Dear Co-workers,

     Greetings from the Philippines! The weather here is very nice and, unlike most of you, we are experiencing temperatures in the 80s and 90s. We went through a dry spell and as the water was getting low, we began asking God to send us the water we needed. Immediately afterwards, typhoons (which we normally would have already had around 20 some go through) started going "close" to the Philippines. This season, they have been hitting around Japan, and were completely by-passing the Philippines. These are still hitting Japan, but are passing close enough for us to receive lots of rain. We've been hearing about the tremendous heat wave in the US. and hope all of you are able to stay cool enough.
     FBC is now in it's mid-term of the semester and we are simply amazed at the wonderful quality of students we have this year! We may not be large in quantity, but we sure make up for it in quality! Our chapel services have been tremendously inspiring as we focus on living a holy life before God. Finances are slowly coming in, we've not had to miss a payroll or be late in paying our accounts payable and we Praise the Lord for all of you are helping us by supporting a student. Let us share with you an example of how your gifts are being used. A couple of our graduates, Noel and Aven, are now serving as pastors at Rizal Faith Fellowship. Recently, a sophomore became very discouraged and decided he couldn't continue on with his family pressure and his ministry situation. Once these two graduates discovered that he was going to quit school, they traveled to his home town and ministered to him. The next week, he was back in school with his usual smile and a new determination not to let Satan sneak in again and try to destroy his ministry. As "westerners" we are learning that it is extremely difficult for us to fully understand the tremendous trials and pressures these young "born again Christians" go through. The list is very long and I sometimes wonder just what it would do to our bible colleges and churches in the states if new Christians were faced with these trials. Praise God for America!
     Aven and Noel are two of a staff of five who minister at Rizal Faith Fellowship. They have lead the church diligently (with only around $40 to $50 a month salary) and faithfully. Now, the church is growing, spiritually, in numbers, and financially. They will soon have their ground breaking for their very own church building on property that they've already paid for in full. They are currently raising funds for their building. Please remember them in your prayers. The pastors are: Noel, Aven, Cecille, Koko, and Aileen. ALL ARE FBC GRADUATES!
     FBC just hired a new bookkeeper, Evangeline Dela Pinya, from the Evangelical Methodist Church. Please keep Peggy in your prayers as she works with her to train. Karl is trying to get the school on the correct "path" in doing a self study in preparation for accreditation, and at the same time to strengthen the spiritual atmosphere around the school, including chapel services, and to raise funds for college expenses. It really is a tremendous job with a lot of responsibility. He is also teaching four classes this semester.
     We want to take this opportunity to thank you again for being a part of this ministry. We are really seeing lives changed because of your involvement. These students are making a big impact on the Filipino culture and bringing people into God's kingdom! "Only one life, that will soon be passed, only what's done for God will last." May God bless you, your ministry and your families!

