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I pray that all is well with you and your families. There isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t thank the Lord for you. Because of you, we are able to do this and please know we are forever grateful.
How I wish you could be here physically to see what God is doing here in the Philippines. I really think revival is happening. People are giving their lives to the Lord left and right, being baptized, deepening their spiritual foundations. It is beautiful.
The month of March has been wonderful and very fruitful. I sometimes feel there is not enough hours in a day. There are so many things that I want to share and report but here are some of the highlights. God is doing some pretty awesome stuff and opening so many doors.
Next month is going to be really exciting. We are starting work with the Real Life Foundation. I will keep you posted! It will definitely encourage you to hear about this.
Another exciting report: the church grew about 10% as a result of the 1 Life To Live series last month. We have several new members attending our life groups and have expressed excitement to attend regularly.
Personally — I have been on a mission to get back in shape. I was approached by a team owner of one of the teams, and he asked if I was interested in playing again. It triggered me to get back in shape, and I have been faithfully going to the gym everyday. I have lost 20 pounds since December and I am hoping to lose 20 more in the 3 months. Samantha has been getting back in shape as well. It feels great to be healthier!
God is teaching me to value time. I count it a privilege to be able to serve God. I am growing in my faith, been preaching more, taking more of a leadership role in the church. I am being stretched and stretched, but I know that it is really good.
Here are the some of what we did in March.
We had weekly small group meetings for high school students in British School Manila. Here is a picture of me and Zack -- one of the kids who regularly attends the meetings. I went to see his basketball game to cheer him on.
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| From Blogger Pictures |
We had weekly 1 Life to Live Seminars which we hosted every Thursday.
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| From 1 Life to Live Seminar |
There was a Volunteer Weekend campaign which encouraged the church to get more involved in its different ministries. Do you know that the church has only about a dozen paid staff and is run by 800+ volunteers (myself included). Please see our blog about this campaign.
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| From Volunteer Weekend Orientation |
We went to Smokey Mountain and got a glimpse of what it is like to live there. Our good friends have a foundation that helps raise money to send children of Smokey Mountain residents to college. To know more about our amazing experience, please see our blog entry on this. To see the entire online photo album of our visit, please click here.
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| From Alex's 35th Birthday at Smokey Mountain |
We worked with Gawad Kalinga to help build a house for a poverty-stricken family. It was done on a friend's birthday and thought that it would be nice way to celebrate and give back to his community. Together with its partners, Gawad Kalinga is now in the process of transforming poverty stricken areas with the goal of building 700,000 homes in 7,000 in 7 years (2003-2010).
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| From Harvey's 30th Birthday for Gawad Kalinga |
We had graduation rites for students of University of Makati who successfully completed a comprehensive Christian-based life course. One of the most amazing things for us was this course was accepted and included in the university's regular academic curriculum. What an amazing way to influence the next generation!
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| From University of Makati Commencement Exercises |
I have also been spending time with a friend who got paralyzed from a severe basketball injury in 2006. His name is Eugene Tejada. His doctors said he can never be mobile again. Three years later, however, he is courageously walking! He is an inspiration to all of us. I have been encouraging him to start writing a book to let the world know about his testimony.
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| From Harvey's 30th Birthday for Gawad Kalinga |
It truly is humbling to walk alongside so many individuals and witness God's plan unfold in their lives. Your prayers and support are making a huge difference tomorrow's leaders. We are grateful for you. Thank you for making an investment in the next generation that will reap eternal rewards.
In Him,
Robert and Samantha Johnson
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