Love In Action's blog

Super Saturdays

2012-02-25T22:17:00.000-06:00

"Thank you for always stopping by." "I look forward to y'all coming to see me every Saturday." "Please always stop and see me." "Thank you for what you do."

These are quotes we often hear every Saturday on our Adopt-A-Block outreach, which began on Nov. 19, 2011. Through this outreach, Love In Action is serving an impoverished neighborhood around our ministry center. Through acts of compassion, we are showing the love of Jesus Christ to the people.

People in most impoverished neighborhoods feel forgotten and end up losing pride in their neighborhoods. Adopt-A-Block is bringing the love of Jesus to the neighborhood and restoring hope to the needy. Volunteers have raked yards, cleaned houses, repaired roofs and other house repairs, delivered food and blankets. Each week volunteers pick up trash throughout the neighborhood. Those streets are the cleanest in downtown Dothan.

Many prayers are prayed each week as well. The people now look forward to us coming out to see them each Saturday. By serving the needy, Love In Action is showing people the love of Jesus Christ and it is making a difference. We are forming relationships with many people, and it is a blessing.

Thanks to the Atlanta Bread Company, we are able to take bread and bagels to the people. To people who barely scrape by, free bread is a blessing. Thanks to Chill Yogurt, we also have delicious Yocakes to deliver to the people. Both bread and Yocakes are also mainstays for our Saturday lunch where we serve the homeless, people from the neighborhood and volunteers.

Each week our relationship with the people grows. We thank our volunteers who hit the streets with us each Saturday, and we could use more people to help us. If you want to get involved with a life-changing ministry then come out and join Adopt-A-Block. We pray at 9:45 a.m., and then go to the neighborhood at 10 a.m.

It's hard saying goodbye

2012-02-25T21:07:00.000-06:00

It's never easy saying goodbye, especially to a person whose life has transformed right in front of your eyes.

When we first met Mark in early November 2011, he was a bitter drunk homeless man. He wasn't a happy person. He would often show up drunk and at times pass out on the front steps of the Love In Action Ministry Center.

Fast forward three months and Mark shows up every time the doors are open. He's smiling, inviting people inside, helping serve people, and telling them Jesus is the way.

Now Mark is leaving. He found a job in south Florida and is leaving in the morning. He will be greatly missed by many people. He's a brother. He's part of the Love In Action family.

How did he go from a hopeless drunkard to a man with hope and joy? One word, one person ... Jesus.

We kept telling Mark that we love him and that he is always welcome at Love In Action, and he kept coming back. He would apologize for passing out on the front porch, but we would tell him we would rather he pass out there where he would be safe than in a ditch or a place where people would hurt him.

Mark found the love of Jesus and a purpose in his life at Love In Action. He became one of our best volunteers. Every day and night we opened the doors he was there to serve and work. He kept the floors throughout the ministry center swept and mopped. He worked on whatever project we had going. He helped us with Adopt-A-Block, and was a fixture at our Friday night Lighthouse Cafe coffee shop.Nobody worked harder.

A couple of weeks ago he helped lead a man to Jesus in a small group at our Celebrate Recovery Inside. He knows Jesus changed his life, so he started telling others about Jesus. It was an amazing transformation, and we praise God for all of it.

Before we left the ministry center tonight, we all gathered in the sanctuary and prayed for Mark. We wanted to bless him in the name of Jesus and send him off the right way. Then as we dropped him off at his tent in the woods, we once again told him how much we love him and will miss him.

As Mark said, this isn't goodbye or the last time we will see him. His work will bring him back to Dothan in November, and we are looking forward to seeing him again.

Please keep Mark in your prayers. He's a precious man. Pray that he will continue to grow in his relationship with Jesus Christ.

Help send Bibles to Philippines

2012-02-20T16:29:00.001-06:00

Quick, answer this question. How many Bibles do you own? Check the bookcases, coffee tables and night stands. Oh, don't forget the closets and attic.

Owning a Bible is not a problem for most Christians in America. Most of us have at least a half dozen, and that's not including the Bible apps on our smart phones and tablets, or the Bibles downloaded on our computers.

In the Philippines they do not have that kind of luxury. A Bible is what it should be to all of us, a very treasured book. One that is read often and well taken care of. Unfortunately, there aren't many Bibles in the Philippines. You see, on the Philippine island of Mindanao, Bibles are not plentiful nor are they easily accessible. The people can't walk or drive to the local Christian bookstore or Walmart to buy one, because those stores are not there. And, if there were such opportunities, the vast majority of the people could not afford to purchase one.

That is why Love in Action is on a mission to send as many King James Version Bibles to our brothers and sisters as we can. Why the KJV? Because that is the Bible they read. English is not their first language, though most speak it very well. But, the KJV was the first version to arrive, so they all decided to adopt it so there won't be any confusion. They all read the same version to be on the same page, so to speak. And, from our experience with our brothers and sisters there, they understand the KJV a lot better than most Americans.

We are asking all Christians in America to help us. If you have a good KJV Bible that you are not using, please donate it. The Word of God needs to be read and if it's just taking up space on a bookshelf it's not doing anyone any good.

If you would like to purchase new KJV Bibles, please do and have them shipped to us. We will ship them in bulk at much cheaper rates to the Philippines. We can ship at least 200 Bibles for just $90. If we receive 1,000 Bibles, we could take them to the docks in Jacksonville, Fla., and ship them for just $55 per box (5 boxes).

Here is how tough it is to get a Bible in Mindanao. We once wired money to a pastor to purchase some Bibles. He had to travel nine hours by bus and boat to find a place to purchase the Bibles, then carry them back nine hours by bus and boat to distribute them to the new believers at his church.

We have the ability here in Dothan, Alabama, and throughout the U.S. to help. Nobody should be without a Bible when we have plenty to share.

How many do we need? Well, considering there are 23 million people on the island of Mindanao, I'd say about 23 million. Seriously, we cannot send too many. There isn't such a thing. Not only do the indigenous pastors and missionaries we partner with need them for their churches and the new believers they lead to Jesus daily, but at least 16 Army camps have been open for us to get Bibles in. That's roughly 100,000 soldiers.

Please help us. We have a wonderful opportunity to give the Word of God to people who don't have it. Many have never even heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What an incredible opportunity! Our brothers and sisters tell people about Jesus, they receive Him, and then they are able to put a Bible in their hands. Praise God! I get excited just writing about it.

We just shipped two large boxes of Bibles, and we pray that we can send many large boxes every month, but we can only do that if the Body of Christ here in America helps us. It's a great project for individuals, families, churches, Sunday school classes and small groups to take part in. Collect all of the KJV Bibles you aren't using (in good condition please) and donate them. Purchase new Bibles as individuals, families, or as a group. Let's send God's Word to the people in the Philippines.

If you live in Dothan, you can bring your Bibles to the Love In Action Ministry Center at 320 N. Foster Street, or call us at 334-494-4995 and we'll pick them up. If you are ordering new Bibles, please have them shipped to 103 Rosewood Drive, Dothan, AL 36301.

Here is a good web site to order Bibles, It's called BiblicaDirect.com.Here is a link to some quality hard cover KJV Bibles ($5.99 each), http://www.biblicadirect.com/p-78-kjv-hardcover-bibles.aspx
And here is a link for large print Bibles ($6.99 each), which are needed as well, http://www.biblicadirect.com/p-1543-kjv-large-print-hardcover-bible.aspx

And, if you would like to help with the shipping costs, that would be very appreciated as well.

Please share this great opportunity with others and encourage them to help us.

Thank you for your help in giving people who are starving for God's Word copies of the Holy Bible.

One soul at a time

2012-02-19T15:03:00.001-06:00

It is always amazing to watch how God works.

The past two weeks we have seen five people give their lives to Jesus Christ at the Love In Action Ministry Center. Two weeks ago, three people came forward at the end of the service at Celebrate Recovery Inside to ask Jesus in their hearts. Last Tuesday night one man accepted Jesus in a small group at CRI, and this past Friday night one young man accepted Jesus at our Lighthouse Cafe free coffee house. Praise God!

The CRI services have been more powerful than ever the past month, and that's saying something as we have seen God do so many amazing things through this ministry. It is an honor to be part of what God is doing, and it's so much fun watching God work through our volunteers.

From the moment people walk through the doors on Tuesday nights they are warmly greeted and made to feel welcome. Then as they are served dinner they not only see great food being placed on their plates, but they see people smiling at them as they serve. Then the services have been especially good. Great preaching, teaching and testimonies have been coming forth and people have responded to the messages.

Small groups are especially important. So many issues are discussed and God meets each person where they are. Growth is taking place in many lives through these small groups. And last week a homeless person who was just passing through ended up in a small group. This a cool story.

He was on his way to Montgomery, but had a long layover in Dothan as he traveled by bus. He was walking to the store to buy some alcohol to drown his sorrows, and his path took him right by the front doors of the Love In Action Ministry Center. People invited him in to join us for CRI, and one of our wonderful volunteers, Rick, started telling him about Jesus.

He decided to stay for the dinner, then for the service, and finally for small groups. Once again Rick started telling him about Jesus and how Jesus was the only answer to his problems. Rick told me afterward, "He asked about a 12 steps program, and I told him I don't know anything about 12-step, but I can show you the one step ... Jesus." I love Rick. He tells everyone about Jesus.

