Johannez Emorej G. Forelo

Psalms 127:3 - Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

Children are inheritance derived from the Lord. Everything that we value, or desire, is a gift from God, and is to be received as from Him, and to be acknowledged as His gift. They are rewards from God, they are of a nature of reward for a life of devotion to God; they are among the blessings which God promises, and are evidences of His favor.

Johannez Emorej was born December 16, 2008 at Clinica De Leon by cesarean operation. He came out with weight of 2.7 kilograms and length of 47 centimeters. The whole family continually thank God for a healthy baby boy; His precious gift for this family.

December 13: Gospel meeting at Lingu Church of Christ

Friends from different places and brethren in barangay Lingu gathered together in their humble meeting place with only one thing in mind, to listen to God's words and increase their faith. Your humble servant was requested to preach concerning "The church, the work of the church, and remaining faithful" while brother Rody Gumpad preached about "The Members of the Original Church of Christ and Know the Truth". Your humble servant explained about the importance of being added into the church that Christ built, that the true and only church was founded by Christ and not by men, and that inside the church of Christ is salvation. For us to be added to the church of our Lord Jesus Christ we must 1) Hear the gospel (Romans 10:17), 2) Believe (John 8:24; Hebrews 11:6), 3) Repent of our sins (Acts 2:38; Acts 3:19), 4) Confess (Romans 10:9-10; Matthew 10:32-33), and 5) be baptized (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Galatians 3:27); these five steps were done by the 3,000 Jews that were baptized in Acts 2:41 and it is also in the same chapter that we read of the Lord adding to the church daily those who are being saved (Acts 2:47). Four (4) souls expressed their desire to be baptized for the remission of their sins. Since there is no available water around it was decided that we bring the 4 souls to Metro Tuguegarao church building and they were baptized in the baptistry.

Bible Distribution

30 bibles were distributed to our brethren today. The brethren who received the bibles were very happy and thankful to our brethren at Punta Gorda Church of Christ. The following names are those who received a bible: 1) Diana Rose de Vera, 2) Rosherlyn April Villarubia, 3) Nikky Kryzia Malyn Villarubia, 4) Myrna de Vera, 5) Dilmar Jay de Vera, 6) Christian Ivan Villarubia, 7) Milagrosa Rodriguez, 8) Ana Pedro, 9) Caloy Baclig, 10) Jomar Pattung, 11) Racquel Espana, 12) Mary Ann Tanguige, 13) Wesley Pattung, 14) Rogelio Villarubia, 15) Dionisia Espana, 16) Dacusin de Vera, 17) Fernando Cadang, 18) Dalmation Pattong, 19) Dominador pedro, 20) Ronald Campus, 21) Alfonso Yadaw, 22) Felicidad Cadang, 23) Marcelo Espana, 24) Jerwin Alvarez, 25) Jay-ar Domingo, 26) Glory Aparajiola. 4 more bibles were given to Alex Lagat (their preacher) to be distributed to other brethren. 15 more bibles are to be distributed to the brethren here at Metro Tuguegarao. The brethren at Capadeco, Gonzaga, Cagayan would like to express their gratitude to the kind brethren at Punta Gorda Church of Christ.

December 12: Bible Study at Capadeco, Gonzaga, Cagayan

We give praise and thanks to the Lord for this fruitful day and for the opportunity to further proclaim the gospel. Brethren Rody Gumpad, Tessie Gumpad, Jay Gumpad, Jun Gumpad, Mark Daquioag, and your humble servant was given another chance to visit our brethren and friends in Capadeco, Gonzaga, Cagayan. We hit the highway very early in the morning to arrive at the place early and to have more opportunity to be together with our brethren, along the way we picked up brother Fidelfin Miranda. As we arrived we took turns in singing with our brethren and friends. After the singing and prayer brother Rody Gumpad stood up and preached to us a lesson entitled "Go...Preach the Gospel". It is very encouraging to observe these friends and brethren who sincerely listens to the preaching; they hear of the importance to be saved, they felt that they needed to be saved, and they are willing to obey the gospel of Christ for them to be saved that is why when we extended the invitation song 11 souls went forward and confessed Christ with the desire to be baptized for the remission of their sins. Before we baptize the 11 souls 5 more of our friends approached us and informed us that they wanted to be baptized also for their salvation. The Lord surely is happy for the 16 precious souls that He added to His church.
Our new brethren are the following: 1) Rogelio Villarubia, 2) Dacusin de Vera, 3) Dominador Pedro, 4) Dalmacio Pattong, 5) Remedios Alvarez, 6) Renato Alvarez, 7) Ronald Campus, 8) Fernando Cadang, 9) Jerwin Salem, 10) Dionisia Espana, 11) Jay-ar Domingo, 12) Marcelo Espana, 13) Glory Aparajiola, 14) Felicidad Cadang, 15) Alfonsa Yadaw, 16) Jerwin Alvarez.

Books for Distribution

Praise and glory be given our Lord for every wonderful opportunities He opens for us to understand more His words. Brother Craig Meyer, my elder brother in Christ, entrusted your humble servant with books that will be able to help fellow preachers to study more and learn more the Words of our Lord Jesus Christ. Books given were 1) Original Commentary on Acts by J.W. McGarvey, and 2) God Hath Spoken by Irven Lee. These are books which contains CHALLENGING and DEEP materials but it is firmly believed that these will help us dig deeper in our wells and understand more how God speaks with us.

Bibles for the Saints

Brethren from Punta Gorda Church of Christ in Florida through brother Craig Meyer entrusted your humble servant the amount of 15,776.25 pesos to purchase bibles for the saints here in Cagayan Valley, Philippines. Your humble servant collected the amount of 15,752.59 because the Western union outlet deducted the “documentary stamp tax” amounting to 23.66 pesos. Each bible costs 365 pesos but the bookstore gave 5% discount so each bible now costs 346.75 pesos. I was able to buy 45 pieces of bibles which amounted to 15,603.75 pesos. The remaining 148.84 pesos was alotted for the fare. These bibles were given by kind brethren for the purpose of giving our brethren here to own their own bibles which they cannot do by themselves because of poverty. We pray God that He gave us enough knowledge and wisdom in distributing these bibles. To our other brethren who might come across this article, who might be able to help also our brethren to own their own bibles, we appreciate very much the help and love that you can extend to these brethren of ours.

December 6: Gospel meeting at Piat church of Christ

The Lord opened another opportunity for us to attend the gospel meeting of our brethren at Piat church of Christ which is located at Aquib Norte, Piat, Cagayan. The faithful preacher who preaches with them is brother Dannis Yuson. Brother Geronimo Ganela delivered his lesson first with the topic "Pagrucodan (Measurement)" then brother Rody Gumpad taught us a lesson entitled "The Members of the Original Church of Christ". After the lessons presented by our brethren, the invitation song was extended and four (4) souls came forward; they confessed Christ and expressed their desire to be baptized for the remission of their sins and for their salvation (Acts 2:38; Mark 16:16).