to our culture, it is her responsibility to be the one to solve and shoulder the conflict. P
ray for good health for the entire family.

As the days went by, another couple went with us. The sister of Ailyn is Jenny, and Anthony is her live-in partner. They have been together for five years and have two children. Anthony and Jenny are joyful and loving in ministering to the community. They have volunteered to handle a Bible study. We prayed to God for this couple to become part of the ministry’s core leaders, but first, we are focusing on doing discipleship with them. We praise God that they have decided to settle down into marriage.

Pray for guidance and provision for this couple as they desire to be married legally.
Pray for spiritual growth and maturity.
Pray for good health and daily food for the family. Pray for Jenny and Anthony to cultivate their love and intimacy with God.

Spending time praying, talking, learning their situations, and stories is a joy for my wife and me as we serve the people. We praise God for His sustaining grace on every family in the community. Due to the lockdown, we have not been able to do outreach for the kids, and they miss the fellowship. We have talked with many parents, and they are concerned about their children’s upcoming school year. The department of education announced that the school model for the next year is changing to homeschooling through online and modular classes. The parents are worried as they do not have technology gadgets or computers, no budget for obtaining these items, and no internet access. Their greatest fear is that if they do not understand the topic or lesson, how will they teach it to their children? Some of the parents have only attained the primary or secondary levels of school. So far, their partial decision is to let their kids skip studying this year.

Pray for our desire and plan to provide tutoring to the children when the situation allows. If God is willing, we also will need the workforce to make this plan possible.

Pray for financial and technical provisions. Pray for guidance and wisdom for the parents.
Pray for good health and protection of individuals.
Pray for the families to get daily food since most of them still have no income source due to the lockdowns.
Pray for God to prepare hearts for the gospel message by destroying and breaking the strongholds in their lives.

“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needed not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”Second Timothy 2:15. Learning the Word of God is necessary to bless our souls by knowing Him and having a better relationship with Him. We praise God for answering our request. We conducted our first Bible study in three groups. We decided to split into smaller groups since we cannot meet in a large group. We praise God for the believer’s eagerness and willingness to study the Bible. But due to the new situation and increase in cases, we were only able to meet twice before the barangay captain advised us to stop gathering. A new executive order from the government was put in place to strengthen the security checkpoints on the barangay borders. The positive cases in Cebu doubled when the general community quarantine order took effect.

Pray for wisdom and guidance as it is now our plan to do house to house Bible studies to avoid large groups.
Pray for God’s provision as we need copies of the Bible for our new contacts.
Pray for additional people to be interested in the Bible.
Pray for our schedule as it will be more complicated since we are doing so many individual household groups.
Pray for physical, emotional, social, and spiritual blessings and protection as we engage in this new normal situation.
Pray for God to restrain the spread of the virus so His work through us can proceed unhindered.

May 2020

God continually provides provisions in challenging times. In man’s extremity is God’s opportunity to appear for the help and relief of His people. When crisis comes, our Lord Jesus Christ can supply our daily needs in His own good time and manner, sometimes in astonishing ways.

When the pandemic started, my wife and I struggled to reach out to the community and care for them since we cannot meet in person. In some areas, there is a lack of technology or internet access. Also, crossing the local borders to the other villages is not allowed, so we cannot enter some communities.

Despite these challenges, we praise God since He provided ways for us to minister to the people. Giving relief goods is how we can access the community without any hesitation or concerns and visit the families. In this month, God continues to pour out His blessings, and we were successful in providing a second wave of food items. As we visit the families, we heard their prayer concerns and updates on their current situation. We prayed with the families. Greg and two others were with me, and we spent as much time as possible talking with the people.

Pray for enough time to follow-up with the families.
Pray that God will continue to work in advance in the hearts of His people.
Pray for closer relationships to develop despite the restrictions on meeting with people in person.
Pray for God to continue to provide daily food, health, peace, and strength during these challenging times.
Pray for the current crisis to draw people to God and cause them to recognize Him as the source of hope and eternal life.
Pray for the families to have access to other areas to sell their fish. They are only allowed to sell their fish within their local and limited neighborhood, and it is hard for everyone to sell enough to make a living since they all have the same products.

“As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God.” Psalms 40:17.

