Happy anniversary

Anniversaries are special times for all of us. Whether it's the anniversary of a wedding, a first date, a child's birth or a new job, we tend to mark out certain days for rememberance.

It is the same in church life. For the churches that we are praying for in the Philippines, it is no different. This coming week, two of the churches will celebrate anniversary services, and we would ask you to join us in praying for them.

The first will take place March 28 in Siay, Zamboanga Sibugay. Pastor Nestor Burtanog and Shiloh Bible Baptist Church of Siay will celebrate their first mission anniversary. A couple of points are worth noting here. First, if you are in the United States, remember we are about a day behind the Philippines. So, even though the 28th is a Monday, it will feel like Sunday to us. Second, these anniversary services are similar to our revival services in the States. They are a time of celebration as well as a time of evangelistic focus. Pastor Nestor was ordained by Pastor Samson Turno of Imelda, Zamboanga Sibugay. Let us pray for this day that is coming up soon. This church plant is relatively new, so let's pray with them that this anniversary service would be fruitful for the Kingdom.

One day later, on March 29, Pastor Clemente Gumapit and SBBC Salug, Zamboanga del Norte, will celebrate their eighth anniversary. As we noted in a previous blog, Pastor Clemente asked this request for prayer for the anniversary service, "Please pray for souls saved and follow the Lord in water baptism during that day." As we are sure you recall, Pastor Clemente's church is the church for which we have been seeking prayers as they try to purchase their church lot. This is a good time to remind you of our goal. We are at $1,400 of the approximately $3,000 we need to help the church purchase its lot. (The total need of 120,000 Philippine Pesos is slightly less than $3,000, but with fluctuating currency exchange rates, it's better to be on the safe side.) Anyway, please continue to pray as we seek to raise the funds. If you are interested in giving, please contact our friends at Love in Action Ministries.

This is not an anniversary in the same way the others are, but on March 30, Shiloh Bible Baptist Church Ozamis City, the mother church for all the SBBC churches, will celebrate Pastor Jun Begafria's birthday. His birthday was actually March 20, but the celebration will be at the end of the month. In addition to his Sunday preaching duties, Pastor Jun also leads Bible studies throughout the week at different locations, including among the military. Let us pray for his continued health and effective ministry.