Semester Break!

When Semester began in mid-October, it was a chance to take a rest for most of the

Meeting with our BU Senior High Students (we call the group “Infinity.”)

students.  However, for us in Legazpi, it became one of the busiest times of the year.  Although we set aside some of our on-campus work during the three-week break, it was filled with even more special events.

     For one, the long semester break was only for college students, not for high school, who just got one week. Since we have outreach going in three high schools, that work went on nearly the whole month of October.

However, in addition to this, some of the main events that filled the break included:

 

Outreach to Guinanayan Island

One of the first special activities God opened up during the semester break was the chance to go to Guinanayan Island.

It really all began with two of my former Bible study attendees in Manila way back in 1995, Gab and Reggie.  They accepted the Lord there, and both came and helped for a time on San Miguel Island.  After this they decided to get married and some years later move to Guinanayan Island, where their family owned quite a bit of land.

Posing with Gab and Regie and their kids.

Guinanayan Island turned out to be just a 1-hour boat ride from our campsite on Cagraray Island.  It has recently begun to receive a lot of publicity because of it’s beautiful beaches, and more and more tourists are beginning to visit.

This surge in tourism gave Gab and Reggie the chance to set up a small resort on the island, which is doing quite well.

With Tiya Rosa and Tiyo Ernesto, Reggie’s parents. Tiya Rosa was one of the first to accept Christ and be baptized on San MIguel Island in 1997.

However, they also had a heart to reach the people on the island for Christ.  So, at the end of October they invited me to visit them on their son’s birthday, which they wanted to use as an opportunity to gather neighbors to hear the gospel. and share with some of their neighbors.

It was a great opportunity to impact another place in Bicol with the gospel.  However, it was made even better because I was joined by  Ivan and Francis, two guys I’ve been discipling from our Legazpi church.

The trip was an all-day event, but was also great exposure for Ivan and Francis, who were able to see firsthand the needs for the gospel and for solid teaching that existed in man of the islands of our province.

 

 

On the boat heading to Guinanayan Island. Francis is next to me; Ivan in the back. Both great guys with huge hearts for the Lord.

 

Both Ivan and Francis got the chance to share an encouragement to the people as part of the outreach on the island, and both did great.

This trip was really the start of a whole series of events during the semester break where God began to show us all the huge uncompleted task that still remains to bring the gospel to many parts of the country.  In Albay only about half the communities have churches, and sometimes the churches that do exist are not very solid in teaching.

 

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Sports Fest at our Cagraray Island Campsite

Standing with Raul and Ivan next to the Sports Fest banner. Raul, from one our island churches, but also helping sometimes in Legazpi, did most of the organization for this event.

The youth on the islands are often overlooked and left to be pulled many directions by the bad peer pressure of ungodly peers.   It is often hard for the churches on the islands to reach them, for most have no desire to step inside a church.  Their parents, being non-believers, will often in many cases not allow their kids to attend a Christian church.

     Yet kids love sports, and so for one day we opened our campsite to hold a “Sport’s Fest.”  Youth from our three churches on the islands joined, and invited their friends from school as well.  We did not really know what to expect, but when we started the number of participants had swelled to over 70 youth.

Basketball, volleyball, table tennis, badminton, Scrabble, Chess, and poster making were among the activities and competitions sponsored.

 

 

I was so thankful to Raul Buque,  one of the youth in our Cagraray Island church, as well as May and Anne Bilolo, who did a lot from the Legazpi side to set this sports fest up.

I really didn’t have to do much of anything except show up and have fun!

 

 

Yet it wasn’t only about sports.  Pastor Alan Leigh and his group from Calvary Chapel Wahiawa joined us and in the middle presented the love of God in a very powerful way to the youth.

Chad Getz did a Arnis exhibition (Arnis is a traditional Filipino martial arts sport).

     Meanwhile Carol Price trained some of the girls in Hawaiian Hula Dance and did a presentation at the end of the Sports Fest.

Thanks so much to this team, organized by Pastor Darwin Nases, who took the time to set up the trip for the group of Wahiawa.

 

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Generation Christian Fellowship Retreat

The day after the sports fest at our campsite, we rounded up those in our Legazpi church who had not gone back their provinces for the semester break (we are still mostly students in Legazpi, with many of them from out of town) and we headed to the nearby town of Santo Domingo for our first church outing since last December.

Chad sharing at the church retreat.

CC Wahiawa was still there to assist, as they powerfully shared on the way Christ can transform our lives.  Their testimonies were amazing.  God is truly great in the way He can change lives.

 

 

 

 

Sharing before the baptism with Pastor Alan Leigh at my right.

 

Besides this we also had time for games, eating, sharing, bonding, and praying.  It was a great time to just kick back and relax and connect with others in the church in a more informal setting.  I’m ready for the next outing!

One of the highlights for me at the retreat was the chance to hold a baptism for three in our church.  Britz, Niel, and Conrad are all new believers who wanted to testify to their faith through water baptism.  What a joy!

Niel stepping forward for baptism.  Niel became a Christian my first year in Legazpi, but then had to leave Legazpi to study elsewhere.  He struggled a lot in his spiritual life there, however, and so returned to Legazpi specifically to study where he could attend our church and grow in Christ.   He is presently continuing with me in weekly discipleship and growing fast.

 

This retreat was followed the next day by a special church service in which pastor Alan and the CC Wahiawa team again shared and encouraged the brethren.  It was another great time of fellowship and of being built up in the Word.

 

Aletheian Student Circle Missions Camp

On the way to our Cagraray Island campsite for the missions camp.  Twenty-seven campers participated in the three day event.

 

We always try to hold a camp of some sort between semesters for the students in our campus ministry, Aletheian Student Circle (ASC), and this year for some of our young professionals also.

 

 

This year the camp theme was “Missions: Beyond Borders” and was aimed at introducing the students to world missions and the great need there still is for Christians to step beyond their borders to reach out to the world.

 

     In a first step of going beyond borders, we took the risk of scheduling the camp at our campsite on Cagraray Island, instead of in Legazpi, as we have done before.