One of our homeless men was also in that small group. When we first met him he would often be drunk and many times passed out on our front steps. He would always apologize, but we told him he was always welcome and we'd rather for him to pass out on our front steps than in a ditch or somewhere where people would hurt him.

He made a decision to follow Jesus and he hasn't been drunk since. In fact, he's one of our hardest working volunteers. He told the homeless traveler that Jesus was the way for him to overcome his problems, and once he leaves Love In Action tonight he will have a choice to keep following Jesus or not, and he hoped that he would continue to follow Jesus.

Rick led the man in a prayer to receive Jesus as his Lord and Savior. Praise God!

Then on Friday night Rick led a young man to Jesus. The man had been at our health clinic the night before, so he wanted to come back for the coffee house. He did and he met Jesus. Praise God!

One at a time. That's been our focus for the past 12 years, and we have seen thousands of people come to Jesus. Yes, it is great when we have a large event and we see dozens accept Jesus. We've seen more than 250 accept Jesus at one time. But, it's all about each individual soul. So whether it's 250 or one, we praise God and celebrate with the angels because somebody's eternal destination has just been changed.

"... there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” - Luke 15:10 (NIV)

Thank you for your prayers and support of this ministry. We couldn't do it without you.

Slim: A candidate for a miracle

2012-02-06T13:58:00.000-06:00

Slim staggered into the Love In Action Ministry Center around 8 p.m. Saturday. We had finished another great Saturday of Adopt-A-Block and work at the ministry center and were preparing to call it a night. But, we weren't finished.

We were standing in the lobby area when Slim stumbled past us and headed toward the eating area. He has enjoyed some hot meals in there, and I guess in his mind he was going to have another one.

Slim is a homeless man who is strung out in a big way on crack cocaine. We have never seen him in sober state. He has smoked so much crack, even in a sober state of mind he would appear under the influence to most people. Crack has taken its toll on Slim. It owns him. It controls him.

However, the great thing is even in his drug-induced walk through downtown Dothan, he knows there is a safe place for him. A place where he knows he won't be beaten up or robbed. He knows he is welcome. That's why he keeps coming back.

Most of the time he doesn't ask for food. He usually asks for socks and shoes. He loses them, and at other times, they are stolen. We usually give him two pairs of socks, but we don't always give him shoes. He usually has shoes on, but when he showed up in just socks we made sure he had a pair of shoes on his feet when he left.

Saturday night he asked for socks. We gave him the socks and food. Crack addicts crave sweets, so we gave him some cupcakes too, which he started eating immediately. He camped out on the front porch for part of the night. He left a mess on the front porch, but that's OK. It only took about five minutes to clean it up. That is a very small price to pay knowing he felt safe for part of that night and ate his food. At least we know he received some nutrition that night.

To most people, Slim looks like a lost cause. He's gone too far to be helped. I disagree. Nobody is too far from our Father's reach. Jesus says in Luke 19:10, "For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.” (NLT).

Jesus says in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (KJV)

Slim is a "whosoever" and he is "lost." According to the Bible, Jesus came to save him and to give him everlasting life.

An addiction recovery program will not do Slim any good at this point, because he cannot carry on a conversation. He can't sit still long enough to even try to have one. He couldn't comprehend such recovery steps.

His only hope is Jesus Christ. I have seen Jesus take lives as seemingly hopeless as Slim's, and completely turn them around, save them and clean them up. Slim is just the next candidate for such a miracle. Every time Slim leaves I always tell him that Jesus loves him and so do I. He usually responds with a, "Yes-sir. Thank you."

One day, I'm hoping Slim will call out to Jesus because he remembers hearing that Jesus loves him. He keeps coming back to us because he knows we love him. When he calls on Jesus, things will change. I've seen Jesus deliver people from such situations through His power and might, and not because of any program. Programs have their place, and our Celebrate Recovery is an awesome outreach. But for people like Slim, it will take a miracle from God to turn his life around.

Please join us in praying for Slim and for God to work a miracle in his life.

Prayer list from Philippines

2012-02-05T18:00:00.001-06:00

From time to time I will post prayer requests from our friends in the Philippines. This prayer list is from Shiloh Bible Baptist Church in Ozamiz City. Pastor Jun Begafria is pastor of the church and senior pastor of the Shiloh Bible Baptist Church family. Please join us in praying for these items.

P R A Y E R I T E M S

· Pastor Jun BEGAFRIA and FAMILY

Wife: Mrs. Ma. Angelita

Children:Timothy John (17), 1^st year college

John Andrew (15), 3^rdyear hschool

Pearl Angelie (11), Grade 5

Coveringand protection, Blessings, Good health, Power and wisdom, Provision,Preservation

· Goal for this Year 2012

ChurchLot (at least 1 hectare)

300Disciplers

20-30Missionaries be sent out

50 Church Members withP100,000 monthly income

· More Full-time Workers

· More Bibles

· INCREASE CHURCH FINANCES (INCOME)

· MINISTRIES

A. CHURCH SERVICES

MORESOULS BE SAVED AND POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN EVERY SERVICE

ChurchService Development

IncreaseChurch Attendance

B. EXTENSION CLASSES (Sat & Sun PM)

C. Young People’s Program

D. Music Ministry (Singers & Musicians)

Commitmentand consistency of members

MoreInstruments (violin, guitar, flute)

E. Discipleship/ Operation Go

Disciplers(300) & Disciples

Trainers & Trainees

F. Barangay Evangelistic (Mon & Tue Night)

TeamLeaders, Team Members

AssignedArea, Provision

Moresouls to be saved (good result)

Goodweather, Covering and protection

G. Different Departments

LivelihoodProgram

NewSunday School Lessons

IncreaseAttendance

SUNDAYSCHOOL TEACHERS:

Spirit-filledlife, Blessings in all area, Prayer life (consistency), Commitment,

Wisdomon studying lessons, Fruitful life

H. BIBLE STUDIES (HOME, SCHOOLS , BUSINESSESTABLISHMENTS, MILITARY, OFFICES)

MILITARY:

UPCOMING SEMINARS FOR MILITARY CAMPS, SPIRITUAL GROWTH, MORECONVERSIONS, VICTORIES FOR NEW OPENED CAMPS FOR BIBLE STUDIES

BravoCO.55IB (Hoyohoy, Tangub)

AlphaCO. 55IB (Josefina)

CharlieCO. 55IB (Calamba)

55IBBatallion (Calamba)

5^thBravo CO. Tigbao

Bravo5IB (Bintana, Tangub) nearby detachments

9FABatallion (Pulacan)

LADIVISION(Pulacan)

ROTC-Tangub, MU-Ozam, MU-Oroq,

SCC-Oroq

5IB-Training Camp (Aurora)

53IBGuipos; Gala, Tudela

0FFICES

DAR,DENR, SM LAO, CITY COUNSEL’S OFFICES, BJMP, NFA, CHO, CHO- PREMARRIAGECOUNSELLING, City Hall @ City Council, Fire Dept., MU-Guidance Office &Elementary

BUSINESS ESTABLISHMENTS

NOVO, DWARDELLE’S, TUPPERWARE, MEDINA HOSPITAL

SCHOOLS

Sinosa,Labinay, OzCity High, Misamis University

I. CHURCH FINANCES

BuildingRental (Php 10,000 per month – 2^nd & 3^rd floor),Vehicle Maintenance, Electric Bill,

StaffAllowances, Other Expenditures

J. PROPOSED PROJECTS:

CHURCH LOT (PHP 4M)

PickUp 4-wheel drive

Multicab repair needs Php 20,000

100pcs. Plastic chair (white)

Thirdfloor classroom renovation Php 30,000

K. CHURCH MEMBERS

MULTIPLIED INCOME

MORIAH offering

Faithfulness &Involvement (Church Attendance, Grace in Giving, Soul-winning, Preaching, BrgyEvangelistic, Discipleship, Sunday school)

PRAYER LIFE OF EVERYCHRISTIAN

Coveringand Protection, Good Health

More Blessings and Entrustment(spiritual, material, physical, business and work)

Students – succeed in theirstudies, faithfulness & maturity

MoreSources of Income

SpiritualGrowth and Maturity

RightAttitude

Loveand compassion for souls

UnsavedLove Ones

Wisdom in Bible reading andin all areas of Christian Life

SpiritualRevival

L. AARON and HUR PRAYERMINISTRY

MoreChristians Involved and Power

Consistency

M. BARGE PREACHING (Sunday PM)

Boldness,Compassion for souls, Consistency

Coveringand protection, Good health, Fruit

Provision:back and forth fare

Tim2x, John2x, Jofher, Karl,James Bryan, Ernesto, Rustom, Adonis P.,Adones C., Samson, Dorotheo, EJ

N. SINGLE MEN Outreach Program & BUS

PREACHING(Saturday: Ozamiz to Oroquieta)

Boldness, Compassion for souls

Coveringand protection, Good health, Fruit

Provision:back and forth fare

OroquietaChurch Extension needs:

Kitchenutensils, more workers

O. Jeep Route

Coveringand protection (driver & vehicle)

Maintenance

Moredrivers

P. MARRIED LADIES Cottage prayer

Moreladies be involved, POWER, Victory

1. Cavinte : 6-7pm Monday

7-8pmWednesday

2. Dimaluna: 7-8pm Monday

3. Calabayan: 6-7am Tuesday

4. Capucao: 7-8pm Tuesday

5. Montol: 7-8pm Wednesday

Fri Night: Estatoy and Arcete Family

6. Gutocan: be open for Cottage Prayer

7. Capucao: 7-8pm Tuesday

8. Liposong : Sellana Family

9. Sigatic: Saturday, Metillo Family & etc.

10. Sinusa & Trigos:Saturday

Pray for Wisdom and power toteach God’s Word and become a channel of blessings!

