Trip Presentation and Team Reflections
As Thanksgiving approaches, let us together express gratitude and praise to God as we review His hand at work in a recent month-long visit to the Philippines by a team of four from Minnesota and Wisconsin. This post includes the Powerpoint, 32-minute summary video, and copies of team Reflections shared during a Missions Sunday school hour on Nov 19, 2023 at Prairie Hill Evangelical Free Church. Note that three of our team (Mike, Tyler, and Jess) are from PHEFC.
A) Powerpoint
This slide show starts by noting that PHEFC supports the family of PAMI Pastor Rafael and Elsie Dominguez, who live and serve on the campus of PAMI’s Emmaus Bible Institute. It also includes several slides from last year’s Missions Moment on PAMI’s partnership with Operation Christmas Child, before moving on an overview of highlights of this year’s visit.
B) YouTube link to a 32-minute trip summary video by Mike Thorud: PAMI Visit 2023
This video starts with excerpts from the 40+ hours of travel to get to EBI (27 hours of flights & airport layovers from MSP to MNL, followed by 13 hours of driving from MNL to Sorsogon City). The first Friday, Saturday, and Sunday included visiting the Sorsogon City pier site/lighthouse, celebrating Shabbat (since Jack is a Messianic Jew), music with Compassion kids, prepping for camp with Bulabog Church youth, and Emmaus Christian Fellowship Sunday service. Then there was the 5-day all-PAMI youth camp, followed by visiting various PAMI churches and their outreaches, starting with the Bulan Church where we visited homes of members, participated in a Sunday worship service and youth fellowship, and began conducting a kids program in Bulan church and two of its daughter churches (Fabrica and MonteCalvario churches), and an outreach by the ocean. This kids program was done 21 times, and the flavor of them is uniquely captured by intermixing clips from several of them. The songs all have a common theme of God’s Light. Towards the end of the video, the team with their entourage is seen walking through a Barcelona neighborhood near the home of the Garduque family, and then kids from one of their outreaches share a heart-warming song with actions in their own dialect. Some women in Sister Judy’s Accommodation near Manila dance to this same song as part of their morning devotions. These are women who will be doing two-year long assignments as Overseas Foreign Workers in Asia or the Middle East. Pastor Raf conducted a child dedication for the baby of one of these OFWs. By the way, Sis Judy is a graduate of EBI that has a successful business recruiting, preparing, and placing OFWs. Sis Judy provided the white van that we traveled in, accompanied us much of the time, and provided us lodging in her Accommodation the last two nights. Even though she has already done so much to help PAMI, she says that our visit and commitment inspires her to help even more. The video ends with people of EBI singing to Sister Jess for her birthday, along with various PAMI workers at a picnic singing “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
C) Team Reflections:
Note that Tyler and Jess got engaged two months after the visit.
October 2023 PAMI Bulletin
Click here to see the new bulletin, or go to the News tab to see past newsletters/bulletins.
Misc. reports from the year
While other posts covered reports from Bulabog (Ptr Marlon Gabion), Prieto Diaz (Ptr Benjie and Elah Camar), and San Jose Bulusan (Ptr Lorenzo and Abigail Fugen), this post includes miscellaneous other reports. Click on links below to see reports from various PAMI ministry locations from throughout the year (some are Word files and some are pdf files).
Bulan Partition of Churches (Bulan Church and its daughter churches, overseen by Pastor Virgilio Fulo):
Vision-Goals of Bulan Partition Churches for 2022–Spiritual Aspect
Continuation of Vision and Goals of Bulan Partition of Churches 2022–Physical Aspect
Bulan Church 1st Quarter Report from Ptr Virgilio Fulo
Fabrica Church 3rd Quarter Report from Ptr Felmar Guray
Monte Calvario Church Oct 2022 Report from Ptr Noni Polo
Emmaus Bible Institute Partition (overseen by Sister Ofel Mendizabal):
EBI Update received 3-29-2022 from Sister Ofel
EBI Update received 6-22-2022 from Sister Ofel
Pena Francia 1-26-2022 report from Ptr Rolly Catubig
Pena Francia 4-3-2022 report from Ptr Rolly Catubig
Pena Francia 6-14-2022 report from Ptr Rolly Catubig
Pena Francia 3rd Quarter report from Ptr Rolly Catubig
Other Churches Partition (overseen by Pastor Gumer Gile):
Castilla 1st Quarter 2022 Report by Ptr Redgie Bonifacio
Castilla Report from Ptr Redgie Nov 9 2022
Bulusan Church Report from Ptr Lorenzo Oct 14 2022
Barcelona Church Report from Garduques April – June 2022
Barcelona Church Report from Garduques July – Sept 2022
Matnog Report from Histas received 12-13-2021
Matnog Report from Histas received 3-23-2022
Matnog Report from Histas received 4-22-2022
Matnog Report from Histas received 6-29-2022
Matnog Report from Histas received 9-26-2022
Matnog Report from Histas received 11-23-2022
Irosin Report from Ptr Gumer Jan-Mar 2022
Irosin Report from Ptr Gumer April to May 21, 2022
Irosin Report from Ptr Gumer May 21 to June 21, 2022
Irosin Report from Ptr Gumer June 21 to July 2022
Irosin Report from Ptr Gumer July to Aug 24, 2022
Irosin Report from Ptr Gumer Aug to Sept 21, 2022
Pastor Marlon and Bulabog Church
This post has info about the ministry of Pastor Marlon Gabion of PAMI’s Bulabog Church near Emmaus Bible Institute. You can see that he is quite active, is good at reporting and providing pictures, and would be an interesting pastor for someone to sponsor. Pastor Marlon is 36 years old, graduated from EBI in 2013, pastored the Bulabog Church since his cousin (Pastor Nanding Gabion) passed away about 9 years ago, teaches EBI classes (both regular and modular extension classes), serves as a Compassion Padaba teacher, and coaches the Emmaus Christian Fellowship community basketball team. Besides heading the Bulabog Church, he also teams together with Pastor Benjie and Elah Camar, and various EBI workers and Compassion staff. The following pdf file has highlights of Pastor Marlon’s ministries from January to July of 2022. Along with a lot of other things, it includes more pictures from the PAMI youth Cluster Camp that was highlighted in the previous post.