The reason for past Legazpi locations is that students often have a hard time getting permission form parents to travel over the ocean to our campsite.

However, we decided to try anyway, and encouraged the students to pray and trust God to tough their parents’ hearts.  And God answered!  At first 5 students could not get permission to join, but with time and prayer, in the end every one was permitted.  It was really a breakthrough for them!

Cris with her Neala Armstrong impersonation.

 

By God’s grace the camp turned out great.  We covered eight teaching sessions related to missions.

We were so thankful to Jead Timagos as well, a former Filipina Missionary in Thailand who traveled an entire day from Samar province to share her experiences and wisdom.

 

 

 

Between sessions we had some discussion and prayer times, and a lot of time for fellowship.

Small group discussion between sessions.

 

Of course there were also  games.  The main game was modeled to reflect the process a  person must undergo if he or she is to become a missionary.  It was amazing how well it all went. God’s hand seemed to be on everything.

 

Team 1 standing before Chief Cowabunga in their final step to share the gospel to him in his language of flowers and dancing…

 

Even the meals were geared to help the students focus on missions. Each one included some type of food eaten in a foreign country.

 

First meal – native Filipino served on cut banana plant stalks.

Trying to prepare this on an island isolated from supermarkets carrying any foreign cuisine was a bit of a challenge, but the staff cooks did amazing, even preparing sadza, the corn meal I used to eat every day when I lived in Zimbabwe.

The camp was life-changing — at least it was for my life.

You couldn’t help but be impacted. For three days we focused on the unmet needs for the gospel around the world for the gospel.   We saw how Western missionary work is slacking now, and yet how cult groups and other world religions are holding their own against Christianity and in some cases surpassing it in growth.

Campers seeking out the next step in their missions game by locating a truth in Scripture.

 

We talked about and watch documentaries on our persecuted brethren in closed countries who stand for Christ at the risk of their lives.

We also saw in Scripture how every one of us is mandated by God to somehow be part of the effort for reaching the world.  How could you not be impacted?

 

 

 

     On the last day of the camp, the effect of it all was so great that our worship leader and others were so impacted and were weeping so badly that they could not even finish the line-up of songs.

We did not plan anything like that; it just happened.  It seemed something God decided to do.

 

 

I personally came back from the last of our semester-break activities with new resolve to follow the Lord in whatever way He leads in order to move our Legazpi church toward being a sending church.  We are still very small, but the vision is very clear.

 

Please pray that I will be sensitive to how God wants the church to move in this direction, and that He will raise up people with hearts burning to use their time, resources, and lives to help reach those who have never heard the gospel.

God sent me out into missions some 30 years ago.  Now I really believe He has placed me in Legazpi not simple to plant a church, but to multiply myself so that what was — and still is — the missions field for me will become the sending-field for missions to other places.  Thanks for your prayers.

It was a fast-paced but very fruitful semester-break, and I praise God for all He did during that period.  He is continuing to move, not only in the ministry here, but within my own heart.  I’m excited to see what He has next!

 

A Fast but Flourishing Finish

     The first semester of classes at Bicol University are finished!  What a semester it was also – super busy but also full of a lot of joy watching God work.  Here are a few of the highlights of last month of the semester.

University Campus Ministry

The students were the real call I felt from the Lord when I moved to Legazpi, and they continue to be a focal point of the work. Our campus ministry is called Aletheian Student Circle (ASC) and it continued with a lot of student ministry right up to the end of the semester.  Here were a few of the ongoing ministries during the last month of the semester:

Outreach Campus Bible Studies

We continued six of these this semester: 4 on the BU campus, one with th BU Senior High, and one at Pag-asa High School.  I led two of these.

All in all about  35 students attended.  These studies served a dual purpose of being nurture for older students, but at the same time evangelistic for those our students invited.

Besides these on-campus Bible studies, we also continued our mid-week “Life Discovery Group” each Thursday at our Student Hub/Church, where we are walking through the Old Testament book-by-book. This doubles as the mid-week study for our church, Generation Christian Fellowship.

One-on-One  and Small Group Discipleship

I continued to disciple 4 guys during the end of the semester. In addition to this about 15 other students were involved in one-on-one and small group discipleship.

 

Round-up

We held our final “Round-up” the last week of  the semester.

Round-ups are special events we hold on campus for whatever students from other Bible studies or Discipleship wish to attend.

It’s also a chance for ASC members to invite friends in an effort to share God’s Word with them. The focus was to worship and thank God for His faithfulness during the last semester.  It was a great way to end the semester.

Generation Christian Fellowship

We continued to enjoy the blessing of the Lord during that last month of the semester in a number of church activities.  Besides the regular Sunday service, we also have a number of other activities to help believers grow as well as reach out to others seeking the Lord.  A couple that God seemed to work through a lot at the end of the semester included:

Discipleship Training School (DTS)

We finally completed our 13 weeks of study on the “Foundations of our Faith.” This was actually one of my biggest projects for the semester, since it required me to write the curriculum.  We covered the basics of the faith.  The class was held every Sunday before the service for those of all ages in the church.  Eighteen students continued to the end in DTS.

Life Group

This is our mid-week informal ministry for young professionals.  It’s been great to see a gradual growth in this group as those already involved invite workmates and friends.  Unfortunately a few of the earlier attendees have become inconsistent due to heavy work schedules that keep them working overtime on the nights we hold the Life Groups. Yet still, God is working in some great ways among the young pros.

Island Ministry

Most of this last month I was in Legazpi, but I did get to visit the island and the home of one former church family from the islands this month.

Standing with Pastor Fernando Coriag in front of his boat at our campsite.

Pastor Fernando and Pastor Leo are leading the three churches on the islands, but I am still involved in the radio ministry, where we broadcast with 15 watts to most of the eastern side of the province, as well as campsite oversight.

Jonathan and Shie cutting “kakawati” for organic agriculture fertilizer.

We now have a group of 7 teachers renting some of the rooms on one side of our campsite, helping generate income for maintenance during the off-season for camps.

Babeth and Amelyn preparing radio programming.

Jonathan and Shie Volante help with the admin and a lot of technical and oversight stuff there, while and Babeth and Ameyln Boneo do most of the radio ministry work.

August Action (Aug 2017)

Ministry presses on…

in Legazpi as well as on the islands.  It has been a super busy month, not without struggles, but also with a lot of opportunities to see God work.

Here are some of the doors God has opened this last month:

Generation Christian Fellowship

     It’s really been a joy to be a part of   GenCF as it God continues to develop and mature it bit by bit in Legazpi.   The goal of the fellowship is to truly help those who attend to get solidly grounded in God’s Word as well as in a vibrant life with Christ.  Thus, besides the Sunday chapter-by-chapter study through the New Testament, the church continues as well with the Wednesday night Life Group (informal meeting for young pros),  mid-week Bible study (doubling with our campus ministry “Life Discovery Group”) on Thursdays, prayer meeting on Monday, and men’s and women’s group on Sunday evening and Saturday afternoon respectively.

I’m thankful to the Lord for those who are helping in this ministry, and encouraged as well to see how God is bit by bit raising up others within the church to assist in different ministries.  May He inspire more to step forward and use their gifts as well!

This month,  God opened two additional doors for  ministry at GenCF.

The first is a high school group we are calling “Teens for Christ.” This is intended to be a transitional group for kids too old for Sunday school but too young for the adult service.  At this point we are running this for 7-9th graders.

With God’s blessings and in cooperation with Tiwala Kids and Communities, we were also able to start a Saturday morning children’s ministry at our center.  This is intended, not only to share God’s love with neighboring kids on Saturday but to help encourage them to come on Sunday as well.

 

 

 

Bicol University Ministry

Aletheian Student Circle (ASC)  is by far one of our  biggest thrusts in Legazpi. An arm of GenCF to college students, ASC was blessed this past month with the chance to handle  12-13 events/week for students.

Besides these weekly events, ASC also hosted two special events included a PRO event (film showing), and Round-up (a gathering of all students from various other ministries).

     It was a bit of a roller coaster this month, however, because students are becoming more and more loaded with studies, and particularly some of the newer students became a little inconsistent.  We could really use prayer in this area.

 

Booths at Bicol University

One of the highlights this past month of BU ministry (actually the end of July) was the double  opportunity to set up two booths at the BU Campus.

The first was for the the College of Science Science-fest.  We were actually the only University Based Organization (UBO) outside of the College of Science that was allowed to set up a booth.  The door opened because I just happened to run into a student on campus with whom I had shared Christ a couple years ago, Arne . . .

Rainbow created by a flashlight, our homemade water prism, and two mirrors.

 

Arne had a real heart to see God lifted up on campus.  He was on the College of Science planning committee for the Science-fest and so proposed they let us join so that we could bring a spiritual component to the Science-fest.

 

      We set up the booth to show examples of science in the Bible.  It included references to the earth hanging in space, light being divided, valleys under the ocean, and expansion of the universe.

We also were able to put together a 20-minute video showing how Genesis 1 and science actually are in remarkable agreement about many aspects of the creation of the earth.

It was a great week and we were able to interact with many students.

The second booth was part of the BU Welcome Event. 

     We were quite bold in proclaiming Jesus in this booth, and were surprised in the end when we won the “Best Booth” of all UBO’s!

     This was the second year that God has somehow allowed us to win that award.  We were not shooting for that, but it was an encouragement to all of how open the university is for us to share Christ!

New High School Ministries

     God has been good and opened up a new ministry in Pag-asa High School, wherein 12-15 students are attending Fridays Bible study.

We also had the chance to host a joint student outing with students from Bicol University Senior High at the end of the month.

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Discipleship Training School

     By God’s grace we were able to launch the next semester of DTS in July and have been continuing strong through August.

This semester the topic is “Foundations of Our Faith,” and is a mellowed-down Systematic Theology Class, geared at helping students understand the basic Christian doctrines.

The whole DTS series (a different topic each semester) is ultimately aimed at helping prepare, equip, and motivate more workers in Christ’s harvest field.  Around 20 students and professionals from the church are attending this, and even a visitor from another church.  It’s been a lot of fun but also a lot of work to prepare.  I’m already up to over 120 pages of notes and materials for the students!

So, overall . . .

It’s been a good month.  We do covet your prayers, however, for strength and wisdom as we seek to reach out to those who need Christ. Please pray as well for young Christians to grow and become consistent in fellowship, as well as for the older ones to take steps toward greater maturity and service. Thanks!

(More prayer requests are listed in the prayer section of this blog)

God bless and thanks for taking a look at this blog!

Highlights of the First Half

I used to play a lot of football when I was younger.  It wasn’t just the game I so enjoyed; it was all the strategizing that went into it. With my dad’s coaching, I used to design all sorts of ingenious plays, and I know that, had the Denver Broncos gotten their hands on those plays, they would have won the Super Bowl a lot sooner than they did!

Now in the Philippines I don’t get much chance to even touch a football.  Yet God still gives me the chance to experience the thrill of the game through the Bicol University campus ministry He’s given me.

Like a football game, college ministry also has a first and second half as well as a semester-break half time.  Each has its own challenges.

This is our University Org logo.  ASC stands for Aletheian Student Circle, “Aletheian” meaning Truth Seeker in Greek.

I really thank the Lord for His good work the first half of the school year.

Here are a few highlights of what He did and what He allowed us to do:

ROUND-UPS

Round-ups are group meetings aimed at trying to gather all of the students involved in one way or another in ASC.

A lot of the ministry revolves around one-on-one discipleship, and so these students being discipled don’t naturally meet others in ASC.

Round-ups help bring them together and let them know they are part of something bigger.

 

 

Round-ups are also intended to be evangelistic.  ASC members can invite their friends and the gospel is always included in the message.

I usually do the message, but students are taking over more and more – nearly all now – of the other parts of each Round-up.

 

 

 

 

 

CAMPUS BOOTHS

We had two chances to set up booths as part of campus events. The purpose of the booth was to introduce students to our campus group, but more importantly to introduce them to Jesus.

We did this through a series of games.

