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Witnessing to residents of the Dinagat Islands |
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Note from Pastor Tony
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| Please take a minute and read about this Island that is basically under control by a cult that has controlled not only the population, but the government on the Island. Our team just did a Stealth Evangelism Seminar there March 7th – 9th. (I was unable to accompany them as I had planned due to me still recuperating from injuries from last month’s accident.)
Read about the Island and the awesome success of the class. They won 10% of the population of this one Island in 3 days. So many cult members came to Lord during practicums of the seminar. More than 1,200 people gave their hearts to the Lord. The host pastor had been ready to leave the Island after living in poverty and he felt, basically failure to build his church in 20 years of hard ministry. Now his hope and fire is rekindled to take the Island for Jesus! In my heart I know they will take that Island for Jesus through effective one on one soul winning. Praise God partners you are part of the winning of this Island to the Lord and snatching these people out of the grip of satan’s cult. Praise the Lord Jesus! Please read about this victory below! |
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Left: Pump-boat rides to and from Dinagat Islands. Right: The Ecleo mansion home of the cult leader, while his followers live in poverty all over the islands. |
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Destroying the hold of the PBMA Cult on Dinagat Island!
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Pastora Remy Modeno |
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| The Dinagat Islands are a group of islands constituting a province in Caraga region in the Philippines, with its main island, Dinagat. Total population for this municipality where we held our seminar is approximately 11,000 people. There are 6 other municipalities that all together have around 127,000 people on this group of islands. In 1965 the religious Cult- PBMA (Phiippine Benevolent Missionaries Association by Ruben Ecleo, Sr) was founded, ushering in a period of spiritual darkness for this region of the Philippines. The Ecleo mansion is located in San Jose, Dinagat Island where the whole population are members of his cult, except 4 family lines who are born again Christians.
Dinagat Island was the venue for Batch 1807 on March 7 – 9. Taking a pump-boat ride from Surigao, the team came to the church and carried the seminar supplies up 36 long stair steps to the church. But it was all worth it! There were over 1,200 souls led to the Lord on 3 different islands that can be reached only by a motorbike ride or a 10 minute pump-boat ride. |
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Pastora Rose and Pastora Remy riding to and from practicum areas |
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Pastors with new hope and vision! |
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| The class, which included 12 pastors, was very receptive and hardworking during practicums. Despite the on and off rains, and skipping lunch, they willingly extended practicum hours from 8 to 12-13 hours not limiting themselves to the required 30 presentations. Truly their hearts thirst for new souls for the Lord and all were excited about opening new Bible study groups and pioneering churches amidst strongholds and persecutions in the island.
The host pastor and his wife were already planning to move to another place to start their new ministry. 20 years of their ministry in the island brought them so much discouragement and put them on a poverty living. They live in a shanty with a makeshift tent divider to separate the house from the church, with no decent beds, sleeping on the floor, including their 8 children. They said ministry life was too difficult for them, taking them nowhere and said they were ready to give up this place and admit themselves as failures!! They even admitted that they have really stopped doing the evangelism. But Praise God, Stealth Evangelism inspired them and sparked a new hope that despite the circumstances, using the 357 Magnum presentation, they will be able to win new souls to the Lord without rejection, and soon these new believers will be discipled and will be the future church members and workers. The couple’s fire for soul winning had been fanned and there’s no more stopping them! They found the key to escape their poverty thru winning more and more souls. After all, more souls, more members and later on more finances for the ministry. Their hearts are full of joy with the vision of prosperity and abundance as God has promised. Truly, the breakthrough is already at hand and taking place, with the first step-being empowered with the powerful tool of evangelism. The host pastor had shared the Gospel to his neighbor for more than 25 years to no avail, then he used the newly learned 357 Magnum technique on her, and as she accepted the Lord, she invited him to join them in celebrating her mother’s 92nd birthday in Davao, so the whole family can also be led to the Lord. Wow, what a bonus!! Glory to God! The host pastor’s wife shared to her friend who is a teacher, about being born again. The teacher not only prayed the salvation prayer, but God opened her spiritual blindness by making her discover that being born again is not a religion. God impressed on her that what God wanted is a fellowship, a relationship with her. Hallelujah!! |
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Always Victory in Jesus! |
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| As we leave the island via pump-boat, and as I glanced back to the island, I cannot help but feel a great sense of fulfillment and pride. I can now declare failure is never an option in God’s ministry. There is always victory in the name of Jesus, and God’s time is always perfect, not so late nor too early. Stealth Evangelism came to Dinagat in a moment when everyone felt so hopeless and resigned that they can no longer do anything to resolve the issues. We were so much blessed with this class as we know we are leaving them a powerful tool that can combat poverty, multiply their churches, bring them prosperity and above all, turn these cult members into believers and disciples of Jesus. As we closed our class with prayers, we all declared, DINAGAT ISLAND IS FOR JESUS!!!
All thanks and praises to our loving God who sent His Son to redeem us so we can have Good News to share and to the Holy Spirit who continues to do His work on all our batches. May the Lord of Harvest bring abundant harvest to those who sow in this ministry and as we increase the quantity of warriors for God’s Army. I pray that the provision shall meet the demand for more harvesters in the Kingdom of God. Praise be to God forever and ever. – Pastora Remy |
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Health Report on Pastor Tony! |
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| Tony is improving daily, just not quite back to normal yet. He can go for a few hours then he’s really tired with back hurting and done for the day. Still feels a little fire in the muscles in his back, but is able to do most things by himself now. He’s back to riding his motorcycle and moving around for a few hours but tires out dramatically because he’s not yet fully healed. His first seminar since the accident is scheduled for next month on the 10th. He should be well by then. Just keep him in your prayers. | ||||||
We Shall Return! |
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| We will schedule other seminars in this region to take Stealth Evangelism to the other 6 Municipalities and train their pastors thus winning the entire Dinagat Islands!
Consider supporting this ministry monthly to help bring the Gospel to Islands like Dinagat. We have many that we need to bring the training to. Thank you for supporting these pastors to take the Stealth Evangelism seminar. We love you all, Tony & Calli |
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