MISSION TRIP TO FRANCE / FAMILY TRIP TO DISNEYLAND PARIS - Part I

Greetings from Paris, France!

On March 9, a very snowy morning, our family left Vancouver to go on a Mission Trip to JIL Europe (France). This is a very special trip for Pastor Aldrin and me because we will be joined by our two precious kids, Jappy and Alyssa. Their two-week Spring Break in school started this day so we decided to bring them along with us so we could spend time as a family during their Spring Break. Thanks to our RBC Travel Rewards, we were able to redeem points for their plane tickets!

Even though our mission trip in JIL France will officially start on March 14 (Sat), we decided to arrive in Paris at an earlier date so we could have a short family vacation and spend time together in Disneyland Paris until Friday, March 13. We also found it a very good idea to bring our kids with us in some of our Mission Trips, whenever there is an opportunity, in order for them to see what we are doing in the work of the Lord and give them the opportunity to be involved and appreciate it as well.



We arrived in Paris on March 10, Tuesday, at 9:00 a.m. local time via an Air Canada flight. Pastor Vicky Tiesenhausen, our Area Pastor of JIL France, greeted us at the airport, together with some brethren. It was a pleasant trip except for some delays at Vancouver airport due to the de-icing that needs to be done to our plane, but we still arrive in Montreal at just the right time to catch our flight going to Paris. It was a rainy and cloudy day in Paris when we arrived. Pastora Vicky and Bro. Noel brought us straight to Disneyland Paris from the airport. It was almost an hour trip due to traffic. They just dropped us off at our hotel and they went back to Paris.

When we arrived in Disneyland Paris, we can’t check-in at the hotel right away because the check-in is still at 3 o’ clock, but they gave us our Park tickets already so we could roam around while waiting for the time. The weather is a mix of sun, rain and clouds. We went first to Disney Village and ate lunch at McDonalds.

The cost of food in Paris is quite expensive, it’s almost the same price in Canadian Dollars but it is in the Euro currency. A combo meal in McDonalds costs around 7 euro. The exchange rate is 1 Euro = 1.7 Cdn$. If you want to check the website of Disneyland Paris, their website is www.disneylandparis.com. I booked our vacation package through this website and their UK website had very good deals and special offers that made it more affordable for us. We chose to stay in one of the Disney Hotels, the Disney's New York Hotel.



Disneyland Paris has two themed parks, the Disneyland Park and the Walt Disney Studios. We visited both parks on our first day just to scout and plan what we will do on the next day. But when it started to rain quite hard, we decided to go back at the hotel, checked-in, and spent the rest of the day resting and sleeping to get ready for the next day. Although we were not able to sleep straight through the night because of jet lag and the time difference, we still tried to sleep the best way we can so we can have enough rest and adjust as soon as possible. Thanks to melatonin!

Our Mission trip in JIL France consist of a JIL 12 Summit on March 14, JIL Paris 18th Anniversary on March 15, a 5 day meeting of the JIL European Management Team (EMT) from March 16-20 in Cannes, and a Joint Anniversary of our JIL Churches in South France (Marseilles, Cannes, Nice, etc.) on March 22. We will be back in Paris from Cannes on March 23 (Mon) and will have our flight back to Vancouver on March 25 (Wed).

We are asking for your prayers while we are on this Mission Trip. I will be giving updates as much as I can about this trip through this blog, so please come back and visit again.

Until next time. . . . . God bless you all!

PRAYER AND FAITH

Mark 11:24 - "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. " (NKJV)




FAITH IS A NECESSARY INGREDIENT OF PRAYER. Before we come to God in prayer, faith must be present. E.M. Bounds said that, "In any study of the principles and procedure of prayer, of its activities and enterprises, first place, must, of necessity, be given to faith. IT IS THE INITIAL QUALITY IN THE HEART OF ANY MAN WHO ESSAYS TO TALK TO THE UNSEEN." I totally agree with this statement. It really takes faith to pray and talk to someone whom you do not see and have not even seen. And it takes even more faith to trust and believe that He can provide answers to the petitions we will utter.