Serving together,
Karl & Peggy

Dear Co-Workers,

     Greetings from the sunny, hot and sometimes rainy, as the monsoon (tagulan) season starts, Philippines. This past year has been a hot one and we're enjoying the rain! We are doing fine physically and spiritually! That is a Praise all by itself. The bible college will begin classes again around the 19th of June. We're still waiting to see how many new students we will have. Please pray with us that God will call, encourage and motivate the students to come. We've lost one teacher, Carlo. His new wife is pregnant and he accepted a job in a private secular school in order to provide for his family since she is unable to work now. We understand but sure do miss him. We have enough teachers for the current student enrollment.
     We've spent the last months doing a lot of administrative type work, as well as going to the denominational youth camp. It's a change, but it's still hard work and much more frustrating that working with students! We are diligently trying to work with OMS headquarters in the states to establish a firm working method of raising funds for the bible college. The college is surviving from payday to payday, mostly because of generous donations from some of you. We just now checked our accounts and are sad to see that donations were really down last month, so, as of now, we do not have the funds for payroll on the 15th. We need $1,500 by the 15th and again on the 30th just for payroll. Please keep us in your prayers. To be honest, we sure could use some good advice on how to fund the college.
     As you think about this, keep in mind that 95% or more of these students will have no income and cannot get part time jobs. In addition, many of their families are against them entering the ministry and therefore will not assist. Those that encourage their children to enter the ministry usually are sacrificing themselves and cannot help their children. The way it is set up here, is that as the children graduate from high school, they enter some type of college, many times a vocational college, get a job, and then the salary from that job is given back to the family. They, in turn get an allowance for their living expenses. Most of the time a young person stays at home until they get married. That is the way their siblings get their education and the family survives. When one of the members decides to enter bible college and train for the ministry, that throws another dependent on the family as he or she will not be able to contribute to the family income even after they graduate. As much as we'd like to say it is the responsibility of the Filipinos to see to their own education, it is just not feasible at this point in time. We are really encouraged to see our Filipino co-workers diligently trying to raise funds for an endowment which will assist with teacher salaries in the future. It is evident that they all desire to be self supporting, but the economy is not cooperating.
     With all the financial burdens, we sometimes have to remind ourselves to stop and see the spiritual progress of the students and pastors. To share in worship with them is so good for our souls. To see their devotion and love for God in such simplistic form reminds us that God really wants us to depend on Him as a child depends on its parents. It also points out to us that even though the majority of the people here probably won't make as much in a lifetime as Americans make in ten years or less, they have so much joy in their hearts and they just love to sing and praise the Lord. It humbles us to often see people who can only afford rice three times a day sharing with those around them. It makes me remember my parents telling me to eat all that was on my plate because there were children starving in other countries. Parents know what they are talking about! It would be a wonderful project to have people put aside the money it would cost to feed one person one meal a day in America and send it to missions. We are still convinced the way to improve the country is to win it for the Lord. Although feeding programs help for the day, they will not last for long term. We're working on long term solutions, but we have to have funding to do it! Please pray with us that the funding we need comes in. (If anyone wants more information on funding, you can contact us via snail mail at: PO Box 705 Araneta Center, 1135 Quezon City, Philippines or via email at the above address or by phone: 632-681-9524. We are 12 hours ahead in time for most of you.) For those with computers OMS now has links to most of their missionaries and projects. They should be putting a Faith Bible College page on soon, donations can be made on line for specific missionaries and projects. That address is: omsinternational.org. Once you are on the home page you can follow the links, 'missionaries' to find a particular missionary, or 'where we serve' to find the country and the projects in that country. Go check us out and see more of what is going on here in the Philippines!
     Thank each of you from the bottom of our hearts for all you have done and are doing to help fund the ministry here and especially for your prayers that are sustaining us. You are a great team to work with! God bless you all.

Serving together,
Karl and Peggy

Dear Co-Workers,

     Thank you so much for your many cards and e-mails of condolences. It really makes the suffering of loss easier when shared with Christian brothers and sisters. Thank all of you who sent in memorials to OMS in memory of Peggy's mother. That was very thoughtful and means so much to us. Elizabeth is doing well. She is very busy with school and work and sometimes, she even remembers to call us! It is hard to remember that she's all grown up now. Peggy and I are doing fine, although tired. Of course, the fact that the heat index is usually 105 F plus each day has a lot to do with being tired. We are looking forward to the rainy season which should start in June or July!
     We Praise God for you - ALL of you! Many of you responded, not only with prayers, but with gifts for the college. We are still going month to month, but the money has been there! Now we ask you to pray for more students from Faith Evangelical Church's denomination. We do not want to run into a crisis of not enough trained workers for our churches! Another praise is God's answer to our prayer of an endowment fund. We have a donor who has put up $25,000 as matching funds. His only requirement was that the matching money be raised through Filipino national contacts. This is such a blessing and as the Filipinos understand the concept more and more, they are getting so excited about raising the funds. I'm sure most of you know that while $50,000 is a wonderful start for an endowment, much more is needed to make it really effective. If any of you have business contacts that would be interested in donating additional "seed money" for the endowment, we would appreciate hearing from you.
     We had 7 graduates this year. Of those, 6 were from Faith Evangelical Church of the Philippines and will be working in our established churches. We still have many graduates involved in church planting throughout all of Luzon Island (the Island we are located on). Recently the group we are shepherding came to our house for a meeting. It is so rewarding to meet with them and to hear their struggles and victories. We will be seeing them again on the 28th of April at our annual Church Conference. Then on the 30th of April we will be joining a group from the church and office for a retreat in Subic Bay. Afterwards, we plan to stay a couple days for a much needed vacation. We ask that you pray for us that we can really rest and refresh during that time and come back full of energy and ready to go.
     Since you are praying for the college and for the work here, we'd like to introduce you to some of our workers:
     One is Brenda Corpuz. Brenda is a very dedicated young woman who is serving as the college registrar and teaching. Currently she is completing her master's degree at a local seminary. Please pray for her as she balances her school and work. Also pray that God will send His mate for her and will close the door on those relationships that are not in His will.
     Another is Carlo Atienza and his wife, Farah. Both were students at FBC and went on to excel in seminary. They were married last year and are now expecting their first baby. Carlo is currently a full time teacher at FBC and Farah donates her time to teach courses whenever possible. They, as the begin a family, are facing many life changing decisions, so we ask that you remember them both in prayer that they will continue to listen to and follow God's leading.
     The next one is Ermalee Hidalgo, our Academic Dean and professor. She has been with the college the longest. She, too, is single and has dedicated her life to following God's call, with or without a mate. Ermalee, is a very valuable asset to the college and we pray that God will continue to meet her needs as she cares for her elderly parents.
     We would also like to ask you to pray for Joesil (our helper at home). Joesil has reunited with an old classmate of hers from elementary and high school and they are planning their wedding in December. Please pray that God will close this door if it is not His complete will. We are somewhat concerned as he is not of the Protestant faith, although he seems to be open to it. Since he is a seaman and will be at sea most of the time, their desire is for her to continue to live and work with us. (Note: The man/woman ratio for the current marriageable generation is about 5 men to every woman. This causes many of our young ladies to be tempted to make bad decisions in life mates. That is a constant prayer concern of ours.)
      Thank you again for your prayers and support. It is great to be working with such a wonderful team! God bless you all.

