Issue No. 5 • May 2021

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

Prayer Requests

I. National Prayer Requests

1. Pray for love, unity and renewed zeal for the Lord among all Nav staff and contacts in pursuing our UMD.
2. Pray for humility before the Lord and with one another as we serve the Lord together.
3. Thank God for all the prayer and financial supporters of the Navigator ministry. May the Lord wonderfully bless them in all aspects and grant them remarkable success.

“With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.” 2 Thessalonians 1:11

II. Luzon

1. Northern Luzon (Baguio, La Trinidad, Cabanatuan, Munoz, Ilocos)
   1. Ilocos, Jun Andaya
      • Please pray for my new senior citizen contacts; for the gospel to be shared & for follow up.
   2. From the Community Ministry, Jackie Ibasco and Margie Calica
      • Sound mind for Bong, Ruz, Mykee, Jany.
      • Good health for Mama Ritchie and to remember important happenings sa family. God’s protection against COVID for Camp 7, Beckel, Cabinet Hill communities. Si Josie na maging ok blood sugar niya in 3 months. Si Jeff discipline sa sarili may heart problem, maintenance meds for God’s provision.
      • Good health for Ate Gigi, masakit likod niya and God’s provision for their daily needs. Sa mga may sakit fast recovery. Charry Faith Fontanilla, tenant naming, nursing student and Gapuz family relative ni Sis Jen sa camp 7 since November nag-aattend ng BS.
      • For good connectivity during our virtual fellowships.
      • Some spouses in our community physically hurt their family members. Pray this will be stopped. Pray for genuine transformation by the Holy Spirit.
   3. Availability among our alumni to form their own small groups
   4. Good health among our staff and constituents
   5. Protection for all from Covid-19
   6. New jobs for those who got laid off
   7. Total recovery from stroke of Lawrence Esguerra, Associate Staff
2. Metro Manila
   1. Ammi Lopez
      • For God’s continuous blessing of growth for each one of us and all the members of our different Bible studies.
      • Safety and protection for my flight to Cebu on June 12.
      • Pls pray for a smooth transition, and for the LORD to provide a strong and committed ministry team.
      • Pls pray for wisdom, strength, perseverance and joy in doing online ministries.
      • Pls pray for an ever-deepening intimacy with the Lord Jesus through the study of His word and prayer.
      • Salvation for all my unsaved family members/loved ones.
      • For God to open more doors for evangelism.
      • God’s continuous protection from the COVID virus and all its variants.
   2. Saguits
      • Pray for the monthly zoom in meeting with all staff. May God use it to encourage & unify us to pursue His calling for His glory.
      • Pray for God to raise young laborers among the Navs constituents who are zealous for Him – Matthew 28:19-20.
      • Pray for somebody to help Metro Manila as overseer while Kuya Willy will be on sabbatical leave.
      • Pray for comfort & peace to all who are mourning esp de Leons & Manubays.
      • Protection from the evil one and good health spiritually, physically, emotionally for all staff & constituents.
   3. Gregorio Family
      • Pray for Doris’ health and protection as she continues to teach Thai children in Thailand.
      • Pray for wisdom for Kat and Lem in their studies. Kat needs somebody to check the grammar and statistics of their thesis.
      • Pray for good health as we continue to serve the community.
   4. Ministry (Gregorios)
      • Pray for the believers to grow deeper in their knowledge of Jesus and His word.
      • Pray for the SBC among mothers, students and one-on-one.
      • Pray for our once a week gathering of the believers.
      • Pray for the ongoing programs, supplementary feeding, tutorials, ALS, NSTP and COOP-that God will use these programs to draw more people into His kingdom.
      • Pray that more Muslim will have dreams and see vision of Jesus as the observe the Ramadan.
   5. UP Diliman
      • Na maging solid yung pag establish natin as an org para may mga ma-invite na students from different universities.
      • That the role/responsibility of every member of the group as an org be established.
      • The LORD’s Guidance upon us all.
   6. Stanford Loving Community
      • Good health & protection esp. from COVID virus.
   7. Tiah Zamudio-RTU
      • Mental health po nung mga friends and relatives ko pati nadin po health ng fam ko.
3. Antipolo (Willy Manubay)
   1. Pray for the healing process of Manubay Family as well as the community members.
   2. Also, please pray for the online activities such as Prayer Meetings, Bible Studies, and Recognition Day of Munting Paaralan on May 16, 2021.
4. South Luzon
   • Growth in the faith of new believers in San Pablo city and in Tiaong, Quezon as workers serve /love them and bible studies are held with them;
   • Wisdom for Region 4 Team (Wency, Rico Albaño, Jun Espiritu, and Nani Romero) in making decisions regarding ministry expansion;
   • Application of the principles of holism and empowerment in all ministry areas in SL resulting in empowered communities and individuals living a loving and purposeful life;
   • Wisdom, creativity, and courage as we consider the impact of the current pandemic situation in doing ministry;
   • Growth in faith of all people involved in the Navs & CHAI as all staff and elder members continue to care for them in many aspects of life, help them make convictions based on God’s word through bible studies/discussions/story telling, and develop them as co-laborers;
   • Unity of Los Baños leadership team (Bert Tagalog, Rene Vega, Val Madrid, and Lawrence Uy) in leading the ministry in the community and among couples, alumni, and students;
   • More positive responses from potential partners in the ministry of the new SL Nav staff;
   • Fruitful time for the new SL nav intern staff as they attend ‘whole life discipleship (D4D) training’ this May 2021 and good preparations by the facilitators for online sessions
   • Commitment to always have a God-glorifying home for the Acordas, Anonuevos, Aparatos, Batos, Dela Vinas, Junsays, Logronios, Madrids, Manalos, Mercados, Merles, Tews, Tuanos, Vegas, and Veruasas as we all apply what we are learning from the Couples meetings (2x a month) facilitated by Rene and Ada Vega.

