Philippines

It looks like this year, there will be more than 2,000 churches participating in the feeding program, and close to 600,000 children will benefit.  39 cities (municipalities) have asked to participate.  13 public school divisions also want to participate, representing about 2,000 elementary schools.

Almost 2 million pieces of Sunday School materials, Bible teaching materials and magazines have been distributed last feeding year - thanks to Eagles Nest of Illinois.  We have lost count of the numerous reports received of children and young people making decisions to follow Jesus. Many parents, brothers and sisters of the children on the feeding programs have also found Christ.  It was a joy to pray with 10 town mayors to follow Jesus.  Based on the many reports that we receive, I estimate more than 350,000 children, youth and their families have been presented with the Love of God last year and the majority have accepted Jesus into their hearts.

On behalf of Vista Wesleyan Church, I thank you for these Love Packages. It is indeed a great blessing to the children we are ministering to because most of the children in the vicinity of the church seldom receive books and other reading materials due to poverty. Books, magazines and other things  will be shared with them this time. We praise God for that. God bless you. 

    We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks and sincerest appreciation for your helpful materials that are given to us yearly. We really praise God from whom all blessings flow. Many souls are won in Christ. They are really very helpful in our evangelism and follow up works we consider it is a  great privilege and blessing to be included. God bless you richly.

Little girl dying of a brain tumor.  I was introduced to Jenny, a 12 year old girl in mountains, during one of my tours to launch feeding centers.  She was diagnosed with a tumor at the back of her brain.  I asked that she be brought to Bethesda.  When she came, our doctor pediatric neurologist confirmed the findings and recommended cobalt treatments.  The parents refused, as we do not have good cobalt treatment centers nearby. The parents had sold their little rice field, their carabao (water buffalo) and all their meager possessions to help their little girl.  So, with a heavy heart, we sent her home with a prayer that God would touch her miraculously.

She communicates with me by text, and one day asked me to send her a school bag and some chocolate.  I thank God for the boxes of school bags that came in Steven Schmidt's Love Packages  container that was released recently, and the lovely quilts sent by Universal Aide Society in Canada.  I sent her a doll, and some apple chips too.  The school nurse, her mother and the High School principal were present when Jenny opened her box.  Everyone was in tears.  The tumor has affected Jenny's eyesight and she has terrible headaches. Please pray for her.  Thanks to all that make beautiful things like this happen.

I am now in the process of sorting all the materials and have informed as many pastors as I can to come now and get their portion for their churches  in Central Luzon. Thank  you for the 7-beautiful bikes that you sent, seven pastors were benefited for their use in visitation of church members especially in the rural areas.  They are very useful especially now that fuel consumption on motor vehicles is sky high. Love Packages has helped provide thousands and thousands of outdated Sunday School material, magazines, books and teaching material. They are now in use in all of our feeding centers. As of this month's counting, there are 839 feeding centers in many provinces and cities - most are based in public elementary schools or day-care centers. I wish you dear friends could be around when we distribute these teaching materials. There is a mad scramble - teachers and principals literally grabbing at the material. Others, literally begging me for additional teaching materials so that they could teach their children about Jesus. Many times, I have had to hide my tears as I see the incredible hunger - not only physically but spiritually.

Cassette tapes we received from you brought us a big smile and lots of knowledge from the Word. We used it as references for our teaching, preaching, and devotional study. I also personally gave magazines and tracts to my patients and colleagues in the hospital as tools for reaching out.

We received used old Bibles. Some have few pages missing,  some are torn but I will say, for us who can’t afford to buy Bibles that it’s a blessing to have it.

We had our convention. All the attendees received magazines and some got Bible study pictures. We are so blessed to have those kinds of materials. It is our first time to have those magazines and Bible study pictures.

I have lost count, and stopped counting, how many thousands of children, young people and their families have accepted Christ because of the feeding program.  In  half of the areas in which we operate, there are no Christian churches to help bring God's message to the children and their families. So we have distributed thousands of pieces of Christian literature from Love Packages in these areas.  Churches that cooperate with us have doubled, tripled or in some areas the churches are totally overwhelmed. Many churches now hold 3 to 5 services on Sunday to accommodate the harvest.  Because of the Christian literature we are distributing thru the feeding programs, more than half a million people have come to know Jesus Christ, in the last few years.  This opens the door to Christian churches to "evangelize".  Sadly, we do not have enough workers now to teach "values education" in all the participating schools, but Love Packages literature is being used in all the schools.

All of my Bible study groups are having materials to hold on while I’m discussing the lesson. It is easier now to learn and understand when I teach them. Everybody are so happy and thankful to have those materials that bring us more encouragement to continue serving God.

We now have more than 60,000 malnourished children on our feeding program throughout the Philippines.  Feeding Centers are located in elementary schools and Day-Care Centers in 9 provinces, as well as in one or two municipalities in 16 other provinces.  We are receiving excellent cooperation and are welcomed by the school officials as well as many local governments - the governors, mayors,  etc.  This reception and cooperation has not been extended to any other religious organization including the Roman Catholic Church.  We are busy preparing to plant one church, or Bible study  in each of the more than 1,300 towns that have feeding centers.  In many remote towns and villages in the Provinces of Apayao, Kalinga and Ifugao, there has been absolutely no witness for the Lord Jesus Christ.  Regardless of the claims of many radio and television evangelists, they have not reached these areas because there are no radio and televisions in many of these places.    When we launched the feeding program in Apayao Province last November.  I spoke to all the school heads, and the government officials in a special program.  I sat down and wept, when there was a mad scramble for the outdated Sunday School materials we brought along, so that the schools would be able to teach and tell about Jesus in their classrooms.  Tons of these outdated material is thrown away in many "rich" countries, and here the school heads were begging for more material to tell about Jesus.  Thank you for sending  us so much good Sunday school materials.