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.

The future is here, now

It's a big time in my life at the moment with lots of plans for my future. Shiela and I have started to plan our wedding and are looking for a good location for the ceremony; we have no fixed date yet but will most likely be Feb 2017. Family and friends are welcome to come... although we cannot provide any transportation or lodgings. I will update you all when we know the date. 

We are also currently searching for a small piece of land to buy, where we can build a simple house to live in when we are married. So things are exciting and pretty busy!

XRM

I now have my own set of wheels here on Palawan – a Honda XRM 125 motorbike. It has made a big difference to my life here and it gives me freedom to move around. 

Before going in to town or anywhere was a slow and difficult journey. I used to be trapped waiting a long time for an overcrowded bus, or squash into the back of small multicabs. Now I no longer have to wait and struggle to squash inside public transport. I will soon have a tricycle side car made for it - see the picture below for what it will eventually look like!

Thank you very much to everyone that gave towards my own transport, I could not have brought the motorbike without your help. That was a part of my life here that I struggled with; that's now changed dramatically. Thank you and God bless.

The bridge is finished!

Our six-month project to build a new 120 metres long walkway through the Badjao stilt village is complete!

The new passageway has been named Tulay Ng Buhay – 'Bridge of Life' – by the grateful local community.

There's a T-section at the end of the walkway, on which will be built our new outreach centre. This will help us become even more effective with the Badjao sea gypsies.

To see lots of pictures, click here

To celebrate we had a party on the bridge and held a special dedication. The finished bridge is four feet wide and contains over 1000 planks and 120 posts. It is sturdy strong and safe. It is the main walkway though the village and will benefit the entire population of 660 people for access to their boats and homes. And there are about 220 people living directly along the new bridge. 

The celebration included dancing with performance from the Badjao people as well as KNA team. Speeches from our team, Badjao leaders and the local government official thanked all involved in the project. It was a great chance to share the gospel to the community, and food and fun followed. 

The Bridge project has been a great way to build relationships within the community, and have a positive effect on their everyday lives. At the end of the new bridge we have made a small jetty area for the boats with a ladder leading down to the sea. This is to make it easier for the coming and going boats – and it's become a favourite swimming area for the kids. 

The bridge is extended beyond the current line of houses to allow room for the Badjao outreach centre we will build there. We are planning activities such as adult and out-of-school learning, medical outreach and teaching of new skills, plus Bible study and worship times. 

Visiting the Badjao is no longer a scary, dangerous balancing act along a shaky old bridge, so patched up with whatever they can find that  it no longer looks like a bridge. It’s now an easy walk down a wide safe walkway that doesn’t move. Now this project is complete it has opened the door to be able to work within the community itself, an exciting time.