1. 1. Rico & Lea Albano
      • For all field staff that as we serve God, we will continue to listen to his voice and follow him. (John 10: 27-28)
   2. Jun and Merlie Espiritu
      • Please pray continually for all staff, loved ones and community’s good health and protection from covid19; for us to be able to see God and what He is doing and about to do in our “wilderness and wasteland” journey. In our limited view , wilderness and wastelands are very depressing pictures and we seem to be all in this place… so we should pray even more… Isaiah 43:19 (NLT) “For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”
   3. Romy and Luz Hernandez
      1. Total healing of Romy’s left foot and of Luz’s back (muscle spasm);
      2. wise time management for Luz (school, home chores, and ministry (virtual bible study to resume this week);
      3. for Romy & Luz’s faithfulness in their prayer time every morning and commitment to do His will to be like Him.
   4. Ed and Jen Matundan
      • God’s clear direction and intervention for our ministry focus (specific place-municipality/barangay); implementation/integration of everything that we have learned from our trainings.
   5. Gene & Glo Veruasa
      1. Spiritual growth and passion for God for the Young Professionals and Villegas community youth and mothers;
      2. that God will touch the hearts of our relatives so that they will understand the Gospel and put faith in Christ;
      3. good health and strong immune system for our 3 old aunts and my working nephews and nieces;
      4. wisdom and strength as we do the D4D training with the new SL staff this month and continued protection for all of us from the virus.
   6. Wency and Cel dela Vina
      • For us, our family, and the people we are ministering to grow in loving God; to continue to ‘be filled with the Holy Spirit’ as we journey together as a couple, with our adult children, and with the people God gifts us.
   7. Dan and Connie Carigma
      1. Please pray for the ff: Maria Luz Baltazar, Leody Perey, Justo Ronan, Jing Ronan, Ronnel Allarey and Leah Allarey that they will have a clear understanding of the gospel.
      2. Thank God that the contract of the “dyenerator company” of Edgar and Josie Mercado was finally awarded to them; the project is in BGC, Taguig and they will be needing expert electricians as they start renovating the street lights. Kindly ask God that they will be able to generate more income to augment their financial needs;
      3. The result of 2-D echo of Len is challenging and she needs to see a cardio, please pray that she will be given a slot soon.
      4. Noel was laid off last February due to the adverse effect of pandemic to his company. Please pray that he will be able to find a new job.
      5. Pray for God’s direction regarding my treatment. My immunologist prescribed a medicine for my deteriorating nerve and I still have to consult a nuclear medicine doctor for my thyroid. I am still bothered by GERD and I also need to consult a Gastroenterologist;
      6. Please pray for God’s sustaining strength for all of us (Connie, Lenlen and me); Connie – Pls. pray fr the resumption this week of my bible study with some loved ones; pls. pray for their availability and protection during this pandemic.
   8. Len Carigma
      • Another 2d echo required after 2 months and more consults (& tests) with my other specialists to determine the cause of several unexplained bruises in my legs. No go signal yet for vaccine. According to my Cardio because of my thyroid problem my heart got overworked and eventually weakened. Required minimum is at least 65%, mine showed only 48%. Was given meds to take for a month. If it doesn’t work and 2d echo shows the same results, then angiogram might be required. Please continue to pray with us for healing, strength, and provision
   9. Renz and Maeden Rivera (CHAI Albay)
      Pls pray for –
      1. provisions of jobs, finances, and healing (physical and emotional) for the CHAI community members and PLC leaders in Tabaco city and Bacacay, Albay;
      2. protection of the members of Team Tabaco, their families, and all communities from covid19 infection and other illnesses;
      3. acceptance of Luigie in the DOST scholarship program as he continues studying for his course B.S. Ed. in San Jose Community College, Tabaco; 4. wisdom for Erika and her siblings as they plan about their parents’ sustenance;
      4. spiritual growth of all people involved in the ministry (adults, youth, kids);
      5. deeper understanding of the gospel in the new communities Buhian at Comon in Tabaco city;
      6. protection of CHAI center from unscrupulous people. C. Dan and Angie Narciso (CHAI Naga)
   10. Ministry in Dalipay
       1. for small kids and junior youth to have more interest in coming to the Sunday feeding and story-telling sessions;
       2. for the mothers to understand who Jesus is to be able to make a decision to make Him Lord of their lives.; Pray also for learners’ hearts and growth in faith of all people involved in the ministry served by the Narcisos and Wawee Ardeza. D.Loloy & Nhidz Aparato – for the family’s good heath and provisions; for Loloy’s blood sugar level to normalize; more partners in the ministry.

