Hope Blog

John Terrance is a 3 month old baby whose little body is covered with scabies. He cries day and night because it is itchy and very uncomfortable.  It is not easy for his mother to watch her child suffer. She has travelled with him to a hospital on the island and was given antibiotic cream. Costly soaps and lotions have not improved his condition. We facilitated her getting help from a doctor who was able to help her as a nursing mom with diet restrictions that may help.  Little John seems to be improving and both are getting some rest. Continue to pray for the mom and baby as they deal with what is a very common skin condition on Siargao Island.

 

 

Anyone who has followed Hope for the Island’s reports over the years knows that rainy season is the hardest season to endure on Siargao Island.  The seas are wild and dangerous and even fisherman rarely attempt to go out on them.  The heavy rains keep villagers indoors and make it hard for them to find food. This rainy season we are happy for the new Charcoal Business in our municipality. Charcoal is made from the inside shell of the coconut dried out over fire. This is a very easy process and even if people don’t own land, they can look for those who have just harvested coconuts and offer to collect the shells. This is an immediate source of income!  What a blessing this is for the local people during such a hard season.

 

A 58 year old woman came to HOPE to ask for financial assistance for a checkup because she has no job or money. Her husband left her many years ago when her children were still very young. She has six children who are now married but also not able to help her financially.

Nanay Malinao came months ago complaining of chest pain. We sent her off with a small blessing of finances for travel and to see a doctor. She was given antibiotics and was feeling a little better after the 3^rd day. In our previous story we told of how she gave away her medication to others in need in her community. She acted out of compassion for her neighbors, wanting to help them as well.

 She returned a month later saying she really needed a chest x-ray.  We felt an urgency to help her once again because she had a bad cough.  We prayed for her that day and she left on the boat early the next morning determined to find out what was wrong.

Most poor people can’t afford to travel to Surigao City (the boat ride is approx. $5 Canadian.) She was also scared because she hadn’t been to Surigao in over 10 years! She lived out her life here and never had a reason or finances to go anywhere.  She suspected   something was wrong and that gave her the courage to ask for help.  Nanay is a new Christian in one of the local churches. We are thankful that God allowed us to help her with options to give her peace of mind and seek medical attention. The complications she faced were from her heart and she is currently being treated.

The farm is a pioneering work and has been physically hard work that is often trial and error.  The farm is not located near our HOPE compound where the majority of the other HOPE staff live and serve. For a culture that loves to be surrounded by people all the time, it has been lonely and challenging for our guys.

 

By spring, our three full time farm workers whose families do not live on this island will be moving on with our full blessing.  They value all they have learned and how God has used them, but they look forward to returning to family and also using what they have learned to serve their communities. .  We thank them for their tireless work and wish them all the best! 

We are excited to announce that the Loyola Family will be full time workers at the farm in the spring. They have two young  boys.   Herdell & Analyn have been on staff at HOPE since October.  They will oversee all operations and be full time residents at the Organic Farm. They are a great family who have experience working farms yet are also exposed to life in a large city.

 

The farm is a busy place right now.  Supplies are ordered and construction workers have been hired to build an additional two bedrooms, a kitchen and an attached toilet on the farm property. There is not enough space in the existing two rooms. Farmers are currently being interviewed to assist Herdell and Analyn.  Before the guys leave they will pass on their training and experience to Herdell & Analyn. Their desire is to see the work they pioneered flourish.

Our Organic Farm is evolving as we learn more about what grows best on our island. Some of the crops we currently grow are:

Lettuce – Ginger – Bell Pepper  – Pechay – Kangkong – Squash – Okra – Rice – Kalibri – Tomatoe -  Cucumber 

 Corn – Eggplant – Cassava – Watermelon – Papaya – Banana – Jackfruit

 

We have goats now and when they are done nursing their kids we hope to have milk for our use.  They do not like rainy season and need to be sheltered from the rains to survive.  Their feed is cut and carried to them three times a day. When the rains stop, the goats love to wander the land eating the wide variety of grass that grows. Among the other things we collect and compost are goat, pig and caribao (water buffalo) dung.

 

The future addition of chickens has us very excited. Chickens that do not have high levels of harmful substances are rare. We will be training at a successful organic chicken farm in Surigao City. The chicken, eggshells and their dung will all be utilized. 

 

 

Pray for our workers to have wisdom and strength and that the Harvest will be plentiful as we fine tune this venture of farming!!

 

Over 100 excited youth dressed up in their finest poured onto the Hope compound for the annual Christmas party. They had practiced for two weeks to perfect their group dances and caroling for the contest. Judges were ready to award the winning group prizes of t-shirts, shoes and school back packs.

It was exciting to see many new faces. Derek challenged them with a message about their outlook on Christmas and their daily lives. It’s easy to get excited about presents and no school but this night they were challenged to understand the significance of Jesus birth. Pointing all good things back to Jesus, Derek shared the Gospel and invited many of the youth who have not given their life to Jesus to do that.

