Then came an opportunity to join Victory Greenhills team to the World Prayer Assembly in Bogor, Indonesia. With God, there really is no accident, even though I was just filling the slot that opened up for this event. And as soon as I arrived, I was very expectant on hearing God and I was excited to refresh His calling upon my life.

Almost 10,000 are in attendance in this WPA with 86 nations represented with the theme “A New Wave is Coming”. A new wave of spiritual revival to be tsunami like. And like a tsunami, you can’t predict it but you can anticipate. Anticipate God’s move in our nation birthed by prayers. Goal of WPA is to be a catalyst for greater spiritual opportunity in nations across all generation.

Day 1 notes:
1.We need to go back to prayers.
2. Prayer is based on humility.
3. God is so bursting in passion to show his glory to us when we pray.

This message I got from the Lord as the Prayer Assembly starts. John 7:37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.
38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”

It is so aligned to the theme of the conference “A New Wave Is Coming and I’m expectant how Jesus’ Name will be known & will resonate to all nations & across all generations especially in the Philippines.

Alas, less than week before their scheduled flights, I received cash gifts amounting to what I had in my heart to bless them. Can’t help but be amazed that even the desire in my heart to bless people, He would know & grant!

I remember what the bible says in Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. He knows that when I bless these people that it is not for my glory but it will actually boost their faith in believing that He shall provide and I was just a conduit.

This principle of giving it forward or being a channel to bless others is totally opposite to what the world teaches but it is up to each one of us if you would be used by God.

Galatians 6:7b whatever one sows, that will he also reap

I’m just in awe while clutching Lara, our 1.6-year-old baby how different our lives could have been if we did not accept Jesus as our Lord & Savior. How disoriented & no direction our lives could still be. Our marriage would not have been restored; our kids would be living in a dysfunctional home & we would still be living in enormous financial debt.

Living as a Christ follower is not a walk in the park but there is now joy & peace in my life. What I mean is I still face problems & challenges but because I know now my standing with Christ, I know that I can draw wisdom & strength from the Lord. I put my full trust in Him & obey His every Word knowing full well that my future is secured with Him. That His plans for my life are nothing compared to the plans I can make on my own.

I just want to honor a few people who helped us through the 6 years. It was God’s orchestration that He already had people surrounding us even before we gave up our lives to the Lord. Thank you Edwin & Margot Uy for your patience in praying for us, guiding & mentoring us. To P. Bernard & Ivy Marquez, our spiritual grandparents & P. Janssen & Ging Morados, for simply always being there. To P.Dennis & Thammie, who are like our siblings already; for your love & friendship. To Chinkee & Nove, our neighbors forever; for the mentoring. To our love ones, the Uy’s & Yu’s, whom we are always praying for, may we all celebrate life in Christ. Gelo, Monty & Lara, you guys are my inspiration and a reward from the Lord. To my lifetime partner, my best friend, my lover, my #1 cheerleader Yet, I Love You & I love serving the Lord with you; I can’t imagine my life without you.

Can you just imagine how this incident could have alarmed the churchgoers at that time and could even have caused panic? The said incident could have also distracted the preaching of the pastor at that time.

Hats off to our ushering and admin team, also special mention to Dr. Estella Villanueva and Kourtney Camcam. You cannot question the heart of a volunteer much more the resolute determination of an empowered one.

Everyone can be great because anyone can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t even have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve… You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love… –Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Join us in Victory KIDS Greenhills, help transform a child that will impact the next generation of leaders.

I’ve been in Victory for 6 years now, 2 years as a volunteer before I went fulltime. It still amazes me how mostly volunteers run our church. I always get encouraged with the countless of stories about families serving, lives being transformed, selflessness, humility & unity. I’ve been part of a number of organizations before but have never experienced the kind of culture that we have created in Victory.
Hats off to each & every volunteer that is serving with us in Victory Greenhills. I take pride in being a part of this team advancing God’s work. Thank you for your selflessness, passion & heart to share the good news of Jesus Christ to all through serving.

Join us this Sunday, February 26 for our “Now Serving”, Volunteer Weekend; 10am, 2pm, 4pm & 6pm at Victory Greenhills, 4th Level VMall, Greenhills Shopping Center

Philippians 2:2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Today is the 6th day of our annual 7 Day Prayer & Fasting in Victory. Last night I went to bed with allergies all over my body, red patches mostly concentrated on my arms & on my body. After our prayer meeting my wife got in touch with our dermatologist friend and got a name of an ointment. It was quiet weird that we didn’t have an allergy medicine in the house because of the allergy history of my wife. Yet insisted to go to the drugstore to buy the medicine, I didn’t budge.

After our soup dinner I retired to bed early, but before I did, I prayed a simple & short prayer for God to heal me from the allergy. I woke up 12:47am to go to the bathroom & all the redness from the allergy gone!

Thank You, Jesus, thank You for your very blood that not only saved us but heals us.

Jesus turned around, and when He saw her, He said, “Daughter, be encouraged! Your faith has made you well.” And the woman was healed at that moment. Matthew 9:22, NLT

“When I went to a bookstore the other day, I checked out the bestsellers list for the Children’s Category, and I was very surprised to find out that the books there had something to do with vampires. Then there is also a TV show about zombies that has reached its second season, proving how popular it is with the viewers,” observes Larry Uy, KIDS Ministry Pastor at Victory Greenhills.

There is a fascination with death, pointed out Esther Joos-Esteban, during her talk on media and kids during the recent Play Pilipinas seminar series, “there are shows like CSI where there is so much thought and effort on figuring out how the person died.” While Pastor Larry says that the show simply gives a scientific approach to crime solving, he does agree that there is a lack of avenues for discussing what happens in the afterlife.

The result is that kids are bewildered when somebody dies and they have to go to a wake with a lot of people, and/or they get smidgens of morbid thoughts and fears. “Small children may think ‘I’m with mom and with dad now, but when I am dead, I cannot enjoy with them anymore.’ In other words, their view is very worldly,” Pastor Larry explains. “Parents then have to point out the goal of our lives; that there is eternal life, and our goal is to spend that eternal life together as a family, with God,” he adds. He says that preschoolers will not grasp that concept of life after death right away. “It is a long process that parents have to reinforce. It may vary with whatever faith the family practices, but parents will simply have to teach them within the context of their faith.”

It also helps if the parents themselves take a different view on death. “When I do necrological services, I give it a feeling of celebration. I believe that the family and friends who are left behind should celebrate the life of the one who has passed away. In the eulogy, they can share stories about how the person has touched their lives, say good things and be thankful.”

Then, pilosopo kids (like mine) ask, if the people who die go to heaven, why do we have to go to the hot and crowded cemeteries during All Saints Day? Pastor Larry, whose small kids, he said, also asked him the same thing (but probably in a less smart-alecky way), shares his answer: “I told them that it is because of tradition, and because we are there to pay respect—that this is a time for the whole family to have a reunion, which also makes it a cause for celebration. Then, I use this time to talk to them about my grandparents, and all the good things they have done for the family, such as binding us together.” He talks about parents who tell their kids that the souls are lingering there, waiting for their visitors, as a shortcut to the long explanations about life after death. “But we should not sugarcoat, if we really want them to learn, so we should know the truth behind it.”

Now, back to the zombies and other creatures of the dark, Pastor Larry gently chides, “TV is there to entertain, and not to educate. Children, who get bored with their fairytales and superheroes can look for exciting new things, and at the moment the zombies and vampires are there. Parents should be very careful with these because children might get fascinated by them, which can lead to something more serious later on.” At the end of the day, it is really up to the parents to act as proper guides – in this life, towards the next.