🇵🇭🎄 CHRISTMAS 2026 IN THE PHILIPPINES — UPDATE #4
WE CANNOT HELP EVERYONE—BUT WE REFUSE TO USE THAT AS AN EXCUSE TO HELP NO ONE
Christmas is coming.
The Philippines is waiting.
And the question before Pilgrim Outreach Ministries International is becoming increasingly practical:
WHO WILL WE BE ABLE TO HELP?
There are more families than we can reach.
More children than we can provide for.
More needs than our resources can possibly meet.
We know that.
We aren't pretending otherwise.
But I've been thinking about something:
The fact that we cannot help everybody must never become our excuse for helping nobody.
If we can help one family—
we help one family.
If we can feed ten—
we feed ten.
If we can put something into the hands of twenty children—
we help twenty children.
If we can give one Bible—
we give one Bible.
If we can sit with one hurting person and tell them about Jesus Christ—
THEN ONE SOUL WAS WORTH THE TRIP.
Welcome to Christmas 2026 in the Philippines — Update #4.
And this time, our message is simple:
LET'S DO WHAT WE CAN WITH WHAT GOD PUTS IN OUR HANDS.
⏰ THE CALENDAR ISN'T WAITING FOR US
Every day that passes moves us closer.
Closer to our departure.
Closer to our return to the Philippines.
Closer to the families.
Closer to the children.
Closer to Christmas.
In Update #3, we told you:
“WE'RE ALMOST THERE.”
Well, we're even closer now.
Soon planning must become purchasing.
Lists must become supplies.
Resources must become rice, food, Bibles, children's items, practical assistance, transportation, and ministry.
Prayer must become action.
Faith must grow feet.
Because eventually you reach the point when you cannot keep saying:
“We're getting ready.”
Eventually—
YOU HAVE TO GO.
And Cecilia and I are preparing to do exactly that.
🎄 FOR SOME FAMILIES, CHRISTMAS WILL NOT BE ABOUT WHAT THEY WANT
Many of us approach Christmas by asking:
“What should I buy?”
Some families will approach Christmas asking:
“What can we afford?”
Others may ask:
“How are we going to make it through this month?”
That's a very different Christmas.
When money is limited, Christmas presents compete with necessities.
Food.
Electricity.
Transportation.
Medicine.
School needs.
Repairs.
Everyday expenses.
And when a family has already endured hardship, loss, financial pressure, or the effects of natural disasters, Christmas can arrive while they're still trying to recover from yesterday.
That's why we want to enter Christmas 2026 with open eyes.
Not merely looking for children who need presents—
but looking for people who need hope.
❤️ WE WANT TO MINISTER TO THE WHOLE PERSON
This has always been part of the vision of Pilgrim Outreach Ministries International.
Mind.
Body.
Soul.
Spirit.
A hungry stomach matters.
So does a broken heart.
A child who needs something matters.
So does a parent wondering how to provide it.
Physical needs matter.
Spiritual needs matter.
And therefore, wherever God gives us the resources and opportunity, our Christmas outreach may involve:
🎁 Christmas assistance for children.
🍚 Food and essential items for families.
📖 Bibles and Christian materials.
🙏 Prayer.
❤️ Encouragement.
✝️ Evangelism.
🤝 Practical help where genuine needs are identified.
👨👩👧👦 Personal ministry to families.
We aren't interested in simply dropping something off and leaving.
We want opportunities to meet people.
Hear their stories.
Pray with them.
Encourage them.
And when God opens the door—
TELL THEM ABOUT JESUS.
🎁 A PRESENT CAN OPEN A DOOR
Never underestimate a simple act of kindness.
A bag of groceries may look like groceries to you.
To someone else, it may say:
“Somebody noticed.”
A small present for a child may look inexpensive to us.
To that child, it may say:
“Somebody remembered me.”
A Bible may appear to be another book.
But placed into the right hands, at the right moment, it can introduce someone to words of eternal life.
A prayer may take only a few minutes.
But the person receiving that prayer may have spent months believing nobody cared.
This is why we repeatedly say:
HELP US HELP THEM—ONE SOUL AT A TIME.
Because ministry becomes personal when you stop seeing crowds—
and start seeing people.
👧 THERE IS A CHILD WHO DOESN'T KNOW WE'RE COMING
I mentioned this thought in Update #3, and I haven't been able to shake it.
Somewhere there is a child we haven't met.
Maybe several.
Maybe dozens.
We don't know their names yet.
They don't know ours.
They don't know about Pilgrim Outreach Ministries International.
They don't know someone thousands of miles away may be praying for them right now.
