We need YOUR help.

(a blog I started sometime ago and got the chance to finish tonight)

Sometimes the amount of need in the communities we serve can only be summed up as overwhelming. On the way home today in the car we both had tears in our eyes. Every time we are there we are confronted with people who just need hope and practical help. It's as simple as that.

The residents living in the rubbish dump and cemetery are brave, strong and resilient in spite of the horrendous living conditions.. They just need support to better develop their community and provide for their families

To say "that's sad" or,"i wish we could do something" honestly doesn't cut it when you feel the heavy burden of people that are suffering more than most of us could imagine.

It pains my heart to the core when I hear individuals express how "bad" they think Tondo is. Educated  people who in fact are so uneducated allow lies to trip off their tounges without having ever been there. Recently I met a very misinformed Doctor who spoke out her stereotypes and fears and ended by saying;
"..never mind trying to help them. If you really want to do something they like just give them food. They like that!"
Her tone was sarcastic, full of judgment and lack of knowledge.
I wonder if she has ever experienced days of hunger?
I don't think so.

Oh how God loves this precious community with a burning unending love. 
He has called each one of us to DO something about the injustices caused through such extreme poverty.

True compassion moves us to action.

 

You don't have to look far to find need, in fact sometimes we feel we are falling over it... But God.....

Every family there has a story. In every family we have known we have found urgent needs.
 I will try to create a little bit of a picture of the kinds of situations our team are confronted with on daily basis.

 

- A mother bringing her children to the feeding programme because they hadn't eaten anything in days and the hunger pangs had become so unbearable they tried to fill the emptiness with mud and insects.

 

- Children who rattle our gate needing festering wounds cleaned because they are playing naked in trash where there is glass, sharp objects and syringes. Sometimes their mothers can't wash the clothes  because they are forced to make the decision that they will buy drinking water instead of water to wash their clothes in.

 

- A baby who just can not stop crying because he is just too hungry. The mother cant breast feed because she is undernourished and so has only been able to give rice water  to her son. He has no tears because he is dehydrated, just the sound of a weak cry.

 

-Parents asking for medicine because they cannot afford the transportation to the pharmacy or clinic and having to make the choice for their children to either stay sick or eat that day.

 

- Hard working fathers in need simply of rubber gloves because there hands are being cut to shreds as they clear the sewers to try and stop the stagnant, human waste filled water flooding their homes.

 

 

- A woman in need of money after giving birth because she is losing too much blood. She is  unable to afford to pay for the bags of blood to stop her bleeding to death.

These are just a few examples at random. There are thousands of situations like these.

 

Overwhelming.



Playing on our church roof in the middle of the rubbish dump. pic taken by KCM visitor Gerard Jean-Claude Clarey

 

 

The good news is, everyone I just wrote about can be helped and has been helped by Kalayaan Community Ministries. But we can only help as much as we are financially able to. We constantly have to pray for wisdom to priorities where the needs are most critical. 

The harsh reality is we cannot always meet the needs.
We are located in the middle of what statistics say is the largest and densely populated slum in the whole country.
The most recent stat puts the figure in Tondo at half a million people.

We cannot reach them all, but we do believe God puts certain individuals and families very obviously in our path. He is a caring Jesus who stopped for one blind man, one begger, one child.......

 Daily we are faced with people who need extra help and that's why we respond to each family on an individual basis. It's not a one solution fits all environment. If only it were that easy. We have to access the needs and then meet them. How can you turn people away who at times have no where else to go for help?

As they need our help. We need your help.

We do need you to be a voice and raise awareness for the children we love here.

We do need more people to commit to giving on a monthly basis so we can use it for the areas of most need.

We do need people to organize fundraisers throughout the year.

Above all we do need you to pray for this work, the team and communities.

The more partners we have the more people can be relieved of some of their burdens..  At times the needs are life or death. This is reality.

Thank you to everyone who already partners with us. Without exaggerating, you are helping save lives and spread good news in a place looked on as the outcast of the nation. We are so grateful for your financial support. We appreciate every person and group who gave in 2013. Thank you to those of you who organized fundraisers, took offerings, funders that have committed long term and people who have made a monthly financial commitment.
We are a small ministry with very little administration costs. We function completely through donations. There is no CEO getting a salary, no fancy office. All staff who are paid are from the dump site or cemetery community.
We know that God is the source for everything. We are continually amazed at how he provides to sustain and develop KCM through the kindness of people. Over the past 6 years He has provided in the most amazing ways- time and time and time again He is faithful. Never early. Never late.


