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Posted in General Articles by Amy Morris on 2/5/2008
LIFE itself is FULL of all kinds of adventures, they of course don't end after this past year. So, I want to continue to share them with you, as well as hear of what is going on in your life. After all the blogging this past year, and since I've come to grips that this is a technological world, I've decided to keep the blogs going...though likely at a slower pace.
My new blog site is: http://amyemorris.blogspot.com if you'd like to check it out!!!
Blessings in your journey!!
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Posted in General Articles by Amy Morris on 11/18/2007
Leah and I share a tearful moment thinking of saying goodbye...
Wow- it felt good to be clean and dressed up!! Everyone looked amazing for our "until we meet again" banquet!
Our last time together as WR07 team (after a tearful but sweet goodbye, Lynette left with her family who came to visit in HK).
The beautiful thing is that I KNOW I will see these precious faces again! We have spent 324 days 24/7 together, and our hearts have been knit together through the many joys, laughter, struggles, tears, experiences, growth, challenges, revelations! We're in the ultimate race together for the long run, though each of our journeys will take different twists, we have the same vision and Father who will keep us united forever and ever! I love you all SO much!!! I couldn't have asked for a better team! You are each so precious to me!
Final group family photo- World Race Team 2007
Thank you SO much all of my family, friends, supporters for all of your prayers and encouragement! I would not have been able to do this without you! This has been an INCREDIBLE year! The Lord asked me to embark on this journey to see more of His heart for all the world and for me!! It has been the most amazing year of my life thus far!! I will try to post more on things I have learned, where I'm at now and summarize what I can for you at a later date! :) Our flight leaves for USA in less than 24 hrs... what my "ministry" will look like coming back home, to a country that desperately needs to encounter Jesus in a real way just as much as any other country, I do not yet know or for how long I will remain there. For all I have seen and been blessed to experience and entrusted with this year, I know I am now held accountable for and gladly offer up my life to my loving Father for wherever and whatever He has next!!
This race may have come to an end, but it is only one leg of the race of life which I am so excited to keep running...
Acts 20:24 "But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God!"
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Posted in General Articles by Amy Morris on 11/17/2007
Back from the mainland for a few days now, and we have been debriefing in Hong Kong. I have so much to share and have been wanting to get a blog up, but spending every moment I can with my world race family has been my priority. So, I am excited to share so SO much more with you when I return to the states in now a matter of hours!
I will give you just a little overview on China, as we are limited in what we can put up online as far as photos and details...but I would love to share more with you in person! :)
Sleeper train in to mainland China!!
Fun times! :)
 "Cultural Exchange Students" at a college
China is one populated country, home to around 1.3 billion people (almost 25% of the world's population), in comparison with the @ 350 million in America.
China is a
closed country to the Gospel, however, the government has approved a
governmental church which is allowed to operate passively in plain
sight. They are highly regulated, however, and
are forbidden to preach certain doctrines that might be threatening to
the peace of the country. Aggressive evangelism is illegal, especially for foreigners. Secret police are assigned to tail groups that appear suspicious. That
being said, it was a danger to our "friends" in mainland China for us
to stay in any location for longer than a couple weeks or to travel in
large groups. We were asked to stagger our entry
into the country to mask the fact that fifty people were coming in so
crossing the boarder took several hours.
It was fun being a student again (for just 2 hrs/day, with no tests or homework!!)- my favorite classes were tea art and calligraphy!
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Due to the crowding, we encountered much smog and pollution from both the many vehicles and the cultural norm of most men smoking (everywhere- vehicles, in buildings, trains, etc.)! Loud, hawking spitting is another cultural norm...this actually was convenient since we all got colds our first week in mainland due in part to the cold weather and heavy pollution. Even in the hospital, I was shocked to find the doctors smoking as they were talking to their patients with respiratory illnesses! Sanitation- not really a priority here as evidenced by the squatties. Below won the worst smelling, but the most memorable squatties were out in the villages where you were always kept company by the big hog next to you- one time I had a hog jump up on the wall within inches of my head! "Is this even real!?" has been a frequent question I've asked myself all year! :) Talking about sanitation- on our 12 day backpacking trip, we went 10 of those in the same clothes and without showers! Considering mountain women only shower once every 2-3 months because, well, I don't really know why (other than it's freezing cold and you have to boil the water and there's not such a thing as a "shower room"). This made for a lighter pack since we didn't have to pack extra clothes! :)
The Chinese are very curious people and personal space is of little consequence. Being a foreigner made us the center of attention almost everywhere. Our
pictures were requested constantly and even those without cameras would
stare at us for minutes on end before carrying on with their business. On our train ride, we turned to find a Chinese couple in the next train over taking our picture and waving at us! Our
knowledge of English was the best inroad to the country as it is a
coveted language for the Chinese (English is the language of
business and thus the language of money). Students and businessmen alike would come up to practice their English with us so small talk became a norm for our conversation.
