Imagine almost every home in your neighborhood being made of scrap wood and metal with no running water or toilets, the blessed homes on stilts and having a floor to protect against flooding. Imagine 90 plus degrees of heat year round and no air conditioning. Imagine that if you are actually blessed to have a job it may earn you a couple of dollars a day. Imagine living on the ocean but it is never blue. Instead, it is brown, with rubbish and sewage, old clothes floating by. Imagine the ever present smell of trash burning and diesel engine smoke. Imagine mosquitoes being present all day long, some of which may carry dengue fever in their blood. Imagine living in a tropical paradise, lush and green, but it is spoiled by feces, trash, and hopelessness. Imagine being a mom who is so desperate to feed herself and her family that she is more concerned with the health of the pig than her infant.

Now imagine yourself carrying the gospel of the Kingdom and God to the hearts of those living in such a place. You are taking Jesus, our hope of glory, to fight the hopelessness. Can you imagine hearts changing to begin to care for their children, for their environment, and for their lives? Can you imagine the communities beginning to change as people choose eternal life, the life that is abundant and free?

There was a group who came here last year from The King’s Lodge and they have begun hearing from the communities that lives were changed because they received a bible and Jesus last year. That spurs us on to continue the work!!!  One young woman told one of our team that last year she was going to leave her husband because things were so bad, but the ministry last year turned her around.

After just two weeks in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan we have seen hundreds accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior for the first time. In the first couple of days Tara shared and prayed with three girls and a boy, all of whom received Jesus. I shared with a teenage boy, Michael, who accepted Jesus and asked that we pray for his family. His father is dead and his mother, Mercy, and uncle, Caesar, now care for him but they are fighting. When I traveled to Iligan, I was able to preach to dozens in the streets and see them step forward to receive Jesus. I am not sure of the number, but I would estimate about 70-80 people.  Tanner has worked on his testimony and has shared with many children.
There is a real hunger here for God's Word and the gospel.  We are giving away hundreds of bibles, but only to those who request them. So many desire them, and they are asking us to return to their homes to teach them. Yesterday, with a translator and two others, I shared the gospel with an entire family of 8 (the Cihapre’s - please pray for them). They all accepted Jesus as their Lord and asked us to return next week to begin teaching them from the Bible we left with them. It was so amazing. God is blessing us immensely. Thank you for your continued prayer and support.

PLEASE KEEP PRAYING!!!!!

God bless,
Bryan, Tara, Tanner, Keaton and Regan Riley
FJ Ministries