Street Kids Outreach in Butuan

After 5 successful days of training in the evenings during the week, the volunteers all came back to our house on Saturday at 8am for a full day of training and practise followed by a two hour outreach in two locations in the city.

The video is just to give you an idea of what the ministry looks like and to see some of our fantastic volunteers in action.....:)

At the end is a photo of OUR NEW BUILDING!! We have been approved by leaders to sign the papers to rent the building for one year and then buy it....to use for our Drop-In Center.....

GO GOD!!!!

And We're Off!

Project Destiny has officially been launched. Last night we held our first night of training for 25 local church volunteers, who have been selected by their pastors. We will be having training every night this week from 6-9 and then all day Saturday we will have our first outreach. The training is being held right here in our sala (living room). In discussing the different venues for this time, we realized that we wanted to build relationship, so instead of a large, impersonal meeting hall, we chose to gather in our tiny sala.

Our scripture for the ministry is:

"HE lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump. HE sets them among princes, even princes of his own people." Psalm 113:7-8

The next few paragraphs are part of the training manual... I just want you to know what our focus is....:)

Our theme for this training is "Knowing that HE is the God who does the work, HE has a plan and destiny for my life and HE wars on my behalf to see it come to pass." My job is to cooperate with Him in all that I do, keep my heart and motives right and continue to grow in Him, understanding that HE is the worker and I am onl a tool in His hand.

The training is not like other trainings, where the focus is achievement. This is a time of equipping and nurturing, and a time of revelation and tranformation in our lives. We believe that one of God's greatest purposes for us, as His children, is that we are increasingly transformed into His likeness. Our goal is that you would grow not only in understanding of street children and ministry, but most importantly you would grow in their relationship with God and continue to develop a godly character, resulting in changed lives.

So, please keep us in your prayers during this crucial time in our ministry... we expect that there will be more participants coming as the week goes on... and we are MORE than excited to see what God wants to do during this time...

So, What Does a Drop-In Center Sound Like?

The bamboo flute in the background is being played by one of the youth who comes to the center for help…he is gifted in music, and in art…he even has some of his paintings posted in an at studio in the city… Also in the video you’ll see how relaxed the environment is there…a map on the wall reminds the kids how much bigger the world is than what they encounter everyday…Go God!!!

So, What Does a Drop-In Center Look Like?

Even more than what it looks like, what does a drop-in center feel like? These are two of my many questions that were answered in our trip to Cagayan de Oro City. Monday afternoon we took a five hour bus ride to the city, where we were scheduled to attend the YWAM base staff meeting on Tuesday, followed by a visit to a drop-in center for street kids.

After the meeting with the other YWAMers associated with the base (nationalities represented in the staff: Filipino, German, UK, USA, Sweden) where we prayed, worshipped, shared an update on our ministry and heard from the others as well, we rode over to the ministry center.

And there it was there that I had my first encounter with ministry to street children. The pictures show you what the center looks like....the kids come in and can play pool, watch a movie, sleep and eat some much needed food. In the center they are in a place where they know they are safe, where they don't have to watch their back constantly making sure no one is coming to hurt them...there is peace, in room with staff who love them and want the best for them, where the name of Jesus is lifted up as THE hope for our lives...there is rest for the weary little bodies who struggle daily on the streets to survive...

We met kids ranging from about 6 to 21 years of age...it's startling to come face to face with a child is a STREET CHILD...after hearing that term for so many years, and seeing random kids on the street, in bus terminals and ferry ports is one thing. But to look in the face of a child and be able to talk, hug and listen to them, puts a whole new stamp of REALITY on the problem millions of kids are facing.

It was heartbreaking to hear the story of one boy, aged 16, who as result of being used at the age of 6 to dive into the ocean carrying dynamite used for fishing, was stricken deaf and now lives on the streets.

I'm still processing all that I saw and felt during our time in the center. We're talking about how we can be a blesssing to the YWAMers serving with those kids and how they can bless us with their wisdom and experience in working with this unique group of children. I'm excited to see what our center will look like in Butuan...and to see God transform a generation of children who don't know yet that there is a God who knows how many hairs are on their heads, who has engraved them on the palm of His hand, and has a DESTINY for each of them....

Safe Arrival in Butuan

This is MAX, the guarddog and pet and friend and entertainment in our house....he dances, sits, and scoots backward when commanded to "STAY"........


After 22 hours of travel I arrived in Manila, Philippines, where I stayed for three nights visiting with friends who had traveled eight hours by bus to greet me before I headed on to Mindanao, Philippines.
Last Saturday, I took the one hour flight south from Manila to arrive in Butuan City. My friend and partner in ministry, Teresa Woodard, picked me and all my luggage up, and brought me to our house. We traveled by tricycle over the river and through the woods...or so it might seem...:)

The photo above shows our kitchen....and the photo below shows the view from the kitchen into the sala...


When I arrived at the house, there was a fiesta for my welcome party, where we had a feast...shrimp, BBQ pork, squid....cake AND ice cream!!!....and pizza too....and the kids had made a lovely sign outside and decorated everywhere with balloons.....so nifty!!!

This week I've been focusing on getting adjusted and settled in....going to local shops for supplies, waiting patiently for 6 days for the internet to be hooked up....visiting the "mall" (not what you're thinking) down the street and being thrilled to discover they sell cheese, and tomato, not banana, ketchup........

We also took the overnight ferry to Cebu City on Sunday, where we processed our Philippines immigration papers and I applied through a travel agent for my China visa...the China trip is coming up in less than one month!!!

PRAYER POINTS:

• please pray for us as we prepare for the training of the church members for the Drop-In center
• please pray for the people joining the tour in November, that they will be successful in all their travel preparation
• please pray for the street children---that God will prepare their hearts for hearing His truth

Palanan 2007

As an application of what has been learned during Crossroads Discipleship Training School, after 12 weeks of lecture we lead the students on an 8 week outreach into remote areas in the Philippines to serve in the name of Jesus. This video shows what part of that experience can look like through the eyes of one of the teammates....me.:)