Serving together,
Karl and Peggy

Dear Co-Workers for Christ,

     First, let us thank you again for being part of our prayer and support team. Many things have gone on during the past months that we've been unable to tell you about. Computers are wonderful things, but when the phone lines and the computers go bad, then it really shows! In December our computer, once again, received a trojan virus. This one, although caught immediately, destroyed our hard drive. Because of the holidays and us hosting guests, we were unable to get it repaired immediately. Then, Peggy received a call that her mother was asking for her. After a lot of difficulty, she was able to get her papers and return home on the 11th of January. I followed on the 18th and Marie died on the 22nd, with all five of her girls there with her. We were unable to communicate with you in advance because of the computer crash. (Believe me, we are trying to get two computers internet ready with all the e-mail information on them so we'll have a back-up.) Once back in the states, the phone was tied up constantly at Peggy's Mom's and we didn't have access to Internet there either! After the funeral we stayed in Greensboro for a week to be close to Elizabeth (no phones or internet) and then we returned to the Philippines. Once we were back, we 'hit the ground running'. We found someone to work on a Toshiba laptop and had it repaired but then our phone lines were down. (We were told that the cable had been stolen out on the main street.) Finally, we now have phone lines, but we are still waiting (as of Feb. 25) for someone from DSL to come and repair their system and configure the computer. Such is everyday life in another country! Even though you may not have known the specifics of our prayer needs, we could feel your prayer support as we went through this time of loss. Thank you for remembering us in your daily prayers. God always knows our specific needs!      We returned to find that Faith Bible College is now in a financial crisis. There is a committee that is diligently working on raising support locally, but the truth of the matter is that most of the support is going to have to come from the states for awhile. Would you please join us in earnest prayer for the following:

1. For urgent immediate gifts to Faith Bible College (OMS account number #303720) to provide money for next month's salaries for faculty and staff, approximately $2,500 is needed!
2. For a long-term solution for faculty salaries. Please ask God to provide an endowment fund that FBC can use the interest for salaries, etc.
3. For more students at FBC...particularly from our denomination. (We praise God that FBC has such a good reputation in the community that many students are coming from other denominations. We also need pastors and workers in our own denomination (Faith Evangelical Church of the Philippines).
     • Saturday, February 24th, we took a team of 9 faculty and students north for an FBC Day (a recruitment day among our churches). We had a very good day, with five young people responding to God's call on their lives.
     • Saturday, March 3rd, we will have FBC Day at the college, involving the entire student body and faculty for all of the southern churches.
4. Local immigration approval for foreign students to study at FBC. (So they may be approved for student visas.)
5. That God would guide us to the right Filipino to become the first national president of FBC!
    Just so you may understand more fully how the finances work here, a full time student is charged approximately $209 a year for tuition and fees. However, it actually costs the school approximately $2,000 a year to educate that student now that we are moving toward a fully qualified Filipinio faculty and staff. Ideally, in a perfect world, we would be able to charge tuition to cover the costs of the education, but here in the Philippines, families are blessed if they make as much as $1,355 a year! That, by the way, is the minimum wage for daily workers.      I know that there are a lot of you out there that have excellent suggestions as to how we can set up an endowment fund and where we can seek the finances for this. Please let us hear from you. If anyone has a contact they can put us in touch with that can help, we'd love to hear from you. We are way out of our comfort zone on this, but God is able and He will provide His people to help us.
     We thoroughly enjoyed seeing Elizabeth in her new apartment and seeing her at work at Undercurrent Restaurant. With her busy schedule we were unable to spend a lot of time with her, but it was good to be in 'her world' for awhile. We are almost over our jet lag and are back in full swing here and are looking forward to hearing from you. Once again, we thank you for your prayers and support.
    May God bless you and all of your loved ones.

