Extreme Mercy International http://extrememercy.org Changing the world for Christ, one person at a time. Wed, 09 May 2012 12:47:54 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.1 24 Hour Worship Marathon at the Refuge http://extrememercy.org/24-hour-worship-marathon-at-the-refuge/ http://extrememercy.org/24-hour-worship-marathon-at-the-refuge/#comments Wed, 09 May 2012 12:44:06 +0000 Matthew http://extrememercy.org/?p=634 24 Hour Worship Marathon at the RefugeAbout one week ago, we hosted our first 24 hour praise and worship marathon at the Refuge. We had about sixty on-fire youth passionately worshipping God the whole time. It ran continuously for 24 hours from Friday until Saturday night. It was amazing to see the hunger, fire, and passion the youth displayed the whole time. The atmosphere for worship and soaking in God’s presence was just wonderful.

Soaking at the 24 Hour Worship Marathon.

Sheena who attended announced that her friend Khael was healed at the event, “He testified how his sore throat was instantly healed when he joined the 24 hour non-stop worship.”

Another attendee told me she clearly heard answers from God about things she had been praying for months about. She also told me she enjoyed God’s presence so much that it was hard for her to leave.

This event was such a wonderful success. We can’t wait to have the next one.

Excited to Worship God at the Refuge

]]> http://extrememercy.org/24-hour-worship-marathon-at-the-refuge/feed/ 0 Over One Year of Radio Ministry http://extrememercy.org/over-one-year-of-radio-ministry/ http://extrememercy.org/over-one-year-of-radio-ministry/#comments Fri, 27 Apr 2012 11:13:28 +0000 Matthew http://extrememercy.org/?p=602 After a maternity break, Emily is back doing her weekly show, “Girlz on the Edge.” I am also doing my weekly show, “The Cutting Edge Show. We have now been doing radio ministry for almost 1 1/2 years and it’s been a great experience.

I had one listener recently text me after I prayed the prayer of salvation over the airways.

 

This is what he said,

“Thank you so much for the prayer. It’s been a long time since I felt better, communicating with God again. I don’t know why, but I cried saying that prayer with you. Thank you so much!”

That’s what radio ministry is all about. Praise God!

]]> http://extrememercy.org/over-one-year-of-radio-ministry/feed/ 0 The Blood of Jesus Proclaimed at the Mall http://extrememercy.org/jesus-proclaimed-at-the-mall/ http://extrememercy.org/jesus-proclaimed-at-the-mall/#comments Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:53:59 +0000 Matthew http://extrememercy.org/?p=587 During Easter Week, I had the amazing opportunity to do a drama (human video) about the Blood of Jesus in the biggest and nicest mall in Davao City.

 

I was told that during the drama the mall traffic on three floors stopped and watched and were captivated during the human video. Many people told me they were brought to tears as the drama depicted the crucifixion. I give all the glory to God for that.

It was all part of an openly Christian music, worship, and book event held by OMF Literature. It is just amazing that the Gospel was openly preached and God was glorified publicly in the mall.

]]> http://extrememercy.org/jesus-proclaimed-at-the-mall/feed/ 0 We Want to Visit Home Soon http://extrememercy.org/we-want-to-visit-home-soon/ http://extrememercy.org/we-want-to-visit-home-soon/#comments Fri, 27 Apr 2012 09:48:33 +0000 Matthew http://extrememercy.org/?p=571

Happy Elijah and Family

 

We are really standing in faith to come back to the USA for about four months. Home is a relative term, but I have not left the Philippines for two years.

 

In the past two years, a lot has happened: We started doing radio ministry. We started the Refuge Youth Center. We have seen multiple hundreds of youth come to Jesus. We had our first baby. We’ve celebrated two Christmases in the Philippines. Now, we need a short break to refresh and restore some things.

 

I don’t know if any of you have ever spent over two years straight in a foreign, underdeveloped country, but it can be quite draining. Elijah would also like to see his grandparents and extended family, and Emily and I need to get some restoration and encouragement back home.

 

We also need to show more people back home what God is doing here and get more churches and individuals to invest in what HE is doing here in the Philippines.

