How Can Someone Like Me Help?

I've done several short term mission trips in my life. And if you ever have yourself, you know that sinking feeling you get in your stomach as you head back home. The guilt begins to take over, and you feel it physically as much as in your head... you are going back home to comfort and convenience, while the people you leave are still hungry, still naked, and still need to know about the Savior! You wonder to yourself, how can I just go back to my "normal life"?

And the truth is, I've been there, and I've done that. I've traveled thousands of miles, seen some of the neediest people in the world, and somehow, at the end of it, I've managed to go back to "normal life."

This past January, a team of 15 college students came from Taylor University in Indiana. They came as a part of their academic program, needing hours for their social work and physical education degrees. But they also reached out to those in need during their time here. They touched people's lives and in return, their lives were touched. Angie, one of the professors that accompanied the students, wrote us an email explaining her thoughts as she returned back home...

"Well, it's been almost a couple weeks since we've been there with you and your staff but I think often of KIM and the Philippines. I finally got all my shorts and summer clothes put away. Everything makes me think of the Philippines and the kids and the people there. I spoke in my church Sunday. eople were very moved by the information (feedings, etc.) I am hoping they will step up and support KIM. I speak to another church at the end of the month. I have also been asked to speak to two different groups after I spoke to the church Sunday. None of this I ever expected to do. I didn’t get a chance to talk to you before I left but I was deeply impacted by staying there with KIM and seeing the needs there. Please know I want to help however I can but I have never seen myself as a “missionary”. How can someone like me help?"

How can someone like you help? You're doing it right now! You're speaking, and you're getting the word out. You're sharing your experiences. You're keeping in contact. You're sharing your heart with those around you. You're not just going back to "normal life."

Thank you to all those people who have not only come and served here in the Philippines, but continue to serve back at home through awareness, prayer, financial support, and by remembering the names and the faces of the people you met during your time here.

We hope to see you again one day soon!

Prayer for Ate Genalyn

I would like to leave you with a story of Ate Genalyn. Ate Genalyn is a mother of two of our kids at the school. She and her family never attended church but after we had started school we invited all the parents to come to the services at either of the two locations and she started coming weekly with her two kids. Her husband was against her going to church and to Bible study that she started going to soon after she accepted Christ at church. At the same time the opportunity was given for some ladies to be trained to do hair and nails. We started this to help give parents a way of life to provide for their families. Genalyn was one of those ladies. They have been training for a while now and are receiving a small salary the three days that they are training. out of this meager salary of about six dollars a week she would have to feed her family of four. Over the course of time going to Bible studies and services, God has shown Genalyn how to trust His provision. There are times where they have no money and no food. But Genalyn continues to pray and trust and God has provided food for her family in so many different ways. through this time her husband still has softened and been asking questions and letting her attend church and Bible study. Her husband asks her "what is happening why do you do this?" She answers "It is because it is the Christian way." Please continue to pray for Ate Genalyn and her family.

But What Can I Do

I live at the Yun Jin Lyso Ministry Center (YMC for short). I live ten minutes from the nearest mall and nearest starbucks. There's a mini stop convenient store less than a mile from my door, and several "sari sari" convenient stores less than 30 yards away. The movies, malls, bowling centers, spas, and grocery stores are all within a short driving distance from where I call home. I live in a city and access to "things" is pretty easy.

Which sometimes makes it hard to remember what else is right outside the door. I live in the Cuatro Community, named so for the location alongside the 4th hole of a neighboring golf course. Cuatro is home to 5,000 people (and no, it's not that big of an area.) Those 5,000 people live in about 800ish homes, packed in to little shanty houses like sardines. They live in the dirt, they sleep in the dirt, and they don't have three hot meals waiting for them throughout the day.

This morning, Manny, a young boy that has heavily weighed on my heart since I came here, was found wandering around by one of our teachers at the school, when he himself was supposed to be in class up at the CCC, our other school location. We brought him inside and asked him why he wasn't at school. One of the common excuses we hear from students-- his uniform was dirty, so he couldn't go to class.

