Good-bye

(Rejoy at Bo's Coffee - the best service in Butuan!)

After our flight from Manila to Hong Kong was delayed because of a typhoon, we missed our connecting flight to Frankfurt! Cathay Pacific, however, was kind enough to put us up in the Marriott hotel in Hong Kong for the day so we will be travelling to Frankfurt tonight. Sitting in this luxurious hotel is quite a contrast to where we have just come from and as I reflect on our time in Butuan, I already miss our KLB family.

On Monday we were going to go island hopping but as the weather was threatening to be stormy we decided to spend the day with the Regalas and Villaderes family at the pool in our hotel. It was a relaxing day and the kids had a lot of fun with kuya Andy in the pool.

After such a busy 10 days it was great to catch up properly with Julius, pastor to pastor and to encourage one another while the ladies went to get their nails done. Aaron had prepared lunch for us which we were allowed to eat at the pool. It was a relaxing and special time to be with the two families. In the afternoon Andreas and Katrin went with the 2 families to Aaron's home where they were going to slaughter a pig for our final dinner at the Regala's home. Frances and I stayed at the hotel, sipping on mango shakes. In the evening we enjoyed a delicious dinner with the Regalas, Aaron and Berwyn and finished the day with a massage. On Tuesday we met everyone at the hotel and made our way to the airport to say good-bye. It was sad to leave, even though we will hopefully see everyone again next year. KLB has such a special place in our hearts and we will miss all these beautiful, special people.

(Brent Villadares)

I am so thankful for God's faithfulness, His unfailing love and for His energy that so powerfully works in us. I am so thankful for Frances, Andreas and Katrin who tirelessly colaboured with me and for how well we worked together as a team. I am so thankful to Julius, Roszel and Aaron for their wonderful hospitality, love and for honouring us in all they do. I am so thankful for our KLB family, their love, their hard work and their devotion to the Lord, one another and the children they minister to. I am so thankful for our KLF family who give so generously and are part of this exciting journey of building God's Kingdom in the Philippines.

I give God all the glory for all the wonderful things He did during our visit, for the work He is doing now and will continue to do in Butuan. We expect even greater things and look forward to seeing what God has planned for us who love Him and have been called according to His purposes in Christ Jesus our Lord!

Thank you following our journey on this blog. I hope it has given you some insight into what KLB is doing in Butuan and that you have been encouraged by the wonderful testimonies of God's ability to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine! God bless you!

Kingdom Life Family

Today we celebrated KLB's 4th anniversary. The church was filled with people and there was a great buzz in the place. After another special time of enthusiastic and joyful worship, I shared a message from John 1:19-27 that I believe is a prophetic word for KLB. God's word to KLB is that they are called to step into the ministry and anointing of John the Baptist as they become "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Make straight the way for the Lord.'" We noted how John the Baptist drew people to his ministry because he understood his identity, his calling, his message and Christ's greatness. Similarly, KLB is called to walk in her identity in Christ, pursue what she is called to do, preach the message of the present and future reality of God's Kingdom and trust in the greatness of Christ. After the message, our team, with the support of KLB, prayed for Julius, Roszel and Aaron. It was a very special time and I believe a very significant occasion. After some special music, the pastors and core group members then prayed for our KLF team and were presented with gifts. These guys really love us and honour us. We are going to miss them very much!

After a snack lunch after the meeting, we made our way to Cabadbaran to attend pastor Berwyn's church - Mabini Christian Fellowship. The place was packed with people and after a time of worship I spoke to the church about how God has given us the Spirit of His Son so that we can approach the Father as Jesus does and pray in Jesus' Name with the same relationship and authority as the Son of God with His Father. We then invited people forward for prayer and we ministered to the sick. Once again God was faithful and touched many people. Some reported that they experienced immediate relief as we prayed for them. Hallelujah!

After the church service we were asked to visit a family that had started a new catering business in Cabadbaran and we were asked to bless their endeavour. We then made our way to Berwyn and Liberty's home where we were invited to dinner. It was lovely to see Liberty's mum again and spend time with the Villadares family.

