Before or after reading the letter, please take a few minutes to view the following extraordinary video of one of their recent mission trips into the mountains of the Philippines. It begins with prayers at 4 AM, and ends with their dangerous return down the muddy mountain roads.

http://injesusname.org/phillipines.html

"Dear Dad Court and Mom Sandy,

Greetings to you today. Happy Thanksgiving day to both of you. Hope both of you are doing good.

We have just returned from the mountainous area of our island which is about 9 hours bus drive from our city. The mission team brought the Gospel message  to two Mamanwa tribal villages, one church, and one high school. 

We trekked to the most interior villages with our contacts who are pioneering a tribal mission, crossing brooks and trekking through the bushes and bumpy mountain trails. It was so challenging to drive through these dangerous roads in the middle of nowhere where there are many killings and violence, but we trust in the Lord our God. Pastors Alberca and Rosales, who are our contacts and host pastors of the tribal churches, were so glad that, inspite of the dangers in reaching these isolated hinterland villages, we were able to help them spread the word of God. These two villages are known for hot spots of communism. We brought to these very poor brethren, reading glasses, gospel bracelets, copies of New Testaments, tracts, and rice assistance. Please pray with us for more expansion and propagation of the Gospel. The gospel movement has reached these remote Mamanwa villages, and the word of God is beening propagated beyond our region.

Attached is the picture of the Mamanwa tribal brethren who received the Bibles. The Bibles and literature are in their language and are greatly needed here since they are so hungry for the word of God. Most of them are living in indigenous shanties without running water and electricity. At this last outreach point, we arrived late at night at Pastor Rosales') tribal mission center in the middle of nowhere. Since they have no electricity, we just gathered around the front of our van in order to utilize the headlights. I could sense their hunger for the word of God, and they hung to every word we said. We lit a light of hope and built their faith as they gladly received the word.

Thank you for your kind prayers and support for our mission works over here in the Philippines.

In His service,  Pastor 'A' and wife" 

(We need to protect this pastors identity because of the persecution of Christians in his area.)

If you would like to help reach the Philippines for Jesus Christ, designate your gift "Philippines. Pastor 'A'" 100% of your gift will be forwarded to these courageous and faithful servants of Jesus Christ.

Yesterday, we received another urgent messsage from Pastor "A" concerning two dear brothers Court was blessed to meet during his last two visits to the Philippines. Pastor DeAsis, the founder of "Smokey Mountain Church" at the garbage dump has been in the hospital after suffering a serious stroke; and Pastor Agsimon, a key associate of Pastor "A" is in urgent need of a home for himself and his family. 

"With regards to Pastor De Asis, he is really in need of the medications to sustain his health. He is half paralyzed now and cannot move the left side of his body. He needs physical therapy. Since his wife, sister Potenciana is blind, their daughter is taking care of them. Please pray for the medicines and healing needed.

Pastor Ernie Agsimon told me with great concern yesterday that they will be evicted from their rented shanty on December 15th due to his landlord's redeveloping the land. They have found a shanty they can buy for 400 dollars but they do not have anyway to do this without help. Please pray for their need of finances to buy this shanty which will be their home. Pastor Agsimon is so faithful to the Lord's work. Thank you once again dear brethren"

Gifts to help these brethren can be designated "Pastor DeAsis" or Pastor Agsimon" 

Last year, Court with Pastor DeAsis and his wife Potencana, who is blind.

Pastor Agsimon and his family. Photo taken by Court last year. They literally live in what we would call a shanty.

Your gift to help these brethren would truly fulfill the meaning of our Lord's instruction to us stating: "I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!" Matthew 25:31-46 

If you have high speed internet, the following 10 minute video is very inspiring. Last year I was blessed to be able to ride on this same "jitney" (bus) up into the mountains, although not this far. The roads are really treacherous. 

http://injesusname.org/phillipines.html