PRAYER IS AN EXPRESSION OF OUR FAITH IN GOD. Praying regularly sends a message to God that we trust Him, that He can do something in every situation in our lives. That's why when Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, he told them to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread." Jesus wants us to express our faith to Him each day of our lives through prayer and trust him for our daily sustenance.

OUR FAITH IS BEING KEPT ALIVE BY PRAYER. "When faith ceases to pray, it ceases to live" (E.M. Bounds). Have you notice that the more time you spend with God in prayer, the more your faith gets stronger. And the less time you spend in prayer, the weaker your faith becomes. When we don't pray, we are becoming more susceptible to satan's temptations, we tend to lose our focus on God, and we start to make bad choices and decisions.

OUR FAITH DETERMINES THE ANSWERS TO OUR PRAYERS. In Mark 11:24, Jesus clearly stated that if we "believe" we can have WHATEVER we ask for in prayer. This is a promise with a condition, and the condition is FAITH. We need to have a strong faith in God first before He can deliver the answers to our prayers. The kind of faith we need to have is the total trust and dependence on God's power and ability to do even the impossible things and fulfill whatever He promised in His Word.

As we have declared 2009 as the "Year of Overflow", let's express our faith in God through prayer and fasting that He can truly provide overflowing blessings in our lives and He alone has the power to release the answers to every petition we have. The more we become faithful in coming to God in prayer coupled with fasting, the more our faith will be strengthened. And when our faith is strengthened, we will please God and this will cause Him to unlock the door of blessings and release the overflowing answers to all our needs and requests.

Let us not get tired of bombarding heaven with PRAYING AND FASTING until we obtain the answers and the OVERFLOW. Believe and have faith that as we faithfully come to God in prayer each day, he is faithful to grant us the answers we need. Hebrews 11:6 says, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." (NKJV)

JESUS IS STILL THE REASON FOR THE SEASON

WITH A FEW DAYS LEFT BEFORE CHRISTMAS,
REMEMBER:

JESUS IS BETTER THAN SANTA . . . . .

Santa lives at the North Pole.
JESUS is everywhere.
Santa rides in a sleigh
JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water.
Santa comes but once a year
JESUS is an ever present help.
Santa fills your stockings with goodies
JESUS supplies all your needs.
Santa comes down your chimney uninvited
JESUS stands at your door and knocks.. and then enters your heart.
You have to stand in line to see Santa
JESUS is as close as the mention of His name.
Santa lets you sit on his lap
JESUS lets you rest in His arms.
Santa doesn't know your name, all he can say is "Hi little boy or girl, What's your name?"
JESUS knew our name before we did. Not only does He know our name, He knows our address too. He knows our history and future and He even knows how many hairs are on our heads.
Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly
JESUS has a heart full of love.
All Santa can offer is HO HO HO
JESUS offers health, help and hope.
Santa says "You better not cry"
JESUS says "Cast all your cares on me for I care for you.
Santa's little helpers make toys
JESUS makes new life, mends wounded hearts, repairs broken homes and builds mansions.
Santa may make you chuckle but
JESUS gives you joy that is your strength.
Santa is a myth
But Jesus is the Truth, the Way, and the Life
While Santa puts gifts under your tree
JESUS became our gift and died on the tree.
It's obvious there is really no comparison.
We need to remember WHO Christmas is all about.
We need to put Christ back in Christmas.

JESUS IS STILL THE REASON FOR THE SEASON . . . . . .

May the Lord Bless and Watch over you and your loved ones this Christmas 2008
And may He prosper and bless the work of your hands in the New Year.

JIL CANADA ANNUAL PASTORS' CONFERENCE 2008

Last December 6-7, the Annual JIL Canada Pastors' Conference was held at the Hilton Vancouver Airport Hotel in Richmond, BC. It was attended by 46 pastors & spouses coming from the different provinces of Canada.

