A Family Visit To GCF-Pasig

April 22, after our series of mission travels our family finally got the chance to attend a church in Manila. This time it was through the invitation of one of our mission staff, our DFCM Secretary to be precise, Jhen Santos. The invitation was actually a week overdue already as their church inaugurated their newly constructed building in Bambang, Pasig City. The name of their church is Gospel of Christ Fellowship-Pasig (GCF Pasig). If I got it right the fellowship started back in May 1, 2009 as a Bible Study group which was held regularly at the house of Jhen's uncle, Jerry Librea (or Bro. Boy as we call him). The young group was comprised of only 15 people from within the vicinity and was discipled by Pastor Andy Villaluz who is also from the same place. By God's grace and favor the group has grown in size and maturity and has become the herald of Good News and a channel of blessings in this locality, a full grown church. They have conducted ministries not only within the group but also  reached out to the community just like to the students of the elementary school to name a few. 

Today, by God's overflowing goodness a church building was raised and built in a vacant lot right in front of Kapitolyo Homes, just a few steps from our house. Last April 15 in their inauguration worship service we happened to be out working on the tribal mission so we missed attending it. My family regularly attends Victory Christian Fellowship in Fort Bonifacio and our kids, Cid, Erl and Eanda are already happily growing with us in that church, but it was also a pure joy to visit and worship with this church. 

The congregation is fairly small compared to the congregation we belong to, yet one thing you will appreciate about churches like this is the "family" atmosphere, so intimate, so loving. It brings me back to the memory lane of our old community church just across the Pasig River. People here in this kind of church knows each other well and it is almost impossible to miss a smile or shake a hand. And as a pastor I used to handle churches like of this size in the past and I am sure that this is the kind or size I am very comfortable with. It is so easy to connect to people, so easy to reach and touch lives, shepherding is not so complicated -just a happy and caring place. So homey!

If I may say, this church is also blessed to have Jhen who has a big heart for the kids. Back in the old community church she was just one of those little kids me and Ahlie were shepherding (I was the Kid's Pastor and Ahlie was the Kid's Ministry Superintendent then), through the years we saw her grow up in stature with the Lord and has become one of the children ministry teachers. When we were called for missions she joined us and became a missionary teacher to the Mangyan kids in Mindoro too. That Sunday our hearts were filled with joy as we saw her lead the children to the altar for a prayer of dedication, we saw in her the legacy of our passion for little children. We know a church with strong kids and youth ministry is a growing church while a church giving less importance to them is a dying church. As Jesus said:

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

Matthew 19:14

"I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

Matthew 18:3

The message was delivered by no other than Pastor Andy Villaluz. He preaches from the book of Ephesians, in chapter six verse twelve it says: "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." His timely message gave emphasis on barking at the wrong tree and I believe everyone got a piece of spiritual learning from it. To this powerful message I say "AMEN".

Right after hearing God's message for us there was an altar call. At that moment Pastor Andy's wife, Sis. Aida, approached me and asked me to assist the pastor. I am so glad to be given an opportunity to minister in their church in spite of being there just for the first time. So I jumped in and do the things needed in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was a moment of power -of God's power as everyone who came forward was blessed and moved by the Holy Spirit.

By the end of the service I was also requested to give a Word and do the benediction. I can't help but to remember this old feeling. I've been out in the mission field for so many years and it has been long since I stood in a church like this in my own place. Of course through the years I stood to preach and teach in churches of different sizes in different places, but for a time being ...not in my own place.

That Sunday was an awesome experience with God and His people. We are truly grateful to Him and to GCF-Pasig, to Pastor Andy and Sis. Aida, to Bro. Boy and Ate Malou, Jhen and Anthony, and to the whole congregation for the warm brotherly welcome.

We pray that the Lord will continue His marvelous works in this place, in this flock. May this church stand strong and be the salt and light in our community just the way God wants them to be. And may the Name of the Lord be glorified through them now and until the coming of the day. All praises be unto His Name!

"...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

Philippians 1:6

Gospel of Christ Fellowship Schedule of Activities:

Morning Devotion: Monday to Saturday 7:00am.

Prayer Meeting every Wednesday 7:30pm.

Discipleship Group every Saturday 7:00pm.

Kids' Service every 1st Sunday of the month 3:00pm.

Worship Service every Sunday 9:30am.

June 24

More updates...

Is It Easy To Forget?