Today was our last day of ministry. Tomorrow we plan to go to the beach to enjoy a day off with the Regalas and the Villadres family. This evening the weather turned and it began raining heavily so we will need to see what the weather will be like tomorrow.

"I am the voice of one calling in the desert, 

'Make straight the way of the Lord.'" John 1:23

 

Visitations

Last night's dinner turned into a surprise birthday party for me at KLB! Most of our KLB family came as well as Berwyn and his family and some of the guys from YWAM. A roasted pig was served with delicious filipino food. We had a lot of fun and I was very touched by all the love, attention and special things they had prepared for me. It was an amazing birthday indeed!

This morning we had a later start before heading off to Ambago, one of the villages on the outskirts of Butuan where KLB ministers to the children once a week and brings them to their own church service once a month! Some children could remember us but most of them remembered kuya Andy (uncle Andreas) especially. The children were told a story, sang songs together, played games together and received a pack lunch. The message was that children are important to Jesus (Mk 10:13-16) and after Carlo told the children how Jesus blessed the children, Andreas, Katrin and I performed the account of the guys carrying their crippled friend to Jesus. We had a lot of fun and the kids enjoyed our time together very much.

After ministering in Ambago we were invited to lunch at Aaron's place (KLB's youth pastor). Aaron actually lives in the Regala's old place next door to Roszel's father's place. We enjoyed chicken, rice, noodles, vegetables, mango, papaya and water melon.

We then made our way to KLB where we then spent the rest of the day with KLB's core group. It was our opportunity to encourage, teach and equip these young leaders and volunteers. I spoke to them about living from the Spirit and the need to understand why they exist as a church in Butuan, looking at the difference between an event-church, fellowship-church and discipleship church. Frances then taught on ministering from the Spirit after which we invited everyone to be prayed for and to be filled with the Holy Spirit. God is so faithful. Many received and were visibly filled with the Spirit. When the Holy Spirit was done, we invited people to share what they had experienced and were amazed by the things they reported. These guys were receiving open visions, heavenly visitations, manifestations of fire-like heat in their bodies and spiritual revelation of angels and the throne room. One guy shared his vision and experience with Frances that turned out to be the exact description of what we read in Song of Songs 2:11-14. Amazing things happenend this evening. God moved beautifully and our team got to co-labour with Him. Hallelujah!

"In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams." Acts 2:17

Birthday

Today is my 50th birthday and I was surprised by the guys from KLB as I made my way to breakfast! They presented me with a birthday cake, balloons and gifts and wonderful birthday songs! They made me feel very special indeed! I invited them all to stay for breakfast at the hotel and then we made our way to the YWAM base (Youth with a mission), via Bo's of course. Nelson, the director of YWAM for the entire island of Mindanao, invited us to join their worship time. It is amazing how KLF and KLB are both connected to YWAM in Frankfurt and Butuan! After a time of worship I spoke to the team and their guests from YWAM Kona in Hawaii. We looked at how Jesus preached and demonstrated what He spoke about and that we should expect God to use us in the same way as ministers of the Spirit. We then applied the teaching and ministered to one another as we waited on God and allowed Him to touch us. I was then presented with a birthday cake and together with Liane, who also has her birthday today, they sang for us and blessed us. It felt like family and I look forward to seeing what God wants to do with our relationship with YWAM in the future.

We then made our way to Robinson's Mall where we invited the core group of KLB for lunch. After resting a little at the hotel we then made our way to the orphanage where we played games, celebrated everyone who had their birthday last month and this month and distributed pack lunches (spaghetti, crumbed chicken, spring rolls and rice). We had a lot of fun and I was richly blessed as the kids surrounded me, layed hands on me and prayed for me. It was a moment I will never forget!

This evening we will be going out for a birthday dinner.

I am so grateful to be able to spend the day with such joyful, loving and special people. It really is the greatest gift.