If you feel you would like to know more about what Kalayaan Community Ministries are doing or  to commit to monthly financial giving in 2014, please contact us through kalayaancommunityministries@hotmail.com

KCM are committed to being good stewards of the funds entrusted to us and we have set up an online transparency page where everyone who donates is added and can view incoming funds and what the purpose of these funds are for.

Thank you so much to everyone that continues to partner with us in prayer, giving and volunteering (local and overseas). Real compassion moves hearts to DO something and there is so very much more to do here.

We are so grateful too to the friends who support us personally to do this work. Maybe someone reading this feels they are called somewhere as a missionary, but are worried about how they could possibly manage. If God has truly called you to be somewhere - he WILL provide for you. He will do it in the most unexpected ways in which you will have no doubt he has heard your voice in prayer!. He will test your trust and faith in Him and then do things that will just blow your mind and heart!

We often still wonder why we are doing this when we know there are people much more qualified, more experienced, more Christ like than us.
All I know is we still feel so out of our depth in our selves and I hope that means that anything good that comes of the ministry or us being here is because of God.

I thank God for the many faithful organizations that are working around Tondo and other slum areas in Manila.I thank God for the dedicated missionaries who have gone before us who we can learn from and I thank God for those He will call here after He decides our season is over.

Whatever country we are all in. Whatever work/ministry, we are there for a reason and God can use each one of us (weaknesses and all) to be a blessing to those he has planted us around.


You can catch up with updates through our FB page

https://www.facebook.com/KalayaanMinistries?ref=br_rs

 

 

Toddlers do not SEE POOR.

The other day our 2 year old Josiah suddenly asked;
"Mummy, where my friends Tondo?"

He was asking where his friends from Tondo were. As soon as it came out his mouth I got to thinking. He has no concept yet of poverty. No idea that some people live in wealth while other scavenge through trash to find food. He has no awareness whatsoever that Tondo is looked on as one of the most disadvantaged and impoverished areas in the country. He has no idea that many people fear the place and  label the community with stereotypes.

All he knows are His friends are there and he loves them. He gets so excited when we do weekly leadership and volunteer training from our home for members of the community. He watches from the window with excitement waiting to see them appear at our gate and shouts " yeh friends".
 When we take him to our church in Tondo he claps when we turn off at the main road and drive through the narrow pathway leading to where Kalayaan Community Ministries is based. He doesn't see the mounds of black bin bags piled high or the swarms of flies.  He has never reacted to the smell, the lack, the dirt and so on.. He does not feel sorry for anyone there. He has no idea there is much sadness there.When he peers through the window of our car he says "my friends Tondo". He has no awareness of the place yet- only the people. he knows when we get inside the church that his "mga Kuya at mga Ate" (big brothers and sisters) will come inside to play with him, sing, laugh and love him. He does not have a clue yet that the church that he sometimes gets to come to is actually situated in the middle of a rubbish dump.

I thought this was so beautiful and a reminder to me about how I look at people.

How different would our communities be if we only got to know people? What if we never knew their past, where they lived or gossip surrounding them?.Would we be less judgmental?  Would we treat them differently? How many times have we formed an opinion about someone because of what we have heard about them?

JESUS SAW PEOPLE.

So many times in the bible it says " When Jesus SAW..."
" when he saw him"
"when he saw her"
"when he saw them"

It's more than seeing with the physical eye. He stopped for people that others would walk past. He listened to their stories. Imagine God - who already knew everything about them and still listened to their stories! He saw their hearts. He saw them as they would be - what they could be.

I remember when we first set foot in Tondo, of course we saw the awfulness of the place, but it was the people that gripped our hearts and changed the course of our lives. There was one child walking towards us through the trash. Everything seemed grey- apart from her. She smiled and Ron described her as a "ray of sunlight".
I think if we had only seen the heartbreaking sights of the place we would not have returned. But we had the privilege of seeing the people- they are why we went back again and again. From seeing- to knowing - to loving them.

Obviously you have to tell and show people the poverty and the sadness so that they are moved with compassion to help. No matter how many smiley faces and joyful spirits there are , not one of them should be living in a place we heard once described as"the edge of hell". Our friend who said these words in a cry for justice has been in around 80 countries and been to many of the most impoverished areas. He says he has never been anywhere like the community in Tondo dump site area.

If only we had the eyes of Jesus for just a moment....to really see. I know we would be moved with compassion in a new way.
The little touches of compassion that so grips our hearts is more than wanting to help- it's a burning, passionate, heart cry and motivation to do all we can to make wrong things right for people who were created by the very fingers of God. A life mission to see justice where injustice cripples souls, bodies and minds through poverty. A determination to do the hard work and let God do the heart work.

