Dear Bro. Daniel,
God Bless you and the saints at home. We have just finished the second church here in the Philippines. This is the first one we have built on the island of Bohol. The pastor’s name here is Felix Bantilan. The main problem here in Bohol has been a transportation issue. No one in the churches owns a vehicle, let alone one big enough to transport 11 men and gear. Bro. Felix found an oversized jeepney and the man lived just down the street between the church project and the lodging we are staying at.
The first night we stayed in Tagbilaran the hotel was on top of a hardware store. The next morning we gave them a material list and they said they could supply it all. What we didn’t expect was them to have four flat tires trying to deliver all the supplies. The church site was on top of a hill and we had to drop the center of the church site to try to level the ground outward to the four corners. This was probably the rockiest ground we had to dig in and the lumber was probably the heaviest per piece. It took eight guys to lift a truss. They also needed a new shower / toilet room with a septic tank. All of the concrete we had to mix here on this site was on the ground in small volcanoes, as there were no mixers available. Bro. Felix also had a 16 year old motorcycle that wasn’t worth putting another peso in. As you instructed, we were able to find a brand new motorcycle for low down and low monthly payments. The look on his face was priceless and his wife and family were overwhelmed. As we got ready to leave Bro. Felix came to me and said, “Bro. John, I have a new church, a new bathroom, a new pulpit and a new motorcycle. God is so good. Please thank everyone for their offerings and prayers.”
God Bless, we are heading to Tigbau next week for the third church.
The Building Team here in Bohol
