How thankful we are to God who does cause us to triumph through the finished work of Christ on the cross. As the world prepares to celebrate His coming, we rejoice in all that He has accomplished and look forward to the day when He is coming again to establish righteousness and justice in the Earth. Only then will we experience the peace on Earth that the angels promised.

We want to thank you all for your prayers during our recent visit to Mindanao. We have so very much to be thankful for as we have seen the power of the Gospel transforming lives from one end of Mindanao to the other.

We arrived in Mindanao on October 16 and God led us through such extraordinary open doors that we know that this entire trip was birthed, carried forward, and protected by your prayers. God alone deserves the glory for all that happened.

While changing planes in Manila, we were able to meet with some key people of influence who have offered to help in any way they can because they believe in the value of what we are doing for the tribal people. The first Monday we were there on Mindanao, we were invited to speak to and pray for all the employees at the City Hall in Kapalong, a large city/county area that includes many tribal areas in its jurisdiction. We then had a private meeting with the mayor who also appreciated our efforts and allowed us to pray for him personally and for his city and county.

Then on Wednesday we traveled by truck to bring the Gospel to the Talaingod tribe as we shared in our last newsletter. How awesome to see an entire village come to Christ and be set free from the bondage of darkness. The head chieftain, who is well known and well respected throughout the island of Mindanao, has grown in the Lord so much since then as he has taken to heart the Word of God we taught him. As he and his people renounced the spirit of Python, commanding it to leave Python Lake, the land, and the entire tribe, he saw in the spirit the demons fleeing in terror and he felt the presence of the Creator God in his heart. When he prayed and dedicated the lake (now called Lake of the Dove), the land, and his entire tribe of 6,000 (plus the additional 9,000 people under his influence) to the Creator God and His Son Jesus Christ, these were not just idle words.

Left: As Howard brings the message of salvation to the Talaingod tribe, the entire village raises their hands to receive Christ as Savior.

Right: Howard joins together with the tribal chieftain and all the people to dedicate the "Lake of the Dove" to Jesus Christ.

Since we left, the chieftain has commanded his entire tribe to come together in their villages every Sunday to worship the Creator God and he is choosing out young people from each of his villages to attend our Bible school to be trained as pastors and church planters. In the past when a member of the tribe became demonized, they would send for a medium to offer animal sacrifices to the demons in the lake to placate them. But when a member of the tribe from another village became demonized after we left, the chieftain remembered the authority we all have in Christ when we are born again and filled with His Holy Spirit. He commanded the demon to leave in the name of Jesus Christ and the person was instantly delivered! The Bible is true. Every knee must bow before that Name that is above every name in heaven and on earth.

At the end of the video, Howard offered prayer for any who had a need. Three people came forward – a mother carrying her son who was about 6 or 7 years old and an older man. They were from a Filipino cult called "Iglesia de Cristo" which is Spanish for "Church of Christ" but they believe Jesus was just a man and their founder is the "Messiah". They also deny miracles such as divine healing. But in watching this movie taken from the Gospel of Luke, these dear people saw that Jesus was indeed the Christ and, since He arose from the dead and is still alive today, He still heals now just as He did 2,000 years ago. So they came forward to give their lives to Jesus Christ and to ask for His healing touch on the boy and the man. As Howard prayed for them, Jesus instantly healed them both. We have since learned that both families have left the cult and joined our church in Tubay where they are rejoicing in Jesus Christ, their Lord and Savior.

From Tubay, we returned home to Tagum City to prepare for our second annual pastors’ conference, bringing together pastors and Christian workers from all over Mindanao. What an encouragement it was for the approximately 200 pastors and workers who gathered together for mutual encouragement, to feast on the Word of God, and to seek His face together for the strength needed to face the spiritual battles in the days ahead. We gathered for four services a day as God ministered to the needs of these precious Brothers and Sisters in Christ who are literally laying down their lives to bring the Gospel to a lost and dying world.

One of the highlights of the conference came on the last day that was set aside as a day of Thanksgiving to praise God for all He has done. In the afternoon, we had a special time for cultural presentations in which each of the different tribal groups were encouraged to praise God in their native dialects with songs and dances according to their cultural traditions. What an awesome time we had as one by one the various tribes glorified the Creator God using their traditional instruments and native songs and dances. One of the pastors from the T’boli tribe who takes the Gospel to unreached areas in the mountains put us all to shame. Crippled from birth, he still danced to the Lord with his one good leg and walking stick. It was awesome.

As we joined our hearts in worship, the presence of God so filled that humble sanctuary that people began to spontaneously come forward to fall on their faces before the Creator God who alone is worthy of all praise and adoration. Tribal chieftains and successful pastors knelt in humble adoration next to children, teenagers, and simple farmers as the sanctuary was filled with the beauty of His holiness. Heaven touched Earth as that simple sanctuary became the Holy of holies as God received their offerings of heart felt worship and adoration.

We didn’t learn until later that one of the communist rebels from the mountains came to the conference along with the local pastor from his area because he wanted to check out Church Triumphant for himself to see what we were really about. He was so overwhelmed by the presence of God that he felt, that he repented of his sins and received Christ as his Lord and Savior. He returned to the mountains to renounce the NPA, the notorious communist terrorist group and has applied to enroll in our Bible school when a new class enters in January.