My desire is that you would not forget the places we describe in hope that you feel a stirring up to pray and act, but more than the place, I desire that you know the people. I want you to hear their stories. I am not a writer by any means but I pray the rambling of my heart would describe their lives in a true and balanced way, honoring who they are and in some way, place in us all a burden to do something.
Whether in Manilas slums or in a well to do estate somewhere in the world, none of us have to look  very far to find hurting people or someone that needs help.

Oh that we could really see.

THE YEAR OF METAMORPHOSIS

"I beseech you therefor brethren , by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God"
Romans 12:1-2

Felt these verses being impressed upon my heart at the beginning of a new year.
A new year. A new beginning. The potential for God to plant new dreams in our hearts for us as individuals and the communities we serve. New visions for the future. New opportunities to worship. A new chance to watch Jesus transform my life and the lives of others.

I recently read that word "transformed" in the greek is" metamorphosis" I got blessed by this because the concept that Ron had for our ministry logo was a butterfly- the metamorphosis process. God wants to do this process in each one of us. He wants to renew our minds, change our thought patterns, transform our hearts and lives in the way only he can. Changing us from the inside out to bring beauty to the lives of the people we come into contact with.

Change must start in us. In me.
.
As we spend time with Jesus and get into the cocoon of the word of God our thought patterns and behaviors change. As we get soaked by His love, the love for others increases and we get a stirred up passion to make wrong things right and help the hurting. As we experience His total grace we can never be the same.

Jesus transforms lives. No mater the back ground. No matter the past. No matter what stereotypes society would tag a person with- the saving and transforming power of the cross can cause the old "us" to disappear and in that place be birthed into something NEW.

Jesus can destroy the POVERTY MINDSET. Lies such as
"I will only ever be a scavenger"
"I will always live amongst the tombs"
"It's impossible to graduate from college"
"I am just poor"
...and so on

This is beautiful Ate Nora.
When we met her she was what you would describe as painfully shy. Living amongst trash day in and day out the enemy had planted lies that she should remain unseen, unheard. As she lived daily on a rubbish dump her self worth had been crushed like the junk her feet walked over.
Ate Nora met Jesus and I can testify to the beautiful change of mindset and transformation of life. As she studied the word  of God  at the bible studies and her home she renounced the lies that poverty and the enemy had bound her in. Ate Nhoras recently told us how the Holy Spirit filled her with confidence and boldness.

Here she is being "MC" at the end of year celebration in church. Last year we (Kalayaan Community Ministries) gave her capital to help her in business. She had the confidence to start a cooked food stall. She buys, cooks and sell hot food and has been able to financially support her eldest daughter through college and the younger ones through high school. She stands up regularly in church to speak out the goodness of God and share his word.
Like a beautiful butterfly she has been transformed by Jesus and now bringing beauty to the lives of others. She is full of compassion and I have seen her give food from her store to others on the rubbish dump who cannot afford to pay her for it.

She is just once example of the hundreds how God makes things new. No matter the circumstances- the past, present or depth of poverty- Jesus can make brokenness into beauty.



youth camp 2013

At our recent youth camp the theme was "RECYCLED"
It's an awesome thing to see young people who were once gang members stand up and lift high the transforming power of Jesus Christ. Teenagers who have changed lives crying out to their piers not to remain slaves to the bondage of drugs.
Just one of the metamorphosis moments  was when a young teen who had become addicted to sniffing solvents, had recently sold all his personal belongings to join in with the vices of his "barkada" (gang) , his shaky hands asked for the microphone to pray. Among his stuttering and mixed up words he meaningfully  uttered the words
"I want change in my life"

"THEREFORE, IF ANYONE IS IN CHRIST, HE IS A NEW CREATION; OLD THINGS HAVE PASSED AWAY; BEHOLD, ALL THINGS HAVE BECOME NEW." 2Corinth 5:17 

Oh lord, let change begin in our hearts and affect the lives of those you have placed around us. May it be a year of metamorphosis.

"Sing with me Mama"

"Sing with me Mama"

Josiahs sweet voice floated across the room to meet my heart. 

So much to do. I was tired and grouchy because our baby son had been up most of the night teething. I was missing family that week and for the first time in ages was feeling inexplicably "hmmmmph". I never really felt like singing.

Our toddler's scrambled, but melodic phrases of his favorite worship songs filled the room as he pretended to play his overused keyboard. He had arranged for himself a captivated audience of mini plastic people and animals. Even little Eli was joining in with a whistle his brother gave him. He banged it off the floor and chewed it once in a while. :)

"Come on Sing with me Mama"

So i did.

