What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Do you like chocolate?¬† Vanilla? Rocky road? All of us have a different taste in ice cream but for the kids the flavor doesn’t matter.¬† As a Christmas treat, on December 5, 2009, iRock Philippines treated the kids from Peace Assembly of God to ice cream. Guess what flavor? Flavor of the road.

If you are wondering what is ‘flavor of the road’, it is the kind of ice cream being sold by peddlers or by a push cart. Kids don‚Äôt mind the ‘flavor of the road’ because they are excited to enjoy any flavor.¬† This is what we could afford to give as a Christmas gift.

The kids were very excited. But the excitement didn’t end there.¬† We continued with games and I joined with the kids to play.¬† During the service I saw excitement and joy as they learned about Jesus.

We distributed 50 bibles including the taxi driver and some adult leaders. As they received the Bibles, we encouraged the kids to memorize some verses and the books in the bible.

Similar to other groups we told them we would give away a special reward for those who memorized the Words of God. We encouraged them, because the Old Testament said that we need to teach our children about the law of God and meditate on it day and night.

From here in the Philippines, we give a big thanks to those who support iRock Ministries (USA) and pray for us and special thanks to Light for the Lost for providing the bibles. I consider the Bible to be the best gift that the kids could have received this Christmas.

I was able to Minister at TLCCC or The Lord’s Cross Christian Church. The topic was “The Rights of Children”. It is a United Nations topic and the church wanted me to teach it in a christian way. I thought I was going to speak with the kids but was surprised when I was able to share with the mothers that also joined the event. My verse was found in John 1:12. I used the flaming bible illusion and emphasized where we can gain knowledge and proved that we have a right in the Kingdom of God when we accept Jesus in our Life and heart. It was a very powerful message. This was the first time that these children saw a message shared in this style.

Next I used a rope illusion. When I tossed it into the air and told it to stand, the rope stiffened. I shared that we need to obey God as the rope obeyed me. Just like I was happy when the rope obeyed, God is happy when we are obedient. We are obedient because we are children of God.

I shared a story for my conclusion, the title is ” The Mother Chicken”.¬† It shows how the Mother chicken protected her chicks when the raging fire was ready to devour the whole field including the mama chicken and the chicks. But the mama chicken called all of her chicks to go under her wings. Her one baby Jongjong chose not to listen because he thought that he was old enough to protect himself and he could outrun the fire. So Jongjong went in the other direction and disappeared but the remaining chicks ran to their mama’s wings and when they were under the wings of their mama they felt the warm embrace and the love of their mother. The chicks felt secure. So man can also feel the love of God if we are under His arms. We can feel the protection, security and most of all the love of Jesus.
After the fire burnt through the whole field, everything in it’s path was torched by the flames and all the animals were burnt except those animals who ran into the pond. The owner felt sorry for his plants and animals and was sad because he could not see any of his chickens. He thought that all of his chickens were dead but when he kicked what looked like a clump of black grass, he heard the sounds of the chicks. The clump of grass was the mama chicken who sacrificed herself for the sake of her beloved children.The chicks under her wings had been saved but Jongjong was no where to be found. The mama chicken could have saved herself but chose her death in exchange for the lives of her children. She would rather die than her children die.¬† Like Jesus, He could have saved Himself when the people were ready to crucify Him but He sacrificed Himself for the sake of His beloved lost children. The lake of sin is ready to destroy man but the blood of Jesus covers us to protect us from death.¬† Those who don’t believe and accept Jesus in their Hearts are like jongjong who perished from the fire because of pride. It is the same with man. We can perish if we are too proud to accept Jesus in our Heart. If we accept Jesus in our heart we have the right to one day live in heaven.

The kids surrounded me and the mothers listened to the story. They gave me a certificate and love offering. It wasn’t much but the joy of serving God’s people that day was enormous.
Following my service they did some interpretative dance and drama with the presentation of all the nations. Jesus loves the world where ever you belong.

Today I asked Erick the carpenter to give me an estimate to do the septic tank and some other things.¬† I gave him a ride home on my motorcycle. As we returned home, I ran the motorcycle at 20 kph so that we are able to talk about Jesus.¬† The funniest thing is, if Erick didn’t want to listen he didn’t have a choice. As we talked, I shared about the goodness of Jesus, that even though we commit mistakes, still Jesus loves us very much. I encouraged him about the importance of a happy family. To have a happy family requires Jesus in their life and the father should be the first one to show that Jesus is in his life.¬† Sometimes satan tests us through our family members and the way we react is the way we show if we really have Jesus in our heart. If we get mad and overreact that means you don’t fully understand¬† what is the meaning of being¬† a follower of Jesus. We talked about so many things¬† and then went home.

iRock Philippine Establishes Children’s Ministry. First Service Brings in 75!

iRock Philippines is the iRock Ministries extension here in Davao Philippines, founded by Missionary Ptr. Terry Williams.

” iRock Ministries exists because millions of children have yet to know Jesus personally. Children need to be given the opportunity to meet Jesus and make Him a vital part of their lives. Without Jesus, their lives lack direction and hope.” Welcome to iRock Ministries, where ‚Äòindividuals ‚ÄòReach ‚ÄòOut and ‚ÄòChange ‚ÄòKids lives for eternity.

