God is Moving in Remote Places!

March 12, 2016 by
My Dad preaching with Pastor Julito DeGracia interpreting for him in Impasug-Ong, Philippines

My Dad preaching with Pastor Julito DeGracia interpreting for him in Impasug-Ong, Philippines

My Dad came to visit the Philippines for December and January and we went back to some of the early churches and pastors we met in the Philippines back in 2004. I had not seen some of them in seven years. One pastor, Julito DeGracia, started 11 churches in that time. He has the only church in Impasug-Ong, Philippines and his other churches are among newly-reached tribes in the mountains. Early in his ministry, we bought him a horse to travel to these places because he would walk for days to preach in the mountains. It is amazing to see the fruit of that first horse, and he now has four horses to use for the ministry. Praise God!

 

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Repentance at Kapalong College of Technology

October 13, 2015 by

Kapalong College of Technology

We were invited back for the second time to to speak at Kapalong College of Technology for their anniversary.  By the time, I was given the microphone to preach, they knew that we were there to bless them and the listened well.

Preaching at Kapalong College of Technology

When I gave the altar call, the Holy Spirit powerfully convicted them of their sins and EVERYONE came rushing forward to the altar call. Many tears flowed as they got their hearts right before God under a heavy atmosphere of repentance. This was not at a church. This was on a secular college campus! God is moving in the Philippines at an accelerated pace. We are thankful to be a part of it.

Altar Call at Kapalong College of Technology

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Awesome Youth Camp in Marihatag

May 30, 2015 by

Altar Filled at Youth Camp in Marihatag

I was recently able to be a part of the team of missionary guest speakers at a youth camp in Marihatag, Surigao for the “Our God Reigns” youth camp. Many of the campers were from remote tribal areas. Every service the altar was packed with about 200 youth as they were saved, transformed, and filled with the Holy Spirit!

Altar filled with young people seeking God at youth camp.

Altar filled with young people seeking God at youth camp.

The Holy Spirit was moving so strongly that teenagers were falling out in the power of God everywhere. It was one of the most refreshing and anointed camps I have been a part of in a long time.

Marihatag Tree Park Youth Camp

Sitting with some of the young people from the Marihatag youth camp.

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UP Next: Nabunturan

September 4, 2014 by

 

Pastor Jerry’s beautiful church location before Typhoon Pablo destroyed it.

Pastor Jerry’s beautiful church location before Typhoon Pablo destroyed it.

 

The “Refuge Out” evangelistic concerts are targeting Nabunturan next. We are hoping to reach a lot more people than we did with the Trento Concert. We learned a lot in our past concert and we intend to reach as many lost souls as we can. I am hoping to do a preliminary scouting trip very soon to work out the logistics. Right now we are hoping to have the concert in September depending on the decision of the key pastors that we are working with like Pastor Jerry Casidsid.

Pastor Jerry

Pastor Jerry Casidsid and his wife at our 2010 Pastor’s Conference.

Like many places in Mindanao, Nabunturan was heavily damaged by Typhoon Pablo in December 2012. Many years before that, we preached at Pastor Jerry’s large church in a big building filled with young people. Unfortunately, that building was totally destroyed during the typhoon and now the church has been meeting in a small house for almost two years.

Pastor Jerry’s small church today.

Pastor Jerry’s small church today.

 

We are praying and believing for God to bring restoration to these faithful churches and pastors who quietly go unnoticed by the rest of the world despite overwhelming circumstances. We are praying for our concert to add scores of newly saved young people to the local churches and bring new life and excitement to the pastors for the Glory of God.

 

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Please Help Us Win Souls in Trento

July 30, 2014 by

Next week, we are doing what potentially will be the largest soul-winning event in the history of our ministry. We have four bands lined up for a city-wide free concert in Trento, Agusan del Sur, Philippines.

Jesus said in Mark 4:19, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” We are using the bait of music to draw people into this indoor gymnasium to preach the Gospel to them. We are expecting a huge crowd as we have promoted this concert in every high school and college campus in the town and have been announcing it on the radio.

Hanging a poster right in front of the biggest store in Trento.

Hanging a poster right in front of the biggest store in Trento.

We have over twenty pastors from multiple denominations praying for us and helping us with this event. They said they have been praying for something like this and no one has held an evangelistic concert like this in Trento since the 1990’s.

Inside the Trnto Gymnasium with Mayor John Mark Billanes.

Inside the Trento Gymnasium with Mayor Billanes.

We have experienced tremendous favor over this event including meeting the mayor through a divine appointment.  We went to gymnasium check out the concert venue and the mayor “just happened” to be there. He personally asked us to announce the event on all the radio stations in the town.

Promoting the Christian concert on "Secular Radio" 91.7FM

Promoting the Christian concert on “secular” radio 91.7 Life FM in Trento.

The one thing we are missing is full financial support. This is going to be a very expensive endeavor for us. We need help covering this event including renting the gym, prizes for the games, transportation, food and lodging for our ministry team. We estimate that this event will cost us about $950 including purchasing our own stage lights (about $450).

Would you please consider financially supporting us as we reach lost souls in Trento through this concert?

We just got to hang posters right outside the gym.

