Dear IVCF friends near and far,
Warmest greetings from a very warm (actually, terribly hot!) Iloilo City where I and some staff are – to go to the Grad Team/Graduates’ Conference tomorrow at Ephrathah Farms, Badiangan, Iloilo. This email is an attempt to send some quick news to you about what’s happening in the IVCF side of the world. I will try to do this short missives regularly – every middle of each month, and if I would be late because of travel or other reasons, I pray that you will be graciously forgiving.
It is the tail end of summer… it had been a busy season of camps and conferences for us at IVCF Philippines. For high school, we had a total of four evangelistic camps and two leadership-discipleship camps. On the college/university level, we had an intensive month-long leadership (Kawayan) camp and a Graduates/Grad Team Conference for volunteers and graduates (happening tomorrow!). We praise God for blessing us with the “fruits of our labors” – students making decisions to follow Christ, others deepening their understanding and love for Him, His Word and His world; while others learning how to be servant-leaders. These are precious lives that had been reached because of your gift and partnership with us. Thank you for investing in the lives of these students, such investment counts for eternity!
Here are testimonies of two high schoool students who recently went to the Sibol (Evangelistic) Camp in Metro Manila:
Before Sibol Camp, I did not know about the value of myself. I was like an object, just existing without value. Because of that, I did not have any confidence in myself. I had tendencies to not take good care of myself by engaging in not-so-good habits like sleeping very late and spending excessive time playing computer games. But through the activities and recreation times at camp, I discovered that I really don’t need great talents to be of help to others. Even in very simple things, if we offer them to God, we can be of great help to others. In my quiet time every night, I get closer to God; doing so helps me to be more sensitive and get along well with others. Day by day I discover how great is the love of God for me and other students. On April 14, during my quiet time, around 9:30 in the evening I accepted the Lord as my personal Savior. I have heard Bible stories before but the messages seemed to just stay in my head. Through the help of my counselor, I felt the love of Jesus in my heart. Now I belong to Jesus and He belongs to me. (VJ, testimony given at Faith Baptist Church)
Dito sa camp natutunan ko ang forgiveness ng Panginoon, ang mag-Quiet Time at sumunod sa mga utos ng mga nakakatanda. Bago ang Sibol Camp, mababa yung self-esteem ko pero binago Niya ang pagtingin ko sa sarili ko na huwag maliitin yung sarili ko. Nalaman ko ring huwag maliitin yung ibang tao kasi lahat tayo ay ginawa ng Diyos na may kanya kanyang talento. Nagpapasalamat ako na andiyan Siya parati para gabayan ako dahil mahal na mahal niya ako. [Here at camp I learned about the forgiveness of God, how do Quiet Time, and to obey what the elders say. Before Sibol Camp, my self-esteem was very low, but He changed the way I look at myself, that I should not look down on myself. I learned to also not look down on other people because all of us were created by God with our own talents. I thank God that He is always there to guide me because he loves me very much. (Jugelica, Batasan Hills National High School)
The 2016 Metro Manila Sibol Camp where VJ and Jugelica participated in
The end of May is also the end of our fiscal year. We are praying that this year, we can end in the black financially. Please pray with us that we can finish our deficit. If the Lord touches your heart to help carry this burden, let us know!
We are grateful for your partnership in reaching these students for Christ. May the Lord cause your “barns to overflow” so that you will continue to help in the furtherance of His kingdom among the students of this generation.
With much blessings,
Christy
National Director
