Faith's Ability to Transform Culture 

One of the highlights of our recent trip to the Philippines was being invited to the engagement ceremony known as "iyu-uli" by two of our former students and professed spiritual kids. Pastor Rey Enriquez and his wife Lynn were our students back in the mid-90s. Their daughter, Cyrille and her fiancée to be, Jerico, were scheduled to have their engagement ceremony on April 23, 2026, making it possible for us to attend.  

In the past, the 'iyu-uli sometimes resulted in a heated discussion about how much land the bridegroom's family would give, how many water buffalo were being offered and how much money would be given. Sometimes the discussions became so contentious that the boy's family would pack up and return home with the engagement cancelled. 

Christ has brought a new spirit into these important discussions between the families. Pastor Rey kicked off the formal 'tungtung' or talk - by saying "I want you to know that I am not asking for any material resources from your family in exchange for my daughter's hand in marriage". Rey did not mention that he knew the family's financial situation had been compromised by the death of Jerico's dad several years earlier. "Jerico has treated my daughter and our family with the utmost of respect and has shown himself to be a faithful follower of Jesus. These qualities are more important to me than any physical resources you could offer," Rey declared.  Praise God with us for a culture being changed by Christian influence and pray for Cyrille and Jerico as they move toward their wedding -- on April 23, 2027!

Prayer Requests: 

1. Pray for us as we travel to Bethany's headquarters July 11-18 to participate in their summer retreat for furloughing missionaries. We will be facilitating workshops on transition - an increasingly important addition to resilient cross-cultural workers' skill set.

2. Pray for Equipping Women Int. staff in Chiang Mai as they finalize plans for upcoming trainings in September. We hope to hear soon so we can make Alberta's travel reservations. 

Serving Christ with You, Steve and Alberta   

SOCP- First Reunion in 25 Years  

Bethany's School of Church Planting (SOCP) first began in 1990. It accepted residential students until 2015, then shut down and didn't start back up again until 2023. Alberta and I served in the leadership and teaching staff for 6 years from 1992-1998. 

One of the really fun gatherings during our recent Philippines trip was the first reunion of anyone who had studied at the SOCP. About 150 former students, many of them our current pastors but also many of them serving in other organizations, gathered for a night of fun, fellowship and food! 

The joy was contagious! These 40-50 year old adults reminded us of the 'kids' they once were when they attended Bible school so many years ago. Psalm 126:5 came to mind "those who sow in tears will reap in joy." Those years of discipling, disciplining, agonizing over students was turned into joy as we saw mature Christian leaders join one another to celebrate God's work in their lives. Pray for the alumni of the SOCP to continue what was started in them during their training with Bethany.

Prayer Requests: 

1. Pray for an upcoming trip to Texas. We will be seeing some former co-workers on the way and celebrating the 50th wedding anniversary of good friends from Steve's boat days in New Zealand. We will also stop in Ft. Worth to visit my sister, Nan and her son Grant.

2. Pray for a proposed Entrust women's training scheduled for September in Thailand. Alberta is waiting to see if there will be enough applicants for the course to push through.

3. Pray for us as we prepare for Bethany's annual missionary retreat in July. We will be flying to Minneapolis mid-July to facilitate some workshops on transition.

Serving Christ with You, Steve and Alberta 

  The Next Generation of Bethany Christian Leaders

Greetings from the Philippines. We have just a couple of more days here in Isabela with the Bethany churches. 

The first graduation exercises of the Bethany Center of Ministry Training (BCMT) demonstrated the resolve of Bethany's leadership team to respond to the need for more Christian leaders for future expansion. 

When I asked which churches the new graduates would be assigned to I was surprised by the leadership's response. None! The churches are developing their own leadership teams so the fresh graduates will be taking on the new outreaches the current churches have begun. Graduating new workers will give Bethany Philippines the ability to staff outreaches with newly trained leaders. Pray with us for the school to continue to equip new workers for the harvest field.