III. Visayas

1. Cebu
   1. Pray for Bobet Caracut and his team as he leads and steers the ministry direction of Cebu Navs. There is much potential here but minimal involvement. Pls intercede that he is able to mobilise and harness such resources, that the Almighty God will give him vision, both insight and foresight, as he leads.
   2. Pray with Vic and Elen Marcojos as they battle health issues. Starting today, Elen will undergo dialysis according to her doctor. Pray for God’s sustaining grace and financial support /needs. She had other challenges such as her losing vision, diabetes and lumbar problems but the kidney concern is the one that’s life threatening.
   3. Pray for Jerpri Medillo, and Sonnie Monsanto as they minister and disciple CTU students under their tutelage.
   4. Pray for the genZ YPs under our care to grow in Christ and bond together as a team and be the next generation of laborers.
   5. Pray for the Cebu leaders to continue to grow in our devotion to our Lord Jesus nd learn from Him how we may serve others. That we may develop compassion and become people oriented not program or activity oriented.
   6. Praising God for the influx of disciplemakers in Cebu , Ate Del & Gary, and Amy Lopez. May we find unity and cooperation in our efforts to fire up the campus ministry. May other alumni around Cebu be inspired when they see our lives and our concern to help students and young graduates.
   7. Please pray for teachers Analiza, Jen & Ker May for teaching posts in US.
   8. Sonnie Monsanto, Cebu Technological University Main NSTP/ROTC/DRRM Director
      1. The approval of budget and synchronized availability of the Resource Persons, Technical Team and the venue in coming up with a comprehensive, informative and effective Instructional Video on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Skills Training for the NSTP Students.
      2. Consistent meetings with the ROTC Officers which we called Director’s Time on the following agreed dates – May 9, 23, June 6 & 20 inspite of their demanding time to accomplish academic requirements coupled with their responsibilities as officers. Also, financial provision specially with their internet connectivity and other day to day needs that will hinder them in coming to our online meetings.
      3. And most of all, hunger and thirst to read and study the Word of God, specially for the 21 souls who just accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
   9. Gary and Delia Leath
      1. Creative ways in reaching out to our neighbors the gospel of Jesus and His Kingdom. We live in Mandaue City and one household renting a unit in the compound come from East Asia and mainly do not speak English. We are excited that we can start connecting with them through their language.
      2. Our contribution to the Cebu Ministry especially in reviving the campus work and be involved with a newly formed community of young people who may feel called to the campus.
      3. Resumption of virtual Bible studies that were stopped because of time difference between Philippines and the U.S.
      4. Quality bonding times with Delia’s family.
   10. For Blessings of Hope (Lani Gador-Johnson)
       1. Ministry restructuring/redirection: Enter into community immersion with corresponding Program Assistant personnel of at least 2 (right now, we are partnering with 3 local churches).
       2. Wisdom in decision-making if we maintain or stop partnership with respective local churches. And if we do continue partnership, until what extent or capacity.
       3. Manageable personal life situations (being administrator to 2 elderly parents) so as not to hamper ministry functions.
2. Western Visayas
   1. God’s protection of all contancts and their whole families from this pandemic.
   2. Our ongoing Bible Studies that the students will grow deeper with their intimacy in the Lord.
   3. Raising funds for vehicle to be use in ministering to some other far places as ministry expansion.
   4. More partners and donors that God connected in helping the ministry.
   5. Unity among All alumni to get actively involved and participating for the harvest of souls.