Think about that.
While we're preparing here—
God already knows who we'll meet there.
He knows the street.
He knows the house.
He knows the family.
He knows the need.
He knows the conversation.
He knows the prayer.
He knows the moment our paths cross.
WE MAY BE PREPARING FOR AN APPOINTMENT GOD HAS ALREADY SCHEDULED.
That's one reason we take this seriously.
💵 WHAT CAN $5 REALLY DO?
We've asked this before, but it's worth asking again.
Someone may read this and think:
“Pastor, I would love to help, but I don't have much.”
Please hear me:
We don't measure compassion by the size of the donation.
Five dollars given willingly is not insignificant simply because someone else can give fifty.
Ten dollars doesn't become meaningless because somebody else can give a hundred.
And prayer doesn't become second-class participation because someone cannot give financially.
Think about what happens when people participate together.
One person prays.
Another shares.
Someone gives $5.
Another gives $10.
Another gives $25.
Someone buys one of our books.
Someone tells their pastor.
Someone shares this post.
Someone else sees that share and decides to help.
And what began as many small acts becomes something none of those individuals could have accomplished alone.
THAT IS PARTNERSHIP.
🙏 MAYBE YOUR PART ISN'T MONEY
I want to make this very clear.
Please do not give money that your own family needs for food, housing, medicine, utilities, transportation, or essential responsibilities.
We're not asking for that.
Maybe God doesn't ask you to give financially.
Maybe your assignment is to pray.
Maybe it's to share this update.
Maybe it's to tell your pastor.
Maybe it's to tell your church.
Maybe it's to purchase a book, knowing that 100% of our book royalties support our missionary and outreach efforts.
Maybe God gives you another idea altogether.
The important question remains:
“LORD, HOW CAN I HELP?”
Then listen.
And obey whatever He tells you.
✝️ BUT PLEASE DON'T MISS WHY WE ARE DOING THIS
Christmas outreach can become very busy.
Packages.
Food.
Children.
Transportation.
Schedules.
Photographs.
Shopping.
Distribution.
Coordination.
Money.
Planning.
But we must never become so busy doing Christmas ministry that we forget Christ.
Our message has not changed:
✝️ JESUS SAVES.
❤️ JESUS HEALS.
🔥 JESUS FILLS.
👑 JESUS CHRIST IS COMING AGAIN.
Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.
The greatest gift we can carry into the Philippines isn't something purchased in a store.
It's the Gospel.
The message that God loved the world enough to give His Son.
The message that Christ came.
Christ died.
Christ rose again.
Christ saves.
And Christ still changes lives.
WE WANT TO GIVE PRESENTS—BUT WE ALSO WANT TO PRESENT JESUS.
🛒 SO WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
As our departure approaches, the ministry moves increasingly from preparation toward implementation.
Once we're on the ground, we'll be better positioned to identify specific needs firsthand.
That's important.
We don't want to assume.
We want to see.
Listen.
Ask.
Discern.
And then use the resources entrusted to us as wisely as possible.
Some needs may be exactly what we anticipated.
Others may surprise us.
That's missionary work.
You prepare—
and then remain flexible enough to follow where God leads.
Our responsibility is not to manufacture opportunities.
OUR RESPONSIBILITY IS TO BE READY WHEN GOD PROVIDES THEM.
🇵🇭 SOON THESE UPDATES WILL LOOK DIFFERENT
Right now, I'm still telling you what we're preparing to do.
Soon, Lord willing, we'll be able to tell you:
“Today we met this family.”
“Today we entered this community.”
“Today we prayed with someone.”
“Today we distributed these supplies.”
“Today a child smiled.”
“Today somebody received a Bible.”
“Today someone heard about Jesus.”
That changes everything.
The story will no longer be only about preparation.
It will become about people.
Real faces.
Real families.
Real needs.
Real ministry.
Real opportunities.
And, we pray—
REAL LIVES TOUCHED BY JESUS CHRIST.
🙏 WILL YOU BEGIN PRAYING FOR THOSE PEOPLE NOW?
You don't need their names.
God already knows them.
Pray for the mother we'll meet.
Pray for the father.
Pray for the children.
Pray for grandparents raising grandchildren.
Pray for struggling families.
Pray for those recovering from hardship.
Pray for the lonely.
Pray for people who need encouragement.
Pray for those who need food.
Pray for those who need a Bible.
Pray for those who need someone simply to listen.
And especially—
PRAY FOR THE PERSON WHO DOESN'T YET KNOW JESUS CHRIST.
Perhaps Christmas 2026 will become the Christmas they never forget.
Not because of what was inside a package.
