"Overflowing"

Greetings from Cauayan Isabela, Philippines!

Our 40th Anniversary of Bethany's church planting ministry in the northern Philippines was yesterday. The main testimony from those of us missionaries who flew in for the celebration was "We never expected in our wildest dreams to see a gathering like this!" The picture above is one of the "overflow" sections shaded creatively by a parachute rig. Shade is important in the Philippines as our air conditioning is of the natural variety! 

We shared testimonies of our many language mistakes from our early years studying the language, bringing gales of laughter from the more than 1000 church members that attended. We wept at God's faithfulness to all of us as Bethany has grown stronger with each year of ministry added to its tenure in Isabela. Thank you for your prayers for us from the very beginning of our ministry here many years ago, as well as during this busy and rewarding time of celebration these past few days.

Prayer Requests: 

Pray for those who attended to internalize the message of taking the Gospel to the villages and towns in the province that have yet to experience a gospel witness.

Pray for us as we head to the beach for a short two day retreat with the leaders. I (Steve) will be sharing a "word of encouragement" on the topic of the "Good side of Mistakes". Please pray for the Holy Spirit's leading. 

Pray for good connections, good health and good baggage carriage as begin our journey back to the US on Friday. We arrive home on the evening of July 13.

Serving Christ with You, Steve and Alberta