The first set of games was based on astronomy.  Our booth housed a hand-made 6-ft tall planetarium, where students had to identify constellations and then use the letters in the names to decode a message (Psalm 19:1).

Our cardboard planetarium

We also had a simulated SETI message that had to be deciphered to further decode Psalm 19:1, as well as a rocket-dart shoot at planets (balloons) in which were the last words of the message.

Students trying the “SETI Code”

Taking down the “rocket” afterwards

Students observing in planetarium (aluminum projector in front)

 

It was then tied into the gospel.

All this was housed in a two-story “rocket,” with the planetarium put on the top floor.

 

 

Devotion with students during booth prep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Planetarium Star Field. (Can you find Orion and Gemini?)

The second booth was titled “IQ Blast.”

The theme was to test one’s “smarts” in different areas.  One area was in spiritual matters.

 

The “spiri-Q” test was basically just a questionnaire on the points of the gospel with explanation as to the right answers afterwards.  We even had some students from a local cult group take the exam. They failed it, but it became a way to share with them the truth.

By God’s grace both booths drew a lot of students, and we ended up winning “Best Booth” for the first one. (No awards were granted for the second booth event).

 

 

LIFE DISCOVERY GROUPS

The Life Discovery Groups (LDG) was basically a mid-week Bible study for students held on campus (though we held a couple at our student center also (which we call “The Student Hub”).  This last semester we covered the book of Daniel chapter by chapter.

The purpose of the LDG was to help students get to know God’s Word, see by demonstration the correct way to read, interpret, and apply Scripture, and to hopefully prepare them to bridge to the church, Generation Christian Fellowship, where this is always the way we teach.

The Life Discovery Group was also open to non-ASC members or students attending other churches.  In any way it could be a blessing, we were happy for it to be such.

INFINITY STUDENT CIRCLE

One of the blessings this last semester was the chance to teach the Bible to senior high school students.

It began when I was asked to substitute teach for an earth science class, and that led to a few Bible studies in the school.  By God’s grace it opened the doors to start a high school ministry we named “Infinity Student Circle.”

It’s still is just barely off the ground, but it is in fact flying!

STUDENT HUB CONSTRUCTION

Although we wanted to finish the renovation of the student hub before school started, difficulty getting consistent workers and more problems to fix than we imagined, kept us working for the entire semester.  However a lot was accomplished, and we are nearing the end of this phase of renovation.  We hope to do the total final renovation next summer when we don’t have to balance campus ministry and construction projects simultaneously.

The Student Hub is actually more than a student center. It also serves as the venue for Generation Christian Fellowship, Tiwala Kids and Communities,  and Agape Residence Hall (which is our boarding house that can house up to 20 students (this last semester we had between 9-11 boarders plus 4 staff or volunteers of Tiwala and our ministry.)

I also bunk here, using my office as a bedroom and plopping a mattress down on the floor each night.

It’s in a great place, just 5 minutes from the main Bicol University Campus and is incredibly useful for ministry. Thanks so much to the Lord for this place, and to the people He used to help us get it!

 

ISLAND MINISTRY

Boat ride between islands

Besides the work in Legazpi, I still traveled back and forth to San Miguel and Cagrarary Islands to oversee some of the ministry going on there this last semester.

Amelyn – one of our Island Breeze DJ’s hard at work at our campsite station.

Island Breeze Radio @ 89.5 and 102.3 FM was one of my projects there, as well as campsite oversight and development.

Working on card design with ladies. (The Christmas cards help provide livelihood for some of the ladies in the churches as well as some local support for the island ministry

The three churches have been turned over to Pastor Fernando and Pastor Leo, but I still worked with them to some extent, particularly when bringing in outside groups to assist. Faith in Action also continues to support the churches, since the Sunday offerings fall far short of being able to support the pastors.

Because of the need for local financing, I continued to work to some extent with our agricultural and livelihood programs as well, though not as much as before.

 

God’s Love Poured Out in the Month of Hearts – March 2015

God’s love is always reaching out, always seeking those who are lost, always seeking to restore people to fellowship with their Creator.  And we really saw this in February of this year.

February was, as all months, overflowing with activity. And yet this month in more ways than usual, we saw God stretch out His love here in Bicol.

Sharing about God’s love at our Valentines Student Round-up

In Legazpi, we were well into the second semester of school. Up to now most of our college-student contacts had already been made, and most of our ministry was simply following up and discipling them. However, we were surprised in February when God did a fresh work of connecting us with more students.

Posing with Krisel, Gab,a nd Jenny at one of our student gatherings in February

What a joy it is to see these new students grow in interest in the Lord and begin to attend various ministries!

These new students came across our paths in a few different ways. First, two groups moved in near our student center. One of the students in one of these groups was already attending our church, and so she served as a natural bridge to the others. Other students came also by invitation of classmates who were attending our activities.

One of the first mid-week Bible studies at our Legazpi Student Center

In an effort to respond to these students, we began a mid-week Bible study in our boarding house / student center. We had expected this to be a small group of 7-10 students, but many more attended than we expected, sometimes bringing the attendance past 20. Working through the book of 1 John chapter by chapter, I began repeating this study as well on campus at Bicol University campus for other students who could not attend in the evening. Overall we usually have a combined attendance of 20-30 students each week.

Students interacting during our Valentines Day Round-up

God also opened the doors for more contact to students through an evangelism training we began holding before our church services on Sunday. Covering the basics of contact evangelism, the evangelism training inspired some of the students to start making outreach a weekly part of their schedule. As a result a number of students received the Lord in February. This is what also led to other students in the evangelism training inviting classmates to activities in the church at student ministry, ASC.

Mike and Maggie Cano sharing at our Valentines Day Round-up

Of course the heart of February is Valentines Day, and we didn’t miss that opportunity. By God’s grace we were able to hold a Valentines Day “Round-up” for students at our student center.

Besides games, worship, and special numbers, the program also included a panel discussion on God’s desire for love, courtship and marriage, led by Mike and Maggie Cano, good friends of mine, who carved out time in busy schedules to join us. What a blessing to have them join us! (Mike and Maggie were two who really encouraged me to start ministry in Legazpi. Maggie serves as the faculty advisor at BU for our campus ministry.)