A very simple but true reminder to rise above how we may feel and sing anyway. Don't let your emotions, the world or the enemy's lies steal your song. Don't let any situation or any person rob God of the worship that He deserves.

There are lots of things in our day to day lives that are out of our control. But one thing we always have the choice to do is sing out or speak out the truth of who He is. The unwavering truth of who He is never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. I'm thankful He is.

"She died in my arms"

I really wasn't intending to write tonight. It's after 2am. Both our babies are in a peaceful sleep.After yestedays Monster Typhoon there are mothers mourning the loss of their children and families sleeping on the floors of evacuation centers .Here are my boys-healthy- safe.
I am thankful.
I just feel I need to tell you about another Warrior Mother. My heart can't rest tonight thinking about her.
Her name is Lorna.
She lives in the "temporary housing" within the dump site area.
She has 5 children and she also looks after her 2 young grandchildren. Their mother is a bubbly sweet girl but just a  teenager when she had both these children. The pressure got too much for her this year and she fled Tondo leaving mummy Lorna with the 2 babies. Lorna cares as best she can for all of them.

2 weeks ago Ate Lornas youngest daughter Janet passed away. She was 6 years old.

taken 2012-  Janet at her healthiest

I remember the first time we met Janet. She was  a baby. Ate Lorna told us she thought she was sick. Ron held her to pray for her and right away knew that she had something far more than a fever or a cough. Her body was limp and eyes unresponsive. After tests she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

I can witness that Ate Lorna has cared for Janet. She was always so protective of her. Only she carried her from place to place with gentleness. We had a lovely occupational therapist recently volunteer with us whom we asked to dedicate time to Janet. She was so sensitive to Janets needs, but even then Ate Lorna was a little afraid for Janet being moved in new positions. Through the years every time we delivered milk, food or medicine Ate Lorna would always be near her child. Another charity once arranged with the families permission to take Janet into long term respite, but after a few weeks Ate Lorna decided to bring her back to Tondo. She kept this child alive when looking at her tiny form, you would have thought she would have died as a baby.

A couple of nights ago I was celebrating my birthday at the dump site and noticed Ate Lorna had come in and was sitting at the back..I was surprised to see her. I went straight over and hugged her. I had no words. It wasn't time for words. But from one mother to another I felt her heart breaking over Janets loss. I cannot imagine a worse pain. I cannot even imagine. We embraced and wept together. In 6 years of knowing Ate Lorna I have never seen her cry, even through all the struggles that come with fighting to keep your children alive in that community. As tears fell from our faces, she paused and then uttered words that were so unexpected and felt so very out of place;

"Thank you. Thank you for all the big help to my family and Janet."

If I were in this woman's position I think that "Thank you" would have been the very last thing on my mind. Even now writing, the genuine tone of her broken voice echos in my ears. Lorna is a shy woman and often talks with he rhead a little down, but at this moment her eyes were piercing through mine.

"Thankyou"

She continued in a shaky voice to tell of Janets last few moments. I could tell it was important to share the details- how it happened and even the exact time of death. She was a mum telling of the moment when she was forced to let go of her baby. As I held her hand she told me;

"It was beautiful how she died. I saw in her eyes and she died in my arms. In our house"

What she was saying was- it was the best way it could have happened.

Janet took her very last breath in the arms of the one who had faithfully held her every day.

Ron and I were talking and just saying how it is impossible to even try to understand this situation. A little girl born into a dump site and enduring suffering for 6 years. I don't know why. I don't know why at the unfairness and injustice that if this little girl had been born in the UK for example she would have received much more care and Lorna more support. I don't know why Ate Lorna had to watch her daughter have a life of suffering and then die in her arms.
When our church in Tondo surrounded her and were praying for her Ron spoke out that the secret mysteries belong to God. These words from my husbands lips have been repeating in my heart.The reality is none of us have an answer for this kind of human suffering, but we have to trust that God is the giver and the taker of life. He decides when we will be born and when we will die. For any of us who has lost a loved one this is easier to say than really believe because for us, the time they were taken feels so wrong and after years feels so raw, but we need to believe that the God who breathed his very life in them, knew it was the right time that they take their last.

I just want you to know there was a little girl called Janet who was loved. And I want you to know there is a mother called Lorna who loved her.

In all the time we have known this family I only ever seen Janet respond on one occasion.
She looked at her Mama and smiled.

Please pray for Ate Lorna and the family.


"The secret things belong to the Lord Our God..." Deuteronomy 29:29

Trick or Treat?

