Ministry Reports

The end of 2004 in the month of December we consider it as a month of blessings for us. This is the time that we received many gifts from God. December 4 my wife wins the digital Kodak Camera which is very useful for the ministry to take pictures for remembrance and reports. My wife is one of the Franchised Dealers of Avon Products, she has now 10 dealers under her care. She begun as FD last June 2004, she is earning a little amount this time yet, but last December she won the Camera in the Raffle promo.

The members also in our church are now very supportive, though some of them are very poor yet they are trying to help us, suppose to be at the end of December was the end of the contract of the house we rented, one of the members has paid our rent for the extension of 1 month, so we will stay in the house till January 31.

These are some of the members in our church during the Sunday Worship Dec. 12, 2004. Some family members were absent during this time. We are now increasing in number, there were restorations and revival in our church.

If all members will join in one Sunday Service our chairs could not be enough for them, some of them will stand at the back, we are now having a project of chairs.

I thank God for my prayer partners who always pray for us. I sense that you are praying for us because of what is happening in our ministry. Please go on to pray for us.

We are very busy in the work, we only have a little rest and many times no rest during a day and in the night we only have small sleep, for we are doing the work of the ministry and our personal responsibilities. Since we are independent ministry it is not easy for me to do the many responsibilities as leader. I trust God for His strength, because sometimes I felt over fatigue that caused in my body pain and weak. But with the strength of the Lord I can recover so fast for the joy of the is my strength.

Our church building is also a blessing of God, it is now almost two years that we are having our Sunday worship in this building. It is still in need of wall finishing and ceiling with paint. The signboard is also need to be repaint. The youth will do the repainting of this sign board by next month.

Our own church lot is only 15 meters by 10 meters that is just only enough for this building and has 7 feet by 10 meters at the back that we are now building our parsonage. There is a lot 20 meters by 10 meters at the back of this building which is for sale and at the right side 15 meters by 10 meters same size of our church lot that is also for sale. But the cost this time we cannot afford and they need cash.

By the end of January we are going to transfer at the parsonage at the back of this church building. We are now working in this parsonage, the members are having the contribution to finish this parsonage. This is just very small that could not content our things, so some other things will be in the church building.

The reason why we are forced to transfer to this small parsonage because the contract of the rental in our present home will be on January 31. And we are tired of renting a home within 10 years already. Though we have no cash to build this parsonage, the members have contributed a small amount to begin this building and we have loaned from a business man friend of ours three months to pay and the members will contribute to pay within this term.

I praise God that the members love us as their pastors. They do all they can afford to support us. That is the reason when I and my wife resigned from our previous denomination the members also resigned and took us as their Pastors in the independent ministry. So we are now independent without any umbrella that we are under with.

Though I have a network of Pastors which I am the president, the members do not want to be under with this network, so I have the responsibility in the network and in the independent ministry.

We have now two daughter churches one is in the City and one is in the mountain tribal church. We have assigned one of the Graduates of our Bible School last December 16, 2004.

These are some of the members of the church in the mountain area, some of them were still in their small farms. It's me second to the left. I visited this church last January 13, this year 2005. We walked almost 3 hours going to this place upon the mountain. The tribe of this people is T'boli.

We ride on a motorbike 7 kilometers and begun to walk about 9: 00 o' clock in the morning and we arrived almost 12:00 noon. I felt pain in my whole body and we begun walking to go home about 3:00 o'clock in the afternoon. I was almost collapse for we only ate the cassava as our lunch. I brought sugar and cafe for them but I forgot to bring dried fish and rice for our lunch. They only coke a small amount of rice and the cassava without any viand except the salt.

This brethren are in need of education because 90% of them do not know how to read and write and some of the males have two or three wives. Their children do not go to the school for the school is very far for them to walk. Some of their mothers have the goiters for they are lack of iodine and food. Our church now is giving them some clothing and the pastor is teaching the literacy after the Sunday service or in the afternoon.

These people are living in the mountain area with their small farm, they are planting by themselves corn, cassava, rice, gabi, banana and sweet potatoes as their daily food. They could not market their products for it costs so much for hauling. They could only market small amount of corn or rice so they could buy some used clothing, salt, match, soap, sugar, cafe and etc. It could only happen every three months during harvest time. Most of the time, they eat cassava and sweet potatoes or gabi.

