A Powerful Testimony from Hope Manila

This year I spent Easter in Manila, Phillipines. It was indeed a privilege to be able to participate and minister in their camp.

Eugene Phang joined me for part of my trip. We had a great time there.

The experience and exposure has caused me to grow quite a fair bit. I learned valuable lessons and humbled by what God can and will do when His children choose to step out by faith.

There are many things that I can write about my experiences there. However, presently I just would like to pen down one testimony. This testimony is so powerful that it never fails to encourage my heart whenever I think of it.

Hope Manila has been renting a venue for their service, activities and office space for some years now. The venue can be divided into three areas. The first area is a big hall that can contain around 400-500 people, theatre style. Outside the hall there is this large outdoor space that can be used for all kinds of activities including basketball and volleyball. This is the second area. The third area is an office space that can contain around 8 people.

The owner of the place is a committed Christian from another church. In the beginning, he was asking for 80,000 peso per month for the rental of the venue. That's around $2500 per month. I think that's a quite reasonable pricing. It would definitely costs a lot more in Singapore for such a venue.

Over the years however the price kept going down. From time to time the owner would call and said, "I have been praying and the Holy Spirit told me to reduce the price". This kept happenning that right now they are only paying 10,000 peso per month. That's only around $300. Men, with that kind of pricing we can only rent a small room without an air conditioner in Singapore .

Some time ago the church went through a difficult time. Some people left the church. Many of the high income earners belong to this group. Consequently, the collection of the tithe and offering dropped significantly. But God is faithful. Soon after, the owner of the place unexpectedly called the church and said, "I have been praying and the Holy Spirit told me..."

This testimony truly speaks of the faithfulness of our God in providing for His people. As we take care of the house of God, as we take care of the people of God, God will surely take care of our needs. Our God is indeed our Jehovah Jireh, the Lord our Provider!