Darkness is the very expression and sphere of Satan
in death; light is the expression and sphere of
God in life. God has called us, delivered us, out
of Satan’s death-realm of darkness into His
life-realm of light (1 Pet. 2:9 note 7).
The people of Baco were once blinded, captivated,
under the bondage and slavery of Satan, in spite
of the existence of different religious groups.
Through the 1½ months of propagation, their
eyes were opened. They were released from Satan’s
tyranny, delivered from confusion and are no longer
in darkness but was transferred into His marvelous
light. The preaching of the gospel of the glory
of Christ enlightened them. By the shining of Christ
as light, they were ushered into salvation. Life
and light were brought into them. The Lord said
that He is the light of this world (John 8:12).
The first propagation work in Baco, Oriental Mindoro
happened in the 1990’s but the church was
not established. However, on November 20, 2005 the
lampstand of our Lord Jesus was gloriously confirmed
and proclaimed. Out of 38 souls that the Lord had
gained, 21 were released for the first Lord’s
table meeting. The appointed responsible ones and
serving ones were very zealous—right after
the meeting and some fellowship, they started to
have a service meeting. Meetings such as prayer
meeting, pursuance and young people’s meeting
were established as well.
The newly saved ones are like thirsty and hungry
sheep. They are very eager to learn hymns and know
the truths. They also enjoy being revived every
morning by means of prayer and pray-reading. Also,
they came to enjoy reading the Bible and the life
lessons to enrich them further. One sister testified
that they had been to some church meetings but could
not understand the word of the ministry. Even her
husband did not like to attend in any Christian
group. Many times they were visited by the saints,
but still they were not gained. But the Lord does
have an appointed time for everyone and everything.
Now both of them serve in the church and their entire
family was saved. Another serving sister testified
that she used to be so active in her religion but
did not have peace and joy. Different groups tried
to convince her, yet she remained unsatisfied and
sought for the truth. Praise the Lord for putting
her into the proper ground where she and her family
found satisfaction. Even the mayor of the municipality
of Baco was opened especially concerning the ground
of the church and came to appreciate it. Family
after family was called by the Lord. Now the Lord
is still calling to save the unsaved and to recover
the lost ones that they may be put into His flock,
the church.
The propagation work in this locality was fully
supported by the saints from nearby localities such
as Calapan City, San Teodoro, Mansalay and some
from San Jose, Occidental Mindoro. Thank the Lord
for the work of His Body.
Normalyn Tibao, FTA
Baco, Oriental Mindoro Team
The sovereign arrangement of the Lord in gaining
materials for the establishment of His golden lampstand
in Puerto Galera is indeed wonderful. We learned
to just look to the Lord, abide in Him, follow His
arrangement, be one with His move, and most of all,
to exercise our spirit for the pouring out of blessings
and in order to deny the self by being in one accord.
Last December 2004, I was tasked to give a message
in a Year-end Conference of the church in Catanauan,
Quezon. Here I had some fellowship with a sister
who married someone from Puerto Galera. She took
a job and settled in Puerto Galera in 1997. Because
there was no church in Puerto Galera, she was forced
to attend the meetings of the Bible Baptist Church.
We also met a sister from Puerto Galera who was
gained in Batangas City. We took from her the address
of her parents. In the two weeks that we prepared
for our one and a half months of propagation, we
prayed and petitioned (both in our corporate and
individual prayer) for the Lord to prepare our contacts
in Puerto Galera and for them to be good materials
for His building.
Because the house that the Lord gave us to live
in was in the town proper, based on our fellowship
we preached the gospel to the town proper first
[and did not immediately go to our contact] for
one and half weeks. Here, the Lord gained two souls.
The experiences we had caused us to come before
the Lord more and fully depend on His leading.
We started to travel by boat and went to the place
of the parents and relatives of our sister who was
gained in Batangas. Her mother, aunt, and cousin
who was discipled in the denomination Christ the
Shepherd were all recovered by the Lord through
fellowshipping with us. This really angered Satan,
the defeated foe. The pastor of the said denomination
called us cult. He contacted his co-pastors from
different denominations and they decided to go to
where we lived to stop, hinder, and thwart the plan
of establishing the church in Puerto Galera.
