connection updates

Grace and peace be with you and warm greetings. It is so hard to recover from sorrow after the sudden passing away of my beloved wife and ministry partner of 48 years. My wife, Miriam, went home to be with the Lord last November 7. Praise God I am slowly recovering from this difficult situation.
 
On January 31 I baptized five new believers, after which they were added as members of Blessed Hope Christian Church- Molino. We also praise the Lord for the opportunity of reaching children in our surrounding community. Three centers were opened for Good News Club Centers. Praise God for the many young people and adults who volunteered to teach. Recently I have also opened two new Home Bible Studies. The visitation and gospel tract distribution ministry is also continuing.

In the last few weeks, we have gotten incredible amounts of rain (20 inches) and most of the reservoirs are nearly full for the first time since 2001; PTL!  However, such heavy rainfall has caused serious flooding; for some areas it is the worst in over a hundred years. We have observed with sorrow the anguish of many people who quickly lost their uninsured possessions to rapidly rising, destructive flood waters. The victims said, “We were hopeless against so much water.”  Such a statement reminds us about the agony most Australians will one day face when they stand hopeless before our Lord in eternal judgment. However, your faithfulness in supporting this ministry is helping us to take the life-saving living water to a nation without hope, to a country of people whose lives are on a pathway to eternal ruin. Thank you so much for your love and support for these people, our Lord, this ministry and us. Together we are making a difference in Australians’ lives; the gospel message is saving many from an eternal future ruin.

All my best greetings in the powerful name of our Savior, Jesus. I praise the Lord to have another chance to write to you. If I am alive, it is because God is a God of love; if my family is alive, it is because God loves us and has a plan for us. My country, Haiti, is stricken by the terrible earthquake on January 12; there are many people dead, but my family was saved. My house is suffering; there are a lot of houses of my church believers that are also suffering, but no one died. All these things prove to me that it is the work of God. I believe in his faithfulness.

In spite of all, the church activities are going on. We continue with the weekly meetings.There was a national fast in Haiti in February and 26 people accepted Jesus during the three days of this event.

Dear Partners in the LORD,
 
"Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart" (Psalm 119:2). 2010 brings another opportunity to serve the LORD as he calls us in the ministry, since he saved us through His wonderful Son Jesus Christ. 2 Timothy 1:9. I lost many people in my Bible studies since our economic downturn in America. Some moved to other cities, others went back to the Philippines, and some died. Others want to attend, but have job conflicts of schedule, so they are not able to join us. But I'm still seeking other souls in order to share the Gospel of Christ. I just want to consider doing some soul winning, personal evangelism and passing out Gospel tracts into different areas.

Dear Beloved,

God protect you! I salute you in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus, who loves us so much. Thanks to God, we fight the good fight until now. All the money and help you have sent to me I am sharing with the brothers and sisters who need help. With the money I have received until now I have been able to buy $500 worth of rice, $300 of beans and $200 for corn, water and transportation to bring the supplies to us.

I would like you to pay attention about Pastor Brian Hampton, our coordinator for Haiti. He sacrifices himself to help the Haitian people. He loves the Haitian people, without any doubt. All the Haitian pastors love him in return and talk about him for the love and spirit of sacrifice he shows us. Pray for him, please, that God will supply all of his needs. He deserves our respect and Christian love because of the special work he is doing in Haiti. Mention his name in your daily prayers.

Dear Prayer Partners,

Greetings in the most wonderful name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Just a short note to let you know that I love you and that I continue to remember you in my daily prayers. I'm so thankful for your prayers and support. Dear friends, we are turning another page of history in Haiti. Our country is faced with the results of the earthquake that destroyed the capital of Haiti and many who disappeared. Many families are without parents; there are so many orphans. I praise the Lord for His mercy; Romans 8:28. We are still there with our God because He is merciful, Eph. 2:4.

Thank you so much to our donors, well wishers and prayer partners in the ministry of the gospel. The Word of God is reaching far and near through our Truth & Freedom Postal Bible Correspondence Course. We have received so many answer sheets in the last month. We grade them and return them to the students for their deep study.

T&F Courses in English and Malayalam:
"For the word of God is quick,and powerful,and sharper than any two edged sword,piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." ( Hebrews 4:12)  I was reminded of this

Ezra is now 15 weeks 2 days old. On Saturday he will be 4 months old and it's his due date! Of course we never imagined that we would spend the last 4 months in Waikato hospital. It is amazing how much the Lord has done during this time. He has allowed us to see our little boy grow before our eyes as he would have in the womb. We've also seen God's perfect plan in action; looking back a year ago  on March 22nd when He provided Dan with a boss and job that would allow Dan the time off to be at the hospital through this time. But our journey isn't over yet!

Here it is the beginning of another month to serve the Lord, and that’s what it is all about, serving the Lord. What a privilege to be called of God and to be an ambassador for Jesus Christ; there’s nothing like it in this world. God is so good to allow us to be used in the later years of our lives. Sarah and I praise Him each day.

February was a short but busy month. The Sundays we didn’t have a church scheduled, we were asked to preach at Land Yacht Harbor here in Melbourne. They have over 100 adults that meet on Sunday mornings. It is a wonderful opportunity to give the gospel to those not saved. I was also scheduled to preach in Palm Harbor, Florida, for a Mission Conference, February 18-21. We had a great conference with almost $20,000 more promised than last year, when this church gave, I believe, over $200,000 to missions. Praise the Lord! We were happy to be a part of their conference.

Brothers and sisters in Christ,

Thank you for your emergency support and prayers. My family and I are safe now even though there are continuing irregular earthquake aftershocks in my area. We lost most of our things in the earthquake and the outer courtyard walls overturned, but the house still stands. I will have to rebuild the wall and enlarge the space for the church. All the Beracah church family sends their thanks to you for your assistance in sending support, with which we were able to provide them with food. God bless you!