I am anticipating some of my good friends will disagree with my feelings below but people have asked me recently my view point on Halloween and so I thought I would just scribble it down.

So apparently there are  a couple of lines of thought to the origins of Halloween- one pagan and one Christian. In my opinion there is nothing Christian about it, in fact quite the opposite. Here in the Philippines and other parts of Asia Halloween is more about visiting the graves of loved ones who have passed. There is nothing wrong with remembering them however there is in my view something wrong with praying for their souls. From my experience in Scotland I would say its more about parties and costumes. But before I dig myself a pit due to lack of cultural and historical knowledge let me just say that although I do think that there is most definatly pagan and Occult roots in Halloween my following thoughts come from simply being a concerned Mama and not a scholar!

In all honestly I just don't get it! I don't get why we would want our children to celebrate Halloween at all.

Why would we want our beautiful faced children to temporarily trade that in for a gruesome Halloween mask?

Obviously not every parent chooses to dress their kids up in a scary costume, but in the last couple of days I have seen toddlers dressed as devils, witches, goblins... and so on.  I don't really understand. Why would any of us want to dress our kids with things that are anything but light, love and laughter?


 I don't get either how it is OK for us to encourage our children to knock on the doors of strangers, or even neighbors to trick or treat. Isn't it a bit of a contradictory message when most probably every other day of the year we are telling them not to take things from from strangers or go to the homes of people they don't know?

We try to protect them from violent images on TV etc and yet it seems that on this one day we drop the standard and leave them open to visual images of blood, gruel and gore.

 I know parents just see it all as a bit fun, a chance for a party and dress up, but my mind kind of boggles as to why we would want to celebrate anywhere around images that could potentially scare our kids. And that's one of the main points of Halloween right? Too scare?

Of course it's not terrifying for us to see skeletons, Frankenstein masks or cut out cardboard of the grim reaper. But yesterday I learned taking a 2 year old to a play area that was decorated with "spooky" images that it's kind of is a big deal for a little guy who has never seen these things before.


A few random facts you may or may not know about the origins of Haloween . Now this is straight from google so don't blame me! :) I just thought it be interesting to google to see what came up! Maybe I am just being a party pooper!

-"Halloween is a celebration to remember the dead and the day when witches begin their rituals".

-"Halloween culture can be traced back to the Druids, a Celtic culture in Ireland, Britain and Northern Europe. Roots lay in the feast of Samhain, which was annually on October 31st to honor the dead."


-"The Celts believed the souls of the dead roamed the streets and villages at night. Since not all spirits were thought to be friendly, gifts and treats were left out to pacify the evil and ensure next years crops would be plentiful. This custom evolved into trick-or-treating".

-"Jackolanturn/ Carved Pumkin-Occultists also would try to scare away the spirits by carving a scary face into a pumpkin. This horrible visage would hopefully move the spirit on to another home or village and spare that home from destruction. Sometimes the villagers would light a candle and place it within the pumpkin and use it as a lantern (hence the name, Jack-o-Lantern). This is the origin of carving pumpkins at Halloween."

-"some of the games used at Halloween parties derived from divination"


Actually there is loads of information about the origins of Halloween, I have merely picked a few at random. My point is that personally I wouldn't want my kids to be associated with any of the above even if it's "just a bit of fun"Now please I am by no means saying that anyone who dresses up their child in a cute or funny costume is intending to deliberately celebrate the actual meaning of Haloween. However while many of us collect candy at doors, play games and have a laugh over who's costume is the best , the reality is that there are witches and occultists who are celebrating in a more serious way. On this same night there is satanic rituals going on. Whether you believe it is a special holiday to those involved in the occult or not, Im afraid it is.Even in the communities we work in Manila witchcraft and occult practices are very very real.
 Here is a piece of info I came across about real Halloween-


" The Druids were in a secret place, were in satanic worship.  In their own way, they were appeasing the spirits and their god of the dead through ritual known as human sacrifice.  Every year the local high priest would select a virgin and impregnate her, making sure that the baby would be born one month before the festival of the dead.
On Halloween night the baby would be killed, its blood poured over the satanic altar and burned as a sacrifice.  The woman would then become high priestess for the next year, until this satanic ritual was carried out again.  The terrible thing about this is that it is still going on today.  Police reports show that children disappearing increase tremendously during the months of September and October."

Whether due to lack of information, tradition or not wanting our kids to be different from their classmates- Christian mothers I urge you just to re-think and ask yourself if there is really a  good reason that your children are taking part in a Halloween Celebrations.
 My personal opinion is that there is not one.

The Trick of the enemy is to have us think it's just all a big joke when in fact it's far from funny.