By Pastor Ernie Catanghal

As a missionary to the tribes here in the Philippines I have experienced a lot of travelling on land, on air and on sea. I have been doing this for almost a decade and a half now, and travelling only on sunny days is not my privilege. Being called by God to "go" and do His work as for me means most of the time to do what needs to be done, where it is needed to be done and when it is needed to be done. There is no luxury of choosing but rather plain obedience and dedicated service.

In doing so I have been through a lot of rough and tough times, and to share one of them it was when going through the borders of China Sea on a small boat getting caught in an ugly storm. This one unforgettable experience happened while I was trying to bring in some food and medical supplies to a place where the people of the tribes were perishing because of the continuous beating of heavy rains and strong winds for weeks. These people were part of the groups I've been reaching out in my missionary work. The Iraya-Mangyans of Mindoro. Well, it's not about the mission work or the Mangyans that I am going to talk about this time but about my experience on that 12 feet long wooden boat.

When I stepped on this "small" fisherman's boat all I remembered was the four inch clearance of the top edge of the boat from the surface of the troubled water. It was not because of my weight that caused the boat to sink that low but because when the boatman together with some locals helped me load a few sacks of rice, a sack of sugar, a sack of dried fish, some boxes of canned sardines, some bags of used clothing and several boxes of medicine. Right at the shore it was calm, or there was a window of calmness in the sea and we thought we will get just enough time to cross over with all these heavy baggage aboard.

To get the picture there was a storm, there were dying people desperately in need in the other side of the island, I got the supplies they need, and the only way to get to the place is by boat. Normally, no one goes out to the sea in this kind of harsh weather condition. But there was only one fisherman in the town who was crazy enough or should I say desperate enough to earn some money by taking me there to that storm-beaten side up north.

At first it seemed like any ordinary boat ride and I even cared to pull out my camera for some shots. When all of the sudden the wind have shifted speed and direction, the sky grew very dim and everything suddenly changed, from calm to worse and escalating to worst. I have been in the sea with this kind of condition on a large ship but not on a tiny and overloaded boat. I have to admit it was one of the scariest moment of my life. With my heart pounding so hard even with the noise of those huge waves beating the sides of our boat and splashing all over us from all directions it wasn't enough to hide the beating sound of my chest. Then somewhere more than half of the way our boat developed a leak from the side and down beneath, water slowly filling up! Oh, I couldn't be scarier more! Yet from a distance an enormous shadow suddenly casted on us, at first I thought it was a whale but no it was not! It was like a wall, growing bigger and everything that surrounded us in that very moment turned to shade of gray. It was a huge wave in a size I can't tell, just huge. And it was right in front of the boat about to capsize everything and I knew it will be just be in a blink of an eye.

The only word I was able to utter at that very moment was "LORD!" Then something flashed before me, like a silver screen in a movie house suddenly rolled down and like a movie I saw a scene of a boat of almost the same size being beaten and battered by the waves in the darkness of the night, with men inside so scared just like me and as they panicked knowing not what to do a man from one end stood up and raised his arms heavenward. And the ghastly winds and corkscrewing waves just like breath calmed down. It was a vision of a story from the Bible. 

Jesus Calms the Storm

Mark 4:35-40

 

As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water. Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

This event took place just after Jesus went so busy teaching, preaching, performing great miracles upon miracles right before his disciples' eyes. Multitudes followed the Master because of these things and the disciples where not separated from the awesome sight, as a matter of fact they were in the front row every time. Now who could say they have missed a thing of wonder?

Yet just few ticks from those events they all went aboard with their Master on this small boat and somewhere the disciples found themselves deeply troubled by the winds and waves, it was a fierce storm as the bible have said. They were all rattled, totally soaked and shaken. Fear has entered the abode of their hearts and mind while the Master resting peacefully on one end of the same boat.

Was it easy to forget?

Did these fresh facts totally slipped out of their minds? Have they forgotten of their master? Or him being on the same boat? Or those amazing things he just performed few hours back? Have they easily lost the truth they found in him? Have their hearts gone capsized by those waves? And they bothered the master in the middle of his peaceful rest, and questioned him if he do care.

The rest is history. The master on that boat was their Lord and Savior and so do mine!

Going back to what happened on my boat, it was just on time as we have pulled ashore before the boat totally sink. How about the supplies? It was the Master's hand that scooped them out and pushed them to the shore. Nothing was lost for the Master was calm and true, and as much as He has done for His disciples same thing He has done for me, and also for you.

