Dec. 19, 2010 - First Christmas in Lanas

Today was a memorable day. At 4pm, it was our first Christmas Program and dinner in the village of Lanas. We had encouraged the attendees to invite their families. Especially the ladies, we really wanted them to bring their husbands. We have a shortage of men as it is VERY hard to reach men in this area. They are so affected by their barkada ( their drinking buddies).

After the service this morning at LBC, we had our last Cantata practice and got ready to go perform in Lanas. We like to allow the 2 churches to fellowship and get to know other believers. Plus, the Cantata wanted a night to practice our songs before the big night at LBC, their own church.

There was about 100 adults, alot more than the 17 we usually run. Of course, this is to be expected when there is food, but we took advantage of their presence. We shared the Gospel all throughout the night, hoping that the Holy Spirit would work.

Later, we had a delicious dinner and the attendees exchanged gifts. The kids were totally chaotic, so I am thankful that our Bible School girls were there to take them and seperate them while Ferd preached.

Dec. 11, 2010 - Bible Club Christmas Party!!!

The Bible Clubs have been going on for nearly 8 years! They were our first ministry and have proven to be very successful. Through these children outreaches, we have been able to meet countless parents and lead whole families to the Lord. Most of the people in our first church plant are a result of contacts through the Bible Clubs.

Today was fun because we got to throw Christmas parties in each of the Bible clubs. The children enjoyed Filipino style speghetti which is sweet banana based sauce with red dyed hot dogs cut up in it. I LOVE IT and actually prefer it to American speghetti now (-; It's sooo yummy! We also were able to present each child with a brand new pair of flip flops, thanks to our home church which bought them and sent them over with us. The kids were thrilled and it felt so good to give them that blessing!!!!

Dec. 5, 2010-Christmas Program Practice

Every year I write the Christmas Play and it is always at the last minute and we always think that we aren't going to have enough time to do it...but we always pull it off. I am praying that this year is the same. Because we landed here so late and we are trying to yet again pull off an awesome Christmas Program with limited time. I hope we can manage. We have had a couple of practices so far and they have added some more parts to my original ideas. I think it's going to be great...but we still have ALOT of work to do.

Our theme is " Declaring God's GLory to All People"...so our play is about going into Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth. Only, we transform it into our own lives by showing different ways to soul win in different nearby and far off places. The message is really good...just hope we can sqaure away all the acting and costumes...

Music Fest 2010

We traveled to Sn Fernando to watch the Bible college students perform their musical Drama again this year. They always do a great job, and I sit there and just cry as I watch the students from our church perform. I know where they have come from, their backgrounds, all the obstacles that they had to overcome , and it just tears me up inside! Praise the Lord for the total transformation these young lives have made for the Lord. They are totally surrendered to Him and excited about what the Lord has in store.

After the ceremony, they each presented Ferd and I with roses to say Thank You for investing in their lives...yeah, I was an emotional wreck..it wasn't pretty. I cried like a baby!!!

Recognition Day- Dec. 3, 2010

Today I went to Colegio de Dagupan ( the college in Dagupan City) to recognize a VERY special young lady in my life...Jen.. She is one of my biggest helpers in the church and is pretty much my right hand man, or lady (-; She is super smart and today we went to celebrate all her accomplishments in the Recognition ceremony. She made the Dean's List again..and will be graduating this coming April!!! I am so proud of her!!!

First Sunday Service in Lanas- Nov. 28, 2010

Today was another milestone for our second church plant in Lanas. After meeting for nearly 2 years as a Bible Study group, we merged today as a Sunday church meeting. We meet at the same time as Lighthouse does, so I miss the help we once had from the Lighthouse members. Thankfully, the Bible School students come in on the weekends so we hope to schedule them to come and help us. I plan to rotate piano and children's Sunday school with the other 2 girls in the future. But, for today it was just Ferd and I...just like old times when we first got here. There is so much blood, sweat and tears that goes into planting a church. The first one nearly cost our lives several times, but it was all worth it! I hope this next church will strive to live for the Lord as LBC does!