In the early part of July, Tess witnessed to a lady named Bianca during our daily soul winning in Legazpi City. She got saved that day and allowed us to take her home, with no idea where she lived. She just gave us the name of the place, only to find out later that she lived with her husband and young children in a very remote area at the slope of the Mayon Volcano. Her only means of transportation was riding in tandem on a motorcycle after walking quite a few kilometers down the slope to be able to catch a ride to the city. On the following Sunday, she came to church together with some of her friends, whom we met as we followed up on her during our visitation day. Ever since then, we have been picking up people from this area on Sundays to attend church. Please pray that we could reach our goal of inviting more people from this location. Due to the driving distance from our place, we can only visit them once a week.
With summer vacation going on, our school campus ministry is on halt. The church instead holds a weekly “Learning to Read” ministry to keep the church staff, members, and young people busy. It is a weekly activity for the church where children are invited and are taught to read the Bible. Most elementary school children here are not able to read and write. Some of them will come and attend the church some Sundays.
Some young people who are not involved in the ministry come with us for a soul-winning marathon at the local plaza and marketplace. We hand out hundreds of Bible tracts, and if we are given the chance, we have a one-on-one Gospel sharing. I have personally won 53 souls to Jesus in this way, only by His grace and mercy!
The month of August was quite a busy month for FBC Daraga as we prepared for the upcoming 7-Year Church Anniversary on August 25, 2024. Pastor Lagos organized some activities in preparation for this event. Everyone was excited, as I also challenged the church members with a buffet lunch for whoever brought the most visitors. By God’s grace, we had a joyful anniversary, with new visitors getting saved and some baptisms during the affair. Nobody got hungry, as we had so much food on the table. To God be the glory!
Please continue praying:
1. For our permanent place to stay.
2. For the health of Tess’s family members. Her brother is still under medication due to his heart problem, and her sister is having a weekly chemotherapy procedure due to her Stage 4 breast cancer.
3. For the power of the Holy Spirit as we saturate more areas in Daraga and Legazpi City.
4. For God to open more doors in the public schools in Daraga.
5. For new converts to stay in church and the newly saved people to follow in Biblical baptism.
6. For the contractors to start the building construction soon and the funds needed for the work.
7. For the Holy Spirit’s guidance for teachers and students of FBA Daraga as they continue the current school year.
Rey & Tess Garcia