Today as I continue the work of the Lord I am being threatened by winds of persecution, waves of affliction, storms of insufficiency. But should I easily forget? Should I doubt?

My Master is always aboard and whenever He raises His hands heavenward I know miracles do happen. Today, as I write this blog Jesus raised his saving hands again, and His hands came in the form of some people who selflessly came to the rescue. Thank you Lord Jesus for sending Raul, Lani, Marga and Darwin! Lord, You know Your hands well and I know you will bless them for being so.

Jesus is never early nor late, He never fails! He have done it before, He has done it today and He will do it forever. Trust in Him! That I will never forget. 

_______________________________

Another good blog reading below:

Channels And Vessels

Fulfilling God's Promises

Sun And Rain For Everyone

LOVE IS THE GREATEST

and more, please visit us at:

Bike And Beyond Philippines

Fulfilling God's Promises

I - The Journey

II - Our Building Project Update

III - A Birthday Ride and Afternoon Delight

IV - Homeward Bound

The Journey

It has been a week after week traveling we have been doing for the mission work, Ahlie and I once again have packed our stuff for another one this week. We truly thank the Lord for giving us loving, responsible and very diligent children leaving them at home was never a problem. But there were times they also go with us to let them understand and learn the things we do in the tribes, the life of love, faith and service. Since it's summer vacation once again Cid, Erl and Eanda will stay with us next month in the tribes for three weeks.

After fixing all the thing at home for our kids and the dogs we left for a week of stay again in Mindoro to manage our mission center/orphanage building project which is about 80-85% done. The entire travel from Pasig to Paluan, Occidental Mindoro normally takes 8 to 8 1/2 hours and since it's always more comfortable for us to travel at night we left around 9:30pm so we can make it for the 2:00am Roro (ferry) Trip.

Upon reaching the Buendia Bus Terminal Ahlie dropped by a fast food store to buy a couple of tuna pie for our snack while we wait for our Roro trip schedule at the port terminal.

Upon reaching Batangas Port which was at that moment very clear from the usual jam-packed crowds we proceeded to the ticketing booth to secure for the 2:00am schedule.

A ticket today for a Roro bound to Abra De Ilog is 260 pesos per person plus a mandatory terminal fee of 30 pesos which is reasonable enough since the terminal facilities here in the south had improved a lot from their security system, the passengers lobby, comfort rooms and all the way to the boarding gates and docks.

Around 5:00am we safely docked at the port of Abra De Ilog and with no time wasted we looked for a shuttle service that will take us up north. This time there were no trip bound all the way straight to the town of Paluan, only a trip to Mamburao was available so we were committed to look for a transfer vehicle once we reach the middle town. 

In Mamburao it was difficult to find a shuttle service that heads up north since very few people move in and out of the last town in the northern tip. The only way we can get there is to hire a tricycle which is very uncomfortable and a bit more expensive for us, but who had a choice? It was still a blessing there was a tricycle willing to drive us through those mountains and bumpy roads.

After a dusty, jaw-shaking, back-breaking, err... am I getting too excited or exaggerated? Well, to get to the point it was just time for breakfast when we saw ate Marlyn excitedly waiting for us at the front door of the mission center. It was a good trip! Thank you Lord for your travelling mercies! Once again we were headed for the big days ahead.

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Our Building Project Update

There are a lot of times when words are not enough and a Chinese proverb once said "one picture is worth ten thousand words" so as much as possible I will try to let the pictures here do most of the talking. Here's the collection of the most recent pictures of our building construction. The Lord is faithfully providing for our needs.

The roofing for the kitchen at the back of the building was suppose to be made of "pawid" (nipa) but God has intended something more durable. We have upgraded the materials to iron sheets.

Even Ahlie is all-hands on the project, well that's very literal in this picture. We were trying to be handy in every way we can to expedite the process. By using heavy wooden floor tamper we help prepare this last remaining portion of the floor for concreting. 

The building is slowly taking its detailed form from the inside. For now what is left to be prayed for are the windows (jalousy), the 2 flush doors for the kitchen and service bathroom door, the bedroom partition walls, some plastering of walls, the electrical service connection and we are good to move in. 

We know the rest will be provided by God in His time.

