Preaching at Quirino Church of Christ

Brother Sherwin Miranda (preacher at Quirino Church of Christ) and our dear brethren at Quirino, Luna, Apayao waited for us patiently and with excitement and when we arrived they met us with much love and joy. This is the last stop of our preaching but like the others it is very encouraging to be with our brethren here. I have visited them for four times already and every visit I see much improvement, this visit I noticed that they have already put walls on around their church building. Brother Craig Thomas preached to us "The Church Jesus Built (Matthew 16:18)" and brother Rody Gumpad "The Second Coming of Christ". Six (6) precious souls confessed Christ.

Ppreaching at Pukel Church of Christ

This morning I found another encouragement form our "Aeta" brethren at Pukel Church of Christ. Our Aeta brethren are living in the mountains and because of their desire to listen to the gospel they walked down from the mountains more than 4 kilometers in more than 1 hour, some of them even walked without any foot coverings, very encouraging indeed. Many people possess beautiful shoes, they even have air conditioned vehicles yet sadly they are nowhere to be found in gospel meetings like this; I pray that we be encouraged and enlightened by our brethren at Pukel and that their faith and desire to continually study the words of God be an inspiration for us. Brother Craig Thomas preached to us "Just Christians" and brother jun Gumpad translated it in Ilokano. Brother Rody Gumpad also taught us "The Destiny of Man".

Preaching at Dubeng Church of Christ

After the preaching at San Mariano Church of Christ we traveled for another one and a half hour to be with our brethren at Dubeng Church of Christ. The preacher is brother Robinson Pulveras. We arrived a little early so we took an hour rest and waited for the scheduled preaching. at around 7:30 in the evening we started the preaching. Brother Craig Thomas preached first with a very encouraging lesson about "Chariots of Fire (2 Kings 6:8-17)", the lesson explained to us that even if we are often times surrounded by many enemies (problems in life) we still have a God who is greater than the enemies (problems in life) and surely God will always deliver us (help us solve our problems) if we continue to trust, pray, have faith in Him, and obey Him. I say I was deeply encouraged because before we started the meeting I received a call from my wife and found out that she and our three children are suffering from coughs and colds, I am about to start worrying about their condition for I am more than 100 kilometers away from them and they do not have any companions to look after them; then comes this wonderful lesson, a lesson designed by God to stop me from worrying and teach me to be not afraid and to trust in Him. After brother Craig I was asked by the brethren to translate the lesson and I tried my very best to translate it for our brethren to experience the encouragement and blessings I received from the lesson. Brother Rody gumpad also taught us a lesson on "If We Are: In Christ/Outside Christ" where we learned the advantages of being in Christ and disadvantages if we are outside Christ.

Preaching at San Mariano Church of Christ

After preaching for our brethren at Toran Church of Christ we immediately traveled towards San Mariano, Lal-lo to be with our brethren there. The preacher here is brother Daniel Pasaraba. I was deeply touched by a young brother while we are waiting for the meeting to start because a young brother with a kidney problem and undergoing dialysis once a week asked his friends to carry him (his feet are bulging) just to attend and listen to the preaching; what an encouraging faith this young brother of us has. I would like to remember this experience and would humbly and continually thank this dear brother for encouraging me much, I pray that this will encourage you also and remember how wonderful is it to serve our only God. Brother Craig Thomas taught a nice lesson on "Just Christians"; that our claim is to be simply the Christians that the Lord added to His church and that for us to aim to stay in this church until the judgment day (Acts 2:47; Eph. 5:23). Brother jun Gumpad translated the lesson in Ilokano. Brother Rody Gumpad also taught us a nice lesson on "Christian's Duty/Obligation"; he explained that each Christian has his/her own duty/obligation in the church, the community, the enterprises, the home, and in the government. Our God surely smiled for the conversion and obedience of a dear mother.

Preaching at Toran Church of Christ

I left home around 6:45 in the morning to meet our brethren for our preaching trip at Toran, Appari. It was indeed a very good morning and everyone was very excited to go and preach for the glory of God. We are able to leave Tuguegarao 7:30 in the morning and arrived at Toran Church of Christ 9:30 in the morning. The rain poured a bit hard that day but still we found a very good number of brethren waiting for us at the church building. The preacher at Toran Church of Christ is brother Jun Miranda. Brother Craig Thomas preached a very good lesson about "The Church Jesus Built (Mt. 16:18)" --- he explained that the church was built by Christ, that the church was built on a rock, that Christ built only one church, that the church was not built while Jesus is still alive, and that the church will never fail. After brother Craig the brethren requested me to translate the lesson in our local dialect. Brother Rody Gumpad also taught us about "What God Hath Joined Together (Mt. 19:6)". He explained that God hath joined husband and wife, faith and works, church and Christ, baptism and salvation; that in order to follow God's plan each pair must work together and that the other cannot stand alone. I thank God very much for these wonderful lessons that encouraged me more and I believe that it also encouraged our brethren at Toran. We wished we could stay long and have more time with our brethren but time will not let us for we have to be at San Mariano Church before 1:30 noon to preach with our brethren there also.

Gospel Meeting at Santa Felicitas Church of Christ

Today, we thank God for another fruitful day in the Vineyard. We attended the gospel meeting of our brethren at Santa Felicitas, Santo Nino, Cagayan. Brother Manny Pader is the preacher of the local congregation. The first speaker was brother Florendo Respicio who preached about "Giving in the Bible". Brother Gerald Ganela preached second with the lesson on "The Life of A Christian". Brother Ryan Thomas spoke third with the lesson on "Thyself" which was translated in Ilokano later on by brother Jun Gumpad. I thank God again for the opportunity He gave me so I can preach to our brethren at Santa Felicitas also the lesson on "The Message of the Cross (1 Corinthians 1:18)". The result of the gospel meeting is again very encouraging for two (2) precious souls confessed Christ and were baptized into Christ.