Mandy and Lynn Calinisans: August 2007
Dear Pastors & Friends:
May this letter find you all in good health and abounding in the work of the Lord.
Another three months have passed and we are so happy to give you an update on our ministry and also share the blessings and victories the Lord has been giving us in the Philippines. Well the weather in the Philippines has been an experience of the extremes. Two weeks ago in the heart of our rainy season, we were at a rare drought stage where the whole country was almost placed in a state of emergency due to a serious water supply shortage. Thank God the Lord brought in lots of rain this past week which relieved that problem, but now we're facing many strong typhoons and tropical storms that are causing much flooding across the country. We know God is in control of everything and he knows what's best for the Philippines, so we can only pray and trust God for continued protection.
The first floor of our building project is almost in its final stages and just needs just a few more finishing touches. By God's grace we will be celebrating our 13th church Anniversary in our new building. God has sustained the funds to put the first floor into use. The second floor will need faithful and fervent prayers for more funds to come in so that we can continue to build on it. The cost for building materials have been increasing and becoming more expensive, making it more difficult to sustain a steady flow of materials to build on. Nevertheless, through the sacrificial giving of our faithful members, we will try our best to help in anyway we can to contribute to the building project. This coming Sunday we will have our first "Treasure Giving" Sunday. This special day is for the church family to gather any valuables or commodities they have at home and sacrificially bring it to the church for the offering that day. Everything offered will then be sold and converted to cash with all of the proceeds going towards our building fund. We have a great God and we know He will let us see this project completed in His time.
We also praise God for letting us start a Christian ACE school. I mentioned in our previous letter that we wanted to start a school and God has answered our prayer. He gave us 16 students ranging from kindergarten to the 6th grade for our first inaugural school year. We are currently in our 3rd month of operation. The vision and purpose of this school as a ministry is to provide the children a good Christian education and to reach them and their families with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To God be the glory, during our devotions every Tuesday and Friday, 6 students have accepted the Lord Jesus as their personal Savior. They are now attending our church and always on time for Sunday school and worship service. It is also exciting and challenging to see the younger students (prep and level 1) learn the alphabet and numbers and eventually be able to read and write in English as most of these students do not have a strong background in English as their second language. By God's grace our goal is to see our Christian school ministry grow and reach new heights next school year. Please continue to pray for this new ministry.
We also thank God for our Bible students, who are also learning many things from the Bible and equipping themselves for full time ministry. Four of them are on their 3rd year and two have just surrendered their lives for full time Christian service and have enrolled as Freshmen this year. Please pray for these two, Jersey and JR, that they may be able to follow God's leading in their lives.
I also mentioned that my son Alvin got married last March. I am excited to announce that his wife Wella is pregnant and will be having a baby girl! This will be our 3rd grandchild this coming December. Praise God!
Thank you so much once again for your unceasing love and for giving to missions faithfully and sacrificially. You all have a special part in our ministry in the Philippines as none of this would be possible without your support. We pray for you always that the Lord may increase what you already have, give you good health, and strengthen your spiritual life.
Yours for Christ,
Bro. Mandy & Lynn Calinisan