Seven in the morning, while we were eating breakfast
on November 14, just a few days before the date
of establishment on November 20, eleven pastors
and assistant pastors knocked and showed up on our
doorstep. Because we were eating, they waited until
we were finished. This gave me an opportunity to
send a text message and ask the saints in other
places for help by praying so that life and light
would flow and be shown in our speaking. While we
were fixing up our plates and preparing to receive
our visitors, we were praying inwardly that through
this fellowship they would be brought to the proper
ground of oneness. From 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
we saw that two among the eleven pastors were open.
Hence, we recommended to them some of the literature
that we had to get their contact number for a chance
to fellowship with them personally in their homes.
Of the two pastors to whom we lent reading materials
and with whom we fellowshipped in their homes, one
immediately decided to take the way of the recovery
for the enlargement of God’s kingdom and fully
leave division brought by denomination. He said,
“This is what I have been looking for for
so long,” that is why he was ready to face
any hardship or persecution.
The church in Puerto Galera was victoriously and
gloriously established on November 20, 2005. Aside
from the eleven saints from Puerto Galera, representatives
from the churches in Sablayan and San Jose, Occidental
Mindoro, Mansalay, Calapan, and Teodoro also attended
the first Lord’s table meeting. The former
disciple in Christ the Shepherd, the former pastor
of Church for the Nation, and the husband of our
sister who used to attend in the Bible Baptist Church,
were appointed as responsible brothers. Our sister
who stayed in the denomination for nine years, who
for so long prayed for the Lord’s recovery
to reach Puerto Galera, was brought to tears the
day when the church was established. Finally the
Lord has answered her prayer to be able to function
and release her spirit in the meetings again. She
said, “In the denomination, it is dead; but
in the church you would experience life, the flow
of life, and the enjoyment of the unsearchable riches
of Christ….” Hallelujah!
Although the saints experience fierce persecution
from the pastors and from those in the denominations
they previously belonged to, to this they do not
pay attention. Instead, this causes them to all
the more stand strong and steadfastly in oneness
as the testimony of the Lord in Puerto Galera. Aside
from the Lord’s Table meeting, they also established
prayer and service meetings, even days for preaching
the gospel in order for them to increase in number.
They desire to fully rid themselves of their constitution
from the denomination; thus, one of the responsible
brothers temporarily left his family to be trained
for four months in Malabon in order to become more
useful for the Lord. After him, the two other responsible
brothers also want to be trained for the future
of the church in Puerto Galera. Hallelujah for the
victorious Christ who is the Head, and for the cooperation
of His glorious church which is His Body. Amen!
Jennilyn Laerin, FTA
Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro team
Thank the Lord for His glorious work in these six
weeks of propagation. We were assigned in the locality
of Agoncillo, Batangas to establish a golden lampstand.
After the propagation assignments had been announced,
immediately we coordinated with the co-wokers in
Batangas. We were able to rent a house that was
one ride away from our contact family, but for practicality’s
sake, we first announced the gospel to those who
were much nearer to us.
During our first two weeks, we noticed the hardness
of the people’s hearts toward the truth. Most
of them were deeply rooted in their religion. Some
said they don’t want to be confused anymore
by any kind of teaching. Most people told us that
they wanted to stay in the religion that they were
born into until they die. Some even reported us
to the barangay captain, accusing us that we were
forcing people to get baptized. So, we cleared this
matter up with the barangay captain and explained
to him that we were just preaching the gospel and
helping people to be saved. News on this incident
quickly spread which caused the people to be cold
toward us. Nevertheless, we continued with the commission
given to us. After two weeks and three baptisms,
we decided to move on to another place.
On our third week, we went from Pook to Sta. Cruz
where our contact family—our prospect for
the establishment of the Lord’s Table Meeting
(LTM)—lived. Day after day we baptized people.
The Lord transferred 28 souls into the Kingdom of
God. Hallelujah!
The next thing that we did was impress the new
saints with the significance of the Lord’s
table. Concerning the matter of dealing with idols,
we found ourselves in an unusual situation as the
father of one of the new ones sells idols for a
living. So, we brought this matter to the Lord and
just trusted that He will work in the new ones.
Truly our God is living and He hears our prayers.