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The Refuge: Home to Two Churches

July 8, 2014 by
Hope SG Church Davao

Hope Davao Church regularly meets at the Refuge Youth Center.

One of the ministries of the Refuge Youth Center is helping churches with a nice, air-conditioned, affordable place to hold their services. Rent in Davao City is expensive and that is many times crippling to new churches. We offer the Refuge as a place for these churches to meet for just a little more than the cost of the electricity for the day.

 

Hope SG Church Davao City

One of those churches is Hope Davao Church which meets regularly on Sunday afternoons at the Refuge. Hope Davao is a church plant from Singapore, and I make a point of joining them in all of their services.

Pastor Joshua Hernandez preaching at Redeemed Covenant Church which meets at the Refuge.

Pastor Joshua Hernandez preaching at Redeemed Covenant Church which meets at the Refuge.

Also, Redeemed Covenant Church meets here every Sunday morning led by my good friends Pastors Joshua and Emi Hernandez. They have lately been just overflowing with children in their services.

Please continue to pray for and financially support the Refuge so we can continue to help these churches.

 

 

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Upcoming Outreach in Trento

July 8, 2014 by

The Trento Indoor Gymnasium

We are so excited to let you know that we are launching a new stage of our ministry called “The Refuge OUT.” We are doing a series of road show concerts with the full purpose of spreading the Gospel throughout Mindanao.

We are starting our concert tour in Trento, Agusan del Sur.  Trento is a tiny town that was severely damaged during Typhoon Pablo and mostly passed over and forgotten by aid agencies. Edge Radio Trento is partnering with us to promote and host this concert. We are renting the town’s brand new indoor gymnasium with the potential of reaching multiple hundreds of people with the Gospel.

Trento Gym

Thankfully, we have already found someone who will let us borrow their sound system, but we have immediate financial needs for this concert to go forward.  First, we need to purchase or rent lighting. A minimal lighting setup will cost about $500 while renting a professional lighting setup will cost about $250 per event. If we can buy our own equipment it will be a much better investment than renting it as we are going forward with multiple concerts throughout Mindanao. We also need to cover transportation expenses for our ministry team and sound equipment, and we need to purchase prizes for the free games to keep the crowd engaged.

 

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Upcoming Baganga Outreach Concert

March 26, 2014 by
These are some of the precious kids in Baganga that survived Typhoon Pablo.

These are some of the precious kids in Baganga that survived Typhoon Pablo.

In April, we are doing an evangelistic Easter Outreach in Baganga. For those of you who don’t know, our ministry spent almost a year helping and sowing into the people of Baganga after Typhoon Pablo nearly destroyed their town.

This time we are not returning only with disaster relief goods, but we are bringing something better—The Gospel. We will be doing a multiple day outreach with concerts and other activities for the youth and children there with the intention of winning people to Jesus. We have sown good seed, and now it’s time to reap the Harvest by showing them what Jesus did on the cross for them.

We will also be taking several vehicles more than six hours each way on less than perfect roads and temporary bridges. We plan to bring several high school youth to perform in this awesome outdoor concert. Please pray for all of our safety. Please also pray for us to be able to buy, rent, or borrow an outdoor sound system and lighting for this concert.

We also want to show the people here we haven’t forgotten them. We love them very much and want to bring the love of Jesus with us.

 

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Powerful Worship at the Refuge

October 4, 2013 by
Awesome Worship at the Refuge Youth Center.

Powerful Worship at the Refuge Youth Center.

We have been continuing our worship nights at the Refuge Youth Center and they seem to get better each time we have them. At the most recent one last week, the praise and worship lasted for three hours straight and when the music stopped, no one wanted to leave. The people just sat there in the stillness of God’s presence. The tangible presence of God was just overwhelming.

Passionate Worship at the Refuge Youth Center.

Passionate Worship at the Refuge Youth Center.

I’ve had other ministry leaders thank me for having a place where they can be refreshed outside of their own ministry. Thank you for supporting the Refuge. We are changing lives together.

Worship at the Refuge

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Elijah’s Favorite Mall Got Bombed

October 4, 2013 by

Gaisano Mall Bombing Police LineAbout two weeks ago, two bombs simultaneously exploded in the cinemas of  SM City Mall and Gaisano Mall here in Davao City. The blasts occurred on a Monday night and thankfully no one died and five people only suffered minor injuries.

The day before that blast, we invited several missionaries and their families to SM City Mall and celebrated a birthday there.

Elijah and I play at that mall several times a week. He runs and squeals with glee as I chase him down the aisles. It’s really one of his favorite places to be for daddy-son time, especially on rainy days.

Elijah playing at SM City Mall

Elijah playing at SM City Mall.

As a parent, when is it O.K. to go back there?  When is it O.K. to take him to see his first movie?

Those are the kind of questions you ask yourself as a missionary when things go crazy in your city.

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Elijah playing with his trucks at SM City Mall.

I’ve already been back alone to SM City Mall to buy hardware for our most recent trip to Baganga and I’m not afraid to go there.

Overall, we still feel safe and peace about being here in Davao City, but I’m not really eager to take Elijah back to the mall, at least not until things quiet down again.

Elijah got in line by himself at Krispy Kreme hoping to get a doughnut.

Elijah got in line by himself at Krispy Kreme hoping to get a doughnut.

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