The year 2015 has gone by quickly. It was a busy year, with many victories and much to thank God for. One of the most exciting things is that God has given us a piece of property. This was a dream come true for Ester and me and the people of our church. We are looking forward to the day when we can build and have our own church, college, academy, and dorm facilities.
During 2015 we saw 8,510 trust Christ as their Saviour and 66 follow the Lord in believer’s baptism. One of the most amazing things we have seen this past year is an open door to one of the largest high schools in our province. Our staff and college students have been going each Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and teaching the Gospel and Christian values from classroom to classroom. So far we have gone 10 Fridays and have seen a total of 3,192 students, teachers, and staff saved; and we have yet to visit and teach in all the classrooms. Of the students who’ve been saved, 151 of them have come to church, and 13 have been baptized.
Another door that God has opened is the Dasmariñas City Jail. Our men go there each Tuesday morning to teach the Gospel and Bible character. I preached there the Tuesday before Christmas. Benjo, one of the inmates, had made Ester and me a lovely gift, a kind of jewelry box made from pieces of paper that had been rolled up into little tubes. The picture on the right is him holding the gift he made.
God blessed our annual Harvest Campaign in a phenomenal way. I have never seen our folks get as excited as they were during that five weeks of friendly competition. Our church divided into four teams that strove to have the most visitors. Points were also given for each visitor who returned during the campaign. There were a total of 476 first-time visitors. The person who brought the most visitors was John Diaz, with 151.
During the campaign I was especially thrilled, as the choir had to stay in the choir loft during the service because of lack of seating. That is something I had always dreamed about. The auditorium, balcony, and choir loft were full! Praise the Lord! Our auditorium has been consistently full, even after the campaign, and we have had to use the balcony each Sunday morning.
Ester and I were touched by the thoughtfulness of our people this Christmas. Many of them made or bought gifts for us, and some brought fruit. It was so touching to see people who don’t have much do special things to show their love to us.
Thank you all so much for your prayers and financial support as we represent you and our Saviour on this white harvest field. Thank you so much for the Christmas gifts several of you gave. We are very grateful.
Yours for souls,
Courtney & Ester Godsoe