 

We need about $3,000 for round trip airfare to and from the Philippines. The good news is we’ve already have raised $1,300 towards our travel expenses. When we leave the Philippines, our responsibilities do not stop. We still have to pay about $750 per month for rent for both the Refuge and our home.

 

We are also open to receiving gifts in kind such as air-miles to help us fly to the USA. It typically costs about 65,000 frequent flyer air miles in one program to get one round trip flight across the Pacific Ocean. I still have about 40,000 miles in my United Account and 20,000 in my Delta account from over twelve years of traveling the globe as a missionary, but it’s still not enough to buy one ticket.

 

When we arrive in the USA, we also are in need of a short term place to stay in Phoenix, Prescott, and also a reliable air-conditioned vehicle to drive around the Phoenix and Prescott Areas. We also hope to visit ministries, families, and friends in California, Nevada, and anywhere else we are invited.

 

James 4:2b says, “You do not have because you do not ask.”
I’m already asking God now for all of these things and more. I’m also asking for your help if you can too. Maybe God will use you to be the answer to our prayers and needs at this time.

 

]]> http://extrememercy.org/we-want-to-visit-home-soon/feed/ 0 Love Never Fails http://extrememercy.org/love-never-fails/ http://extrememercy.org/love-never-fails/#comments Fri, 24 Feb 2012 16:49:46 +0000 Matthew http://extrememercy.org/?p=553 Emily and I were recently invited to speak at a Valentine’s special conference “Love Never Fails” for the young adults group at the large Assembly of God church here in Davao.

We were able to share our love story with them and taught them to wait for God’s best for their lives. We also taught them on the value of staying pure until marriage as Emily and I also shared our testimony of how we were able to keep our virginity until we were married.

Our speaking was followed by an open forum of questions directed at us. God gave us supernatural wisdom as we were thrown some curve ball questions that we seemed to knock out of the park through God’s help.
exponents

This event was an absolute breakthrough for Emily as it was the first time she ministered since the birth and her recovery from all the traumatic events.

]]> http://extrememercy.org/love-never-fails/feed/ 0 Unstoppable in Bulacan http://extrememercy.org/unstoppable-in-bulacan/ http://extrememercy.org/unstoppable-in-bulacan/#comments Fri, 24 Feb 2012 16:42:10 +0000 Matthew http://extrememercy.org/?p=527  

Unstoppable 3

Last January, I was invited to be the guest speaker at a big youth event in Emily’s home church in Pulilan, Bulacan. The theme of the event was Unstoppable.

I shared about unstoppable people in history and lead into the unstoppable love of Jesus who died on the cross for them. I also did a human video about the crucifixion for them which really touched their hearts.

Unstoppable 2

120 youth came to the event and all 120 youth responded to the salvation altar call. They have a huge youth group for such a small town. It is remarkable to see what God is doing there. What is happening in Emily’s home church is nothing short of a revival.

]]> http://extrememercy.org/unstoppable-in-bulacan/feed/ 0 I Went to Jail in the Philippines http://extrememercy.org/jail-ministry-in-davao-city/ http://extrememercy.org/jail-ministry-in-davao-city/#comments Fri, 24 Feb 2012 16:38:06 +0000 Matthew http://extrememercy.org/?p=545 This month, God opened an awesome door of ministry to me. My friend, Pastor Andy, invited me to speak to the leaders of a church in the local Davao City Jail. I was honored to be able to enter the facility and walk through the jail full of men in orange T-shirts.

I spoke to the leaders on faith. The pastor of the church has been in the jail for four years awaiting his robbery trial. Two of his main leaders are serving six years for drug abuse and are still awaiting their trial. The youngest inmate there, Mark, told me he regularly borrows a radio to listen to Edge Radio.

There are three religious places of worship there: a Catholic Church, a mosque, and the born-again Christian church. Until recently, the Christian church had no roof. Thankfully, they just finished the roof the week before I arrived. They were so happy to have a foreigner visit them and were respectful and attentive as I spoke through an interpreter. They invited me to come back as soon as I can.

