Hope for the Island continues to be a place where people from all over Siargao Island come to seek help and receive comfort and peace. Acts of love and mercy create open doors that impact lives. Simple acts of care and concern look different for each soul we minister to. It can be cleaning and dressing wounds, providing assistance for health emergencies, giving meals to hungry widows, lending educational resources to students, feeding malnourished children, caring for pregnant mothers in need or initiating community service with kids and youth. These all establish a level of trust with locals and openness for deeper spiritual matters.
We must be aware and intentional or these unique opportunities to fulfill God’s call can pass us by. Extending monetary help meets an immediate need, but we also pray and provide counsel. We can only do so much, but the eternal and life altering hope that is found in Jesus alone changes someone forever.
Love expressed opens the door for the message of the Gospel, which is the ultimate act of love. Each person who comes gets a fresh glimpse of God’s heart and love. Our prayer is always that they will turn to Jesus – not Hope for the Island or anything else as their source of hope and sufficiency.
We have a glimpse for you of those who have come our way seeking help recently.
Malou – 36 years old and a longtime contact of Hope for the Island in a home Bible study. She has had ongoing health issues but has deteriorated. Toxic goiter combined with Diabetes has now made simple tasks and work impossible. She was long overdue for a check up and could not buy her medication so we sent her with the funds she needed for a check up.
Bernadette- 18 yrs. old
Attended Hope for the Island Youth Ministry and has gone on to college. She was raised in a large family with no consistent income and meals were sporadic. When that happens here, there is only rice with salt and fish or soy sauce. Bernadette developed a severe ulcer and a persistent urinary tract infection. She now has Typhoid Fever because of unsafe drinking water. Her mother came to us late at night because Bernadette has horrible pain. We helped her with travel to see a doctor. Praise God she is back at home recovering well and excited to get back to her studies. She wants to finish college and help her family.
Marife is a Pastor’s wife and a mother of three. We have known their family and ministered to their children for many years. She was in terrible pain for two months and struggling to walk. Her husband had to carry her and bathe her. She continued to worsen with her arms being affected as well. During one of our Youth Ministry outreaches, her son shared their family struggle with our staff. We provided assistance and they immediately left for a medical consultation in Surigao City. Doctors diagnosed a form of arthritis that is not common here. After taking medication and changing her diet she came to us full of strength and joy praising God for His blessing and health!
Roselyn – 19 years old
Her husband has Hypertension and was just released from the hospital. She then started having profuse bleeding with constant abdominal pain. She came seeking help after an ultrasound that revealed a lump around her ovaries. She is now in Surigao getting checked and is covered in prayer.
Rosita
Rosita
She has a very large mass on her breast that continues to grow and has been left untreated for over two years. Because of poverty and fear she hid her problem and suffered silently. She may have waited too long to get help, but this behavior is common on our island. Factors such as a lack of education, financial restraints or fear can paralyze them, as hard as that may be to understand.
We have given her assistance. We also encouraged her to seek social welfare and other organizations that can help in these cases. She has no children and her husband is recovering from a stroke so we gave them food as well.
Adelina- This mother of three labored with shortness of breath in an
Adelina
effort to share her concerns with us. Since spring of 2013 she has suffered with Asthma like conditions that were so severe at times she thought she would die. In tears, she spoke of preparing for her death. After a time of prayer, she calmed down and we sent her with the funds to get a check up in Surigao city.
Mika
Mika – The majority of islanders live from day to day, meal to meal. This translates to desperation and many times death when facing any health emergency. We were honored to intervene on Mika’s behalf. God moves through simple steps of faith and obedience. Ministering to the poor among us is something the early church grasped. We thank God for answering prayer as patients get urgent help needed or in some cases get answers to unknown suffering by seeing a doctor for the first time.
Her grandmother, a single parent of six children, still works hard and cares for Mika. When Mika came to us she had a fever and was laboring hard to breath. She was admitted to a hospital where she was diagnosed with dyspnea and received oxygen and medication. She has stabilized and is back at home. Thank you Lord!