Two days later, we were invited to another Thanksgiving celebration, this time in the mountain tribal village of Dugayan. The Gospel was first brought to the Dibabawon people of Dugayan by our co-workers Albert and Emma Asang in 2000. God touched their hearts with His compassion for these people so they moved there and planted a church. When we started the Bible school in Tagum City to train full time workers in September, 2001, Albert and Emma were among our top students and the church in Dugayan became one of our teaching points. After graduation, Albert and Emma Asang have become the directors of the Bible school in Tagum City and one of their first graduates is now pastoring the church in Dugayan.

Getting to Dugayan for the celebration was a challenge in itself. The road to Dugayan was only built last year and is very primitive. We had to rent a four wheel drive van because a car can’t make it through the deep mud as we forded streams and skirted the edges of ponds. The church, built through your loving gifts to this ministry, was decorated with all kinds of produce – cornstalks, baskets of potatoes, bananas, and even some live chickens tied to the "altar" tables. Our PA system was powered by a car battery as this village is beyond the reach of electricity.

Most of the village gathered to worship the Lord and thank Him for His faithfulness. One after another the people rose to testify how before the Gospel came to their village, they could barely gather enough food to keep from starving. Since becoming Christians and learning how to garden and to give their tithes to the Lord, they have been blessed with more than enough.

After the morning service, we had a Thanksgiving feast featuring a roast pig as well as chicken, fish, rice, and lots of fresh fruit. Following the afternoon service, we again had a time of worship in tribal song and dance. One of the leading chieftains of the Dibabawon tribe was there to play the drums and also to dance before the Lord. This particular chieftain has 30 lesser chieftains ruling under him. He thanked us personally for the transformation that the Gospel is bringing to his people. What a day of blessing it was!

Our visit to Mindanao ended much as it began – with an invitation to speak to and pray for the entire Tagum City police department. The government of the Philippines is trying hard to fight against and end corruption in government. They recognize that the most powerful weapon against corruption that exists is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For this reason, every Monday morning all government employees gather in formation in front of their office building (City Hall, police station, etc.) to raise their national flag, sing their national anthem, listen to announcements, and then have a brief Gospel message and prayer before they begin their work week. What an honor to be asked to pray for the police force and share the Gospel with them.

Time and space do not permit us to tell you all the open doors of opportunity God has given us during our visit – interdenominational youth rallies and new ministerial fellowship opportunities to bring reconciliation and greater unity to the Body of Christ, just to name two of them. The future of the work on Mindanao has never looked brighter. At our pastors’ conference, six new pastors have joined with us. A group of 45 tribal churches in Sarangani Province also want to become a part of Church Triumphant. These churches have been struggling for years without any trained leadership. We will be starting another Bible school in their region to provide solid Biblical training to the lay members who are currently struggling to lead these "flocks". It is an awesome opportunity to build a strong Biblical foundation for the Church in an area that is at least 40% Muslim.

Many of our current Bible school students are completing their studies. We will be graduating eight pastors from the Bible school in Tagum City in Davao del Norte Province and fourteen from the Bible school in Santo Nino in South Cotabato Province. These will begin working under a supervisory pastor until they are ready to pastor on their own.

With expanded opportunities come expanded financial challenges. Will you consider adding these needs to your prayer list and, perhaps, your Christmas gift list as you consider what you want to do to honor Jesus this Christmas?

1. We are still negotiating with the bank about buying the headquarters/church/Bible school building in Tagum City. We have been waiting a month for an appraiser to come from Manila to look at the property. Pray we will have the funds to buy it when they finally agree on a purchase price and terms.
2. Pastor Joel de Maria in Tubay has responsibility, not just for the three churches that he planted locally, but also for many others scattered around northern and central Mindanao. He needs a motorcycle to travel to these areas because public transportation is slow, unreliable, and more expensive. He can buy a good used motorcycle for just $800.
3. Pastor Virgil Roche has volunteered to work full time with Oscar Guimbal, our agricultural expert, to teach Biblical principles and farming techniques to the tribal people in the villages so they can become productive members of society. He needs $100 a month for six months to provide for his family while he devotes full time to this ministry. Once the gardens become productive, the profits from the sale of the produce will be more than enough to cover his salary.
4. We would like to expand the number of students enrolling in our Bible schools in January. It takes $50 a month for six months to feed and house them while they are preparing for full time ministry. Can you help to sponsor one or more of these students?
5. A love gift of $35 a month can provide a pension for a retired pastor or help a church planter who is struggling to establish a pioneering work in a poverty stricken remote area.
6. Pastor Virgil Roche and Oscar Guimbal are teaching agricultural skills to the mountain tribal people and God has enabled us to send them thousands of vegetable seeds to get started. We would also like to provide them with banana, cassava, and sweet potato seedlings. This will cost about $4 per family. We have 1,200 families needing such help for an initial investment of $3,600. How many families can you help this Christmas?
7. The video projector is a powerful tool for evangelism when combined with the "Jesus" video. We need three more projectors so that we have one available in each region of Mindanao. We are able to get these $3,500 projectors for just $600 each for use on the mission field.
8. Any gift in any amount will have a lasting impact in continuing the ministry of Church Triumphant as we are partners together with you in bringing the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ to shine in the midst of the darkness of paganism in the remote mountain tribal areas of Mindanao.

As we have shared with you the great victories we have experienced and the challenges we face on Mindanao, we hope you realize how thankful we are to God that He has allowed you to be an important part of this ministry. None of these victories would be possible without your prayers and faithful giving which makes it possible for us to go as your ambassadors for Christ. May God richly bless you this holiday season and throughout the coming year. To God be all the glory now and forever!