- Sis JeanneCastillon

Q. MARRIED MEN Military BibleStudies(Sun PM)

Montol:Allan Yap & Alfredo Miano

Canibongan:Emil Descallar & Company

Mitugas:Bryan Duarong & Jonathan Roxas

Taguite:Arturo Castillon & Manuel Turno

Buenavista:Demetrio Menion & Melvin Abapo

R. CHILDREN’S DEPARTMENT

Workingof the Holy Spirit,

MoreSunday school Teachers

ClassroomRenovation (Php 30,000) – 3^rd Floor (division, lighting, 3 tables,200 pcs. kiddy chairs, 2 blackboards, cabinet)

S. CARE GROUP

T. EXTENSION CHURCHES

1. Oroquieta City (Samson & Gretchen)

2. Demalco (Amar’s Family)

3. Sigatic (Dodong)

U. OTHERS

PASTOR’SOFFERING, MORIAH OFFERING, FIRST FRUIT COMMITMENT, MISSION Giving, CharityFund, LOT & BUILDING COMMITMENT,

MortuaryMembership and Funds

SPECIALASSIGNMENT (see at the bulletin)

H2O Assignment

Moderators, Flower Arrangement

Ushers, Preaching (Kids Services)

UPCOMING 2^NDMISSION ANNIVERSARIES (JAN – DEC 2012)

V. SICK ONES

Demetrio Menion (fast &complete recovery from stroke)

EddieKuizon, Perla Kuizon

W. MISSIONARIES’ PRAYER REQUESTS

1. Pstr. Greg Begafria,Sindangan, ZDN

Monthlygoal of baptism, 20 souls saved

Victoryevery church services

Churchlot – 280 sq.m (Php 280K)

2. Pstr. Bhoy Baguinda, Payao, ZSibugay

Compassionfor souls (Muslims),

Provisionfor Rappy and Riwada’s schooling

Protection,Preservation of the Land

3.Pstr. Nestor Ruffil Gurne,Talibon, Bohol

Victorychurch service, Wisdom in preaching,

Spiritualgrowth and maturity of believers, Financial provision, Pumpboat (Php 50,000)

4.Pstr. Dennis Devila,Zambowood, ZCity

Singlemotorcycle/ vehicle,

Plasticchairs (40 pcs),

Rightmeeting place for church

5.Pstr. Raffy Begafria, Tampilisan, & Liloy, ZDN

10families saved, baptized, added to the church

ChurchBuilding completion - Php 35,000.00

10plastic chairs (light green)

30kiddy chairs

Electricthermos and plastic tab

3families- Daily Bible Study (Mon to Sat)

6. Pstr. Jojo Begafria, Leon B. Postigo, ZDN

700Sq.M lot for church building(1,500 pesos)

Motorcycle(Honda 155 with cab)

15Families saved and baptized this 2012

Churchanniversary (April 24, 2012)

FinancialNeed(30,000) for church anniversary

Moresouls saved and baptized

Powerof the Holy Spirit & Wisdom

50pcs. Kiddy chairs

Unsavedloved ones

7. Pstr. Sardan Ragonio, Gutalac, ZDN

Php50,000 - Church Building (January 2012)

Unsavedlove ones, Good health,

Lovefor souls, More souls saved and baptized

Spirit-filledlife, Godly wisdom, Consistency, Diligence, Protection in all areas of ChristianLife,

10pcs Bisaya KJV Bible

20pcs. Plastic chairs (Ruby), Laptop,

20pcs. Baptist hymnals (Songbooks),

Musicalinstrument (organ)

Mountainbike

Lotworth Php 300,000

8. Pstr. Rollymar Matchon, Pasonanca, ZCity

Singlemotorcycle/ vehicle,

100pcsPlastic Chair

9. Pstr. Clemente Gumapit, Salug, ZDN

ChurchBuilding

Moresouls saved and baptized

10. Pstr. Emony Tagaan, Dumingag, ZDS

ComfortRoom construction (P 5K)

BuildingConstruction,

MotorcycleXRM 125 – Black,

SoulsSaved and baptized,

Musicalinstruments (organ & guitar), Parsonage

11. Pstr. Rolan Tigao, Ipil, Zambo. Sibugay

Motorcycle(Honda TMX 155 w/ cab),

Moresupporters for the ministry and blessings, more genuine souls be saved

Lot(1000sq. m.), 20 pcs. Kiddy chairs,

DVDPlayer, Financial for Comfort Room, Guitar, Curtain – 10 meters

Kitchenutensils

12. Pstr. Jerry Antipolo, Siayan, ZDN

2^ndMission Anniv (Feb. 28, 2012)

=Provision (P 10,000)

P500,000 Lot & Church Building

w/inthis year,

Moresouls saved and baptized,

Genuinesouls be added

Wisdomin preaching

UnsavedLove Ones, Good Health,

20kiddy chairs,

MotorSingle (Honda wave - blue)

13. Pstr. Emmanuel Candia, Mabuhay, Olotangga, ZSibugay

1ha. lot for church building, Motorcycle (XRM 125 -red), church building (P 20K)

Laptop and musical instrument (organ)

Galvanized iron (sen) 20pcs – 12 ka taas

Armak, wisdom, power, prayer life

10 families to be added

14. Pstr. Dandy Begafria, Molave, ZamboDelSur

50pcs. Plastic chairs, Multicab

20families added to the church this year

ScheduledPrayer Vigil (Every Last Wednesday), Needs: P 3,000

Fruitsin Bible studies

15. Pr. Leopoldo Yungod, Suba-nipa, Olotangga

Blessings,Good health, Daily provision,

powerand wisdom,

coveringand protection,

powerof the Holy Spirit in every service,

13ka Lakang sa pagtuon sa Pulong sa Dios,

Goal,year 2011-2012: 300 souls saved, added to church serve faithfully,

Lotworth Php 500,000.00, Church building Php 1.5 M, Armak, motorcycle Bajaj 135red,

90pcs. Green plastic chairs, 250 pcs. KJV Bible, compassion for souls, wisdom inpreaching, spiritual growth and maturity of believers, financial provision,first fruit commitment, mission offering.

16. Pstr. Deo Begafria, Barra, CDO, MisOr

30pcs.Plastic chairs, power & wisdom, Preservation-church honor & testimony,

Evangelizationof Opol & CDO,

Moresouls baptized, added to the church,

compassionfor souls,

Pastor’sprayer & fasting-victory & needs P3,000, Motor XRM125 Red/Black,

ChurchMembers & Christians – faithfulness to the Lord & Blessings

* Protection and More breakthroughs in the life and place ofour Missionaries:

17. Pstr. Rasul Maribojoc, Plaridel, Mis. Occ.

18. Pstr. Samson Turno, Imelda, ZamboSibugay

19. Pstr. Mario Montero, Dipolog City, ZDN

20. Pstr. Manuel Obut, Aloran, MisOcc

21. Pstr. Nestor Burtanog, Siay, ZamboSibugay

22. Pr. Dotdot Bocabal, Saudi Arabia

23. Pr. Toto Evardo, Malaysia

24. Pr. Olivo Clapano, Seaman Missionary

25. Pr. Janary Carreon, UK

A people rich in faith

2012-01-30T21:20:00.000-06:00

Love In Action Pastor Ken Tuck (left) is with Pastor Bhoy Baguinda and Pastor Mario Montero. These are two of many mighty men of God doing amazing work to reach the lost in the Philippines.

"Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?" - James 2:5 (KJV)

I have read that verse and heard it quoted many times, but I never really grasped what it was saying until I traveled to the Philippines with wife and mom last week.

On the Philippine island of Mindanoa live some of the most precious people in the world. It is an island of 23 million people and a place many westerners will not visit because of the Muslim influence. They are missing out on a life-changing experience.

The Christian pastors and indigenous missionaries we met were gracious, loving, caring, and full of faith. We already knew some of them before traveling to the other side of the world. This past year we have had the honor of helping them reach this island for Jesus Christ. But after meeting all of them, we fell completely in love. I am honored to call them my friends and my brothers and sisters in the Lord.

We spoke at their first pastors/missionary workers conference, and what a blessing that was for all involved. Then we preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ and saw 127 people make decisions for Jesus. Praise God! In the Cebuano language, praise God is spelled, Dalaygon ang Diyos!

By American standards, they are extremely poor. Many people live on an average wage of about $2 a day. That is hard for most Americans to understand. Even our poor are rich by those standards. While the people are poor financially, they are the richest people spiritually I have ever met. I would dare say they are among the most spiritually rich people in the world. They are "rich in faith."

I didn't hear any grumbling about not having enough. They live off the land. Many of the people raise their own fruits and vegetables and animals. They share with one another. One church received an offering of pigs and chickens from people who live in the mountains. They don't have money, so they gave their best and their best was animals.