Talking with students at our Valentines Round-up

The Valentines Day Round-up ended with my giving a short message/presentation about God’s amazing love.

But Valentines Day was hardly the end of the February activites. Hardly had we finished with our Valentines round-up, when a group of 12 from Calvary Chapel – Chino Hills arrived to help us out for the next weekend. Since we only had them for a couple days, we didn’t waste any time putting them to work.

Rommel from CC Chino Hills sharing the gospel with a group of students at BU.

Their first activity was more outreach at Bicol University. It was a great experience, and they came back with more than 50 names of students interested in knowing more about Jesus or who had prayed to receive Christ.

The same night we held a Post Valentines-day Dinner for some of the older members of our new church here, as well as friends who we or they had invited. All in all over 20 accepted the invitation.

CC Chino Hills group singing at the Post Valentines Day Dinner.

The dinner involved time for those in the church, as well as on the team from California, to interact and share with the visitors. Pastor Joe de Jesus, a friend from Manila and also connected with CC Chino Hills gave a great message, and the response was great.

Having never done anything like this before, we weren’t sure how it would go. However, God was good. It was reported to me that there were some decisions for Christ right at the tables, and a few of the visitors have shown up at our Sunday service over the past couple weeks as well!

CC Chino Hills sharing at one of the kids’ outreaches on San Miguel Island.

After the team finished in Legazpi, we swept them away to the islands, where we held a Saturday full of children’s ministry both on San Miguel Island and on Cagraray. All in all about 130 children attended the four outreaches.

The CC Chino Hills ministry ended with Pastor Jeff Kerns and Pastor Joe de Jesus sharing at a joint Sunday service at our campsite in the morning, and at our Legazpi church in the afternoon.

Posing with CC Chino Hills group at the pier.

It was a busy month without question. But what better way to use the Month of Hearts than to share God’s love with people who need it so badly?

From Mayon to Mayon (Part 3) — Student Ministry in Legazpi

Mayon Voclano as seen from my Legazpi window

Mayon Volcatno used to sit on my left side out of my Cagraray Island window; now it sits out on my right out of the window of my new apartment in Legazpi. In my last blog I described how the Lord had opened the doors for a youth camp on the islands – a camp that overflowed into setting up a new center for student ministry in Legazpi City.  Well, since then the student ministry in Legazpi has taken off, and this in turn has led to my moving part-time to Legazpi to try to keep up with it.

Front of student center/ boarding house/ church just after panting

The dilapidated third-floor apartment, which the island youth fervently repainted and repaired to be the base for this student ministry in Legazpi, has since become a boarding house for 7 students at Bicol University, a student center, as well as a venue for a new church plant.  So much packed into one small apartment! Setting up a new ministry in a new city has been a lot of work!  However, it has been such a joy to watch as God begins to do some amazing things this side of Mayon. Here are highlights of some of them:

#1 – Approval for on-campus ministry at Bicol University

Standing by the Four Pillars on the BU campus

Bicol University is our main target for student ministry at the moment.  The largest university in the region, students attend from four of the provinces most unreached with the gospel.  Thus, it is a strategic spot to reach out with God’s Word.

Students on BU grounds.  This is the same way we often meet for informal Bible studies.

BU has been much on my heart fom years, when various groups from this school used to visit our Cagraray Island campsite.  Last year a group from a geology class spent the night at our campsite.  As part of their tour, I had the chance to conduct a stargazing session for them.

Our Student Ministry Logo

Talking about God naturally flowed out of the stargazing session, and it ended with a group of students wanting to know more.  This and other experiences with BU students led me to believe that BU was the place  where we should start the Legazpi ministry.  And so far God has seemed to continue to confirm this!

One of our first student gatherings at our student center.

One of the first ways the BU ministry was confirmed was through unusually fast accreditation of our ministry.

Emmylou, Mila, Ann Ann, and Jenny. These four are our Legazpi campus team. Though working with another ministry to underprivileged kids, they give time each week to reach out to students. (Ann Ann is from our church on Cagraray, and Emmylou was a volunteer there as well).

For some Christian groups, it required three years to become accredited as a University Based Organization on BU.  By an amazing act of God grace, however, we were approved within just three weeks!  We began our ministry the 2^nd week of June, and by the last week God had brought enough students into our realm of influence to qualify as an organization.

One of our monthly Round Up’s last October.

We named the group Aletheian Student Circle (ASC). Aletheian is the Greek Word for “Truth Seeker.”  Because Jesus is called the “The Way, the Truth, and the Life,” it seemed an appropriate name as a group focused on helping students find the Truth.

Leading games at one of our student gatherings.

Within ASC, the Lord has granted us the opportunity to start monthly student gatherings, which we call “Round Up’s.”   Besides these, we offer weekly discipleship meetings called “small circles.” At present ten small circles and one-on-one discipleship are ongoing, led by myself and 4 other part-time volunteers.

Leading a “small circle” on the BU campus.

One of these small circles began with an amazing open door from the Lord.  A friend and professor at BU allowed me to share in one of her first-year classes on the topic of “Being Successful in Studies.” I included in my talk a section about the importance of trusting in God.  From this talk a disciple-group of 10 students emerged, which has been meeting regularly since June.

Evangelism training being conducted at our student center in Legazpi.

Besides this group three of the girls who attended the campsite stargazing mentioned earlier did in fact continue to study the Bible with me when I got to Legazpi and all accepted the Lord!

#2 – Church plant

Sharing at one of our first services.

I am a firm believer in the importance of the church.  Jesus said that this is what He would be about building (Matt 16:18), and so the new student ministry has as well a back up church plant, where students, as they grow in Christ can be channeled and further nurtured.

Talking with students after one of the first services.

Named Generation Christian Fellowship, this new Sunday afternoon fellowship at our boarding house/students center is a joy to observe and be part of.

Sharing at the ASC Christmas Party.

