Hi everyone,
- thank you Zac for your message - it was good to hear from you - but so sorry to hear you had to go to school in the snow and Michael didn't!! Life is so unfair!
Thank you Inge for your verse of scripture, and thasnk you all for your thoughts and words of encouragement
Well, yesterday morning Jen, Mela, Mark(H) and I went back to the 'prison' where we met with 21 boys between 14 and 19. They came in after their lunch and we sang Our God is a Great Big God with actions ten times!! It's a good slimming exercise you should try it!
Then Mark told the story of the Prodigal Son/LOving Father while Wilmer from the home translated - they were a really good double act and the boys seemed to enjoy it.
For the next part, we divided into two groups and Jen and Mela and myself had the wonderful privilege of praying with each boy seperately - sometimes Mela translated what Jen and I prayed , but sometimes she didn't but then it didn't matter, because these boys knew we were there for them and that God was there in our midst and at that moment that was their special time for meeting with GOd. There were a mixture of emotions and feelings flying around from the boys being frightened, sad, worried about their family back home. Some of the boys only had an elderly grandparent who cared about them and maybe visited now and again and some had no-one at all. SOme of the lads had been in a month, some 6 months, some a year, and someone had been detained for 4years and none of these cases had still not been heard!!!! WE shed a few tears that morning I can tell you. There was a feeling of despair amongst the boys
THere's lovely old hymn called
Brother, let me be your servant
Let me be as Christ to you
And that is, I believe, what we are doing, being as Christ to those who need a touch of His love
And we leave the rest to God now and trust He will water the seed that has been sown in that place and believe that Light of Christ will bring hope to those who hsve lost all hope. There are a lovelt couple of young people from Denmark who are staying in Manila after we have returned to the UK and they will be going into the prison and carrying on where we have left off and help establish a weekly meeting for prayer etc>>>> WONDERFUL!!!
God always provides his people to carry on His work...
This morning went out with one of the street evengelists and met a families living in a container parked by the side of the road. The mother was washing her 4 week old baby form a bucket of water and laid him on a towel on the pavement!! She was so tender with him.....it was really moving.
Another young mother told me whe wantesd to come to England
I said (politely) "Don't bother, because there is no work and no money, and you have all the love you need here in your container lorry home!! She said that the sides of the container got so hot in the day time you could put your bread on the walls of the container and it would turn into toast!! In all their poverty, they still maintain a lovely sense of humour. The people from the Kanlungan homes are going to establish a link with them so they will not be without hope!
I feel really chuffed that I have blogged for the first time ever, with encouragement, I have to add , getting their slowly!! not quite into illustrating yet....maybe another time. This had been such an amazing time in every way - I don't think any of us can return the same as when we came out, and that is how it should be. So much food for thought I shall be chewing and digesting for monthts. Thanks again for all your prayerful support and wonderful comments GOd bless you Leta
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Instruments of Love &Grace
Hi all
Hope you are enjoying the lovely snow we hope for some more after we get back so I can sledge with my family. Thank you for praying about the visit back to the detention centre. God did use us all as "instruments of grace."
The afternoon I spend time with Wilmar I realy connect with his heart for the gsoepl and his love for the street children. We worked together preaching, singing songs and doing magic tricks to students who were in the poor area as part of their course and them with the street children. I see the Gospel is shared the same way here. Wilmar is a is an infectious person to be around such love and desire to help, care, teach values and of course bring the children into a relationship with the Lord.
My thought for the day. We are instruments of Grace, we are literaly the Hands of Jesus, oh how we need a pure heart and a willingness to get our hands completey filthy in the Lords service.
My funny of the day
This has to go to ladies on the invasion of the giant cockroachs on the hotel. we had staff with sticks, girls screaming, the men making jokes, Liz jumping up and down on her bed. Much to the amusement of the Filpino hotel staff
love 2 all
Mark H
Hope you are enjoying the lovely snow we hope for some more after we get back so I can sledge with my family. Thank you for praying about the visit back to the detention centre. God did use us all as "instruments of grace."