Let's have our kids be "followers of God as dearchildren" (Eph 5:1) and think about other creative ways we can let them dress up play games and have fun without it being related to Halloween.


"....proclaim the praises of Him who called you OUT OF DARKNESS into His marvelous LIGHT..." 1 Peter 2:9

Another Warrior Mama..

Meet Luz, Viv and Minda....

6 days ago  Mama Bebe went into labor. Kuya Ronald delivered the first little girl in their 8x8 ft home in the middle of the dump site area. The baby seemed well but Ronald began to panic as his wife continued to have very strong contractions and the urge to push. He knew something was different because he has delivered their other 5 children and this has never happened. He quickly called a midwife and she arrived just in time for baby girl number 2 and 3!!!

What a miracle and brave parents!

One of our volunteers offered to accompany them to the hospital to get the triplets and Bebe checked. The parents were very reluctant as their earning from working hard collecting trash to sell at the junk shop had only accumulated to P80 (£ 1.14 that day,

Kuya Ronald like many of the fathers in Tondo is hardworking. He can be seen pushing his junk cart day and night to provide for his family. The harsh reality is no matter how many dedicated hours he does this the absolute most he has ever made for a full days work is P200 (£2.88)

They eventually agreed to go to the hospital with our volunteer and get the babies checked and vaccinated.

I spent a long time in their home the other day and it took me back to when our boys were newborn- only times three! Bebe was breast feeding while Ronald was bottle feeding another and I was enjoying cuddles from "number 3". Then one would sleep and another would wake with a tiny cry. They swapped babies while one was rocked to sleep and the other parent changed a diaper. I was tired and in awe watching them! They both still had time to gush over their newborns with smiles, talking in tagalog about how they looked different and that they never thought they were identical.

Their heads were so tiny in my big white hand! What a total God miracle.

We are thankful for partners who have helped us meet the initial needs of the family. Our heart is to help Ronald set up a small business to raise their income so that he can better provide for the now  family of 10. We would also like to bless them with a house renovation. At the moment it is a tiny one level house. As I sat with them I tried to imagine how 10 bodies would crush in here. I could not imagine in what position they were able to sleep as it was already crushed just with 4 of us in it.

I have used the term "warrior mama" on lots of occasions to describe many of our Mummy friends in Tondo and Navotas. I think anyone who gives birth is deserving of this title because it takes the maximum endurance and intense strength of heart and body to deliver a small person! How much more with no medical assistance? They have to fight for their baby every day of their pregnancy. Many of them have to fight for daily survival not only for themselves but their children. They are warrior families. Warrior Fathers who work and work at something many in the country look down on. They wade through rotton garbage, sell it and provide for their families because they don't want a hand out. They want to work. In all our time in Tondo I can honestly say that not one of the men there has asked us for money or begged. These men are hardworking men.

How good to know that we have The supreme warrior servant King- Jesus fighting for us. There are times when we get tired and weak just as the families living on the dump site. They go through times when physically , mentally, emotionally and spiritually they are exhausted. If we have put our trust in Jesus these are the moments I can imagine Him picking up his sons and daughters, throwing them firmly but with tender care  over His strong shoulders and carrying them till they can walk again- until we have the strength of heart to get back in the fight again.

"God will fight for us" Nehemiah 4:20

Please would you pray for the triplets , Mama Bebe and Papa Ronald. The ages of the other children are 2, 8,10,14 and 15.

Glitter on my face. Love in my heart.

Before I gave birth to our sweet Baby Eli I wondered if I would love both our babies the same.I wondered how my heart could hold any more love since it was already bursting with love for our first born. Did you wonder this aswell when you just had one? Please tell me im not the only one?! For 18 months I had focused pretty much all my energy on our Josiah.. I was elated we were having another boy. I had hoped we would have 2 boys close in age. But I also wondered what the uncharted territory of having 2 and loving 2 would be like.
But after 2 and half hours of intense pain, I gave birth on the floor to our baby and right there amidst the mess (child birth is seriously messy) I fell in love with Eli Domingo. Chubby cheeks and black spikey hair. I was smitten all over again. Tiny eyes locked onto mine for the first time
.I loved him before he was born but now  I SO loved him.

And then it happened- my heart grew.

I loved two.

I couldn't explain it. But I KNEW and I could tell my teary eyes husband felt the same. Our hearts had most definatly expanded and we loved another little amazing person. The creator of the universe had fashioned and formed our baby son exactly how He wanted him. I cannot even think of words to describe my feelings about that. It's overwhelming.