]]> http://extrememercy.org/jail-ministry-in-davao-city/feed/ 0 The Refuge Goes On http://extrememercy.org/the-refuge-goes-on/ http://extrememercy.org/the-refuge-goes-on/#comments Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:20:02 +0000 Matthew http://extrememercy.org/?p=524 During the past few months, despite going through a paralyzing time, the Refuge is still running. The Bible and Missions training there graduated their first class of students and Edge Radio is still holding public events there. We are also having evangelistic film viewings.

One of the biggest challenges we have at the Refuge is a lack of equipment. Every time we hold an event, we have to borrow two or three guitar amplifiers, instruments, a LCD projector, drum cymbals, etc. We also have no furniture for our huge downstairs fellowship area. We are hoping to convert the downstairs into a coffee house where youth can come at all hours to study, have fellowship, and receive counseling. We are also hoping to remodel the upstairs with some acoustic foam to help with the deafening reverb during the concerts.

James 4:2 says, “You have not because you ask not.” Well, I’m asking now for help. We immediately need a LCD projector, amplifiers, guitars, and a new drum kit. We also need to furnish our downstairs so we can have a place for the youth to hang out. I envision having a coffee bar with lots of furniture, games, and for it to be a fun place.
With your help, we can transform this place into a greater soul-winning machine with ongoing discipleship and change happening in the hearts of the youth of this city.

]]> http://extrememercy.org/the-refuge-goes-on/feed/ 0 Our Health Nightmare http://extrememercy.org/our-health-nightmare/ http://extrememercy.org/our-health-nightmare/#comments Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:09:44 +0000 Matthew http://extrememercy.org/?p=522 If you are wondering why we have not produced a newsletter for some time, it is because we went through a paralyzing time of unbelievable problems that until now I have not had the courage to write about.

 

A few days after Elijah was born in late October, everything seemed alright but Emily was not losing any weight after the delivery but seemed to be increasing in size and swelling and she was feeling worse than any point during the pregnancy. Her wonderful doctor visited us at our home and immediately demanded that we go to the emergency room. Emily’s bladder was injured during the  birthing and was swelling and swelling.

 

We rushed to the hospital emergency room to take care of that problem and thought everything would be fine after some treatment and rest. That night, at 2 AM, we had to rush back to the hospital emergency room again because the device they were using to help her was improperly inserted and she was bleeding.

 

About one week after that, Emily started dangerously bleeding profusely. She was losing a tremendous amount of blood as I raced her to the hospital again in our little car. They admitted her immediately. She needed to have three pints of blood transfused and had an emergency surgery to stop the bleeding.

 

During that time before the blood transfusion, she temporarily lost consciousness while holding Elijah which struck my heart with terror. I rushed to her side and rebuked the spirit of death and commanded life into her by the Blood of Jesus. As I was crying out to God to heal her, she woke up before the doctors and nurses entered the room. Thankfully, the operation and transfusion were successful and we were released after a few days in the hospital.

 

One week after this harrowing ordeal, Emily was fighting sickness again. This time she developed an antibiotic-resistant, hospital-acquired UTI due to the uncleanness of the hospital here. They wanted to put her back in the hospital again which we refused, but got a nurse to come to our house and administer an IV drip in our home, three times a day, for one week.

Needless to say, with seven trips to the emergency room in one month all at hours of the night, this whole experience was overwhelmingly traumatic to Emily. Although she is finally physically healthy, we are both experiencing some post-traumatic emotional problems and are having a hard time dealing with things. We are totally depleted emotionally, spiritually, and wiped out financially as well. We are praying about taking a furlough to the USA as soon as we can afford it. We need rest and someone to minister to us and we know it.

 

]]> http://extrememercy.org/our-health-nightmare/feed/ 0 Merry Christmas Everyone from Baby Elijah! http://extrememercy.org/merry-christmas-everyone-from-baby-elijah/ http://extrememercy.org/merry-christmas-everyone-from-baby-elijah/#comments Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:57:52 +0000 Matthew http://extrememercy.org/?p=515

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