We met 20 boys who do not get families to see them, we sang a some with them our God is great big God. Wilmar( one of the Kanlugan team) asked my to tel the story of the lost son which we did together with dramatic hug at the end. We then split into groups and asked the boys to relate the story to their life to help them to talk. Wilmar shared the Gospel with them, and asked me to lead a prayer of repentance with the boys as they wanted to commit their lives to Jesus. The boys them just sat with ate some cookies and coloured in the picture book story of the lost son! I could believe the sight of these tough 14-18 yr boys, sat coluring as little children. We all prayed together. especially that God has not forgotton these boys. We need to really pray that the system can be changed so the backlog of cases can heard and they can get fair and humane treatment.
The afternoon I spend time with Wilmar I realy connect with his heart for the gsoepl and his love for the street children. We worked together preaching, singing songs and doing magic tricks to students who were in the poor area as part of their course and them with the street children. I see the Gospel is shared the same way here. Wilmar is a is an infectious person to be around such love and desire to help, care, teach values and of course bring the children into a relationship with the Lord.
My thought for the day. We are instruments of Grace, we are literaly the Hands of Jesus, oh how we need a pure heart and a willingness to get our hands completey filthy in the Lords service.
My funny of the day
This has to go to ladies on the invasion of the giant cockroachs on the hotel. we had staff with sticks, girls screaming, the men making jokes, Liz jumping up and down on her bed. Much to the amusement of the Filpino hotel staff
love 2 all
Mark H
Lou's back
Hi Everyone,
Hope you are all enjoying the snow. We have been telling everyone about it here. Some say "i wish it snowed" as most have never experienced snow. i'm still enjoying the sunshine :-) my skin is still recovering from the swimming pool sunburn. please pray for emily as she is flying back and starts her journey in about 3 hours. I have had an amazing day with malcom and emily, we went back to one of the places we previously visited. it was so so so so nice to have the day with the children. We went to visit a school but then just hung around the centre. It was so nice. The children were children, when i am with them it is so easy to forget they have nearly nothing and live in absoulute poverty. Thier little faces they are just so amazing and so are the people who work with them. I have to confess i had my first public cry today and i didn't think i was going to stop my eyes just kept leaking :-) ops it was after reading something malcom showed me i will have to show you all a copy at some point. It's all about the difference just one can make. Thats the biggest inner struggle here, There is just so much need. You all know me, i have no money to give...bless you all and thanks again for supporting me to come out here it's meant so much to me! So, unable to give much you are just left with this huge burden to do something but left with the question what is it I can do? Anyways after my blub we went and treated the children to some brownies which sounds silly but Kathy one of the workers says she sees the children walking past this store looking at the cakes. How many of us would just buy them but some of these children would long for a treat like that. I loved being able to give them something to enjoy it was great. Best of all was the games we played with them and the beading and braclets we sat and made. The rest of the team sounded like they had amazing days as well. Thank you all so much for your prayers. God has blessed us so much. They know how to celebrate birthdays out here! Never again will i sing the boring version of happy birthday. Love to you all, keep warm.
Hope you are all enjoying the snow. We have been telling everyone about it here. Some say "i wish it snowed" as most have never experienced snow. i'm still enjoying the sunshine :-) my skin is still recovering from the swimming pool sunburn. please pray for emily as she is flying back and starts her journey in about 3 hours. I have had an amazing day with malcom and emily, we went back to one of the places we previously visited. it was so so so so nice to have the day with the children. We went to visit a school but then just hung around the centre. It was so nice. The children were children, when i am with them it is so easy to forget they have nearly nothing and live in absoulute poverty. Thier little faces they are just so amazing and so are the people who work with them. I have to confess i had my first public cry today and i didn't think i was going to stop my eyes just kept leaking :-) ops it was after reading something malcom showed me i will have to show you all a copy at some point. It's all about the difference just one can make. Thats the biggest inner struggle here, There is just so much need. You all know me, i have no money to give...bless you all and thanks again for supporting me to come out here it's meant so much to me! So, unable to give much you are just left with this huge burden to do something but left with the question what is it I can do? Anyways after my blub we went and treated the children to some brownies which sounds silly but Kathy one of the workers says she sees the children walking past this store looking at the cakes. How many of us would just buy them but some of these children would long for a treat like that. I loved being able to give them something to enjoy it was great. Best of all was the games we played with them and the beading and braclets we sat and made. The rest of the team sounded like they had amazing days as well. Thank you all so much for your prayers. God has blessed us so much. They know how to celebrate birthdays out here! Never again will i sing the boring version of happy birthday. Love to you all, keep warm.