(Pictured above are Dr. Paul Hartford, who started and led the school until I took over in 1992.  Ptr. Eddie Longgat who took over the school from me in 1998 is next to Paul and Ptra. Nati Noveda, in black, is the current director.) 

Prayer Requests: 

1. Pray for 14 year old Tantan, son of one of our graduates from the 90s. He is waiting for an Echo Cardiogram for doctors to diagnose undetermined heart problems. 

2. Pray for the 4 Entrust ladies completing their training today. Pray that they could push through their last module when it is offered. They are experiencing a lot of challenges with internet, scheduling, work and family responsibility conflicts.

3. Pray for the 6 new graduates of the BCMT that God would guide in the selection of their places of service and would provide for their every need - even financial! 

Serving Christ with You, Steve and Alberta 

Bethany Mexico Retreat 

For a variety of reasons, it had been 20 years since we have experienced a retreat for cross cultural workers in Bethany. Through the generosity of an anonymous donor, we and 20 other workers from "the Americas" were treated to 4 days at a luxury hotel in Cancun, Mexico and amazing fellowship with fellow cross-cultural workers and staff from Bethany headquarters. One of the staff asked us to text the number of years we had been 'on the field' and the total came out to 879. That is over 40 years each! So yes, we weren't  a bunch of spring chickens but we did have lots of stories to share as encouragement of what God had been doing in our lives and ministries. 

We had breakout sessions doing Discovery Bible studies together and also learned of Bethany's renewed passion and vision to reach the unreached. 

All in all, we came home very encouraged. Pray with us for the next season of life for these long-serving Christian workers. Some have been away from their passport countries for so long that they will end up retiring in their country of service. Others are not sure. We covet your prayers for wisdom for our brothers and sisters in ministry as they seek God's will in their "golden years".  

Praise Reports:

1. We asked for prayer for Heather's residency permit and it was granted! Thanks for praying.

2. We have received all of the funds we appealed for last month for Alberta's trip to Thailand in September as well as the funds needed to install air conditioning in our training room on our Bethany campus in Isabela. How cool is that! Thank you! 

Prayer Requests: 

1. We have mentioned our Filipina god-daughter - Melonie Fiesta Mills in previous updates. She came to the Lord in the church we started in a village in the Philippines. Melo married 4 years ago to Kenny Mills and we are sad to report that Kenny passed away March 7. Please pray for Melo and Kenny's extended family as they mourn his passing. 

2. Pray for our trip to the Philippines. There are always a lot of moving parts for us and for our partners in the Philippines. The war in the middle east has created new challenges for travelers. Pray for our preparations and for our visit to be meaningful for those whom we are desiring to serve. 

Serving Christ with You, Steve and Alberta 

 Closing the Loop in Missions

We have regularly been in touch with one of our spiritual sons from our church planting experience in the Philippines. Humphrey and  his wife Gretchel and their family currently reside in Sao Paulo, Brazil! 

Humphrey's journey of faith began in the Bethany youth group we started in the village of Gappal in 1990. From that simple beginning, he has taken on teaching assignments in Indonesia, China and currently, Brazil, where he teaches Science at the Pan American Christian Academy (PACA) in Brazil. 

2025

We realized that, in a way, Bethany's ministry has circled the globe - Humphrey closing the link between the Philippines and Brazil. As the diagram shows, Bethany sent out cross cultural workers to Brazil in 1963. Next, Alberta and I  went to the Philippines in 1989. Finally, Humphrey and his wife and kids traveled from the Philippines to Brazil in 2024.

Humphrey is creatively using his work platform as a spring board for ministry. Praise the Lord that He has called and sustained Humphrey and his family in this new ministry opportunity. Pray for Humphrey, his wife, Gretchel and their 3 kids as they reflect Christ into the lives of his students and the students' families.

