Hosea Ministry International
Christmas greetings from the mission field!
The Philippines has been suffering from typhoons, and the country has just survived an earthquake. Recently, a double typhoon hit bringing stronger storms than usual. The typhoon’s path was heading towards the island of Mindoro, and so we prayed fervently that the Lord would protect us from disaster. Thank you also for your faithful prayers, because something miraculous happened: the typhoon hit the Philippine Sierra Madre mountain range, which acted like a wall protecting us from the worst of the destruction.
The typhoon also changed its course, passing by our island, and we only received torrential rains. There is power in prayer!
The next challenge was a fierce battle between terrorists and the military that took place in the very area where we have evangelized and distributed aid. The terrorist forces also attacked Abra, quite close to our town of Mamburao, where Hosea's main school is located. Abra is the port that serves Mindoro island's traffic. So there were two places where the fighting took place.
A new young teacher at Hosea School got worried about the fighting nearby, but to the other employees it was just a "normal crisis." And the Lord decided to encourage the new teacher in a big way!
You will remember the story in 2 Kings chapter 6 of Elisha's servant, who saw the Aramean army surrounding the city where he and Elisha were staying, and he was afraid. But Elisha said (2 Kings 6:16-17): "Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." Elisha prayed that God would open his servant’s eyes to see the heavenly hosts protecting them. And God did!
In a similar way, God opened our young teacher's eyes: they saw a large angel dressed in white, guarding our school! The fear disappeared, and the teacher ran to tell their colleagues about the vision. This had never happened to this teacher before. This is the second time the Lord confirmed with a vision that we have a heavenly guard.
At a revival meeting in Mamburao there were two pastors who were speaking, with a prophetic message for the island. There were pastors from many churches there, but the prophetic visitors pointed to Pastor Sonio and asked him to come forward. They began to prophesy: "You will hear more about this pastor, for he will preach to a large crowd. We saw what looked like a big ball of fire descending into this hall, and from it flames of fire going out to different parts of this country. Wherever the flames descend, there will be a revival." As they heard these words, the congregation knelt down in prayer, crying. Many were healed of their illnesses and filled with the Holy Spirit.
This was only part of the prophecy and vision, but Pastor Sonio told these visiting pastors that at the beginning of the work of Hosea Ministry, I had received the same vision and words of prophecy. God thus confirmed the revelation I had received 25 years ago that our mission, despite the crises, had not been in vain. Although our work has grown and progressed, the long-awaited revival in the Philippines has only been delayed. We have been waiting for the worldwide outpouring of the Spirit spoken of in Joel’s prophecy. Then the threshing floors will be filled with grain. I want to see that miracle again!
Thank you again for your prayers, they are powerful.
Sending Christmas blessings to you all!
Anne
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