BEAUTIFUL FOOTPRINTS

“And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”” Romans 10:15

Photo by Adrianna Calvo on Pexels.com

This is a recent report of events in the Philippines by the Emperados whom we are blessed to support there. Keep this work in your prayers. For the elders, Ken D

Dear Family & Friends, Howdy!

I can’t believe the year 2022 is almost over. We are so blessed that in the middle of this year that travel restrictions were finally easing up. I was able to do what I love best- visiting the churches we planted in previous years before COVID. From the 44 capital cities, that were virtually untouched, now we are down to two more capital cities, that we had hope to plant back in 2020. For the last 25 years, we have been working hard to cover the whole country with the MOSES team, from northern Luzon to southern Mindanao, to plant churches that would thrive & reproduce. Through God’s mercy, the majority are doing well, growing, & multiplying. Some of the churches though are really struggling and need some special care.

Photo by Richard Emperado

We didn’t try to do any church plantings this year, I just had too many churches that needed visiting & encouragement. I have been to Mati, Tagum, Davao, Baybay, Catarman, Siquijor, Guimares, and Bato. With the help of our sponsoring church, Austin Avenue Church of Christ in Brownwood, Texas, we were able to help the church planted in Bato, Leyte build their chapel on land that Austin Avenue helped purchase the end of 2019. The building is really rock solid, and will hopefully be able to withstand typhoons, earthquakes, and flooding.

We know it can withstand flooding! Right after the building was completed- the last week of October, I was there to give a final look of the new church building. On the last night before the carpenters and I were getting ready to head back to Negros, our home island, I was sleeping soundly at the new church building in my gravity chair, with the rain pounding on the tin roof. It rained all night and we woke up to water rising in the building. Thankfully the building is made of hollow blocks, concrete, and the doors are made of steel & pipes. The water started to rise quickly and the current was quite swift. We ended up backing my truck into the church building so we could get all the tools & welding equipment securely loaded & covered in the back of the truck. Water was almost knee deep, and it was time to go. We tried to head towards Baybay to the north, but the highway was impassable to all vehicles. We tried to head back to Bato, the only dry ground was near the port area. We tried to check into a two-story hotel, but they refused us. So our only choice was to head south, 40 miles away to the town of Sogod, before more of the highway flooded. We finally found some dry ground and a place to spend the night in the Sogod Church of Christ building. It was such a long stressful day.

The chief carpenter, Reul, told me this is the strongest building we have built so far. The foundation is deep, the walls are made of strong hollow blocks, and the windows & doors are made of welded steel grills. He hopes it will last a 100 years! Once again, we would like to thank the Austin Avenue Church of Christ, that helped plant this church several years ago, and helped them build this beautiful building.

In Him, Richard, Becky, and family