They put their lives on the line to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They put God first, no matter the struggles. If I had to choose between being rich financially and rich spiritually, I'll take spiritually rich. Money cannot buy the faith witnessed in our friends in the Philippines.

Most of the pastors live with their families in a room at their churches. Usually it's a room in the very back or to the side. It's not uncommon for multiple families to live there. That's home and church. For some it's also school. They like to call their churches "multipurpose" buildings, and they are.

These pastors are reaching the lost daily. One told me he baptizes people every day. They do a phenomenal job of training people to go out and be missionaries in different parts of Mindanao. And they do all of this with hardly any money.

The only thing keeping a full fledged revival from happening is resources. They need KJV Bibles, hymnals, Sunday school lessons, etc., all in English. They need finances to purchase land and construct churches. Imagine having 5,000 people but only room for about 80 in a rented building. That's the case for one church in Punta.

A church in Ozamiz has rented the same building for 15 years and the need for expansion is great. A church in Sindangan has the opportunity to purchase their land and then construct a new building, but has no money to do so.

The buildings they have are very modest. Many are made out of bamboo with thatch roofs. One has a creek running under it. Actually, the pastor and his family live in a room under the small building and the creek runs under their room. They say when the heavy rains come they have a "water bed."

Land and buildings are not expensive. For example, we can construct one church for $1,300; buy a nice size lot for another church for $6,000, build a parsonage for $1,300, and another lot for $4,000. Land and buildings for two churches in larger cities would run close to $500,000 each, but that is still a great deal. For the price we spend on just one church building here in the U.S., we could build many churches in the Philippines. In some cases that would mean hundreds of churches.

Still, these great people of faith don't complain. They don't even ask. They pray and believe God will provide. God has used Love In Action to answer some of those prayers. We were able to purchase a lot for a church last year and help expand another one. In all, that cost about $2,500. We stood on that lot last week. It's a beautiful piece of land.

Together, we could be the answer to many of their prayers. I believe God blessed us in the U.S. to help spread His Word throughout the world. Never have I seen such strong faith. Never have I seen so many people open to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Never have I seen an opportunity this great to see thousands, even millions won to Jesus.

Will you join us and help us help our brothers and sisters in the Philippines reach their nation for Christ? There are approximately 65 million people there who have never heard of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Wow! What an incredible opportunity!

I will post more in the next week on how you can get involved and store up treasure in Heaven in the Philippines. This is the most exciting opportunity to win the lost I've ever been a part of. Please join us, and please pray for our brothers and sisters in the Philippines.

Salamat (thank you).

Coming home

2012-01-27T15:10:00.002-06:00

Our wonderful friends in the Philippines took us to the airport in Dipolog City and stayed until our plane took off.

This day arrived too quickly. In about three hours we will board a plane and fly back to "Sweet Home" Alabama.

We look forward to seeing our family and friends, but part of our hearts will remain here in the Philippines, specially on the island of Mindanoa.

This trip turned out better than we ever could have imagined. We saw at least 127 people accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and pastors, missionaries and other Christians encouraged and given hope to keep spreading the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To say we received a great blessing would be an understatement. As we poured ourselves out, God filled us back up with so much love through our wonderful Filipino friends.

The excitement of how open people are to the Gospel of Jesus Christ strengthened us and drew us even closer to our brothers and sisters who are reaching this nation for Jesus.

The hospitality and love we received was beyond measure. Until you experience it, it's really hard to describe. In Alabama, we have good old southern hospitality, and we do a good job of making people feel welcome. These precious people go way beyond.

We thank all of our awesome volunteers back in Dothan, Ala., for keeping all of the ministries running smoothly while we have been on the other side of the world. We have the best volunteers ever, and once again all of you proved it.

There has been a lot of prayers for us on this trip, and we cannot thank all of you enough. We felt the prayers as God gave us strength and kept energizing us.

It's pretty cool seeing God use Love In Action at the same time in different parts of the world. That was a prayer of ours 12 years ago when this ministry began, and to see it come to fruition is outstanding, and to God be all the glory.

We will arrive back home Saturday evening (Sunday morning for the Philippines). It will take a couple of days to recover, so we will be back up and going on Tuesday. We are looking forward to seeing everyone at Celebrate Recovery Inside.

We have a lot of work for the Lord to do in Dothan and the Philippines, and we thank God for blessing us with all of these opportunities. There are many people to reach with the Gospel of Jesus Christ in both the U.S. and the Philippines, and with all of us working together as the Body of Christ, through the power of God, we can do it.

Salamat (thank you) to all of our Filipino family. We love you all and look forward to seeing you again in 2013. To all of our American family, we love you and will see you soon.

127 saved in the Philippines!

2012-01-25T19:01:00.002-06:00

A group photo with the 5th Infantry Battalion in Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur.

I won't bury the lead to this blog. This week we have seen 127 people in the Philippines accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and we have seen pastors, missionaries and their wives encouraged. This trip has been the most incredible, beautiful and awesome experience of our lives.

Today will be my last day of preaching on this trip as we visit Punta, Philippines, to preach at Pastor Mario Montero's church. It will be my 13th sermon in five days. I've never preached that much, but I have loved every moment of it. I can't wait to do it again.

The people here are so hungry for and open to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have even seen seven Muslims accept Jesus. Do you realize how huge that is? That is an incredible decision on their part, and we praise God. We have seen 93 Philippine soldiers accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, including a colonel. God has given us great favor with the Philippine Army as we have preached at four different Army camps.

It was so cool how we did it. Pastor Jun Begafria is a pastor of Shiloh Bible Baptist Church in Ozamiz City, and he is very well respected by the military as he has led Bible studies and been a counselor for them. We drove up to the Army camps, he showed them his ID and they let us in. Then Martha and Mama shared their testimonies. The soldiers were amazed at the joy they had, and couldn't believe Mama was 76 years old traveling all the way to the Philippines to tell them about Jesus. People don't live that long over here.

I preached, and then Pastor Jun would recap and share some more and then lead the soldiers in a prayer of repentance.

Martha said something that caused a high-ranking military official to accept Christ. She said, "If you have never accepted Jesus, give him a try." Those words "give Jesus a try" is what touched his heart. Pastor Jun received a text later in the day that the high-ranking official called his wife and told her that he gave Jesus a try and it works! He noticed a peace He never felt before. Praise God! Imagine how many people God will use that man to reach. To God be all the glory!

Then we did the same format in Ozamiz City at a restaurant where students from the university met us. The place was packed. A couple of the professors go to Pastor Jun's church and they invited the students to come here the Americans.

Glory be to God, 31 young people gave their lives to Jesus! Praise God! The students who were already Christians immediately sat down with the new believers to share scripture and answer questions. Discipleship began immediately.

We saw that Monday night as well at the evangelistic service at Shiloh Bible Baptist Church in Sindangan. I was excited Pastor Greg Begafria asked me to preach that service. It was a great time with beautiful singing from the church choir and the congregation. Ten people gave their hearts to Jesus that night, and immediately people sat down with the new believers to share scripture and answer questions.

Pastor Greg and his precious wife Lilia were so excited that the next door neighbor to the church accepted Jesus that night. They had invited her to church a number of times, but that was the first service she attended. To God be the glory.

The Pastors/Missionary Workers conference was wonderful. The theme was John 4:35, "Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest." I shared on that topic and on the topic of discipleship. But the biggest message I wanted to get across to them was encouragement, to lift them up and show them the great men and women of faith they are. And they are amazing as they live day-by-day with no assurance of any provision of any kind - food, money, clothing, etc. - except what God provides on a daily basis. That's faith.

I give God all the praise as I've already heard about two pastors who were on the verge of quitting because of frustration, burdens of financial, physical, and mental stress that depleted them spiritually as well. But at the end of the conference they were refreshed, refocused and excited to be in the ministry. Praise God!

Martha and Mama, or as they call her here, "Mama Susie," taught the women at the conference and did a great job. The women were really encouraged and inspired. One of the young women told Mama that she really inspires the young people.

God is doing a great work here in the Philippines. It's an amazing work as the people are hungry for and open to the Gospel of Jesus Christ like I've never seen before. The pastors and indigenous missionaries are doing a great work, and we are gong to continue to support them and be involved.

Busy schedule, please pray

2012-01-23T16:51:00.000-06:00

Please keep praying for the conference and for Martha, Mamaand me. Pray for safe travels, strength, endurance and for God to give us thewords to say as we serve Jesus here in the Philippines.

Our schedule is about to get even busier. Today (Tuesday),Martha and Mama will both speak to the pastors and missionaries wives and Iwill speak twice. Then we will travel five hours to Ozmas City and spend thenight. That is where Pastor Jun Begafria’s church is located. He is the seniorpastor of the group of churches that make up the Shiloh Bible Baptist Churchfamily.

Early Wednesday morning, I will preach there, then we willdrive about six hours to Salug where I will preach an afternoon service at PastorClemente’s church. There we will also get to see the land Love In Action helpedpurchase for Pastor Clemente’s church to build a church building. They do nothave the funds yet, at least they have the land. That’s a great start.

Then we will travel back to Sindangan and spend the night.Thursday morning we will drive two hours to Punta, which is just outside ofDipolog City.I will preach that afternoon at Pastor Mario Montero’s church. Wewill spend the night in Dipolog City Thursday night, and fly to Manila fromDipolog to begin our journey back home Friday morning.