God has blessed us with his awesome presence especially during the "Soaking in the Spirit Session." All the sessions were truly inspiring and directional. I believed that each one went back to their respective Churches knowing what JIL Canada intends to do and where we are headed for 2009.


Pastor Aldrin taught on the "Character of A Pastor" during the first session. Some practical teachings were also imparted to us on the next sessions - Ptr. Bong Gonzales shared on "How To Minister Effectively", Sis. Millet Figueroa shared some information regarding MIS, Internet, website, etc. Ptr. Aldrin taught how to start a personal blogsite, use windows live mail and Microsoft Onenote and prepare a powerpoint presentation.

Pastor Aldrin also shared the Direction of JIL Canada for the Year 2009 including our Strategies and Action Plans.

After this, we broke out into groups (per area) to discuss the Strategies and Action Plans for each specific Area for the Year 2009.

The Area Pastors - Pastor Evelyn Licayo (Area 1); Pastor Aldrin Navo (Area 2); Pastor Bong Gonzales (Area 3 & 6); and Pastor Mary Juarana (Area 4 & 5), led each group in strategizing and planning for 2009.

Finally, during the Commissioning Session, Pastor Aldrin shared to us about "Receiving the Breath of God - His Holy Spirit."

Also, during this session, the newly appointed Pastors of JIL Canada for 2009 were commissioned by Pastor Aldrin. The Pastors who were commissioned were the following: Pastora Judith Abellanosa of JIL Ottawa West, Ontario; Pastora Edith Catayong of JIL Southeast Calgary, Alberta; Pastor Rex Solo of JIL Notre Dame De Grace, Quebec; Pastora Rowena Jagolino of JIL Toronto (5), Ontario; Pastor George Dela Rosa of JIL Winnipeg (2), Manitoba; and Pastora Delfa Tangonan-Nava of JIL Kitchener, Ontario. Congratulations to all of you and welcome to the Pastoral family of JIL Canada !!!


The Conference was concluded with a Dinner Fellowship on the night of December 7 where a Videoke Singing Contest was held among the Pastors. Congratulations to all the winners !!! You all did a great job!

We discovered that we have a lot of good singers among the Pastors and a number of them were worship ministers before they became Pastors. Everybody enjoyed the evening and had a great time of fellowship and knowing each other. Thanks to our emcees, Ptr. Bong Gonzales and Sis. Jovi Villanueva-Binalla.



On December 8, we all went to Whistler, BC for a sightseeing tour and for fellowship and bonding as well. Everybody enjoyed the Gondola ride going to the top of Whistler Mountain.





We also visited the Olympic Center located at Whistler Village. Truly, it was an enjoyable trip !!!



Thanks to all whom God has used to make this Pastors' Conference a success!!! God knows who you are . . .

Truly, we are so excited for 2009 and beyond for we know that God has still a lot of things in store for JIL Canada. We are not yet done !!! We will continue to conquer Canada for Jesus and even USA !!!

The declaration of JIL Canada and even the whole of the JIL International Operations is that 2009 will be a "YEAR OF OVERFLOW!!!" So JIL people, be ready for the OVERFLOW !!! . . . . It's coming . . . . . God bless you all !!!

WORSHIP NIGHT AT JIL VANCOUVER CHURCH - "UNDIGNIFIED WORSHIP"

Last November 21, 2008, a WORSHIP NIGHT was held at the JIL Vancouver Church. JIL Vancouver 1, JIL Vancouver 2, JIL Burnaby, JIL Richmond and JIL North Vancouver joined together in worshipping God in this momentous event.

