January 14, 2009
Dear Family and Friends,
Warm Greetings in Jesus’ precious and mighty name! Praise the Lord for the New Year wherein we could again live for Him, serve Him using the talents and gifts He has bestowed upon us all- another year to know Him more and enjoy Him. 2009 opens to every believer a lot of opportunities to experience how awesome and great our Lord is as we go through the days, face the various challenges and encounter several surprises along life’s road.
Looking back at last year, we have plenty of things to share about how faithful He was to us. We’ve seen and felt the goodness and mercy that He promised in Psalm 23 that will always follow His sheep, His children. It was during 2008 that God answered our prayers to have a baby. Kahlen Reese Yanson Fidel was born last April 8, 2008 and her addition to our family brought into our lives a special and incomparable kind of happiness. There were many ups and downs, a number of twists and turns in our lives last year but we’re so grateful to our Almighty father because He was always there for us. One thing we can never forget was that I, my wife and our baby girl got hospitalized last year but during those times the Lord proved to our family that He is faithful. Glory, honor and praises be unto Him!
January 18, 2009, we will be the end of our ministry at The Legacy Baptist Church in Jaro, Iloilo as the Senior Pastor and Church Music Director. Rochelle served there for four years and Xaris nine. We’ve really enjoyed and are blessed in doing the ministry of discipling believers, equipping them for service, encouraging and training several church members to sing for God. Seeing people change and committing their lives to Jesus brought such joy and fulfillment to our hearts. We will move to San Pedro, Laguna at the end of January for a new ministry. The Lord has called me to be the Senior Pastor and School Administrator of Evangel Baptist Church and Evangel Christian Academy. Rochelle will be serving as a volunteer Music Director of the church for the mean time as we are praying whether she would have a regular job or finish her studies at Bob Jones University. This move will be a test of faith for me and my wife but we will always cling to God because we are certain that He will be the one to empower, provide and sustain us as we have seen Him do in the past. He has done countless of great and mighty things that went even far beyond our expectations.
Nothing compares to the joy of knowing Jesus as Lord and Savior and seeing one’s self being used by Him as one of His tools to save and draw men closer to Him. Evangel Baptist Church opens a lot of opportunities to evangelize people and disciple believers and we are very thankful to the Lord for calling us and giving us the privilege of serving Him there. Brethren, please remember us in your prayers as we transfer from Iloilo to Laguna, go through some adjustments and start our ministry at Evangel Baptist Church on the first Sunday of February 2009. Thank you so much and may our good and faithful Lord bless you and keep you!
In Christ’s Love, Pastor Xaris, Rochelle and Kahlen