Monday, February 2, 2009
more news from lola Leta
After the experience last Wednesday, of seeing young boys living in the detention centre like something out of a Dickensian novel , I felt moved to write down the images left in my mind
These are the forgotten boys,
Living their dark lives in dark cells
Dreaming of freedom
But freedom never comes
Hands stretching out through bars
For one brief moment, hoping to
Touch, to feel, to grasp
Another's hand.
In that brief touch
A spark of love is passed from
One to another
No words are needed
Eyes and hearts say it all..........
(Tomorrow, Tuesday, Jen and Mela and myself are going back ti the detention centre to pray with some of the young boys. Please pray for us and for the boys we shall be meeting, that God will be so presen t and that lives will be touched . These will be boys who have no family at all.
Such a privilege to do this and wonderful that a door has been opened for us to go in!)
the day following the detention centre visit We had a totally different experience when we went to the boys farm 2 hours drive away. It was a Garden of Eden experience. It was a lush plantation. As we arrived there was a young man up a tree about 70 metres high cutting fresh coconuts, the juice of which we drank! Most refreshing - not like coconut milk - it was watery, but very pleasant. We had a walk through the plantation and it is great that the boys have the responsibility of maintaining the plantation - when you realise that these boys were at one time living on the streets of Manila, and through the love and care of the Kanlungan homes , now have the resposibility for caring for God's creation, learning a trade and helping to make a living We then had a time of worship and then we each prayed for one of the boys.
Saturday was a lovely refreshing day when we went for a swim or in some cases, a splash with about 100 Kalungan children. Some very red faces afterwards as we hadn't realised the sun was as hot as it was!! Had a lovely picnic and then a time of worship in the park where the pool was. WE stood around in a circle - a big one, and one of the children chose someone to pray and then we start. I just LOVE this - the children just explode in their praise. We never have any words written, no music to play from, just someone on the guitar , me on the flute and we just go for it!!!! Very liberating. I have never witnessed praise like it. Heavenly
One of the things God is showing me (amongst many others) is just how much prayer is such a part of these childrens' lives and how much they place their trust in GOd's provision. Also that though they have so little they give out so much, content in whatever state they are in! One little boy promised to pray every day for me for something particular, and Sol said that he would do just that.......if he said he would, then he would - isn't that just wonderful?
One just stands back at the open heartedness and generosity of everyone in the Kalungan work
We had a wonderful afternoon today when we celebrated Liz' birthday(Mark's sister) She was showered with flowers and presents from the children and had to dance with every child!! Then it was our turn!! Mark (Herd) and myself trying to perform a cha-cha together was a sight to behold!! At the end, Liz was invited to sit on a chair in the centre of the room and everyone prayed out loud for her. So moving to hear children just praying with no inhibitions from children aged 7 - 16 years of age. I think we were all overcome somewhat. They have a lovely way of clapping after someone has prayed! Interesting to try that out at St John's!!!!
Will finish for the moment - be in touch soon Love Leta Thanks for your prayers and support it means so much!
These are the forgotten boys,
Living their dark lives in dark cells
Dreaming of freedom
But freedom never comes
Hands stretching out through bars
For one brief moment, hoping to
Touch, to feel, to grasp
Another's hand.
In that brief touch
A spark of love is passed from
One to another
No words are needed
Eyes and hearts say it all..........
(Tomorrow, Tuesday, Jen and Mela and myself are going back ti the detention centre to pray with some of the young boys. Please pray for us and for the boys we shall be meeting, that God will be so presen t and that lives will be touched . These will be boys who have no family at all.