The harvest here is so ripe! Literally, the soil is very fertile and produces healthy and rich produce all over, which was a reminder and evidence to us of the spiritual climate that is changing as the ground is faithfully plowed!
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Amazing food!! We ate a lot of hot pots (big center boiling pot you through everything in)- these also served the dual purpose of a center space heater!! I got to try chestnuts roasted o're an open fire, tofu prepared in many ways (including stinky tofu- that made me gag!), chicken feet, bees and bee larvae (ya, that was odd- we saw them preparing this one!), frog legs, pig fat (no meat, just fried fat- can't get much healthier than that one! But when they have so little, this provides for filling the belly quite well), lots and lots of rice (as in almost every country all year), many colorful vegees, dumplings (yummy!! one of my favorites!), and much more. We became quite good at using chopsticks as we would go quite hungry without this skill! This of course makes sense, but I was surprised to see even the little ones using them so easily!
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This gives a whole new meaning to flame-grilled!!
Our purpose in China was to "learn about Chinese culture and meet Chinese people." We
were forbidden to use certain words that would betray our intentions
while in everyday conversation and absolutely in any communication
venues such as phone calls and e-mail. For the
sake of perspective, the Chinese government has over a million
employees whose sole responsibility is to monitor all e-mail
communication. While the worst case scenario for
us as foreigners would be to be escorted out of our city or potentially
the country, our errors in these areas have the more devastating
consequences of exposing or threatening the operation of our "friends"
in the interior.
We got to backpack a little bit, and travel to a few villages to visit people in their homes. One of my most memorable visits was to this lady, with whom we got to sing, talk with our Father about and just sit around her fire...not able to communicate with her in a language she understood with her ears...but her heart was moved!
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Our time in mainland ended with a journey north to Beijing and...
The Great Wall!!!
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Mal, Steph and I
We took an "off the beaten path" tour, so we saw the wall in it's original form without any of the remodeling that is done in all of the tourist areas. This was the ONLY place in China that we were ever alone, it was amazing when we realized that we were not being crowded, pushed, stared at, or surrounded by the many people! We even got to "help build" a section! :)
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The whole country is getting ready and counting down for the Olympics!!
Back to Hong Kong for debrief- first night back we got to see the famous light show!
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Posted in General Articles by Amy Morris on 10/10/2007
The Lord did far more than we asked for or imagined in the Philippines as we were on a mission to find contacts for future teams. It seemed like each contact we had multiplied into many more contacts, each ministry ended up being multifaceted, and one contact would connect us with yet another one...it was incredible! The Lord showed us that in the midst of all the poverty, crowds of people and seeming chaos, He has many of His children in place there and at work... and because of these obedient children, there are some really awesome ministries going on and many lives being reached! We have way more contacts and places crying out for help than we have teams to send at this point, but the dream is big (for many more teams to come through), and we know none of the contacts we made were without purpose!
Little Filipino plug: If anyone feels a tug on their heart to come over here to serve, we have all the info to get you connected! :)
We met some of the Sept racers today in Thailand, and it was such a strange feeling...like a senior about ready to leave and surrounded by a bunch of freshman who are eager to pick things up and run- I am SO excited for them and love that this thing will just continue on...and that each team is basically discipled by the previous teams and we get to help lift them up even higher than we were and help them to get off to a further ahead start. It's wonderful!! Some relationships that we were able to build over this last year will be continued and supported by these racers who follow. It reminds me of Heb 12:1 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." We've all got this "great cloud of witnesses" that has gone before us, marking out the way as an example to us, to both learn from and be encouraged by as we follow on whatever path God has for us!
