OUR JOURNEY

Ladies Conference

2012-02-03T16:29:00.004+08:00

This past Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, my mom and I attended a ladies conference in Rizal, Laguna, hosted by the Baptist Bible Church of Sta. Mesa (Dr. Lyons church). Our theme was a “Value of a Godly Woman,” based out of Proverbs 3:15.

We had two visiting American speakers during the conference - Ms. Mary Herman, who is a teacher and speaker to many conferences abroad, and Mrs. Lujean Stone, who is a pastor’s wife and missionary to Hong Kong.

Some of our topics included: “Being consistent in the Christian life,” “Giving our burdens to the Lord,” “Not being fake,” “Being pure and moral,” and “Being ready when the enemy attacks.”

There were 205 ladies from approximately 10-15 different churches who attended the conference. Among the attendees were seven ladies from Vietnam. I was personally touched by some of their testimonies. One Vietnamese woman gave her testimony about her husband being beaten and put to jail several times for sharing the gospel and even carrying a Bible out in public. Another woman shared how her father was killed for his faith, but because of the testimony his faithfulness, she is now a pastor’s wife and is willing to serve the Lord no matter what the cost.

It made me think about how thankful I am for the religious freedom that we have here in the Philippines (as well as in the U.S.). We can freely worship the Lord and share our faith without the fear of being beaten or put in prison. I am challenged to boldly take advantage of the opportunities that God has given me.

It was a packed three days full of lessons, testimonies, singing and fellowship. I was so blessed that I was able to attend with my mom. She was also able to give her testimony about her mom (Nanay), and shared how she was thankful that she had a godly example to follow.

This conference was a reminder for me to be thankful for the blessings God has given, as well as to continue to grow in the Lord and be more Christ-minded until He returns or calls me home. To God be the glory!

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Construction Project

2012-01-13T09:57:00.002+08:00

I would like to ask everyone for their prayers as we undertake our latest construction project at the church. We are planning to expand the existing restrooms, as well as make some updates and improvements. The renovation will be a big blessing for our church. Please pray for wisdom and safety during this project. Thank you.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Christmas Party

2011-12-24T20:43:00.005+08:00

On Friday we held our church's Christmas party. It was an exciting evening. We began by singing some of our favorite Christmas carols. After our time of singing we ate dinner. We served adobo, rice, Chooks chicken, pancit, and dessert. Following our dinner and after a brief clean-up, it was game time. We played several different group games and everyone seemed to really enjoy them. Finally, we concluded our evening with our "secret santa" gift exchange. It was a good night of fun and fellowship. Merry Christmas!

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

9th Church Anniversary

2011-11-29T17:06:00.010+08:00

This past Sunday we commemorated our church's 9th anniversary and we thank the Lord for the tremendous success He gave us. We are thankful for the burden that God gave to Ptr. Nelson to come back to the Philippines and begin this work. We are thankful for his faithfulness and obedience to God's call. We are also thankful for God's faithfulness to our church and we marvel how He continues to see fit to use the Bible Baptist Church of Bahay Pare for His glory.

We were honored to have Ptr. Jim Scudder as our guest speaker for both our morning and evening services. Our theme was "Redeemed Through Christ" based on 1 Peter 1:18-19 where it says, "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:" Our children's choir and adult choir sang in both of the services and a special quartet also sang during the evening service. We praise the Lord that there were over 180 in attendance at our morning service and over 380 during the evening service (after which we served food to everyone). Around 40 of our church members volunteered to help in the many different areas of need - from registration, to food preparation, to cooking, to traffic, to ushering, to the children's programs, to clean up, to picking up and dropping off people - I am thankful for all of their hard work and selflessness. Service done with a heart that is for the glory of the Lord is always worth it. We also especially praise the Lord that many people professed their faith in Christ during both services.

We ask that you please continue to keep our church in your prayers. We are excited to see what the Lord will do as our church enters year number 10.

God Bless,

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Visit from Ptr. Jim & Karen + Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-29T15:48:00.006+08:00

We were blessed to have Ptr. Jim and Karen join us here in the Philippines for about 12 days. Ptr. Jim had a busy speaking schedule, I think he spoke more than 12 different times. His schedule included a Pastor's conference in Zambales, a couple of churches in Pampanga, a Bible College, a church in Metro Manila, and of course our church. We are thankful for their visit and the time that we were able to spend with them. They were a great blessing to us and our church. We thank the Lord for the safety He provided while they were here and for the spiritual refreshment and fellowship that we had.

We had a full house for Thanksgiving this year. Along with Ptr. Jim and Karen, we were joined by Rachel and Reynan, Ptr. Edwin and his family, and Ptr. Resty and his family. It was an extra tasty Thanksgiving meal since Ptr. Jim and Karen bought a turkey for us from the U.S. and Dulce brought it with her in her suitcase. She also brought us some cranberries, stuffing mix, cornbread, canned pumpkin pie mix and pecans. The turkey was grilled to perfection on our Weber Grill (the first time we've ever done it that way - thank God for YouTube), Rina baked some delicious pies and we had a complete American style Thanksgiving meal.

Course Complete

2011-11-29T15:23:00.002+08:00

On Friday, November 18, I finished teaching my two classes at Asia Baptist Bible College in Sta. Mesa, Manila. I want to thank everyone for their prayers. The Lord provided safety travelling and a great group of freshman students. We learned about the many different aspects of both the church and our Christian life. I am especially thankful for the two books, Your Secret to Spiritual Success, and More than a Miracle, that were so graciously donated to all of the students in our class by Dr. Scudder.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Prayer Request - Teaching at a Bible College

2011-10-25T17:56:00.003+08:00

Today I began my teaching assignment at Asia Baptist Bible College in Manila. This will be my second year teaching at the college. This year, I have two subjects that I will be teaching back to back: Basic Christian Life and Ecclesiology. I have around 30 1st year students in each class. My teaching block is four weeks long and I start at 8:00am and finish at 12:00 noon, Tuesday through Friday. I would appreciate your prayers concerning our safe travel since most of the days we will be driving back and forth from Baliuag to Sta. Mesa, Manila (around a 1 1/2 hour drive). I ask that you please also pray for wisdom teaching, for the students in my class, and for physical strength. Thank you and God Bless,

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Typhoon Update

2011-10-04T11:06:00.003+08:00

We would like to thank all of you for your prayers for those who have been affected by the typhoons that just recently hit the Philippines. Our church was able to buy and give some basic relief goods to about 40 families who were affected by the flooding. We were able to give more than 220 pounds of rice, 100's of canned goods and instant noodles, soap, disinfectant, and anti-fungal cream.

We thank the Lord for His protection, and we really do treasure your prayers.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Pastor Edwin's 1st Church Anniversary

2011-10-04T10:06:00.003+08:00

Last Sunday night we had the great blessing of being at the 1st anniversary service of Dayspring Baptist Church. It was exciting to see all that the Lord has done through Ptr. Edwin and his family during their first year in Angeles City. It was also a special honor to be the guest speaker for the service. I would estimate that there were around 150+ people in attendance, with a full house seated inside as well as a packed overflow area outside. We thank the Lord that several people received Christ as their Saviour that evening. Please continue to pray for Ptr. Edwin and Dayspring Baptist Church as they continue on full speed ahead into year number 2.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Sunday Night Revival Service

2011-09-28T17:49:00.003+08:00

This past Sunday night, 50 of us attended a special revival service hosted by another church in Manila. We filled two rented jeepneys along with our vehicle and drove 1 and 1/2 hours to the service. There were over 450 in attendance and everyone was challenged by the speaker to love their church. We thank the Lord for the protection he provided for us as we traveled.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Fiesta

2011-09-28T17:34:00.002+08:00

Last Friday was the fiesta for Bahay Pare. It was really crowded. We had a Bible study at 2:00pm and it took us 45 minutes to drive about half a mile through the town. I was able to take this picture as we were driving to the church. For our second Bible study we decided it would be better to walk rather than wait in traffic and try to find a parking spot. There was an increased security presence due to the fiesta but to my knowledge there weren't any major problems.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Typhoon Update

2011-09-28T16:46:00.008+08:00

Typhoon 'Pedring' made its way through the Philippines. Yesterday, we had brownouts throughout the day to go along with the heavy wind and rain. Thankfully, we only had some minor leaks at our house, but as you can see from the pictures, others were not as fortunate. Today we decided to drive to the church to see if there was any major damage. There were just a couple places with some very minor flooding and our small tent fell over and broke, but other than that we are thankful that it wasn't more severe.