Manny is 7 years old. And as I look into his story more and more, it feels as though it keeps getting more and more hopeless. Manny is the eldest of his siblings. He has a 6 year old sister and a 3 year old brother. Either both his parents are dead, or the the mother is dead and the father leaves Monday through Friday to go to work in another province, we have heard both stories and are not sure which is the truth yet. Regardless, this little boy is 7 years old, trying to take care of his siblings, trying to be the man in the family, while only just a little boy himself. He collects paper and plastic at the school each day to turn into the recycling center for money. A large bag will get him 10 pesos, or about a quarter. He told us he needed to get money to buy rice for the family.

My heart breaks for this boy. I want more for him than how he is living right now. I want him to be a kid and for an adult to do the providing and the caring. I want him to continue going to school, to learn English, continue on to college, and go places in this life! I want him to come to church and bible class on Sundays, to learn about God the Father, who is the Father figure he has never known but always needed, the Father that won't let him down and will always be there for him. I want him to have three meals a day, vitamins to keep him healthy, strong and sturdy teeth, and a place that he can feel safe each night.

What can I do for Manny? Or Angela? Sunshine and Sanjie and their family? For Pin? These are just a few of the many kids that need help. What can I do to help them? How can I help to break them out of this cycle that they are in?

When my time in Manila has come to an end, and I go back to my home in California, Manny WILL NOT be in the exact same place as when I came. Though at times I feel helpless, and the situation feels hopeless, something will change. It has to.

Prayers Answered

A number of months ago at our D Group someone read a passage out of the NLT (New Living Translation) Study Bible and its corresponding commentary. Since then I have wanted to get one of these Bibles, but have been unable to find one here and didn't want to order one from the States.

A few weeks ago, Jeff Long came down to Malaybalay with a bunch of damaged Bibles that had been donated while he was on a recent trip to the States. Well, among these was a NLT Study Bible, the one I had been wanting for six months. Huge blessing to me!

But the story gets even better. That same evening I took the remaining Bibles to Grace Ayala's place; she wanted to give some to the Saturday Kids Fellowship workers. One of them, Pastor Rhogene, recently attended a hermeneutics seminar and the speaker used the NLT for the classes. Pastor Rhogene started praying that day that he would be able to get a copy of the NLT and about a week later, he did. Isn’t it wonderful how God meets our needs and in such unexpected ways?

Jeremy Moody

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!

Starting the Year off with a BANG!

Filipinos love holidays. And New Years Eve is no exception! Although it isn't declared an "offical" holiday, there are many traditions, beliefs, and celebrations that occur annually on the last day of the year. Families usually spend all day cooking and setting up to prepare for a celebratory dinner and party.

But the main event is the FIREWORKS! For weeks leading up to the day, malls and street vendors can be seen selling all different kinds of fireworks and firecrackers to the masses. Even this past week leading up to New Years Eve, fireworks can be heard on the street all throughout the day! (And we can be seen jumping in our seats when we hear the loud POP). But on the actual night of New Years Eve, as soon as it gets dark, the show begins! Sitting atop a local hill provides access to firework shows all around the city! And the closer it gets to midnight, the crazier and more frequent the fireworks get.

At the strike of 12:00 midnight, the noise becomes defeaning: churchbells ring, firecrackers rule the sky, kids gape in awe as they see the different firecrackers, blooming in the sky. The banging and booming rises to a climax which includes clanging of old pots and pans, blowing jeep, car or tricyle horns, and ambulances sound their sirens for one full minute as they countdown to the New Year.

To put it mildly, New Years Eve in Manila is like the 4th of July in America... on steroids!! Two years ago I was here in Manila over New Years and enjoyed the experience very much! It's a fun holiday and an amazing sight to see.

Wherever you are, and however you plan on ringing in the New Year, be safe and have fun, and start planning on spending your next New Years in Manila. We guarantee you will have a BLAST!

