Speaking Hope: New Partner: Bongalon Christlike Community

Great re-post from Brett's Blog ...

Henry posing with the beautiful scenery

Last week Henry was able to make a trip south of Manila to a small fishing village and get some hands on experience with our newest partner, Anton. I have actually been seeing Anton around church for quite sometime, maybe even since I first arrived, since before JKKCC was planted, I was attending his home church. After hearing him make a presentation at church, I got up and left the service to talk with him - I new he would a perfect partner. After approaching him and telling him what Impact Philippines is about he was also quite excited. Finally, after about a month and a half of preparation, Henry was able to go and see his ministry.

After sitting down and looking at some pictures of Henry's few days there and chatting about the possibilities, I got very excited. Anton and his wife have done a very good job in ministering to this community. They have built a preschool which doubles as a church, and are working on building livelihood programs. Anton has had a powerful affect on this community, so much so that even local politicians have approached him to be on the board of tourism! I have been deeply inspired by Anton and what they have accomplished, and I believe God brought our ministries together, and I look forward to seeing what will happen!

A comprehensive plan will be laid out in the coming weeks, but for now there are some points to consider and pray about. The long-term prosperity of this community is dependent on the children getting a good education. But there is a huge hindrance - the school is 2km away, and the high school 4km. What makes it worse is that the children don't any food to bring for lunch so they have to walk back for lunch! So for the young ones its 8km of walking a day, and for the high schoolers 16km a day in the heat! It seems clear we need to get this community a way to transport the students to school to ensure everyone is getting there and actually able to function. Please pray that we will be able to raise the necessary funds to get a old jeepny (a jeep with an extended back fitted with two benches) to function as a school bus. Be warned that this has the potential to be a huge blessing or curse. If not done right it could create jealousy and divisions in the community, but I have faith in Anton and also Kuya Henry to prepare them for that kind of responsibility.

Another issue is the terrible poverty. This community makes the informal settlers in the dumpsite look like life in paradise. Earning money is very challenging, and we have to overcome a lot of obstacles for the community to become self sufficient. Urban poor have opportunities to earn money daily, one reason why so many leave the rural areas, but these people have so few options. A sustainable local economy needs to be developed, and that wont be easy, or happen fast. The encouraging thing is that people in the rural settings know how to work hard, are not dragged down with entitlement (feeling the government needs to fix their problems), and are generally much more honest. The potential is huge, the partners are great, and the plans are comprehensive and built on sustainability - I am very excited to get started.

On a personal note I am a little jealous of kuya Henry for being able to get out of the city and get hands on, but I know my time locked up in the library at school is also important. I am learning and growing exponentially right now, and though the papers and memorizing ancient greek vocabulary seems somewhat irrelevant, but I see its value and am trying to enjoy each day and learn as much as I can. Enjoy the pictures: