These are exciting times! We signed the papers for the house! Now, the process has begun and the title is being transferred to my name. We also paid $10,000 as part of the downpayment for OUR house :). For me, it was a big step of faith…we have completely committed ourselves! But I know God is going to see this through…He has only continued to open doors for us throughout this whole process! The deadline for the second half of the downpayment is due in February. We cannot emphasize enough just how amazing this opportunity is. During our first four years on the mission field, we rented a house. In the end, we still took care of the house like it was ours…paying for any and all repairs. It does not make sense for us to continue to invest our time and finances into a house that does not belong to us. But this was not something we searched for. This was not something we planned. Our original idea was to look into housing after furlough…but the Lord had completely different plans. He brought this house to us. We know He will provide the funds we are lacking. We want to thank those of you who have already given toward our home! Several individuals have sent their financial support…adding up to almost $1,000! Our home church has sent $5,000 and we praise the Lord for them! This brings the total cost of what we need down to $9,000. If you would like to help us with this wonderful opportunity, please send your contributions to our support address. Just designate it on the memo line: Baran House Fund. Thank you for your faithful support of our family and ministry!
Categotry Archives: Updates
Merry Christmas 2015!
Merry Christmas from our home to yours! As we reunite with loved ones and exchange gifts, may we always remember that the greatest gift ever given was a baby. A baby who came to heal the broken and save the lost. In our dark world, it is Christ who offers hope to the hopeless and peace to the needy. Different cultures celebrate in different ways but for the Christian the emphasis remains the same. On Christmas Eve, we celebrated in true Filipino tradition. We got together with our college students and church staff and celebrated past midnight. The night was full of fireworks, fellowship, and food! Then on Christmas morning we celebrated the American way-our kids woke up and opened their treasures. Later, we had a birthday cake for Jesus and read the Christmas story. We hope you all had a blessed Christmas with your friends and families! May we use this time to reach out to the people around us and share the love of Christ!
House & Home
We have been presented with a wonderful opportunity to have a permanent home in the Philippines! A permanent location will establish us in Cebu and confirm our commitment as long-term missionaries. We can clearly see that God has brought this opportunity to us, and we want to share our need with you! Our house is an integral part of our ministry! In these past four years we have housed visiting groups, fellow missionaries, and guest speakers. Our house has served as a gathering place for teen activities, fellowships, and much more. It has been our desire to buy a home since our arrival in Cebu. However, the opportunity never presented itself. Housing in Cebu is expensive and houses in general are very small. So we waited and trusted the Lord to bring the right house in His time. Now, at a time when we weren’t expecting it, the Lord has brought a house into our path. While helping our partners look for a new place to live (because of their house fire), we stumbled upon the house that we all believe God would make our permanent home. The house is reasonably priced, large enough to use for the ministry, and the owner is willing to work with us as we come up with the money needed for a down payment.
Because this is the Philippines things are just done differently, this is true when it comes to buying a home. At the onset, we are required to give a large percentage of the price as a down payment. Our loan is approved, and God has already provided a good portion of the down payment. We are asking if you would pray and consider helping us with this need. We are lacking $15,000 to make up the difference between what we have and the amount the bank will loan us on the house. The owner has given us until February 1, 2016 to come up with the difference. The owner has been approached by other prospective buyers, but she is committed to selling her house to us. We know that God has brought us to this point, and we have been encouraged to present our need to all of you. If you would like to help us with this amazing opportunity, please send your contributions to our support address. Just designate it on the memo line: Baran House Fund. If you have any further questions, you can contact me at my email address or phone number. Any amount will help, no matter how small. May God Bless You!
It All Points to Jesus
It’s almost Christmas! To celebrate this special season, our church hosted a Holiday Musical. This year our theme was “It All Points to Jesus!” Each year our program has grown and 2015 was no exception. We had 102 of our children singing the Christmas story to their parents! Because of our growth we had to move our program from our church to the local school gym. We had 374 people attend! 374 people who heard the Gospel. There were many that wanted to know more about Christ and were able to hear a personal presentation of salvation. After the program all the kids were given a food basket and new flip flops! This special program has given our church a wonderful opportunity to help these families both spiritually and physically. Now we pray that these parents will think about God’s greatest gift, Christ, and accept Him as their Savior!