DeJesus Update |
9/22/2009Things
to Praise God For: My Mission Report 1.
PRAISE GOD FOR A FULFILLED DREAM. God has reawakened
my forgotten dream of travelling alone through a ROAD TRIP here in
America. 18 DAYS WITH JESUS!
I drove for 4,475.4 miles to 5 States (Mississippi, New Jersey,
New York, South Carolina, & Florida), and visited my IFI mentees,
former Seminary professors and schoolmates, my son and his family, and
close friends of the church that I pastored in New Jersey. Some
highlights: my encounter
with a STATE PATROLMAN who stopped me for an unclear license plate while
driving on a highway in Tennessee.
In the process of our conversation, I was able to share my work, as
missionary, doing prison ministry. And in so doing, I learned that he is
a strong believer of Christ and a member of a Baptist Church. I,
therefore, as he’s a police officer, with a good influence, encouraged
him to consider mentoring those inside the prison. He autographed my
memo book and I took his picture. And I thanked him for stopping me that
I was able to share my ministry. And another is: I was able to witness
to an Asian man, Mr. Patel, owner of the America’s Best Value Inn. And
the most touching moments were seeing my former American Seminary
Professors in South Carolina. They were missionaries in the Philippines
for many years before retiring. One is 79, and the other, 85 years old.
These two men whom God used to help me become a better disciple of
Christ. I learned mentoring through their great example! 2. PRAISE GOD FOR 29 YEARS LIVING, LOVING AND SERVING GOD HERE IN AMERICA. I am already 58 years old. God has reminded me that I have spent my other half of my life, 29 years here in America. The first 29 years in the Philippines and then, the next 29 years in America = equals 58. I know that He has a more fulfilling 29 years for me and my family. Whatever His plan for me and my family, I know it is the best for us. 3.
PRAISE GOD FOR THE CONTINUED MINISTRY AT IFI. We have
a new group of IFI guys that we’re ministering this quarter,
September-November. We hope to encourage more people at Calvary to join
us in sharing God’s Word, counseling and praying for the 41 inmates
that we fellowship with every Monday evening. We praise God for these
faithful volunteers, Dennis Green, Gary Lambert and Bob McCharen,
who’s hearts are for those inside the WALL. We aim to help these guys
not only when they are inside the prison, but follow them up when they
are released. 4.
PRAISE GOD FOR THE MINISTRY AMONG THE NEIGHBORS. After
the hurricane last year, we have had two get-together with our
neighbors. We had around 30 people that came in the last gathering. Some
of them brought their children to our ARTREACH. We are preparing for
another fellowship as we await for a cooler weather. 5. PRAISE GOD FOR OUR DAUGHTER’S GRADUATION AT CHRIST FOR THE NATIONS. Joanne finished her course at CFNI after three years of learning more about FAMILY AND CHILDREN’S MINISTRY. She was able to go to England this summer, along with other CFNI graduates, to help a church there with their Children’s Camp. She is currently enrolled at DALLAS BAPTIST UNIVERSITY, majoring in EDUCATION. She wants to be ready to follow the Lord’s calling even teaching and being a missionary in another country of His choice. 6. PRAISE GOD FOR TENNIS AND PING-PONG SMALL GROUPS MINISTRY. We praise God that we can offer these sports to encourage other CCC members to join us in taking care of our God-given bodies. I praise God for good friends who are with me in this endeavor, Mike Phillips and Doug Meriwether. Tennis is our game, but Jesus is our life! 7. PRAISE GOD FOR THE OPPORTUNITIES TO SPEAK IN DIFFERENT FILIPINO CHURCHES. We try to continue to connect with other congregations to share more about the prison ministry. And we continue to encourage other churches to open their facilities for ex-offenders and their families for discipleship meetings and fellowship through the ministry of HIS FATHER’S HEART MINISTRIES. 8. PRAISE GOD FOR THE CONTINUED GROWTH OF IFI MENTEES. We praise God for some members of our church to help some ex-offenders in finding jobs. Quam Pham, for example, a Vietnamese-American who was seeking for a permanent job, after being rejected three times, was given a chance to work at the company of Martin Jordana. And he has been there working, faithfully, for almost a year now. And we have a regular fellowship/discipleship time with him and his girlfriend. Another is Adrian Guajardo, who was employed by Rick Jones at his company, as a machinist. Rick told me that Adrian is one of the best workers that he ever had in his company. Praise God! 9. PRAISE GOD THAT WE WERE ABLE TO SHARE THE GOSPEL TO SOME CO-WORKERS OF MARLENE’S. God gave an idea to Marlene to invite her co-workers at M.D. Anderson, for the first time, to her b-day party at our house (around 22 people came). We used this opportunity to share God’s Word. As we have opened our house to let ex-offenders and their families stay for some days, when needed - we thought that even parties can be used also to glorify God and make Him known through this kind of celebration. Everything is for Jesus! 