Pray for the Philippines (II)

With the continuing havoc caused by the pandemic, many people are desperately fleeing the capital to the rural areas. The church has been facing daily battles these last 17 months. People are losing their jobs and are forced to go back to the rural areas which has caused our numbers to decrease.

Some of our brothers, sisters were also not spared of contracting the virus. I contracted the virus which almost cost me my life. With severe symptoms and not enough beds in the hospitals, I was forced to self-medicate at home. Together with some of my disciples who were also infected. We faced a physical battle of dealing with our symptoms of the virus while we battled in the Spirit against death, depression and loneliness of being secluded from others. But praise to our mighty God who healed us and helped us to overcome the deadly virus.

Despite all these struggles and challenges accompanied by floods and other natural disasters, God has proven Himself greater than this pandemic. He is ever faithful to His church. While many companies closed even in our very own building, we didn’t close the church by the grace of God, instead He opened His church to a wider platform being able to suddenly shift to onsite and online services. The reclaiming of God’s Kingdom through media was powerfully felt as we are able to reach the far corners of the nation and even abroad through social media. Thanks to our mother church who continuously instil the faith to persist and aggressively advance even in these dark times. Their consistent teaching and equipping have helped many churches to go on.

Our faith grew bigger, persisting to come to church despite the risk of being infected. The members appreciate the role of the church in strengthening each one’s Spirit and they hunger more for God’s Words. We see that even if we lose some members, new friends continue to join us. Even old friends who left the church started to come back. Relationships among the congregation became stronger than ever by responding to each other’s need. (To be cont’d)