The church is really Jesus’, not ours, and so, as we meet weekly, there is such an anticipation of what Jesus is going to do.  It is so exciting for me to see how the Lord has already begun to change lives through this fledgling church and begin to craft the fellowship into the unique character He wants.  It’s like watching a newborn baby start to grow and then crawl, awaiting the day it takes its first steps and utters its first words.   I can hardly wait to see what God has planed for this church!

#3 – Baptism!

First group to be baptized in the work God has given us in Legazpi.

At the end of December God gave us the chance to have our first baptism.  It began with one girl asking if she could be baptized.  When I agreed, six more students stepped forward to join the ranks.  What a wonderful day it was listening to the unique and amazing ways God had revealed Himself to each one of these students and brought them to the point of wishing to follow Him with their whole heart.  Now each one is continuing in discipleship.

John Renz about to be baptized. John Renz is from the island of Mabate & is also one of our boarders.

It’s been a big stretch moving part-time from one side of Mayon to the other, and then move back and forth between the two nearly every week.

Hazel was one of the girls in the stargazing. She was a Christian before we started the Legazpi ministry & was instrumental in helping start the campus Bible study with the other girls in the stargazing. She felt called in one of our studies to become a missionary when she graduates.

However, it has truly been a blessing to be part of the new work that God is doing!

The daughter of the former foreman of our Cagraray campsite project, Cyrene actually accepted the Lord in our youth camp two years ago. Because she was not from our islands we rarely saw her after that. However, we reconnected at BU, where she studies, and she was so excited to be baptized!

From Mayon to Mayon (Part 2) — Youth Camp

Happy campers jumping up in front of Mayon.

As ministry continues on the islands, the Lord is continuing to open news doors on the mainland as well. One of the first ways He did this was through our end-of-summer youth camp.

Youth Camp

This camp began at our Santicon, Cagraray Island campsite, where 42 youth attended three days of games, activities, and sessions related to “stretching out” for Jesus. During the camp, the youth were challenged to stretch out their faith in God as well as in what He could do through them.

But it wasn’t all just talk. During the last two days of the camp, the youth were given the chance to put the teaching into practice. They were all shuttled the two-hour trip to Legazpi. Here they spent the first day helping fix up what would become our base for student ministry in Legazpi. The second day they hit the streets in outreach and evangelism, in which six persons prayed to receive Christ!

Here are some photos:

Youth on last day of camp posing on the roof in front of our new student center.

Celebrating victory after a game at our island campsite.

Small group meetings at campsite.

Teaching one of my sessions at the camp.

Babeth and her brother Jonel leading worship. Babeth is also our main youth worker with our radio ministry.

Camp worship led by the youth.

Small group discussion at camp. Jenny (left) and Ann Ann (right) are both now helping with the Legazpi student ministry. Ann Ann is from our Cagraray church.

Soon to be pastor of two of the island churches, Fernando teaches at the youth camp.

Evangelism training in Legazpi

Raymond and Joseph practicing sharing the gospel.

Exploring Lignon Hill just outside of Legazpi.

Student Center Work Project: Our first introduction to the dilapidated room we would rent for the Legazpi student ministry.

Jonathan, our main project coordinator on the islands, overseeing construction of outside tent at new center.

Working on the roof of the third floor of the apartment complex. (We rented the only room on the third floor, giving us a wide-open roof deck in front of the unit. How perfect!

Laying out the paint. It took a LOT to fix this place up!

Cramped quarters at night – over 50 people in an apartment made for at most 8-10.

Paint job finished!

Painting team.

Ready to use! A week after this, six student boarders moved in. This has helped us offset rent for the building and thus give a very cost-effective center for both the student and church ministries in Legazpi. The students also invite their friends to Bible studies.

Tired camper after two-day paint job

From Mayon to Mayon (part 1)

Mayon from my bedroom window on Cagraray Island. (San Miguel Island can be seen jutting out from the right of the picture.

It was the fulfillment of my childhood dream to have an active volcano puffing smoke outside of my window.

Now I cannot get away from that dream.

Within the past few months I have seen a huge change in my ministry – from ministering mainly to fishermen and farmers on two islands to now reaching out to Mining Engineering Students in two of the largest cities in the province, from teaching in Tagalog, to now sharing more in English, from getting water from a well and eating my own home-grown veggies to buying water and visiting grocery stores, from paddling boats and hiking to get to Bible studies to having to pay for public transportation – it’s been a big change.

But one thing hasn’t changed – Mayon Volcano.

It still sits outside of my window. Granted, it’s on my left side when on Cagraray Island and on my right side when in Legazpi City, but it is still there, almost like a reminder to me of God’s continuing presence wherever I serve Him. And as I shuttle back and forth now between Legazpi and the islands each week, Mayon continues to tower up, just as God continues to work in both areas where I now minister.

The following is just a snapshot of some of the things God has done since I began to make the move to a duel-ministry between Legazpi City and Cagraray and San Miguel Islands.  It been exciting to watch God work!

Beginning with the Islands:

 

Easter Joint Service at our campsite on Cagraray Island
 

Seventeen years ago on Easter Sunday I waded out into the waters of the Pacific Ocean for our first baptism on San Miguel Island. Six persons stepped forward that day. That day set the course for the next 17 years of my life, as it was then that God spoke to my heart from Matthew 28:19-20 to remain on the island and make disciples.

A few months ago I waded out again on Easter Sunday to, interestingly enough, baptize the same number of people as that first Easter Sunday. Yet this time – my last baptism here as pastor – God’s word to me was different. It was one of completion of a mission and a call, rather than a beginning, a call from Isaiah 54:2 and Mark 1:38 to stretch out beyond the islands.

How good it was of the Lord to both begin and end my time on the islands as pastor with an Easter baptism.

Teaching at our Easter Sunday Service at our campsite on Cagraray Island

“3 UTOS, 3 PANGAKO” means ‘3 COMMANDS, 3 PROMISES”

Congregation at Easter Service. This is a joint fellowship of our two churches on San Miguel Island and one on Cagraray Island.

 

 

Jemar’s baptism. He was one of six youth who stepped forward on Easter to proclaim his faith in Jesus.