We will spend the night in Manila on Friday, so pray for agood night’s rest as we begin our 18 hours in the air trip back to AtlantaSaturday morning . We will have a 2.5 hour layover in Tokyo, Japan. Once inAtlanta it will be just a 3.5 hour drive back to Sweet Home Alabama.

Though we will be glad to be back home with family andfriends, we are going to miss the Philippines. We have totally fallen in lovewith the people here. We are thankful for our new brothers, sisters, andfriends, and we are thankful that we have already begun planning for our nexttrip here in 2013. Praise God!

Salvation + encouragement = Great first day of conference

2012-01-23T15:59:00.003-06:00

Ken prays for a pastor during the first day of the Pastors/Missionary Workers Conference in Sindangan, Phillipines.

The first day for the Pastors/Missionary Workers Conferenceat Shiloh Bible Baptist Church in Sindangan, Philippines, was a great success.As the pastors say here, “Jesus won the victory Monday.”

The pastors and missionaries, 35 in all, traveled from acrossthe province of Mindanao and other provinces of the Philippines. Some more weretraveling Monday night to be here for the second and final day of theconference.

What an honor and a joy to meet all of these great men of God.I told them they were special and unique people for they have sacrificedeverything for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. None of them have mega churches likethere are in the U.S. None of them have wealthy church members who can makelarge donations to help give them a nice building and a salary where they canlive comfortable or even semi-comfortable lives. They struggle financiallyday-by-day trusting God for provision. They are great men of faith, though attimes they don’t see that in themselves. I assured them that they are.

I was originally scheduled to be the second speaker onMonday, but they asked if I would mind being the first. Of course that was finewith me. I told Pastor Greg Begafria and Jun Begafria, senior pastor of theSBBC family of churches, that I was there to serve.

The theme of the conference is John 4:35, “Lift up youreyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.” That’s whatI preached on and encouraged and exhorted them to keep fighting the good fightno matter how tough it gets, because great is their reward in Heaven. PastorGreg told me to preach as long as the Holy Spirit led, and I ended up preachingfor 1.5 hours.

Many of the pastors and missionaries came up front forprayer at the end of the service. It was emotional seeing these men and womenpressing in to ask God for even more of Him in their lives and to work evenharder to advance His kingdom.

I asked Pastor Jun, how could they work even harder? To me,they are the hardest working pastors and missionaries I know. They work nonstoptelling people in their villages, towns and cities about Jesus and ministeringto the needs of the people in their churches. Martha, Mama and I have said wedon’t think they ever sleep. Of course they do, but they are nonstop in theirservice of the Lord.

Then Pastor Jun preached. What a great man of God he is, anda tremendous leader. He preached about the blessing God is sending to those wholay it all on the line for Jesus. His main scripture was out of Genesischapters 43 and 45 when Joseph blessed Benjamin.

Then the evening service was an evangelistic service wherePastor Greg, his wife Lilia, and others in their congregation invited peoplefrom the community to church. I was very honored to preach that service. Ipreached the simple message of Jesus Christ crucified and risen from the dead.And, I also encouraged the believers to share Jesus with others through actionsand words.

I asked Pastor Greg to give the altar call for salvation,and to God be all the glory, seven to 10 people accepted Jesus as their Lordand Savior, including a woman who lives next door to the church. Pastor Gregand Lilia were so excited. He said they had invited the woman to church manytimes, but she never came until last night. God answered their prayers for her.Now she is saved and I pray will be a faithful church member.

Throughout the conference we have enjoyed beautiful singing.The choir here in Sindangan has such beautiful voices. There was a guest choiralso from Ozamiz City where Pastor Jun serves, and they were amazing as well.We also enjoyed a musical special as two young people played the violin,another a guitar and a flute.

It was a wonderful first day of the conference. Theservices, the food and the fellowship were excellent. These pastors are hungryfor teaching. They greatly desire to see true revival start in their communitiesand country. I believe God will use this first-ever pastors/missionariesconference to provide the spark for that revival.

Please continue praying for the conference, and especiallythe pastors, missionaries and their families.

Sweet Sunday services

2012-01-22T06:42:00.000-06:00

Ken preaching the Sunday morning service at Shiloh Bible Baptist Church in Sindangan, Philippines.

Today marked the first time I’ve ever preached in a countryoutside of the United States of America, and I will never forget it.

What an honor and privilege it was to preach two servicestoday at Shiloh Bible Baptist Church in Sindangan, Philippines. It was awonderful day with great music and fellowship.

One thing I want you to understand is people here do nothave the resources that we are blessed with in the U.S. These precious peopleare very poor, but they are very rich spiritually. What they have, they give tothe Lord. We have much to learn from our Filipino brothers and sisters. Theytruly understand that when God is all you have, then you have everything youneed.

Some of the members of the church live in the mountains andhave to travel through the forest and across a river to make it to church. Theydon’t have cars and trucks like we have in America. It’s not a matter ofconvenience. It’s the fact they want to be in church worshiping Jesus andlearning His Word.

We sang hymns like many churches in the U.S. do. Then PastorGreg Begafaria’s brother, Raffy Begafaria, taught Sunday School. While Icouldn’t understand everything he said, I understood enough to get a lot out ofit. Here in the Philippines, there are many different dialects, so from regionto region a different language is spoken. However, they mix English with theirwords. Bro. Raffy is a very good teacher.

The church service began with more hymns and then theirchoir sang a special, “Thank You for Giving to the Lord.” Martha, Mama and Icried throughout their singing. They have such beautiful voices, singing fromtheir hearts.

Then I preached the morning service. I talked about Jesusand how it is of the utmost importance that we place all of our trust in Him,and then discussed some ways that God instructs us how to live. When PastorGreg gave the altar, call people flocked to the front and got on their kneesand prayed. I could hear some literally crying out to God. My prayer was forGod to hear their cries, and I know He did.

Then we had lunch and fellowship at church. People bringfood and they eat and fellowship together each Sunday. If you had to walk ortravel from the mountains and other places to get to church, you would reallyappreciate being able to stay afterward for a good meal.

All of the food was delicious. I can’t pronounce or spellhardly any of it, but I sure could eat it. We haven’t had anything that wasn’tdelicious over here.

Then we had time to play with some of the children, whichwas fun. Most of them speak in their native language, but one thing thattranslates into any language is laughter, and they laughed and laughed as weplayed with them.

Instead of night services on Sunday, they have an afternoonservice, so people can make it back to their homes before night and before itrains.

In the afternoon I preached on the subject of faith and reallyencouraged them to have total faith in God that He would provide the money topurchase the land their church sits on and to build a new building. I told themthat we understand renting buildings, and then told them how we rented abuilding and it was sold and we lost our rent. But, the good news was Godprovided a better building and one that is ours now.

A big difference about their rent compared to ours is PastorGreg and his family live at the church. There is a bedroom in the back of thechurch and that is their home. If they lost their rent like we did, not onlywould they lose their church, but Pastor Greg and his family would be homeless.

That’s a constant worry to many of the pastors here, andsome landlords hold that over their heads. But I know the work they do for theLord and have witnessed it firsthand. I know God will touch someone’s or somepeople’s hearts to give the $6,000 U.S. dollars to purchase the land to keepPastor Greg and his family and church safe and secure.

One of my prayers was that the people could understand me,that God would give them hears to hear and understand what I said. He answeredthat prayer. I could tell they understood, and many shouted “Amen!” If I saw apuzzled look, I would further explain what I was saying. Yes, I explained what“y’all” meant too.

I could see some crying at times as the Holy Ghost touchedtheir hearts. They let me know that the messages encouraged them. I believethat is one of my main tasks here. They need great encouragement. These pastorsand missionaries are truly on the frontlines, and they have sacrificedeverything to tell others about Jesus. And those they serve literally liveday-to-day. But they love God, and I know He is going to do even greater thingshere in Sindangan and throughout the Philippines.

It was indeed a great honor to preach in Pastor Greg’spulpit. Now it’s time for the conference. Pastors and missionaries are arrivingtonight. It’s going to be a great two days. Praise God!

God bless the children

2012-01-21T08:29:00.000-06:00

Mama Tuck reading the Bible story about Zacchaeus to more than 160 children today in Sindangan, Philippines.

It felt like we are at home in Dothan today ministering topeople as we served with our friends at Shiloh Bible Baptist Church inSindangan, Philippines, to minister to the spiritual and physical needs ofpeople in an extremely poor area.

Our first day of ministering in the Philippines was a hugesuccess as we ministered to more than 160 children. Pastor Greg and LiliaBegafria started ministering to children in these extremely impoverished areasof Sindangan a number of years ago. At that time it was just the two of them.Today, many members of their church are following their example and ministeringthe love of Jesus Christ to the children.

It is easy to see they are doing a great work with thechildren. We listened to them sing songs to the Lord and recite 10 Bible versesthey have memorized. The Begafrias and their church members are wonderfulpeople doing amazing ministry in Sindangan.

Mama Tuck was in her element today as she read a Bible storyabout Zacchaeus to all of the children, and then she led them in singing.Sister Lilia translated and they all sang in Filipino. It was awesome! It wasso neat watching the Holy Spirit at work.