The last time I visited Ednil and Florinda’s family, they were in a difficult spot because the husband is not allowed to travel the other island to catch fish. I cannot imagine trying to support a family of four kids with no income. But I praise God for His sustaining grace that He poured out on this family. Thank you for your prayers. The family has survived this crisis as God has never failed to provide for their needs. They see and feel the greatness and goodness of God. The Lord is mindful of us. He sees our situation and never fails to care for us.

Pray for the family of Ednil and Florinda, that we can connect and continue ministering to them.
Pray for God to bless and comfort them.
Pray for the precious children that God may give them a healthy immune system and that they grow up with love and reverence to God.
Pray for God to open their hearts and minds to see His goodness.
Pray for their salvation.

I express my gratitude for your prayer support. I have mentioned Jessa in previous reports and requested prayers for safe delivery. God answered our prayers, and she gave birth to her first baby girl just over a month ago. We thank God for His goodness and provision amid the pandemic crisis.

Pray for God’s provision for the family as Jessa’s live-in partner has no work or income, so she is dependent on her parents. Pray for God to work in her life.

“Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him.” Psalms 127:3.

Having the stay-home policy is not easy for the children. They get bored with the same routine. So, we made the routine different by using these quarantine days as a type of camp with schedules and activities such as studying God’s Word, doing house chores, and skills training. I am teaching my children to play the guitar. I praise God for in the last two months of being quarantined, my eldest daughter Eunice has discovered her new talent in music and playing the guitar. I thank God that even though I am not musically oriented, God has given me a daughter who can use music to bring Him glory.

Pray for us as parents, that the Lord will give us wisdom in guiding our children.
Pray that as our children grow, they will remain faithful and obedient to God, and desire to use their God-given talents for God’s glory.

The “new normal” may change our daily routine in life but never our commitment to serving God and people. Due to the current restrictions, reaching out to the community is more laborious. We cannot easily access the other villages or travel across local borders. So, my wife and I discussed renting a house within our target community to continue daily ministry, learn their practices and culture, and establish close relationships without worries. We prayed to God for guidance and wisdom.

I went to the area to inquire about a house and found one for rent along the road. I negotiated with the owner, and they were willing to allow us to rent the house. The problem is that during this pandemic period, the protocols do not permit rentals to move from one border area to another. I went to the officials to ask about this protocol. With the crisis, transferring a residence from another place is strictly prohibited. I thank God that even though our request was not granted, I had an opportunity to share with the barangay captain my vision for the community. His response was positive, and he permitted me to enter the barangay at any time. I am grateful for this permission to visit as I will no longer be hesitant to enter the target ministry area.

Pray for God’s leading and wisdom for our desire to live within the community.
Pray for the proper and exact time for God to allow us to transfer our living area.
Pray for comfort and obedient hearts for my children as we plan to leave our house where we have lived for many years.
Pray for daily protection and health of my family.
Pray for God to restrain the spread of the virus so that His work through us can proceed unhindered.

April 2020

Despite the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) due to the pandemic, I thank God that I have been able to visit the community and survey the current status of the people from the pandemic situation. One person I talked to was Masing. She is worried about her family, especially their daily needs for survival. Due to the work restrictions, she can no longer sell fish and so they are not making any regular income. They have not made enough money to stock up food, and so they depend on their daily income. The government has not provided a guaranteed supply of food assistance for the community causing much worry and was the primary concern of our conversations. We prayed for God to give wisdom and knowledge to every individual and provide comfort and provision for the community. Their main concern was how to obtain rice. They fish for a living, and some of their other family members can catch fish within their area.

We praised God for his amazing provision amid this crisis and in answering our request. The day after my visit, where I learned about their concerns and the situation in this area. I expressed this issue to our core leaders in Light of Life community center, we designed an action plan and praised God for making the Life of Life community center His channel of blessing and his way of providing for the needs of the community. With these tangible gifts, we were able to pray, care, and share God’s blessing. We praise God that we do not just provide a temporary solution to this crisis but are also able to comfort the people as God has comforted us, and we had the opportunity to display the hope in life, which God promised us.

Pray that God will continue to prepare and minister in advance to this community.
Pray that God will continue to pour out blessings in this community, and break and destroy the strongholds and evil practices.
Pray that God will guide and lead us to the Person of Peace in this place.

Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Praise be to God for his fantastic work beforehand in the community. During this period, we are still strangers in this area, yet God provided us with four volunteers from the field to go with us and who we can ask for information regarding the community. They are parents of some of the kids who attend our Children Outreach. They volunteered to cook food and snacks for the kids when we started this program. One of the volunteers is Amie, who had served as our guide when we distributed rice to the families. We were not yet familiar with their homes, so Amie helped us. We praise God that despite the fact we have just started ministry here, He has prepared the people in advance to be willing to be trained and equipped for God’s Work. They are asking for Bible studies, but we are not yet able to begin groups due to the pandemic crisis.

Pray for the volunteers to have joyful hearts to serve God and his people.
Pray for ways to establish close relationships with them and to minister to them.
Pray for the husbands of these found women, that God will touch their hearts as well.

We praise God for the team who accompanied us to give these tangible gifts of rice as an expression of God’s love and care. With the help of two couples, Ailene and Greg, and Jenny and Anthony, from Light of Life Community Center, we successfully imparted God’s provision to twenty-two households. Most of them are the families and parents of the kids we minister to in our outreach program. We praise God that we were able to visit their homes, talking with them, and praying for the families. Usually, only the mother is at home, so they are the ones caring for the children and so are not employed. But at this time, we were able to meet and get to know the husbands too. We praise God for this opportunity.

Pray for follow-up with these families for visits and further evangelism.
Pray for God to work in advance in the hearts of His people.
Pray for us to establish close relationships with them.
Pray for the families of this community that God will provide them health, peace, and strength during this challenging time.
Pray that the current crisis will draw people to God and that they would recognize Him as the source of hope and eternal life.

We met the family of Florinda and Ednil. We were short on time but were able to talk and minister to them for a few minutes. They have four kids, and Ednil is a fisherman. Like many others in the community, their source of income has been affected. Ednil has to cross sea borders to catch fish off the island of Bohol, and the fishermen are not allowed to cross the limits due to the lockdown. There was great joy when we arrived at their home with five kilos of rice. Their kids are active in our children’s outreach.

Please Pray with us for the families provision and health

Pray that we can connect and minister to this family.
Pray for God to bless and comfort them in the crisis that they are facing now.
Pray for their precious children that God will give them robust immune systems and that they may grow up with love and reverence to God.

As we roamed through the area, we met Jessa. She is seventeen and seven months pregnant. Jessa lives with her live-in partner at her parent’s home. She is timid, so her mother was the one that we spoke with instead of Jess. As we talked with them and asked about their current situation, Bingbing, the mother stated that they were worried about her family’s situation because they do not have an income. Jessa’s due date is fast approaching.

Pray for Jessa to have a safe birth and healthy baby this summer.
Pray for God’s protection and provision for her family.

Family prayer is a great blessing. Through prayer, we see the changes God can work in us and our homes. I praise God that during this time of Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), I am spending more time with my family. It is always my desire and joy to see my family growing in the Lord and serving Him wholeheartedly. Each evening, when we do our family devotion and prayer, we always include the community of Calero Liloan in our prayers. My son, Carlos, was assigned to lead our devotions one of these evenings. I praise God for his eagerness and desire to learn the Bible. Carlos wants to be a missionary and pastor someday. One of his favorite movies is “End of the Spear,” a documentary of a missionary.

Pastor Alvin Spends time with His Family Studying God’s word

Pray for continual spiritual growth and strength of my family.
Pray for God’s sustaining grace to my family and ministry.

God’s ways and thoughts are higher than ours. We do not understand or know why some things are happening. But God has promised that if we pray in faith, He will answer. To visit the community of Calero, I am traveling alone along the narrow road instead of taking the main route with the border crossing. My wife is unable to join me due to the current “no back-riding policy” for motorcycles, and we only have one quarantine pass per family.

Pray for God’s protection and good health.
Pray for sensitivity and awareness of God’s leading, especially during this time of pandemic crises.
Pray for heavenly wisdom and knowledge in ministry to God’s people.

March 2020

Barangay Calero area is in the town of Liloan, near the Coast

It is a great joy for my family and me to serve the Lord by ministering to His people. We praise God for the opportunity and privilege that He entrusted us to do full-time ministry in the community of Calero, Liloan. We praise Him for answering our prayers. We know there will be challenges and struggles as we reach this community for Christ, but we rely on His promise of help in Isaiah 41:10. “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’”

As part of the light of life community center, our mission is leading people to have personal and growing relationships with God, with the vision of planting healthy churches in our community and beyond. We know that we cannot do this work alone, so we are thankful to God for giving us support on this journey.

