ND 2009 World View

International Child Care Ministries sponsor Jan Coates visited the AHON ministry in the Philippines, and her ICCM child, John Mile. Here are her thoughts:

“AHON,” a Cebuano word meaning “to lift up,” describes what Pastora Tessa Chua and her staff are doing for children on Butuan City’s streets. Many of these Filipino children live on or near the garbage dump, a place I cannot adequately describe. The children’s parents are scavengers. They daily await the trash truck to rummage for bottles, cans, plastic containers — anything to clean and sell in the market — or for food. Gases emitted from the garbage threaten to ignite the small shacks they call home. The children see their parents’ sexual immorality and often witness violence, even murder. And because the Philippines is a country of tremendous poverty, these children have little hope of escape. Although they have few places to turn, many of them are lifted up through the Free Methodist Church.

Ambago FMC, located near the dump, houses the center for the AHON ministry. There, children sponsored through ICCM attend weekly “Learning for Life” classes, where Chua teaches life skills and the Bible. They also receive a meal. Some children learn music and computer skills. Most importantly, they learn that Jesus loves them and can help in difficult situations.

On Sunday afternoons, a group of parents from the garbage dump and the surrounding area gathers for worship. They sing, listen to the Word and share how God is working in their lives. During the week, Chua holds several cell group meetings, including one at the garbage dump.

We could not imagine the joy we would feel in meeting John Mile, the little boy we sponsor and a recipient of the AHON ministry. We visited John’s home and met his family. I had no idea I would join a cell group meeting that would include his mother, or that my husband would have the amazing privilege of baptizing her, along with seven other mothers.

I saw what I saw, and I heard what I heard. I can no longer be just a sponsor.

I am an advocate. I am a voice for the children. o

Editor’s Note: Following the recent flooding and devastation in the Philippines, ICCM reports that all sponsored children are safe. Numerous Filipino families have been evacuated; many children have been orphaned. Please keep the people of this island nation in your prayers.

A Cup of Porridge
Peter Earle, Kenya

I saw what I saw, and I heard what I heard. I can no longer be just a sponsor.

Sometimes they could only afford to give the children a sweet. Sometimes it was three months before they had enough money to feed them all porridge. Free Methodist Pastor Lubunga and his wife, Teresiah, felt convicted by the Holy Spirit to help the children who attended their church in Nairobi, Kenya’s Mathare slum.

Their ministry to the children started in 2005 with nearly 80 children. All of them came from difficult places: 14 are orphans, three are street kids, the rest are looked after by a single parent or grandparents due to the effects of AIDS.

Although Lubunga and Teresiah had the faith to start the Saturday feeding program, they lacked needed funds. Then, the city council demolished the church. Undaunted, they opened another mud-brick church in the same slum and started again.

The pastoral couple now has a stove and cooking pots, along with cups for everyone. They receive a regular supply of charcoal and porridge, enough to feed the children weekly. On Saturdays, the children attend a Bible class where they are fed the Word of God, followed by a big cup of porridge!

Lubunga and Teresiah are praying this work can further impact the needs of this very poor community.

Love Among the Refuse
Gary Allen, Mexico

When my wife, Jann, pointed to the second row of letters, indicating 20/200 vision, the woman responded that she could not see them. Jann was helping a group from another mission minister to people living in a Mexico City garbage dump.

The program director, standing nearby, discovered the story behind this woman’s vision problems: As a teen, she had floor cleaner accidentally spilled in one of her eyes, burning it beyond repair. The look of radiance on her face when we fit her with glasses to help her see better with her other eye was beyond description. She went away praising God.

Jann and I have been privileged to partner with this mission group that provides medical, dental, optical, hair care and children’s ministries in dump areas throughout Mexico City. Key staff members are trained to look for spiritual needs among those they serve. Many of these incredibly poor people have come to know the Lord through their efforts.

When we come home after serving in the dumps, our dirty clothes go into a special pile to be washed at the very first opportunity. These filthy clothes remind me of what is most important — not what we display on the outside, but what we are on the inside. In Romans 12:1, the Apostle Paul urges us to present our “bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.” This is still the way to combat the influence of sin, the garbage in our society.