Faith

Faith can describe my year. In February I was told that the school where I was teaching would be closing and I needed to find a new job. I had faith that God would provide. I thought this would be the perfect opportunity for me to go back to school and work on my Masters that I had been dreading. March came in and I had filled out all the paperwork and was pretty much accepted into the Masters program. Then I felt God telling me now was the time for me to go to the Philippines. I took a step of faith and contacted Jeff to see about going to the Philippines for 3 months and getting a feel for life there. He gave me two options A) 3 months at the Children’s Home or B) 1 year at Faith Academy. Surprisingly he was going to be in Kansas City the next week. While driving to meet Jeff I still didn’t know what I was going to do. I was pretty sure the 3 month option was the right choice for me. We met and were talking and it came to the point of the conversation where I had to choose. I told him that I would teach at Faith Academy for a year. At which point I was sure those could only be God’s words and I knew I could trust Him. I had faith that if God wanted me there I could raise the support to be there by August. By April I was accepted into Kids International Ministries and began raising support. The beginning of July I found out that my support was nowhere near where it needed to be. I began doubting if this is really what God wanted for me, but I had faith that if God wanted me to be there he would provide for my needs. The beginning of August I got the OK that my support was where it needed to be in order to go over. Now came the hard part of saying goodbye. I don’t do well with that but I knew God was there and I had faith that he would take care of me and those that I love. I boarded the plane on August 9th to come to the Philippines. I had a long time to think about my life and what it would be like. Each time I would get nervous I had faith that God was there and He would put the right people in my life to help me to adjust to this new foreign land. My first steps onto Manila soil where that of relief and a sense of belonging. I knew without a doubt this was the place where God wanted me to be. I had faith that no matter what happened, I was doing the right thing. My first day of teaching 2nd Grade was filled with excitement. We are just like any other classroom that you might find in the States. I did have some adjustments to make though. I have 14 students from 5 different countries. We bring different backgrounds but we all believe in the same God. I was a little nervous about teaching all these different children, I wasn’t sure how I would be able to communicate clearly what I needed them all to know. I had faith though that God would provide a way, and He did. We all understand one another most of the time. We are all learning new phrases and words in all sorts of different languages. God has been amazing. Teaching at Faith Academy is not like teaching at any other school. There is a sense of belonging. Since arriving I had faith that I was where God wanted me to be. As I look back on this year I am so glad I took that first step of faith and ended up at Faith.

Katy Herman

Three Trips in Six Months

Hi my name is Brittany, i’m an Aussie who lives in Hong Kong. i came over with my mum in the summer on a mission trip with my youth group. Whilst here we helped build the foundation for the new teenage wing in the mornings and then we ran a afternoon camp for both the children’s home kids and the kids from the streets. We had 16 hour days and every minute was busy, but i felt at home, like i belonged somewhere.

Before we got home, we were already planning our next visit.

So 2 weeks later we jumped on a plane and came back dragging my little brother and Dad along for the ride. The second time here we spent most of our time in the Nursery with all the little ones. We fell in love with them straight away. We ended up staying in the nursery each night. During the day we went out and visited some of our little buddies we had made during our previous visit. Jenny was one of them, I took my family down to visit her and while we were at her place we met her neighbor. A single alcoholic mother with a 4 & 5yr old boy and girl and a 6 month old baby named James. James was very malnourished he would lay in a hammock all day, not making eye contact, not making a sound. Not even urinating. He was a vegetable. His Mum picked him up and handed him to Mum and told us to take him. That he was better off with us. But as you know you can’t just take a baby. So we gave him back and went home.

We bought food, clothes, nappies, formula, soap, toys & many more things and took them up to the family. But they were all so dirty and had so many infected bites that we took them back to the guest house and bathed them, dressed them, fed them and treated their wounds. We did this everyday.

By the end of a week we could already see improvements in James, he was smiling, looking around and getting bigger. By the end of our visit he was laughing, lifting his head, and had a fat belly. We left enough formula to last him the rest of the year, but the Mother very well could have sold it to buy alcohol.

We also met many other families, one with a 16 year old blind girl Joanne, a 2 year old boy with TB, deaf, mute and crippled, and another girl with with fluid on her brain.