But because they discovered what God had already placed inside the manger:
A SAVIOR.
❤️ DON'T WAIT FOR SOMEONE ELSE
This is one of the easiest things to do when confronted with enormous need.
We think:
“Somebody will help.”
Maybe.
But what if everybody thinks that?
Somebody has to pray.
Somebody has to share.
Somebody has to give.
Somebody has to go.
Somebody has to care.
Somebody has to say:
“I CAN'T DO EVERYTHING, BUT I CAN DO SOMETHING.”
That is where change begins.
Not when one person does everything.
But when many people stop believing their little bit doesn't matter.
🤝 WILL YOU PARTNER WITH US FOR CHRISTMAS 2026?
Here are several ways:
🙏 PRAY
Please pray now and continue praying throughout the outreach.
📣 SHARE
Share this update with your friends, family, church, pastor, Bible study, and social-media community.
⛪ TELL YOUR CHURCH
A congregation working together may be able to accomplish what one person cannot.
🤝 PARTNER
Stand with us as we prepare to minister throughout the Philippines.
❤️ GIVE AS GOD ENABLES YOU
Our current GoFundMe campaign:
Other ministry support channels:
Cash App: $joybells49
X/Twitter Tips: @joybells49
PayPal Business
GiveButter
And remember:
100% OF OUR BOOK ROYALTIES SUPPORT OUR MISSIONARY AND OUTREACH EFFORTS.
🎄 WHAT IF WE ONLY REACH ONE?
What if after all the planning—
all the praying—
all the traveling—
all the preparation—
all the giving—
we reach one person whose life is genuinely changed?
Would it be worth it?
Ask the shepherd who left the ninety-nine looking for one sheep.
Ask the woman who searched for one coin.
Ask the father who watched the road for one prodigal son.
And look at the cross.
Jesus demonstrated forever what one soul is worth.
So yes—
ONE IS ENOUGH TO MATTER.
One child.
One mother.
One father.
One family.
One hungry person.
One discouraged person.
One Bible.
One prayer.
One conversation.
One opportunity.
One soul.
And then, if God permits—
WE GO LOOKING FOR ONE MORE.
🙏 LET US PRAY
Heavenly Father,
Christmas is getting closer.
Our departure is getting closer.
And the people You are sending us to are getting closer.
We don't know all their names.
But You do.
We don't know every need.
But You do.
We don't know exactly how much we'll be able to accomplish.
But You do.
So take what we have and use it.
Multiply resources.
Open doors.
Provide transportation.
Give us wisdom.
Protect our workers.
Protect Cecilia and me as we travel.
Give us strength for the work.
Help us recognize genuine needs.
Keep us from wasting anything entrusted to us.
Never allow us to become more concerned about appearances than people.
Give us compassion without pride.
Generosity without manipulation.
Faith without presumption.
Boldness without arrogance.
And wherever we go—
LET PEOPLE SEE JESUS.
Bless everyone who prays.
Bless everyone who shares.
Bless everyone who gives.
Bless every church that partners.
Bless every person who quietly stands with us.
And Father, somewhere in the Philippines this Christmas, allow us to walk into the life of someone who thinks they have been forgotten.
Let us look them in the eyes and say:
“YOU HAVE NOT BEEN FORGOTTEN.”
And then let us tell them the greatest reason why:
JESUS CHRIST LOVES YOU.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.
🇵🇭🎄 CHRISTMAS 2026 — UPDATE #4
Update #3 said:
WE'RE ALMOST THERE.
Update #4 says:
THE TIME TO ACT IS GETTING SHORTER.
We cannot help everybody.
But we can help somebody.
And with your prayers, sharing, partnership, and support—
perhaps we can help many.
One prayer.
One gift.
One Bible.
One meal.
One child.
One family.
One conversation.
ONE MORE SOUL.
Christmas is coming.
The Philippines is waiting.
And Pilgrim Outreach Ministries International is preparing to go.
WILL YOU PUT SOME FEET TO YOUR FAITH AND GO WITH US?
PREVIOUS CHRISTMAS 2026 UPDATES
Earlier Christmas Outreach Message:
https://tinyurl.com/yeck362s
Update #2: Our outreach is about more than gifts—it brings practical compassion and the Gospel together.
Update #3: The clock is ticking. The preparations continue, and soon we'll be there.
❤️ SUPPORT THE MISSION
GoFundMe: https://tinyurl.com/3nbpswsp
Cash App: $joybells49
X/Twitter Tips: @joybells49
PayPal Business
GiveButter
HELP US HELP THEM—ONE SOUL AT A TIME.
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