A lovely friend who also has 2 boys close in ages said to me "Don't worry Jo, the best gift you could give them is each other"

... and it's true

. Don't get me wrong there have been times and are times when one hugs the other a little (or a lot) too vigorously! A few bite marks and jealous yells! However the younger is now starting to defend himself by hair pulling! (why did no one tell me about this bit??!!) But even in the moments of chaos- I see how close the two are becoming and it just fills up my heart. Being a mum has allowed me to experience Gods love in a new way. So many many ways. I am forever grateful.

The other day we were playing with craft materials.As Ron walked in the door from work the 3 of us were covered with blue and yellow glitter. Just another precious, messy memory I don't want to forget.

Glitter on my face. Love in my heart :)

A short blog inspired by a singing toddler :)

This morning I got woken up by our bare foot, sleep in his eyes toddler singing sweetly in the hallway;
"God is so good Josiah
God is so good Josiah
God is so good Josiah
He's so good to me Josiah..."

Oh I pray that our children would truly know the goodness of God in their heart and through their whole life.

When I got out of bed, tripped over some building blocks I began thinking of really how good our God is. But do I sing about it often enough? Do I talk about it as much as I should? Is it the first thing that comes to my lips every morning?

It should be.

At what point do we start to over think? Worry about things? Lose some of that instinctive childlike trust? Remember when you first put your trust in Jesus? You probably never had much doctrinal knowledge. You probably never knew that much apart from the amazing new reality that you were SAVED- that Jesus LOVED you and that God is GOOD.

My 2 year old reminded me that when I open my eyes in the morning, before the business of the day, before the schedules,  before anything I should speak out (or sing)  that my God is indeed so very GOOD to me. :)

A kind of an update!

I need to start by really apologizing to all our partner churches, groups and individuals that we have not sent out a newsletter since we returned in June! I will quickly tell you the honest excuse and then proceed with a short update!.
The truth is since we returned with 2 babies I have have found it difficult to find the time to sit down and write a "proper newsletter"!We have just been doing quick updates on Facebook and emails here and there! As for my busy hubby, well he is gifted writing songs- not newsletters :)
So I thought I would take advantage while our 2 boys are napping to write something. I went to find the newsletter template to remember that it was on my lap top which recently crashed and nothing could be retrieved. So I figured from now on we will just use the blog  for quickness sake. Thank you so much for every individual who continues to partner with us and the ministry in prayer, giving and volunteering.

Our New Home
So many of the Churches we visited were praying about us finding the right home so will just quickly tell how God answered they prayers....
When we returned in June kind friends let us stay in their home for one month. In that month it felt like we looked at every apartment and house in Manila. We had 3 days to go and still had no place to live. We just had no peace about the ones we saw. They were either too far from Tondo or too expensive. That day we looked at an apartment and decided that if we couldn't find anywhere else then we would take the one bedroom apartment, with good space and in a safe area. It had a little play area near by and was about one hour drive from Tondo. It was nice but we had specifically been praying for somewhere to meet other mum friends and some kind of outdoor for the boys to get let loose in. The next day a friend of Ron's text and offered to show us around an area just at the border of Manila. When we got there the first thing I noticed was a swing park- an actual swing park! In living here 6 years I have only ever seen one proper swing park in Manila! Our friend took us to a house which had been for sale but that had just been put up for rent. A 3 bedroom house in a good area with a mini garden and...  the swing park at the end of the street!! The owner brought down the price to within our budget so easily and the next day we moved in!!
It's just a house, somewhere to live but I got so blessed thinking about how our Father God even cares about the small things. I feel so thankful every time I see Josiah playing out in the street with other children. God even answered our prayer to get connected with other mums in the area. We had no clue that when we moved here that there are lots of other missionary couples who live close by. We have even had a few play dates :)


Thank you Visitors
Since we returned we have had lots of great overseas volunteers:
4 guys from "the Broch" Fraserburgh who came with the mission to elevate our main hall above the flood waters giving the Tondo community one flood free space. ANSWERED PRAYER.  This is the first year we have not had to cancel one single thing due to toxic waters covering feet. The water still penetrates through the floor and in the door BUT we are all ABOVE it! What a gift to all the team who for the last 6 years have continued to minister with stagnant human waste filled water squelching though our feet.

6 young women from Kilmarnock  got involved in everything from murals, wound care, hospital trips, outings with toddler, community concerts, teaching English...... and you get the picture- pretty much all rounders :)

We were so thankful and encouraged by friends from Peterhead. The Philppines is their second home and they understand the culture and the heart of mission so well. The Strachans came at the right time to pray with us and spend time with us.God really used them to minister strength and encouragement to us. It always amazes us how God makes paths cross. Friendship is a precious thing

New Things
- Food For School/Packed Lunch Program
Daily feeding for 100 extra children a day in Tondo and Navotas. This feeding is specifically for children and young people struggling to stay in school because the family cannot afford to buy them lunch.It is answered prayer for us to be able to daily provide 100 packed lunches to help them get through school.

