Friday, May 8, 2015

God is Sending Us to the Philippine Islands - Can you help?

We are excited because Jessica and I are both headed to the Philippine islands! My parents are coming home from the mission field for a short while and they volunteered to watch our five-year-old Caleb and our three-year-old Katie Grace for thirteen days so we can go minister together.

We are headed to the island of Mindanao, which is the second largest and southernmost island in the Philippines. About 20.44% of the island’s population is Muslim and most of them live in the southwestern part of Mindanao.

The Muslims in Mindanao are known as the Moros. When the Spanish colonized the Philippine islands back in the 1500’s, they called all Muslims “Moros” after the Islamic Moors who had occupied Spain for many years. Many of the people in the northern Philippine islands converted to Roman Catholicism, but in Mindanao the Muslims have largely remained unreached. For hundreds of years, the Moros have fought unsuccessfully for independence. Because of widespread poverty and religious differences the island has experienced an armed Communist insurgency and extensive displacement of families.

In Mindanao, we will be working with the family of Amy Wilderom (one of our board members) who have ministered in the Philippines for over twenty-five years. Most of their work is focused on five tribal groups: the Mamanwa, the Manobo, the Omayumnum, Dibabawon, and Mandaya. We will be involved in three things:

1. A Crusade meeting in Tandag, Surigao del Sur. Please pray for many people to be saved and healed.

2. A four-day Youth Camp for 300 young people. Please pray for these young people to catch the fire of God and to dedicate their lives to serving Jesus.

3. A four-day pastor’s conference for 150 pastors and their spouses. The theme for the conference is Isaiah 60:1, “Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.” The conference will be a time of refreshing, encouraging, impartation, and training for these front-line shepherds who have dedicated their lives to ministering in out-of-the-way villages in the hardest-to-reach area of the Philippine islands.


Can you sponsor a young person or a pastor?
The pastors in this area of the Philippines are very poor so we need your help to cover the cost of their food and housing expenses during the conference. Both the Youth Camp and Leadership Conference will be held at Marihatag Tree Park Resort in Marihatag, Surigao del Sur.

For an investment of $100, you can cover the cost of a pastor and his wife to come to the conference. For an investment of $20, you can sponsor one young person to attend the youth conference.

Here is what is needed to make this a successful outreach:

* Renting a sound system and paying a translator for the mini-crusade in Tandag = $960

* Sponsoring 300 young people at $20 per person for the Youth Conference = $6,000

* Sponsoring 150 pastors and their wives at $100 per couple for the Pastor’s Conference = $15,000.

* Printing books to give to the pastors: $500

What can you do to help us minister to these precious pastors and young people? Could you sponsor two pastors with a gift of $200? Or perhaps you might want to sponsor five young people with a gift of $100? Every gift no matter how large or small would be greatly appreciated! But, we need to hear from you right away because there is a list of pastors who want to know if they will be able to come to the conference. If we are unable to raise enough money, we will be forced to tell some of the pastors that they cannot come. So, we need you to rush the enclosed envelope back to us today.  

Thank you for helping us to make a difference in the lives of these precious men and woman of God.

Click HERE to give. 


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