   6. That everyone will find and have a regular time in prayers fellowships and other activities.
   7. This pandemic will end soon so that we can be back to our regular activities trusting God will intervene that will bring glory to His name.
3. Tacloban
   1. Marlou Sabit: Please pray for guidance and protection as I start sa work since it involves a lot of travel within Eastern Visayas.

IV. Mindanao

1. South Cotabato
   1. Sana maka setup na ug BS time with the lake Sebu Nav girls and how to help them in the area of parenting.
   2. Continuous protection from COVID 19 to His children in the whole world.
   3. Pls. pray that the scheduled 1st bible study with lake Sebu Nav girls will push through and wisdom on what BS materials will be used.
   4. Pls. pray also that the Navs mininistry in South Cotabato will grow.
   5. Favor and blessing of the businesses of Navs alumni in So. Cot.
2. Davao
   1. Paquibato Project – for the Lord to provide partners for this project; for the recipients of the first batch of chickens (42 RIR) to be wise stewards and good caretakers; for the students to be willing and excited to study the Scriptures and for strong internet connection for online BS.
   2. With the teachers’ BS and Salusalo ng mga Guro, pls pray that these teachers would grow in their commitment, competence and courage in reaching out to their students with the Gospel. Pls pray for wisdom and confidence for Juvy Digamo and Jennelou Angelo who have recently started leading BS with their students.
   3. Pls pray for the monthly TipTalk of the young people to be a source of encouragement, enthusiasm and exhortation from God’s Word and God’s people.
   4. For all those in our SBCs to grow in the knowledge and grace of our Lord as we continue to study Trinity (We are done with the attributes and works of God the Father and God the Son. We are now on the works of the Holy Spirit). Pls pray that we would all grow in love and devotion to God leading to a greater commitment to obey the Great Commandments and Great Commission.
   5. Appreciate your continued prayers for Al and Jho. Pray for the Lord’s healing upon Al and strength for Jho.
   6. Pls pray for Agi Ibanez for smooth transitioning to his new job as urban planner in a new firm. Pray for wise time management so he would not miss his personal devotion and he and his girlfriend, Gwen, could attend the YPs’ weekly BS.
3. Bangkal Youth Ministry, Davao
   1. That the highschoolers will desire to know God. We feel that at this stage in their lives, they want to have the freedom to explore the world but not much desire for spiritual matters.
   2. Protection for the highschoolers from people with evil intentions. Most of the highschoolers do not have good family background, some come from broken families and have no one to guide them. I pray that they will learn to trust us to help them and guide them.
   3. We are slowly resuming our activities with the kids. Last Saturday we distributed some activity materials and food. Pray for wisdom how to go about this as we dont want the kids to be exposed more to the virus.
   4. Some kids in Astorga also want some Bible-based activities. We did this two years ago and they are asking if we can do again. Pray for wisdom how to do this and when to do this.
4. Ate Ana Victolero
   1. Pls pray for my 85-year old mother, who was confined early dawn at St Lukes hospital. Her presenting problems were hypertesion (the highest was 192/70), nausea and physical weakness. She had to have swabtest as protocol. My sister is her caregiver & watcher in the hospital. We praise God that she is responding well to medication. Her bp is decreasing, sodium is better (she could now walk by herself) and her blood sugar has gone down to 188. Pls pray with us for her complete healing, and for my sister and for the huge finances needed. Pls pray she could really enjoy subsidy for her hospitalization from veterans (my father was).
5. BRMM c/o K. Eseng
   1. Pls pray for the Lord to provide leaders who have the heart for the ethnic group.