The children were all seated around the ministry area. Themore Mama read, the more children came forward to get closer to her so theycould hear every word.

I thank God for my Mom. Tears filled my eyes as I watchedher read to the children. She is such an awesome woman of God who touches morelives than she will ever know. From the Philippines to Dothan, Alabama,everyone loves Mama Tuck.

The children’s laughter filled the air all day long. It wasone of the most beautiful sounds I’ve ever heard. You have to understand, thisis a Third World nation, and these are among the poorest of the poor. But bythe smiles on the people’s faces you would think they are among the richest.And they are, spiritually. “Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyesof the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised thosewho love him?” – James 2:5 (NIV)

We helped serve the delicious lunch the church prepared forthe children. The extra blessing about that is Love In Action sends $140 amonth to help feed all of these children, so to be here to help serve thechildren was wonderful. We need more donations for this need. There are a lotmore children we need to help Pastor Greg and Sis. Lilia reach. Remember, thisIs a very poor area of the Philippines, and therefore the people of this churchare very poor with very limited resources. Hundreds of children are acceptingJesus as their Lord and Savior, so it is a great investment.

It was an extra special day for the children as presentswere given to each one. Oh, to see them playing afterward with their gifts wasso much fun. It was like Christmas in January.

Yes, it was an amazing day. Words and photos cannot accuratelydescribe it. We thank God for the awesome work He is doing here in Sindangan,and it is such an honor and so humbling to be part of it.

Happy Birthday Martha!

2012-01-21T08:14:00.001-06:00

Martha with her beautiful birthday plaque and flowers given to her by Pastor Greg and Lilia Begafria and Shiloh Bible Baptist Church in Sindangan, Philippines.

I prayed this morning that God would give Martha the bestbirthday ever. He answered that prayer.

Martha’s birthday was today, Saturday, Jan. 21, and she saidshe couldn’t think of a better way to spend it than ministering to children atthe church’s Children’s Fair here in Sindangan, Philippines. I thank God for mygodly, sweet and beautiful wife. I am very proud of her and love hertremendously.

I had emailed Pastor Greg Begafria, who is our host pastorfor this week of ministry here in the Philippines, and mentioned that Marthawas looking forward to spending her birthday ministering to the children. He showedhis wife, Lilia, that email and they planned several surprises for Martha.

It started first thing this morning when they arrived withroses and flowers for Martha, and with a decorative plaque that says “HappyBirthday Martha.” Some of the women of the church also wrote Bible scriptureand signed it. It is beautiful … all handmade, including the frame it is in.

Then more surprises came at lunch as all of the childrensang Happy Birthday to Martha. There were more than 160 children at theChildren’s Fair this morning, plus adults, and everyone was singing. It wasbeautiful, and of course, Martha cried. The children had been practicing thesong, because they wanted to give their best to Martha.

As the song ended, Sister Lilia presented Martha with abeautiful birthday cake. I might add that it was delicious as well.

God answered my prayer and gave my precious wife the bestbirthday. I thank God and the wonderful people here in Sindangan for makingthis such a special day for her.

An incredible welcome

2012-01-20T18:25:00.004-06:00

To say we were totally blown away by the welcome we receivedin Dipolog City, Philippines, would be an understatement. Wow, from the secondwe stepped off the plane we knew we were welcome.

Pastor Greg Begafria, his wife and children and many otherpastors and missionaries and family members from the family of churches calledShiloh Bible Baptist Church were standing there waving and smiling holding asign that read “Welcome Love In Action Ministries/Children’s Fair.”

Then was received many hugs and handshakes. The childrentook our hands and placed the back of our hands on their foreheads. That’s howthey show respect to their elders.

It was a grand welcome and one we have been looking forwardto. We loved these precious people before we met them. Love In Action has beenable to do a lot of work in the Philippines by supporting the work of theseindigenous pastors and missionaries. Now, to finally meet them face-to-face isincredible.

They would not let us pick up our bags and suitcases. Theystarted serving us immediately, which is very humbling. Then after photos andsome talking, we all piled in vehicles and drove two hours to Sindangan wherePastor Greg, his wife and children and church are hosting the conference andchildren’s fair they invited us to speak at.

Once at the church, they showed us around and then broughtout the food. They grilled fish and served it with rice and wonderful freshlypicked fruit.

They knew we were exhausted, so after talking some more theytook us to our hotel and showed us to our room. After a few minutes we noticedthe a/c wasn’t working very well, so I talked with the hotel folks and theycame to check on it. They couldn’t fix it, so they moved us to another roomwhere the a/c works very well.

I called Pastor Greg to let him know we changed rooms. Aboutfive minutes later there was a knock on our door. It was Pastor Greg and hiswife making sure everything was OK. Wow! We consider ourselves pretty goodservants of the Lord, but these precious people have already shown us we have along ways to go to become as humble and wonderful servants as they are. Theytruly take Jesus at His word when he says the greatest among us are those whoserve.

By His description, these Filipinos are great, and we definitelyagree with our Savior.

Then this morning Pastor Greg and his wife and another ladyfrom church came to bring Martha roses, flowers and a beautiful plaque theymade themselves for her birthday. They even made the picture frame it is in. Ofcourse Martha had tears in her eyes as she graciously accepted their gifts.They said the children were practicing singing happy birthday to Martha, sothey can sing it to her later this morning.

It is such a privilege and very humbling to be here inSindangan serving Jesus with our Filipino brothers and sister.

A divine encounter

2012-01-20T17:07:00.005-06:00

Have you ever met someone and afterward realized it wasn’tby chance, but God set it all up? That happened to me about 35,000 feet in theair on our way to Tokyo, en route to the Philippines.

I had gotten up to walk around and stretch out and walked tothe back of the plan. There I met a man named Jim. We asked the normalquestions: Where are you from? Where are you going? Jim lives in South Carolinawith his wife of 44 years. He and his wife have moved 42 times over those yearsas he served in the U.S. military. Now retired, he and his wife were travelingto China to visit their daughter and her family.

I told him about our mission trip to the Philippines. He wasexcited about that as he too is a Christians. As he talked, I knew God wasspeaking through him to encourage me, confirm and reaffirm why we were on thistrip.

Jim asked if we build churches in the Philippines. I saidnot yet, but that was one of our prayers and goals. We want to help theindigenous pastors and missionaries plant churches and support their work.

He then gave me this wonderful analogy. Jim asked, does ababy have anything to do with being born? Martha, Mom and I all said, no. Hesaid right, a seed is planted and a baby is conceived. Then the baby is bornand the parents nurture the child. Then he looked me in the eyes and said,“That’s all you have to do.”

Jim said just preach the simple, but powerful message ofJesus Christ crucified and raised again from the dead for the forgiveness ofsins and eternal life. Tell the people about Jesus (plant the seed) and let theHoly Ghost do the rest. He said plant churches in the Philippines and we willhave an untold harvest waiting for us in Heaven.

Praise God! I was such a simple, but powerful word from aman with great wisdom.

He also said that when the Lord opens the door, run throughit as fast as we can. Then he warned, when God closes a door then it is time toleave.

I’ll always remember that talk with Jim, and what made iteven more powerful was as I returned to my seat I opened the Bible to continue reading.I was in the Book of Acts and the next scripture I read was Acts 10:34-48. TheApostle Peter was speaking to the Gentiles the simple, but powerful message ofJesus Christ crucified and raised from the dead for the remission of sins.Exactly what Jim was telling us.

God spoke to me through this kind gentleman and thenreaffirmed it through His Word. Now we know without a doubt that we will plantchurches in the Philippines and not only continue the work we have been doingwith our brothers and sisters here for the past year, but do even more. We are supposedto be here.

Thank you God for speaking to your humble servant 35,000miles above the earth you created. I’m looking forward to that day when I willtake that glorious trip even higher than that to meet my Lord and Saviorface-to-face. That’s a promise God gives to everyone who believes and confessesthat Jesus is their Lord and Savior.

Jesus died for all of us. Then God raised Him from the graveon the third day. Accept what Jesus did on the cross. Believe God raised Him fromthe grave. Confess your sins to Jesus and asked Him to forgive and save you.Now, confess that Jesus is your Lord and Savior. It’s that simple, and thatpowerful.

Our trip to Philippines

2012-01-20T16:50:00.004-06:00

Our first day in the Philippines was amazing. The peoplehere are so friendly and hospitable. We are accustomed to “SouthernHospitality” in Alabama, but Filipinos take it several steps higher.

Our trip here to Sindangan was very long. All total, about20 hours of flying, nearly 16 hours of layovers, and a two-hour drive down thebeautiful eastern coast of the Philippines island of Mindanao, which is thesecond largest island in the Philippines, populated by more than 23 millionpeople.

The trip was long, but a very good one. Delta did anoutstanding job, as did Philippines Airlines. We met some great people on theplane, including another group of Americans going to a different island on thePhilippines to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is their sixth trip.

While waiting in Manila for our connecting flight to DipologCity, we met some wonderful people. We met Pastor Aries and Bro. Armand, whoserve the Lord in the Manila area. Our good friend Micah Lewter of HomegrownHarvesters knows these two brothers and was hoping we would meet them. We did,at 1 a.m. Instead of sleeping, these two brothers traveled about an hour tomeet us. We talked and had a good time of prayer. They are great men doinggreat work for the Lord in a very challenging area. We were also able to givePastor Aries a study Bible that Micah had mailed us to bring to thePhilippines. He was very appreciative. Thanks Micah! And thanks Micah forintroducing us to all of these wonderful brothers and sisters in the Lord herein the Philippines.