The Musikatha Team, composed of Paul (Guitar), Marlon (Keyboard), Graham (Bass), Karmi (Drums), Joanne (Worship Leader), Dinah (Back-up), and Joey (Back-up) led the Praise and Worship. Sis. Edith Mendoza was supposed to deliver the message for that evening but because of the awesome and great presence of the Lord that night, the program was changed by the Holy Spirit and the whole congregation was led into a new level and height of worship - not just into WORSHIP BREAKTHROUGH but into WORSHIP OVERFLOW. We truly experienced a different move of the Spirit of God that evening. During the praise and worship led by Sis. Joanne, I felt so much in love with the Lord - an overflowing love. God also responded by letting me know and feel how much He loves me. When I talked with some of those who attended, they also felt the same thing - an overflowing love to the Lord.

Sis. Edith released a prophetic word that evening stating that the "JIL Vancouver Church is a birthing place. A birthing place for new things . . . . ."

During the Victory Proclamation, everyone was so excited to express their explosive worship to God. The congregation can't stop praising God and even though it's quite late already, nobody wants to go home. They keep requesting for more songs until Sis. Edith ask the Musikatha to sing the song "Undignified." When everybody understood the meaning of this song, everyone started to express their worship to the Lord in their most undignified way. Some of these moments were captured in the video camera and I would like to share it to all of you. But of course, it's different when you're there! I hope you'll enjoy it!





I pray that this kind of worship will not end on this Worship Night but will continue even in our Church activities and services in the coming days.

MAY THE SPIRIT OF OVERFLOW WORSHIP BE EXPERIENCE IN ALL THE JIL BC CHURCHES!!! GOD BLESS YOU ALL . . . .


By: PASTOR MONETTE NAVO

JIL THANKSGIVING & APPRECIATION GALA NIGHT

On October 6, 2008, the day after the JIL 30th Anniversary Celebration in Luneta Grandstand, the JIL Thanksgiving and Appreciation Gala Night was held at the Isla Ballroom of Shangri-la Edsa Plaza Hotel.

On this occasion the birthday of Bishop Bro. Eddie C. Villanueva, the Founder, Spiritual Director and International President of the JIL Church, was also celebrated. The whole Villanueva family was present to celebrate with him this momentous night.

It was a red-carpet event that was well-attended by close friends of the JIL Ministry as well as Pastors and Staff from the Central, National and International Operations of JIL.

A red carpet was rolled out to welcome the attendees to this glorious and historic event. The attire for the night was strictly formal. Ladies were asked to wear gowns and the men were asked to wear coat and tie.

Before the program started, a cutting of the ribbon was held to launch the JIL Exhibit featuring the 30 years of the JIL Church. Bro. Eddie & Sis. Dory led the cutting of the ribbon, followed by the members of the Executive Management Board (EMB).

The highlight of the evening was the appreciation done to all the Pastors, Staff and faithful workers of the JIL Church since it started in 1978. Awards were also given to outstanding Churches and Chapters of the JIL Church in different categories.

Those who reached 20 years of service as Full-Time Pastors and Staff of JIL were also appreciated and given an award. Included in those who received an award were the drivers, cameramen, office staff, pastors, etc. who have served the JIL Church faithfully through the years.

The JIL Canada Chapter received the "OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD" in appreciation of its continuous support to the I-CARE Ministry of the JIL Church and the unparalleled Christian service rendered above and beyond duties and expectations to the holistic development of the community and people served. CONGRATULATIONS JIL CANADA !!!


Sis. Herminigilda "Aida" Romero of JIL Edmonton also received the Outstanding International Church Pioneer Award for starting the first JIL Church in Canada in Edmonton, Alberta. CONGRATULATIONS SIS. AIDA ROMERO !!!

Pastor Aldrin Navo became a recipient of two awards. The first award was the "Dr. Adoracion J. Villanueva EXCELLENCE AWARD", in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the theological advancement of the Church through excellent academic undertakings and research initiatives to the continuing consistent furtherance of the work of the Lord in Jesus Is Lord Church Worldwide.

The second award he received was the "Bro. Eddie C. Villanueva OUTSTANDING LEADERSHIP AWARD", in recognition of his unparalleled and magnanimous Christian service rendered above and beyond duties and expectations epitomized by a life of integrity, influence, and accountability to the holistic development of the community and people served and the greatest glory of Jesus Christ, King and Lord forever! GLORY TO GOD !!!

