Hosea Ministry International
Greetings again from the Philippine
Prison evangelism is producing a good harvest! This time the Hosea team visited a gaol holding about 2000 prisoners, located in the mountains near the town of Sablayan. The Hosea team saw how God proves His Word to be true through miracles and signs: there were two paralysed prisoners in wheelchairs in the prison who were brought in front of the meeting for prayer. God touched both of them -- they were healed and now can walk! Seeing this miracle touched the hearts of those present so that many other prisoners were healed and saved.
As Job. 42:2 says: "I know that You can do all things, and that nothing will be impossible for God." And as we read in Acts 4:30 "Stretch out your hand so that the sick may recover, and that signs and wonders may be performed through the name of Your holy Son Jesus."
On evangelistic trips to remote areas, you always meet interesting people. Nathan had the opportunity to visit the home of an ex-terrorist. This man had been a terrorist since 2004. He heard the gospel message and came to faith, as did his entire family. Coming to Jesus changed his life, and he surrendered to a police officer who happened to be a man of faith from one of our Hosea churches.
The surrendered terrorist told the police his story and that he had many murders on his conscience. In the Philippines there is a special programme for such people. If a terrorist voluntarily surrenders to the authorities, he is taken care of and helped to start a new life. This means he is given a new identity and a secret location. A surrendered terrorist is popularly called a "dead man walking" because they are too dangerous to the NPA terrorists as potential informers, and the NPA tries to eliminate any who leave their organisation.
Although our field of work is not easy, we trust in the Lord: when He decides on something and opens a way to proclaim the good news in the darkest of places, who can stop it? (Isaiah 14:27)
We have experienced lots of blessings, and the Lord has answered many prayers. We prayed for solar panels on the roof of our hotel to reduce our high electricity bills, even though the purchase is not financially possible for us. Solar panels are still a new thing in the Philippines. However, we are allowed to ask for things that are humanly impossible.
The Lord fulfilled this request through a visitor who came to see Hosea's work. This visitor saw our situation and weighed up the possibilities. Then he announced that he would pay for the solar panels on the roof of the hotel, as well as a new roof to replace the old one that had rusted, and solar panels on the roof of our main school too!
At first, this was hard to believe, but after receiving the cost estimate, this friend of ours sent all the necessary funds and the work of purchasing the solar panels has now begun. As we sow the seeds of righteousness, we will reap the works of mercy.
I thank every donor and those who pray for our mission! My personal prayer for you is that the river of God in your area would be full of the waters of blessing. Without you supporters we would not be able to do this work on our own. When obstacles seem overwhelming, your prayers sustain us and provide solutions to the problems. This is a team effort, in which you are all involved.
Blessings, Anne
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