I do want to especially ask for your prayers for our church people. Many of them have been affected by the flooding. We had planned to try to visit some of the different areas where they lived to see if we could help, but some of the flooded roads were too risky to try to drive through. As far as I know everyone is safe, but we did hear about a girl in the neighboring barangay who was killed yesterday due to a falling tree.

I would like to also ask you to pray for continued protection as the Philippine weather service, PAGASA, has said they are expecting another storm, named 'Quiel', to possibly arrive later this week.

Thank you for the continued prayers, God bless.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Men's Prayer Breakfast

2011-09-05T14:45:00.005+08:00

Last Saturday we had a special men's fellowship & prayer breakfast. There were a total of 12 of us who gathered at the church at 6:30am. We prepared a delicious breakfast of rice, tocino, eggs, hot pandesal, bananas, rambutan, coffee, and iced tea. We had a short program of group exercises, and then we sat down to eat and fellowship. Following our breakfast, we all gathered together and spent some quality time both individually and as a group in prayer. There was also a short time of testimonies and praise. Everyone really enjoyed this time of fellowship and prayer and we have already made plans to do it again next month.

God Bless,

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Our Youth Fellowship

2011-08-30T18:41:00.004+08:00

This past Monday was National Heroes Day here in the Philippines. Since there was no school, we thought we would try to have a small fellowship at our church with the youth from several other churches. Four other Pastors and the young people from their churches joined us for a total of around 80 youth. Everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves. Each of the pastors gave a short challenge to the group and we also had some group singing and played a couple of group games. There were snacks and drinks available as well as basketball, volleyball, badminton, board games, and just sitting down and talking with each other. The whole event lasted around 5 hours and we are thankful for the safety God gave everyone as well as for all of the youth in our respective churches.

For His Glory,

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Family Sunday

2011-07-19T11:04:00.004+08:00

This past Sunday was our annual Family Sunday at church. We thank the Lord that we had a great service! It was a packed house with around 150 in attendance! After the service we had family picture taking as well as good food for everyone. Please continue to pray for the Lord's guidance and protection upon our church.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Sunday's Baptism

2011-07-12T11:37:00.004+08:00

This past Sunday three people were baptized. We are so thankful that Lila, Irene, and RonRon decided to follow the Lord in believer's baptism. Please pray for them and their continual growth in their faith.

God Bless,

Ptr. Matt & Rina

Ladies Fellowship

2011-07-11T21:08:00.003+08:00

Last Saturday there was a ladies fellowship at our house. There were 27 ladies who attended and they all had a great time together. They had a devotional, played some games, sang some songs, and ate a good lunch. When everyone left to go home, they were already asking when they could have another ladies fellowship!

God Bless,

Ptr. Matt & Rina

Our 4th of July

2011-07-05T21:25:00.004+08:00

We had a memorable Independence Day, or as it is known here, Filipino - American Friendship Day. This year we were blessed to celebrate the 4th of July with a household of people. My sister Michele, Rina's cousin Ashley, and their friend Chelsea have been staying with us for just over a week now. The three girls along with Ptr. Edwin and his family joined Dulce, Rina, and myself as we celebrated the 4th. We grilled burgers and bbq sticks, had a great time of fellowship, and then of course, shot off some fireworks. God Bless America and God Bless the Philippines!

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Father's Day at Church

2011-06-25T13:16:00.003+08:00

We had a great Father's Day at our church this past Sunday. We were blessed to have 16 fathers in attendance. We gave away a 16 in 1 screwdriver tool to each of the fathers as a token of appreciation and honor for Father's Day. We also had a special parent/child dedication during the morning service. The little girl's name is Shanel and she just turned 1. After the service we all ate a wonderful meal, which was served by our youth group, and enjoyed the fellowship with each other.

God Bless,

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

The New School Year

2011-06-13T09:41:00.003+08:00

Last Sunday we wanted to have a special time of prayer for all of the students and teachers who attend our church as they begin the new school year. This past week was the first week of classes for the public school system here in the Philippines, with the rest of the students set to begin at different times within the next two weeks. Through the generous donation of some balikbayan families, as well as through our church, we were able to give free school supplies (notebooks, pencils, pens, crayons, backpacks) to many of the children who attend our church.

I want to ask if you can please remember to keep our students and teachers in your prayers. Please pray for safety, as most of them walk or commute to school and please pray that they will bring glory to the Lord through their hard work, study, and testimony. Also, please remember to keep the teachers in your prayers. Please pray that by God's grace they will have the wisdom, strength (the student/teacher ratio per class in the local High School is over 60/1), and remain a good witness during this school year. Thank you.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Youth Camp 2011

2011-05-23T14:39:00.007+08:00

We had a wonderful time at youth camp this past week. The theme for this years camp was "God's Perfect Will." We left early Tuesday morning to make the 4-5 hour trip south of Manila to the town of Calauan, Laguna. We took two vehicles and a total of 16 campers. When we arrived on Tuesday we registered our group and then spent a couple of hours getting situated. We all were divided into four different teams, the Blue Patriarchs, the Red Martyrs, the Green Apostles, and the Purple Prophets. There were different competitions and awards throughout the week to determine the overall winner (which was blue). We had our first meal that evening and then we were blessed to hear Dr. Lyons preach during the meeting that night.

On Wednesday, we were up by 6:00am and had our cabin devotions followed by breakfast and then a short morning session where the focus was on God's will in soul winning and God's will in prayer. Following the morning sessions we had some brief activities and then it was lunch time. After lunch there were group competitions and games, a brief rest time, another group session, and then it was on to dinner. All of the food at the camp was very good, the Word of Life staff did a fine job cooking for all of the campers. During the evening meeting, Pastor Meljun Laurena challenged all of us with a theme of "When God Says 'Wait'". We had fellowship time after the meeting until it was lights out at 11:00pm.

Thursday morning was another early morning with group devotions, breakfast and then back to back preaching concerning using your money for God and growth through God's Word. Throughout the day we had another busy schedule full of games and challenges, lunch, basketball, volleyball, swimming, and a divided session/Q&A about relationships. That evening the main speaker was Dr. Jericho Samson and he spoke from 2 Corinthians 6:14 and challenged all of the young people to follow God's principles when it comes to finding a future mate. There was no curfew that evening since it was the last night, and we all enjoyed talking and being together until the early morning hours.

On Friday, we cleaned up our cabin, got our bags ready to go, and then had some breakfast. After breakfast we had the opportunity to go for a brief hike to a waterfall that was close by the camp. It was a lot of fun. We were the only group that went, and the water was really refreshing. Following the hike we loaded up the vehicles and headed back home.

Overall, everybody had a great experience at youth camp this year. I want to ask you to please continue to pray for the youth of our church. Please pray that God will continue to work in their lives, that they will make good choices, and that they will continue to seek after God's perfect will.

God Bless,

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

---If you are receiving the email update, I'm not sure if the video is playing properly via the email, you might need to log in directly to the website in order to view it. Thanks---

Mother's Day Sunday

2011-05-12T19:12:00.000+08:00

We had a great Mother's Day at our church this past Sunday. We had many new people at church and there were a total of 26 mothers in attendance. We honored all of the mothers who came to church and gave them a small gift along with a rose. One of the young girls at our church, Jashmaine, gave a special tribute to her mother and I don't think there was a dry eye in the church. After the service we had a special Mother's Day meal. Our youth group did all of the serving and cleaning while the mother's took a well deserved rest and enjoyed the Chooks chicken, rice, pancit, and gulaman.

