SEPTEMBER 20th, 2000
“The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘Therefore I will have hope in Him.’ The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him. It is good that he waits silently for the salvation of Lord.” ---Lamentations 3:22-26 NAS
“For though the mountains should depart and the hills be shaken or removed, yet My love and kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall my covenant of peace and completeness be removed, says the Lord Who has compassion on you.” ---Isaiah 54:10 AMP
“Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.” ---Psalm 36:5
Dear Friends,
Once again, Emie & I send you warm greetings from the Philippines---in the precious and wonderful name of Jesus. We pray that the Lord will bless you, grant you favor, and lead you to victory and success in the most important areas of your life and your service to Him.
There is still more than one quarter of this year left and though you may have experienced disappointment or roadblocks in some primary goals you had for this year---victory can still be achieved. As each of us continue to pray and seek the Lord and apply our faith with appropriate action and perseverance---each of us can experience breakthrough and fulfillment and victory.
“But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.”---2 Chronicles 15:7
[GOD CAN TURN YOUR TEST---INTO A TESTIMONY.]
Trusting in God and lifting one another up in prayer are essential in times of spiritual warfare and opposition from the enemy. The apostle Paul was a powerful man of God but he went through many afflictions and trials and in those times he drew close to God and also expressed sincere appreciation for the intercessory prayers of others. He wrote in 2 Corinthians 1:8-11 “For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And [He will yet deliver us], you also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many.”
In regards to prayer, Emie and I and all the ministry workers here in the Philippines, greatly appreciate your intercessory prayers for us. Prayers are the foundation for success in all of our lives and ministries. We will continue to pray for God’s strength, wisdom, hope, anointing, blessings, health, protection, rewards, and love---to overflow in your lives and ministries. God bless you always and in special ways that you never expected.
In the last part of August, Emie and I joined 3 other pastors in conducting a Saturday Marriage Seminar called “I Still Do”. It was held at a church located by the seafront, close to the provincial capital Naval on Biliran Island. It was a very nice setting to hold the seminar and most of the couples that attended were pastors from different denominations and some independent churches. The people who attended shared testimonies that they were blessed and helped by the seminar and will be bringing several members of their churches for the next seminar.
In sharing the gospel here in the Philippines, one of the hardest people to reach sometimes are people who come here to live and are from Australia, the USA, or Europe, etc. and who have had a long secular background, or have been backslidden in their faith.
We had an American neighbor named Russell White who just recently died. He was a little bit cantankerous at times with some of the people in the neighborhood, but we had been friendly to Russell. I had visited and given him an encouraging Christian booklet and shared with him about Jesus.
He had some serious lung problems and was eventually hospitalized. When we visited Russell he was in bad shape and we prayed for him and Emie asked him to pray with her the sinner’s prayer. While he had been hard to understand when he was previously speaking that night—when he prayed, he did so--loud and clear,
to ask for God’s forgiveness and ask Jesus to be his Savior and Lord. He was holding onto my hand as he prayed and he maintained a firm grip.
Emie talked to Gena who was his caretaker and she shared that after we left, some tears began to come down the side of Russell’s face, and he looked at Gena and said: “I’m not afraid to die anymore.” Three days later, Russell went to be with Jesus.
We helped with his funeral, as he had no blood relatives here or in the States who were able to be present. We were able to share the gospel at the house where his coffin was at and at the burial service---and several people prayed to receive Jesus as their Savior and Lord, and a few of those people are now attending our church services in Tacloban.
The Lord has opened up doors for us to minister in Bible studies at a local police outpost in Tacloban as well as in a public school downtown. New people are praying to receive Jesus as their Savior and Lord; they are also being encouraged through the teaching of the Bible. Also, we continue to have a weekly Bible study and prayer meeting with the manager and several of the staff of DYVL Radio Station where we have our weekly radio broadcast that reaches several thousand people. The Tacloban Church, Children’s Sunday school outreach is growing and improving since we were able to have one of the church member’s [Beth], who is a public school teacher, to take over as director of the classes. Also Beth and her daughter are helping out with the Saturday squatter area feeding outreach, which after more than 10 years is still reaching the urban poor children with life encouraging messages from the Word of God, and a physical meal they appreciate very much.
Thanks again for your faithful partnership in helping us share the gospel of Jesus Christ. We have said it often but will say it again, as it is an important truth----your prayers, encouragement, and financial investments in the ministry outreaches are helping new people come to know Jesus as their Savior & Lord, encouraging and strengthening Christians in their faith and walk with God, as well as helping the poor in a variety of ways. We pray the Lord will greatly reward you.
In Christ’s love,
Gordon & Emie
P.S. Please continue to pray for us and the ministry workers and team. Please pray for God’s love, power, protection, clear direction, fresh anointing, and for healthy financial & other provisions---for all the needs of the ministry and our personal lives as well. Please pray for the Lord to touch the hearts of new people to become partners in helping support the ministry outreaches of Eternal Life Ministries Int’l. Thanks, and God bless you always.
“The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” ---James 5:16b NLT
Here how you can help the ministry
"For those who feel led by the Lord to help the ministry outreaches in reaching people for Jesus, please send you contributions to: Eternal Life Ministries International, POB 413, Chehalis, WA 98532, USA or through paypal at elmigordonkalich@paypal.com Thanks & God bless you."