As we head into our final month, I will be MIA. Our final leg of the race is to China and we won't be able to get on the internet at all while we are there. As most of you know, China is a closed country and it's illegal to preach the gospel so we're going in as students- if they find out we are Christians, we get kicked out, but for our contacts it could be deadly. So, we're not taking any risks with blogging or even emailing. Once we get into Hong Kong on Nov 11 we'll be able to once again communicate via internet. If you want to contact me over this next month, please be aware that I won't get to read or respond until Nov 11. Please in your emails, don't mention words such as God, Bible, World Race, etc...even Olympics... as the gov't scans internet sites and emails, and will be hypersensitive to any of these types of words. Again, this is out of respect for our contacts and their ministry as well as their safety!
Please be in prayer for spiritual discernment, wisdom, God's protection, boldness, favor, continued health, etc.
I am SO excited about what this next month has in store!! Last stat I heard were 111 million Christians in China - all underground and all risking their lives for Christ! Wondering what we're doing in China? Me too!! :) It's all being kept very quiet until we arrive in C. All I know is my team (Scott, Linnea, Rusty, Lynette, Alissa, Leah and myself) is getting to end real "hard core," which I am SO pumped about and was really hoping for!!! We're the "backpacking" team, which, yes, we've done all year, but it slipped that we'll be going out to some remote villages!! I am super excited!!! And, if you're wondering, we'll also get to see the Great Wall - woohoo!! (at the very end we are all 50 meeting up in Bejing before Hong Kong- where we'll have our final debrief)! :)
As we are about to head in to our last country of the race, I have mixed feelings. It has been the most incredible year of my life thus far!! I have loved every (almost) minute of it and don't want this incredible experience to end, yet at the same time I am also so excited to spend solid time with my family and friends back in the states- excited to connect and all share in person what has been going on in our lives over this past year! I don't know for sure what comes next after all this, but that's ok- God knows! :) He just keeps saying to be patient and wait, take one day at a time, and rest in the fact that He doesn't operate on the same "timetable" as I do. I want to hit the ground running upon returning (at least by Jan), but I know He is telling me to chill out and be patient! Ahh- that's so hard for me sometimes! After this incredible year, I feel like what in the world next??? I'll go anywhere and do anything, God!! Yet, He reminds me that there's a reason that there is still one country left- because He has more in store for this race and He's not finished with us yet! So, I am not focusing on what is to come after all this (well, I'm trying not to focus on that) and instead to be fully here- I don't want to miss out on one single thing He has planned for us! I don't want to jip any of the people we will meet of any part of me I can offer to them- any hope, encouragement, faith, love, joy, etc. AND I don't want to miss out on all I have to learn from them!
This has been the best year of my life, but as my friend Herb said, "the best is yet to come!" :) That's the beautiful thing...every day with the Lord is truly sweeter than the day before!! And HIS plans for us are always far greater than all we can hope for or imagine!! Each and every day is a blessing from our Father- REJOICE in the gift of each one!! Love you all so much! Thanks SO SO much for all your prayers, support, encouragement!!
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Posted in General Articles by Amy Morris on 10/6/2007
Observations:
Karaoke is a favorite Asian pastime, and can be found everywhere - even bus rides!
Not a bandit...Masks and handkerchiefs are carried around to serve as filters from the heavy fumes and pollution 
Craziest driving we've seen yet- few road signals and everyones makes their own "lanes" -
we even had cab drivers decide to use the sidewalks and go against oncoming traffic to avoid the lines of traffic on our side of the road! This was a little frightening, but I also kinda felt like I was in a crazy racecar game!
A "yes" is answered with an eyebrow raise and lips are used to point directions
2 most commonly found fast food places: Jolibee (spin off McDs) and Chowking
Balut!! 14-21 day old egg-a traditional Filipino dish...ya, I'll try everything once
(look close and you can see the feathers!!) |
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| Or a plate... Asian style lunch- on a banana leaf in a bamboo hut! |
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| the famous Lechon (spelling?) aka Pig roast!! |
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| McD's- same name, different menu!! RICE burgers!! |
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| yum- the joy of McD's ice cream! |
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Jeepneys!! Decked out post-WW2 (mostly refabricated by this point) jeeps enlarged and stuffed with people to be the most common form of public transportation
| horse n carriage |
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Posted in General Articles by Amy Morris on 10/2/2007
"Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." Luke 14:13-14
He had seen many street children before, as there are 1000's and 1000's of them throughout Manila. One day something was different- as he was approached by two of them, something stirred in his spirit that he could not ignore. He could no longer let any child who came to him in need leave unfilled or untouched. With only 50 cents in his pocket, he bought them bread and soda, and assured them that from that day on they would never go hungry again. These 2 kids told other kids about this man, Jo Dean, and before long the number of street kids coming with needs sky-rocketed. Now, 8 years since that day, He Cares Street Children Caring Center cares for more than 300 street children in the hope of making a difference in their lives.
| He Cares Foundation and Jo Dean |
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Jo Dean, having a family of his own, didn't know where the resources would come from, but he knew that God had placed the love for these children in his heart and God promises in His Word that there is always enough for those who trust in Him. Every mouth has always been fed- God never fails!