 

We were blessed to have Alan and Tess Wood join us from Canada. They blessed the Youth with these gifts which represented for some the only present they would receive for Christmas.

Games, a great meal and a caroling/dance contest were highlights of this great night where the Gospel was declared.  

YOUTH TAKE A STAND FOR JESUS CHRIST IN BAPTISM

Running an active Youth ministry is not easy. For years Jing and Jenn have done the planning and creative thinking for our weekly meetings. In July we had Jeff Kelly join us in the ministry from Florida. Jeff worked on a Christian based ship that ministered in different ports around the world.  Jeff is now leading and mentoring our Youth.  He is currently teaching a series on Salvation and walking out your faith. Pray for him as a leader. It is not just a once a week responsibility. Many youth come to HOPE every day after school and on weekends. Jeff has already initiated a 13-15 year old discipleship program. They are studying the book of Romans at their request. They are journaling about what God is showing during their time in the Word and are growing as a group.

Four young men who recently accepted Christ were baptized. For three days storms raged, it was dark and wet. At 6am on a Friday morning in December the sun broke through as Jeff and Kenneth had the privilege of baptizing these young people. Those who came to the beach at Hope for the Island witnessed them take a stand for Jesus.

 

These guys made a decision to accept Jesus in their heart and to tell everyone through baptism that they were leaving the world behind them and looking to the cross. It was amazing to watch them be baptized and reveal on the outside what was going on in the inside.

One of the mothers testified that she was very happy to see what was going on in her son’s life. She described a positive change in her 13 year old son since he had been attending the Discipleship class with Jeff. In the past, her son would argue with his siblings and not really help around the house. She testified that whatever the Bible class and Christian life was teaching must be good because the change was obvious.  Her son became a Christian and was now initiating the chores and even got a part time job to help buy rice! This teenager had his mother’s full support to be baptized. She watched from the edge of HOPE property as her son was baptized by Kenneth and Jeff. Praise God for what He is doing in the youth!

January routinely marks an intensive planning month for Kid’s Ministry. Typically we plan the themes and delegate responsibilities for the year. The Christmas programs this year were bursting with more kids than ever before.  Our desire has been to reach out to the kids with fresh resources, better crafts and memorable games. Through the blessings of a church we received brand new donated Bible Teaching for children - BTFK (LIFEWAY).  It is complete with pictures, teacher guides, theme posters and learner guides for 8 – 11 year old children.

                               

We have never had such a complete curriculum! We will give each regular attender a new 30 page colorful learner guide to follow along with in the new 3 month curriculum. Those of you who have been at HOPE and witnessed how we do Kid’s ministry in the past, will understand what a HUGE change this is for the children and us as well.

                                       

 

 

 

 

 

Normally we make do with what we have. We are very creative and draw pictures and paste them onto cardboard. The kids are accustomed to writing out their memory verses in their own study books that they bring to children’s programs. Many can’t afford to buy books for school AND for ministry. What a treat for us all! We anticipate some very ecstatic children when they see what we have to offer!!! We are so grateful for this HUGE BLESSING.

                       

 

We are excited this year to be able to bless local churches in nearby villages where we have Kids Ministry. Donated clothing from Canada was sorted and given to the Pastors to distribute to each member. Each group of believers that meet in a church or Bible study setting, where there is no building, was given a bag of used clothing. Needless to say, there were a lot of smiles on many faces!!

 

   

 

HOPE met Edwardo a couple of months ago.  Not sure where to turn, he sought help from us for a festering wound after a surgery that went bad. As he lifted his shirt, the horrific sight and smell almost knocked us off our feet.  It was clear that if the infection continued to spread that his life was at serious risk. After an accident, he was not able to work. The surgery that went wrong set him back even further and the needs piled up.  His wife left him, fearing a future with 5 kids and a husband with no work.

As a Christian man, he still held onto hope and faith in God despite what seemed hopeless around him.

After we prayed for him, a fresh faith seemed to rise within him to survive and overcome this infection.  We watched him take steps towards getting help and supported him along the way. God connected him with the right doctors and a new date for surgery was set.  We recently received a letter of thanks from him.  He testified that God answered prayer in restoring his health.  He expressed praise to God for using HOPE to set him on the right path. It is such a joy to see lives change before our eyes!!

                                        

In July four Canadian churches collected Ziploc bags brimming with blessings for children! They were shipped and arrived ready for the Kids Ministry Christmas parties. Over 450 kids in neighboring villages had a Christmas party like never before!!! Faithful attenders of Kids Ministry , those who brought a Bible, friends or memorized Scripture during the year,  were also recognized and given extra blessings.  Many kids also took home donated clothing from Canada and a full tummy of food.                                                             

 

Unexpected pockets of joy came during these celebrations. A child, whose birthday it was the same day, got to experience a birthday celebration.  An elderly lady lingering with the children and watching with evident joy and curiosity was invited to be part of the celebration.  This precious lady who had never before received a gift,  got blessed in her senior years!!