“As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.”
Proverbs 25:25
Thank you all for having a part in this ministry. One of the blessings of serving the Lord is that there is never a dull moment. There is great encouragement in knowing that our efforts and sacrifice will result in everlasting fruit. How wonderful it is to be in God’s business! Sometimes it can be overwhelming to realize that, no matter how hard we work, there are still hundreds of thousands in our city who still haven’t heard the Gospel. But, if we look at it from another perspective, it’s exciting to be in an area where the fields are so white, and there are so many waiting to hear what we have to say!
Praise the Lord for 828 precious souls trusting Christ and 8 following the Lord in believer’s baptism during the months of March and April!
I was so touched by all that the people in our church did for me for my 60th birthday. They spent hundreds of hours on decorations and cooking. One of the things I love about the Philippines is there is always food on special occasions, and this one was no exception! Our people showered me with gifts and even prepared a program with special numbers and thoughtful expressions of their love.
I was also blessed on my birthday to have some very special visitors spend several days with Ester and me. Pastor Roy Arteta, my assistant pastor for six years who is now a missionary in Nepal, and two of his sons were here. Japheth Uy, the young man who helped us pioneer Providence Baptist Church who is now the pastor of a growing church, was here with his wife and three children. Nelly Anne Peñaflorida, who was a faithful young staff lady in our church, was here with Felix, her pastor husband, and their three children. One of the biggest surprises was our youngest daughter Micah Mae visiting us. I had no idea she was coming until she showed up for my birthday party!
Abijane Claus has been attending our services faithfully since her oldest daughter Aleiyah was born eight years ago. She got saved, but she was afraid of making the commitment of baptism, that first step of obedience. After the faithful prayers of several of our people, she finally got baptized. She is so happy and excited! Her daughter Aleiyah also got baptized with her.
A few weeks ago during our bi-weekly ladies’ meeting, Ester had the older ladies “adopt” the younger ladies so they could encourage each other. They loved it. The older ladies were thrilled to have younger ladies to nurture, and the younger ladies were so happy to have an older Christian to love and care for them and even spoil them a little. Abby, whom I just mentioned, was one of the two ladies Ester adopted. It has been a great encouragement to our dear ladies. What will my wife think of next?!
Our young people recently attended Youth Camp. During the Sunday evening service after camp, they all gave a testimony of how God worked in their lives during camp. It was moving to see the way God worked in their tender and open hearts. Please pray for our Youth Revival this coming May 30 – June 2. We are praying that God would continue to change their lives and that He would call some of them into full-time service. Please pray that He would send forth laborers into His harvest.
Thank you for giving and praying to make this work possible. We are ever aware of the sacrifice of God’s dear people and are striving to make it a profitable investment for His kingdom.
Yours for souls,
Courtney & Ester Godsoe
