What an exciting time it is for our church in the Philippines in spite of COVID-19! As I mentioned in my previous letter, our church was able to start two, brand-new extension churches (chapels) in our town.
The Mandayao extension church is meeting inside a church member’s house. Praise the Lord! The other extension church in Baclayan now has its own property, and the members are now currently constructing their own building. Just a few months ago, this extension church, with the help of our main church, nearly paid for all of the $300 needed to purchase its own lot. Previously, they were meeting in a church member’s house. Now instead of cramming 20 to 30 people in the living room of a one-bedroom house, they have much more room to have more people in their own building. Thank you for your faithful support! It allowed us to help with the purchase of some building materials.
We praise God that our recent meetings in the past few months in Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri have yielded four new churches taking us on for support! What a journey it has been from doing deputation as a single man to doing it now with my wife and child—and, believe me, I’d rather do it with my family than by myself.
While doing a Missions Conference in Missouri, we happened to meet a Filipino family that was visiting the church for the first time. It’s amazing that here in America when you meet Filipinos, there seems to be an instant connection! So, we connected with the family over dinner and found out that they were saved and looking for a Baptist church to attend in the area. How wonderful it is to meet other Filipinos and Christians all over America!
Please pray that God would continue to give us divine appointments with people and churches. Please pray for the growth of and the building materials needed for these extension churches in Baclayan and Mandayao.
I (Jesus) will build My church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it!
Ian & Czarinna Vincent