Hope for Tomorrow

 Gepher and I are very excited about the newest ministry and dream God has laid on our hearts for the church in Naga, "Hope for Tomorrow".  Hope for Tomorrow is an opportunity to provide a better future one child at a time.  Hope for Tomorrow is a opportunity to show the love of Jesus to a child and their family by meeting the educational needs of a child.  Hope for Tomorrow is a gift...a gift for a brighter tomorrow, a gift of encouragement, a gift of love for a child and their family, and a gift we hope you will want to become involved in.



Dear Friends and Family,

For the past seven years, the Philippines and its people has held a special place in my heart.  Their smiles and spirit have left a lasting impression that has forever changed my life.  God took my love for the people of the Philippines to a whole new level when He brought Gepher into my life.  We each found the one God had been preparing for us; as both a life partner and someone to serve side by side growing the kingdom of God in the Philippines.

Every day I am in the Philippines I am reminded of what true happiness means and just how much we as Americans take for granted.  One of the biggest things we take for granted is a public school system that allows every child the opportunity to go to school despite their family’s income.  The school system will not allow a child to enroll in school if they cannot afford to provide their uniform, school supplies, transportation, lunch, and supplies for various school projects.  Even though the school system is supported by the government, the funding they receive is very minimal and therefore requires the student’s family to shoulder most of the expense. 

The Filipino family today has 4.61 children on an average yearly income of $4,700.  Sending an entire family of children to school would require 25% of a family’s yearly income.  Unfortunately many families are put in situations where they must choose which children they can financially afford to send to school.  These decisions are part of the reason why the country’s literacy rate is 86.4% and their enrollment rate is 85% for elementary and 62% for high school.  Gepher and I cannot imagine how tough these decisions must be for a parent as they decide the future of their children.

Gepher grew up in a family where education was a priority.  He is from a family of educators that value education and believe it is the key to a better future.  It’s for these reasons we are establishing “Hope for Tomorrow”.  “Hope for Tomorrow” will give one child a chance at a better future through the gift of education.  It is through education the cycle of poverty begins to break in the Philippines one person at a time.  “Hope for Tomorrow” will also provide the emotional support a child needs to be successful in school and in life.  A child can only succeed if they have a community to encourage and support.  “Hope for Tomorrow” is an outreach ministry of the church to the community.  It’s a chance to show the love of Jesus, to not only the student but also their family.  It is our prayer that God will use “Hope for Tomorrow” as an avenue to share the love of Jesus with both the students and their families.

There are two ways you can help be a part of “Hope for Tomorrow”.  The first is through financially supporting a child.  The Filipino school year runs from June to March.  For $250 a year (or $25 a month) you can send one child to school.  This will cover the costs of their uniforms, school supplies, books, food, transportation as well as supplies for school projects.  Gepher and I want you to be a part of the child’s life (if you wish); therefore, we will send you information on the child as well as pictures and progress updates.  The investment you can make in a child’s life is priceless when you consider how little it financially costs us.

There is a fund set up at Southside Church of Christ where your support can be sent either monthly or in a one lump sum.  Please be sure to indicate on the checks the funds should go to “Philippine Ministry – Hope for Tomorrow”.

Southside Church of Christ
Philippine Ministry Fund – Hope for Tomorrow Scholarship
1521 Nicholasville Rd
Lexington, KY  40503

The second way you can help is by becoming a prayer warrior for a child.  We will pair you up with a child giving you details about them, their family, and their school situation.  Having an army of prayer warriors praying for both the spiritual and academic needs of the “Hope for Tomorrow” children will open doors for God to work in ways we cannot imagine.

Gepher and I would love to talk with you more about the work in Naga and Hope for Tomorrow.  We both can be reached via Facebook or email (vandykead@aol.com or freekingl@yahoo.com).   I’m currently in Cebu but will be returning to the states in May.  We can be reached in Cebu on the VOIP 859-559-4099.  We would love to talk with you more about this and the other ways God is working in Naga.

Gepher and I are excited about the ways God is working in Cebu and specifically Naga.  We are eager to see how He will use “Hope for Tomorrow” to touch hearts and change lives.  Follow our journey at http://andrea-gepher.blogspot.com to see how God is working in the community of Naga.  We hope that you will join us either financially or prayerfully as we work to change the future of the Philippines one child at a time.

Sincerely,

Andrea VanDyke & Gepher Lopina

From Trash to Treasure

This past weekend God reminded me of valuable lessons while looking into the eyes and listening to the laughter of the sweet children of Hidden Island.

   

The children of Hidden Island live in a part of Naga, Cebu that is very poor.  It is a community that sits along the river that can only be gotten to by foot on a narrow trail that has been carved out by the trampling of feet.  Most of the children do not go to school due to the financial cost.  But the thing Gepher told me about these kids that struck me the most was roughly half of these children did not have a pair of shoes.  When he told me this, it immediately brought tears to my eyes as I thought about the numerous pairs of shoes I had in my closet.  A child should not go without a pair of shoes.  That night I began asking God to open doors to allow us to minister to these children and not only meet their spiritual needs but their physical needs as well.