Rina and I are very thankful and blessed because of the mothers that God has given us. While one is with us here and one is back in the States, both of our mothers will always be near and dear to our heart.

God Bless,

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Youth Rally

2011-05-07T20:55:00.003+08:00

On Friday I had the privilege of being the guest speaker for the youth rally of the Baptist Bible Church in Sta. Mesa, Manila. There were over 350 young people in attendance including 33 from our church. We had a great time of fellowship and we thank the Lord for the safe travel. The theme of the youth rally was "All for His glory - Romans 11:36". In my preparation for the message I was overwhelmed at the vastness of this one verse. Our magnificent God truly is beyond measure and worthy of our praise. "...to whom be glory forever. Amen"

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

VBS Graduation

2011-04-22T22:01:00.006+08:00

Today was our final day of VBS for 2011. The children had group Bible lessons right away in the morning and then we all gathered together for our graduation. There were 134 kids who attended the graduation and each of them received a certificate and a special bookmark. We also gave away the book The Little Orange Bear to the younger age groups. After the award ceremony, we served spaghetti, muffins, and iced tea to everyone. We are very thankful for those people from our church who volunteered to help during this time. We are also very thankful for the many prayers for the success of our VBS.

God Bless,

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

---Below is a short video clip from the graduation.

VBS Day 4

2011-04-21T19:25:00.008+08:00

Today was day number four of our VBS. We had 110 kids today. All of the children had a great time and they are excited about our "graduation" tomorrow. We thank you for your continued prayers.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

---Below is a short video clip of some of our daily opening ceremony.---

VBS Day 3

2011-04-20T20:02:00.006+08:00

Day number 3 is in the books. We had 134 children today. For games the kids played dodge ball and again had fun with water balloons, during our snack time the children ate pancit noodles and ice cream, and for the Bible lesson the children learned about the father's love in the story of the prodigal son. Thank you to everyone for your prayers!

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

VBS Day 2

2011-04-19T20:30:00.005+08:00

Day number 2 update: 131 children and lots of fun! Two days down and three more to go. Thank you for the prayers!

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

VBS Day 1

2011-04-18T18:41:00.005+08:00

I just wanted to quickly upload some pictures from our first day of VBS. We had 99 kids! Everyone was divided into four different groups according to their age. We had game time, lesson time, snack time, and craft time, along with some group singing and prizes. One day down four more to go.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Prayer Request

2011-04-17T21:04:00.002+08:00

Hello everyone, we just wanted to ask for your prayers this week as we will be having our VBS. The schedule is Monday through Friday from 8:00am - 11:30am. Please pray for safety, a smooth program, and many salvations!

Thanks and God Bless,

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Graduation and Awards Recognition Night

2011-04-13T19:32:00.005+08:00

This past Sunday night we had a special evening service where we honored all of those students who graduated and/or received some kind of special award or honors during this past school year. We gave a commemorative diploma along with a small gift to those who graduated from 6th grade, high school, and college. We also gave a commemorative certificate to those students who received special honors in their respective schools this year. Afterwards, we celebrated by eating food and having fellowship together. We are thankful for all of the young people in our church and we ask that you please continue to keep them in your prayers as they look to follow the Lord in whatever He has them to do.

God Bless,

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Mission Team Update 3

2011-03-02T09:36:00.002+08:00

On Friday the mission team went to Angeles City to help Ptr. Edwin Samson and Dayspring Baptist Church. We were able to help with some small projects and during the medical mission, Dr. Tanney saw close to 100 patients and many trusted Christ as their Saviour. Ptr. Mark Julian spoke for the special evening church service and several got saved.

Saturday was again filled with different activities at and around our church in Bahay Pare and then we had another great day of worship on Sunday. Mrs. Tanney spoke during the ladies Sunday School class, Bro. Tim and Bro. Tony gave testimonies for the men's class, and Bro. Josh spoke for the high school boys class. Then, everyone was challenged by Ptr. Mark in the morning service to be faithful and during the evening service he gave an encouraging message about rewards for Christian service.

Monday we traveled to Manila. Ptr. Mark was the guest speaker during the chapel service at Asia Baptist Bible College. After that we went to several historical places in Manila. We visited Fort Santiago inside of Intramuros which was prominent during the Battle of Manila in 1945 and then the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial which is the largest cemetery in the Pacific for U.S. servicemen killed in World War II.

Tuesday was a day to pack, fellowship, purchase some last minute souvenirs, and play some more basketball. The Mission Team left for the airport at 4:00am Wednesday morning.

We thank the Lord for the blessing and success of this Mission Trip. We are thankful that God protected and provided for all of us during this past week and a half . Thank you to everyone for your prayers.

God Bless,

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Mission Team Update 2

2011-02-23T22:57:00.000+08:00

Monday and Tuesday our church hosted a back to back medical and dental clinic. Dr. Tanney, Nurse Meg, several local doctors/dentists, along with many volunteers from our church combined to see an estimated total of around 290 patients during the two day clinic. We are extremely thankful for all of the doctors/dentists who volunteered their time in helping with our clinic. We also praise the Lord for the many opportunities that we had to share the gospel during the clinic. We rejoice that there were around 126 people who trusted Christ as their Saviour during the two day clinic! We ask that you continue to pray for those who have newly trusted Christ and that we will be able to help disciple them in their new found faith.

Today we went to Ptr. Resty Rivera's church for another day of the medical clinic and sharing the gospel. Dr. Tanney was able to see many patients and in the morning the mission team was able to pass out gospel tracts and be involved in personal soul winning. We also had a good day of fellowship with Ptr. Resty, and Ptr. Mark Julian was the guest speaker for the service at his church. The mission team was touched by all of the warmth and kindness that was shown to them.

The mission team is here for another six days, so we continue to ask for your prayers. I will update again soon.

God Bless,

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Mission Team Update

2011-02-20T21:30:00.002+08:00

It has been a very busy and exciting past several days. The mission team arrived early Saturday morning and by the time they got to the hotel and ready for sleep it was about 4am. Later that day, they joined us at our church for some light projects and then our Bible studies, during which they were able to pass out candy, bracelets, and balloons. Today, Sunday, we had wonderful church services. The schedule was packed. Sunday School at 8:30am, Morning service at 10:00am, Youth Group at 3:30pm, and Evening service at 5:00pm. We had many visitors and several trusted Christ. We were all blessed by the messages of Ptr. Mark Julian.

Hopefully everyone will sleep well tonight as tomorrow begins our back to back days of medical/dental clinics. Please pray for God's blessing and protection during the clinic and also for people's hearts to be ready to receive the Gospel.

God Bless,

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Prayer Request

2011-02-17T19:24:00.005+08:00

We are looking forward to having the mission team from Quentin Road and Westchester join us for almost two weeks. Please pray for their safety in travelling and that God will bless their time together with us as they minister here in the Philippines. I will try to post some updates from the trip as time permits.

God Bless,

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Love Banquet 2011

2011-02-09T17:31:00.007+08:00

Last Friday, February 4^th, we had our annual love banquet. Our auditorium was decorated with white Christmas lights, pink table cloths, candles, heart shaped center pieces and chocolate candy spread out on the table. There were 40 adults who joined us for the evening. They were welcomed into the church by ushers and usherettes who brought them to there assigned tables and waited on them. We had a special program for the banquet:

-several special numbers (one by Rina and myself)

-a special guest speaker (Pastor Gerard Mateo from Cornerstone Bible Baptist Church in Sta. Maria, Bulacan)

-a nice sit down dinner (consisting of pancit, rice, vegetables, beef and broccoli, chicken,)

-a group game ("How well do you know your spouse" [hopefully we didn't cause any problems with this one! :) ])

-picture taking (each person who attended will receive a free copy)

It was a great night for many of our church members to fellowship with each other and to have a nice date with their husband/wife.