We left knowing we would be back for Christmas. Boy that was a long 3 months.

So now we’re back, our third trip in 6 months. This time we headed up to Malaybalay children’s home for a week before coming back to Manila. Whilst in Malaybalay we helped with a big christmas party for needy families. Over 600 people came. Overall it was a very good day. We got to meet lots of people and spend time in fellowship with them.

A couple days into our visit in Malaybalay we got two new additions to the home a little boy John Carlo (1) and a little girl Mary-Grace (2). They came in very late at night and poor Mary-Grace couldn’t get to sleep. She was tired and im sure very scared. So i sat with her for an hour or so until about midnight. Went to bed and got up 5 hours later to be there when she woke up. She and i got very attached. She is such a sweet girl who is lots of fun to be around even if she wouldn’t let me put her down without her screaming. I did not want to leave her.

Right now we’re in Manila. We were here for Christmas and helped with a community christmas gift giving and also spending time with the Children’s home kids. Were also involved with going to feeding programs where we take 2 big containers full of a rice and meat substitute where we feed over 100 people.

I just love it here. Everyone is friendly and the kids are gorgeous. I don’t want to go home. Im trying to figure out ways to stay. No matter what i will be back. There is no way to keep this aussie away.

-Brittany.

The Worst Thing About K.I.M.

The worst part about Kids International Ministries and the Philippines is very easy to tag down: leaving. This was my wife Jessica and my first Christmas in this wonderful country and the first that we didn’t focus on ourselves and what the next wrapped box had in store for us.

That’s the beauty of KIM and serving alongside it’s mission- you don’t have time to get selfish. There are ample opportunities to give of yourself, to dig in and sacrifice your time, energy, and money.

This being our third trip to the PI, we were able to solidify friendships, learn more, and really get to know the kids at the Children’s Home. We had the opportunity to smile with them as they opened many Christmas presents from friends around the world. We also got to see them learning how to bless others as they gave away one of their gifts to the kids living in utter poverty right outside the gate- most of the time, being cheerful, sacrificial givers.

We also got to meet a family of 11 kids who live off of $20 a week, sleep on concrete floors, and barely get enough food to eat, yet smile their dirty little smiles just because we showed them attention. We saw children and adults lining up for Christmas presents, listening eagerly to the Christmas story, and going away happy that they would have food to eat that night.

The best thing we saw, though, was Jesus’ love being poured out of overflowing hearts. People from all over giving their time and energy to bless these Filipino people. It’s awesome, and it’s how we should be living all of the time, not just at Christmas. It’s hard to leave this place, and we will anticipate our return next Christmas. Until then, Lord, help us be thankful for the many blessings you’ve given us and help us strive to be a blessing to others.

-Russell Phillips

Every Tribe, Tongue, and Nation

One of the many ways we are blessed at K.I.M is by the various teams, families, and individuals that come to our children's homes in Manila and Malaybalay. They come throughout the year, for days, weeks, months, or even years at a time, to be a part of the ministry here and use the gifts that God has given them to bless the Filipino people.

Our long term volunteers hail from Canada and the United States (North Carolina, Colorado, Kansas, and California). Our short term volunteers come from all over the world! Just during the nine months that I have been here, I have met people from Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, India, Australia, New Zealand, America, Canada, Guam, England, Switzerland, Cambodia, Malaysia, Japan, Finland, and probably a lot more countries that I am forgetting!

In fact, on Christmas morning we were talking about Christmas cultural traditions when we realized that we had SEVEN cultures represented by all the people there.... people who had willingly traded in their familiar traditions and family Christmas to instead share Christmas with the New Faith Family Children.

We could not do what we do without YOU

A bold and honest statement! Everything that happens here at K.I.M is possible because of people who come from all over the world to be a part of this ministry... because of people who take the time to collect donations and send them halfway across the world... because of people who are focused on sharing their wealth and joy with others instead of keeping it all for themselves...because of people who every month send money to provide for the needs of our kids/staff/volunteers...

