“Pastor Mike, thank you very much for sharing the Gospel to me,” were heartfelt words from 13-year old boy named Yuri Pano, to our missionary Pastor Michael Sabalza. “Through your hard work, I realized that I needed to change my way of life and surrender my life to Jesus by accepting Him as my personal Lord and Savior.”
Yuri came from a very poor family with nine other siblings. They did not have their own house.
And they could not even fit in the very small house of their relatives. Pastor Mike befriended Yuri during their basketball games in Robes, Camarin in Caloocan and he noticed that Yuri always carried a knife whenever he was walking in their neighborhood. That’s why Yuri was called the “Knife Boy”. Bullied since he was young , he promised to himself that he would fight back and hurt others if they would touch him again.
When Yuri joined the Youth Camp last summer, he surrendered everything to God and was baptized. He promised not to bring a knife anymore and forgave all those who hurt him. Ever since his baptism, he was actively attending the Youth Ministry and discipleship at the Robes Christian Church. He and his father and two other brothers were allowed to be the caretakers of the church. This became their home.
Recently Yuri was out of school again. He had to find a job and settled in Pampanga where he is a househelper. His father is very sick with tuberculosis and could not work. Please pray for Yuri, to find another church where he can grow spiritually and in all other aspects of his life.