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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Back on the Radio

May 30, 2015 by

DJ Matt on 104.3FM The Edge Radio Davao

We kicked off a new season of the Cutting Edge Show this month. The show is currently live during prime time Thursday nights. On my evangelistic show we talk about current events and always bring a biblical perspective to the show while bringing a salvation message. I always enjoy going on the air to preach the Gospel to of the Kingdom of God to people. We are having plenty of good feedback from the listeners.

Right after praying the prayer of salvation with my listeners on my most recent show,  I received this text message,

“Thank you Lord for accepting me again. Thank you Jesus for your Blood. God bless you DJ Matt.”

I have been broadcasting on 104.3 FM Edge Radio Davao for about five years now. It’s amazing how many people we are able to reach through the media in a city of two million people.

 

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The Refuge Events

November 12, 2014 by

Worship with Alwood WIck

We are still holding Worship Events at the Refuge Youth Center with great testimonies of people being refreshed and touched by the Lord.

Worship with Kim and Tina Villanueva

We have guest worship leaders come in regularly. Our most recent event had people from five different churches and two other ministries attend. Our vision is to be a refreshing watering hole for other ministries to come, have fun, and get filled up with the Lord through worship.

The Refuge is also home to two local churches that will still operate while we are in the USA. Please continue to pray for the Refuge to operate smoothly while we are away.

JOY: The crowd laughing at Emily’s games.

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Kapalong Campus Ministry

November 12, 2014 by

We were recently given the wonderful opportunity to minister at the Kapalong College of Technology, a two hour drive from Davao City.

The crowd reacting to Emily’s hilarious games.

“The Wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.” -Romans 6:23

“The Wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.”
-Romans 6:23

When I preached, they were very attentive and when I gave the altar call, EVERY single person came forward to get saved, many with tears streaming down their faces. It was WONDERFUL!

EVERYONE came forward for the Altar Call, many with tears streaming down their faces.

EVERYONE came forward for the Altar Call, many with tears streaming down their faces.

The youth were so excited and testified afterwards how God touched them tremendously. We love what God is doing among the youth in the Philippines.

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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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Over 1,000 People Came

September 4, 2014 by

Over 1,000 Came

The Concert in Trento was amazing. We did something never before done in Trento. When we interviewed the concert goers, it was the first concert that they remember EVER being held there. We registered 997 people for the free raffle, and that was not including our ministry team and the four bands that came which means over one thousand people came to the concert.

People bowing their heads at the altar call and praying to receive Jesus.

People bowing their heads at the altar call and praying to receive Jesus.

It was also broadcast live to all of Trento on 97.3 FM so we may have reached thousands more. When I preached the gospel, it seemed like about one third of the crowd came forward to the altar call to receive Jesus. We are breaking new ground with these concerts. We are bringing the message of salvation to the lost and bringing unity to the churches. The Filipino pastors and the people were so thankful that we came. Thank you so much for helping us with these big events. We made a big impact in Trento because of your prayers and donations.

Trento Concert Crowd

 

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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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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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Our House Almost Caught on FIRE!

May 17, 2014 by
The flames can been seen rising above our townhouse building.

The flames can been seen rising above our townhouse building.

Just two days after helping the victims of the Isla Verde fire, we almost became fire victims ourselves. We were suddenly disturbed to hear our neighbors pounding on our door. There was a big fire raging just ten feet behind our house! The fire had completed consumed the two houses behind us and was quickly approaching our rented townhouse.  I stayed behind to rescue some electronics, and see if we could do anything to stop the fire. I rebuked the fire and prayed, “Fire, you cannot touch our house in the Name of JESUS.” Our unsaved neighbor later told me the fire was raging right for our townhouse and the wind suddenly changed.

This was the view from our back window after the Fire Department got the fire under control.

This was the view from our back window after the Fire Department finally got the fire under control.

The fire was so close that Elijah’s bedroom windows and my office windows were too hot to touch. During the commotion, one of our brilliant friends broke the main water pipe behind our house and sprayed it towards the fire which held it at bay until eleven fire trucks responded and put out the fire. It was an absolute miracle our house didn’t catch on fire!

Elijah was so happy to see 11 fire trucks respond to our neighborhood. I was excited too!

Elijah was so excited to see eleven fire trucks respond to the fire. I was excited too!

When Elijah finally came back, he was so excited that the fire trucks came to visit our house. He exclaimed, “Fire Truck, Daddy, Fire Truck!” I suppose I was excited to see the fire trucks too, but in a different way. Thank God for his protection, miracles, friends, and fire trucks!

A fireman extinguishing the fire on top of our neighbor's house that was sadly gutted by the fire.

A fireman extinguishing the fire on top of our neighbor’s house that was sadly gutted by the fire. The tall roof in the background is our townhouse building.

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The Isla Verde Fire

May 17, 2014 by
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.

 

 

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