Serving together,
Karl & Peggy

Dear Co-Workers,

     Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Peggy and I hope and pray that God will especially bless each of you during this Christmas season! We are eagerly awaiting for Elizabeth to arrive Monday morning. She will be staying with us until January 6th, during which time she will be able to join Faith Bible College on it's annual retreat. We are so thrilled this year to have Al and Valetta Crumley (previously Valetta Steele for those of you who know her book, Thrice Through the Valley and it's sequel, Another Valley, Another Victory and Another Love join us this year. She will be speaking on the Power of Prayer. Please pray for them both as they lead our students and faculty through a time of rededication and refreshing of the soul.
     This past Friday, Dec. 15th, FBC had it's annual Christmas party to mark the beginning of the Christmas vacation. School officially starts back up with the retreat on January 3rd. Most of our students have returned to the provinces to minister to their home churches and families during this break. Please pray for them, for their safety and for the Lord to use them mightily. Many of our students and faculty are having health problems. We've sent several to the doctor where they are being tested for Typhoid, Dengue and Pneumonia. There is a nasty flu going around during this winter season. (I know! Yes, the temperature has dropped way down into the mid-70s! Doesn't seem cold to us, but to the Filipino this is cold!) Also remember Peggy and I as we haven't been exempt this year and are struggling to get our strength back.
     One of the concerns that is weighing heavily on our hearts is for people to hear and answer the call of God. FBC has open doors and an open heart for more students, especially from our local denomination. Our churches are all struggling to be independent and in that struggle (mostly financial) other important issues are taking "a back seat." Pray that we, as missionaries, can help them to stay focused on the most important thing—building God's kingdom. When that is happening, God will take care of everything else! Again—faith and prayer—you can't live a Christian life without them being an active part!
     Peggy and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts for making it possible for us to be here and minister for this past year. May God richly bless you during this Christmas season and throughout the New Year!

Serving together,
Karl and Peggy

Dear Co-Workers,

     Greetings! We're a little late with this news update due to the recent typhoon that went through Manila. We Praise the Lord that it was not more serious than it was. Several lost their lives due to flying debris and falling trees. We lost what we fondly—or not so fondly—call our "bat tree." We'll miss the shade but not the fruit and bats! We are so thankful that it fell away from the house, over the fence (and amazingly did little damage), into an empty lot behind us. We were without power for about 5 days in the heat and humidity and then another week for our internet connection to be restored. However, God protected us and we praise Him and thank you for your prayers that provided that cover of protection.
     The first semester at Faith Bible College has ended and we are now in an inter-semester course in Revelation with a visiting professor, Tom Sparrow and a church graphic course with Anthony (Todats) Datu. During the month of October, we have been blessed with 9 guests from the US participating in the ministry. Tomorrow, October 22nd we will be headed north to Baguio where Karl will be teaching a Theology course to lay preachers involved in planting house churches. Then from November 9th through the 12th, we will be hosting a Spiritual retreat at our house for 11 of our church planters. We're really excited about this opportunity and request your concentrated prayers during this time.
     Elizabeth is doing well and will be spending Christmas with us here in the Philippines. She is taking a full load at UNC-G and working several hours a week. I'm sure the break will do us all good. Peggy's Mom (Marie) is 'hanging in there'. The doctors are now 'officially' calling it terminal and say there is nothing more they can do as her body will not tolerate any further chemotherapy, even though they've discovered new tumors growing. She seems to be in good spirits and is once again involved in small chores around the house. Please keep both Elizabeth and Marie in your prayers—and us as we deal daily with the separation.
     We now have a Power Point presentation for the bible college that we are sharing with the local churches. If any of you have Power Point and would like to have a copy of this, I'm told it would be a simple matter for me to send it to you over the Internet. If you would like to try this, please e-mail us at karlluff at* pldtdsl.net and we'll send it to you. (*Use the @ symbol instead of "at"; it has been presented this way to reduce spam.)
     Thank you again for being partners with us. Please continue to pray for God's provision, both for our ministry support account and for the Bible college's account. May God richly bless you and yours!

Serving together,
Karl & Peggy

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This is a picture taken of our recent "Game Night" that we host for any FBC students who would like to have some fellowship time with their classmates in a relaxed setting. That night, we made it special by giving them home made pizza! (They'll be back!)

This, too, is taken in our home when we hosted a Region IV meeting of the church planting teams. We are the shepherds for this group. Everyone in this group is a graduate of Faith Bible college!

This one was taken at Sta Cruz. It was an outreach for the surrounding community, sponsored by our church planting team there. We drove up and attended the outreach, then stayed overnight and attended the team meeting the next day. The outreach was a huge success. Many people came in and stayed in spite of the fact that it grew dark and we lost power! The visiting speaker, a radio personality from Manila, just walked down into the middle of the group and kept talking.