Our last weekend in Cebu...

This past weekend was our last here in Cebu.

Saturday, we had Sunday School for the children, and youth service for the young people like we always do. Both services were awesome! There were 15 young people at youth service, which is the largest attendance yet. Thank God!
I gave some of my clothes to the girls on Saturday; they were so excited. I can't explain to you how happy they were to receive those clothes; they were SO delighted! They asked me, "Can we wear this tomorrow?", and I said, "Of course!" After I gave them the clothes and saw how happy and excited they were to receive them, I wanted to give all of my clothes to them. It was very touching; I was so happy.

Sunday, we had a wonderful service! There were 85 in attendance; thank you, Jesus! Think about this: four weeks ago, we had 43. The next week, 47; the week after that, 70; and this past Sunday, we had 85!!! God is adding to His church; it is exciting to see what God is doing.

This past Sunday (being the last Sunday of the month) was our regular fellowship Sunday and the church made it special for us since it was our last Sunday to be with them. We were completely surprised to find that they had a pig roasted in our honor I had no idea they were going to do this. Esther and I were presented gifts during the service and we were both able to say a few words to the church.It was pretty emotional, but it was very special and wonderful at the same time.

This Thursday, we will go to Bogo, as usual, and have ladies prayer and outreach. At lunch time, we will buy chicken, cook rice, and have lunch with the young people. We usually have prayer and a quick Bible study as well. I am looking forward to this one last time with the young people.

On Saturday, August 5th, we leave for Manila where I will spend the remainder of my time there. I will return home on August 14th.

To everyone who made this trip possible for me: THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart, this has been a life-changing trip for me; I am so glad that I came! Thank you, everyone, for your prayers and your financial support.

God bless you~!

Sincerely,

--Jeriann

* The first picture is of me and Esther with our roasted pig. The second picture is of me and Esther with some of the young people and children. *

A couple of pics...

Here are a couple pictures for you. The first one is the local market where fruits and vegetables are sold. There is also a fish market. The second picture is of four ladies on the street corner selling corn. They put the corn on the coals right there... you can see it! In the back ground you can see a "tricycle", this is a means of transportation for many to get around town; they are everywhere!

Hope you enjoy the pictures~!

--Jeriann

70!--God is blowing my mind! :)

I'm excited today! Sunday - the church was filled and overflowing with people; there were 70 in attendance! This is a brand new attendance record. There were so many visitors in the church that I could not get an accurate count. But I do know that 70 people were at service today (including twenty or so children), and I was SO happy! Some of us had to stand because we did not have enough chairs, but once Sunday School for the children started, it was fine because the children sat on the floor. The people here are hungry for more of God; they are longing and searching for something to fill the emptiness and the void in their hearts; they came to the right place on Sunday. Everything they need is in Jesus! I hope that they will continue to go to church and experience God in a way they never have before. God has a great plan for every one of their lives!
Sunday we had our communion service and it was beautiful. God touched all of us in a special way. Thank God for Calvary and the blood that He shed for you and me.

My time here in the Philippines is almost done. I’m only going to be here two more weeks; next Sunday will be my last Sunday in Cebu.
On August 5th I will be leaving Cebu to travel to Manila (on the island of Luzon) to attend a Leadership Conference, I will be there for the remainder of my time in the Philippines then leave on August 14th to go home. I hope that I have been able to let my light shine and that I've accomplished what God intended for me to do in the three months I have been here.
I will never be the same – it has been a life changing experience for me and to God be all the glory.

I hope everyone is doing well. God bless you all~! :)

Sincerely,

--Jeriann

*I am posting a picture of me and most of the young people that were at youth service on Saturday. Sis. Cherel and baby Jeremy are also in the picture. :)*

Another new record!!!

Hello everyone!

I am excited to report that we had another new record for church attendance this past Sunday; there were 47 of us. Thank you, Jesus! God is adding to the church! We had a powerful move of God as well. At the end of the service, Bro. Vacca had the men pray together, and the women pray together. God blessed, renewed, strengthened, encouraged, and inspired everyone. It was awesome! Also, we had 10 children in service, so we had a children's service during the adult Sunday School. Esther and Sis. Lonnie (the associate pastor) took care of that, and it went well!

On Thursdays, we have been meeting at the church with some of the young people during their lunch time. We pray, study the Bible, and then eat. It's been really great! Last Thursday, we had an awesome prayer meeting! We then ate and fellowshipped with young people; it was wonderful. We are planning on doing that the next couple of Thursdays we are here.

I hope everyone is doing well! God bless you.

I am attaching a picture of the new church filled with many worshipping the Lord this past Sunday.

Sincerely,

--Jeriann

We're in the new building!

