Philippines Mission Letter: January 2021

Dear Brethren, 

We thank the Lord always for keeping our family protected from the virus and other serious illnesses. Our brethren here are also doing well. It is our hope and prayer that you and your loved ones are doing the same. 

The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our town is increasing. Last month, two of our neighbors were infected with the virus and were taken to the isolation center. Our compound was lockdown for several days to prevent its spreading. Thankfully, none of us got the virus. Our two neighbors are already home after recovering from the virus. 

Glory to the Lord Almighty for continuously blessing our efforts in spreading the good news of hope and salvation to the lost despite the pandemic. Our brothers and sisters in the Lord’s family are committing their time and are doing what they can to work with us in evangelizing the people in our municipality, especially to those who are akin to them and close to their hearts. They keep on referring prospects to us which we appreciate so much. Most of those that they referred to us in the past have already become Christians and are now faithfully serving the Lord with us. These new converts in turn are also introducing their relatives to us for prospecting. To help these new converts to grow spiritually, we also see each other every week to pray and study together. We continue to encourage each other to just keep on doing what we can do for the glory of God and for the furtherance of His kingdom. 

We praise the Lord, give Him all the glory, and rejoice with the angels in heaven for the salvation of eight precious souls in January. Our new sisters in the Lord’s family are the following: Evelyn Nipal, Virginia Barongan, Jennifer Solomon, Shaira Mae Abilgos, Mia Joyce Mendoza, Frenilyn Basa, Fretzzie Basa, and Cloe Basa. They are friends and family members of our brethren in Christ. All of them were formerly members of the Catholic church. Since not everyone could attend the services at the church building due to the pandemic, we continue to conduct services in different barangays where Evelyn, Shaira Mae, Mia Joyce, and the three sisters (Frenilyn, Fretzzie, and Cloe) were our regular guests. As they expressed a desire to study more the Scriptures with us, every week we went to their houses and spent time together in the Word of God. After several times of praying and studying with them, they joyfully decided to obey the Lord in baptism for the forgiveness of their sins. On the other hand, Virginia and Jennifer are mother and daughter. Their interest in the spiritual matters started through the encouragement of their cousin who is a sister in Christ. They attentively and actively participate in our Bible studies conducted in their home. When they learned that their baptisms before when they were babies were not taught in the Scriptures, they happily decided to be baptized for the remission of their sins. Let us keep these new Christians in our prayers. 

We are grateful always for your continued love, prayers, concern, and support for the work of the Lord here. 

We keep on praying that God will keep you all in your well-being and that He will continue to bless all that you do for Him and His family.