2009 was a blessed year for the K.I.M. family. Thank you for your generous and compassionate hearts for the Filipino people. We are so thankful to all our volunteers all around the world!

Christie Albaugh

Define Necessity

In the Manila area or outside the children’s home there are hundreds of families, that are living off less than a few dollars a day. There are thousands in evacuation centers that don’t have running water and living in filth. Showers are taken on the street out of a bin, if there is water. Children are caring for children if there are no parents or adults.

If things such as water, food, and families for orphans are not indispensable but are needed then why are not all these and other needs being filled? I see families and children begging for money while I know that back in the United States people are driving $70,000 escalades. Ruby Payne in her book, A Framework for Understanding Poverty, says that wealth and poverty are relative. I see that everything is relative unless it can be compared with something that is greater or less. Is that escalade a necessity even if there is greater poverty that trumps it?

In a previous blog, it was mentioned how here at K.I.M. we are moving as the body of Christ and that we are Christ to others. I believe this to be evident by watching the efforts done by many to help or care for families and orphans. I see teams and staff loving on the children in the community and in the children’s home. I see rice given to families on Christmas. I see also that everyday there still is more to be done here. There is more and more love to be given. This disparity is real but it is hard to understand when poverty has only been in a picture.

My eyes have been opened while being here in Manila to how much work does need to be done by God with our hands and feet. Psalm 54:4 says, “Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.” I encourage those that are reading this blog to look around. What do you consider a necessity? What wealth of yours is dispensable to those who need it more?

Samantha Heacock

Christmas with 33 Kids!

I grew up in a family of four. Dad, mom, sister (Sarah), and me (Christie). We also have a pretty small extended family, most of which lived far away when we were growing up. So on holidays it was usually only five of us, since Grandma would never miss spending a holiday with us! And every now and then some of the other grandparents would make it; but I never remember a holiday with more than seven of us.

So this year was definitely a new experience for me, spending my Christmas with 33 kids and over twenty volunteers!! Excited kids on Christmas morning takes on a whole new meaning when you're dealing with that many kids! We almost had to hire a guard just to keep the kids from ripping into their gifts before it was time!!

With a little help (from two locked doors), we managed to keep the kids away from the tree until nine in the morning. Around that time Uncle Jeff and the Long family, along with a bunch of out-of-town volunteers headed up to the children's home and we all piled into the Christmas tree/present room!

We sang Christmas carols, shared holiday tradition stories, and remembered the birth of Jesus together as one big family! We prayed and thanked God for all the many gifts donated and then began passing the out to the kids, with a few of our men volunteers jumping into the "Santa" roll.

On behalf of Kids International Ministries and all the kids, thank you to everyone who donated clothes, toys, candies, games, stuffed animals, and many other Christmas gifts. It is a blessing for these kids to have gifts to open on Christmas morning! We hope that your Christmas was as blessed as ours!

Christmas for Cuatro

As mentioned in the previous blog, we at K.I.M. are always looking for ways to reach out and bless the Cuatro Community that we live in, always with the goal of sharing the love of Christ!


So for Christmas this year we decided to welcome those in the community to the Yun Jun Ministry Center where we had some Christmas gifts prepared and bagged to be handed out (thanks to many donations sent our way over the Christmas season!).



We started the event off by bringing the two hundred or so people into the gates of the YMC and taking a few moments to share the real meaning of Christmas and to pray to God to speak to these people and to thank Him for his many blessings!



After Pastor Nick finished sharing the message, we had them line up and everyone was given a Christmas gift! Clothes, candies, stuffed animals, toys, shoes, rice, etc. were handed out.



"There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land." Deuteronomy 15:11

This is Normal

Meet Anthony. Anthony is one of our fifth grade students at Cuatro Christian School. Anthony is a great kid. I can honestly say I've never had any problems with him in class. He is completely obedient, a hard worker, loves to laugh and have fun, a little bit shy, and is always kind to all the other kids.