He Cares also has a house for orphaned boys, where they are taken in and raised within a family structure. A house for girls is in the plans, just waiting for the staff and resources. Part of the vision is helping to restore families, so mothers are invited to get involved in the livelihood program by making crafts and learning skills to earn an income. 100's of children have been given aid to attend school and are encouraged to return home. Discipleship, counseling and Bible studies are all offered for the whole family.
The needs throughout the world ARE overwhelming if we look at them as a whole, but when you see one life at a time, you realize that you CAN make a difference! So, I want to give you the opportunity to share the little joys of life, little things you normally take for granted to make a difference in one life at a time...
a Big Mac Meal means 5 kilos of rice to feed 35 children
a can of coke will buy rice for 7 hungry children
2 movie tickets means 2 kilos of pork for the protein their bodies badly need
If you want to make a difference in the lives of some of these children, contact Jo Dean Sola at hecaresfoundation@gmail.com or check out the website at http://clik.to/hecares
"What you do to the least of your brethren, you do unto Me." - Jesus
Against all odds, these adorable twin boys were brought in to this world by their loving Father for a great purpose! He is the giver of life, and despite 26 abortion attempts by their young mother, He had another plan. Jacob and Daniel were born preemies, weighing only 2 lbs each! There mother refused to believe she would give birth up until the time they were born! God sent a doctor across her path while she was in labor to help with the delivery, and now missionaries Jeff and Coleen Long are caring for them until a Filipino couple to adopt them is found. They are healthy and now at 2 mos weighing 7 and 8 lbs. Precious, strong fighters! These 2 get as much love as any baby ever has, there are constantly arms to hold and care for them. It brought so much joy to me as I got to watch them for a few hrs and just stare at their tiny little faces- I don't know if there is anything more astounding and awe-inspiring than a precious little one- each a miracle and gift from God!!
As I walked down the street after church this past Sunday, children were coming out of their homes and stopped playing to watch us as we passed. We had plates with some pork from the roast after church. I couldn't pass them by; I praised God that I had something in my hands to offer them! As I broke the pork in pieces and passed it out, they were so excited to fill their hungry tummies! It didn't matter whether the piece had much meat on it or was all fat, it was just the same to them- food to help squelch the hunger! I didn't care at all about getting to eat the yummy meat- it was so much more filling to watch them enjoy it! :)
I believe this type of ministry (with orphans and/or street children) will be a significant part of my life because I can't ignore the many voices crying out for love, food, touch, bandaging, shelter, healing, and freedom. I'm not sure what country it will be in or how exactly it will look, but I do see this as a type of future ministry I will be part of!
"Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?" And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."
Mt 25:37-40
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Posted in General Articles by Amy Morris on 9/26/2007
We stepped off the plane on to a small runway, we had come to a stop just 20 yds before the strip turned back in to field- one airstrip in the middle of fields, trees and shacks, a large group of locals stand at the fence watching us land. Flights come in and out only 4 times/week, so it's still a novelty to watch the planes...I realize many probably have never been on a plane and wonder what it would be like, they stare probably wondering who these people are who come on and off their island.
Mindanao island is inhabited by many Muslims and Catholics (primary religion in Philippines). Rebel groups have for years (and continue to this day) wiped out villages and their own people. The gov't is very corrupt and we were told that this year already 38 people have been murdered t/o the Philippines for running against the current gov't leaders. It's a democracy, but votes are skewed and people are paid off (desperate for money) to vote in favor of more corrupt leaders. Ozamiz City is the drug and gang capital of the Philippines, with lots of murders and prostitution going on here as well. 4 terrorists from 9/11 were trained here by Muslim extremists. We are hit once again with great poverty, slums, and the effects of it all- hearing once again the ongoing theme t/o the world of a huge missing link- fathers! We have seen so much sexual confusion here in Asia (though I know it's a worldwide problem)...prostitution abounds, human trafficking, homosexuals, transvestites, etc. All of it stemming back to 1- not knowing their heavenly Father and their identity in Him 2- not having earthly fathers to teach them who they are. Pray for men to walk in who they were created to be and for this generation to put an end to the fatherlessness and all of the confusion that causes.