God Bless,

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Ladies Tea Party

2010-12-31T12:45:00.005+08:00

This past week our church hosted the 1st Annual Mother & Daughter Tea Party. We had 36 ladies, high-school and older, who attended this event. There was singing, special games (how well do you know each other?), and Rina and Dulce gave a devotion asking the question, what kind of "tea" are you? (beau-"tea", availabili-"tea", modes-"tea" etc.). All of the ladies received a calendar and some tea to take home. The event concluded with everyone snacking on some baked goods and of course, drinking iced tea!

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T22:24:00.002+08:00

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas!

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Luke 2:7-14
⁷And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
⁸And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
⁹And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
¹⁰And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
¹²And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
¹⁴Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Interview with Dayspring Baptist Church

2010-12-18T12:15:00.002+08:00

Last week I was interviewed via skype by Ptr. Daniel Reehoff of Dayspring Baptist Church in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Their church is trying to raise some money for the upcoming medical mission here in the Philippines this February. Click here to watch the video.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

8th Church Anniversary

2010-12-09T10:49:00.009+08:00

This past Sunday, December 5^th, we had our 8^th church anniversary. During our morning service we had over 150 people and during our evening service there were over 360 people. We had many visitors attend the services. Pastor Matt spoke at the morning service and Pastor Edwin Samson was our guest speaker during the evening service. We were blessed to have our children’s choir, adult choir, and several special numbers sing during both the services. We also provided food for everyone who attended the evening service. It was a lot of work, but we are thankful for many of our church members who did a great job helping us prepare for the anniversary.

Our theme this year was “Looking Back, Reaching Forward.”

Philippians 3:14
¹⁴I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

We are thankful in remembering, how God used Pastor Nelson to start this ministry in Bahay Pare eight years ago and we are excited and looking forward to what God will be doing in and through our church as we continue to press toward the mark.

We praise and thank God that it was a successful anniversary and that many new visitors were able to hear the clear gospel for the first time. Thank you to all of you that prayed for us during our anniversary. It was a blessing!

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Prayer Request

2010-12-04T20:16:00.002+08:00

We would appreciate your prayers for our church anniversary this Sunday. Please pray especially for the visitors we will have that their hearts will be open to receive the Gospel. Also, please pray for safe travel for all those who are going to attend. Thank you!

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Ladies Conference at Ptr. Resty's Church

2010-11-28T20:56:00.003+08:00

Saturday morning from 9:00-12:00, 17 of our church ladies attended a conference at the church of Ptr. Resty Rivera. There were well over 150 ladies at this conference from many different churches. Dulce gave a testimony, and Rina and Anna Samson were two of the featured speakers.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Our Thanksgiving

2010-11-26T12:17:00.003+08:00

I just wanted to share a couple of pictures from our Thanksgiving. We were joined by Ptr. Edwin and his family along with another American man and his wife (Mark and Angeline) that live close to us. We had a great evening. Dulce and Rina did a wonderful job cooking a delicious Thanksgiving meal!

God Bless,

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Teaching Opportunity

2010-11-24T15:03:00.004+08:00

I was given the opportunity to teach a class at the Asia Baptist Bible College in Sta. Mesa, Manila. There are around 100 students currently enrolled at the college, which has been in existence for over 35 years. Dr. Boyd Lyons, president of the college, asked me to teach on the subject of Ecclesiology, the doctrine of the church. I taught the 5th Block which consisted of four weeks, Tuesday - Friday, 10:00am - 12:00pm. There were 17 students in my class and thankfully, they all passed! It was a good opportunity for me to teach this class, and I am thankful that the Lord provided wisdom and safety travelling.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Church Fellowship Night

2010-11-11T19:06:00.003+08:00

Two Sundays ago, we had a church fellowship during our evening service. We started the evening with some songs and Bible reading. Then we played a hula hoop game and a “get to know you better” game. And of course, what is a Christian fellowship without food! We had spaghetti and soup for all those who attended. It was a fun night of fellowship and encouragement!

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Youth Lock-in

2010-11-10T17:24:00.006+08:00

Several weeks ago, our youth group had a lock-in at church. There were around 20 of us who slept over night at the church. We played some board games like chess, chutes & ladders, jenga, and a memory game (the “Finding Nemo” preschool game which they really enjoyed!). We even had a pair’s badminton tournament in the auditorium. After the games, we watched the Disney Pixar movie “UP,” on a projector in the auditorium while eating some popcorn and some other snacks. We ended the night by splitting up the youth group and having devotions. We praise and thank the Lord for giving us the opportunity to spend time and get to know our youth better.

The following morning, after only 2 or 3 hours of sleep, we had sophomores, juniors, and seniors in high school, take a trip to Asia Baptist Bible College (which is in the church of Dr. Boyd Lyons). The kids got to sit in on one of Ptr. Matt’s lectures on Ecclesiology and were then able to stay for the chapel service which was also given by Ptr. Matt. We are glad that the youth were exposed to Bible college and saw what it’s about. The time we spent with them was a blessing and we just ask that you continue to pray for them, that they will stay faithful in church and most importantly to God.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Keith's Visit

2010-10-04T18:27:00.004+08:00

We were blessed to have our friend Keith visit us for a couple of weeks. I just wanted to share a couple of pictures from his visit.

-Matt & Rina-

Parent/Child Dedication Service

2010-10-01T16:18:00.002+08:00

Our church had a parent/child dedication service last week and 5 families participated. There were 2 baby boys (Jhon and Elirico) and 3 baby girls (Maureen, Jancen, and Riza). Please keep these precious children and their parents in your prayers.

Psalm 78:6-7
⁶That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children:
⁷That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Sunday's Baptisms

2010-09-19T21:46:00.005+08:00

This Sunday we had 8 people who were baptized. It was a great Lord's Day today and the baptisms made it extra special. We had one man baptized (Tatay Peping), two High School students (Antonio and Raymart), 4 elementary school boys (Bernardo, Alvin, Jeric, and Jereme), and 1 elementary school girl (Vanessa). I ask that you please remember these people in your prayers today.

God Bless,

-Ptr. Matt &Rina-

Updates

2010-09-15T22:20:00.002+08:00

I just wanted to give everyone some brief updates:

Our friend Keith arrived today and he will be spending the next two weeks here with us. We were excited to see him and we look forward to the many things that we will be doing while he is with us.

We have a baptism scheduled this Sunday. Please pray that everything will go well, and that God will bless those who have decided to follow Him in believer's baptism.

We are going to have a child dedication service on Friday the 24th. Please pray that the parents of those children being dedicated will always seek to train their children in a way that honors God.

The Bahay Pare town fiesta is also on Friday the 24th. Please pray for witnessing opportunities.

Thank you for your prayers. God Bless.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Ptr. Resty's Church Anniversary

2010-08-29T22:12:00.002+08:00

Tonight we had a great time joining Ptr. Resty Rivera in celebration of his church's 11th anniversary. There were well over 125 people in attendance and the service was full of singing, testimonies, and of course the preaching. It was also good to see Ptr. Edwin Samson and his family. He was the special guest speaker for the night, and he preached a message about fear and faith. Afterwards, everyone had a wonderful time of food and fellowship. For 11 years God has watched over and blessed God's Covenant Fundamental Baptist Church, and we pray that He will continue to do many great things through the faithfulness of Ptr. Resty and the church members.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Brief update

2010-08-22T21:07:00.003+08:00

We had a wonderful day of worship in church today. During our morning service we had 6 first time visitors and several second and third time visitors. Our Sunday School and AM service went very well. For our PM service, we were blessed to have a special guest speaker, Missionary Lloyd Abiva. At 25 years old, he is a Bible College graduate that has felt God leading him to the foreign mission field. Next year, along with his wife and young daughter, he is going to be heading to Thailand. Tonight, he shared with us his passion to take the clear Gospel to the lost people in Thailand. I ask that you please keep him in your prayers as he pursues the Lord's calling in his life.