His mother works at the school/church cleaning and cooking, so even when school is out, you can often find Anthony hanging around the building. I also see him walking/wandering around the street a lot.

A few months ago I saw Anthony wearing his school shoes on the weekend (a dressier black pair of shoes). I asked him where his tschinelas (flip flops) were. Shaking his hand (wala) to signal that he didn't have any, he smiled and moved on. The next day I brought him to the chilren's home storage unit and found him a pair of bright green tschinelas that fit just right.

Anthony's dad isn't in the picture (typical for many Filipinos), his mother works hard to feed and support the family, while living in a squatters home in the community.

Maybe it's due in part to his sober demeanor, but I always get a little sad for Anthony. I'm sad that he has no dad around, especially in his teenage years. I'm sad that he doesn't get to go home and play in his backyard with his friends. I'm sad that odds are he doesn't have any running water at his home, sleeps on a mat on the floor, and his toilet is a hole in the ground.


But Anthony's situation isn't an isolated one. The Metro Manila area is packed full of 3 million squatters. People whose lives closely resemble that of Anthony's... struggling just to get by.

Right outside our door, 5,000 squatters live in the area that we call home: Cuatro Community. We may not be able to feed/help all 5,000 at once. But a tschinela here, a meal there, some clothes thrown in, vitamins distributed daily, a smile and wave to the half naked little boy sitting on the curb... and we can be Jesus to all those who God places in our path each and every day.

CCS Christmas Program

The last day of classes before winter break were on Thursday, December 17th. The following day, Friday the 18th, all the students and parents gathered for a Christmas Program!

Pastor Ray started the day off by blessing us with a short message on the meaning of Christmas. Afterwards, the different grades took turns performing skits, songs, and dances for all those in attendance! From preschool all the way up to fifth grade, our students shared the joy of Christmas and the love of a Savior with their families and the Cuatro Community--the teachers even sang a Christmas carol a cappella!





And what Christmas program would be complete without food?!? To wrap up the morning program, pancit, spaghetti, rice, and juice boxes were handed out to all in attendance!



A Very Merry Christmas indeed!

He Makes Amazing Things Happen

The school made an announcement that text cards (small playing cards) are no longer allowed in the school. I had a small talk with the grade two students about it. I explained that I know how important these things are for them because they invested their money and time in order to have them. However, I made a great emphasis that these things are not going to do them good. I told them that they need to trust us (their teachers) about matters like these. I assured them that we love them so much that is why we would do our best to guide them towards their growth in their relationship with the Lord. These cards have with them images that do not promote the beauty of God’s creation. I encouraged them to invest on things that are eternal rather than temporal. We ended our small talk and agreed that they would no longer bring them in school and I told them that I would not force them to give them all to me because I want them to make a decision regarding this matter.

Days passed by. Then one day I went to the class 2 room and saw these cards. I felt awful inside and I must admit that I was very uncomfortable knowing that dealing with an issue like this would take much time and might lead to uncontrollable emotional expressions coming from specific students. I must say that dealing with whatever kind of issues is never easy for a young teacher who just started teaching 7 months ago. For the past months, I encountered issues that made me realize how hard it is to deal with them. I am, in a way, aware of the possible outcomes of dealing with issues like shouting, crying, and other stuffs alike. But I know that issues should never left unsettled especially that the goal of our school is to make sure that the children would know Christ more in their daily lives.

To be honest, I had no idea what to do (like I always do). I was very silent. I took a chair and sat at the front as I try to earnestly seek God. I don’t want to miss this opportunity to minister to these children. Back in my school, our teacher in counseling always reminded us that we can rely on God in moments like these – that we can seek Him and He will meet us right where we ought to be. I know that the Lord would help me like what He has been doing for the past 7 months of my teaching. I sat there, very silent, and talked less about the agreement that we had. I sat there wondering what might happen, waiting for what the Lord has to do.