As we drive away from the airport, I'm in awe of the beautiful mountains, lush green land, palm trees, and some of the most warm and welcoming people. The ministry we (Rusty, Lynette and I) are here with is "The Sanctuary" and ATWOC (All The World Outreach Church). Tommy Smith and his wife Ging, along with all the staff here, are incredible! They welcomed us at the airport with corsages and warm greetings! We are staying on a compound along with all the staff and Bible school students. Our first night here we were able to attend the youth meeting where we had an awesome time of worship and praise with the young people, who are just in love with Jesus! This ministry has planted 1600 churches on the island (ya, it's a big island- 2nd in size to Luzon, where Manila is).
There are outreaches to the children (and parents who come as well) 6
days a week. It's like a big party! We had so much fun participating as
the Bible students led games, praise songs, gave out prizes, etc. I had the
privilege of sharing with the kids about trust. As I thought later
about one of the analogies the Lord had given me to share, I realized
just how much I needed to hear and reflect on what had come out of my own mouth.
Prov. 3:5 ~ Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.
I remember as a little girl many times jumping in to my father's arms,
some times from great heights and some times little ones. In the
beginning it was harder to jump because I thought about what would
happen if I fell, I would look around and see the hard ground or
whatever I would land on, realizing falling would hurt. Looking in to
my daddy's eyes, however, and at his arms outstretched, I knew he would
catch me. I knew that he loved me and would not let me fall. So, I
would take the jump and laugh as he would catch me and swing me around.
Then, having taken that first jump I would say "More, daddy!" "Catch me
again!" The first jump was the hardest, but once I knew I was safe, I
enjoyed the thrill of jumping and flying through the air for a brief
second before being caught safely below.
I had a young girl
illustrate this for us and jump in to Rusty's arms, and thought about
how beautiful of a picture this is of trusting our heavenly Father! He
doesn't stand behind us and force us to jump, we have to believe that
He really will catch us and have to trust that He won't let us fall. We
have to take the step, but He is always there to catch us. Once we
learn that He really will catch us, jumping becomes much easier- even
fun- because we know that as we jump, we get to land in His arms and
experience both the thrill and warmth that comes after the trust jump,
as He swings us around, proud of our jump and holds us close in delight!
As Rusty said about the Bible students, "These kids come from all over the island. And while Ozamiz City might
be safe, the rest of this island ain't. Most of these students have
Muslims in their families or came from Muslim communities. And yet
their love for Jesus is unwavering. The faith and trust of the students
has grown my faith and trust in the Lord more than you'll ever know.
These young warriors are following Christ NO MATTER THE COST. And they
do it with such passion, such hunger. Again, they do it in a place
where it's VERY dangerous to be a Christian. These people know about
the darkness that's in the mountains, they've seen it, they've lived in
it - yet the young men and women continue to follow hard after Him. "
The Love of Christ!! Words honestly can't even described the love of this group of young people! Their love for us was unconditional and immediate, from the moment we met them they would speak encouraging words of life over us! Their hunger for more of the Lord and the joy that radiated from them was so beautiful! They awakened us our last morning at 515am with a serenade (traditional Filipino farewell) of worship to the Lord, then they had a time to share with us encouragement and to pray over us! Wow! I was SO touched by their love and genuineness! Being there for only a few days, I know I had the wrong mindset and that I didn't give them as much time and love as I could have and really wish I would have. I felt so undeserving of all of their love and kind words (knowing they had given so much more than I had), but the Lord used that to speak to me about how deep and unconditional and pure His love is for us even though we don't deserve it! They taught me more in those few days then they will ever know!
As the Lord continues to draw me to Himself and give me more of His heart and mind, I realize how much I still need to die to myself! This year is revealing to me more selfishness than I realized was in me, and how much I need to continue to surrender...EVERY day...every thought, every desire, every motive, every word...EVERYthing to Him. It's a continual decision! I remember during our training a year ago, we were told that just when we'd think we had surrendered everything we possibly could, the Lord would pull back yet another layer of selfishness that we had never before seen or would show us another area we had not yet fully surrendered. I have found this to be so true! He is such a GOOD God and His love for us I really can't even fathom! I love that He is ever transforming us and molding us in to the beautiful creations He designed us to be- in to more of His image!
| Ozamiz City Sunset |
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2 more photos- Lynette and I got to swim with the dolphins one afternoon! I couldn't even believe it! I am reminded by God every single day of how amazing life is- He shows me in both small and big ways how precious each day is. I have asked myself many times this year, "Is this for real!?" Every day is a gift from God and I will rejoice and be glad in it!!
