Tag Archives: Christmas

Last Sunday, NCBC hosted its Children’s Christmas Program! The support from the parents was amazing! 41 out of 45 moms and dads came to see their little ones tell the Christmas story!  Months of hard work and practice really paid off as the kids sang and performed their parts with confidence. As a dad, my heart melted when our Abigail sang “Away in a Manger.” Abbie is my little spitfire and this was her very first time to sing in the program so we weren’t sure what was going to happen once she got up there! But she and the rest of her preschool class did great! After the program all of our faithful kids were given a food basket and new flip flops! This special program has given our church the 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!

When you step on Malapascua Island you will hear the sounds of people rebuilding their lives. Chainsaws cutting away at the fallen coconut trees, making lumber. Hammers busy fixing homes and boats. Children laughing and playing. Seeing their determination to restore their way of life, creates an even greater desire for us to help them! In the spirit of Christmas, our church took buckets full of relief goods and went Christmas caroling around the island.  We went to homes, sang, and presented these families with a little gift. We saw tears of thankfulness, smiles of joy, and even looks of surprise!  In this country it is customary for carolers to get paid for singing, so these families were very surprised when we did not expect any money and gave them a gift instead!  Elizabeth and the kids were able to go with me to Malapascua this time. What a blessing to help these people and serve the Lord together!

Christmas…it’s a special time in this busy world. It’s a time when hearts think about family and the greatest gift that was ever given…the birth of our Savior.  In this Christmas season we have attempted to share the true meaning of Christmas with the world. On December 8th we invited people to come and see our Children’s Christmas Program. ‘Color’s of Christmas’ was a 30 minute program that showed the meaning of each beautiful color we see around the Christmas season. “Red is for the blood Jesus shed for sinners who are lost…The true meaning of Christmas in the colors we see is the gift of salvation given for you and for me!” It was a beautiful program and we had almost 100% of our parents come to see their children tell the Christmas story in song.  Each one of those parents heard Pastor Travis preach the gospel and had an opportunity to think about Christ. The Christmas Program has been a wonderful tool to reach out to the lost and make way for future visits!  

We just wanted to wish all our friends and loved ones a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  We enjoyed our first Christmas in the Philippines as we learned how the Filipino people celebrate.  Festivities will start on Christmas Eve and go on until the wee hours of Christmas morning.  A wonderful meal is served around midnight which mainly consists of spaghetti and lechon (roasted pig).  We celebrated with several people from the church and had fun learning the different traditions of a Filipino Christmas.  While Christmas is an important holiday, the one that tops them all is New Years.  A lot of superstition surrounds the day and makes it a very unique celebration.  Families will gather, believing that having your family with you to ring in the New Year will mean that you will not be separated in the coming year.  As the clock strikes midnight, fireworks go off from just about every home, followed by car horns blaring, and pots and pans crashing in an attempt to scare off evil spirits.  It’s not like anything we have seen in the States.  It’s something even I had forgotten since I lived in America for so long.  We pray you all have a great time with your families as we anticipate another year to serve our Lord.