10. PRAISE GOD FOR ALLOWING MARLENE’S SISTER, HEIDI, TO COME TO TEXAS AND BE WITH HER FOR TWO WEEKS. While I was out travelling for 18 days, God gave an idea to Marlene to invite her sister to come to Texas. Heidi was so blessed in her stay here that she decided to come back for good after Christmas. I know that this is a God-thing because, after the death of their mother, my mother-in-law, two years ago – this is an opportunity for both of them to be together again and grow in the grace and knowledge of God even here in Texas through CCC’s ministry. We love you all! Jesus’ travelling missionary,
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11/18/2008God
Answers Prayers and Touches Neighbors Editor’s Note: Daniel and Marlene DeJesus love people. And, they are intentional about finding ways to show God’s love to others. Here is a testimony from Daniel about an opportunity that took place after Hurricane Ike. I wanted to share with you about our neighborhood outreach ministry. It is amazing how the Lord redeemed Hurricane Ike and used us in our neighborhood in the aftermath of the storm. Marlene and I have prayed for our neighbors for many years. We have done this in many ways, including prayer walking around our subdivision. (Actually, Marlene prayer walks more than I, because I'd rather play tennis!) Before Ike arrived, the Lord led us to pray seven times around our subdivision. After Ike hit, the Lord opened doors for us to touch our neighbors. We helped our neighbors by removing their fallen trees, cleaning up, sharing our generator with a neighbor, and buying gasoline for them. This opened the door for a gift from the Lord. God answered our prayers by giving us the chance to have our first Hurricane Survivors' dinner and fellowship at our cul-de-sac. The turnout was amazing. Seven families from our area came. Some strangers showed up. And, some relatives of one neighbor decided to join us. I gave a short talk and prayer before we had our sumptuous dinner. God gave us an amazing take away: We decided to get together like this twice a year, during the fall and spring, when the weather is cooler and nice. We
praise the Lord for the good time and fellowship. Some of the families
with kids expressed an interest in attending We thank the Lord for the opportunity to share his faithfulness and love with those around us. Please
pray that God will continue to cause his light to shine more brightly in
and through us. Thank you for your prayers. Glory be to God! In Him alone, Daniel 10/28/2008My Personal Testimony: Jesus-centered, Gift-based and Passion-driven LifeI,
along with my family, Marlene and Joanne, moved by faith from OUR CALLING IS FROM GOD Where
He leads us, we follow by faith. Where
He feeds us, we swallow in humility. What
He opens for us, we embrace with gladness in our hearts. I thank the Lord for the opportunity to work at InnerChange Freedom Initiative (IFI) for more than 5 years. The first 2 years I was an unpaid fulltime volunteer staff, doing counseling, teaching, and mentoring. Many volunteer inmates came to know God through His Son, Christ Jesus, throughout my ministry there at IFI. But because of some policy changes, I resigned as a paid staff, and decided to return as a Missionary volunteer to continue what the Lord has called me to do at IFI without restrictions. WHERE THE SPIRIT IS, THERE IS FREEDOM Aside
from mentoring
6 people there, (and also mentoring those who are already released), I
also join the volunteers from Calvary every Monday night as they
facilitate a class there at IFI called Prayer & Issues, where they
lead worship, pray, and counsel inmates for almost 2 hours. I go there
at least twice a week. Some
of the great experiences I have had as a volunteer at IFI, are when I
was requested to take over for some staff counselors who could not teach
their class because of death in the family or some unavoidable
circumstance. I took over for 3 weeks, and used that opportunity
to evangelize
some of the classes. Many inmates opened their hearts to Jesus. When
I attended some of the afternoon sessions called Community Time, God
would often encourage me to preach
the Word with love and boldness from His Spirit to the more than 200
inmates enrolled at the IFI Program. Many believers (more so
myself) are encouraged every time I preach there. There is joy in
serving Jesus. An
unforgettable experience that I had, recently, was to attend a funeral
and burial of one IFI inmate who was recently released.