Please pray for the Nav constituents who are currently suffering from COVID-19. Their names were removed from this article for privacy reasons and are available upon request from Ammi Lopez or Jean Barcena of PhilNavs Prayer Committee.

V. Overseas

1. Malaysia (Benjamin Cheng)
   1. Update from Connie (12 May 2021 at 8.06pm KL Time): Ben did not pass the swallow test, the thick substance to swallow was extremely sweet that Ben said could only get down to the throat 😟. His insurance just approved Ben rehab at Mayo yesterday and will move over today. Continue praying for his brain and heart and for good progress at rehab. Ben will be strengthen daily and able to endure the rehabilitation routine daily.
   2. Pray God’s Name will be exalted among the nations. Let us wait expectantly as we lay our requests before Him.
2. Taiwan (Cheng Tsung ‘Jerry’ Chen)

“All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.” 2 Co 4:15 (NIV)

Introduction: The NAV ministry on this island was started by the China Task Force in the 1970’s. By God’s grace, in the early 2000’s, the ministry leadership made a stable transfer from missionaries to nationals. Today our ministries include: campus, graduates, insider community, church discipleship, and Nav centers that integrate some of these. Strategic

Prayer Requests:

1. 1. National Director Selection Council (NDSC) — The NDSC has met and prayed together for 2 days (March 12 to 13). After listening and seeking the guidance of the Lord, the NDSC has come to a consensus and proposed Wen-Jin Lin as the next ND with an NLT. About 40 stake holders will gather at the end of May to pray and make the final confirmation for our next ND.
      • Pray that the gathering of stake holders will seek the Lord together and affirm the proposal from NDSC, consisting of all area leaders, myself, and Huiming Wee (the chairman of Board of Directors).
      • Pray that the whole process ends up with unity and bring God glory.
      • Pray that the CORE will be shaped with clarity as we share the Words of God and listen to one another.
      • Pray that Wen-Jin Lin, anointed by God, has wisdom to choose and invite just the right people to join his team to lead the Navigators work in Taiwan.
   2. Graduate Ministries — In order to get more lifetime laborers, which is very key to the fulfillment of our calling, we need to focus on helping graduates keep growing as they transition to different stages of life.
      • Pray that the graduate ministries of different cities connect and support one another.
      • Pray that our graduates join local ministries as they move to other cities.
      • Pray that our graduates can witness Jesus in their workplaces by living in Christlikeness.
      • Pray that the Ekklesia, the community of the called, be built in every major city. Ask God to help us be transformed and strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that we can witness the Good News with confidence and boldness.
   3. Campus Ministries — As most of our staff are getting up there in years, we need to recruit more staff and missionaries to serve on campus.
      • Pray that we could recruit 2 new interns to be trained in the campus environment.
      • Pray for this new school year (starting September), that we would discover those recruits the Lord has prepared for us. And pray for both our student and staff teams to be effective in laying a new foundation for many generations.
      • Pray that we could recruit 5 fulltime staff and 3 missionaries in the next 3 years.
      • Pray for the revival of Tung-Hai University, where Taiwan Navs started its first collegiate ministry. Timothy & Cynthia Wang are restarting the ministry in THU. After 2 years laboring on the campus, they managed to recruit a group of 10 students. Pray for more laborers to join this ministry.
