June-July 07

"A GREAT NUMBER BELIEVED, AND TURNED TO THE LORD" Acts 11:21

As Paul and Barnabas went on their first missionary journey, the Holy Spirit went with them to confirm His Word with signs following. As a result "a great number believed, and turned to the Lord".

Youth Camp Update

We are rejoicing in God’s goodness and are pleased to report that because of your prayers and generous giving and because the Holy Spirit still confirms His Word, the youth camp on Mindanao in April was a great success. We are so thankful for the team from Seattle, Washington, who were willing to go to Mindanao to share the Good News with the young people. A total of 375 young people attended. Many gave their lives to the Lord. On the last day, 45 new Believers were baptized in water. 85 responded to the call to commit to full time ministry. The Holy Spirit touched and healed and empowered so very many. There were 5 young people who had been involved in spiritism (witchcraft and worshipping demons). They were totally delivered from demonic control and were born again and set free to worship the Lord Jesus Christ, who alone is worthy to be praised.

The Work Continues to Grow

New churches continue to be planted as entire villages turn from darkness to the light of Christ Jesus. We praise God for 12 new churches in Lake Sebu, Tibole, and Kiamba as well as 5 new churches in the Agusan area and 6 new churches in the central mountains. All of these new churches need buildings in which to meet so we are building new churches as quickly as funds become available.

Bible school classes are beginning soon. We have 15 new students enrolled in classes in Lake Sebu, 10 in Laak, and another 10 at the main campus in Tagum City. More students are wanting to attend but again we are limited by a lack of funds.

Thanks for your help

We want to thank all of you who gave so generously toward our granddaughter JoLea Gard’s coming mission trip to Romania. We apologize for some confusion over the deadline for giving. The application was due by May 14 and at least $1,381 by June 11 with the balance due by July 22, the day before departure. With your help, JoLea was able to meet the deadline for June 11 and only needs $1,500 more by July 22 to cover the balance due for the trip plus round trip airlines tickets to Dallas to join the team and international health insurance as required by Global Expeditions. If you wanted to help but thought you had missed the deadline, it is not too late to send a donation to Church Triumphant designated for "JoLea" and we will be happy to send a tax deductible receipt.

Thank you for your prayers

Thank you for your prayers for our recent ministry trip to the Northwest. God blessed our efforts in church after church as we encouraged our Brothers and Sisters in Christ. Please continue to pray for us as we return to the "open road" to minister across the South in late June, July, and early August. Pray for traveling mercies and open doors as we minister in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Virginia during hurricane season. Pray that we may be a great blessing to our Brothers and Sisters in Christ who have been through a lot of challenges in the past few years.

Yes, many are believing and turning to the Lord both over in the Philippines and right here in America. Your prayers and financial support make it possible for us to be a part of what the Holy Spirit is doing in these last days – bringing in a final great harvest of souls before Jesus returns. Thank you and may God bless you richly.

Howard & Barbara Gard

30 Day Prayer Focus

Please join us in prayer for these needs.

Day 1 – Pray for all the young people who attended the youth camp that they will hold fast to the good things God did in their lives and will not let them slip away through neglect.

Day 2 – Pray for all the young people in the Philippines as they begin a new school year. Pray that those who are born again will be effective witnesses for the Lord and will lead many of their classmates to Christ this school year.

Day 3 – Pray for the young people in our Bible schools who are preparing to become pastors and church planters. Pray that they will draw closer to the Lord and be strengthened in their faith as they follow through with their commitment to full time ministry.

Day 4 – Pray for the Bible school teachers that they will be living examples of the Word of God as they teach. Pray for God’s provision and protection for them and their families.

Day 5 – Pray that God will provide the financial resources so that many more workers can be trained as church planters.

Day 6 – Pray for Pastor Albert and Emma Asang as they direct the Bible schools and church planting ministries of Church Triumphant.

Day 7 – Praise God for 45 young people who were baptized in water at the youth camp. Pray that they will grow in their walk with the Lord and become effective witnesses for Him.

Day 8 – Pray for Pastor Rudy Tahay and his congregation in Lumuyon as they move into their new church building.

Day 9 – Pray for Pastor Eddie Gabay and his congregation in Lake Sebu where the work is growing rapidly.

Day 10 – Pray for Howard and Barbara Gard as they travel through the South, speaking in churches and raising funds to build more churches and train more laborers for the harvest.

Day 11 – Pray for Pastor Joemary Ga-an and his congregation in Maculan, an area that is predominantly Muslim.

Day 12 – Pray for the church in Planag and their faithful pastor, Benito Ekan.

Day 13 – Pray for the more than 50 tribal outreaches where there are no church buildings or trained pastors but only traveling ministries to meet the needs of all the new Believers.

Day 14 – Praise God for the 23 new churches that have been planted by our recent graduates. Pray that funds will quickly become available to build the buildings to house all these new congregations.

Day 15 – Pray for Datu Oscar Bug-ot that even though he lost the mayoral election, he may continue to effectively lead his tribe of 6,000 people that he has dedicated to the Lord. Pray that God will protect him from any attacks launched by the communist rebels.

Day 16 – Pray for Datu Amado Makurampil, the provincial governor over the tribal region. Pray that he will grow strong in his relationship to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Day 17 – Pray for Datu Amado Owambay who has been mightily used by the Lord to bring peace to areas of conflict through his wit and wisdom.

Day 18 – Pray for Datu Jaime Basa, a leader of the Mandaya tribe living near Kapalong.

Day 19 – Pray for Datu Melano Warag, a Dibabawon chieftain from Dugayan who is a member of the tribal council.

Day 20 – Pray for the short term missions teams being sent out by churches across America that God’s hand of protection, provision, and empowerment may be upon them. Pray especially for JoLea Gard and the Global Expeditions team who will be ministering in Romania July 23 – August 6.

Day 21 – Praise God that we serve a God who answers prayer. Because of your prayers, the recent elections in the Philippines were relatively peaceful with fewer people killed than last time. Although there was scattered violence elsewhere on Mindanao, the areas where we have churches were especially peaceful and quiet.

Day 22 – Pray for the tribal people who are learning how to plant their own gardens instead of having to search in the rain forest for something to eat.

Day 23 – Pray for the many tribal people who are looking for work in the lowlands that God will protect them from exploitation and enable them to find honest work so they can provide for their families.

Day 24 – Pray for the many police officers in Tagum City who have been born again. Pray that they will resist the temptations of compromise and corruption and will grow in their walk with the Lord.

Day 25 – Pray for the university students as they return to classes at the University of Mindanao. Pray that ministry outreach on campus will continue to grow under Pastor Espedito Masangay’s capable leadership.

Day 26 – Pray for the born again Believers within the ranks of the Philippine army as they battle with communist rebels and Muslim terrorists. Pray for God’s hand of protection upon them and that they can lead their fellow soldiers and officers to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as Lord.

Day 27 – Pray for those in authority within the Philippine government that they will be able to uncover and prevent terrorist attacks, sparing the lives of many innocent civilians.

Day 28 – Praise God that He is able to protect those who trust in Him in every situation they encounter, whether in the Philippines, in America, or even in Israel, Afghanistan, or Iraq.

Day 29 – Pray for Allan Asang our Filipino Director and his family that God will protect them from sickness, accident, and injury as they travel throughout Mindanao for the sake of the Gospel.

Day 30 – Pray for God’s Kingdom to come and God’s will to be done in your life, your family, your church, your community, throughout your nation, and around the world.