We praise God for the young people who are helping with the Children’s Ministry in Calero, Liloan. We start with a time of prayer and briefing with the volunteers to prepare the team before we travel to our outreach area. Pastor Lito assisted us during the transition period in leading these youth as their team leader. This group of youth is the same group we first reached with the gospel, two years ago, in Bangkerohan Consolacion. Now they voluntarily have committed their lives to serve in our new church planting area.

Pastor Lito prays with the Youth Leaders!

Pray for the spiritual boldness of the youth as they minister to the children.
Pray for spiritual maturity and cheerful hearts of these young teens.
Pray for new teens to commit to volunteering.

Children are gifts from God to be cared for and nurtured. We praise God for the privilege given to us to be His mouthpieces in sharing His word to these precious children. We believe that if we can reach these children while they are still young, we will not only save them spiritually but their entire life. We desire to share with them the gospel, to train and equip them with God’s Word.

Pray for the children to be instruments by which God will reach their entire family.
Pray for our upcoming DVBS next month and for it to be able to continue as planned. Our province is under quarantine due to the pandemic.
Pray for our volunteers, wisdom and strength, and financial provision for the event and for our desire to give the children school supplies.

My wife and I went to Calero Liloan barangay hall to set a courtesy call appointment with the barangay council. We met Fe, the barangay secretary. We praise God that we imparted to her our vision to improve the community in four areas: poverty mentality, physical (health), social, and spiritual aspects. We do believe that if a person has the right mindset in life, it enables them to manage their life, resources, and family well.

Pray that we can join their council meeting.
Pray for wisdom and guidance.
Pray for the barangay council and the entire community, that God will work in their hearts and lives.

We praise God for our Bible study in Purok Kamunggay, Liloan. My wife and I are meeting with them on Thursdays. They are receptive to God’s Word and eager to learn more. We are just at the stage of getting to know each other as this is our first meeting with this group for Bible study.

Pray for open hearts as they hear and receive the gospel.
Pray for God to speak to them in a personal way, so they hear His words and have passion and love to share with others.
Pray for the husbands and children to come to faith; this group is composed of mostly mothers.

Due to the global crises we face today, we have not been able to meet as a group due to the community quarantine mandated by the national and local governments. Also, we cannot do visits or house-to-house evangelism. Instead, my wife and I are doing prayer caravans in the morning and afternoon, doing our family devotions, and having a house church on Sundays. We always include the community in our prayers and trust that God will use this part of our preparations to do His work.

We believe in the power of prayer. We went to the streets, establishments, remote places and residences to pray for the salvation of the people. We pray for people enslaved to sin and for the restoration of their homes and families. We pray for open doors for the gospels and the transformation of the residents. Through our prayers, God is opening our hearts and eyes to see the situation and needs of our target community. This area is in barangay Calero is in the town of Liloan, near the coast. There is no Christian church in the vicinity. The majority of the people are financially poor as the husbands are fishermen, and the wives are unemployed.

It is our dream and goal to establish a community church in this area, so we have looked for space. Someone introduced us to a vacant lot nearby with an area of just under three-hundred square meters at the cost of five-thousand pesos per meter. This area is beside the barangay road near the public school and barangay hall.

Pray for God’s leading and provision for this vacant lot and our desire for a church here.

Even though our sending out ceremony was canceled, the mission to reach people with the gospel continues. Last month, our sending church, the Light of Life Community Center in Bangkerohan Consolacion, had planned a ceremony to commission my family as full-time ministers to our new church planting area. Unfortunately, due to restrictions, the event itself was rescheduled. Nevertheless, the Lord is clear about my mission area, and COVID-19 cannot cancel our commitment to Him. We are excited about what the Lord will be doing in and through us.

Pray for my family, for the Lord to provide wisdom and strength for the long road ahead and for spiritual boldness to present the gospel.
Pray for the team.
Pray that God will work in advance in the hearts of the people and for open doors of the gospel.
Pray that God will lead us to a “person of peace” in the community so we can make contact and influence this community for God.
Pray for God to lead us to the right person or couple to mentor and to become part of the leadership or core team in the future.

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