Unfortunately, just a few months after his release, he died suddenly
because he was stung with bees while working in his backyard. At the
cemetery, after the burial of their father, I was able to share
the gospel to the whole family, a mother and 3 children. All of them
received Jesus into their hearts. Whenever
I visit my daughter, Joanne, at Christ
for the Nations Institute in GETTING TO KNOW OUR NEIGHBORS Because
of the recent Hurricane Ike, Marlene and I were able to be a witness
to our neighborhood
by praying for protection from destruction. The Lord led us to have a
“ After
the hurricane, due to electric failure, we shared our generator with our
neighbor, helped clear, clean, and cut fallen trees in our neighbors’
yards, and bought gasoline for those who needed it for their generators.
(And even in looking for a gasoline station, the Lord answered our
prayers. Where many gas stations at that time had a long line of people
waiting to fill their tanks – the Spirit of God directed us to a
station that did not have a long line. Our pick- up truck with a full
load of gas containers was easily filled without any problem. (We even
took the privilege to pay for the gas as our gift to our neighbors!) The
Lord used this calamity to help us get to know
our neighbors better so that we can share the love of Jesus Christ
with them. We
know that many families and properties were badly affected by this
hurricane. Our prayers are with them. We know that Churches, with the
government, are presently mobilized to help. But we know also that
He has a higher purpose of why He allowed this to happen like 9/11. INVOLVED WITH OUR CHURCH FAMILY We
also thank the Lord for the privilege of leading two LIFT
Groups at As we look back to what God is doing in our lives, including our 2 children, Jonathan and Joanne, who both love God, and are devoted followers of Christ, we know that what we are doing is really just a natural experience of a child of God. Knowing that our life is from God, that in Christ we find our true IDENTITY AND SECURITY, and that we are truly LOVED UNCONDITIONALLY BY JESUS, then loving Him back is just a natural response on our part. And, therefore, serving Him is a lifestyle for our family. Whatever we do and wherever we are, we are here to glorify our Father-God by loving Him with all our being and loving our neighbors as we love ourselves. We know that we don’t deserve His life, but He gave it anyway. We know that there are times we fail to follow Him, but He forgives anyway. We
know that we struggle in this life, for there’s spiritual warfare, but
He is our Commander-in-Chief anyway. We know that we are sometimes inconsistent in our walk with God, but He is our only message of Truth and Grace, Hope, Faith, and Love anyway. WORKING WITH OTHER MINISTRIES Lastly,
I’m working also with Joey Gentempo and Larry Campanello as Board
Directors for HIS FATHER’S HEART MINISTRIES, also a prison ministry (www.hisfathersheart.org).We
are working together to help churches be aware of the needs of
prisoners, ex-offenders, and their families. We are also working to
start a Transitional House for those who do not have a home to go back
to when they are released. We
praise God for what He has been doing to prepare us for His coming! If
you have any questions about how you can help in the ministry, let me
know. Or you may contact Daniel
DeJesus
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  Map to Calvary Sunday Messages Updates |