"He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant - not of the letter but of the Spirit." 2 Corinthians 3:6

The Father's love

This morning I was supposed to do a radio broadcast at 5:00am but due to the heavy rain last night, there was a power cut which meant that it was cancelled at 4:00am this morning! I was looking forward to it but it was very early. Instead I could sleep until 7:00, have my mangoes with the rest of the team and meet at Bo's Coffee. We then made our way to the County Jail where we were allowed to minister to a large group of men and women. 

Already during the time of worship, the presence of God was very strong and the people were very receptive and enthusiastic about Andreas' powerful testimony and message on the parable of the prodigal son. It was Andreas' first "sermon" and it was excellent. The people were deeply moved by the message of the Father's love and as we responded in prayer, waiting on a fresh baptism of the Father's love. The presence of God was tangible and many were visibly moved by the Father's embrace.

After our visit to the jail, Berwyn and a small team from KLB drove with us to a more remote area that we have visited in previous trips. After a quick lunch in Cabadbaran, Berwyn's home town, we made our way to a church in a remote village. The church is filled with predominantly very young children who sing and worship with all their heart. The presence of God is always wonderful there and it is a joy to visit pastor Elvie and his church. After a time of worship, Frances shared a powerful message on Moses and his dependency on the presence of God. In response we invited everyone to be prayed for and almost all the children and members of the church came forward. As we ministered to these precious people, many were deeply moved by God's love, even the very little ones cried before God. I was amazed to watch the Holy Spirit minister to those we prayed for - they could not understand what we were praying but they were visibly receiving God's love. Hallelujah!

After the church meeting we made our way back to Butuan and had a light supper before heading out to minister to the street children as we did on our first night here. It breaks my heart to see these children ranging from the ages of maybe 3 - 18 participate in my silly games and see them have such fun and joy. It is such a privilege to have the opportunity to speak into their lives and to simply love them as they are. 

I am so proud of our team. We are being stretched and taken out of our comfort zone but we are seeing God faithfully work through us for His glory. Remember: No risk, no glory! Hallelujah!     

"Then Moses said to him, 'If your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.'" Exodus 33:15 

Kingdom Unity

Today was day two of our 2-day Kingdom Leadership Conference. After enjoying my daily mangoes we made our way to Bo's Coffee where we picked up our coffees and macha tea before heading to the church that was hosting our conference.

After spending  a truly anointed time in worship led by Julius, we continued in God's tangible presence and followed His leading. It was a wonderful start to the sessions and the Anointing flowed as I shared a message from John 11 entitled, "Resurrecting your ministry." We spent time together looking at the account of how Jesus responded to the news of Lazarus' death and how He raised Lazarus from the dead. We used the whole morning and the first session after lunch to look at the principles of Kingdom leadership demonstrated by Jesus in this amazing account. It was exciting to share the message and the pastors were greatly encouraged.

In the final session, I spoke to the leaders about our responsibility to be ambassadors of unity, making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace (Eph 4:). We noted how God has joined the people of God to Himself and to one another by the blood of Jesus and that it is our responsibility to live in unity in order to be effective as the Body of Christ in furthering God's Kingdom. When leaders see beyond their own flock and have revelation of God's Kingdom perspective and purposes, it becomes clear how vital it is that we walk in unity, laying aside our petty differences so that the world will know that we belong to God (John 13:34,35). In response, we invited the leaders to have their feet washed and spent time ministering to them as we prophesied over them and washed their feet. It has become a custom for us to wash these precious leaders' feet at the end of our pastors and leaders conferences and the Lord always moves powerfully.

These have been two powerful and significant days and it is always a blessing to be used of God to build up His people and His leaders. I praise Him for His faithfulness and His abounding love towards us. Hallelujah!