To Meet this need

Just a few weeks ago I helped organize a free one-day seminar for potential leaders and pastors. At the most recent seminar, there were 32 students in attendance for the Friday sessions. Nene, the first speaker of the day, stressed that a leader never compromises their commitment to their Lord Jesus Christ.

She challenged them to self evaluate their commitment to the Lord before they could challenge the kids in their commitment.
We proceeded to the second phase of the teaching where we shared the basics of children’s ministry including object lessons, illusions and story telling. There was a time for discussion and questions and answers. But no teaching is complete without the third phase of the training, which included the practical application of what had been taught earlier. The participants were divided into groups of four to have some hands experience. Amazingly, everybody worked well together. Although some were hesitant, everyone took part and participated in the activities.
Following the formal training the group took part in visitation. Everybody participated and went house to house or in the street to invite children to a service the following day at the host church location.

With the support of iRock ministry I was able to be generous to those who came to the Saturday service as God provided the resources to buy popcorn, oil, margarine, etc. to make fresh popcorn for the children. I built a functional popcorn machine similar to the one I built last year during a similar seminar and outreach in Montevista. I trained the people in the church to operate the machine so that they could use it in future services :).

On the day of the service, it was amazing to see the excitement in the children. The service was scheduled to start at three in the afternoon but the kids were there two hours early.

We decided to start at 2:00. There were 72-75 kids in attendance not including the adults. The parents who brought their kids to the church also listened to the word of God and prayed together the sinners prayer.

All of the children were taught how to praise and worship God, how to pray, and the importance of scripture memorization. They had fun with games and winning the coloring contest. They were very excited and very happy when they went home. (This child cried because for 13 years this is the first time she received a doll of her own)

After service I instructed the pastor to escort the kids back to their homes with the help of his staff. Because it was raining the staff carried umbrellas so that the parents would feel comfortable and know that their children were safe.

I went along with the kids as they returned to home. Although in order for the kids to get to the church they had the challenge of crossing a primitive bridge they were still excited about coming. They needed to cross the bridge that had no handles to hold by balancing their body or else they could end up in the murky water below.

After all of the kids were safely at home, I spent time talking to and encouraging the leaders of the church. There were 8 committed leaders, not including the pastor.

Nene and I traveled home with our equipment and gear, thankful for what God had done that weekend.

Thank you very much for your Prayer and support to iRock Ministry, where ‘individuals ‘Reach ‘Out and ‘Change ‘Kids lives for eternity.

Here are a few ways that you can help establish more churches for the children around the world and train potential leaders:
• Continue to pray for Pastor Terry Williams with iRock Ministries and myself with iRock Philippines
• Write us an encouraging letter
• Provide us with the needed financial support to continue our ministry

ALL CAN PRAY
SOME CAN GIVE
SOME CAN GO
WHAT CAN YOU DO NOW?

For His Kingdom,
Oning

Last Saturday, God sent us more than 80 kids. It was a great opportunity to serve these kids in Christ. Many do not have Jesus in their heart. They are eager to listen to the word of God. As we gave the message we delivered it with a different approach. We had drama and a story time. We did an object lesson and our attendance kept growing. Some kids don’t like to come because of our meeting place. The place is so small that it has a 30 person capacity but we try to fit in all 88 kids.

We provide something for them to eat each time we meet but before we eat, we teach them how to pray for the food. We teach them that every time we partake of the food we should pray for it by reaching out our hands.

They enjoy the food as part of the iRock Philippines program. We’re not just feeding them with the Word of God but we help also to nourish their body.

Every Sunday , we have a leaders meeting. All the possible and potential kid leaders must undergo training and must grow in advance of teaching the other children. We gathered in a very small kitchen of Fidel and Belen. Last Saturday we had to refuse 5 young teens to join the leadership training because of our situation. The place is very small. But the children are willing dedicate their life to Christ.
After our training for the leaders we served them some food, bread and bihon. Kids are loving it.

After that we teach some interpretative songs to encourage them and discover their talent from God.
We can see the fire burning in their heart because while they are walking they keep on singing, a worship song that are Cebuano and they are so happy when they get home.

The kids are learning in Christ. They now know how to love Jesus and be like Christ in their attitude.

We need your prayer and these are our prayer requests.

1. A new and bigger place to accommodate more kids
2. Music instrument( guitar and etc.)
3. Bibles
4. Financial needs for upcoming seminar ( October 24, 2008)
5. Transportation

Even though the children are small they can make a big difference in the future, in this country and the Kingdom of God.

Today  we  started with our bible study. The age bracket is from 6 Р12 and they are responsive.  I am training a couple that will eventually take over the group. Their names are Fidel and Belen. I will train them how to minister to the children and how to be effective in their teaching so that the children will learn and accept Jesus. Fidel and Belen have a burden for kids and they are starting this small group with just heart alone. Our first small group we started talking about what is the Bible and how many books are in the bible. We taught them about what is a chapter and what is a verse. They liked it and I gave them an assignment, to memorize the new testament, and of course if they could I would give them a surprise like candy.  They know now how to use the Bible.  We provided the snack and Fidel took me to their location on his motorcycle.  My job was to sponsor the prizes and teach the children. I expect to see and increase in their number in the upcoming weeks.