Philippines Outreach a Success
Mabuhay! That's Tagalog for hello. We've just returned from a 5-week mission trip to the Philippines. Our team of 34 teenagers and adults had many new experiences. After 16,000 miles of air travel, 10 boat trips and many ministry times, we have stories to tell! Here are some highlights :
Philippine Science High School- where the best and brightest students from throughout the Philippines come to an elite boarding school and are actually paid a stipend to attend. What an opportunity to mold the course of the future leaders of the nation! Many responded in the altar call and a lengthy personal ministry time .
Philippine National High School- our largest crowd, huge response to the altar call. After a salvation message in these schools, our kids would go out into the crowd and immediately be surrounded by 20-100 Filipino kids. They shared more of the Gospel and prayed with many other students.
Elementary and Junior High assemblies- about 2000 children. Many responded to the invitation. At one school, the teachers divided the students into "discussion groups" and asked one of our youth to share with each group. At another school, we were asked to send one member of our team into each classroom to talk with the students on a more personal basis.
Guimaras- local Christians told us this area was so remote that not even the Mormons had been there! They had seen few white people and were fascinated with us. For two nights we stayed in a jungle village, in a bamboo church with a dirt floor, thatched roof and no running water. Chickens, dogs and turkeys wandered through. This was definitely a stretch out of the comfort zone of most us!
We couldn't have done this without your support in finances, prayer and encouragement. Salamat guid! That's Ilongo for thank you very much.
Summer of Service
Seventeen young people spent a month learning leadership principles and then putting them into practical action this summer. This was the first Summer of Service team led by King’s Kids El Paso and it was a big success. Each young person was challenged to learn principles ranging from giving up their own rights for the benefit of others to working in team and learning to honor the strengths and support the weaknesses of fellow teammates.
The month began with a three-day wilderness trek in the Guadalupe Mountains. The kids were broken into small working groups and given limited resources. The groups learned to work together for the common good, creatively solve problems, and examine attitudes when faced with various obstacles.
The wilderness challenge was followed by a leadership training camp. Various speakers taught about leadership from a Christian perspective. Each evening various teens shared their personal testimonies of how God had worked in various areas of their lives. The team prayed over each person following their testimony and commissioned it out to the world as a powerful witness for the Lord.
The team then prepared to lead our week-long summer camp in Juarez (see next page). Each young person carried several responsibilities ranging from small group leadership, Vacation Bible School leadership, construction site management and more. They were able to put all they had learned into practical application.
After the camp, we prepared for a nine-day outreach to central Mexico. The team based in Creel and, from there, ministered in several towns in the Sierra Madre Mountains. Life was primitive with no refrigerator, hot water or showers. The countryside was beautiful, set in the larger Copper Canyon area.
We did a Vacation Bible School in the town of San Rafael where we were told that to expect only 15 to 20 children. The first day we had 25 children and by the end of the week over 70 children attended.
The team also replaced metal roofs for Tarahumara Indian families in the mountain community of San Luis Maji Macci. Due to bad roads, we had a 45-minute hike up the mountain and back each day in order to reach the houses.
The team ministered through dramas and puppets, along with personal testimonies in several towns including Creel itself. This awesome group of teens impacted many people!
In Memoriam
Carol Ann Lee, who has participated in several King’s Kids outreaches with her family, passed away unexpectedly July 22, 2000. She is survived by her husband Bill and four children: Jessica, Jacob, Caleb and Sarah Kate. Our prayers are with the Lee family and the many people who knew and loved Carol Ann.
Juarez Campers Build Homes
Youth and families from all over the Southwest joined King’s Kids El Paso for a week-long camp in Juarez. The group of 125 included our Summer of Service team who helped lead various aspects of the camp.
In addition to worship, teaching and a lot of fun, we completed several outreach projects in various colonias.
In one week we built a complete new home for a family who lost theirs in a fire that swept through their colonia last year. We also completed construction on two homes that were only partially rebuilt after the fire. The families, who are very poor and were living in cardboard shacks, were so grateful to have new homes. We were all impacted at how little these people have and how much we take for granted .
We held a Vacation Bible School in Anapra with over 100 children in attendance each day. On one evening we fed hot dogs to over 300 people in the community while the Mexican children performed songs they had learned in VBS. Two nights later campers held a fiesta in the same community with games, balloons, music, dramas and treats.
Many gave testimonies on our final night in Juarez of how their lives had been completely changed through the week.
Local Teams Begin
This time of year things are humming at the King’s Kids office as we prepare for another year of local teams. The Junior Team has 15 kids ages 8-12 returning from last year and another 12 who have applied to participate. The Senior Team has 39 returning teenagers and 5 who want to join us. Both teams are filled to maximum capacity with kids who are eager to reach out with the good news of Jesus Christ.
This year we will continue to minister in El Paso and the surrounding region. Our favorite outreach locations from last year will be part of this year’s plans and we will be branching out into new area as well. We’ve always had a great time working with the Vineyard church in Anapra, Mexico, doing Vacation Bible Schools for hundreds of poor children and winterizing the homes of the desperately poor people there. For the Senior Team, trips to the Albuquerque area to hold youth rallies and evangelistic events with local youth groups are a top priority. Please keep the local teams in your prayers as we begin a new season of training, equipping and fulfilling the Great Commission!