Prayer Requests: 

1. Pray for us as we head to Cancun Mexico March 8-13 for a Bethany retreat for all their cross cultural workers in the "Americas". Bethany has been monitoring the security situation and feels it is safe for us to continue plans for the retreat.

2. Pray for Alberta as she continues her Entrust/Equipping Women Int. course on Tuesdays 6-9 am 😴. She will finish this course in person when we are in the Philippines.

3. We have a financial request we would ask you to consider: 

Bethany Philippines needs a new air conditioner for their dining hall/seminar room which we and other trainers will use in our meetings in April. We would like to help them with this need. The cost of a new air-con is $800. 

   

Alberta will be making an additional trip to Thailand in September to help with an Entrust/Equipping women's training. This is outside our normal budgeted travel expenses for the year. Price tag - $1700. 

If you would like to contribute to either of these needs let us know      and we will insure that your gift is used for the need presented. Once we have received commitments for both of these requests we will send a confirmation informing you that we have enough pledges to cover these expenses. Giving instructions are in the left margin of this blog post. 

 

Serving Christ with You, Steve and Alberta 

 The Growing Ministry of Entrust in the Philippines

Alberta first took an Entrust training in 2012 in Chiang Mai. After finishing the 4 modules and taking the Facilitator Training, she helped facilitate a module in 2019. In it were several Filipinas that traveled to Thailand to take their first course. It was then that Alberta and her co-facilitator, Emily (a Filipina living in the US), began to dream about growing the "Entrust" ministry of the study of the Bible through relational learning - in the Philippines.

 

On a recent Zoom call 50 Filipinos (half of them shown in the above picture) networked to talk about establishing an independent hub of Entrust in the Philippines. With both men and women desiring this type of training, the future is promising for the growth of the Entrust Relational Learning model. Please pray for the leaders of Entrust as they strategize on how best to relate to the Entrust organization and serve the people of the Philippines. 

Prayer Requests: 

1. Pray for Alberta's preparation for the new module starting Feb. 17th. She will be one of the facilitators. The module will start online and finish in person in the Philippines in early May. 

2. Pray for our preparations for our trip to the Philippines April 12-May 6. There will be various services - anniversary, Bible school graduation, Entrust training, etc. that we will have a part in. 

3. Pray for Heather as she applies for residency in the UK. 

Serving Christ with You, Steve and Alberta 

 

A God daughter's Growth in Grace

When I (Steve) first met Rosana she was 9 yrs. old. (photo of my mom visiting me shortly after I moved into Rosana's home in 1986).  Her mom and grandma had agreed to allow me to live in their home while I learned the Ilocano language.  She and her sister Tess have become like family to me and Alberta. 

After graduating high school, Rosana came to the  School of Church Planting (SOCP) that Alberta and I served in for 6 years. She married Pastor Eddie Longgat who became my successor in directing the school. When Eddie and Rosana married they asked me and Alberta to become their Ninong and Ninang (god parents) to them, an honor we gladly accepted. 

Rosana has continued developing connections in training for the wider Filipino church community. In addition to her responsibilities in Bethany's school of ministry, she now represents the Philippines for an organization called "The Increase Association". This position of training has taken Rosana to Thailand, Korea and other parts of Asia, providing tools for local churches to enhance the ministry skills of pastors and local leaders. Please pray for Rosana as she juggles many responsibilities locally as well as internationally. 

Prayer Requests: 

1. Please pray for our partners in Bangladesh, Omar and Shana (not their real names). Due to the unrest in the country they are considering relocating to Thailand temporarily until the security situation settles down. They are targeted in the unrest since they are leaders of an organization. We will update you further as soon as we know more. 

2. One of our friends, a former missionary with Bethany, Bill Kish was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and has recently been moved to hospice care. Pray with us for a peaceful close to his earthly journey and a smooth transition to his heavenly home. 

3. Pray for us as we get back into the swing of ministry connections after some great holidays with Heather and Krista.

Serving Christ with You, Steve and Alberta