March Update

Dear Prayer Warriors,

Leadership is a high calling and privilege but make no mistake, it is tough, demanding and requires focus and discipline. For a follower of Christ, leadership means serving all in humility with the supreme aim of pleasing the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:9 NASB says "We have as our ambition... to be pleasing to Him" Mary Ann and I, along with all the ACTION missionaries and staff, desire to be well pleasing to the Lord and to always be facing Him eye to eye as we carry out our daily responsibilities. Thank you so very much for your prayers and financial support.

The following are ministry updates and requests for prayer.

1. INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL SUMMARY

Mary Ann and I had a wonderful time renewing fellowship with ACTION leaders worldwide. The meetings were fruitful and productive. Sticky issues were discussed and prayed over with humility and honesty. The Lord gave us wisdom and understanding as we lead and manage our growing mission. Nelson Reed is now ACTION's International Director and I was appointed to be the Associate. It is still a wonderment to me that God would use me as inadequate and weak as I am to serve Him as a missionary. Mary Ann had a couple good meetings with other missionary wives and very much enjoyed their fellowship. Next year's IC will be held in Manila and Mary Ann is already looking for the appropriate venue and accommodations for our guests. Pray for her as she will be coordinating much of the logistical needs of the conference.

2. FIELD CONFERENCE SUMMARY

Upon returning from the UK, we had 2 days to do laundry, get some sleep, do some office work and prepare for our team's annual field conference. Our speaker was Pastor Trevor Salmon of Kinmel Bay Church in No. Wales and his wife Esther provided ministry to our children. Pastor Trevor and Esther are still here and will return to the UK on Wednesday. They are an absolute delight as we go around together and minister. They will bring back a good report to their already missions-minded church. Field Conference is always a wonderful break from our daily lives to have unhurried fellowship, extended seasons of prayer, family fun and to study the Word together. Pray for Mary Ann as she is preparing for next year's conference also, which will include several IC delegates.

3. BASECO FEEDING STARTED

Thank you for praying and giving so we can feed 30 hand-picked severely malnourished children in Baseco in cooperation with Aplaya Christian Church. The kids and their entire families have already received initial medical attention and have been de-wormed. This feeding will be daily and will include intense training for the mothers and older siblings in hygiene and food preparation while everyone will attend Bible studies under Pastor Malinao. Keep praying for this little church with bamboo-slat walls, tin roof and dirt floor as they battle against spiritual and material poverty with the hope of the glad tidings of the Gospel. May 19 we will have a large medical clinic in cooperation with several churches in Baseco and our church Greenhills Christian Fellowship. GCF will provide medical personnel and medicine while ACTION provides logistical set up and follow up.

Recently I was on the phone with a Bible college student and I was telling her about our Fish and Bread Feeding Program and right there on the spot she said she would give $1000 saying "I am privileged to eat any type of food I want and as much as I want and I am glad to help feed hungry children." This young follower of Christ understands the heart of Jesus Christ. Pray that the Lord will raise up many others like her with generous hearts, eyes that see clearly with some to join us on the mission field. We need them and you!

4. UPDATE ON CERVANTES KIDS

The children continue in daily tutorial classes and are making good progress in their reading and writing skills. They happily show up for class--early as a matter of fact--ready to start. They are feeling better and are gaining weight due to eating good food and receiving medication for their Primary Complex TB. Recently we received permission from their father to place his children in an orphanage so they will receive on-going care which he has finally realized he cannot provide. Continue to pray for the Cervantes kids and for Mylin Butor as she works with them.

5. MARY ANN LOOKING FOR ASSISTANT

Mary Ann is praying for an assistant to come and work with her for 2 to 3 weeks to help with several publishing projects, scanning slides and organizing thousands of digital photos. She wants to get these resources into a retrievable form so she can use them to produce informational and promotional materials. The assistant should be a woman skilled in graphic arts (or possibly could be a man with his wife joining) since they will work together in our home office. Ask the Lord to send this person and keep your eyes and ears open. Maybe you know someone who could help Mary Ann with this task. It would help free her up to work on several projects.

6. PERSONNEL NEEDED TO FILL SOME IMPORTANT MINISTRY POSITIONS

1. Short term needs are an assistant for Mary Ann, a qualified midwife or nurse for 2-3 months this summer capable of managing the birthing clinic while missionaries are on furlough.

2. Long-term needs are a Business Administrator, Administrative Assistant for Jeff and Welding Instructor.

See our website http://www.actionph.org for a more comprehensive list, job descriptions and information on the ministries mentioned in this letter.

7. FIRE RELIEF

Last Monday when I was attending Pastor Salmon's Bible conference, I ran into an old friend and she told me about a huge fire in her neighborhood a little over a week ago. She said a thousand families were totally burned out including several from her husband's church. That afternoon we made arrangements to conduct relief work for 150 selected families which we did yesterday. ACTION provided building materials and cooking equipment while another church, Day by Day Christian Ministries, provided food and used clothing. I gave a short challenge from John 14:6 and 2 Corinthians 5:17 before the distribution. Tomorrow Pastor Ver of the church will distribute 70 New Testament Bibles to his people and throughout the neighborhood which we also provided. Pray for En-Theos Christian Fellowship as they continue to reach out to their suffering neighbors with the Gospel of Christ while they themselves suffer from this tragedy. Fire is the number 1 fear of people living in Manila slums and it is now fire season.

8. NEW BILIBID PRISON

Thursday I attended a Bible session taught by Paul Ellis in the Medium Security Compound along with Pastor Salmon and we had a wonderful day having fellowship with about 30 inmates as we studied the Word of God together. Since I had not been to the prison since September, it was very encouraging to be warmly greeted by the inmates when we arrived. One fellow even remembered that I had made a trip to Africa and wanted to know how it went because he prayed. Praise the Lord for Paul's on-going ministry among these men and for their transformed lives. They are definitely new creatures in Christ.

9. GOING THE 2ND MILE

When I was going around Baseco the other day with Pastor Salmon, he asked me what "2nd Mile" means as I was explaining to him the various ministries of ACTION Phlippines. I said what we are doing today is the 1st Mile, the direct evangelism, feeding, medical care and crisis intervention while the ministries at the 2nd Mile compound are the intensive discipleship and vocational skills training for those we come into contact with in the city.

Let me give you a run-down on what is currently taking place at our 2nd Mile Ministry Compound under the effective leadership of Daryl Germaine.

1. Working Hands is a discipleship vocational training ministry for underprivileged young men. Currently there are 16 guys in the auto mechanics course, 6 in the electronics course and 7 in the wood technology course.

2. The Mustard Seed Discipleship Vocational Training Program teaches professional sewing for underprivileged young women. They are now in the process of looking for up to 10 girls for their next class which starts in early June.

3. Honest Hands, the Discipleship and Life-skills training program for former street boys will be graduating 8 guys this coming Friday.

4. ACTION is now in the completion stage of building a guesthouse for our many visitors and short term teams.

The 2nd Mile compound is located about 2 hours outside of Manila where the air is fresh, clean and cool. In Matthew 5:41 Jesus tells us to go the 2nd Mile, thus the name of the compound. We praise God for the many, many young men and women who have received practical Bible training and learned marketable skills over the years at this place. Some of these men are now pastors. For your information, we are also looking for a welding instructor who could step into a fully-equipped shop. This man along with having welding skills needs to have a heart for training young men in the Word as well as welding.

For the sake of the Gospel and transformed lives in Christ,

Jeff