 

Joking with Ruth before her baptism as a passenger boat passes by in the background. Ruth is the daughter of one of the up-and-coming leaders, Cesar. She also assists with our radio ministry.

Some of the baptism witnesses sitting on the steps of our campsite

The six youth to be baptized. Fernando is on the left. I’m obviously on the right – well almost…

 

R A D I O   T R A I N I N G . . .

 

At the beginning of the summer break the Lord opened door for us to hold a 2-week intensive radio-ministry training for 15 youth and adults in our churches here on the islands.  God was so gracious to send us a friend and trainer, Hazel Alvarez, to help us out.  Hazel’s previous work with both Christian radio and secular TV broadcasting was an invaluable asset, and this, along with the help of six summer radio youth workers, helped us add 7 new radio programs to our already airing 17.  We continue to receive text messages from people both on and off our islands, and I had the chance to visit two communities where our station basically serves as the only “church” for Christians there.

Hazel instructing one group of youth how to set up and run their own 1-hour weekly radio program.

Continued summer radio internship for students.

One group of students performing live from our campsite radio station “Youth on Air.”

 

Visiting a family in Banao, Bacacay (a community on the mainland) where “Island Breeze Radio is the only church here.”

R A D I O    T O W E R     R E P A I R

Besides the radio training, the past months also involved a lot of technical work in terms of getting our second radio station on San Miguel functioning well. A couple bad storms as well as some unknown causes put for a time both of our stations off the air. But by an amazing serious of events, the Lord supplied us just this August with all the equipment needed to get back on the air and expand again our coverage to many of the towns on the mainland.

Much thanks to Tony Randazzo, Maurice and Maria Carretta, and the group from Calvary Chapel North Long Beach, who were all amazing instruments from God to get us back up and running!

 

 

Preparing to push up the tower at our San Miguel Island Station – 102.3 FM.

Hoisting up the antenna to Cesar.

With power knocked out by Typhoon Glenda from San Miguel for perhaps 1 year, both of our radio stations have to run fully on solar power. Here Than, Nho, and Jonel are wiring up the panels to our resurrected San Miguel station.

Working with Than to wire in our solar panels to run the San Miguel station.

Our 15 watt San Miguel transmitter – able to bring 17 weekly programs to six towns on the mainland as well as most of San Miguel Island and parts of Cagraray as well. The station has tested out to reach significantly further than our original SM Island station. Amazing what a few watts can do!

Finishing at sunset. Mayon Volcano can be seen in the background puffing smoke.

Now doing it again at our Cagraray Island Campsite station (89.1 FM)…

Attaching the antenna to the top bamboo and wood section of our radio tower. We can push this one up to a bit over 70 feet. It’s signal is then captured by our San Miguel Island station and rebroadcast at 102.3 FM. All pretty low-tech stuff, but it actually works!

Ramir and Nho on the roof helping hoist the bamboo pole up.

Others up on the pole helping secure the bamboo pole as it goes up. It’s good that after all the times we have done this, no one has yet fallen – though I’ve gotten a little dizzy when I’ve had to be one to climb!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In my next blog I will share more about what God is doing on the other side of Mayon – in Legazpi.

Plowing On with Agriculture

Corn fields on San Miguel as seen when I arrived

“How could there be so much land and yet so many people struggling to eat!”  This was one of the first ironies that met me when I  arrived on San Miguel Island many years ago.  Tropical paradise and yet people were surviving on rice and a couple small fish for their meals.

The answer to my question was furnished by the people themselves.  There was agriculture, they told me, but it was mostly cash crops like corn, cassava, and komote (sweet potato), none of which were really useful for the daily diet of the people on the island. Some planted gardens, but with the difficulty with poor soil, torrential rainfall, blistering heat, and a collection of bugs so vast that it would make any entomologist jealous, veggies hardly stood a chance!

Our first plowing to start the agricultural development ministry

In addition, the large fields, I was told, were “nourished” primarily with synthetic fertilizers, spayed with toxic insecticides, and that, with no return of organic materials to the fields, was leading to an increasingly hard and acidic soil. This in turn was clearly resulting in more and more crop failures, financial difficulty for the people, and an exodus of some families from an island — and island which properly managed, should have been able to support many more people than it was.

Some of our initial rooftop plantings (Santicon campsite)

Seeing the effect of this on the financial stability and health of people in the church led us to start plowing into a new agricultural development ministry. The hope was that in some small way we could help alleviate or reverse this downward agricultural spiral – at least for some.

One disipline we still maintain with all plantings is to try to keep careful records of harvests. In this way we are trying to learn the best ways to plant. This is a sample of 4 ways of planting pechay, a popular lettuce type green

During the first couple years, our agricultural push – which was primarily organically focused – had a lot of ups and downs.  We had a good first year harvest and data collection, but then we ran short of staff to maintain it.  As much as  we could, however, we pressed on, and we learned a lot.

One of the things we did learn was that, with proper management, we could in many cases double – and sometimes even quadruple – normal vegetable harvests on the island!

On a small scale we could harvest per land area a crop 20-50 x the value of the traditional farming on the island – numbers almost so unbelievable they made me go back more than once to check if I hadn’t hit a few wrong buttons on the calculator.

Because of these good results, this year we are still plowing.  In fact 2012 has been a somewhat eventful for our agricultural push. Even though this has been one of the busiest times for other ministry, we have seen God help us make several significant strides forward in agriculture:

Raul and Amilyn standing by their gardens of tomatoes and okra.

First, we were able to maintain a relatively consistent harvest from our campsite. One of the reasons is that each of our youth interns was required as part of their internship to plant at least one small garden. We showed them the ways to do it organically, and many really got into it!

Babet, Than, and Shie with one of the romain lettuce harvests.

For much of this time, all gardening was only done after ministry hours, and yet we reached a point where all available plots on our campsite were taken. Some of our planting was actually ministry planting, one of the main being a crop of romain lettuce which.  When we sold this to contacts on the mainland, we were actually able to make as much profit in 160 ft2 as  farmers here make on  over 1/2 acre with a good corn harvest (In metric that is as much in 15 m2 as in 1/4 hectare)!