God Bless,

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

VISA Update

2010-08-02T18:40:00.002+08:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that our VISA process is complete. Several weeks ago we received our official Alien Certificate of Registration (ACR) I-card. The paper work, applications, appointments, interviews, approval, fees, official documentation, and all of the red tape that comes with it is finally finished. Right now our ACR I-card is valid for 1 year, but once we renew it for the first time, we will be able to validate it for 3 years at a time.

Thank you for your prayers.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

A Visit From Our Family

2010-07-30T12:00:00.008+08:00

It was a blessing to be able to have our family here in the Philippines. Michele, who last visited the Philippines in 2009, stayed with us for five weeks, and our mom and dad, who came to the Philippines for the first time, stayed with us for two weeks. It was great to spend time with them and we are glad that they got a chance to experience and help in our ministry over here. They helped with our Bible studies, church services, youth group, choir, church maintenance, and so much more. We even got to visit some historical places (a bonus to the history teacher side of dad)! All in all it was a wonderful time together which seemed to go by way too fast.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Family Sunday

2010-07-19T11:53:00.004+08:00

We had an exciting Sunday service yesterday. It was our Family Sunday and we had 32 families attend our church service. It was especially nice to have my mom, dad, and sister with us from the States. Both children's choir and adult choir sang special songs about the family and the sermon was also themed toward the family. After our service was finished, we celebrated with a potluck dinner for everyone who attended. We enjoyed the food and fellowship and we also took family pictures. Everyone had a wonderful time and we're thankful that God blessed our Family Sunday.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Brief Update

2010-07-15T21:48:00.002+08:00

Typhoon season is officially here. Two days ago typhoon Basyang came through and did some damage. The newspaper said that 23 people died as a result of the typhoon. Thankfully, the only major thing we experienced were the power outages. We were without power for around 30 hours before it finally got restored and we were without water for around 12 hours . Apparently at one time, 90% of the 13 million residence in Manila were without power as well. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as the Philippines averages around 20 typhoons per year.

Also, this Sunday we are having our Family Sunday, we would appreciate your prayers for our services.

God Bless,

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Father's Day 2010

2010-06-22T14:01:00.003+08:00

We had a great Father's Day at our church this year. There was a good crowd during both the morning and evening services. In the morning service we honored all of the fathers who were present with a book (God's Power for Fathers) and a new panyo (Filipino handkerchief). After our evening service we continued to celebrate Father's Day by having food for everyone at church. We enjoyed our fellowship by eating arroz caldo and drinking gulaman. It was a fun and delicious way to wrap up another Father's Day.

We thank God for the fathers He blessed us with.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Back In The Philippines

2010-06-19T18:28:00.002+08:00

We are officially back in the Philippines. We arrived safely last night after a long day of travelling. Thank you for all of the prayers. Our schedule was quite busy while we were in the States, but it was good to see our family and friends and I am thankful for being given the opportunity to speak at several different churches. We are excited to continue our work for God here in the Philippines.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Prayer Request

2010-05-30T20:45:00.002+08:00

Can everyone please keep me in your prayers as I will be heading to the States for a 17 day trip. I am leaving from Manila at 6:30am on Monday and I should be arriving around 3 pm in Chicago on Monday (gotta love those time zones).

Thank you.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Youth Camp 2010

2010-05-26T18:33:00.009+08:00

Last week was our annual youth camp. We had a total of 14 people from our church attend the camp including 5 first timers. I believe the total number of campers this year was somewhere around 250. It was an extremely busy and blessed week featuring awesome preaching, delicious food, games, teamwork, and great fellowship. Our camp theme was "Christ in You", and I pray that everyone who attended the camp was challenged to let the light of Christ shine through their lives.

We left for camp early Tuesday morning. We had to split up our group since only 8 of us could fit in our car. The other 6 commuted via bus with the campers of another church. Our group left the church at 5:00am and we arrived at the camp around 9:30am. We then registered all of our campers and went to our assigned cabins. That evening we had our kick off event with some team competition followed by the preaching of Dr. Jerry Samson. After the service everyone stayed to fellowship for a little while and then headed off to bed.

On Wednesday, everyone had to wake up extremely early for the early morning preaching otherwise known as the sunrise service. Our meeting started at 5:30am, yes, that's right, 5:30am! Thankfully, I was able to wake up in time for the service, good thing too because I was the one who was doing the preaching. I was able to give a message entitled, "A Gatorade Christian." After the message we had our breakfast, which was followed by some basketball and general free time for a couple of hours. Following that, the young people went to their team building sessions and the adults had their own discussion group. Once that was over we had our lunch break and in between our lunch and dinner time we had more free time, group sessions, games, and team building. After dinner we again had our nightly camp meeting with some special singing, a drama presentation, and then preaching by Pastor Hilo. Following the preaching we again had fellowship outside by our cabins and then went to sleep.

Thursday featured another busy day. There was no early morning preaching on Thursday, but instead, each cabin had a special devotional led by one of the Pastors. I transferred to the cabin with the campers from Pastor James Montenegro of the BBC of San Ildefonso and Pastor Arnel Supan (who transferred to our cabin) of Beulah Land BBC in Pulilan. We had a good devotion and then hurried off for some breakfast before we began another busy day. The format for Thursday was generally the same. The topics of the group sessions were different and the activities were new, but the day still had plenty of activity from breakfast until dinner. That night, we had some more singing, another drama presentation, and then back to back preaching by Pastor Darlucio and Pastor Estrada. Two of our young men dedicated their life that night! Following the preaching the camp awards were passed out. By the time our service was finished it was past midnight, but many people stayed up and continued to talk and fellowship until the early hours of the morning.

On Friday we again had our special devotions which were then followed by breakfast. After breakfast everyone packed up their things and got ready for the long ride back home.

We had our "Camp Night" during this past Sunday Evening Service. All of our campers gave their testimonies in church. We sang some of the new songs we learned at camp and we watched a picture presentation about our trip to youth camp. Everyone had a great time at camp this year. We are thankful for the safety we had, the good fellowship, and for all of the campers who where challenged this year to be more Christlike. Thank you for your prayers. God Bless.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

2 Prayer Requests

2010-05-16T19:50:00.004+08:00

Can you please keep our church in your prayers as we have begun some construction. We are currently building a wall to fully enclose the side of our church. We are also making plans to complete the construction on our kitchen area and a multi-purpose room.

Also, can you please keep the youth of our church in your prayers as 14 of us will be travelling to youth camp. The camp is run by Word of Life and is about a 6 hour drive south of our church.

Thank you.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-13T17:37:00.003+08:00

We had a great Mother's Day at our church on Sunday. During the morning service we honored all of the mothers in attendance with a gift of a necklace and a book. I believe we had 25 mothers who attended the service. We also gave out special prizes to the oldest mother, the mother with the most children present in church, and the newest mother. For our evening service we were blessed to have a missionary to Ghana come and speak to our church. At the conclusion of our evening service, we continued to celebrate Mother's Day by having a special Mother's Day meal with some delicious food for everyone in attendance.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Youth Camp Speaker

2010-05-06T19:59:00.003+08:00

Last week I was asked to be the guest speaker at the youth camp of the Bible Baptist Church of Sta. Mesa. The theme for their camp was "Strengthening Your Grip". I was able to speak in the morning session about the Gospel and during the evening session about Missions. A couple of young people made dedication decisions during the evening session. It was an honor to speak at their camp and I thank the Lord for giving me the ability to do so.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

2010 VBS

2010-04-25T21:29:00.013+08:00

This past week was a very busy, yet exciting time at our church. We held our annual Vacation Bible School for children ages 3-12. We divided the children into 4 age brackets and developed a rotating schedule. This year, the main theme of our VBS was Creation. We had a great turnout! On Monday we had 146 kids, Tuesday 141, Wednesday 136, Thursday 129, and on Friday we held a VBS graduation and encouraged the children to invite their parents. About 15 parents came to the graduation.

