April 8, 2025 • Donald & Marsha Estep

National Overseer & Wife Travel to Philippines

On January 18, 2025, my wife Marsha and I embarked on our first International Mission trip together. Although I have traveled regularly to the Philippines since 2019, this was the first time she could join me. It was a blessing to have her along for companionship and to work together for the Lord in the Philippines. Our trip lasted nine days, and we visited three local churches. 

After taking one rest day in Manila, we were up at 3 am to travel by air to the Aklan province, landing in the city of Kalibo, on an island about 320 miles to the south. Here we visited the congregation of Dongon East, Numancia. This was the first of our churches in the Philippines in the early 1960s. The building still has the original pews built at that time, and a beautiful hand-painted mural of Fields of the Wood is on the wall behind the old pulpit. It is a lovely place with lovely people. Pastor John Ballenas and his congregation treated us like family. Special care was taken to ensure that our every need was met. Filipino hospitality is among the finest in the world! We were blessed to visit several homes and enjoy fellowship and wonderful food with our brothers and sisters. We held two Spirit-filled church services as well. A special thank you to Pastor John and the beautiful people of Dongon church! 

From there, we returned to Manila for a short rest before traveling with Brother Gerson Sallo to Calamba City, Laguna, to visit the church there. The church at Calamba City is one of two churches we established on my visit to the Philippines in January/February 2024. We were welcomed by Pastor Nixon Gregorio and members of his beautiful family. After an afternoon of sweet fellowship and many big laughs, we enjoyed another excellent service with the local church family. Though it was Sister Estep’s first trip, it was as if she was with old friends as she and the sisters talked and laughed. It was this way wherever we went. It was a wonderful day, and we hated to leave, but we still had much work to do, so we returned to Manila again. 

On Friday, we spent part of the day visiting some places and friends I knew when I lived there with my family in the late 1980s while my father, Donald Estep, was the National Overseer. Old friendships were still sweet after many years, and it gave me joy to introduce my wife to such good old friends. God is good! 

That evening, we attended a special prayer service with the members and friends of The Church of God in Montalban, Rizal, an area just outside Metro Manila. This congregation was established in January of 2024 on my trip to the area. Their work had begun sometime before that with only two families. Since then, it has grown into a thriving church with 35 families! To God be the glory! Pastor Melchor Itang and the congregation welcomed us into the time of worship and prayer, followed by snacks and more sweet fellowship. The Spirit of the Lord had moved mightily in the service, and everyone was so excited to spend some time together. Once again, there were shared testimonies, lots of questions, and many moments of laughter as we felt the deep bond of family. The following day, we visited two locations where the local church ministers to neighborhood children every weekend. Each group was at least 50 strong, with beautiful and happy children learning about the love of God. The young people in charge of this ministry are anointed and determined to win as many as possible to Christ! We were welcomed by the kids and had a wonderful time hanging out with them. 

On the final day of our trip, we attended the first anniversary service for the Montalban church, which was held one year and one day after I had stood in Brother Gerson’s garage and organized the church. It was a beautiful service with nearly 100 people of all ages in attendance. God moved mightily in the service, and everyone left there inspired to continue the work.  

We visited three churches, seven homes, and attended seven church services on this trip. I preached four sermons, Sister Estep shared testimonies, we presented five new Evangelist Licenses, three Lay Teacher Certificates, and three Lay Minister Certificates, and held a National Committee Meeting (Trustees). Sister Estep was a real trooper, staying by my side through hundreds of miles of airplanes, boat rides, Grab Cars (Filipino Uber), tricycles, vans and buses—smiling and loving every minute. She fell in love with the Filipino people, and they fell in love with her. We enjoyed many snacks and meals prepared with extraordinary hospitality and love. The people treated us like family, and we have missed them deeply since the moment we left. The handshakes, hugs, and smiles were deeply heartfelt and genuine. This was a life-changing trip, and hopefully the first of many for the two of us together. The Filipino people are vibrant and happy people who have a great zeal for serving the Lord! Please pray for our people there and if you feel led to help in any way, don’t hesitate to contact me. There are many needs, and I can help you to find a way to get involved. May God bless The Churches of God in the Philippines!