I am Ritchel L. Padilla, wife of Pastor Paolo Miguel P. Padilla. We are currently residing at Daet, Camarines Norte. In 2021, I started to teach reading to kids in our community. We opened our house and made it as a reading center. By God’s grace, we were able to cater the kids academically and spiritually. During tutorial time, we teach them about Jesus and how to pray. We built relationships to the parents, too. Most of the time, there are parents who come to us for counseling.
The place where we live is called, Barangay Lag-on. This place is highly populated. People are mostly ‘lotto agents’. While I was teaching one of my tutees, I told her that we need to obey our Parents so that Jesus will be happy. She looked at me and said, Who is Jesus? I paused for a moment and thought of the soul of this child. I frequently get these questions from my tutees. Kids didn’t know who Jesus is. It’s sad to see them live without knowing who Jesus is.
March 2023, we proposed to the Parents that we will be having a Bible Club every Saturday where we will teach the kids about God and guide them as they grow up. We asked their permission and thankfully they allowed us. Enthusiastically, kids do come every Saturday at 2pm for our Bible Club. We had the attendance of 20 kids. Saturday morning, we teach kids that lives nearby. They come to our house, teach them about Christ and feed them. Our first-class attendance was about 30 plus kids. We were also able to minister to some of the parents of the kids. Through feeding we are reaching and leading these souls to Christ. We feed them physically and the most important thing - spiritually. The program is being done through: singing, Bible Stories, Scripture memorization, games and feeding. It is something that they look forward to every weekends.
Praise God! From one Bible Club, we were able to add not just one but three more Bible Clubs. Every Saturday, there are four teams of 3 to 4 members that disperse. Area 1 is located in our house where the students will come and gather for our Bible Club, the highest attendance we had was 20. Area 2 is located near our Barangay Hall with the attendance of 20-30. Area 3 is 10 kilometers away from our place; attendance of 10-15 kids and 4-5 adults. Area 4 is a 45-minute travel; with the attendance of 10 kids: 10 adults. Bible Clubs and Bible Studies are done simultaneously every Saturday.
Through this feeding, we were able to reach the parents of the kids. There are parents who joins us every Sunday Worship, there are parents who are in care groups. Kids ministry is one of the vital ministries inside the church. It adds growth to the church. Our young people who are involved in these ministries are so happy and blessed to be a part of it. It gives joy and a feeling of fulfilment to minister to these young ones.
We have this desire and vision in our hearts to put up a Christian school as a ministry of our church here in our community. Our world is getting wicked, and we have to educate the kids spiritually. We thank you for this partnership. Your prayers and support reaches a lot of souls for Christ. We are so grateful for extending your blessings!
May God continue to shower us all with His grace, mercy, and love!
In His Vineyard,
Paolo and Ritchel L. Padilla
How we can pray for the Padillas?
- More areas to open for Bible Clubs for Kids
- We are planning to have a DVBS (Daily Vacation Bible School) as the Lord provides
- Pray for favorable weather (Rain is frequently experienced here in Daet. Since June it has been raining.) Please pray that as we go out, the weather will be favorable. Our place is prone to flood.
- Pray for the kids and the parents. May the seed of the Gospel planted in their hearts blossom in time.
- Wisdom, love and care for the kids, good health, and protection of the volunteers involved.
- Our desire and vision to have a Christian school will materialize in God’s time and will.
Editor’s Note: The testimony has been posted as it was delivered, with minimal editing. This is to preserve the voice and intent of the author of the testimony.