      • Pray for the revival of Chung-Yuan University, one of our most fruitful campuses in the past. Pray for Jun-Yi Lee, the campus director, filled by Holy Spirit, to model and lead with heavenly wisdom so that all laborers serve with passion and love from God.
   4. Insider Ministries – Over the last ten years we have developed many types of insider networks. We are seeing some fruit, but have yet to raise up new generations of laborers in these contexts.
      • Pray for a community of Insider Ministries where we can meet regularly to encourage one another and learn to be more effective through both our failures and successes.
      • Pray that God would strengthen our insider laborers and leaders with faith, wisdom, and courage to persevere in self-sacrificing relationships that will penetrate community networks with salt, light and transforming grace.
      • Pray that new generations of laborers will emerge from these contexts.
   5. Leadership Development – We need to develop a new generation of leaders who are willing and capable of taking on national leadership responsibilities. We have initiated a series of equipping programs that would expose younger staff to our national leadership.
      • Pray for the new ND and NLT, that God would enable them to organize a few working teams consisting of younger staff to serve our national needs. And in the meantime, pray the younger staff will be developed through working and learning together.
      • Pray that God would raise up new leaders who are passionate in cultivating a deep relationship with Himself, and are effective in “completing the assignment” He has given us throughout the coming decade.
      • Pray that God would bring the next generation of leaders together, edifying one another, learning from one another and serving with one heart in implementing the CORE.

 

Answered Prayers and Praises

“Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Psalm 103:1-5, NIV

Ammi Lopez

1. Praises to the LORD for the blessing of good health and His continuous protection from the COVID virus
2. We praise God for the continued blessings on the ongoing online ministries in every ministry area
3. Praise God for the ministry partners He has given me

Marlou Sabit, Tacloban

1. Thanksgiving to the Lord for giving me the opportunity to work in my home town.

For South Luzon division

Thanks and Praises to God for –

1. the ministry partners (prayers and finances) of the new SL staff
   1. Intern staff : Rico & Lea Albaño, Loloy & Nhidz Aparato, Chq Eumag, and Ed & Jen Matundan;
   2. Associate staff : Romy & Luz Hernandez);
2. the online bible studies, prayer times, team meetings and big gatherings that enable the members to have regular feeding from the Word, prayer-fellowships, and encouragement from one another even if we do not see one another face to face;
3. God’s faithful and gracious provisions that come in different forms to all SL Nav staff and CHAI volunteers in Los Banos, San Pablo, Tagaytay, Naga and Tabaco
4. the new second hand pick-up truck of CHAI, a better vehicle that replaced the Urvan that was sold last month

Renz and Maeden Rivera, CHAI Albay

Thanks to God for-

1. enabling the leaders (Community development committee) of barangay Cabangan (Tabaco city) in partnership with its LGU to provide daily feeding to about 200 kids;
2. the bible study material of Dr Bell that provides precious lessons to Team Tabaco (Renz & Maeden, Joe, Erika, Luigie) that are relevant to them and to CHAI communities’ present realities.

Gary and Delia Leath

1. Safe return to the Philippines. Gary was able to get a visa on time to enter the country.
2. God’s healing on my eyes.
3. Gary’s blessed one-on-one times with his son, Caleb before we left the U.S.
4. Transformative times with people in all our virtual bible studies.