The Appreciation Night was concluded by acknowledging five out of the fifteen students of Bishop Eddie Villanueva in PUP who pioneered the JIL Church in 1978. These 5 students were still faithfully serving in the JIL Church after 30 years. They were Sis. Menchie Tobias, Pastor Dino Tobias, Sis. Daisy Babiano and Sis. Amor Adela. CONGRATULATIONS FOR YOUR PERSEVERANCE AND FAITHFULNESS !!!

Bishop Eddie ended the event with a word of exhortation and encouragement and a prayer for all the JIL workers, leaders and Pastors.

I was personally encouraged by the life of those who have persevered and served the JIL Church through the years, through thick and thin, and though all circumstances, whether good or bad. Indeed FAITHFULNESS is a virtue that we should all possess to remain a strong and an unmovable servant of the Lord!

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WHO RECEIVED AN AWARD!!! YOU TRULY DESERVED THEM !!! MAY THE LORD REWARD YOUR FAITHFULNESS !!!

After the event, of course the day won't be complete without picture taking. Here are some of the pictures I have taken from my camera. More will follow in the coming days. . . . ..


Pastor Aldrin and Monette Navo


With Bishop Bro. Eddie Villanueva


JIL Canada Pastors & Delegates with ECV & DJV


JIL Canada Pastors & Delegates with Congressman Joel Villanueva


JIL Canada Pastors & Delegates with Bro. Sherwin & Sis. Joni Villanueva-Tugna


With the JIL Europe Pastors & Delegates


With the JIL Northern Europe Pastors

JIL 30TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION - October 5, 2008 / Manila Philippines

Finally, we are back in Vancouver last October 14 after a two-week trip in Manila, Philippines to attend the celebration of JIL’s 30th Pearl Anniversary and the other activities related to it.

Pastor Aldrin and I left Vancouver last September 28th at 11:50 p.m. together with Pastor Malou Quilitis and Pastor Raymund Dagampat via Philippine Airlines flight 107. We also met the other Canada Pastors from JIL Alberta at Vancouver airport - Pastor Ana Anada with Bro. Andy and kids, Pastor Rene Tibay and Pastor Edith Catayong. We arrived in Manila on September 30th at 5:00 a.m.

Pastor Aldrin had to attend a series of meetings from October 1 – 3. He also had the opportunity to become one of the panellists for “Diyos At Bayan” TV show at QTV 11 hosted by Bishop Eddie Villanueva and Ms. Kata Inocencio. His co-panellists were Pastor Edgar Valdoria (Director for Asia & Micronesia Operations), Pastor Arnel Aquino (JIL San Diego, USA) and Sis. Amor Adela (one of the JIL pioneers in PUP). They discussed about the 30 years of the JIL Church, how it grew from 15 students to more than 10,000 churches all over the world as of this time.

A General Rehearsal was set on Luneta Grandstand on October 4, Saturday,at 5:00 p.m., a day before the 30th Anniversary Celebration. But even before the rehearsal started, strong winds came and rain started pouring out at around 4:00 p.m. that broke the initial set-up done by the Physical Preparation and Technical Committees. But after two hours or so, the winds and rain stopped, and everything was put back in order. The rehearsal pushed through at around 7 p.m. Most of the International Pastors coming from different countries were able to attend and fellowship with one another. Bishop Eddie & Sis. Dory Villanueva were also present and greeted everyone with a warm welcome.

I was not able to take pictures during the Anniversary because we were seated at the backstage. But I found some posts in YouTube posted by JIL members that will give you a glimpse of what happened during the 30th Anniversary celebration. Please allow me to share them to you . . . .