When I was there, the only thing they are asking is medicine and nails for the houses that are not yet finished. I did not promise to give them, but I said I will try to find a way that we could help you the medicine and clothing.

These are one of the mothers in this area which has twenty homes. At the back is a small farm with corn. The view is the forest that surrounded their village.

This another picture is the opposite of the picture above which has still forest. The man with white shirt is the pastor we assigned in this church, the other one is our elder in the church. We were three going there last January 13, 2005. Pray for this pastor, he is going to this area sometimes twice a week. We are praying a horse for him to ride on.

On the other hand, we have our daughter church in the City. It is still a home church which we are having a service once a week and a Bible study. The three of the bible School graduates are only helping me in the mother church and the other one is helping me in the new church in the city.

There were five Bible school graduates last December 2004. The other is assigned in the tribal area after the graduation, for the church there needs a pastor for their previous pastor got married and left the church.

We will have again a Bible School class on June this year 2005. This time we stop the Bible School for only few Bible School students only and

on June many are interested for there are more from the T'boli church.

The church in the City is now also having the vision to reach out more people to become members. We have now four families and some sympathizers. This church is only almost three months old. We thank God for the three families at first who decided to be members in the church and later the other one is now committed.

We are now looking for our home in the City. Though we are building a parsonage in our mother church, we plan to move in the city somehow and in the mother church we will assign a pastor in there.

This is photo in the house church in the city. The one family was not able to come this time due to some important reasons. We were only 12 this time and a few children in the front of it.

These were happen during the end of 2004. So we consider that 2004 was the beginning of God's blessings. In December we received Christmas gifts like shoes and wonderful watch and the digital Camera and some other gifts. I was also having many speaking invitations.

I was the speaker of this church in their Thanksgiving celebration December 31. This church is a part in the T'boli area which the members are mix with T'boli tribe and the visayan like us.

This is another thanks-giving celebration also. And we have also a youth fellowship in the month of December.

There is a tribal church also who invited me to conduct a revival but they need 1 sack of rice and some sardines and noodles for the foods during a two days revival. I said I will try to a way to help not only rice, sardines and noodles but some medicines. I said whenever we have these we will let you know and set an schedule for revival.

This month of January I still have the speaking engagement in the Radical Youth Fellowship next to our town. I was alone doing the speaking in one night and a day. I was very tired and in the next day is Sunday which I have also two sessions teaching and preaching. To God be the glory I count it all as my opportunity sharing the word of God.

We praise the Lord for using us for His glory. I give all the glory to God for in Him all honor is due.

December last Sunday is usually our Thanksgiving Day in our Church. We praise the Lord for the year 2004, so we did not invite an speaker I was the speaker. We have visitors and praise the Lord some of the visitors were blessed and now some of them until now are coming to our church Sunday Service.

At the beginning of January three families were restored in the church. Now we are having more works to be done, we have the vision to reach more for Christ and plant more churches. We have now set a monthly crusade that is every third Friday of the month. So we need more your prayers, for God's power and finances for some other needs.

Last December 14-15, 2004 was the convention of my network of pastors. It was also a very successful convention, we were the host.

There were around or more than 100 people attended during the night, our speakers were from Manila. God was mightily moving in the convention. We are blessed by the word of God.

As the work is growing in our network of Pastors and in our Church we trust the Lord for more workers and sponsors so that we could do great things for the expansion of God's Kingdom.

There are more places in Mindanao which are in need of Workers and Churches, specially in the tribal area. Our focus now is wherever God leads we will follow either in the cities and towns or in the villages in the mountains.

The city church will become the sponsors for the tribal ministries in the mountains. Our members are now gathering some used clothing, shoes, sandals and some medicines. But our efforts could not be enough for all the needs of our brethren in the tribal area. Any help and sponsors are welcome anytime to help us do the work.

Pastor Alberto & Isabel Rendon - New Life Christian Church - Sto. Niño, South Cotabato - 9509 Philippines