News > Asia

On April 13th, 2015, Sam & Heather Altobar were married with the blessing of their parents, Francine, and Dr. William & Sarah Mina—in the presence of many friends from the U.S., Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines. The wedding ceremony was a magical beach wedding in Laiya Batangas—the first wedding I attended where I got to wear sandals. Dr. Ben Toh gave a memorable wedding message entitled “The Dimensions of Love” based on Ephesians 3:8 with the prayer to the couple that they may “grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” in their marital union. To the couple, he shared about the four aspects of love:

1. Love is unconditional.
2. Love is a verb (Jn 3:16).
3. Love begets love (1 Jn 4:8, 16).
4. Love is forever (Jer 31:3).

The prayer for the newly wedded couple, Sam and Heather, is to grow in all the dimensions of love all the days of their life.

As we celebrate this marriage in the context of God’s history in Philippines UBF, it is humbling and awe-inspiring to contemplate God’s loving sovereignty in orchestrating this beautiful marriage. For when we trace events back in history, it is amazing to think how a single invitation to one-to-one Bible study in Chicago by Christy Toh launched a series of events that eventually led a spiritually devoted and sacrificial family (Dr. William and Sarah Mina Altobar) to begin their Philippines UBF ministry in 1984. Since then, God has established multiple church-plants through several house church families as well as Filipino missionaries being sent throughout the world. Sam Altobar is the first-born son from this beautiful and godly family—and a gifted musician—whose music ministry to poor slum children in the neighborhood is supplying future praise & worship leaders for the people of God in the Philippines!

A couple years ago, Heather was invited to Hyde Park UBF by a graduate school friend at the U of C. Through Heather’s spiritual influence in this community, God has used her to establish a culture of worship in this community, as well as a ministry to Burmese orphans in beautiful partnerships with other brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ. God has gifted her with a servant’s heart, teaching ability, and a discerning mind, so that the Hyde Park UBF community prayed for her to be like a “Mother Sarah Barry of the Philippines” for young Filipinos in the same way Mother Barry was a spiritual mother to many young Koreans searching for meaning and purpose after the Korean War.

We give thanks for God’s love and divine wisdom in bringing this couple together in quite a mysterious and gracious way. May the Lord bless this marriage to be a blessing to a new generation of Christian leaders from the Philippines. We give thanks for honoring the prayer of God’s servants, Dr. William and Sarah Mina Altobar and for blessing their many years of sacrificial service for the Lord in the Philippines. We rejoice over this great blessing together with them.

John Yoon & Ben Toh