Gilbert and Lea Montes planted a church in Carmen, Bohol during the pandemic and they just celebrated their first church anniversary in October. The first picture above shows Gilbert baptizing seven believers two months ago. The second picture shows the unfinished church building which they are using for their worship services and discipleship training. Like many other new church plants in the Philippines, the people are content to meet in shelters that are just enough to keep them out of the sun and rain until they can save enough money to add the walls, ceiling, and perhaps a concrete floor. Please pray that these believers will continue to grow in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We held the second Teachers’ Conference this year on November 12th with about 63 participants. During the conference, Dr. David Nelson taught the seminar called Resolving Conflict in a Godly Way. It was very well received and some of the participants said that they will teach this seminar in their churches.

In the afternoon, Pastor Steve Guianan gave an excellent orientation on the process of being an auxiliary chaplain in the Philippines. More than 20 people were present at the orientation. He explained that being a member of a Chaplaincy Organization would give the pastors credibility, training and structure. This membership may help but does not guarantee gaining access into government offices because that would depend on the goodwill of the government officials involved.