JIL 30TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

Even though it was raining in other parts of Metro Manila on the day of October 5, the Lord gave us a very good and perfect weather at Luneta Grandstand, it was cloudy but no rain. It was really a grand, glorious and victorious event attended by JIL Pastors and members from all over the Philippines (Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao) and all over the world. Presently, the JIL Church exists in 42 countries around the globe with a total of 10,000 Churches.

The celebration started at 4:30 p.m. with the Praise & Worship led by the Musikatha Team headed by Sis. Edith Mendoza. If you want to view the full coverage of this celebration, just log on to www.jilworldwide.org and watch the archived video streaming on-line. At the beginning of the program, a parade was held showcasing the JIL Chapters all over Metro Manila, in the provinces and all over the world. While the parade was being held, the song “Lord, You Are Good” was sung by the Musikatha Team in different dialects and languages. It was very encouraging to see all the JIL Pastors representing their own Churches, Areas and Regions and the flags of the different countries raised, waved and paraded to declare that JESUS IS LORD ALL OVER THE PHILIPPINES AND ALL OVER WORLD!!!

It was also a touching moment when Congressman Joel Villanueva asked all the JIL Pastors to stand up and acknowledged all their labours and sacrifices for the ministry of the Lord. Many Pastors were teary-eyed as the congregation clapped their hands in praise to God in honor to the mighty servants of the Lord.

An AVP featuring the song “Ilaan Mo”, sung by Gary Valenciano, was shown to present the Compassion Ministry of the JIL Church through its I-CARE Ministry. Dr. Dory Villanueva, the Executive Director of JIL Church, now heads the I-CARE Ministry. The AVP showed the different activities and outreach programs done by our I-CARE Ministry in the past and at present. The I-CARE Ministry is the humanitarian arm of the JIL Church for social responsibility and to minister to the needs of the Filipino people.

The JIL Church also honoured and gave tribute to two great evangelists of our times, Dr. Greg Tingson, known as the ``Billy Graham of Asia``, and Dr. Pat Robertson, founder of Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) for their evangelistic efforts and achievements in the proliferation of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ around the world.

Bishop Eddie Villanueva stressed out the significance of 30 years in the lives of some Biblical characters. Jesus started his earthly ministry when he was 30 years old. David was crowned as king of Israel when he was 30 years old. Joseph became the governor of Egypt when he was 30 years old. Now that the JIL Church reached its 30 years, it has come up to its full maturity and is now ready to take on greater challenges and do greater things in order to hasten the evangelization of the whole world before the Lord Jesus Christ comes.

In relation to our theme, ``ALL PEOPLES WORSHIP HIS MAJESTY``, a parade of nations was done at the culmination of the program with the students of the JIL Christian School paraded wearing the national costumes of the different nations of the world with their national flags while the song "We Speak to Nations" is being sung by the Musikatha Team. After this, Bishop Eddie prayed a prophetic prayer for all the nations of the world and declared "Arise shine, for thy light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you."




A prayer for all the nations of the world was uttered as each one stretched forth their hands to pray for the globe. In this prophetic prayer, Bishop Eddie mandated the JIL Church to reach ALL the nations of the world with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and to establish a JIL Church in all these nations. This prayer has really made an impact in my heart when I heard it because, right now, the JIL Church is present in only 42 countries and according to the United Nations, there are 192 nations in the world, so this means that we still need to reach the 150 nations in the next years to come. There is still so much work to be done. . . We are just beginning . . . . . . .




The celebration ended with a Victory Praise Celebration as magnificent fireworks lit the skies in front of Luneta Grandstand. The people who graced the event remained until the end of the celebration even though it ended around 11 p.m. Everybody was excited and renewed in their spirits to continue the next years of the JIL Church until the Lord Jesus Christ comes. It was indeed a glorious celebration!



Congratulations to the JIL Leadership for the success of our 30th Anniversary Celebration! ALL GLORY, HONOR, THANKSGIVING AND PRAISE BELONGS TO OUR GOD!!! HAPPY 30TH ANNIVERSARY JIL CHURCH !!!