July 04, 2020
Dear Brethren,
The COVID-19 cases are still increasing in our country. Under our present level of quarantine, only those who are 21 to 59 years old are allowed to avail of essential goods and services. Religious services in our area are allowed up to a maximum of 50 percent of the total seating capacity of religious venues. We continue our house worship for those who are unable to go to the church building because of age restrictions. Please remember our family, and the Rabago and Joves families, in your prayers as we lost my sister-in-law a week ago. She was very close to us, especially to our children. She was baptized but became inactive later in her life because of family problems and difficulties. She died at the hospital due to serious complications, but because of high fever and difficulty in breathing, she was tested for COVID-19. We were advised to stay home until the results would be released. A couple of days ago, we got the results, and she was negative for COVID-19.
Every week we meet with the new Christians for our follow up Bible studies. It is also an opportunity for each of us to get to know more each other. While being with each other and studying together, we let them know and feel that they are already part of the Lord’s family. As a family, we tell and encourage them to be open to us. They can share with us their success, burdens, struggles, and any other things. We will always be ready to listen to them and help them in any way we can. As we help these new brethren to grow in the knowledge of the Lord, some of them are also inviting their friends to study with us. We have already scheduled a twice a week Bible study with these new prospects. We hope and pray that as we go along our study of the Scriptures, their hearts and minds will also be opened to obey the saving power of the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Let us all rejoice with the angels in heaven and give God all the glory and honor for the salvation of 5 precious souls last month. Our new brethren in the Lord’s family are Wilson Orienza, Maria Elena Orienza, Jan Paul Villanueva, Mark Kevin Mejia, and Amor Joy Eslava. All of them came from Catholic beliefs except for Amor Joy Eslava who was formerly a member of the Assemblies of God. They were all part of the families that had seen the mercy and compassion of God in times of need
when we distributed food packs in the month of May. Two weeks after our food distribution, Maria Elena and Wilson Orienza, who are husband and wife and have lost their jobs due to the pandemic, invited us to their house that gave us the opportunity to talk about the love of God and the greatest need of mankind. On the other hand, Jan Paul, Mark Kevin, and Amor Joy are all young people. They shared with us the different challenges that they are dealing with in this life, which led us to search the Scriptures together. After several weeks of feeding them with the Word of God, they understood that they needed to obey the gospel of Christ in baptism for the forgiveness of their sins. Let us remember these new Christians in our prayers for their spiritual growth and journey.
We appreciate you all very much for your continued love, prayers, concern, and support for the work of the Lord here.
May the Lord keep us all safe, healthy, and strong in doing His work in spite of what is happening in our world today because of the lockdowns and COVID-19.
Roberto Indong
Philippines
E-mail address: arbuen4806@yahoo.com
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