Kingdom Leadership

Today I woke up with great anticipation for what God had in store for us at our Kingdom Leadership Conference, a 2-day conference for pastors and leaders. God had put it on my heart to speak to the leaders about the reality of God's Kingdom and leading from that reality as Jesus did. We spent time looking at how the kingdom of this world is not the kingdom of God and that we must learn to live and lead from God's perspective and wisdom rather than human wisdom (1 Cor 2:4-16). I also encouraged the leaders to lead from what they know and not just from what they know about in theory. Leading from Kingdom reality also means leading by the Spirit of God and Frances shared an encouraging message on Caleb, who had "a different spirit" that enabled him to take possession of the land given to him (Numbers 14:24).

After a lunch break, we continued looking at what it means to lead from Kingdom reality and saw that living from the Kingdom is living from God's government and peace that will never end (Isaiah 9:6,7). We looked at what it means to live in the way of peace and in response we invited the leaders to be ministered to. Just about everyone came forward for prayer and we had another powerful time in God's presence as the Father poured out His love and peace on His people.

It was a special time being with fellow pastors and leaders and being able to speak from my heart as a pastor who shares the same struggles all leaders have. I believe the leaders were greatly encouraged and ministered to and I am looking forward to what God will do tomorrow!

After the conference we returned to the hotel and had some time to swim in the pool with Jonkris and Aya (Julius and Roszel's children) and sip banana and avocado milkshakes - a refreshing reward after a busy morning and afternoon.

"We do however speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began." 1 Corinthians 2:6,7

A taste of God's glory

This morning we could rest and spend time with Julius, Roszel and Jonkris so the ladies went to get their nails done and the guys got their hair cut - yes, even I had a trim (number 378 was a bit long). After giving the barber a bigger tip than the actual haircuts that cost around 50 cents each, we made our way to Robinson's mall where we enjoyed lunch and went shopping together. In the afternoon I stayed in the hotel to prepare for the evening Breakthrough meeting and decided to make a quick video clip about being a revival generation.

In the evening we went to another location for the Breakthrough meeting (Jesus is Lord Church). Young people and youth leaders with some of their pastors attended. After a powerful time of worship, I shared a message on the glory of God and showed from Exodus 33 and 2 Corinthians 3 how the believer has access to the glory of God and is called to live his or her life in it! Just as the Lord commanded the Israelites to remove all their ornaments, I spoke about our need to remove every outward form of worship that is just form without being from the heart. The message was clear and there was an invitation to enter God's glory by faith. In response, many came forward for prayer and even before our team began to minister to these precious people, the Holy Spirit was already ministering deeply to them. Some wept, some fell, some cried, some shook and some quietly received as they responded to God's touch. It is so awesome when God takes hold of the meeting and we simply move with Him!

Tomorrow is the first day of our two day pastors and leaders conference. Each day will be from 9:00 - 16:00 with a lunch break between seesions. I am very excited to see what God is planning to do. Hallelujah! 

Kingdom Life Butuan

I got up early this morning and used the time before breakfast to prepare for the Pastors' and Leaders' Conference that will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday. Breakfast would have been without my daily mangoes if it had not been for Andreas and Katrin who still had a couple. Whew! That saved the day!

After our customary pick up at Bo's Coffee (no arm wrestling this morning), we made our way to Kingdom Life Butuan's new place for their morning service. It was a great joy to see their new place that is much cleaner and bigger and has space for growth. They have 2 floors with several rooms for the main worship hall, kids' room and space for children's activities. It is a great venue but since they have only recently moved in they still need to make it completely their home. After worship in song, Frances was invited to speak and she shared a powerful message on our righteousness in Christ and how the believer's default position is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom 14:17). It is one of our foundational Kingdom Life messages and so important for the Body of Christ to receive revelation of this amazing truth. It was great to spend time with the church and to see old and new faces. The church is growing and we are so pleased with what God is doing with KLB. Pastors Julius and Roszel, Aaron and the volunteer leaders are doing a brilliant job in creating a loving environment for many young children and youth to feel accepted and helping them to grow in Christ.