The new ones were enlightened about the matter of
idols and dealt with the things of their past. Because
all the things had been set and prepared, on our
fifth week, November 27, 2005, the church in Agoncillo,
Batangas was established. Thirteen new ones were
released for the first LTM, supported by the other
churches in the province of Batangas and even some
saints from Cavite. Hallelujah! The place of Agoncillo
that was once in darkness now has a lampstand shining
for the Lord.
Because the Lord has gained a testimony in Agoncillo,
Satan wanted to destroy this testimony. After the
establishment of the church and the Lord’s
table meeting, the father-in-law of our new sisters
began to openly oppose us. Because these sisters
had been enlightened by so many truths in the Bible,
they can’t stop sharing to people causing
them to be despised by the unbelievers around them,
especially by their father-in-law. So, he warned
us not to go to their house anymore or else he will
take us to the barangay captain.
Seeing that the situation took a turn for the worse,
we planned to go to the father-in-law to settle
things. Unfortunately, instead of listening to us,
in his anger he took hold of a piece of wood and
wanted to beat us with it. Because it was not yet
time for us to be martyred, we sought to escape.
He followed us, despised us, and opposed us to the
uttermost. After an hour of shouting and pursuing
after us, he finally stopped. We later went to the
barangay captain to report this matter. The barangay
captain and the town councilor went to him and confronted
him about this matter. After their discussion, they
told us that we we could no longer meet in the house
where the father-in-law also lived. He will not
hinder his in-laws to meet with us as long us it
is not within his territory. So, we went looking
for another place where the saints can hold the
LTM. Praise the Lord for moving the new ones to
open their house for the Lord’s testimony.
In this propagation I’ve seen how the Lord
works in mysterious ways and that in Him all things
are indeed possible. Because of the incidents of
persecution, the new saints became strong in their
faith and were moved to love the Lord in an intensified
way. Despite their conditions and the persecutions,
still they stand for the Lord. Upon realizing this,
the Lord has truly captured my heart more. Matthew
5:11-12 says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted
for the sake of righteousness for theirs is the
kingdom of heavens. Blessed are you when they reproach
and persecute you while speaking lies, say every
evil thing against you because of me…rejoice
and exult, for your reward is great in the heavens.
For so they persecuted the prophets who were before
you.”
Richelle Villanueva, FTA
Agoncillo, Batangas Team
When I was a Nazarite trainee, I did not know the
meaning of the word “propagation.” I
had always heard the full-timers say, “Wow,
it’s propagation time already!” There
are those who were glad, there were also those who
experienced difficulty. So I asked myself what can
this propagation be.
The Lord gave me an opportunity to study again
in college. After my studies I went back to the
Full-time training. In my first term, I really anticipated
our six weeks of propagation. I experienced shepherding
new saints, budgeting our team’s allowance,
cooking, and being one with my companions.
In my second term, I was assigned in the province
of Iloilo. There the Lord made me experience His
blessing and grace. In the propagation, on one hand
we labor, but on the other hand we enjoy the blessings
and grace of the Triune God. Hallelujah!
Iloilo is composed of many localities but the propagation
work was focused on the locality of New Lucena.
It is almost 26 kilometers from Iloilo City. There
were no saints yet in New Lucena. However, the couple
Reynold and Arlene Sorongon who used to lived in
Quezon City had returned to New Lucena because Bro.
Reynold’s father passed away and his mother
was ill. All circumstances are indeed the arrangement
of the Lord Jesus. This circumstance paved the way
for the Lord to gain this family. Desirous for their
entire household to be saved, Reynold and Arlene
gladly poured their time on the propagation. They
were pleased that the Lord’s work in New Lucena
started in their house. A few days later, Bro. Reynold’s
mother, Sis. Arlene’s parents, as well as
their neighbors and their relatives were baptized.
The new ones were nourished and strengthened until
the church in New Lucena was established on December
4, 2005.
I saw from this experience that a certain thing
might be difficult to man, but to God, He can do
all things. In the propagation work, our prayers,
our labor, as well as eating and enjoying the Lord
are needed because He is our strength, life and
living. Praise the Lord Jesus!
Emma Beloy, FTA
Iloilo Team