These past months I was also blessed by the chance to enroll online in an Organic Agricultural class offered through the University of the Philippines. This could not have been better timed, and has proven an invaluable resource in getting a better grip on planting organically.

While taking this class, the Lord opened yet another door for me to start training seven families in the church on the ins and outs of organic agriculture.

Teaching the OA trainees how to make compost from local materials

For so many years I have wanted to do this, but only now the opportunity has opened up.  One of the benefits of taking the training was that each family had the chance to start their own organic garden in order to apply the concepts being taught.

In order to help them get going, the Lord prompted a dear brother in the US to offer a budget for each family to help them get the necessary equipment for building their gardens. Equipment like shovels, hoes, netting, and water cans were among the supplies that we have been able to provide as a result.

Learning to make fermented fruit juice spray with ripe bananas, sugar, and some old bamboo.

In addition to this, we have  also experimented with fabricating our own low-cost cement blocks to create raised beds, metal frames to help protect the crops from the upcoming torrential rains, and offered soil testing to determine what homemade organic materials or fertilizers to add to their soil.

We’ve all learned together how to make carbonized rice hulls for conditioning the rock hard clay soil, fermented plant juice to stimulate plant growth, and vermicompost-tea to give the plants a nutrient and microbial burst. It’s been a huge amount of fun besides serving a big purpose in helping a few families take their first steps toward better self-sustainability.

Making carbonized rice hulls – a very smoky business!

I still consider myself an neophyte when it comes to organic agriculture, but I am trying to sow what I know, believing it will also lead to a harvest of more expertise. My hope and prayer is that this will  catch on, causing more families getting interested, as well as motivate those who have already started the training to expand the practices to larger and larger areas. Please pray for that!

It’s a lot of work to plant, and there are a lot of obstacles to good harvests. However, with God help, we plow on in hopes of a golden harvest.

Summer Summary 2 – Pressing on through Radio (July 2012)

Our low-power FM Radio 18-watt transmitter and other accessories, including meters for our solar power back-up.

While working on the camps during the summer, another area of ministry that kept us busy was our ongoing radio ministry.

By God’s grace this ministry has continued to expand and improve and is now proving to be reaching a lot more households on our island than we originally thought.

Radio antenna mounted a bit over 70 feet up. Our weather station wind vain and aeromometer can also be seen attached to the bamboo tower.

For over a year now we have been broadcasting for 17 hours per day, hosting 4 daily teaching programs (each repeated once), news twice a day, an evening children’s program, and a ” Verse of the Day” airing each hour.  The Lord has also given some of our youth interns the creativity to produce a number of “spots” — short 30 second – 1 minute “commercials” where we share Bible verses or other important teaching in creative ways.  It’s been a great learning experience for us all.

Hanilyn & Babet editing program “spots.”

As the summer came to a close and the school year began, we took another step of faith to expand the radio ministry further.

Raul and Babet host “Lunchtime, our noon program for students at the local high school.

Challenging our youth interns to really step out, we began a new one-hour program each noontime called “Lunchtime.”  This program is co-DJ’ed by two of our youth interns and is aimed specifically at the high school population during their lunch break.  The program consists of top Christian songs, as well as other songs upon request, jokes, Bible verses explained, trivia, and a daily student tip that I work up to give advice on how to get better grades.

High schoolers playing games during their lunch break at our campsite.

The main focus of the program was to supplement a ministry at our campsite wherein we open the campsite at lunchtime for the students to come up and eat. While they eat, we sit down and get to know them a little, provide games for them to play, and let the radio program play in the background.  Students are given the chance to send greetings to one another over the radio or make song requests.

Campsite lunchtime Bible study

Each Wednesday it all culminates in a lunchtime Bible study which is usually attended by 40-50 students.

“Lunchtime” has proven a much bigger hit than we expected, and we are finding that even adults around the islands are tuning in to listen!

In addition to this, we have also begun a short program called “Karanungan Para sa Buhay” (Wisdom for life) in which I take a Proverb each day and do a short teaching from it.  We play this six times during the course of the day in-between our playlist of songs.  Of course this is in addition to our other four main teaching programs. My primary teaching is called “Parola,” or “Lighthouse,” which is a chapter-by-chapter study now through the book of Acts done in a question/answer format.  I continue as well to do an early morning devotion commentary called, “Simoy ng Pag-asa” or “Breeze of Hope.”

Our Home Weather Station, which helps us monitor and report the weather conditions of our islands.

It’s really a blessing to run the radio ministry. However trying to keep up with all that is quite a challenge. Besides the 4 other programs I have to prepare every day, I have also been recruited to be the radio station’s weather forecaster!

There is no specific or detailed local weather forecasting for our area in the Philippines, and since so much of life here on the islands depends upon the weather, getting accurate forecasts is quite important.  Thus, through a friend who loaned me a book on meteorology, some success in locating some informative websites, the chance to befriend a local weather enthusiast who is always willing to answer questions — and a lot of mistakes at the beginning! — little by little we are by God’s grace improving our accuracy.   In fact, in a couple instances we even shockingly preceded the forecasts aired on the main Manila TV stations by 1-3 days.  That was fun!

Besides being an encouragement to the brethren on the islands, we have found that the radio ministry seems also be opening more doors for sharing the gospel.  In our recent door-to-door visitation around San Miguel, we found a surprising number of people who listen to the station, and as a result it seem to be giving us a greater acceptance by the people than we used to experience. Not everyone we share with prays to receive Christ right away, but nearly everyone is willing to listen with interest when we share.  This is quite different than before.

Preparing the weather forecast using NOAA satellite photos along with our weather station data. What a challenge!

We really praise the Lord for the amazing tool of radio and for the guys in the US, who through prayers, support, technical advice, and donations of equipment have helped us so much in getting this going and keeping it running up to now.

So, please keep praying for Island Breeze Radio!  We need all the prayer we can get, for though it is a great ministry, it is also a very demanding in that it carries unending deadlines, requires constant monitoring, and consumes hours and hours of time putting programs together each day.  Yet by God’s grace we press on, believing that He granted us this ministry for a reason, and we want to be the very best stewards possible.