After lunch, we made our way back to KLB to be part of their afternoon children's church meeting. Once again we had great fun with the kids and I spoke to them about the reality of God and how we can experience Him in our lives. Using the story of the Emperor's new clothes, I demonstrated how although we cannot see God, we can be certain that He exists. In response the team prayed for the children to be filled with the Spirit and blessed them. It was another special time.

We then went for our traditional Halo-Halo a coconut-based icecream with jelly, cornflakes and slithers of fresh coconut - lami (yummy), followed by a short stop at the Butuan Market where we looked for the best mangoes for tomorrow's breakfast.

This evening KLB organised a special event to welcome us to Butuan. These guys are amazing! For a month they have been preparing this event that included traditional dances with self-made costumes and props! It was simply beautiful to watch them perform with such joy and enthusiasm. We felt very honoured indeed and are very impressed with the talent in KLB.

"For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." Romans 14:17

The Kingdom of God is near!

It was an early start this morning. Pick up was at 8:00 so we had to be up and ready. After our traditional coffee at Bo's Coffee and another defeat: Andreas clearly lost to Jonkris this time at arm wrestling,  we made our way to the location of our Revival Generation youth conference. We started again on filipino time and after a time of worship, I shared a message on the Kingdom of God and how Jesus preached the good news of the Kingdom and demonstrated the reality of God's Kingdom with His life and with signs, wonders and miracles. The group was very mixed and seemed predominantly very young kids so I adapted the message for a younger age group and we had a lot of fun. After lunch, KLB's youth pastor, Aaron got us all to do some fun actions to overcome the post-lunch-tiredness, after which Andreas shared his powerful testimony. I then continued speaking about the reality of the Kingdom and the need to be born again and filled with the Holy Spirit. I then invited the young people to come forward to be prayed for to be filled with the Holy Spirit and almost all the kids came forward. Frances, Katrin, Andreas and I then began to minister to the group  and were supported by the KLB team.

As we began to pray for these precious young people, God began to pour out His Spirit and many began to be deeply moved by the Father's love and presence. Some fell over under God's power, some wept, and some simply received quietly. We continued ministering to the kids over an extended time as God's presence thickened. Many times I was overwhelmed by the Father's compassion flowing through me and filling the hearts of the people. It was very precious indeed. We then invited people to come forward who needed healing as we sensed God's power present to heal. As we prayed we all sensed the power and authority of God being released as we prayed and commanded healing into people's bodies. As we gathered around one girl in particular, the lump on her neck began to shrink while we layed hands on her in the name of Jesus. She was visibly touched as she realised that God was healing her and loved her. It was a very powerful afternoon indeed and after we had finished praying for many, we had a time for people to share testimonies of what God had done for them today. The young people are very shy but a few brave kids came forward and testified to experiencing God like they have never experienced Him before and others testified about God healing them during the ministry time. Hallelujah!

It was a wonderful conference and everyone was filled with joy. Here is a picture of some of the KLB team and the KLF team together:

"From that time on Jesus began to preach, 'Repent for the Kingdom of God is near." Matthew 4:17

"Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness among the people." Matthew 4:23

Touching generations

After a good night's rest we could have a leisurely morning and had breakfast together, prayed together and met up with Julius, Roszel and Jonkris for coffee and shopping. Andreas was challenged for an arm wrestle and I think Andreas was pretending to lose against Jonkris.

After a tasty lunch we made our way to the orphanage where the KLB team ministers every week. It was a joy to minister to these precious children as we sang songs together, played games together and Frances shared a message on "How God sees us", using a mirror to compare how we see ourselves and how God sees us. Every child was given a small miroor and it was very sweet to watch them combing their hair and smiling at themselves. There was great joy and it is evident why these little ones are so close to the Father's heart!

We then made our way back to the hotel where we relaxed and Richard and Andreas took Jonkris for a swim; well more like a shark attack and saving Jonkris from the hairy kuya Andi sharky thing.