We then met a womannamed Rose. She is a native of the Philippines, but lives in Indiana, nearIllinois and Chicago. She was very energetic and kept us going during the earlymorning hours. She told us a lot about the Philippines and she was amazed atwhat we were coming here to do. We told her we love our Lord and were justdoing His work by the example He gave us. Rose fell in love with Mama likeeveryone does. She called her “Mamasee.”

Then we met two indigenous missionaries to the Philippines.Anna is a medical missionary and Joy is a missionary who teaches the Word ofGod to those who do not know Jesus. They were fascinating to talk with andlisten to their stories and heart’s desires. We enjoyed several different timesof prayer with them.

Then, when we landed in Dipolog City we were greeted by morethan 30 men, women and children from the Shiloh Bible Baptist Church family.Wow! That blew us away; more on that in my next blog.

So it was a long trip with hardly any sleep along the way,but it was a good journey and one we are very thankful to have made. Everyonewe met was amazed at Mama’s ability to travel that far. They just don’t know myMama. And for anyone back home wondering, she’s doing great.

Philippines bound

2012-01-18T10:00:00.000-06:00

A year ago I'd never been off the North American continent. Then, three months ago I was in the South American country of Ecuador, and now I'm on my way to the Asian country of the Philippines.

I never gave too much thought about traveling outside of the U.S. and Canada, but then God put it on my heart to go to different countries. I told Him, wherever He leads I'll go.

In October it was to Shell, Ecuador to work with orphans at Casa de Fe and do street ministry in Puyo. Now, I'm on my way to the Philippines with my wife and mom. How awesome is that? Traveling to the other side of the world with my wife and mom to preach and teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I thank God for this awesome opportunity.

Jesus Christ gave His disciples the Great Commission before ascending into Heaven. His Great Commission is for all of us, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." - Matthew 28:18-20 (KJV)

Jesus further drives home His point in Acts as the very last statement He tells His disciples before ascending to Heaven is, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” - Acts 1:8 (NLT)

While the majority of our ministry is done locally in Dothan, Ala., God has opened doors for Love In Action to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ in other U.S. cities and throughout the world. Whether it is Atlanta, Ga., Baton Rouge, La., New York City, Memphis, TN, Los Angeles, Shell, Ecuador, or Sindangan, Philippines, Love In Action is obeying our Lord and Savior by telling the world about Him.

Please keep us in your prayers. We are praying for hundreds of souls to be saved, people healed and delivered, and pastors and missionaries encouraged.

Our volunteers are the best!

2012-01-17T22:09:00.000-06:00

People often hear me say that our volunteers at Love In Action are the best, and I mean it. They give of themselves to serve the homeless and needy, and they do it with so much love.

Our volunteers are a major reason why Martha and I can travel to other cities and other countries to minister the Gospel of Jesus Christ to others. You might remember that back in October, not only did Martha and I travel to Ecuador, but our two Celebrate Recovery Inside directors went too. And, the ministry in Dothan didn't miss a beat, because of our awesome volunteers. They make it happen.

Love In Action's ministry in Dothan will continue as usual while Martha, Mama Tuck and I are in the Philippines. We have tremendous ministry leaders and volunteers who do a great job each week. We held a volunteers meeting Monday night and the room was filled with our awesome volunteers. We talked about what God accomplished through each one of them and Love In Action in 2011. Check it out and praise God with us for the great things He has done:

- Many people accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior!
- We were a ministry without a home entering 2011, but we purchased a building, renovated it and moved into the new Love In Action Ministry Center. Now we have a permanent home. Praise God!
- We moved Celebrate Recovery Inside and Bible study back home to our ministry center after months of moving around from place to place
- Moved the LIA Health Clinic for the Homeless to the LIA Ministry Center.
- Began four new ministries: Lighthouse Cafe coffee house, Laundry Ministry, Shower Ministry, and Adopt-A-Block.
- Strengthen the following ministries: clothing, food pantry, food distribution, and hygiene supplies distribution.

Each of you who volunteer, pray and financially support Love In Action were a huge part of everything that was accomplished in 2011. We couldn't have done all of this without you. Thank you so much for your support and desire to show the "least of these" the love of Jesus Christ.

Please continue supporting us and encourage others to join you in supporting Love In Action in 2012. We've already had a great start to the New Year, and it's only going to get better. We are praying that more souls will be saved this year than ever before. We are also praying for God to continue to strengthen each ministry that we do and further expand Love In Action according to His perfect will and purpose throughout this year.

We thank each of you once again. We are like Paul, Silas and Timothy were in their letter to the church of Thessalonica, "We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly. As we pray to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the enduring hope you have because of our Lord Jesus Christ." - 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 (NLT)

'Wake up and look around'

2011-12-13T09:54:00.000-06:00

“Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.” - John 4:35 (KJV)

I like the way the New Living Translation writes these words of Jesus, " But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest."

Jesus was telling His disciples, and He is telling us today, "Wake up, open your eyes; there are hurting and lost people all around you. Go tell them I love them and bring them into My kingdom."

Take a quick survey of what you are doing with your time. How much do you pray? Do you read God's Word? If so, how often? Daily? Weekly? Monthly? How much time do you spend watching TV? Do you tell anyone about Jesus? Do you show His love to others through your actions? Do you do more for yourself or for others? This Christmas season, are you focused more on gifts or on The Gift, who is the One we celebrate?

How did your survey turn out? This blog post isn't meant to condemn anyone, it's to help all of us do what Jesus tells us in John 4:35, "Wake up and look around." It's so important to heed His words. People are dying every day. Eternity is at stake. When we die we will either go to Heaven or Hell, both are real places. Heaven is eternity with God our Father. Hell is total separation from God our Father forever. We can make a difference in a person's eternity by showing the love of Jesus to them, and by sharing with them what Jesus has done in our lives.

Action speaks louder than words, though. I like the way St. Francis of Assisi said it, "Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words."

Let's be sure we are doing that. Let's don't waste time by getting caught up in worldly activities. Now, events and hobbies aren't bad in and of themselves. The problem is when they dominate our thoughts and time.

I encourage you to read John 4 today. Read how Jesus broke down walls by talking with a Samaritan. See how he reached out to the woman and changed her eternal destination. See how He carried out His own "Great Commission" (Matthew 28:19-20) by going and reaching the people and then teaching them. Read how He teaches His disciples and explains things to them in John 4:34-38.

Jesus tells them that He receives His spiritual nourishment from doing the will of the Father; by finishing the work that the Father has given Him. We must do the same. Let's follow His example. God has given each of us a job to do. We receive joy and gain strength through doing it. So, let's do it, and spend our time "doing the will of God."

This is why we do what we do

2011-12-04T21:35:00.000-06:00

This afternoon showed me why we do what we do with our Adopt-A-Block program at Love In Action.

On Sundays after church, we deliver bread to people throughout the neighborhood where we do our weekly Saturday Adopt-A-Block outreach. On our last stop, we visited Mr. Freddie. He's an elderly man missing one of his feet. He spends most of his time on the couch or in his wheel chair.

We first met him on Thanksgiving Day as volunteers delivered dinner throughout the neighborhood. The next two weeks we have gone back to clean up and do repairs on his house and take him more food.

Today when Martha, Shaun and I arrived, he just smiled at us, and then started crying. He said, "Y'all are so good to me. The Lord is so good. Everything y'all been doing for me ... I can't even talk about it without crying. It makes me feel so good."

Praise God! I told him that's Jesus showing His love for him and smiling upon him. Mr. Freddie said, "God is good isn't He."

He looked at Shaun and talked about Thanksgiving Day as Shaun was one of the volunteers who brought dinner to Mr. Freddie. A woman in the neighborhood told us about him and encouraged us to take him dinner. Mr. Freddie said he sure was glad she did that.

He told us that in all of the years he has lived at his house in downtown Dothan, nobody has ever given him anything. He said they have only taken from him.

Mr. Freddie is a precious man. It is so good to see him smile and talk about the goodness of God.

I asked him if he had ever asked Jesus into his heart to be his Lord and Savior. He said yes, he did years ago. Then I asked if we could pray before we left, and he said yes, and then he prayed. It was such a wonderful prayer. He thanked God for everything. He cried tears of joy as he prayed.

We left praising God. Such an awesome display of God's love and someone being so thankful for it.

Please keep our Adopt-A-Block outreach and all of our ministries lifted up in your prayers. God is doing an amazing work. We have recently seen seven people make decisions for Jesus. Praise God! Lives are being changed by the love and power of God. It is wonderful to see and humbling to be part of it.

Thank you for your prayers, financial support, and volunteering. Together, we are making a difference for the glory of God.

Making a difference

2011-11-27T22:03:00.000-06:00

Making a difference in people's lives is something we should all strive to do. Making that difference an eternal one is what we should all be doing. As a child of God, we can make an eternal difference through the power of God working within us.

How do we do that? It's pretty easy. God has given us all a cause. All we have to do is do it. I like how Jesus puts it in Luke 2:49, "Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” That's it! We must be about our Father's business.