More recent info from Pastor Marlon includes the following:
Dec. 12, 2022: Hello Brother Mike! How are you? How’s your preparation for this upcoming Christmas? Yesterday Bulabog church celebrated its 9 year anniversary since I started in 2013 there. I’m very thankful to God for always guiding me in that ministry, specially how to handle situations when they arise inside the church. I’m grateful in every season in our ministry–every year passing by is a different experience. I’m always excited for every additional year added by God because I’m praying and hoping that every season there are new souls added in the church.This year we only have a simple preparation and celebration due to bad weather of a typhoon. I’m only asking to the members to just bring food. We combine also a simple Christmas party celebration.Thank you very much for our budget that you are giving for our Christmas party.
Scroll through the following pictures from the Dec 11th celebration:
This is modular in Bulan last November. The subject that I taught was the book of Acts
I’m very thankful to God for safe travel last month every time we go there to teach in modular with pastor Raf, because last month always a heavy rain.
Here in Emmaus with sister nova and sister cristy (modular class)
Also here in Emmaus next week is an end of first semester classes. I’m thankful to God to finish the first semester in my teaching class, but I’m staying here because December 25 maybe we have a child dedication. I cancelled my plan to spend a Christmas holiday with my family because I have some activities this coming December 25–maybe we have a child dedication in our church.
On behalf of Bulabog family, thank you very much brother Mike and Pami board and supporters for always giving support of our ministry–in prayers, financial and guidance. May the Lord bless you in return for all the effort you’ve done. Once again thank you very much, and Merry Christmas in advance to your family. God bless.
2020 Summary & January Bulletin
For 2020 donors that received a year-end gift receipt, the following 2020 ministry summary and January Bulletin were included. They are included in this blog post for others to see as well.
Click on the following: January 2021 PAMI Bulletin
Dear Friends:
Thank you for demonstrating your love for the Lord through your gifts and prayers for PAMI in 2020. I am reminded of Jesus' example of service by washing the disciples' feet at the Last Supper, followed by issuing the mandate of John 13:34, "As I have loved you, so you must love one another."
Despite the restrictions posed by COVID for most of last year, there was still much accomplished. When large groups were forbidden, messages were streamed on-line and via radio, and small groups in homes or yards still met. 34 people were baptized, and about another 20 are waiting to be baptized once beach venues open up. 4 EBI seniors completed their four year program in March, and 10 Freshmen began their studies in August. Weekly modular EBI extension classes were started in September in 6 locations with 40+ attendees. 160 Compassion sponsored kids were served, shifting from weekly sessions at the EBI campus to home-based visits by case workers/teachers. Children’s feedings were converted to relief food distributions. Several balikbayan boxes were sent with books, CDs, games, toys, school and office supplies, hygiene supplies, clothes, laptops and projectors. Some typhoon repairs and building refurbishment/improvement were done, including replacing an EBI bamboo classroom with a brick one, and reroofing the EBI church, Candumaay Matnog church, and Mabini pavilion. A lot in Tabon-tabon Irosin was purchased through a combination of local and matching mission funds. It’s through the partnership of dedicated Filipino workers and faithful supporters like you that all this was possible.
Thank you very much for your part in this work. May God richly bless you.
Mission life just before and during COVID quarantine
Here’s a pdf that includes an April report from Sis Ofel of EBI, along with pictures of a Valentine couples night, distribution of books/food/relief, gardening, and family worship: April 14th report
PAMI Sept 2018 Bulletin, VVM visitors at Emmaus Lutheran, Super Typhoon Ompong
Click here to see the Sept 2018 PAMI Bulletin
When this Bulletin was sent to the PAMI email list, the following information accompanied it: Read More
EBI partition reports and slideshows
May 21st baptism of 41 at beach in Bacon, Sorsogon City
Here are reports from Sister Ofel Mendizabal, the director of the EBI Partition:
Ofel 6-7-18 June 2018 Report Letter
Ofel June 22 2018 Report Letter B
Ofel Letter 7-3-18B
Below are pdf versions of picture slideshows of some various ministries of the EBI partition:
EBI Baptism May 2018
EBI May 2018 Padaba Youth counseling
note: Padaba is another name for Compassion sponsored child (it means well-loved and cared for)
EBI May 2018 OCC Bible Distribution
EBI May 2018 Trip ro Samar & Padaba Parents Meeting
EBI Students 7-3-18
EBI Summer Camps
EBI partition y
outh participated in a couple summer camps this year. On May 3-5 was a Compassion Sorsogon Cluster Camp. On May 9-10 was a Youth Retreat and Survival Camp. On April 27 – May 1, some delegates from Emmaus Christian Fellowship and Bulabog Church joined the ABCCOP Youth Camp in Barcelona. Some of these camp experiences might have been a contributing factor to so many getting baptized on May 21, which included 33 from ECF, 4 from Bulabog, and 4 from Penafrancia, with most of these 41 being youth. Pastors and workers are already planning a big all-PAMI youth camp for the summer of 2019. Read More