Operation Jabez 2025 - Neil Soneja

God has yet again proven His sovereignty and power through this 7-day short mission trip. We were privileged to minister to a small barangay in San Andres, Catanduanes and be of service to the local church led by Pastor Jeff and his wife Ate Madel along with their 2 children.

Their community experiences persecution as youth and parents who got involved in the church are reprimanded and threatened. But God in His sovereignty allowed every house we visited to open up their doors and hear the gospel.

We were lovingly welcomed by Pastor Jeff and Ate Madel in their home. Their lives are a testimony that generosity is not a matter of how much you have, but about how much you are willing to give. They lovingly pastor their church filled with joy, perseverance, and dependence on the Lord, knowing He will see us through as long as we obey.

Their church relocated to their current barangay just last year. They came from a former church in the nearby area that was divided due to conflicts tainted by politics and family issues. They painfully journeyed the conflict with the Lord before the division, but when God had set the time to leave, they left their former church and along with their home.

Now God is using them and the community to minister to their barangay. God used their testimony in how they lived and are living their lives to draw people closer to Him.

The same faithfulness that God showed to His church on this island is the same faithfulness that He showed to us whom He called to missions. I am forever grateful and privileged to work with you and the whole Catanduanes team, specially to Sarah, Jeraldine, and April whom I worked closely with in San Andres. We were not exempted from the challenges and attacks while ministering to the island. But God again proved that He is the great provider, comforter, and sovereign above all things.

- Neil Soneja

CRU Volunteer