At Love In Action our cause is to reach the homeless and needy with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We do that through acts of compassion. Our newest outreach to show the love of Jesus to people is Adopt-A-Block. This is a powerful weekly outreach and my favorite because we are out in the neighborhood taking Jesus to the people, not waiting for them to come to a building.

In just two weeks, we are already seeing a change in the community. One woman came to our Thanksgiving Day lunch and accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior. People are accepting our offers of prayers. Today, a young man asked one of our volunteers to tell him more about Jesus. People's needs are being met.

We have raked three yards, worked on two roofs to stop leaks, repaired a screen door and a back door, repaired a toilet and put light bulbs in a single woman's house and a house of an elderly man.

We met an elderly man who is a disabled veteran on Thanksgiving Day. Some of our volunteers knocked on his door and entered when he said to come in. They saw a man in a wheel chair with his left leg propped up. He doesn't have a left foot. What else they quickly discovered was the horrendous conditions he lived in. His house probably hadn't been cleaned in years. Cluttered, sticky ... you pick the adjective and that's what it looked and smelled like.

We went back on Saturday during Adopt-A-Block and a team of volunteers went to work. Bags were filled with trash and taken to the street. Floors, walls, cabinets, tub and toilet were scrubbed. His yard was raked. He was all smiles at the end of the day. He kept saying, "Thank You Jesus." We aren't finished at his house. There is plenty more to do.

Another part of Adopt-A-Block is picking up trash throughout the neighborhood. We were on a street yesterday where there were two vacant lots filled with trash. I told a woman we were going to clean up that lot. She was so thankful. She said the people who live on that street had contacted the city to clean up those lots. I told her we were doing it, and people on that street thanked us as they saw the cleaned lots.

Making a person's house more livable, cleaning neighborhoods and fixing leaky roofs are all acts of compassion that shows the love of Jesus Christ. We are planting and watering seeds of God's love. We will see a bountiful harvest reaped. This is just the beginning. It's exciting watching God transform lives and entire neighborhoods.

Please keep Adopt-A-Block in your prayers, and please continue to financially support Love In Action to help us help those in need

A very happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T22:12:00.000-06:00

Today's Love In Action Thanksgiving outreach was as beautiful as the blue skies and bright sunshine overhead. More than 70 volunteers selflessly gave of their time to serve about 300 plates of juicy turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce and all the trimmings.

The recipients were the homeless and needy in downtown Dothan, Ala. The love of God was easily seen in each smile and heard in every kind word of the volunteers. The sparkle in the eyes of the needy and their expressions of gratitude let us know those we served were indeed thankful on this Thanksgiving Day.

Our cooking team began the day early at 5:30 at the First United Methodist Church in Dothan. We thank the good people at First UMC for allowing us to use their kitchen to prepare the meal. More volunteers came later in the morning to put all of the plates together, then load them in the back of pick up trucks to be transported to the Love In Action Ministry Center.

More volunteers at the ministry center unloaded the plates and set them up inside ready to be served. Ice was placed in cups and tea was poured. I greeted the crowd and shared some Bible verses about being thankful, then shared about the importance of accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

Pastor Dwight Deal then shared some Bible verses, thanked the volunteers and prayed over the meal. Dwight is a Love In Action board member, and he organized and led the cooking efforts. Dwight excels in logistics.

Then lunch was served and everyone enjoyed it, not only the food, but the fellowship as well.

It was during lunch that one of our volunteers introduced me to one of our guests. A thin, frail woman talked about some issues in her life. We talked for a little while, then I asked if she had a relationship with Jesus; was He her Lord and Savior? She couldn't say yes. She said she went to church. I told her a lot of people go to church, but not everyone has a relationship with Jesus.

I told her I was not going to pressure her, but I wanted her to know if she wanted to make sure Jesus was her Lord and Savior, I would be more than happy to pray with her. She said, "Yes, let's pray," but she wanted to go into the sanctuary. I grabbed Dwight and his wife Vickie as we walked into the sanctuary and we prayed with her. She gave her life to Jesus and also asked for prayer for her family. Praise God! That is what it is all about. Another soul whose eternity completely changed today. She has the assurance of everlasting life with God now. She lives in our Adopt-A-Block area, so we will be able to easily follow up with her. She also said she will be coming to the LIA Ministry Center on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

After the crowd thinned out we hit the streets with plates of food. Our first stop was at a group of apartments where mostly Hispanics live. They are thankful, and seemed a bit surprised that we came to serve them.

Then we went into the neighborhood where we started our Adopt-A-Block outreach. To say the people were happy to see us would be an understatement.

Some of our volunteers visited a house where a man was sitting in a chair with his footless leg propped up. He said he had prayed and hoped someone would bring him food today. God answered his prayer. Praise God! One after another said how they had hoped someone would bring them dinner today. See, the people in this neighborhood are extremely poor. Most couldn't afford to buy food for a big meal.

What a blessing it is to be a blessing, and I can't thank God enough for the honor to serve Him.

Many people helped with this incredible outreach. Martha and I thank all of you ... those who prayed, gave financially, and volunteered. As the Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:16, we also, "... have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers."

It was indeed a very happy Thanksgiving.

Adopt-A-Block underway

2011-11-20T18:56:00.000-06:00

The streets highlighted and those inside that area are the streets where we are conducting Adopt-A-Block.

Love In Action spreads the Gospel of Jesus Christ through acts of compassion, and yesterday we started a new outreach to further our mission. With 18 volunteers, we started our Adopt-A-Block outreach.

This is an outreach we will do every Saturday in the neighborhood surrounding the Love In Action Ministry Center in downtown Dothan. It is an impoverished neighborhood that has pretty much been written off by most people in Dothan. God hasn't forgotten about the people, and we are going door-to-door serving them. We were well received by the people on Saturday.

We learned this outreach from our friends at the L.A. Dream Center in Los Angeles, Calif. (http://www.dreamcenter.org) While in L.A. a decade ago on two difference occasions, we had the honor to go out with the Dream Center for their Adopt-A-Block, and it was amazing.

The concept is simple. Jesus taught us to serve, so that's what we do through Adopt-A-Block. We are not trying to cram Jesus down people's throats. We are serving and loving them. By doing that, we are showing them the love of Jesus and that opens the doors to share Jesus with them.

The first thing we did yesterday was pick up trash throughout the neighborhood, and man, did we ever pick up trash. We filled our dumpster to overflowing with all of the trash we picked up. Click here to check it out in a photo slide show.

We also handed out fliers door-to-door to invite people to our Thanksgiving Day dinner. A number of people were excited about the opportunity to have a good dinner on Thanksgiving Day.

We also pray with people and if there are any projects we can do for them we will. Yesterday one of our groups came across an elderly man who needed his back yard raked. With his bad back, he just couldn't do it, so three of our guys raked it for him. He was very thankful.

That's serving, and the doors God will open through this outreach will be incredible.

The more volunteers we have the more streets we can adopt. So, if you are interested in joining us, please come out on Saturdays at 9:45 a.m. Just two hours a week can help change lives. Once you get involved and help people you will not want to stop.

Thank you volunteers!

2011-11-15T16:29:00.000-06:00

I often tell people we have the greatest volunteers in the world at Love In Action, and I mean it. Our folks rock!

Here's a great example and further proof. When Martha and I announced we were going to Ecuador for nearly two weeks, some people asked if we were closing the Love In Action Ministry Center while we were gone. We quickly responded, "No, ministry will continue as usual."

Some people had puzzled looks on their faces after our answer. But we weren't puzzled. See, our team of volunteers are awesome! They are dedicated and responding to the cause God placed in their hearts. They enjoy serving God by serving the homeless, incarcerated and needy.

We have placed leaders in positions to lead the different ministries at Love In Action. Martha and I can't do it all, especially while I work full time as well. If it was just Martha and me, we wouldn't be doing nearly as much ministry out of the LIA Ministry Center. In fact, we wouldn't have the ministry center. We couldn't do it by ourselves.

While in Ecuador, the ministry operated seamlessly, without a hitch in Dothan. Celebrate Recovery Inside had its largest crowd ever at the ministry center. Bible study continued, as did the health clinic for the homeless, Friday night coffee house, Saturday work day and Saturday laundry ministry.

At the same time, LIA volunteers were in Ecuador, by using their own money, ministering at an orphanage, on the streets of Puyo, in the jungle and teaching missionaries about Celebrate Recovery. Wow! Praise God! Ministry on two continents at the same time! To God goes all the praise and glory!

Martha and I can't thank our volunteers enough. Those who lead ministries and those who serve in each ministry are amazing. They take time out of their busy schedules to serve the "least of these" as Jesus tells us to do in Matthew 25:35-40. They are responding to the our Lord's Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20.

God places a cause in each of our hearts. How we respond to that is the key. If we don't step out and do what God calls us to do there is a huge void in our lives and we are not fulfilled. When we do say "Yes" to God and go after that cause with all that's within us, we live rich, fulfilled lives and experience joy unlike anything we can explain.

Thank you volunteers for everything that each of you do. This ministry is not about Martha and me. It's not about any one person. It's all about God and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ through acts of compassion with the "least of these." To reach the lost and hurting and leading them to Jesus so they can experience His amazing love.

Volunteers, you are the best. Thank you and God bless all of you.