We started the program at 8:30am (some kids arrived as early as 7:30am) and we ended at 11:00am. For the first 30 minutes we had our opening ceremonies and our singing time (led by Rina), then the classes were dismissed and they rotated to each of the 5 different stations that were set up for them. There was craft time, game time, Bible lesson time, memory verse time, and the all important snack time. When all of this was finished we gathered again in the auditorium and gave out awards.

We thank the Lord for the blessing of a successful VBS!

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

2 Prayer Requests

2010-04-17T22:02:00.003+08:00

I would just like to ask everyone for their prayers for two things that are coming up.

1. Our church is having our VBS (Vacation Bible School) this coming week. Can you please pray that everything will run smoothly and that many children will come, hear, and accept the Gospel.

2. Rina and I are scheduled to have an appointment with the Philippine Immigration Department on Tuesday morning around 9:00am. Can you please pray that all details will be worked out concerning our VISA and that we will be granted the proper VISA for our work here in the Philippines.

Thank you for your prayers and God Bless.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Thoughts about Holy Week in the Philippines

2010-04-05T22:07:00.006+08:00

This was my first time being in the Philippines during what is known as "Holy Week". The Philippines is a very religious country with the majority of Filipinos being Roman Catholic. The area where we are missionaries is full of tradition during Holy Week. I have read and heard about some of the different religious rituals that take place, but to see them first hand was quite an experience.

One of the things I was able to briefly observe was the extreme form of what is known as Penitensya, the Filipino term for Penance. I saw a total of about 7 men that were carrying crosses made of bamboo or wood walking in their bare feet headed toward different churches to give their prayers. This was done in the middle of the day in 90 degree weather! I also saw several men whipping themselves with a collection of small bamboo sticks tied to a rope. These men were also doing their Penitensya in the form of flagellation.

Another tradition that I observed was the town processional that dramatizes, via parade floats, the sacrifice or passion of Christ, His acceptance by Mary, and many different Catholic saints. We passed a processional in which there were over 75 floats involved, each one was decorated and themed according to whatever devotion a person belonged. Flowers, lights, music, and candles all accompanied these colorful, life-like floats during the processional.

Finally, during our church service on Good Friday, there was another processional that took place. While we were in the middle of our prayer time, I heard some slow, sad music playing in the distance. As the music grew louder and the procession came closer, I saw hundreds of people with candles following a float that consisted of a statue of Jesus lying in a clear glass coffin. For me it was strange to see people outside our church in such a mournful, funeral-like state as they commemorated the death of Christ, while at the same time inside our church I had just finished talking about the hope that the cross brings.

"But this Man (Jesus Christ), after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God." Hebrews 10:12

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Our Easter Service

2010-04-05T21:51:00.002+08:00

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday at our church. I am thankful for the faithful people who attended our service. I'm thankful for all of the kids who had a great time during children's church. I am thankful for the new visitors who came and were able to hear the Gospel. Mostly though, I am thankful for the hope and joy the message of Easter brings.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

"Holy Week" 2010

2010-04-02T21:41:00.003+08:00

This is just a short video clip showing some of the different things we have seen so far this week. Hopefully it will give you a taste of how they celebrate "Holy Week" here in the Philippines. I will write in more detail about our experiences following Easter.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Sunday's Baptism

2010-03-15T17:55:00.003+08:00

This past Sunday we had a baptism. There were 6 people that decided to follow the Lord in believer's baptism. There was a husband and wife (Noli and Ana), two sisters (Rochelle and Aira), their cousin (Carlo), and a 1st year high school student (Karen).

It was an exciting Sunday! It was a blessing to baptize these wonderful people. I ask that you please keep them all in your prayers. Please pray that God will continue to work in their lives and that they will continue to be faithful and draw closer to Him.

-Matt & Rina-

2010 Philippine Mission Trip

2010-03-10T09:51:00.006+08:00

1 Corinthians 16:18
¹⁸For they have refreshed my spirit and yours: therefore acknowledge ye them that are such.

We just finished hosting the 2010 mission team from the Quentin Road Bible Baptist Church. It has been a very busy and exciting past several weeks. We thank God for the safety and success of the mission team. It all began with the arrival of Pastor Jim Scudder Jr. He was able to preach at 2 churches and also speak at a Bible College, a Bible study, and a pastor's fellowship. In the the 6 full days he was in the Philippines, he spoke/preached 8 times. While he was in the Philippines, he stayed at our house and we really enjoyed his company and fellowship.

Pastor Jim was soon joined in the Philippines by Dr. & Mrs. Tanney, Ken & Laura Kennedy, Marian Todd, Caleb Crowley, and Beverly Black. It was great to see their friendly faces and they were a huge blessing to us. We had many laughs, some tears, and an overwhelmingly great time.

One of the main purposes for the mission trip was to host a medical mission. Dr. & Mrs. Tanney provided medical care during the pastor's fellowship, for our church, and the church of Ptr. Resty. They treated easily over 500 people with the medical outreach. During the medical mission at our church, the mission team was able to witness to everyone who was waiting to receive the free medical help. Many, many people accepted Jesus Christ as their Saviour after hearing the the clear, simple Gospel of salvation.

These past several weeks have been an amazing blessing both to us personally and our church. God has been so good. Our spirits have been refreshed. To everyone on the 2010 Philippine Mission Team, I would like to conclude with a simple Maraming Salamat Po.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

(Sorry there are not alot of pictures posted. I just didn't have the chance to take as many as I would have wanted, and I knew that since Marian was coming, the pictures would be taken care of. As soon as she sends me her pictures, I promise I will post them and comment further on the mission trip.)

Valentine's Day Banquet

2010-02-16T20:56:00.004+08:00

Our church hosted a Valentine's Day Banquet and we had around 60 people attend. Some of our High School and College age church members volunteered to act as the servers for the adults in attendance. We decorated our church auditorium, and we had the food catered. The menu featured sweet & sour fish, beef kaldereta, chopsuey, and gelatin for dessert. I spoke to those in attendance about the importance of remembering the greatest love of all, the love that Jesus Christ showed us with his death on the cross. We also had a fun time playing games and we took couples and group pictures.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T00:20:00.003+08:00

Rina and I are officially in 2010 (first report, so far so good). As I am writing this, most of our family and friends are still in 2009, stuck living in the past. That is the beauty of being GMT +8hours.

Celebrating New Years in the Philippines has been unlike any other past New Years. It seemed like everyone started to light off fireworks yesterday and continued with a steady crescendo the closer we came to the end of the year. It's been over 1 hour into 2010 and I can still hear a constant booming outside our windows. Also, our neighbor came by our house and gave us some lechon baboy (roasted pig) to help usher in the new year.

Rina and I just want to thank everyone for all of the prayers and support you gave us during 2009. We want to wish everyone a happy and healthy 2010, and we pray that God will bless you and your family throughout this coming year.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Maligayang Pasko (Merry Christmas)

2009-12-24T23:13:00.005+08:00

Merry Christmas to all of our family and friends!

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Luke 2:7-14
⁷And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
⁸And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
⁹And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
¹⁰And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
¹²And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
¹⁴Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

7th Church Anniversary

2009-12-11T12:49:00.003+08:00

On December 6, our church celebrated its 7th anniversary. Even though Rina and I have only been here for 7 months, the testimony of the faithfulness of Pastor Nelson and Dulce was evident as God has protected and blessed this church through another year. We pray that God will continue to watch over and bless this church as we strive to serve Him and share our faith.

During both the morning and evening services we had some special singing by our adult choir, children's choir, and ladies group. I was able to preach during the morning service on our theme for the anniversary -"No Regrets" Acts 20:24 "But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God."