- Daily Wound care
EVERY DAY around the dump site area there are children who get wounds on their feet from walking on glass and other sharp objects hidden in the garbage. Wounds on their hands from working on or playing in it. Wounds on their heads from cuts or insect bites that get infected from the dirt and intense heat. This week we are starting to offer wound care 2 hours every day in the community instead of just on the weekends. We pray to extend it even more, but we feel God asking us to start what we can do.... 

 Young Leaders
Every Thursday we have started more intensive training with young leaders. One of our main challenges just now is needing more full time workers. A Thursday session is specifically for young people who are not in school but who we see leadership potential in. The aim is simply to equip them more to lead in various areas of the work. We have been so encouraged by the way they have responded.

These leaders along with our other volunteers have re-launched our kids clubs. We got feed back from them that it was becoming to difficult to deliver high quality activities because of the problem of "too many children". Often between 300- 400 children. So a few weeks ago we made a decision to put an age limit on the clubs as we use to back in the early days! 5-7s and 8-12s (just the Saturday session) It has been working well so far. Less children but the team have been able to deliver more focused activities and more importantly build relationships.

This year we came to a point that in ourselves we really didn't want to start anything new as we wanted to concentrate on sustaining what was already going on. But as always our Abba knows the needs in the community much more than us and sometimes we find just a deep urgency  to meet a particular need. This has happened on a few occasions over the last couple of months. Who are we to say " its not a great time Lord" or "we are all already so busy"?!! We are truly thankful and blessed at how God directs us often through the members of the  community leaders. The reality is we can never fully understand what life is like there. Our staff and volunteers live it and when we leave at the end of the day, they stay. Its is not only their work, mission or community. It is their home. It is there life. There are many days when we weep when they weep and laugh when they laugh, but only God fully sees what each one faces. We are just to proud not only to call them team, but family. They are the heros. We want to shout and boast about how God is using them in their communities.

Our prayer is that he continues to lead all of us to show his love to the Ones who need it most.


Fires and floods
Within a month of each other both Tondo and Navotas suffered fires and floods. We focused more on Navotas this time since there were many other organizations and government help for the Tondo fire victims. We were the only ones assisting in the Navotas Community. 53 families ran from there homes as a raging fire tore through their homes. Most of them lost everything.
We responded by doing daily feeding at the evacuation centre, relief bags of clothes, shoes and toiletries, grocery giving. As of now there are still 17 families living at the evacuation area. They have just been informed that they have to leave there by the end of October. Our plan is to help build their houses. If you feel led to give into this project or want information on how you could help sponsor a house build please email us kalayaancommunityminsitries@hotmail.com
Because we felt these needs were immediate we decided to postpone our annual October youth camp until December. The youth graciously agreed!

In spite of the loss we met some amongst the fire victims who mentioned nothing of their lack, but instead praised and thanked Jesus for everything they had in Him. Mind blowing and challenging!

At the first evacuation site for the families from Navotas we met a lady who had a huge stomach. We thought she was 9 months pregnant.After Ron spent time with her we found it was a tumor. The doctors told her she needed an operation that would cost P40,000- almost 600 pounds. Ron and Ptr Dodong prayed by faith that in the name of Jesus she would be healed. Her belly began to shrink 2 weeks later and she returned to the doctors who gave her the all clear and told her "there is nothing wrong with you" God still heals!



 Prayer Points:

-The Kalayaan team of staff and volunteers
-Raising up of more leaders
-Provision for the sustainability of all our programs
-Continued recovery for Ate Vivean one of our volunteers who was hit by a truck and left for dead. She is now out of hospital but still unable to move her arm and in a lot of pain
-Wisdom while we plan an extension of our feeding program to the most malnourished in the Tondo Community


Recently we have met some families where they have need greater than we have ever seen. More than the physical needs, which we must respond to, we have been struck by the hopelessness in their words and even body language. We KNOW that Jesus is the answer.
We are desperate to see Gods love and light just explode in that place.

This is a kind of all over the place update, but please feel free to email us anytime for updates on any particular area of the ministry. We can't always respond as fast as we would like but we really love hearing from you!


"Then the Children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out, and their cry came up to God because of bondage, so God heard their groaning and God remembered" Exodus 2:2-3