Dagmartin | A look at the last few months

The past three months have been particularly eventful for me (Martin), and I’d like to share a little of that with you.

We had special visitors over Christmas: My parents were with us in the Philippines. It was a very precious time for us as a family. It was especially special for the grandchildren to have their grandparents here. We played a lot, laughed a lot, and spent time together. Moments like these are especially precious to us, who live so far away from our family.

In January, I traveled to the southern Philippines. First, I went to Davao, where I attended a conference of the national leadership and regional directors of the PGCAG (Philippine General Council of the Assemblies of God).

This trip was very moving for me personally, because it was in Davao over 25 years ago, during my discipleship training with YWAM, that my calling to missions was confirmed. Being back in this place and looking back on God’s guidance was something very special.

From there, I continued on to Koronadal, where I was able to meet up with old friends. At the same time, I had the privilege of serving in the church through preaching and leading a short seminar on artificial intelligence for media workers from partner churches.

Koronadal also holds special significance for us: Exactly ten years ago, Dagmar and I were there to see if the Philippines was truly the country to which God had called us both. At that time, it became clear to us that this was our place. This trip reminded me once again how faithfully God has led us over the years.

Shortly after that, I traveled to Germany for two weeks. The occasion was a special one: my father’s 70th birthday. I was able to surprise him with a visit and celebrate together with the family. At the same time, it was a good opportunity to see some relatives again.

No sooner had I returned to the Philippines than I dove right back into work at AP Media. We’re in the midst of preparations for this year’s training in Baguio City, where I’ll be teaching a full week on artificial intelligence in the media sector.

It’s an exciting but also challenging task, because many media workers in local communities are still just getting started when it comes to this topic.

Yesterday, a small team from the church in Elmshorn also arrived here, eager to get a taste of mission work here in the Philippines.

There are also several more ministry trips planned for the rest of the year.

We are very grateful if you continue to pray for us:

• for us as a family in our daily life here in the Philippines
• for Dagmar and the children’s homeschooling
• for my ministry at AP Media, especially for the training in May
• for wisdom and strength in the many tasks and travels

You are also welcome to pray for our financial situation. Over the past year, some supporters have stopped supporting us for various reasons, and we are feeling the impact of that now.

If anyone would like to support our work with a one-time donation or on a regular basis, we would be very grateful. Donate directly online here.

We know that this is the place where God has placed us, and we trust that He will continue to faithfully provide for us.

Finally, we would like to sincerely thank everyone who faithfully prays for us or supports us regularly. You are an important part of our ministry here in Southeast Asia.

Warm regards from the Philippines
Martin, Dagmar, Joel, Naemi, and Josi