CCI Philippines July 2020 Update

CCI Philippines News

National Director

CORONAVIRUS = OPPORTUNITIES

“It is good to give thanks to the LORD and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning and Your faithfulness by night.”
Psalm 92:1-2

My heart sings with the words of the Psalmist as I reflect on God’s goodness in spite of the current restrictions that prevent our team from going out to minister to people. These restrictions actually created the opportunity to hold classes and offer seminars and workshops even though the participants may be miles apart, to attend prayer meetings and worship services with friends around the world, and to open new classes in closed or even hostile countries. Even tribal pastors can now attend classes when previously they could not go to the sessions to be trained. Our team is now in the process of taking advantage of these opportunities in situations where face-to-face gatherings are not allowed. Praise the Lord and pray for us!

Henry Ventura

CCI Philippines

Several classes have resumed in July. Those that meet face-to-face have to find a place with enough space to observe social distancing. They also have to adjust their schedule to avoid curfew hours. Many are still being conducted online as well.

On July 20, the Luzon staff held their monthly fellowship and meeting online. Among other things, we discussed the possibility of conducting online graduations for Tarlac City and other locations.

Pastor Joel Martinez, our Area Coordinator in Davao, led his church in gathering and distributing relief goods to the poor people in the community to help them survive the economic hardship brought about by the pandemic. This photo shows them preparing the food packs for distribution.

Testimonies

From Joena Marie Agod of Davao City, a graduate from last year:

“As I share my testimony, I pray that you will appreciate what God has done in my life as I took my journey with Crossing Cultures International (CCI). It was an awesome experience and I really learned a lot of so many things, be it practical or spiritual.

“Before I joined the class, there were times when our church pastor delegated me to share the Word of God. Honestly, I found it challenging to prepare for a message. There were times when I got ideas from commentaries found in Google and also watched sermons in YouTube. So definitely, the messages I prepared were solely imitated from what I read and watched. This means that those messages did not emanate from me personally.

“As to doing my devotion, there were times when I found it difficult comprehending the scriptures. There were also times when I took the passages literally where in fact, there's a hidden message behind it. I even questioned the justice of God in the book of Genesis. Well, as you can see, at those times, I really didn't know how to interpret the Bible properly.

“During the bible training, I found it very engaging especially when our teacher asked us intriguing questions. There, I was so enlightened. I also learned how to properly prepare the Word that will be shared publicly and how to interpret the Bible through participative and actual activities in the training. Beyond those concerns, I gained so much learning.

“After completing all the courses, praise God, I was able to deliver the Word that is based on my personal understanding and revelation. Before, I found it very difficult but now, it seems so fascinating and the more I share, the more I get revelations from the Lord. I also applied how to properly interpret the Bible, when to take it literally and figuratively. If there are times when I have questions about the passage, I seek help from our church pastor for clarification to avoid misinterpretation. One valuable tip I got from the training is to ask for wisdom and lean with the Holy Spirit whenever reading or studying the Bible. And that has been proven because since I practiced it, the scriptures that I read appear to be very understandable.

“I thank God for bringing me here through CCI. Through the different courses, I also somehow fully understand my worth in Christ and my mission here on Earth. This is a continuous training as I apply what I learned in the actual situations in life. All glory to God!”

From Amy Bravante of Crosspoint Gospel Church, Pasig, Metro-Manila who just finished the second book, Old Testament Survey.

“First, I thank God for giving me the chance to study like this. At first, I wasn’t really familiar with the Bible and I didn’t understand it well. But with the help of studying this course everything has become so much clearer, not just on how we interpret the Bible, but on how God wants us to understand His Word. And each day of studying the Bible, it has become clearer to me the meaning of each book of the Old Testament and how the prophets wrote it. I also learned the books that are pre-exilic, post-exilic and exilic, including Christ’s imminent return as prophesied in Revelation, which gives me joy to continue studying His Word and excites me as His return approaches. All praise is for Him.”

Prayer and Praise

From Henry Ventura - National Director of CCI Philippines

Please pray for the continued zeal of the staff, teachers and students as we gradually resume our classes, whether online or face-to-face.
Pastor Val Abellanosa, our Coordinator in Northern Mindanao, informed me that he can no longer travel outside of his region. This means that we have to find someone else to do the ministry assignments that he used to take care of even though they are outside his area of responsibility.
Pastor Lolito Repaso informed me that there are three tribal pastors in South Cotabato who would like to study but do not have money to buy the books. It costs $100 to buy a set of 10 manuals and a study Bible for one pastor. Please pray that someone or some people would step up and sponsor the materials that these pastors need for their training.
A CCI teacher, Engr. Rey Igcol, is requesting prayers for one of churches that they have planted and are ministering to in Tambulig, Zamboanga del Sur. They have paid the down payment of 75,000 pesos for a church lot and they only need 25,000 more for the full payment. After this, they are going to raise another 100,000 pesos to purchase materials to start constructing the church building. He says that the money we spend in ministry is not a cost but an investment and I agree with him completely.
Pastor Rolando dela Cruz is a CCI graduate who is now teaching his own class in the Island Garden City of Samal. The members of the congregation of one of his students are seeking to construct a church building in which to meet. They have found a piece of property to do this and they are praying for the funds for this building.
Please pray for God’s financial provision and sustenance for our staff since our family members who used to work have lost their jobs due to the pandemic.
Please pray Teresa Caindoy’s health as she has some heart issues.
Ed Edosur’s health has shown a lot of improvement but he still has to undergo two more sessions to finish the treatment.

Thank you for praying and for giving!
Through your prayers and the help of the Holy Spirit (Phil. 1:19), the CCI ministry is growing and is effectively equipping God’s servants to make a difference in their communities for the glory of God.