Then a student came up to me, gave me a handful of these cards. I slowly took the box of trash and tore them one by one. As I did that, I feel awful inside knowing that these things are important for them. But I would never be prepared for what happened next. Another student came up to me and out from his pocket came a great amount of text cards. All the more my heart cried as I held in my hands more. I took time tearing everything. I thought it was over. I was still not finished with the second batch of playing cards when another student came up and gave every card he has. I was so shocked to see so much. And I felt worse inside. I was holding my tears as I try to think how hard it is for them to do this.

But the Lord even more surprised me that day, my students came up to me and helped me tear the texts cards, their text cards and it was really funny because they started laughing (like what they love to do). As I try to look at them, I realized how powerful God is in the lives of these students. Once again, I found myself in a position wherein I was the one being ministered with instead of me ministering to them. That day, the Lord made me realize the reality of laying down what’s important for His glory.

I am privileged to be there at that point and see them respond in a very positive way. Up until now, that event still brings tears in my eyes and joy in my heart.

I am not sure if they would stop playing and collecting playing cards, what I am sure of is the reality of God working in their lives progressively. They might not be that perfectly consistent in their daily application of God’s truth, but I have faith that our God is alive and He has amazing ways to show His glory to us and also to these young hearts.

That day marked as an important event in my life as a teacher. The Lord reminded me that life is beautiful and life is worth living for His glory. He reminded me that He is amazing; thus, He can make amazing things happen. He showed me the impossible in so many ways. He taught me all the more about life. I went to this school to be an instrument by God, but most of the time, I found myself being ministered more by these children. Indeed, everything in life when lived for Him will never be predictable and boring – To God be the Glory!

Teacher Kim Aranas

Oh Night Divine, the Night when Christ was Born

One of my favorite parts of the holiday season is the Christmas music. I just love Christmas carols! In all honesty, without Christmas carols, I don't think it would feel very much like Christmas to me at all. It's kind of a package deal!

So for over a month I've been listening to and thinking about some popular Christmas songs. Other than a few I had to cut out of my playlist this year (I'll be home for Christmas, Home for the Holidays, etc) I've been enjoying some of the classics, such as: Silent Night, Jingle Bell Rock, Santa Clause is Coming to Town, Hark the Herald Angel Sing, and many other favorites.

And today I was looking at the words a little more closely than usual. I think people often don't even realize what they are singing when it comes to Christmas music. Because let's be honest... if they did, they probably wouldn't be singing it! Most of the popular Christmas Carols are about JESUS. What a concept! Christmas music about Christ?!? Check out some of the words below from some popular Christmas Carols. Notice the words in green from each song... notice a trend?

Away in a Manger: "Away in a manger, no crib for his bed, the little Lord Jesus lay down his sweet head..."

Mary's Boy Child: "...and in a manger cold and dark, Mary's little boy was born..."

What Child is this?: "Why lies he in such a mean estate, where ox and ass are feeding?

Gentle Mary Laid her Child: "Gentle Mary laid her child, lowly in a manger..."

Do you Hear what I Hear?: "A Child, a Child, shivers in the cold..."

This Christmas is my first Christmas away from family, which can be a little sad at times (hence the banning of certain Christmas songs)... but it does me good to stop and think of these songs. We celebrate Christmas because it is the day that Christ came into the world. But the first Christmas, the honored guest (Christ) was in a cold, dark, lowly manger suitable for the animals.... not very honorable at all!

This Christmas, I am thankful for those that I do get to spend Christmas with. I'm thankful for the kids, who don't get to spend ANY day with their families, let alone Christmas! I'm thankful that they are my family in Christ, and that we can celebrate His birth together. And I'm thankful for the other volunteers here at K.I.M. who are spending their Christmas with the kids as well.

Wherever you are this Christmas, and whoever you are with this Christmas, I pray that our minds would be focused on the perfect, holy, gracious Christ... who came into this frustrating, dirty, sin-infested world to be born into a cold, dirty, smelly manger, so that one day you and I could have HOPE, JOY, and a FUTURE. Remember this as you enjoy some lovely Christmas carols this season!

OH HOLY NIGHT:
Oh Holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O holy night, O night divine!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!

Christie Albaugh