iRock Philippines

Indeed it is good to share the spirit of Christmas. But the warmth that we share together is quite literal. This is the place where the IRC or The “Immanuel  Research Center” held their Christmas program at the cover court. It was quite hot but the kids enjoyed the program.

I shared the meaning of Christmas. Christmas is the time of giving and not begging or asking. But if there is somebody who will give, then accept it with the powerful words thank you. God gave His one and only son and since we are the recipient of that gift we must say “thank you Lord” for the gift of salvation.

Ministering to these kids and the people who are around us is so wonderful. They are able to hear the true meaning of Christmas. Let us share the wonderful gift from God. The salvation through Jesus Christ.

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.

Communal Worship Center is a forty five minute drive from the City of Davao. It is not considered as a progressive part of Davao. There is no church building but rather Communal Worship Center is a home of believers that have added a roof from their garage to protect the congregation from the rain and this is where they meet weekly. But these conditions do not discourage their devotion to Jesus Christ. The age of this church is one year and one month old. But their heart for kids is so big that they agreed to start a children’s church with the help of iRock Philippines.

iRock Philippines is committed to training their leaders for three months. I believe that through experience in real life situations the leaders can be motivated to learn quickly. Wise men said “ Experience is the Best teacher”. Right now, there are 5  potential leaders.

We arrived early for service but the kids had arrived even earlier. We have 33 kids and all of them accepted Jesus in their heart. They raised their hands as a sign of surrendering  their sins and life to Jesus.  We have a fun games and object lessons. The kids are having fun and a good time in the Lord.

On the second Sunday we arrived later because we brought bibles for the kids. The bibles were donated by iRock Ministries (USA). As we arrived, we were surprised that there were so many kids who attended the service. There were 53 kids in that service; 20 more than the previous week. As they all tried to get a chair we decided to let them sit on the floor with canvas. But the lack of chairs was not a reason to stop everyone from praising and worshiping God.

Even a child wants to know they own something. Giving them Bibles as their own for the first time brought great joy for all of them. Some of this kids have a hard time buying their own meal. How much more difficult would it be to purchase a bible? But as we shared the Bibles with them, you could see the excitement and joy in their faces as they read the Bible. They waited and lined up to get one Bible.  Our purpose of giving the Bible, is to encourage the kids to read and memorize the books of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. In this way, they are trained on how to use the Bible. That day we gave 50 cebuano Bibles away . As of now we are planning to conduct a competition about verses and books of the Bible. Those who can memorize the books of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation will receive something special.

On the third Sunday of our service, we grew to 60 kids. We are expecting to grow even more so please always include us in your prayer.