For the evening service we were blessed to have Dr. Jericho Samson as our guest speaker, and we served food to all in attendance. We had around 350-400 people attend the evening service and many accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. It was a very busy day and many of the church members worked hard in preparation for the anniversary as well as with the following cleanup. We are very thankful for the great outcome that God provided during our church anniversary celebration.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Overdue Posts

2009-12-09T10:47:00.014+08:00

I have decided to post some pictures and updates from some of the different events/experiences that took place towards the later half of November. It was a busy month with a variety of activities. We had one of our friends from the states come and visit us for a week and a half, we attended two youth conferences and had a youth/church fellowship with another church, we did some scheduled construction around the church, and had a church cleanup day.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Youth Rally #1

Some of the youth in our church attended a Youth Rally themed "Holy Ambition" at the church of Ptr. Carlos Darlucio (Heritage Bible Baptist Church).

Youth/Church Fellowship with the Bible Baptist Church of San Simon

Keith Visits the Philippines

Our good friend Keith visited us for around a week and a half. We had a great time seeing him again and his trip was a big blessing to Rina and myself.

Church Construction and Cleanup Day

We made some shelves for our storage room and the church members helped to clean in preparation for our church anniversary celebration. Everyone worked extremely hard and a lot was accomplished.

Youth Rally #2

I was asked to be a guest speaker during the divided session of the 3rd Baptist Youth Jubilee at the Bible Baptist Church of Caloocan. I spoke to the high school group about the theme of the jubilee, "Navigating Against the Current." Twelve of our young people were able to attend the conference and be blessed by the preaching, activities, and fellowship.

Prayer Request

2009-12-05T19:31:00.003+08:00

We would appreciate everyone's prayers for our church anniversary this Sunday. Please pray that many new people will attend so that they are able to hear the gospel. Also, please pray that God will give Rina and I the physical strength we need since both of us haven't been feeling well recently. Thanks and God Bless.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Witnessing Opportunity

2009-11-06T21:37:00.004+08:00

I just wanted to briefly share with you about an unexpected witnessing opportunity that happened tonight. Following our regular Friday prayer service, we attended a wake for the mother of one of our church members. Rina, myself, and around 15 other church members came to show our support and offer comfort. While we were there I was unexpectedly asked to speak to the people who were gathered for the wake. There were close to 200 people attending. I didn't have a microphone and some of the people were further away or too busy playing cards. Nevertheless, I spoke as loud as I could and shared with them the wonderful good news of the Gospel.

Araw ng mga Patay (Day of the Dead)

2009-11-03T22:26:00.005+08:00

This past Sunday, November 1st, was All Saint's Day. In the Philippines it is a traditional holiday in which the vast majority of people visit the graves of their loved ones. They bring food, light candles, leave flowers, and offer up prayers for the souls of the deceased. Since most of the people go to the cemetery that day we decided that it would be a good time to pass out tracts. So, around 15 members of our youth group split up and in around 25 minutes passed out close to 1000 tracts. It was really crowded. In fact, all of the tracts were passed out without even making it into the actual cemetery. The road to the cemetery was pretty narrow and on top of that you had the vendors on the sides of the road selling food, candles, and other trinkets to the stream of people that were constantly making there way to and from the cemetery. There were rows of tricycles waiting to give people rides and in addition, you had people who decided that they would rather drive than walk so at times it felt like we were in the middle of a slow moving game of frogger. As much as I wanted to bring my camera and take pictures I wasn't able to (the 20D isn't really pocket sized). It was an interesting cultural experience, but more than that it was a great blessing to be able to pass out all of those tracts and we are excited to see what God is going to do.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Mission Conference

2009-10-20T18:14:00.004+08:00

Last Thursday I was given the honor to be guest speaker in a mission conference at the Bible Baptist Mission of San Simon, a neighboring church about 45 minutes away. Ptr. Ramen Caliwag and his church hosted the event less then a week after their church was flooded due to complications from the typhoons. He told me that around five church families were still stranded due to the flooding, and one of the families that was able to attend had to find a boat to use in order to come to the conference.

The conference verse and the topic for my message was Matthew 6:33. The theme for the conference was "First things First". Several of our church members rode with Rina and I to attend the conference. Afterward we had some great food and fellowship. I was able to talk with some other missionaries that were attending the conference who were going to Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Please keep Ptr. Ramen and his church in your prayers.

Typhoon Update

2009-10-04T21:38:00.003+08:00

Thank you everyone for your prayers. The main body of typhoon 'Pepeng' shifted to the north of us at the last minute so we were spared from the full force of the typhoon. We just had some moderate rain and wind, but it was very tame compared to 'Ondoy' last week.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Here we go with Typhoon #2

2009-10-02T23:42:00.002+08:00

Please keep us in your prayers as we are expecting another typhoon here in the Philippines. Please pray that God will keep all of our church members safe and protected as well as their houses and the church building. I will update everyone again once the storm has past.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Typhoon Ondoy

2009-09-27T19:54:00.003+08:00

On Saturday, Typhoon Ondoy (international name Ketsana) swept through the Philippines. Although this has not been our first experience with a typhoon, this was by far the closest typhoon and most severe. We lost power for a couple of hours, our Internet for almost 24 hours, and our water pressure diminished to barely over a trickle. There were winds of 50-60 mph and constant rain. The news outlets said a months worth of rain was dumped in just 12 hours. The reports at the time of this post say that there are 52 dead and over 300,000 displaced. The area where we are at, the province of Bulacan/Pampanga, has been placed under a "state of calamity." Thankfully, our home and the church did not receive much damage. There were some leaks in the roof but no flooding. However, there were many of our church members whose homes suffered flooding. The damage ranges from ankle to waist deep in water. Please be sure to keep them in your prayers. In spite of this, many of them still managed to make it to church on Sunday. With a smile on our faces, the first song we sang Sunday morning was "A Shelter in the Time of Storm." As Christians, we know that our joy does not depend on our circumstances. We have Jesus as our rock in a weary land.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Prayer Request - Town Fiesta

2009-09-23T17:07:00.004+08:00

This Thursday is the fiesta of Bahay Pare. There will be a lot of people celebrating. It is basically a tribute to the patron saint of Bahay Pare - Virgen de la Merced (seen in the above pictures). In the weeks leading up to the fiesta day, there have been processionals and extra mass being held. We had an interesting experience a couple of Sunday nights ago. While I was in the middle of our communion service, we could hear Ave Maria coming from down the street in the tent where the idol was, but when the service was over and we were heading home we saw people dancing as they were now playing Achy Breaky Heart.

Please pray that there will be many opportunities to share our faith and pass out tracts during the town fiesta of Bahay Pare.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Our Grandparents Day Celebration

2009-09-20T22:09:00.006+08:00

Last Sunday we celebrated Grandparents Day at our church. We had about 15 grandparents in attendance for our morning service. Some of the younger children preformed special songs for their Lolo and Lola and we gave away tea and coffee mugs to all of the grandparents. Also, we gave out prizes to the oldest grandparent (89 years old and she accepted Christ as her Saviour for the first time that day), the grandparent with the youngest grandchild, and the grandparent with the most grandchildren in attendance.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Prayer Request

2009-09-13T20:53:00.002+08:00

We would appreciate it if everyone could remember Dulce in your prayers as she will be heading back to the United States on Monday. Her flight is scheduled to leave from Manila --> Tokyo --> Atlanta --> Chicago. Please pray for her traveling safety and also that God will continue to watch over and protect Rina and I as she is gone.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Ptr. Resty Rivera's 10th church anniversary

2009-09-03T15:27:00.005+08:00

This past Sunday night, I was given the honor of being the guest speaker at the 10th anniversary celebration of Ptr. Resty Rivera's church, God's Covenant Fundamental Baptist Church. His church is located in a resettlement area for those effected by the Mt. Pinatubo eruption in 1991. The theme for the anniversary celebration was, "Our labour is not in vain in the Lord." I spoke out of I Corinthians 15:58 in reference to their theme. There were many people who attended the service, including several first time visitors who got saved. Over 30 of our church members came to show their support and fellowship with Ptr. Resty's church. There was special singing and testimonies, and afterward food was served to all who attended.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Our First Baptism

