Misson Update:1/17/17

Hello, Everyone, and God Bless!!! Teresa and I hope all reading this are enjoying a blessed New Year. You’ll remember from the last update that Teresa and I spent the New Year visiting Banaue, in the Province of Ifugao – North, in the Mountains and Rice Terrace country. We brought in the New Year singing praises, worshiping and witnessing Jesus Christ there, and we were so blessed by God as we watched Him do His saving work.

We came home to Batangas City and began preparing for the Addiction Ministry Meeting. That meeting was very special because we had a guest speaker from Ifugao – a Pastor from a very powerful, spirit-filled Church Ministry there – was our guest speaker. He gave his personal testimony to the members of our ministry. You see, he is a recovered drug addict, saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. His Name is Pastor Art Carpio, and I’m proud to call him my friend. His testimony meant a great deal to our members.

The Batangas City Police Held a meeting meeting with the Village Officials prior to our Counseling Service, and stayed to hear Pastor Art’s counseling message. It went so well that He inspired one of our Ministry’s members, Brother Willy, to give his own testimony. It’s very difficult to keep your composure when you see someone you care for so much become “lasting fruit” right in front of you.

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But God also works in the lives of children and young people here because of the strength He has in the Ministries of BCBC. They go out of their way to reach and disciple kids and young people.

Two of the kids in the photo with me (the oldest-holding camera, and the boy sitting across from me) were baptized just last Sunday, leading by example for the younger ones they bring with them to church…

…Back to Malitam. I can’t say it enough: this is not a place for the weak of spirit or faint of heart.

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But every time you say “yes” to God and His will for your your life – even though His direction and His plan might not pass your “smell test” – He blesses you. He responds to “yes” with an increase of everlasting fruit. If you say “yes”, He shows you that He is able to work all things to the good – for His glory.  And when you do what He says (while you call Him Lord, Lord) He lets you hang around and watch some really cool things happen.

You Get to see more people saved.

You get to work with all kinds of really cool, beautiful people to teach and disciple, and minister.

You get to watch lives change as people grow in the Lord. You get to hear them testify about how Jesus Christ saved them and changed them, and how they trust Him even though things are not going right.

And the Holy Spirit starts moving in a way that can’t be overlooked. More lives change, more people accept Jesus. More people give their testimonies, and more fruit is seen. People start gathering up to pray for one another in groups. Hands get raised, hands get laid. (in case you’re wondering: yes, that’s a big deal around here)

When you think it’s all done, you get more opportunities to say “yes” and you find yourself preaching about Jesus in unlikely places like a coed college dorm to young people you’ve never met. You get more opportunities to help meet a personal need or do a good deed, and you say “yes” because you never know what that might lead to.

But whatever it leads to, you know you will be BLESSED.

To our supporting churches in the Covenant Movement, and to our other supporting churches from our Baptist, Methodist, and Cumberland Presbyterian families; To our individual supporters from family members to friends from AG and other denominations: The updates you see posted on this website and on Facebook are not put up to boast. We boast only in Jesus Christ. There are a lot of pictures and information we cannot put up publicly. But what you do see serves 2 purposes: To give God glory, and to thank you – all of you. We want you all to see the LASTING FRUIT that your prayers and financial support are yielding. Teresa and I get to be here and see it up close and personal. We want you all to see it as much as possible too.

We’ll see you again in a week or so. Until then keep a watch for us by following this website: http://www.rooftopcovenantmission.com

and like and follow our Facebook pages:

Tracy Spencer

Teresa Spencer

Rooftop Covenant Mission Philippines

-Tracy

 

January 6th, 2017

I haven’t updated the website since before Christmas, because… well, I’ve been busy. 🙂

There is a lot to catch up on. The Highlights are as follows:

I was called upon to preach the Christmas Eve Fellowship service at the Mission Church in Lemery on December 24th. Jaycar translated for me, and God always seems to move in a special way when he and I work together. I’ve noticed that happening with Pastor Marion too. He’s the Pastor of this mission Church. We all three shared the preaching of this service, so as you can imagine, The Holy Spirit showed up. The alter call yielded 6 professions of faith, 1 life rededication, and 1 child dedication.

When the worship service ended, the fellowship and food began.

I found out later, that the salvations from that Christmas Eve service became the start of a new bible study in another Barangay of Lemery! This new work will begin the 2nd week of January!!! Pastor Mario is so excited!!!

We also instituted and are maintaining (Thanks again to Mario and Jaycar) individual and small group bible studies with the most faithful new belivers from the Drug addiction Ministry in Malitam. We have all been humbled and amazed at how God is changing lives and working through them in this ministry. We also have been working with Pastor Mark and the  Government’s Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and have began a large group bible study with their enrollees. A total of 26 have been saved by Jesus Christ through these 2 ministries. Souls are being saved and lives are changing in one of the most dangerous and spiritually oppressed villages in Batangas City. What an awesome beginning! Praise God for His Mercy and Grace.

By God’s grace, a new work will begin here soon. Everytime one turns around or blinks an eye, someone is being born again 🙂

Teresa Hosted an after-Christmas fellowship in our home. As usual, she outdid herself with food and deserts. She also fulfilled a prophetic vision from one of our Foundations* classmates back in 2015 by cooking large amounts of food in a big pot (in this case, a big bucket).

We spent the New Year’s Holiday with a family in Ifugao Province, in the Municipality of Banaue and it’s surrounding area. I go to reconnect with Pastor Art Carpio-a great man of God I met  last time we visited in January. A saved and reformed drug addict, He agreed to come give his testimony to our Ministry this coming weekend in Batangas. I’ll cover that next week.

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This place is the home of some of the most beautiful and culturally significant places in the world, like the Rice Terraces and the Tapia water falls. Now, there is no way to show enough pics and vids to capture every beautiful  person, place and thing in a setting like this, but there are a few pictures and videos attached below. However, the most important thing is this: The Matriarch of this family who hosted us insisted on having a New Year’s Eve service in her home, and that we share the salvation message together so that her unsaved children would have another chance to accept Jesus. Her prayer was answered and Teresa and I got to see a mother’s tears of joy over the salvation of her lost son. A second man was saved when my friend Jordan shared the Gospel of Jesus with His uncle a day or 2 later. We also attended church with “Mom” and her family at “Christ Is The Answer Church” in Banaue. We didn’t preach there, but we did get to share a part of our testimony and I gave my Teaching Bible away to a young Believer named Beth, whose Bible was stolen along with other personal items recently. She was thrilled. Rooftop Covenant Mission will be sending a few Bibles to the youth and young people there soon. What beautiful spirits these people have.

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What a wonderful, glorious God we serve!!! See you next week.

-Tracy