I had to post one final update regarding things here in Cebu because of two developments that were too exciting to let wait until after the New Year.
First, and foremost, we had TWO MORE BAPTISMS - bringing our total or Session 4 to SIX!
While we were away last week visiting our small place in Negros, Meljane and Gina struggled inside with the differences between what they had experienced in their former religion and what they found in the Bible. If you recall, I mentioned that we discovered that BOTH had been previously immersed "to receive Jesus"! As it turns out, the more they thought about what they studied the more they found differences in what they experienced. It began to bother them until they felt that they needed to be immersed to remove all doubts in their minds. Meljane said that when they were baptized before it was by a “pastor” who believed that people are saved by saying a prayer to receive Jesus. He had her recite that prayer just before they were immersed and she said that this was not what she found in her studies of the examples of people becoming Christians in the New Testament. As she continued explaining, it became clear to us that she and Gina had talked about it and thought about it for a long time and so we took them to the same swimming pool we used for the first group and immersed them into Christ! There was no more confusion afterward but only BIG smiles! Please join with us in rejoicing at the courage of these two young ladies and pray for their continued strength and willingness to be faithful to the promise of loyalty to God that they made when they stood in the water of baptism!
The second development is the installation of our new Xerox machine! As I mentioned in previous reports, our old machine finally “bit the dust” and we ordered a new one. It arrived on December 27th and it is truly remarkable! It connected straight into our office network and did a test print of two copies of a 40 page correspondence course booklet – printed back to back and collated – and it took all of 4 minutes to complete! Even when the old machine was in good working order, that task would have taken 20 minutes! We did not have to load a single sheet of paper into the machine because we sent it direct from the computer through the network! All we did was stand by and gawk at the wonder of all the technology that was working before our eyes! We are excited to say the least!
We have made significant headway in our fund raising project for the new machine. As I mentioned before, we need $4,700.00 for the purchase. So far, we have received pledges for $2,400.00 and so this means we are more than half way to the goal. Xerox allowed us to have 90 days to pay and so we have until March 28th of next year to find the funds. We are so thankful to all of you who have contacted us. If others of you who have not yet done so can help raise this money then we will not have to reorganize our monthly budget to absorb this expense and that means we will have more money available for other things in the work.
At any rate, we are so happy with these two developments and thank God for his kindness and care! It has truly been an amazing year! Thank you ALL for your interest in our work here in Cebu City, for your continued support, and for your prayers on our behalf.
May God give us all a peaceful transition to a 2007 filled with more opportunities for service!
First, and foremost, we had TWO MORE BAPTISMS - bringing our total or Session 4 to SIX! 
The second development is the installation of our new Xerox machine! As I mentioned in previous reports, our old machine finally “bit the dust” and we ordered a new one. It arrived on December 27th and it is truly remarkable! It connected straight into our office network and did a test print of two copies of a 40 page correspondence course booklet – printed back to back and collated – and it took all of 4 minutes to complete! Even when the old machine was in good working order, that task would have taken 20 minutes! We did not have to load a single sheet of paper into the machine because we sent it direct from the computer through the network! All we did was stand by and gawk at the wonder of all the technology that was working before our eyes! We are excited to say the least! 
We have made significant headway in our fund raising project for the new machine. As I mentioned before, we need $4,700.00 for the purchase. So far, we have received pledges for $2,400.00 and so this means we are more than half way to the goal. Xerox allowed us to have 90 days to pay and so we have until March 28th of next year to find the funds. We are so thankful to all of you who have contacted us. If others of you who have not yet done so can help raise this money then we will not have to reorganize our monthly budget to absorb this expense and that means we will have more money available for other things in the work. 
At any rate, we are so happy with these two developments and thank God for his kindness and care! It has truly been an amazing year! Thank you ALL for your interest in our work here in Cebu City, for your continued support, and for your prayers on our behalf. 
