Papa is On the Move!
We are still not able to send many pix. In fact, I have not figured out how to send any from my computer but Cathy sends some through her phone at times. My computer is still broken, probably beyond repair but functional. I just cannot move it at all. I use a bluetooth keyboard to type. We are very blessed and have a new computer on its way here from America. Not sure how long it will take to receive but its in the works and we thank Papa for that! We apologize for that because we love to send you all pictures, they are truly worth a thousand words.
Daddy continues to amaze us with His Spirit and love. These last two to three months have been phenomenal. Not that we do not have our challenges and must fight daily to receive God’s incredible promises but He is oh so faithful! His Word says that it is through faith and patience that we, (His people), inherit the promises of God. We stand in faith but often forget the patience part and then sometimes start to doubt our faith. Papa allows battles in our lives as gifts to learn how to battle from a heavenly, winning perspective.
We just recently discovered a new song, at least for us. Micheal W. Smith has recorded it. It is a very simple song and goes like this. This is how we fight our battles, repeated 4 times. This is how we fight our battles. It looks like I am surrounded but I’m surrounded by You. It looks like I am surrounded but I’m surrounded by You, Repeated again and again. God said the battle was His but the victory is ours, Wow! How can heaven ever lose???
Papa has connected us with an apostolic ministry from Florida who will be bringing their team here to do a series of pastors conference meetings along with another apostolic ministry God connected us with from Manila. We will start out by doing meetings in Lanao Del Sur, a major radical Muslim stronghold area.Two weeks ago we kicked off a 24-7 worship and prayer center there in Lanao. Lanao is where Marawi is, a city of 220,000 that was completely destroyed through a war with the radical Muslim’s, (Isis and others). Philippines police went to arrest a radical Muslim most wanted leader and apparently underestimated their capabilities, preparedness and willingness to fight to the death. In the process martial law was declared in all of Mindanao and is ongoing. Many civilian, police and military casualties, around 10,000 took place.
The following week after the pastors meeting in Lanao our ministry will host a two day pastors conference in our city of Dipolog, also with the Florida team, the Manila team and our team. We are very excited about being able to do our part to bring national transformation to our nation through these series of meetings. Please pray for us.
During the meetings in Lanao two separate adults, one young man, and one elderly woman, both born deaf and dumb were miraculously healed in very similar ways. They came on two separate afternoon sessions and both were completely healed in their left ears and partially healed in their right ears. Neither one of them had ever heard before in their entire lives. We said amen to the young man and he said an audibly understandable “aaamaaan” back to us. It was reported to us last week that he is now saying the name of Jesus! The elderly woman who was healed came with the Governor’s sister, as we understand it. We had been to the Governor’s building and two other government buildings the day before and prayed for some high level govt. officials there. We had some prophetic words for some of them and one official just wept and wept.
God continues to heal and save people each and every week as we go out into the streets to pray for them. He is so faithful! Doors have opened up to train pastors and leaders how to heal and win souls in the market place. When they witness or are part of people being healed in our meetings, Daddy then puts into them the desire to learn how to do it for themselves. When we teach and then demonstrate how God will use anyone who is willing to heal anyone, at anytime, through them, and God shows up and heals others through people who have not ever been used before, they are hungry for more.
We now have scheduled training sessions this week with a pastor and one of his youth and another leader from a different church will begin her training this week as well. In December we have a 3 day training scheduled in another town for pastors and leaders. That was due to the result of 8 pastors being used to heal one another in our meetings their.
We are proud to announce that today we began our pastors internship training for two of our team members, a husband a a wife with 3 small children. They have been with us for almost two years and have been very faithful, humble, teachable and trainable. God has used them to win many souls and to heal others. Holy Spirit led us to offer them an intense pastoral internship and they accepted. Rey has been a motor cab driver for many years and yesterday was his last day. Thanks to all of you supporting us over here we are able to offer them this internship. Now they are full time interns and can devote all of their time to building the Kingdom of God.
We also want to share with you our vision for building an apostolic equipping and sending center. This is where pastors, leaders and others can come and be taught, equipped and sent out in accordance with the Great Commission, to demonstrate God’s power and love to the lost and dying world. We are all commanded to Go, and make disciples into all the world. A disciple does the same thing their master, Jesus did.
We want to build a place to hold large meetings, to train and equip the church to do the work of the ministry. We would like to build apts. and housing for orphans, widows , the elderly and staff members who live on the premises as well as build our own house. We would like to go as green as possible and be as self sufficient and supportive as possible. To be self sustaining. We would like to raise all of our own fruit, vegetables, rice and livestock and have an community kitchen where we can prepare our meals each day. We have been praying for 3 years for land that we can build this vision on.
A few weeks ago we went and looked at nearly 15 acres of land. We had looked at other land in the past but when we prayed we heard nothing from God. This time we feel Papa has given us confirmation that this is our land. It is very beautiful, has 300 coconut trees, fruit trees, and rice fields as well as a caretaker. It has great potential to be a sustainable farm. That means that with raising our own crops we have the potential to sell the surplus for profit to support our own ministry. We can get free cacao trees from the govt. and plant them on the land for a cash crop. The coconut trees are also a cash crop as well as the rice. Most of the rice is given to the caretaker as he is the one who 100% farms the rice but one third is given to the owner. The property has irrigation, never floods and has a small house. It is only $60,000 American dollars!!
We are asking you all to please help us pray in this vision. We think that this entire project can be completed for only around $250,000 American. Nothing too hard for our God! As soon as we can we will send pictures of the property. We only as for prayer from all of you, and nothing more. Daghan salamat. (many thanks!)
Love Mark and Cathy