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A Birthday Ride and Afternoon Delight

April 18, I woke up in the middle of my life. It was just yesterday when I was on my 30's but now I have crossed over to another decade ahead. I am really grateful to God for giving me a wonderful life for the past decade, all but memories now and I can say God has been so good to me. Today I celebrate as I enter the next frontier of my life with my Lord, my family and my ministry. As usual my birthday falls in time when I am busy at the tribal mission and the people who will celebrate it with me is no other than my wife, my fellow mission workers and the Mangyan tribes as usual.

I woke up a little bit late that day since I was full handed during the previous days in the construction. I had a quiet time with God and when I got off the bed and headed towards the kitchen there I found Ahlie and ate Marlyn very busy preparing pansit (noodles) for the Mangyans of Agdilao tribe. The plan is to have my birthday party there with them. On the table I also found some party toys and clothes to be given to the Mangyan children once we get there. As we have packed everything in our bike baskets we all suit up and pedaled our way to Agdilao.

When we reached their place at the foot of the mountain nobody was around, not even their dogs. They all went up on the summit of Mt. Calavite to do "kaingin", a slash and burn crude way of farming. So we just went back to the town and came back later in the day for the feeding program. Unfortunately, it was our camera batteries that was out this time so we can't share to you the fun we had with them in the tribes that day.

On our last afternoon in Paluan, just before we head back home to Manila Ahlie and I decided to do a short ride around the place just to unwind a little. Proudly sharing to you again the splendor of this place.

How about a bike and horse race? Ahlie just passed by a lose horse along the road and I was egging her to challenge this native horse for a sprint. Well, of course you know what happened next. The horse refused because he just had enough dust for lunch and he can't afford more from Ahlie's bike tracks and that he can't just stand the shame hahaha!

Before reaching town we passed by an old Mangyan couple from San Pablo who happened to be resting after a day's work in the farm, they are Nanay Lydia and Tatay Carding. We stopped by as they have waved at us and had a very pleasant pep talk with them while being back-dropped by the glimmering sea and the red fading sun.

It was always an awesome sight and encouragement to find souls along the way with so much stories to tell, specially from a Mangyan couple like them who have went trough all the toughness of life in the mountain. Very few people reach that age in their tribes, though no one really had an idea how old they are, not even them but only their Creator. For we have found God's faithfulness in their lives, and we were reminded that there's nothing we should be worried about because what God has done in them why can't He do it for us. As we turned our back and ride our bikes we felt so much blessed by these two wonderful people. The day after that we brought them some clothes and supplies as our way of saying "thank you and God bless you more".

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Homeward Bound

Oh how time flies so fast! A week has once again passed but we can strongly feel how big God was during this week, He was totally awesome! God's glory was in the place and we have just all immersed in it.

After wrapping up all the job accomplished and the things needed to be done we left that night of April 20. Since there was no van available again we just hired a tricycle to take us this time all the way from Paluan to Abra De Ilog. Another tough ride in the darkness of the night. Along the way somehwere in the dusky mountains between Mamburao and Abra De Ilog we suffered a busted tire. It was good the driver was ready with a spare inner tube and tire pump to get it fixed. Ahlie is used to this kind of travel as she always wear around her neck her head lamp in case of emergencies and it came in handy in fixing that tire. It was also a blessing it happened on a paved portion of the road and not on the dirt road where things can get a lot messy.

We were able to reach the port just in time before the Roro left for Batangas, thank God the flat tire did not cause us to miss the 10:30pm trip or else we will be waiting for another 3 1/2 hours for the next trip schedule.

April 21, 2:00am, we were back to mainland in Batangas. Just a bus ride and were back to Manila. From the Roro we walked straight to the bus terminal inside the port and took a ride bound to Cubao. After more than a couple of hours we touched down at Megamall in Mandaluyong City. It was just before dawn and were both tired and hungry so we just had a quick light breakfast before reaching home and seeing our kids and dogs again.

This is just another chapter of a victorious mission trip in Mindoro and we give all the glory to God! Thank you for following our blogs and hope you are enjoying the trips with us as we bike and beyond!

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For more readings in our blog:

Sunny Side Up In Paluan (Part 1)
Sunny Side Up In Paluan (Part 2)
AGDILAO: A New Horizon For Christ
A Ride To The Land Of "Truth and Fulfilled Promises"
A Bike Ride From Pasig To Pagudpud of Ilocos Norte For The Mangyan Tribes
Bike and Beyond in Vigan City, Ilocos Sur

and more...