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Posted in General Articles by Amy Morris on 9/20/2007
Swimming in a volcano!?! Is it possible? Yes, it's true!! Taal Volcano- there's land in water in land in water in land- I don't know if there's anything else like it in the world??
We've been really busy meeting with contacts for future teams coming here to the Philippines, and also getting to check out debrief sites (as we did today). I like Josh's point- anyway we look at it, the debrief will be on an island!! :)
| our boat to Taal volcano |
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one of the volcanic islands (not Taal, but it made a prettier picture)- all the surrounding little islands are formed from volcanic eruptions
Last eruption was 1965...we saw some smoke rising in a few places as we were swimming, but don't worry mom & dad, it was perfectly safe! :)
 | view from our hike up Taal Volcano
| Crater Lake swimming- in the center of the volcano...we smelled like sulfur and the water was like a hot spring (on the other side where you can see some smoke rising, we were told the water was actually boiling) Crazy, ya, but once in a lifetime chance to swim in the center of a volcano!! |
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THEN...
As if Josh and I hadn't had enough adventure for one day, we took a few jeepneys in search of this amazing waterfall we'd heard about...and found that the only way back to it was a 1 hr canoe ride each way! Our boat guides were incredible- on the way up we had to go up the rapids and our guides would jump out and leap rock to rock steering our canoe up rapids! At some points they even lifted the canoe up on metal bars that stretched across rocks and rapids to slide us across- it was incredible! One of the most serene and beautiful sites I've seen...I enjoyed every moment of it! On the way to the falls, we were surrounded by cliffs of green and smaller falls. The waterfall itself wasn't actually all that spectacular, but the canoe ride was super fun!
| Canoeing up river to Pagsanjan Waterfall! |
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| Pagsanjan Waterfall! |
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Posted in General Articles by Amy Morris on 9/20/2007
Photos from my birthday - Sept 12 (late posting) :)
Birthdays are a BIG celebration!!!
I was given a 5 minute medley Happy Birthday song in which many of our church friends came to sing, complete with guitars and drums!
| IMAX - "Under the Sea" |
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| :) Goin' round the globe! |
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Our Philippines Team came up with a new name since we are a combination from 3 teams, inspired by this day...
we are Team O'PHUN (o- FUN)!! :)
| Team O'Phun ice skating in Philippines!! |
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Here's a typical Asian photo pose for you! :)
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Posted in General Articles by Amy Morris on 9/18/2007
Our first week was spent in the slums of Metro Manila, where we lived with Filipino Christians and just joined in what a "typical" week for them looks like...here's a few photos. We worked with an organization called MMP, which has some Brilliant ideas to help people on the community get on their feet and find self-sustaining incomes. They help communities by bringing the gospel of Christ both in word and in deed!!Examples of ministries they have are: goat farm (lend out 2 goats to families for about 6 mos so that they can have baby goats and start their own farm, then the goats are passed on to another family), hydroponics farming (very poor soil here, so they recycle plastics, wood or whatever else they can find to make boxes for growing vegetables and use a mixture including crushed volcanic rock as soil), pharmacies, recycling (there is trash all over, and it can be washed and compressed to sell in China), and more. They are open to any ideas of how to provide incomes for families and pastors.
MMP gave us these statistics: 60-70% of Filipinos are poor, with 30% of those being in metro Manila, totaling about 400 slum communities here in the city. Jesus did say that there would always be the poor among us, but I don't think that was to give us an excuse to ignore the problem.
| This is how we roll- Crammed in a Jeepney (left over +/or remodeled from WW2 jeeps) or in a motorbike + sidecart! How many can fit in one? - "There's always room for one more!"- we've found this to be true with public transportation all over the world...no such thing as personal space |
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| Food Distribution for the kids in the Montalban slums |
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| Teaching the kids Bible songs and stories before the food distribution- this precious girl had her Bible in her hands! |
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| Beautiful kids who attend the church!! |
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| slums preschool |
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