2009-08-17T20:19:00.007+08:00

This past Sunday we had our first baptism. It was a historic day for our church. It marked the first time that we were able to use our new baptistry and also the first time that I was given the honor to baptize. We were blessed to have 13 candidates for baptism. There were 11 kids and 2 adults. My first victim...er...I mean baptizee was a young boy named Jerome. Everything went really well and all 13 of them made it out ok. The only minor setback was that we found a leak in the baptistry. Thankfully, most of the candidates were shorter (ever tried to baptize at low tide?) and there weren't any problems. It was an exciting day and we were very blessed. We pray that all of those who were baptized will continue to follow and obey God in whatever He has for them.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Smile Sunday

2009-08-12T13:13:00.003+08:00

This past Sunday we had an exciting event that we called "Smile Sunday". We announced that we would be giving away free toothbrushes and toothpaste to anyone who attended our 10am service. We put up some signs and our youth group had a contest to see who could come up with the best advertisement/logo. We had a pretty good turnout. There were 7 first time visitors and many non-regular attendees. Everything went well and everyone left with a smile :)

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Prayer Request

2009-08-05T18:23:00.003+08:00

This afternoon, Rina had to have all four of her wisdom teeth removed. They had been bothering her for around a week and two of them were impacted. The surgery went really well and lasted just under an hour. The Dr. used local anesthesia for the pain. If there are any of you that have had this procedure done before, then you know the pain that is associated with it. Aside from the swelling and discomfort, she is doing good. The Dr. said that she had a "mouth of steel" in reference to her pain tolerance...or so I'm told. I know she would appreciate your prayers as she goes through the healing process for the next couple of weeks. We did receive a great blessing when after the surgery, the Dr. told us that his services would be free of charge on the account of us being missionaries. We are very blessed!

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Thank You

2009-07-19T22:01:00.002+08:00

I just wanted to take a brief moment and thank everyone for their prayers and words of encouragement during the past several weeks. I cannot tell you how much of a comfort it is knowing that there are people who have been lifting us up in prayer. To be honest, the last several weeks have been some of the toughest we've ever had to face. We have been emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually tested, but praise God, He has helped us through even the darkest of nights. We mourn, yet we have been comforted. We sorrow, yet we have joy. What a wonderful hope we have as Christians!

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Pastor Nelson Flores 1955-2009

2009-06-30T16:15:00.003+08:00

Pastor Nelson Flores went to Heaven at around 2:30pm on Tuesday, June 30th, 2009. Thankfully, he went peacefully and we know he is not suffering anymore. Please continue to pray for all of us, but especially his wife, Dulce. She has been by his side for the past 6 months as he fought this battle. Please pray that God will give us strength as we go through this time.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina-

Father's Day

2009-06-29T09:42:00.004+08:00

On June 21st we celebrated Father's Day at our church. Also, since our monthly theme was "Family Month", we had family pictures and a potluck after the service. We had a really good crowd. There were many first time visitors including many fathers. We gave away some prizes (leather work gloves) to the fathers who were the oldest, had the most children, been a Christian the longest, etc. Our service went well and everyone enjoyed the potluck afterward.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina

Philippine Independence Day Celebration

2009-06-27T13:00:00.009+08:00

When I heard that Philippine Independence Day was coming up, and that it was on a Friday, I thought it would be fun to celebrate after church. We decided to buy some fireworks, launch them, and have a mini potluck after the evening prayer service. Everyone was excited. Apparently in the Philippines, Independance Day celebrations are usually confined to Manila, but anytime you get an excuse to launch some fireworks and eat food, that's okay by me.

-Ptr. Matt & Rina

Vacation Bible School

2009-06-02T12:53:00.009+08:00

This past Thursday and Friday our church held its annual Vacation Bible School for kids ages 3-12. We had a great turnout! There were 84 kids on Thursday and 97 kids on Friday. The theme for our camp was trusting in God. We started at 8:00am and went until 11:00am. There was lots of singing, games, Bible stories, the wordless book, skits, contests, snack time, and prizes. The kids did their skits on Daniel in the lion's den and the boy with the 5 loaves and 2 fish. We had lemonade and bread for the snack. During game time they had relay races. They also played some sort of game where there was two teams in a line and they had to hit the ball past the other line (kind of like red rover but replace the human trying to break through the line with a ball) and "tsismis" (the Tagalog name for the American game "telephone"). For the prizes, we were able to use the toys that had been donated to us from the U.S. We emptied 3 balikbayan boxes full of toys. The kids absolutely loved the prizes! All of the kids had a great time. It was a very busy yet very exciting 3 hours. There were 20 of our church members that were able to help us make this successful. It was also very encouraging to see around 70 of the kids come back on Sunday for Sunday School and Church. I pray that they will keep coming back... -God Bless-

-Ptr. Matt and Rina

Our Memorial Day Remembrance: 8,000 Miles Away

2009-05-27T12:01:00.007+08:00

Memorial Day was our first major U.S. holiday that wasn't celebrated here in the Philippines. Thankfully though, we were still able to reflect and remember in a unique way. On Memorial Day, we had to travel several hours away to the Bataan Peninsula because Rina was involved in the debut of a pastor's niece. Unknown to us, on our way back home at around 10:00pm, we passed by a monument honoring the U.S. and Filipino soldiers who defended the Bataan Peninsula and were later involved in the Bataan Death March. Thanks to my father's careful training of stopping at every historical marker, I quickly got out of the car and was able to take some pictures. I was imagining our local parade and the subsequent march to the cemetery back home, but then in our own way, some 8,000 miles away, we were still able to participate in Memorial Day. -God Bless-

-Ptr. Matt and Rina

Youth Camp: Calauan, Laguna, Philippines

2009-05-26T19:52:00.019+08:00

Last week we had the opportunity to go to a Word of Life youth camp south of Manila in Calauan, Laguna. Rina, myself, and 9 of our church members were able to attend. After a 4-5 hour bus ride, we arrived on Tuesday morning. The surrounding area was very beautiful. The camp is located in a mountainous region and it was full of lush, green vegetation. There were lots and lots of buko(coconut) trees. The facilities were also very nice. The major attractions included a swimming pool, cafeteria, basketball court, snack shack, an auditorium, a big soccer field, and a small amphitheatre. There were around 8 or 9 two-story dormitories and each building had 4 rooms with each room having 8 bunk beds. Unfortunately, they did not have ac in those rooms. They only had 1 or 2 fans to blow the 90 degree air around. Fortunately, Rina and I were able to stay with another pastor and his family in an air conditioned room separate from the dormitories. It was a blessing because due to the humidity, Rina's asthma was starting to act up.

The theme of the camp was based off Romans 12:1, Youth: A Living Sacrifice. There were four teams: the spotless lambs, clean oxen, pure turtle doves, and unblemished rams(1st place, yeah!). There was a lot of great preaching (70% Tagalog, 30% English), singing, and peformances. Some of the featured speakers were Dr. Ed Laurena, Dr. Jericho Samson, Ptr. Jeremias Solomon (very, very funny), Ptr. Gerald Mateo, Ptr. Arnel Supan, Ptr. Carlos Darlucio, and Evangelist Dax Baardi (who at the end of camp got an award for the longest preaching - 2 hours and 15 minutes).

There was a detailed and busy itinerary for each day. Each morning we began by having a group Bible study/devotional at 6am. I was able to be the main speaker for the devotional on Wednesday morning. Following the devotional was breakfast at 7. Speaking of food, all of the food at the camp was excellent. Lunch and dinner were all-you-can-eat, and they served the food to you waiter style rather then in a buffet line. You just had to raise your hand when your serving platter was empty. I definitely left every meal very full. After breakfast there was a combination of team building and preaching from 8:30-12. That was followed by lunch at 12 and then sports activites and games from 1-6. After that it was dinner time and more eating at 7. We then concluded the schedule with our main preaching session from 7:30-10. After the preaching there was a dedication. Some of our young people made decisions to "make their lives a living sacrifice."It was all a very busy, yet very rewarding experience. I am very thankful that our church was able to attend. Lord willing, we will be back again next year. -God Bless-

-Ptr. Matt and Rina