Philippine Evangelical Friends Church, Inc.

Jaime and Lydia Tabingo

P.O. Box 12341

Ortigas Center, Pasig City 1653 Metro-Manila, Philippines

Fall 2002

Dear Praying Partners,

We bring you greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! He is the only One worthy to be adored and served. We thank Him for the privilege of expanding His Kingdom and Church here in the Philippines. You are our partners in this divine task.

I (Jaime) visited one of our newest churches in Bacoor, Cavite Province. This Town is located in the southern part of Metro-Manila. It's almost a couple of hours travel by private vehicle. It's not far, but considering the traffic jam that we are encountering in our big city, a fifty-kilometer distance would consume two hours of travel. Despite travel inconveniences, it's a joy to fellowship with Friends in their respective areas of ministry. This Friends group started having Sunday worship services six months ago in a garage. Now, they have an average of 40-50 people in attendance. This garage has become the birth- place of Christ, the King Evangelical Friends Church. I recall the biblical account when our Jesus Christ was born in a manger and not in a luxurious hospital. Many of our present Friends churches here are located in "not so beautiful locations", but the gospel that we preach is making them beautiful in the "inside of their lives", which is the most important part of our ministry. This new Friends group continues to grow in quality and quantity. Please pray that the Lord will continue to provide for their needs.

The six student pastors that I (Jaime) personally disciple and supervise in our dormitory are on the go with their outreaches which will soon become regular churches when they finish their theological training. In September they personally followed up on 26 young people and adults for evangelism and discipleship. Thirteen of these have personally committed their lives to Jesus Christ, recognizing Him as their personal Lord and Savior. Four of them are ready to become members of our Friends groups. Please pray that these new believers will continue to grow spiritually and become involved in our local congregations.

In some of our churches, we have started Saturday Bible classes for children. We have come to realize that Saturday Bible classes are more practical for our children than Sunday school. Besides, they will have longer time for other activities that will enrich their spiritual lives.

The student pastors and myself (Jaime) have gone through a seminar (two sessions in a couple of weeks) to reach out to government officials for the gospel. We will be starting to conduct meetings with our local community (here we call the "Barangai') officials and then to the town or city officials. We will be allowed to enter government offices to conduct seminars. Actually, these are evangelistic meetings. Our main goal is to transform the lives of those that are handling the government affairs. There is so much graft and corruption in both private and public offices. We would like to help bring about a revival in our country by reaching those who are in government positions. We are a part of a new movement called Movement for Righteous Leadership (MRL) which is a Christian NGO targeting the government personnel. Please pray that the Lord will give us a good harvest of souls among the middle-higher class of our society.

Sincerely, in Christ,

Jaime and Lydia Tabingo