by Chito Tolosa

Cavite is a province of the Philippines located on the southern shores of Manila Bay in Luzon, just 30 kilometers south of Manila. Its capital is the municipality of Imus although Trece Martires City, which was the former capital, is still the seat of the provincial government and is the location of the capitol building. Cavite is surrounded by the provinces of Laguna to the east and Batangas to the south. To the west lies the South China Sea.

Cavite has a total population of 2,063,161 based on the year 2000 census. The main languages spoken are Tagalog, Chabacano and English. However, due to a large number of immigrants from farther provinces due to Cavite’s proximity to Manila, a number of people also speak Bikolano, Cebuano, and Ilokano. In line with national statistics, the majority (87%) of the population are Roman Catholic while adherents of Iglesia ni Cristo account for 4% of the population. Other Christian sects and Muslims comprise the remainder.

Cavite is one of the fastest growing provinces in the country due to its close proximity to Metro Manila. Many companies have established manufacturing plants in numerous industrial parks.

Cavite is subdivided into 20 municipalities and 3 cities: Cavite City, Tagaytay City, Trece Martires City.

Trece Martires was where we all started our GX door to door evangelism campaign in the year 2000. Slowly, but consistently, our GX workers moved from house to house through different subdivisions and baranggays. Thousands of residents were able to hear the pure message of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have established bible studies and cell groups. Today we have covered almost all of the major subdivisions and baranggays of this city. We were able to reach parts of the municipalities of Indang, Amadeo, Silang, Gen. Trias, Dasmarinas, Gen. Mariano Alverez, Kawit and the city of Tagaytay. Since then we were able also to train workers from different Christian denominations who, in turn, brought the gospel to other parts of the country.

Door to door evangelism, the heralding of good news, is not easy, for in evangelism, we attack the strongholds of Satan. True evangelism often results in Christians being mocked and mistreated.

God honors true evangelism and is often pleased to make the seed grow and bear fruit. The Father is the Lord of the harvest, He grants or withholds success. Christ is the builder of His church, the Holy Spirit is the divine Energizer and Commissioner. Where God is honored and His doctrine is maintained, we can be sure that our labor will not be in vain.

I would like to commend our GX workers for they preach the gospel not for their fame, their advancement on the ecclesiological ladder, nor for their financial gain. They consider themselves as servants, or rather, as stewards entrusted with a commission. They know whom they should please. They look to God primarily. It is for His Name’s sake that they go out. They have become models of the gospel. The gospel has changed them. Their examples speak, perhaps more than their words.

This year 2007 we will continue to wear out more shoes for the gospel. We will continue to concentrate our efforts in Cavite, Metro Manila, Baguio and Nueva Vizcaya.

GX would like to specially thank our 2006 workers for their faithfulness. Many of them will not be working with us this year and we will miss them. We would like also to thank and acknowledge the Salvation Army World Service Office (SAWSO), our Presbyterian brothers, our Christian brethren, and friends for their support and participation. May our good Lord bless us as we move on to tomorrow.