The Isla Verde Fire

The wasteland once known as "Isla Verde."

The wasteland once known as “Isla Verde.”

There was a huge tragic fire that ravaged Isla Verde, a squatter area here in Davao City. It destroyed hundreds of homes and was a horrible blow to the local Badjao tribe. The fire forced them out of their homes and now hundreds of families are living in a local park in a tent city of tarpaulins.

People working to recover what they can from the smoldering ruins that once were their homes.

People working to recover what they can from the smoldering ruins that once were their homes.

Our church went to help these people the afternoon after the fire and gave food, water, and hygiene kits until supplies ran out. We also went back later to distribute over one ton (1,000 kilograms) of rice during a thunderstorm. We went from tent to tent slogging through the mud and water to get the rice to these precious people.

This precious little girl fell after losing her home and is now living in the park under a tarpaulin.

This precious little girl fell after losing her home and is now living in the park under a tarpaulin.

I got to drive nine volunteers to the site and drove home with 14 volunteers in my overloaded vehicle. I want to give credit to my local church that provided the supplies as we did not have the financial resources to help. Thanks to our church, I was able to pray for people in the soot and rubble, and give out rice in the mud and rain.

Elderly people homeless from the fire living under a tarpaulin.

Elderly people homeless from the fire living under a tarpaulin.

 

 

Unstoppable in Bulacan

Unstoppable 3

Last January, I was invited to be the guest speaker at a big youth event inĀ  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 is nothing short of a revival.

I Went to Jail in the Philippines

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.

The Future Refuge Youth Center

For years, we have had a vision to start a youth evangelism center. In our vision, this center will gather youth from the city where we can preach salvation to hundreds and eventually thousands of youth.

While we have waited for this dream to be fulfilled, we have been helping and serving other local ministries helping others accomplish their dreams. During this waiting period, we have been looking for the place and time to implement this vision. We believe we have finally found it.

A two story commercial space just opened up in a highly visible prime location on MacArthur Highway inside the same building as Edge radio. It was formerly occupied by a church that defaulted and left all of its equipment including the sound system, air conditioning, chairs, and even the drum set. We spoke to the owner and he is willing to rent us the space for a fair price and will also let us use all of the left behind equipment without any additional cost.

After consulting with our board of directors, we have decided to go forward with our dream. We really feel in our spirit now is the time for this new vision to spring forth.

We are planning to start renting the new space in July. We are in immediate need of an additional $1,000 within two weeks to move in, and we will need additional monthly support to make this happen. Please pray for us and please help us financially to achieve this dream.