We are coming closer to the end of the construction of the new Dunamis International Mission Center here in Manila. Since the fire on February 17th, 2016 we have been in many calamities trying to build the center back. It took 14 months to get the insurance settlement so we could begin the construction. We can’t tell you in words how difficult getting your claim settled was here in the Philippines. The insurance company did everything possible to cut the amount that we had the property insured for. They lied to us from the very beginning sitting in their main office here. We were sitting there in clothes that had been given to us, they started by telling us that we were covered for things that later on they denied. Folks, when you have gone through such a tragedy and are in a state of pure vulnerability you believe that people would have the compassion to tell you the truth. Their lies started unfolding on us later. We were blessed by the Lord covering us all the way, or they would have robbed us of almost everything. When we finally settled with them they had swindled us out of approximately 27% of the claim. After 14 months of stress to get the claim, we had the task of finding a builder and drawing the plans then get a permit that took about 6 months and a lot of money to obtain. We spent about 5 months demolishing the old structure which was an ordeal itself because the old structure was massive and had to be knocked down by manpower and jackhammers. We had done most of the demolishing while we were negotiating the claim. |
In the meantime, we stepped up our seminars to average about 3 a month while all this was going on. We tripled the number of seminars that we did by switching to mobile seminars instead of in house seminars like we had done before. Mobile seminars now allowed us to reach more pastors and affect more churches with perpetual waves of evangelism that was created from the seminars. We were rising out of the ashes and impacting thousands of lives through our seminars and at the same time working on the building of the new center. So you could say that the new center is baptized with 10’s of thousands of souls being saved while the new center began rising out of the ashes of the old one! Hallelujah! I don’t have a clue how we have gotten all this done when our hearts were completely torn out by the loss of our precious daughter Felicity, but we all know that God’s Grace is sufficient. It’s not about our strength, but completely about His strength and love for each of us and all those that are affected by this awesome ministry. God is good all the time, He will never let us down, He will always be there for us, and only in Him is there victory and fulfillment!
We are still one or two months from completion of the building, we’ve had to borrow money ($50,000) to finish and it’s not enough, we are still about $20,000 short. I’m sorry we can’t really get the numbers closer than that because everyday something else comes up. We have about 16 to 20 laborers including, electricians, masonry guys, painters, tilers, window installers, air conditioning installers, and laborers. Most working 6 days a week. We are coming to a close on several different levels so we will quickly be coming down to mostly painters hopefully after about another 2 weeks. I want you to know that it’s not like in the states, the wages are much less. Yet after almost 21 months of construction, even the cheaper wages are hard to come up with. The well is running dry. After losing a lot of money to former 14-year employee embezzlement, we have sold the school van, Calli’s personal car, and 2 of our motorcycles, and other assorted assets to keep the project going. We have a F150 Ministry pickup that I can sell, but I’ve been holding off hoping we wouldn’t have to sell it also. It’s a mint condition 1997, 46,000 miles truck; it’s very helpful to the ministry, so I hope that we can raise enough money that it doesn’t have to go. |
Guys we have been in ministry in the Philippines going on 22 years, since 1997. We have lived here in Manila 17 years of that. God takes care of us! In 2006, the Lord told me not to go back to the US and itinerate any more. Itinerate means to go to local churches back in the US and hold meetings and raise support. He said to me, “I’m going to show you my ways instead of your own.” So, since that time we quit going back to the states every year to raise support, and just stayed on the firing lines of the battle for men’s souls and trusted the Lord with bringing in what we need. He has taken care of us since 2006 without us coming back to the US for 3 months every year and interrupting our ministry with a 3-month gap every year. I can tell you it was like riding a wild roller coaster to do that. When God told me to stay home and that He would take care of it, it was such a relief. He has done that very thing. We do miss seeing y’all and our family, but we will have plenty of time in Heaven to catch up. Amen?
We do need some help and we are sorry to even have to ask you, but it’s getting harder every day to get to the finish line of this construction. It tears my heart to even have to share this. We know, everyone has problems, but we do know that when you give, the Lord says it will be given you. So we pray that the following scripture will enlighten your heart and bring you much joy with the opportunity to give. It’s like buying war bonds in World War II except better because you are sowing into the Battle for Men’s Souls. We are waging battle for millions of souls being brought to the Kingdom of God by these Pastors and churches.
Luke 6:38 – Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.
With this statement from the Lord we know that this is an opportunity to be blessed sowing seed into the Kingdom of God and we pray that your return would manifest in financial prosperity and spiritual prosperity from sowing into souls!
Love you all,
Tony and Calli |