Such a privilege to do this and wonderful that a door has been opened for us to go in!)
the day following the detention centre visit We had a totally different experience when we went to the boys farm 2 hours drive away. It was a Garden of Eden experience. It was a lush plantation. As we arrived there was a young man up a tree about 70 metres high cutting fresh coconuts, the juice of which we drank! Most refreshing - not like coconut milk - it was watery, but very pleasant. We had a walk through the plantation and it is great that the boys have the responsibility of maintaining the plantation - when you realise that these boys were at one time living on the streets of Manila, and through the love and care of the Kanlungan homes , now have the resposibility for caring for God's creation, learning a trade and helping to make a living We then had a time of worship and then we each prayed for one of the boys.
Saturday was a lovely refreshing day when we went for a swim or in some cases, a splash with about 100 Kalungan children. Some very red faces afterwards as we hadn't realised the sun was as hot as it was!! Had a lovely picnic and then a time of worship in the park where the pool was. WE stood around in a circle - a big one, and one of the children chose someone to pray and then we start. I just LOVE this - the children just explode in their praise. We never have any words written, no music to play from, just someone on the guitar , me on the flute and we just go for it!!!! Very liberating. I have never witnessed praise like it. Heavenly
One of the things God is showing me (amongst many others) is just how much prayer is such a part of these childrens' lives and how much they place their trust in GOd's provision. Also that though they have so little they give out so much, content in whatever state they are in! One little boy promised to pray every day for me for something particular, and Sol said that he would do just that.......if he said he would, then he would - isn't that just wonderful?
One just stands back at the open heartedness and generosity of everyone in the Kalungan work
We had a wonderful afternoon today when we celebrated Liz' birthday(Mark's sister) She was showered with flowers and presents from the children and had to dance with every child!! Then it was our turn!! Mark (Herd) and myself trying to perform a cha-cha together was a sight to behold!! At the end, Liz was invited to sit on a chair in the centre of the room and everyone prayed out loud for her. So moving to hear children just praying with no inhibitions from children aged 7 - 16 years of age. I think we were all overcome somewhat. They have a lovely way of clapping after someone has prayed! Interesting to try that out at St John's!!!!
Will finish for the moment - be in touch soon Love Leta Thanks for your prayers and support it means so much!
Jen's Monday news
Well I go from one extreme to the other! What ever is happening it seems to be part of God's learning curve for us. Having felt last week that visiting the young boys about 200 and the girls, about 16, in the detention centre, was the worst experience, the hardest, I now find myself ready to go back tomorrow.
We were given the option to visit somewhere that we had been to for the second time. Overnight I moved from thinking I didn't ever want to experience such a thing face to face, to looking forward to going with Leta, Ian, Mark H and Mela. Leta and Mela and myself are drawn there to pray with the boys. Please pray tonight for us.
This afternoon we went back to the Malate centre to be with the children. It was Liz's birthday today(mark's sister). The party they had arranged was phenomenal! Such abundance of giving, it was overwhelming, wonderful fun, singing and dancing. No doubt you'll hear lots about it.
This will take a lot of digesting, but I can't rush it. Fred has told me that one of our two lovely dogs has had a stroke,s o I am concerned too about home. On Tuesday Fred is at a funeral of a very old friend from childhood and I wish I was with him, so please hold him up in your prayers too.
Love from Jen
We were given the option to visit somewhere that we had been to for the second time. Overnight I moved from thinking I didn't ever want to experience such a thing face to face, to looking forward to going with Leta, Ian, Mark H and Mela. Leta and Mela and myself are drawn there to pray with the boys. Please pray tonight for us.
This afternoon we went back to the Malate centre to be with the children. It was Liz's birthday today(mark's sister). The party they had arranged was phenomenal! Such abundance of giving, it was overwhelming, wonderful fun, singing and dancing. No doubt you'll hear lots about it.
This will take a lot of digesting, but I can't rush it. Fred has told me that one of our two lovely dogs has had a stroke,s o I am concerned too about home. On Tuesday Fred is at a funeral of a very old friend from childhood and I wish I was with him, so please hold him up in your prayers too.
