A Franciscan Benediction

May God bless you with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships
So that you may live deep within your heart

May God bless you with anger
At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people
So that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace

May God bless you with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war,
So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and
To turn their pain into Joy

And may God bless you with enough foolishness
To believe that you can make a difference in the world,
So that you can do what others claim cannot be done
To bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.

Amen.

Partying in Mindanao

Party Party Party, thats is what we were doing at Mindanao for the week we were there. The staff and locals are friendly and welcoming and are so keen to get together for any reason to celebrate in fellowship. We attended 4 parties in the 5 days at Malaybalay. The biggest and best of course was the KIM Christmas party.

After planning for weeks before the 19th Dec the preparations started 24 hours before the party. Over 65 volunteers were devoted to making this party special for the local underprivileged families. All day on the 18th volunteers sat making lumpia and bulabula and cooked them late into the night. Other volunteers turned up to decorate and make hamburger patties. We began setting up and putting together 300 gift bags containing candy, toothpaste, toothbrushes, noodles, marshmallow sticks, pencils, juice, soap, canned sardines, and more candies.

There was a problem, the donations had been spent and there was no rice to feed the guests or to put in there gift bags for them to take home. Grace asked a couple of us to pray for 7 bags of rice. We did this and went on with the preparations. 1 hour later 7 big bags of rice were delivered. The rice was already bagged into 1kg lots to place straight into the gift bags. It would have taken longer than 1 hour just to bag the rice. Wow God is awesome! He knows what we need even before we ask for it and He provides. Not only did the rice arrive but more noodles, sugar, canned meat, candies, soap and more toys. What a blessing. We then distributed this into the bags as well.

The morning of the party people were being picked up in the minicab by the hundreds. They usually have around 150 people turn up to meetings so they were estimated and planned for up to 300 people but ended up with over 700 people. More than 500 children. This was an awesome turnout and we wanted to bless all of the children with a gift bag for their families so we had to work fast and make 300 bags into over 500. More noodles and candy were purchased as well as plastic bags and we split the contents of the other 300 bags. Hamburgers were made up and put into the bags as well.

Every child received a gift bag and there were some left over for the parents. The looks on their thankful faces were precious and their smiles were heartwarming. Everyone enjoyed lots of food, songs, plays, dances, games and a service to learn and rejoice in the birth of Jesus. This was an incredible day of witnessing Gods love in action. Im sure everyone involved was greatly blessed. I know we were.

Mandy Cooley

Made Unique by God

After spending time with the teenage girls over our 3 trips to Manilla we noticed their low self esteems and were pained by their statements that they thought they were ‘ugly’. It was paced on our hearts to do something with them to try to help them see their beauty that God had given them.

We decided to do a fun filled teenage girls afternoon and sleepover. It was a total surprise for the girls and when we collected them they were told they were coming to do jobs for us. They were not happy! We told them to bring some jeans and a good dress with them as well as their pj’s as they may be working till late. They became a little suspicious and kept asking questions. All I could do is smile and tell them not to ask questions they would see when they got there.

When we got to the green house one of the girls picked up a broom and started sweeping. We got some basins to do foot soaks in and had the girls carry one each into the room. They thought they were going to wash the walls. haha..... I told them to sit on the lounge and that their job for the afternoon was to relax and enjoy themselves. They just looked at me puzzled and asked again.

We rolled up their jeans and stuck their feet in the basins to soak. Each girls received a foot wash and massage followed by a pedicure and manicure. They had a face cleans and then we did their makeup and hair. They were all starting to smile by this stage.

Dressed in their white shirts and jeans we did some photos of each of them on their own and some of them together. After this ordeal they got changed into their good dresses and we took a couple more photos and then took them out for dinner. Some of the girls couldn’t make up their minds what to order and changed their order at least 3-4 times. The food took a while to come and the girls were getting hungry and a little impatient. When dinner arrived they loved it and where flattered by the waiter calling them maam. We returned to the green house after dessert and changed into pj’s and laid on the mattresses on the floor. We gave them facial masks as they watched movies with popcorn, chocolate, candy and soda.

The girls have seen their photos and picked out some they would like printed. They can see that they have outer beauty and that they should be respected for who they are. That it is ok to smile and have fun and that they are all special and beautiful on the inside. Each unique as God made them to be.

No Longer a Haunted House

Our friends next door at the JCCV have been blown away by God's graciousness in 2009 and for good reason. Their building, which was previously a hollow block structure with no finishing plaster or paint on the outside of the facility, had been referred to as a haunted house for the past 20 years.

In 2009 a massive effort by countless teams and a construction crew from the Cuatro area, affectionately called the “magnificent seven,” brought this reconstruction project to a beautiful finish as seen by these posted pictures.




Besides housing a seminary and the Cuatro Community School where the NFFCH elementary kids attend school, the JCCV also is a church—Jesus Christ Church of the Valley—where many new families are now attending… men, women, and children.

While the NBA touts “It’s Amazing” in its promo commercials, the real “amazing” is what’s happening now at the JCCV as lives are being changed as people are studying God's word and knowing Him in a personal way. To God be the glory
great things He has done!