Happy Thanksgiving... from the sunny hot Philippines!
It is the 25th of November, Jen and I will celebrate Thanksgiving with our neighbors down the street, Rollie and his wife, Rachel. Rollie has dual citizenship, and he retired from a construction company in America, so he celebrates all of our holidays. We were going to eat tacos, but now we will be going out to dinner on Friday night. Pray that Rollie opens his heart to the gospel. Rachel has given her life over to Jesus, but Rollie is not yet ready.
Thankfulness on Thanksgiving!
Since it is Thanksgiving Day, I want to thank God for all of you that are receiving our praise letter, and for all your prayers. First, my Mom is selling her home and has pledged 1000 toward my visa application. That is an answer to prayer! My strength is slowing coming back after Covid, I am now able to go out for half a day without being completely exhausted. I also have developed the purple/blue halfmoon on my fingernails. Did Google search and learned that it is a result of my immune system fighting off Covid. Jen and I are thankful for the spiritual growth in many of our tribe and cell group members. I am told that family members and coworkers are seeing love and life in these believers and want to know what is changing them! We are thankful for our family here in the Philippine and in America all are healthy.
Luke 10:2 and Matthew 9:37-38 says that, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few”, therefore, pray that the Lord of the harvest sends out workers. I think in the past I have talked about Luke 10 and why most believers are unwilling to witness or pray for healings. It is the fear of satan projected upon us so that his kingdom stays intact and unthreatened.Just last night Jen and I went out to buy a few things that we needed and to have dinner. In the course of 2 hours 10 people were born again and 2 of them were healed. So, the harvest here in the Philippines is very ripe. However, no one is willing to step out and risk by giving the gospel. Here in the Philippines the believers invite people to cell groups and church, in hope the one invited will hear the gospel and that does happen sometimes. There are 400,000 people in Tarlac city. 99% are Roman Catholic most will never visit a different church, nor attend a cell group.
The new Evangelists...
I have found some amazing evangelists here in the Philippines! These people are called “Jueteng” man or woman (pronounced as Weting). It does not how old or young they might be, they are up everyday at 6am going house to house so boldly, no fear, giving people hope, telling them they can help them, what they have will change their lives forever. These Weting are local, they live in that neighborhood, they are known and trusted. They know if they can help their neighbors they too will be blessed and help change the whole neighborhood. These people walk, ride bikes, go out in rain, heat all times of the day, I see them everywhere. I have posted their pictures below. I have never seen such committed people yet they are selling Lottery, a small-time lottery. What I see and hear from the born-again believers is that they are "shy" that is another way of saying scared, fear of man. This is both true in the Philippines and in American. I have four Filipinos on the Church Planting team. It took one whole year of going out into the streets and door to door for them to grow out of being "shy" to the point that they give the gospel daily and pray for people all the time. The problem is not fear, the problem is motivation. Pray that I will find a way to motivate these precious believers to see what the Weitings see and to have eternal view of themselves and the lost around them.
A Little Trivia...
Jueteng (Tagalog pronunciation: [(h)wɛtɛŋ]) is a numbers game played in the Philippines. First reported in the late 1800s while the Philippines was under Spanish rule, it was made illegal in 1907 after the United States occupied the Philippines. Despite this, and successive subsequent crackdowns, the game remains popular throughout Luzon, while similar games exist in the rest of the Philippines. The game is popular among many Filipinos, especially in poorer communities. Due to a low buy-in and the prospect of a relatively lucrative payout, it is appealing and often considered harmless fun. Individuals who collect bets, known as kubrador, are often considered trusted members of local communities. Different jueteng "lords" run their own competing games. Enforcement of the game's illegality is often lax. Corruption is common, with police and government officials often being accused of running or benefiting from jueteng operations. One president of the Philippines, Joseph Estrada, was impeached, removed from office, and found guilty of plunder, in part due to accepting bribes from jueteng lords. The Philippine government operates the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) Small Town Lottery (STL) as a legal alternative to jueteng. However, corruption has led the PCSO to be accused of being a simple front for illegal jueteng operations. Jueteng is very important to the Filipino informal economy. Jueteng operators and their staff were estimated to number 400,000 in 2009, and many rely on jueteng work for their livelihoods. Congress estimated the annual gross revenue of jueteng operators to be around US$1 billion in 2000. By 2019, this estimate had risen to US$1.4 billion.
Barangay Panampunan Outreach
Newly Opened Cell Groups
Prayer Requests...
Again, I am thankful for all your spiritual and finical support. Pray that Jen and I will help grow all those under us to spiritual maturity. How to start new cell groups with the hundreds who are coming to Christ. Our health, I would fully recover from covid and how to deal with the persecution about being vaccinated or not. My book is finished and I just received my first revision from our editor. Pray that the cover, title, and publication will happen in the Lord's timing. I am hoping to get it out in less than three weeks.
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Wendell and Jennifer SchultzZoe Perissos MinistryDonate Page: www.WorldOutreach.org/692Email: [email protected]Website: https://zoeperissosministry.com/Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ZoePerissosMinistry/Twitter: https://twitter.com/zoeperissos2014Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoeperissosministry/