Barangay San Luis is a remote barangay in Antipolo City-dubbed as the "Sky City" in the province of Rizal, Philippines. The barangay is a stone's throw from, a huge mountain where large chunks of rocks are being exported abroad and converted into marble products. A breath-taking scenic environment typical of Mother Nature's stunning and disarming beauty unfolds before one's eyes.

What makes the barangay doubly beautiful is the changed lives of women and children who came to know the Lord Jesus Christ. The barangay captain, who has observed marked changes in the believers, used to say: "Before you came to our barangay, some mothers loved to while away their time playing cards and gossiping. Now they are members of your church." A barangay resident expressed his delight, saying, "Violence as a result of a drinking spree has been greatly reduced in the barangay. Some of the wives who are now members of the church must have convinced their husbands to quit drinking."

How the work started is a missions story to tell!
Two and a half years ago, Pastor Roberto D. Abel1a, ECC-Manila's Board Chairman, mobilized a number of the lay members of the church in Manila and some of those in positions of leadership for missions. The early beginnings of the work were characterized by extreme hardship and self-sacrifices. Bible studies and children's classes were conducted openly-exposed to the elements of nature-by the direct hit of the heat of the sun and the fal1ing rain. At times meetings had to be postponed due to heavy downpour. After two and a half years of hard work, 50 to 60 people are now attending the church.

One factor that greatly helped the progress of the work is the on-going Sponsor-a-Child (SAC) project and the medical and dental program conducted early this year sponsored by MICOS that have yielded tremendous evangelistic opportunities.

Since then the church, despite of extreme poverty and material deprivation, is growing in numbers and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. The church is praying for a decent smal1-sized building to accommodate her numerical growth and expanded ministries.

Definitely, the founding of the Antipolo church is attributed to the lay movement. Indeed, through hard work, patience and constant prayers to the God of Missions