Love from Jen
Take up your cross and follow me
Hi to all
Thank you for your comments and prayers. Sunday and today have been great days as we begin to go deeper both in knowing the people, and the situations that they work in. One of the things that stands out in kanlugan is the staff's passionate love and commitment to the children and street families of the city, their love for one another and their love for the Lord above all. I understood the verse about taking up the cross and forsaking everything else and following Jesus, in our culture I don't fully appreciate the depth of what that means, here this is how the Kanlugan team lives. It is truely inspiring I am jealous of the simple lifestyle and being so fully committed to the Lord and his kingdom. Our lives are full of so much that we have do like paying the bills etc. Being here enables you to understand these principles in a much deeper way. A priviligde to witness the Lords work in a different place. I long to work these principles more in our context. What does it mean for to go deeper and take up our cross and follow Jesus. Alot of the staff live together in the homes, sharing rooms, meals and their whole life with the children.
a few of us are going back to the dentention centre for boys tomorrow, to visit and interact some that don't have family visits, take reading materials, soap, toothpaste and spend time praying for them.
Despite vowing to not eat more local food I have failed after 2 awesome meals at the Malate centre, I am praying that Jane does not cook Thai, chinese rice or fish for my welcome home meal. I would hate to offend lol.
Truely inspired
Mark H
Thank you for your comments and prayers. Sunday and today have been great days as we begin to go deeper both in knowing the people, and the situations that they work in. One of the things that stands out in kanlugan is the staff's passionate love and commitment to the children and street families of the city, their love for one another and their love for the Lord above all. I understood the verse about taking up the cross and forsaking everything else and following Jesus, in our culture I don't fully appreciate the depth of what that means, here this is how the Kanlugan team lives. It is truely inspiring I am jealous of the simple lifestyle and being so fully committed to the Lord and his kingdom. Our lives are full of so much that we have do like paying the bills etc. Being here enables you to understand these principles in a much deeper way. A priviligde to witness the Lords work in a different place. I long to work these principles more in our context. What does it mean for to go deeper and take up our cross and follow Jesus. Alot of the staff live together in the homes, sharing rooms, meals and their whole life with the children.
a few of us are going back to the dentention centre for boys tomorrow, to visit and interact some that don't have family visits, take reading materials, soap, toothpaste and spend time praying for them.
Despite vowing to not eat more local food I have failed after 2 awesome meals at the Malate centre, I am praying that Jane does not cook Thai, chinese rice or fish for my welcome home meal. I would hate to offend lol.
Truely inspired
Mark H
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Sunday
Hi All
Not so much to report today ... Church this morning - the 'Cathedral of Praise' and then sightseeing this afternoon with Ate Sol, Kuya Willy, Ate Joy, Ate Marika and Kuya Leto.
Then Pizza and a trip to a folk-bar run by a man we met selling Bonsai trees on our tour this afternoon! Great thing is, when Ate Sol was talking to him in the bar he agreed to come and do some landscaping at the new house and at the farm. God is good - ALL THE TIME!!!!!!
Tomorrow we are going to the Malate Centre which will be great as we've only been there once so far. Going to be joining the staff for their first devotion time in the new house - what a priveledge!
Thanks again for all your prayers and support back home - please remember our families as well, if you haven't done so yet it would be great if you could give them a call - I know they would appreciate it.
Thanks again
MarkA
Not so much to report today ... Church this morning - the 'Cathedral of Praise' and then sightseeing this afternoon with Ate Sol, Kuya Willy, Ate Joy, Ate Marika and Kuya Leto.
Then Pizza and a trip to a folk-bar run by a man we met selling Bonsai trees on our tour this afternoon! Great thing is, when Ate Sol was talking to him in the bar he agreed to come and do some landscaping at the new house and at the farm. God is good - ALL THE TIME!!!!!!
Tomorrow we are going to the Malate Centre which will be great as we've only been there once so far. Going to be joining the staff for their first devotion time in the new house - what a priveledge!
Thanks again for all your prayers and support back home - please remember our families as well, if you haven't done so yet it would be great if you could give them a call - I know they would appreciate it.
Thanks again
MarkA
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