Student Sponsorship Program…so cheap, so easy to do…
One of the major needs in any third world country is access to education. We don’t realise how many of the worlds children either cannot afford to attend school of any kind. Once a child, especially a boy, hits 10 years of age he will often be working to help the parents raise what might be another 10 siblings. Parents who have had very little education themselves, will not realise the importance of education for their own children. Lack of education is one of the reasons poverty exists and grwos in under developing countries. Education is a means of breaking the poverty cycle.
living and working in a large slum has shown us both the importance of education, but also how cheap it is to send a child to school for a year. We have the luxury of basically no admin’ costs, so the cost of sending a child to school for a year is ridiculously cheap.
In our world AUD $90 will put a child in elimentary school for the whole year. This includes two full uniforms, new shoes, bag, books, all stationary and all school fees for a whole year, and in most cases this will also leave money left over at the end of the year that just goes straight to the family of that student…$90, what a joke, less than $10 per month, who could not afford that. One less Big Mac meal a month, and you could put a child in school for the whole year. High school obviously has many more costs, so nearly AUD $300 is required at this level of education – but again breal it down, less than $1 per day.
We currently have nearly 200 students that we send to school, kids who’s parents just can’t afford it. We have church groups that sponsor children, individuals and we also sponsor many students ourselves…it’s such any easy way to change a life.
We sponsor children in Manila and in Mindanao, christians, catholics, muslims, non-believers – anyone at all, everyone should have access to education.
Miracles abound in the world of Jesus Christ…
Rakma, a muslim women, with a simple injury that got really badly infected. Once we found this lady we took her to two seperate hospiyals, but nobody wanted to treat her. So we did it with Jesus and alot of love. We prayed, kept the wound washed, cleaned and covered….then God began to touch it and it began to heal. These pictures are incredible…there are no limits in the world of Jesus.
No doctors, very little medicine, no real hope in the natural – remember we live in a far from sanitized slum, nothing is clean. Many people might not believe these particular photos, but they might just inspire hope in some one…there is a miracle waiting for you.
Smiletrain – Facial Reconstruction
A few months ago we saw an advertisement in a Manila newspaper about FREE Cleft pallet operations in Manila for the poor. We investigated, and whilst new completely free, we did find a world wide NGO who does the said operations just on the other side of Manila.
We began to take a small muslim boy, Mohummad through the process of tests and screenings in order for him to get a hair lip fixed. Below is a photo of him before and after…major improvement. With the success of this operation it opens the door for us to facilitate for what might potentially be dozens of similar operations, as there are numerous cases like this in our slum alone. It’s great when you find a system that works, as everything is not always as it is promoted to be.
Check out “Smiletrain” on the net, they look like they do a great job.
2 New cancers, people who need some prayer…
A couple of weeks ago a Muslim guy tried to call me over to his house. I thought he was drunk, and so I acknowledged him, but kept on walking. The other day he called me over again, but this time he used some english, and told me his boy (Samer) was sick so now I wander over. Turns out he has a 10 year old with a huge cancer on the brain. Apparently the child had had an operation three months ago when the growth was the size of an egg, but it clearly has come back with a vengance. Imagine the hopelessness, your 10 year old son is nearly comatose, lying in a slum in Baseco, he has eaten no solid food for nearly one month – you have no money, no one really cares – what do you do, you sit there and watch him die…or even though you are a Muslim, you call over a guy that you know to be a born again Pastor in the hope that his God can help.
We have been in the house numerous times now, Ps Marivic and some of the leaders visit each day, praying and building relationship with the mum and Samer’s sisters. Tragic…we need God to move in power.
Then we had another guy come to our house this week. his wife, Jennifer, 43, has had ovarian cancer for over a year. If you saw her you would say it was stomach cancer, as the growth is so big.
Cancer is a demon, something from the pit of hell. Samer and Jennifer, please pray for them, without a miracle both will die…that is not the plan of God.
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- Samer
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- Samer’s brain scans
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- Samer’s home…
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- Jennifer…
Smile Train – Miracles for little Mouths…
We read an advertisement in the local newspaper for an organisation who was doing free hair lip operations for children. We contacted them, found out the apprpriate information and began.
We have taken two children from Baseco to be assessed so far. The process is simple, get some xrays, have a medical check up…and get the operation. The only thing that we have to do is take children to them and pay for any medcines that the child might need before the operation, as they won’t operate on a sick child.
The first child that Chris took is Muhumad, a little muslim boy, he sailed throuth the process, but on the day of his operation had asthma, so his operation has been postponed for a few weeks.
The next child we took is B.J, but B.J is malnourished and needs to double in weight before he can get his operation, but that won’t take long as we are pumping vitamins and food into him.
But it seems to be a great organisation, who do literally hundreds of operations per week. Do a search for Smile Train on the net to see more of what they do. They do all sorts of facial reconstruction work on children in the third world.
The Mission to Mindanao…SERIOUS CHALLENGE…
Hi there to all
I have just returned rom a visit to Mindanao, which began in a small coastal place called Kari Hatag. Tropical paradise, no roads, you have to get there by a small local style boat, stunning little place. I was there to check on a small sponsorship program that we have going there for 16 students. Our two local pastors, Pastor Rolly and Sharon have done a great job at running the program, reporting on all of the finances and using it as a means to evangelise and encourage the families in their faith. They have done a great job.
We then went down to Kabacan (half way bewteen Davao and Cotabato City, to finalise the planning of three Evangelistic Healing Meetings. Again we have been blessed with a great pastor down there, Pastor Dela Cruz. A man with a good heart. I liked him the first time I met him, which was maybe 6months ago, some people just stand out of the pack. So we began planning to have some meetings with an International Evangelist, Australian, Eddie Coe.
The meetings will take place early in december. In a 80% pure Muslim community. We are not sure if any Muslims will attend the meetings, but we are praying for that. But just being in an area dominated by the Islamic faith makes everything differant. The whole feel of the place is just differant, heavy and a bit uncomfortable (hard to explain). Once you start talking about reaching the Muslims you begin to hear all of the horror stories of beheadings and beatings. Numerous stories revolve around Muslim people who became christians, but did so in secret, but if they were found out, they were beheaded by their own community – no matter who they were. Stories about all of the white missionaries, who in an effort to reach the Muslim would come and give things (example computers to schools, sponsorship, medicines) in an effort to breach the gap and reach out to the Muslim communities. But they are only welcomed into those communities when they “give” and when they “don’t” ever mention Jesus Christ or christianity. If they don’t “give”, they won’t even get into the community, and even if they do “give”, but then go on to share Jesus, they are finished in that community, one srtike and you are out. The odd white guy who was by himself, who may of recieved a serious beating or even been beheaded himself. So the Muslims have really set up fear based methods of protecting their own.
I suppose we in the west have never had a reason to fear Muslims as we have never really had extremists living in our countries, but for the local Pastors and christians in Mindanao they have lived with this style of relegion for many, many years. Their view on reaching the Muslims, is very simple – YOU ONLY HAVE ONE LIFE TO GIVE, once you are dead, you are dead, you can’t reach anyone for Christ.
We say fear is a spirit and can be broken and overcome through prayer and faith – which is true, but breaking fear still would not keep you alive, it would give you the boldness to enter into to a situation that you would never of gone into, which might perhaps put you into a situation where you need something miraculous to happen.
I suppose the basic summary for reaching the Muslims is – “do what the Lord tells you to do” (a good standard for every area of our lives). If we go in with good intentions and false bravado, we ill probably fail. But if the Lord sends us with His Word and His Power, then that’s a differant story. One of the greatest challenges for modern christianity is “Nothing Jesus Christ did failed, He never attempted anything, He came up with no good ideas – He did what He saw His Father do, He operated completely in the power of the Holy Spirit, He was always successful”…we seem to come up with all these good ideas, raise funds for this and that, use medicines when He used Miracles…but we don’t have anywhere near the success that He had and still has today. We all need to be challenged to get back to prayer and then simply hear and obey. Is reaching the Muslims ith the message of Jesus a good idea…yes, but it needs to be much more than that if it is going to be successful.
But none the less we are looking forward to some great meetings and expecting God to do some great things amongst the locals. Please pray for the success of these meetings.
