The date is set

Life is very busy at the moment. Apart from the work and ministry activities here (which I love doing), we are also busy planning a wedding and searching for a plot of land where we can build a home for when we are married. 

The date for the wedding is now set as February 16, 2017, at Friendship Baptist Church, Puerto Princessa. It’s an open-sided building to let the wind through and keep it cooler. This has been Shiela’s church since she was small and we now regularly worship there. The reception will be held at Hotel Centro, further into the city. 

We are looking to find a plot of land in an area close to the KNA safe home. It’s a nice area outside of the city where it is cooler nearer the mountains. We haven't seen anywhere yet, but we are trusting God that he has the right place for us. Our days off are usually spent now planning wedding details or hunting for land. 

Our organisation Kanlungan ng ama (Fathers Refuge) has gone through some tough times recently. But God helps us through such times and we will come out stronger and closer to Him and each other.

Enriching lives

One of my favourite activities of the week is a regular visit to the bantay bata – the government run city refuge, part of the social services. It's where any child removed from an abusive family, neglected or abandoned can end up. 

Shiela and I go to play games with the kids, tell Bible stories, do some art or educational games and take snacks. We try to help enrich their lives. The centre has recently moved to a new, larger location which is better for them, but they are still not allowed to leave the compound and there isn’t much for them to do. 

The new premises are well outside of town so they get very few

visitors… in fact, we are the only regular visitors and the kids enjoy the time greatly. Having visitors and things to do is a highlight of their week. 

Shiela and I really enjoy our time there and having the chance to work together. Most of the kids at our KNA safe home have come from the bantay bata. They love to come with us sometimes and play with the kids who, like themselves, have a tough start in life.

(The children posing for the photo are not from the city refuge… we are not allowed to take pictures inside.)

Free, renewable fuel

There are always a lot of hungry mouths to feed here and the kitchen is a busy place, always lots to do! We cook with rice husk (called ipa in Tagolog), the outside shell of the rice that is removed before the rice can be eaten. 

When the ipa is put into a special gasifier, it burns with a flame similar to gas. This is a great help to us on the farm as it’s a free fuel source – and the burnt rice husk then makes a great compost for the vegetables. In a country where we eat rice three times a day, it is a plentiful, renewable resource. It helps to keep everyone full and happy!

A place in the village

The new ministry centre in the Badjao village is ready for action. It is built in the native style, up above the sea on posts like the rest of the village, located at the end of the new bridge and the furthest out to sea.

Our KNA safe home kids put on a puppet show for the Badjao kids at the centre's opening... as you can see in the pictures everyone enjoyed it!

I have been busy with the chainsaw again cutting the posts that it is built on. The centre is not yet 100% complete, although the shell of the building (floor, roof and outer walls) are in place. The last finishing touches such as toilet, cooking area and windows are being added a bit at a time each week.

The centre was built by local Badjao people working with KNA team members. The locals brought the necessary experience to build a house in this style, as building a house up above the sea has its difficulties! We are very excited to now have a centre in their village. We have started a new phase of outreach and community help with a weekly education plus bible teaching for a group of the Badjao kids. 

We have many more plans for the centre and how it can help the community in the near future. Plans include family planning training, adult learning, and education for the out-of-school kids (most of the Badjao kids don’t go to school) – plus medical outreaches and livelihood training.

  

Good with his hands

Meet Devis, he is one of the foster kids here at the safe home, now all grown up. When he reached 18 he decided to stay and work on the farm and help with the work here. He also does a lot of work on the farm with vegetable growing. He is a great member of the team here and has a real heart for this work and helping the kids.

Very talented at craft, Devis makes beautiful decorations and useful items out of coconut shells. Coconuts are a widely available, renewable resource here on Palawan; even here at the farm there re several coconut trees. The kids are eager to learn his craft skills and he has times of helping and teaching them. Such items can be sold to tourists and can be an income to people here.





Devis recently graduated from a 3-month course in welding and he hopes to be a mechanic in the future. He is a Badjao and is now a Christian, and had his dedication only a few years ago. And I am his ninong (godfather)! 

School's out

Despite a very difficult start to life – which meant starting education late (so they are older and bigger than their classmates) and having learning difficulties (making it difficult for them to keep up at school) – two of our boys have just graduated from elementary school. 

Nim and Lits have done very well. Without the extra help that we have been able to give them they had little hope of any kind of education – and would have been forced to repeat a school year again and again until they dropped out, which is not uncommon here. But their many hours of extra study and help with school work have paid off. 

From here on, home school can provide the extra attention and help that's unavailable at school, and they can move at a pace that they can handle to complete their school education. Then they will be able to do very well at a practical-based college course, if they choose. 

They also learn life skills on the farm here, so they have a full and active schedule. I regularly spend time with the kids helping them with English, especially reading.