Hope For The Island

Month: December 2016

  • Reshel

    Meet 23-year-old Reshel. She has only finished her 1st year of high school.

    Her parents don’t know what has caused her disability. It started with her hands when she was five.  She used to live in Manila with her grandparents and had opportunity to go to a therapist and receive vitamins all free of charge.   A doctor indicated she does have a problem with her blood. Vague diagnosis or none at all is common.

    She came to Siargao Island when she was 12 years old.  After being away from the source of vitamins and therapy, she got thinner.

    Reshel has quit attending school because she is so self-conscious of her condition. Because of a lack of exercise, she is deteriorating more and more.  She longs to go back to school and to be more active.

    Thank God we were able to get a much needed walker for her in Canada and it is on the way now in a box to the Philippines!

    Vitamins and therapy are current needs.  Our remote location makes it costly to travel for the therapy.

    Please continue to pray for her as she deals with these issues at such a young age. We are grateful for how God has already provided.  See a short video of Reshel

  • Choose To Forgive

    We did a Kid’s Ministry lesson that brought about some touching moments.

    David chose not to react by hurting Saul even though Saul kept on attacking David.

    The children were touched by God’s Word and decided to put into action what they learned. They wrote this message on a piece of paper:

    “Even if you hurt me, still Jesus loves you and so do I”.

    They then took brave steps to give this piece of paper to those people who hurt them. One girl gave hers right away to one of her friends whom she couldn’t forgive for a long time. Although nervous, she approached her friend and handed her the paper. They wept and forgave each other! At a young age these young ones are learning how to obey God and strengthen relationships.

  • Hope Staff Leah reports from YWAM

    Hope Staff Leah reports from YWAM:

    When I heard I was approved for DTS I was filled with excitement because my prayer was answered. I was also very nervous and afraid to be alone on this trip away from what is familiar. The trip started with a big test. I needed to board an overnight ferry to Cebu. This is not easy for me because of a bad past experience that stirred fear back in my heart. Thank God He brought me through and I arrived safely! It was a good start to gaining some independence, facing fears and experiencing God provide for me!

    I was picked up by a YWAM leader and taken to the base in Cebu Talisay. I have 11 classmates from different countries. After a few awkward days not sure what to say or do, we started to connect and build friendships.

    The first guest speaker’s topic on Foundations of Christianity really impacted me a lot. I was reminded how important the foundation is that I build on.  If it is built only on Christ and truth I can`t easily stumble. When other things get mixed into the foundation it becomes dangerous.  Some of my new friends responded to the message on baptism and we celebrated the impact that will have on their walk.

    The “Father Heart of God” message was a very emotional time for me as God’s love embraced me.  It was really nice because it was my first time to weep freely in front of a man.  He hugged me and spoke the Father’s heart to me as one of God’s princesses and loved daughters.  I won’t forget that encounter I had with God!

    We also did Kid’s Ministry outreaches using drama presentation and Bible lessons. Kids were very happy and responsive to the Gospel.

    Other teachings were on Spiritual Warfare, Godly Relationships, Intercession and Hearing God’s Voice. These topics were very good and very real when stepping out in faith to serve God! I was challenged to intercede more faithfully for others.

    During our prayer summit from 6 a.m. to 5:30 pm., I was so blessed because we were praying for the nations and for the people who are in positions of authority.

    This has been a really good experience because GOD spoke clearly into my life.  I will continue to grow in WALKING BY HIS WILL not MY WILL.

  • Support A Student For $120.00

    Video:  Scholars Say Thank You

     

     

    With an increasing burden to see youth graduate and for them to get plugged in at HOPE, we took a huge step of faith this school year. We opened our Scholarship Program to every single high school student (150) in Burgos.

    Criteria is quite simple: High attendance rate in school and our weekly Youth Ministry as well as participating in our scheduled community service initiatives.  Even though it’s not difficult to meet these requirements to be a scholar, this semester only 46 youth received scholarship reimbursements. It goes to show just how much of a challenge education is in the island. For this reason, poverty related issues are amplified.

    We had a meeting with the scholars’ parents last week to affirm them for the efforts made and to release funds to cover costs they spent for the first semester. This approach helps them learn the valuable life lesson that hard work pays off.

     

    After the meeting our staff asked the parents to write an encouragement letter to their child. Many parents moved to a quiet area to think of the right words to say. Others were not comfortable with sharing their feelings but wrote a quick note in a fun and light manner. Communicating love or encouragement is not common in our island culture.  The students were touched.

    The estimated cost per student is $120 for the whole school year. At the moment we do not have the funds necessary to cover each student. Please consider supporting one student for the year. This includes uniform, tuition and school project costs. Please indicate SCHOLARSHIP program when you make your donation. We will keep you updated throughout the school year so you can be praying with us for these students to excel and honour God!

    Support a Student Donation Options