Summer Ministry 2006

It was a summer of firsts for the New Life Dorm Ministry. We praise God for how He has been working through this ministry. We all watch in excitement as we see God’s blessing as we “expand our territory”.

In preparation for the DVBS, a 2-day teacher’ trainings was held in 4 different provinces. Trainees were composed of mothers, fathers, church workers of different sects, public officials and students. It was also the first time that most of the volunteer teachers were products of previous DVBS or of the New Life Dorm.

Armed with the theme “Jesus Rules” from the ABCCOP curriculum and the Visualized Bibles of BVI, these teachers marched on to a very fulfilling mission of reaching children for God.

For years, the involvement of the New Life Dorm in the DVBS program had been focused on the Balangao area only. But this summer was different! DVBS classes were now held in different lowland places as well. We were able to minister to 28 places, 10 of which are in the Cagayan Valley provinces (Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino and Isabela) and one in Cavite.

All in all, there were almost a hundred volunteer teachers for the more than 2,000 children who attended. For most places, it was their first time to hold a DVBS and it was received with much enthusiasm. Again, children were asking for the classes to be extended for days. We praise God for opening doors for us to reach our neighbors.

The summer ministry activities ended with special presentations by the Threads team in 2 churches (Mustard Seed Evangelical Church in Longhad and the Natnat Bible Church) and a wedding invitation in Balangao. It was the first time that the team, who has been performing many times in Ifugao, performs in Balangao. The team is composed of talented Balangao young people from the New Life Dorm. They do presentations like dances, song interpretation and drama. We praise God for the big turnout in all the venues despite the bad weather. Many were blessed with what they saw. Especially the older people who were happy to see how these young people happily offered their lives and talents to be used for God’s ministry.

As another school year comes, we are faced with a batch of new (and old) students. At last count we have 11 freshmen, 9 sophomores, 4 juniors, 3 seniors and 4 high school students. All of them being answer to our prayers. We praise God for bringing these young people to the dorm. We look forward to a year of learning, ministering and fellowship.