Thanks to a large one-time donation, we did some fixing up of our beat-up old Toyota SUV, and we used the rest of the money–plus cash from the sale of that Toyota–to buy this nice Hyundai Starex! Thank you Compass Christian Church AZ! Now we have two nice people-mover vehicles.
A reunion gathering from San Pedro College helped us to bless over 150 high school students! They bought meals, chocolates, and pens for the students, and they invited us to share songs of praise as well as a short message. We were able to freely lead these students in worship, right there in a public school, during school hours!
That was a full, exhausting day for me–awake from 2am to 10pm. After the school ministry, a family was being kicked out of their house last-minute, so we went to help move them. The day ended with very poor fast-food service as we were trying to bless our hardworking helpers, and then 90 minutes of traffic taking them home. BUT when I saw this in my Facebook inbox the next morning, I realized that all of the problems are nothing compared to the blessings!
I love these young people! Every Sunday, when church is over and everyone else goes home, they wash all of the dirty dishes. (The church eats lunch together before each service.) They really enjoy serving.
A murder victim’s body was dumped right next to our home. I saw a commotion outside, so I took this photo from our window. I learned later that it was about a murder.
You might be able to see the yellow police tape around the scene. The white vehicle in the middle is a police truck.
Davao City’s motto: “Life is here.” But our city has the highest high murder rate in the Philippines. 🙁
Every Wednesday morning I get to see these delightful faces as I teach evidence for the faith in Fire School. They are all being trained for ministry in powerful, practical ways. The seminary has a very strong emphasis on missions.
Have you ever experienced a prayer meeting having not-yet-saved visitors?
On the previous week we had two visitors, and in this meeting we had three more, with the two from last week returning! Please pray for those five to follow Jesus!
It’s a neighborhood prayer meeting in Bacalso. Some of the regular attenders don’t come to church on Sundays, because it’s so far. Lord, provide the resources to plant a permanent church in Bacalso.
When the door of life closes on you: This gecko became two-dimensional when we inadvertently closed the door on him. Sadly, he won’t be eating any more mosquitoes in our home.
“Let us not become tired of doing good. At the right time we will gather a crop if we don’t give up.” (Galatians 6:9)
Adoniram Judson and family arrived in Burma in 1813. It wasn’t until 1819 that they had their first convert. By 1823, they only had 18 converts. During this time Judson suffered many things, including the deaths of two of his kids. His wife and a third child died in 1826. But by the time Judson died, he had started over 100 churches with more than 8000 believers!
“Those who go out weeping as they carry seeds to plant will come back singing with joy. They will bring the new crop back with them.” (Psalm 126:6)
Gina and I would love to talk with your fellowship group, Bible study, or church via Skype. We could talk about whatever you’d like: the Philippines, our mission, our personal testimonies, or to urge folks to prayerfully consider serving the Lord in another culture. I think it would be encouraging for your group–it would certainly encourage us!–and it might inspire more prayer supporters and financial supporters for Davao City Outreach. And it would be a chance for us to “see” the US again for a while. 🙂 The time factor should be easy enough to work out–in the US, your evening is our morning.
To those who give, thank you so much!
Here are the ways you can donate:
We could never repay you for your generosity to Davao City Outreach, but certainly “you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (Luke 14:14)
Please forward this website to others who might be interested.
Please pray that God will send more laborers into his harvest field.
Please do not write to me here. Your message would get buried in the 1000s of spam messages. Please contact me via jgapinoy@gmail.com. Thank you!