Dear Pastor Noveno and Church,
Endless gratitude for your unlimited support upon us up to this date as received your monthly financial mission supports which is really a big help for our financial resource including daily expenses.
By God’s grace, I and the kids including some faithful members with the new converts are serving well our gracious dear Lord God Jesus.
From January to August 5 got baptized from the profession of faith approximately 1, 200-300 souls were the big groups of ROTC students of different college campuses. I have been keeping on winning souls, one one-on-one, house-to-house, small and big groups, special public National High Schools, and College campuses.
Two months ago, we had Bible devotional morning prayer with Police personnel of four (4) Municipal stations aside from the Bureau of Fire Protection as were weekly schedules. Our letter request just recently approved endorsement from the Schools Division Superintendent to the two National High Schools wherein the Principals were fully delighted to have Bible Education hour in their respective school as I choose with all grade 12 students, 16 sections at Narvacan National High School. Pray for the start of the said Bible Education subject next month right after securing parent’s permits as prepared by the School’s Principal.
God’s grace opens doors for the Word of God to be heard the good news and let us keep on keeping on holding our ropes in reaching the hopeless and peace-less individuals.
Millions of thanks to Pastor Resty Noveno and the whole church for the unconditional love and support of my loving and supportive late daring Myrna Tumbaga Meris during her last months’ meditations, her last hours, funeral burial and even up to this moment that your undivided cares have been reached into our spirit and soul as I felt personally with the two kids and relatives loved ones.
Right after the burial, a little cash amount left from the loved gifts and donations. Thank you Ate Gina Tumbaga Zante who gave good service with sacrificial financial assistance to her late sister Myrna during her medical treatments and even her funeral and burial expenses. Many others who loves our precious darling Myrna, her former employer, the Chan family. The consistent one, who is silent, but she did sacrifice no other than our dearest Mama LuJeans Stone who loves our precious Myrna Tumbaga Meris. Mama insisted on her financial help even though my wife refused due to the money for her own medications, but Mama advised us to do so. When her breast biopsy and histopathology results of stage 3 D, I saw her face tried to smile at me but I felt what she felt that time. She tried to cry, but she would not because she knew that I was too weak emotionally when her family was in trouble.
Mama knows the results and she encouraged us with her too-long messages, and she keeps on helping financially her chemotherapy and always monitoring with her daughter, a nurse, with personal contact the specialist oncologist. Mama contacted her closest friends who had a heart to help as she did it even though she knew that our precious Myrna was too hard to survive when she gave up her IV or intravenous chemotherapy as supposedly for 8th chemo. My darling Myrna wishes to go home to her birthplace and impose home Bible study as we did well. She sang a little with smiling eyes and I never saw her crying for herself and her own raised-up Christian family. She was really well prepared to be with her Creator- Savior.
Dearest Mama Stone continuously gives us a budget for her oral too-expensive chemotherapy up to the too-expensive injectable vials, but my darling refused, she knows that it may not work anymore and putting Mama too much financial burden.
Her wounded breast an open wound bleeding, we rushed her to the hospital for first aid just to stop bleeding, when stopped bleeding, the same hours we went to a grocery store and surprisingly, she bought ice-cream with bread and soft drinks and asked a favor to give the attendant nurses who serve her and they were surprised smiling faces.
Last two months of her life, she could not dress/ clean her wounded breast and getting bigger as bigger than the arm. While I cleaning her open would, she sung smelling a song entitled Sweet By And By;
Chorus: In the sweet by and by, We shall meet on that beautiful shore;|
In the sweet by and by,….We shall meet on that beautiful shore. The melodious songs of the blest, And our spirit shall sorrow no more, Not a sigh for the blessing of rest.’ .
When her only brother died, his funeral service she sung her last song, her favorite special number in every funeral service we conducted and attended entitled the song, ONLY ONE LIFE (So Soon It Will Pass)… while watching her, I cried with her sisters among other.
She fought a good fight of faith and one of the hardest things in her life that she loved with care the family members for 7 years they returned hated us. They hated us because we stand in the Biblical truth about the sanctity of marriage and God hates the adulterers and fornicators. The church’s discipline was exercised then they left the church because they contaminated other new members. Ate Gina knows about it during at the funeral and she encouraged me to become stronger than before.
Mama asked me the money that was supposedly for our precious Myrna injectable chemotherapy, but she refused. I mentioned that our precious Myrna wished for a simple dream house, Mama had rejoiced and she adds additional money in order build a simple house as Myrna’s Memorial House. We dug well a good foundation for 67 sqm stepping out of faith in which has secured a building permit already 3 years ago for our home as to be considered a pastoral house at the back of our church’s building. Presently, we have built it but not yet a complete product that is why we keep praying for the ceilings, walling finishing and paints, CR toilets, faucets, showers with lavatories, heater, wiring, electric pump and tiling.
Two bedrooms with individual CR in which one room prepared for visiting pastor as prophet’s chamber as we desired before years ago to be a channel of God’s blessing for co-laborers in Christ.
By faith as God’s provides, we will dedicate the said Myrna’s Memorial House by January 21, 2024 Sunday which is right after her first year’s death anniversary.
The boys, Joshua is now a grade 8 student and seemingly he tries to hide his loneliness by felling okay of everything, relax/ cool and studious just to maintain his good section (S1). He remembered his dream to be an airplane pilot. Jireh Mission is now grade 2 pupil, he was super playful according to his teacher and I saw him a tireless player with his classmates. “ hanapin ko celphone ni Mama tatawagin ko at masusumbong ako sa kanya na pinapalo ao ni Kuya Joshua…. Punta ako sa libingan ni Mama para sabihin ko sa kanya na multuhin ang ka classmate kasi inaaway at binubuli ako ”.
Jireh has a sense of humour, he reads gospel tracts most often times. Somebody told me that the boys obviously were about totally move forward but INSIDE we don’t know but we do know they in God’s Hands”. We worried a little that there will a time they will get disappointed and discouraged in life that may cause them to blame the ministry and or any other, but rather magnify God who will control of everything and for everything.
When worries came a while as visited me, my heart totally broken and most of the times no tears flowing from my eyes because tears already gone but fresh wounds remain. Honestly speaking, I have been tried more often that I have been fully recovered from spiritual bypassed major/ critical operation, but as a matter of facts I am not moving on yet.
Church have you always in my daily prayer and thank again very much your loves and sacrifices. Attached pictures.
Your Missionary; The Meris Family
Jorge, Joshua and Jireh
Prayer requests:
1. Spiritual growth of new believers and new members
2. More young people to be involved in the ministry
3. School Campuses ministry
4. PNP personnel , 4 Municipal Stations
5. Soul winning activities
6. Church’s new comfort Room
7. Your Missionary and the kids, Joshua and Jireh – good health, God’s protections and provisions
