CLSF Brunei 35th And CLSF Miri 28th Anniversary Celebrations

It was a twin celebration! Bishop “Kuya” Dan Balais, the Senior Pastor and Spiritual Director, together with his wife Ate Tanette Balais, CLSF International Elder, flew to Brunei last June 18 to minister and speak for their milestone 35th Year Anniversary Celebration held last late evening of June 20 at a hotel in capital city of Bandar Seri Begawan in the oil-rich Kingdom in South East Asia. By noon the following day, June 21, Sunday, they crossed the border by land and negotiated the three-hour drive. In the late night of the same day, they ministered at CLSF Miri in neighboring Sarawak, Malaysia and spoke at CLSF Miri’s 28th Year Anniversary. It was a physically challenging and hectic 8-day apostolic trip to these two countries where CLSF had made her mark for three decades through CLSF members who seriously and prayerfully took the mandate of the Great Commission to reach out primarily the Filipinos working as OFWs in these two oil-rich, predominantly Muslim countries. To Kuya Dan and Ate Tanette, it was an important ministry trip worth taking, squeezed in their ultra-busy schedule. This time, they were accompanied by CLSF apostolic leaders Kuya Mar and Ate Perla Estacio, the pioneer “tent-making” missionaries to Brunei, who flew there two days earlier than Kuya Dan and Ate Tanette. Kuya Mar is a seasoned engineer and Project Manager for some multi-million-dollar projects in Brunei, while Ate Perla also worked for a time but later on concentrated on shepherding the budding ministry some 35 years ago. It was a church milestone worth celebrating. A time to formally honor the Lord for His grace and mercy through the years - a journey of faith and determination, of joys and tears, of dangers and victories as the Lord lovingly protected them in their spiritual journey while continuing their pursuit of CLSF Vision and Mission. After years of pastoring in Brunei, the time came when they had to pass the leadership to Kuya Eddie and Ate Ruby Burca, ably assisted by their Elders, namely Kuya Elmer and Ate Edna Lim; Kuya Rey and Ate Divine Estacio; Kuya Serge and Ate Lilia Chavez; Ate Rosalie Paule; Kuya Donald and Ate Edna Caballero. They have established ministries in the capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, handled by Kuya Ed and Ate Ruby Burca and Mission Outreaches at Kuala Belait District, handled by Kuya Elmer and Ate Edna and the Temburong District handled by Kuya Serge and Ate Lilia.

The theme of CLSF Brunei’s 35^th Anniversary was based on John 8:36 “If the Son Has Set You Free, You Are Free Indeed,” emphasizing the freedom of the believers in their spirits, souls and bodies as the Lord Jesus powerfully redeemed them by His broken body and shed blood on the cross. It highlighted the mission of the Lord in Luke 4:18-19 that says: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” Kuya Dan beautifully expounded it in the context of the passage, which highlighted the absolute forgiveness of the woman caught in adultery in John 8:1-11. The Lord Jesus said to the woman after all her accusers left her, not being able to bear the challenge of the Lord Jesus: “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her”, and mercifully said to the woman: “Neither do I condemn you: go, and sin no more”. Truly, Kuya Dan concluded, “If the Son Has Set You Free, You Are Free Indeed”. Prior to the anniversary message were several presentations by the leaders, all in formal wear: blue gowns and coat-style barong. The main presentation was a production number depicting the freedom of the Israelites during the momentous “Passover” in Egypt, led by Moses, ending their 400 years of slavery. Kuya Dan and Ate Tanette prayed for the whole leadership team of CLSF Brunei (CLSFB) afterwards. The celebration ended at 1:00am the following day. It was good that CLSFB leaders booked Kuya Dan and Ate Tanette in the same hotel where the glorious anniversary celebrations were held. The delegation from CLSF Miri (CLSFM), Sarawak also attended, led by Ate Nancy Wong, our pastor there, accompanied by our CLSFM members, namely: Ate Jane Tan, Ate Annie Rase, Kuya Boon Hu Lee, and the young people Stephen Wong, the son of Ate Nancy and Kuya David; and Jeremy Tan, the son of Ate Jane and Kuya Jimmy Tan. They came to attend the anniversary and to take and drive Kuya Dan and Ate Tanette to Miri the following day. Kuya Roger Domingo, one of the Elders, was not able to join because of travel papers. Ate Annie is married to Kuya Ah Chung, a Malaysian Chinese, who recently experienced deliverance from a stroke and was convinced that the Lord Jesus loves him. Kuya Boon and Kuya Jimmy are also Malaysian nationals who are instrumental in the official registration of our church CLSF Miri in Sarawak.

The CLSF Miri 28th Year Anniversary celebrations were simpler compared to CLSFB’s the night before. It was held that Sunday at their beautifully prepared Ministry Center Miri, with members wearing the nice, crimson-colored anniversary shirt where the 28^th Anniversary Theme was printed “Redeeming the Time” based on Eph 5:16. After a boisterous Praise and Worship, Kuya Dan and Ate Tanette spoke, expounding the theme and encouraging the brethren to be faithful to their calling, respectively. CLSFM had another day of an equipping session the following night at their ministry center. Kuya Dan and Ate Tanette were driven back by the Elders to Brunei after the brief, 3-day stay at the nice Imperial Hotel. They had one more night of ministry in CLSFB before flying home on Thursday night, June 25. They arrived back home in Manila, touching down at 9:00pm via Royal Brunei Airlines, tired but well satisfied for the powerful move of God in this apostolic visit.