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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Live on the Radio Again

February 16, 2014 by

In January, I returned to my radio show on 104.3 FM The Edge Radio Davao. Being on the radio here has the potential of reaching two million listeners on the only Christian FM radio station in Davao City.

Live on the Radio at 104.3FM The Edge Radio Davao

My two hour show, “The Cutting Edge Show,” has a weekly prime time slot on Thursdays at 7 PM. The show consists of Bible teaching surrounded by Contemporary Christian music.  I usually spend about five minutes teaching per segment and play two or three songs before returning to my topic.

No matter what the topic, I always make a point to bring a salvation message to win souls every show. Last week, I received a text message from one of my listeners that the song I played touched him and “brought tears to his eyes.” I thank God that we can touch many lives like this through the radio.

Live on the Radio

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Refuge Worship Taking Off

February 16, 2014 by

Sharing the Word of God at the Refuge

Our regular worship nights at the Refuge are starting to gain momentum. We are having deep, heartfelt worship nights every time we gather. A typical worship night at the Refuge lasts for more than three hours with only a few minutes of preaching.

Anna singing with Peter Naska Band

It’s really a soaking and refreshing environment. We have everyone from high school students to college students to leaders of other ministries coming to be refreshed.

Worship

Our most recent event had several new people come. They left full of the Lord and excited about the next event.

Heartfelt Worship

 

 

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Merry Christmas!

December 20, 2013 by

Christmas 2013 1

Christmas is a special time of the year and it’s best to spend it with family when you can. This is my fifth consecutive Christmas in the Philippines. I sure miss Turkey dinners, Pumpkin Pie, and Egg Nog, but most of all, I miss my American family.

Christmas can be a very lonely time to many people because they are focusing on the family that they don’t have or the physical distance separating them from the ones they love, but the real reason for Christmas is not about you. It is about Jesus (Immanuel) leaving Heaven and His entire Kingdom just so he could be with you. How can you be lonely on the very day we celebrate that Jesus left Heaven just to be with you?

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). —Matthew 1:23

Merry Christmas from the Philippines!

Christmas 2013 2

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Together We Can Rebuild Lives Broken by Typhoon Haiyan

December 20, 2013 by

Typhoon Haiyan Survivors

After an overwhelming tragedy such as Typhoon Haiyan, it is often a difficult task to determine who to help and what to do immediately and long term. During the first month, handouts and free medical care are crucial to helping people survive. After the immediate threat to survival is taken care of, it is important to get people back on their feet so they don’t get stuck in a handout mentality depending on relief goods to survive.

A Fishing boat cut in half by Typhoon Haiyan near Panay Island.

A Fishing boat cut in half by Typhoon Haiyan near Panay Island.

After ten years of  disaster relief experience, we have learned the best way to help people recover is to restore livelihood and get them back to work so they can take care of their families.

Fishing Boat in Baganga

We want to restore joy by providing this type of fishing boat to families who lost everything

We are partnering with another trusted ministry to provide fishing boats in the very remote fishing island of Buena Vista where 200 families depend on fishing to survive. Thirty of their boats were destroyed during the typhoon. It will cost about  $700 or 30,000 pesos to provide a fishing boat for families who lost everything.

A newly built fishing boat after last year’s Typhoon Pablo.

A newly built fishing boat after last year’s Typhoon Pablo.

Would you please consider giving $70 or even $700 to help rebuild lives?

 

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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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Civil War in Mindanao

October 4, 2013 by

Civil war in Zamboanga Mindanao PhilippinesAbout three weeks ago, a group of about 200 to 500 Radical Muslims tried to make a declaration of independence, but when they were blocked by the police, they took 200 hostages and burned down the parts of  Zamboanga City that they took by force. Zamboanga has a population of one million people. Over 118,000 of the residents are now refugees as their homes were burned down as they became part of the war zone.

Philippine Army Forces fighting Muslim rebels in Zamboanga City.

Philippine Army Forces fighting Muslim rebels in Zamboanga City.

After 20 days of civil war, 183 rebel combatants died, 18 government troops were killed and 12 civilians tragically died. Also, minor skirmishes with Muslim rebels have broken out in Cotobato.

Not to be forgotten, the communist rebels (NPA) attacked a military unit in Northern Mindanao in Balingasag killing five soldiers. I have been to Balingasag in the past when I used to travel the island by bus preaching the Gospel. Mindanao is in tumultuous disorder and we need prayer to bring peace right now.  Please pray for the evil rebels to be stopped and for the safety of Christian Believers on this island.

Just to make things clear, we live in Davao City (400 miles from the conflict) which has its own military detachment with strong leadership. We feel safe here and it would be nearly impossible for a rebel attack to have any success in this city. Nonetheless, we covet your prayers and we thank you for your support.

There are 118,000 refugees from the civil war in Zamboanga City.

There are 118,000 refugees from the civil war in Zamboanga City.

 

 

 

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Mission Accomplished!

August 24, 2013 by

Faith Tabernacle Baganga Inside truss work

We are happy to announce that we are finally finished with the roof construction project for Faith Tabernacle Church in Baganga.

For those of you who don’t normally read our newsletter, there was a giant typhoon in December that destroyed entire towns, killed thousands of people, almost destroyed this church, and sadly took the life of the pastor’s wife. In response, our ministry took on the project to rebuild this church.

We recently took two trips in the past two weeks and finally finished this seven month long construction project. Our last trip started out with an early morning six hour drive followed by an eleven hour work day of carpentry and mixing concrete. The following day was all about mixing concrete followed by a long drive back to Davao City.

 Mixing Cement in Baganga

On the way back, we stopped to ask a local a question, and his gang of thugs let some air out of our rear tire hoping to steal some of our supplies while we were changing the tire. By the grace of God, we didn’t fall for it and got out of there on a underinflated tire which slowed us down for about 45 minutes while we looked for a place with an air compressor.

Thankfully, we got home safely with the satisfaction that we finished this project. Now the people of this church can worship under a larger dry roof that is better than before, and the family can live in the expanded, nicer parsonage. Thank you for supporting us. This could not have been done without your prayers and financial help.

Measuring Tape

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Perilous Times in the Philippines

August 24, 2013 by
A powerful IED blast in Cotobato City.

A powerful IED blast in Cotobato City.

Sadly, there has been a wave of bombings on our island this month and our city is on high alert for terror activity. The police and military have set up checkpoints on the roads and doubled the security at most of the malls.

Of the recent bombings, the most shocking to me was an explosion at Limketkai Mall that claimed the lives of six people and wounded forty-six. I have personally been to this mall several times with Dr. Jack Tuls and my dad, Michael Triggs, every time we traveled to Cagayan de Oro City in the past. We currently live about 120 miles from this mall.

Another tragic bombing was a failed political assassination using an IED device in Cotobato City that killed another nine people and wounded forty about 130 miles west of us.

Tropical Storm Maring IR

Across the country to the north, there has been terrible flooding due to tropical storms specifically Typhoon Maring (Trami) passing over the island. Reports are that half of Manila is under water and several other provinces are flooding as well.

Tropical Storm Maring

Please pray for the peace of God to reign on the island of Mindanao and protection and recovery for rest of the disaster-stricken Philippines.

Please also pray for us to that we can have the wisdom and resources to help the victims as our resources and strength are exhausted from the last big disaster to hit the Philippines.

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