Good news! Elizabeth’s permanent residence status has been approved! Now, she can leave and reenter the country as if she were a Filipino citizen and stay with no time restraint. The only maintenance this status requires is a renewal of her i-card (her identification) every 5 years. Thank you all for keeping us in your prayers!
Well, it’s summer time! In this hot season there’s always one thing we look forward to….CAMP! We packed our bags, our fans, our mattresses (yep you read that right :) ), and our kids to head a couple hours south and join the fun. The Lord blessed us this year with a large facility to accommodate our 200 plus campers. Even though it was not equipped with beds the campers came prepared. They brought cardboard and foam mats to sleep on! For most of them it wasn’t too different from their own beds at home. I loved their smiles even when they didn’t have all the “necessities” that we so often take for granted. This year our theme was “Stay In the Castle.” Our crew did a wonderful job performing the classic play. What a great opportunity to encourage the teens to remain pure and to live a life of no regrets! In the world today, many people believe that is impossible! But God’s Word tells us that it is not only possible, it is our”reasonable service” for Christ!
Categories: Updates
The blog just got a much needed update! :) We added some new pictures for you to enjoy….images from the typhoon relief work in 2013 and also pictures from our many church activities. Watch our featured slideshow to see a gallery from our Back Yard Bible School adventures. These classes are so much fun as we bring Sunday School right to the kid’s back yard! Enjoy!
Resurrection Sunday is almost here! Our church will celebrate by remembering the resurrection of Christ…but this day has come to mean different things for people around the world. This is true for the people in Cebu. Here, the celebration begins earlier in the week. Like other peoples of the world, they begin celebrating on Good Friday to remember that Christ died. But something a bit more unique to the Philippines, is their Black Saturday. It is a day of death and many superstitions. For them Christ is dead so they keep their children home, afraid that if they are hurt there is no God to heal their wounds. Our bustling metropolis becomes quiet and almost completely shuts down. Throughout the week, men beat themselves and are crucified to remember Christ’s death. That really is the emphasis of their celebration, death. But as we look at the Bible we see that God emphasized something even more important….Christ’s resurrection. If Christ had died as other men and remained in the tomb, there would be no power in the cross. We would have no promise of heaven, no hope beyond the grave. But because Christ rose, he proved that he truly was the Son of God! He was more than a mere man, he was God. That is what makes him so different from any other man or religion. Our God is alive today, waiting patiently for men to realize this truth. Salvation is offered freely to all who would believe and repent of their sins! We pray you all have a wonderful day as you celebrate the resurrection of our Savior!
I Corinthians 15:17 “And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.”