Well, this past weekend was a good one! It started on Saturday morning when we had Sunday School – it was a great class! It was so much fun; the kids are really learning a lot (besides monkey faces) :). Saturday afternoon, we had our very first service in the new building: youth service! God spoke to and touched everyone; it was beautiful. What a wonderful service! I am really getting attached to these young people; I am going to miss them tremendously when I return home and I will keep them close in my thoughts and prayers! :)

Sunday, we had our first main service in the new building and we started off with a bang! We set a new record; there were 43 in attendance! Thank you, Jesus. There were 15 first time visitors, and several of them were our Sunday School boys. Esther and I had gone into the neighborhood where the kids live and invited them, their families, and neighbors to join us for church. One dad came and brought his three boys (who regularly attend SS); it was exciting! There were many other visitors as well; it was awesome! God touched many hearts on Sunday; undoubtedly everyone could feel the presence of the Lord and were blessed. :)

Today, we went back to the church and had a good time putting curtains on the windows; I even got to sew hems by HAND for the curtains! haha... The church is looking better and better; the curtains were the finishing touch it needed.

I am staying busy and really enjoying myself very much. I have three more Sundays working with the church here in Bogo, and then we will spend a week or so in Manila before returning home. I'm planning on giving the work here everything I’ve got in the time I have left. The time has gone by so quickly; I can't believe I only have a few weeks left. Please pray that God will bless our efforts, and give us great revival in the time we have left here!

Thank you for your support, your prayers, and your wonderful comments you have left here on the Blog. :) God bless you all.

Sincerely,

--Jeriann

*The first picture is of me with the Sunday School kids on Saturday. The second picture is of me and Esther with the young people later that day at youth service. :)*

Hello~!

Hello Everyone,

I hope you are all doing well! I am having a great time here in the Philippines. I am enjoying myself very much and I am so glad that I made the decision to come here. It will definitely be an unforgettable experience for me.

This past week was busy and full of good and interesting experiences. :) On Wednesday (6/28), we traveled to Cebu city (about an hour from Catmon) for a minister's conference. We attended because Bro. and Sis. Vacca are the missionaries here and Bro. Vacca was teaching a class. Many pastors were at the conference and I pray that they were strengthened, inspired, and renewed to continue on doing a great work for God. We stayed two nights in Cebu at a hotel and we made it out alive and well! :) The hotel was okay - it wasn't that bad - thankfully we didn't see any rats or cockroaches. Nevertheless, I did sleep on top of the bed, fully clothed and with my slippers on just in case I had to jump up real fast! Haha
I met many people at the conference and I had a really good time (an adventure!). We went back to our home-away-from-home (Catmon) on Friday.

Saturday was a busy day for me. We started with Sunday School with the children and we had an awesome time! After class (prayer, singing, teaching, and snack), we played soccer with kids. The class was all boys so it worked out perfectly when we divided into teams. They had SO much fun. I got out there and ran and kicked the ball around too. It was great; hearing the giggles and seeing the happiness on the boy’s faces was wonderful! :) I'm so glad Esther had the great idea to buy a soccer ball!
A little later we had our youth service and it was great! There was a beautiful presence of God in the service and God touched and blessed everyone who attended. After youth service and fellowship (we bring cookies!), we had choir practice. We learned and rehearsed the song we were to sing on Sunday. So, by the end of that day, Saturday, we were pretty tired especially after spending a couple of unrestful nights in Cebu. :) Esther and I both crashed on the way home - dead to the world!

On Sunday, we had another beautiful service. We always do (thank you, Jesus!). After the service, I felt a special burden to pray, so I stayed and prayed. I could feel the Lord so strongly! Esther prayed with me also; we stayed in the presence of God and interceded for the people of the Philippine Islands. God has great things in store for the people we are working with. I know He has outstanding plans for them in the present and in the future!

Next Sunday, we will be having service in the new building. So, this week the Vaccas have been very busy getting everything ready for the move. Yesterday, we painted the new church building. It was a lot of work! We painted and painted and painted! You can just imagine painting an upstairs room in the heat and humidity with no air-conditioning. (The church will have air-conditioning; it will be ready to go by Sunday). It was crazy! We worked all day, and we were very worn-out when we finished. But, of course, it is for a good cause and we had a lot of fun doing it! :)

Today, we went back to the church, and cleaned. We had to clean all the paint that was left on the floor from yesterday. We scrubbed the tile floor on our hands and knees. I also cleaned all the chairs, and windows. So, today was another long, busy, hard-working day. I didn't have as much fun today, but I made it! :) The church looks nice and clean now; it looks 100% better than the way we found it! Thank you, Jesus!

Pray for us that God will bless our humble efforts and our new building will soon be filled with souls worshipping God. It is my desire to see many come to God and receive this great gift of salvation. To God be all the glory.

I am posting a couple of pictures. The first one is of some monkeys in the park after Sunday School, and the second one is of me and Esther being silly after a long day of painting on Wednesday. I know we look really cute, especially with those red bandanas! haha... :)

God bless you all~!

Sincerely,

--Jeriann