“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
(Isaiah 55:8-9)
SUMMARY of 2023
In the face of adversity, God’s faithfulness was right there at every turn. The past year was like a roller-coaster ride for us. We experienced the loss of two of our beloved members, but God quickly filled their places with the birth of two babies. A few people drifted away, but God brought new ones. Indeed, God’s ways are higher than ours; all we had to do was trust Him.
FIRST QUARTER
January – March 2024
Baptisms
We are looking forward to God’s plan for us this 2024. To start off, we are grateful for the new people He has added to our church recently. Joshua and Mae Ann are siblings. They have been faithfully attending our church since they were junior- aged. A few weeks back, they followed the Lord in the waters of baptism. The testimony of their love and faith in God led their own mother to start attending our church services. We are praying that one of these days, she will also become a part of our church family.
Recently, we also added Bro. Kent as a church member. I had the privilege of sharing with him the plan of salvation. Praise God that He opened his spiritual eyes and accepted Christ as his Lord and personal Saviour. After finishing a Bible study on baptism, he, too, followed the Lord in the waters of baptism. Now, he is faithfully serving together with his wife and daughter.
New Ministry Update
Please continue to pray for our new ministry in Julita, a town 45 minutes away from our place. We are still praying that God would lead us to the right location where we can rent a building to hold Bible studies and church services. As of now, our church workers regularly visit the kids on Saturdays and hold extension classes in several areas. On Sunday mornings, we pick up some of them and take them to church. While we are occupied doing things for the Lord, Satan, likewise, keeps himself busy throwing his fiery darts at us. Regardless, we still hold on to God’s promise that the gates of Hell will not prevail against His church. We will stand still and let God move.
Our Family
Thank you for praying for us, especially for my wife’s surgery. God has been especially good to us. He used people to lead us to the right doctor and hospital. It took quite some time, but it was worth the wait. We are thankful to everyone who prayed for her. I am also grateful to my home church, Trinity Baptist Church, under the leadership of Pastor Steve Meyer, for extending financial help to us. The surgeon also gave us a big discount upon finding out that I am a pastor. He just requested that I pray for him, as he is also a Christian. As of now, my wife is slowly getting back to her regular routine.
The kids are all doing well. Sofia will turn 17 come May 10. Hadassah is already 12, and our little one, Amelie, will be 3 in June.
Church Activities
Church activity and fellowship are a must in our church. As a pastor, it gives me so much joy to see our young people and young adults organize various events. Before 2023 ended, they prepared a mini-Christmas play and brought all the kids from our extension areas. They used puppets to tell the kids “The True Meaning of Christmas.”
Two weeks after my wife’s surgery, we took our ladies to a park for their Ladies’ Meeting.
Prayer Requests
• Souls to be saved
• Our church’s spiritual growth
• More people we can witness to
• Preparation for us to go to the mountaintop to share the Gospel
• Starting a new ministry 45 minutes away
If you want to see more on what’s going on in our church, please follow us on our Facebook page: Grace Baptist Church Burauen Leyte. On behalf of our church and family, thank you for your support! May God’s abundant blessings be upon you.
In Christ,
The Javier Family
Missionary in the Philippines
