Thứ Tư, tháng 10 01, 2014

Eternal Life Ministries International - Philippine Missions

God comforts us. No.263 September 20th, 2014

John 14:15-16 TLB “If you love me, obey me; and I will ask the Father and he will give you another Comforter, and he will never leave you.”

John 14:26 “But when the Father sends the Comforter instead of me*—and by the Comforter I mean the Holy Spirit— he will teach you much, as well as remind you of everything I myself have told you”

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NKJ 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. Word Wealth: Psalm 24:3 Comfort—from the Greek word “nacham”. To console, extend compassion---It does not describe casual sympathy, but deep empathy. It is like “weeping with those who weep,” or “sighing with those who sigh.”

Acts 9:31 Comfort—from the Greek word “paraklesis”. A calling alongside to help, comfort, to give consolation or encouragement. A strengthening presence of one who upholds those appealing for assistance. Dear Friends,

Hi. Emie and I send your our warm greetings from the Philippines. We continue to pray for the Lord’s rich and powerful blessings upon you. May His peace, love, joy, and comfort be with you in a new and greater way. We pray that in these final weeks of 2014, God will amaze you.

Psalm 37:4 ”Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.”

Each month, we try to express our thanks and appreciation to you for your prayers for us, for your friendship and encouragement, and for your financial donation/investments in God’s work through the ministry outreaches. Your partnership helps us each month to lead new people to Jesus, strengthen and encourage many people in their faith and service to the Lord, as well as to help the poor in a variety of ways. We always pray & trust the Lord to reward you for your help. This 1st picture is of our Eternal Life Ministries church in Culaba that I visited in August. It is on Biliran island and is about a 5 hour round trip drive from Tacloban. Our sons John and Hugh came with me and John interpreted for me during the sermon. They were surprised and happy when we arrived. The members shared they were encouraged by the message. We had a good time of fellowship with Pastor TJ and his wife, as well as the elders and members.

This 2nd picture is of the congregation of our church in Canavid, on the eastern side of Samar island. It is about a 7 hour RT drive to this church. Pastor Dodong interpreted the message and the members were also encouraged. Both of these are located in semi-remote areas and are like lighthouses, a place where lost souls can come to know Jesus.
ACTS 1:8 ”but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth This picture of the waterfalls with Hugh and John is located about a 20 minute drive from the Culaba church. There is a new road leading to it and it was the first time we have been there. It is a beautiful place. In the 2nd picture, some of the children at the Canavid church are happily singing a song to the congregation.
The 3rd picture is of several of the mothers picking out clothing items from a Box of cloths shipped to us in Tacloban. Many members from the remote churches are from low income families in a poorer nation. They were really happy and excited to receive the clothing items for their children as well as some for themselves.
Over-all the churches are doing well, some are growing, others maintaining, and a few have slightly lower attendance as some members move to Manila to find work and some youth go to college. Many of the damaged churches have had significant repair after the damage in the Haiyan Super typhoon last November, but a few still are in need of repair.

The Sunday morning radio broadcasts are continuing to reach new people for Jesus./ Tacloban City and the surrounding areas have recovered about 68% in the past 10&1/2 months since the super typhoon struck. There are still many poor in need for housing and we have been working with an agency that helps provide several shelter repair kits, each with enough materials for building a small house. Step by step this area is continuing to recover from the strongest typhoon to ever make landfall in recorded history & we thank God for His help. He is an ever present help in times of trouble.

In the bottom picture on the left, is Emie holding Hugh’s hand up on his 13th birthday, on August 28th. He is growing taller and doing pretty well as a freshman in High School. He can play the guitar a little now and has sung solo songs twice in our church services. The next picture is of myself with Joy, Faith, and Hope on their 9th birthday---September 18th. Noreen wanted to be in the picture, she will be 4 in November. The triplets are in the 3rd grade. Joy continues to do very well in school except for math. Faith and Hope continue to struggle some in their schooling and we are hoping to see improvement. Faith & Hope sang songs at 2 church services, they did well.
Thank-You again for your prayers and helping us in missions. God bless you always. Gordon & Emie Please continue to pray for us: for God’s continued wisdom, direction, fruitfulness, protection, healing, and provision for the ministry outreaches and for our family. Your prayers & help are appreciated