Recent EBI graduates Lorenzo Fugen and Isomel Espinar are to join PAMI.
Lorenzo will help co-pastor the PAMI Church in Bulusan (Lorenzo’s hometown) and co-administer the E2E ministry with veteran Pastor Virgil Gacis. Administering E2E will involve Pastors Lorenzo and Virgil scheduling and conducting “Jesus” film showings with various pastors in different locations, distributing audio Bible “Proclaimers” and printed Bibles for follow-up Listening Group Bible studies, and reporting on results.
Isomel intends to plant a church in Calbayog City, Western Samar, and may be aided by his sister Michelle. Iso and Icy come from San Isidro, Samar and should be well suited to pioneering in Calgayog because they speak the same local dialect. They have done internship together and graduated from EBI together on March 23rd.
While Lorenzo already has a sponsor, Iso and Icy still need sponsors to cover about $100 per month allowance, $35 per month rent, and $25 per month to start a children’s milk feeding ministry like done in most other PAMI locations. Lorenzo and Isomel’s Testimony and Application Letters follow:
TESTIMONY & APPLICATION LETTER OF
BROTHER LORENZO FUGEN
Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the testimony of my conversion.
My parents were active Christians even when I was a young boy. They’re regularly attending Sunday worship and joining in Bible studies. My mother has passion of bringing the whole family to the church. But the distance, being too far, our house to the local church always became a problem; that all of us six siblings couldn’t go to church all the time. Thus, my giving of my life to Jesus Christ was a gradual experience as my parents brought us to the church occasionally.
But God was so gracious to me then because at about age 12, an aunt who was a very active Christian took me and my two sisters with her to attend in her church (Presbyterian) and we became regular Sunday Schoolers and VBS kids.
In the year 2005, a Christian church was opened in our own very place. In fact, our house became the house church and most in my family were baptized that year.
In our church 1st Anniversary on January 27, 2006, Pastor Chito Mendizabal was our guest speaker. He mentioned about Emmaus Bible Institute; and Ptr Jun (our pastor) and other church members encouraged me to study.
And on June 05, 2006, I enrolled as freshman student at Emmaus Bible Institute, Sorsogon City. I’m very thankful to God because of His immeasurable grace and faithfulness in all of my Bible schooling. I experienced great challenges to join the mission of Christ during my internship assignment in Calbayog City. The needs are just so tremendous, great numbers of people who don’t know yet the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I am a graduating student.
I plan and pray to join PAMI mission because I like the mission’s thrust, visions and missions of extending and reaching more places for Christ especially those less-evangelized regions. I’m excited to joining the Great Commission of Christ.
I witnessed too the hardships and difficulties met by our local workers and pastors in the Philippines but I decided still to stand and go to which I believed the greatest mission a man or a woman could ever have: to continue the works entrusted to us by Christ.
I pray that this letter would give light to my heart-felt intention of joining PAMI mission and my desire of be used by God mightily and effectively in His service.
Thank you so much and GOD BLESS YOU ALL!
Your brother in Christ,
Lorenzo F. Fugen
Graduating student
Emmaus Bible Institute
TESTIMONY & APPLICATION LETTER OF
BROTHER ISOMEL ESPINAR
Praise be to the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessings in Christ.
I am the eldest son among three children of Brother and Sister Jess and Shimey Espinar. We lived in a remote but peaceful barangay of Veriato, San Isidro, Northern Samar. We lived just like any other families in our place as farmers/fishermen until such time that the family experienced a heavy blow. My father was hospitalized due to severe kidney problem and he needed to be operated on. Life for the family was so hard as a result.
But God’s grace overflows in time of hardships and darkness such as these. My uncle, who is a pastor ministered to us in this time of crisis and the result was awesome, all of us in the family surrendered our lives to the Lordship of Christ. I was 12 years old that time. Miracle after miracles followed; my father regained his full health who worked to provide for the family again and most our family became God’s family.
In the year 2006, Ptr Jess (my uncle) encouraged me and my sister Meshil to study at Emmaus Bible Institute. It was so great privileged to thank God by way of serving Him.
Experiences at Bible school were enjoyable and yet challenging; there were lot of learning not only in the Bible but character-building as well; God is shaping us into becoming a good servant; we learned too a lot of skills like carpentry, baking, gardening, and playing musical instruments.
My first internship assignment was with Pastor Redgie Bonifacio in Castilla Christian Church. The church had a long-time history of problem which the leaders themselves were involved. So, even at present, people talked bad about the church. God taught us a great deal of patience and love for the people. The awesome thing is that God continue to add new and more converts in Castilla. And God is doing great things to lift the morale of the Christians there like the recent visit of the Respond Team.
My second internship assignment was at Calbayog City. I enjoyed too working there because I know the people’s dialect and there’s no language barrier especially talking with the elderly who didn’t know even Tagalog language.
My last assignment was with Pastor Pio in Barcelona Christian Church, together with my sister Meshil. It was one of the meaningful experience because we were able to witness young people and saw them growing in the Lord. We had a lot of so nice experiences with Pastor Pio and those young people who stayed most of the time with us in the church; we fished with them, hiked, gathered cassava; and Bible times like overnight prayer meeting, discipleship training and feeding.
Our graduation is scheduled on March 23 2010; It is my prayer and joy to express my desire of joining this so active mission. May God touch your heart in my behalf; my vision is to do mission in Calbayog City.
God bless you all!
God’s servant,
Bro Isomel Espinar
EBI graduating