Filled with anticipation we then went to the location of the Youth Revival Conference that was to start at 18:00 filipino time. We started at 18:30. Julius introduced the team and after a great time of worship led by the very talented and anointed KLB worship team, I was invited to speak to the group of over 150 kids. The Lord had given me Isaiah 6:1-7 so I spoke on God's holiness and how every true encounter with God is an encounter with His holiness that leads to repentance. I gave examples from past revivals and my own personal life to encourage the young people to repent of forming their own image of God instead of allowing His Spirit to reveal God's image to them. It was a very convicting word but I knew the Holy Spirit was leading it. In response many gave their lives to the Lord and many came forward, weeping in God's presence as the Lord convicted hearts and drew these young people into His redeeming love. We stayed in God's presence for quite a while until I sensed the Holy Spirit was finished. We then had a special time of fellowship and everyone got a small pack dinner.

I was greatly moved today by God's amazing love for the children in the orphanage and the kids this evening. It is an indescribable moment when you are standing between puddles of tears after the ministry time celebrating God's love and goodness! Tomorrow will be day 2 of the youth revival generation conference and I believe we will see even greater things!

"When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment." John 16:8

We have arrived!

We have arrived! Having travelled to Manila via Hong Kong yesterday, we stayed overnight in Manila and flew to Butuan this afternoon. We had about 5 hours to check out Hong Kong between flights and took an adventurous culinary journey to the city centre to try out a local restaurant where the food is served in little round baskets on a trolley conveniently maneuvered between the guests' tables. Fortunately a couple of ladies at our table could speak a little English so we could find out what we had selected from the trolley (the trolley lady just shoved a basket or two in my direction without explanation). After being very pleasantly surprised by the delicious tasting food which included pork ribs, shrimp dim sum, chicken feet and a chinese risotto -type dish, we left rather chuffed with ourselves for having been daring and being greatly rewarded for our boldness. There is a principle to be observed here: without risk there is no glory!

Having fought to stay stay awake for the day, we were happy to finally arrive in our hotel in Manila where a cool shower and soft bed awaited our rather tired bodies. This morning we had a tasty breakfast at the hotel after which we made our way to the airport to travel to Butuan. The flights were all without much delay so we arrived in Butuan as expected. As we came out of the arrival terminal, we were heartily greeted by Berwyn, Julius, Roszel and their children as well as Aaron and other members of Kingdom Life Butuan with a banner and gifts - baskets filled with....guess what? Yes! Mangoes!!!! It was wonderful to see everyone again and for Katrin to meet the clan for the first time in Butuan and for them to meet Andreas' wife that he always talked about during his previous visits.

After dropping off our luggage and checking into the hotel, we made our way straight to the street children's ministry where we joined the KLB team in ministering to over 40 kids on the pavement. It was very special to spend time with some familiar faces and to share God's love with them. After the food that the KLB team had prepared for them was distributed, we made our way to a lovely philippine-style welcome dinner.

It is wonderful to be here again and we are excited to see what God will do as we risk for His glory and step out with boldness into the unknown by faith. Hallelujah!

Prepared and sent!

This year Richard, Frances, Andreas and Katrin will be travelling to Butuan City in the Philippines. The team leaves on Tuesday and will be heading to Manila via Hong Kong and then flying to Butuan City on the southern most island of Mindanao.

The purpose of our trip is to visit, encourage and serve our daughter church, Kingdom Life Butuan (KLB),  lead 2 conferences (pastors and leaders conference and youth conference), support KLB's weekly activities (serving the local orphanage and street children's ministry), visit several churches, the jail ministry, and perform several radio broadcasts. The emphasis will be on encouraging, training and equipping the leaders in KLB and in Butuan and on influencing the Church with the presence, power and truth of God and His Kingdom.

On Sunday our KLF family prayed for our team, layed hands on us, prophesied over us and sent us in the power of the Holy Spirit. We are greatly encouraged and excited about what God has prepared for us and we look forward to seeing what God is doing and will do in Butuan.

"I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me." Philippians 1:25,26