     

For the past three months, Gepher and Fred (the other minister at Naga) have been having a Saturday Bible School with the children at Hidden Island.  They have been studying the stories of Jesus with the kids.  More importantly they have not been doing this alone. The young people of Naga have been going every week serving these children as well.  This Saturday was the last  of the series. and called for a special celebration.

     

Last year we had so much fun with children in other parts of Naga at the 1st Annual Bible Land Carnival (click the link to relive that special chapter in our adventure), that Hidden Island seemed like the perfect location for our 2nd Annual Bible Land Carnival.  This year's Carnival was extra special as we had the members and young people of Naga there to help us work the booths and play with the kids.  We could not have pulled this off without their help.  They were great at helping get everything set up as well as making sure every child got to play the games and had fun.  There is nothing better than seeing new Christians and the members of a church actively participating in the ministries.  This is truely a sign of God working in the church and lives of its members.

   

From the oldest to the youngest, every child had so much fun playing the games.  The older kids were quick to help the workers with the games.  They were the perfect cheerleaders as the younger children played the different games. 

         

The kids could not wait to show us the prizes they won after every game.  This year the whistles were the coveted prize.  After Fred taught them how they made noise, we heard the sounds of whistles and laughter all over the area.  The rain and gloomy skies did not "rain" on our party, as everyone had a day filled with fun and laughter.

        

As if the Carnival wasn't celebration enough, God opened doors for us to be able to meet the  physical needs of these children as well.   Through conversations about the work in Naga before I left for Cebu, my sister and David heard the story of the Hidden Island children and offered to buy shoes for these children.  I couldn't believe it!  I was so excited knowing these children would not have to go barefoot any longer.  More importantly, I was so excited they wanted to show their support and be apart of our journey and ministry.  God was answering our prayer for these children in ways I couldn't imagine.

   

But God wasn't finished with our prayer.  Lilia's Place is a ministry in Cebu that ministers to street children and their families.  It is run by a wonderful Christian family from Texas, Doug and Lisa Simpson.  They believe God's family should work as a family and support one another as we minister.  I could not agree with them more.  Gepher and I were so touched when we received an email from Lisa, offering to provide clothing if we had a need for it in Naga.  We immediately shared the story of the Hidden Island children and they graciously shared the donations they had received from their home congregation.

   

Everyone has clothes in their closet we no longer like or that no longer fits.  These clothes get pushed to the back or thrown on the floor or crammed in a box and forgotten about.  These clothes to us are trash and have no more life or use; however, Saturday I witnessed these clothes actually becoming a TREASURE.  Each child was so proud to receive the gift of a "new" outfit and pair of shoes as they graduated the Saturday Bible School program.  The look of pride on these kids faces was priceless.  The children didn't speak much English (as many are not in school); however, the one word they did speak was "THANK YOU".  And they wanted to make sure we heard it loud and clear.

       

Sunday morning when Gepher and I arrived a church there was a precious little girl sitting waiting for me and Gepher with a huge smile on her face.  I whispered to Gepher that she was wearing the outfit we had given her on Saturday.  The shirt, pants, and shoes fit her perfectly.  It was as if we picked it out just for her.  In typical male fashion, he responded "are you sure?"  I quickly said, "I couldn't be more sure!"  As he spoke to her in Visayan complimenting how cute she looked and I gave her the thumbs up sign, she smiled.  I realized this was the same smile of pride and positive self esteem I have when wearing a new outfit I bought at the mall.  In that moment, God reminded the blessings we often take forgranted and consider "trash" are actually "treasures" when shared with others.  The next time you get ready to clean that closet out and get rid of the "trash" think about who you could share it with so that it can be turned into a "treasure".

       

Scavenger Hunt - ReCharge Edition

Every month the youth of Talisay, Minglanilla, Naga, and Toledo get together to enjoy a time of devotion, fellowship, and fun.  The youth of these four churches share a special bond where they look forward to getting together every month.  This past Sunday was no different.

Remheart used the month of March as his inspiration for a wonderful lesson on persistence and marching for Christ.  The kids participated in a Race which included decoding the word "Persistence", putting a Bible verse in order, and participating in a challenge that required teamwork and persistence to complete.  The teens worked so well as a team to complete the Race.  These young people are the future of the churches in Cebu.  It is so wonderful and encouraging to see them learning scripture and carrying it in their heart.  God is definitely at work in the lives of these young people.

No ReCharge would not be complete without a fun filled game.  Because our Amazing Race had been such a hit in the past, Minglanilla asked Gepher and I to come up with the activity.  We had some big expectations to meet...but we delivered with another home run!

   

Filipinos have two loves:  texting with their cell phone and taking pictures.  These two loves became the perfect marriage when put together for the Camera Scavenger Hunt.  The teens were broken into groups where they were given a list of different items to find or services to perform.  Some of the things the teens had to do were to spell a word using their bodies as letters or to drive their team in a "sikad-sikad".  We not only asked them to perform team building activities but also acts of service, such as reading the Bible to someone or helping a stranger with an act of kindness.  With each item they earned points and the team with the greatest number of points won.

   

Laughter was heard all over the Elementary School yard as the teams hunted for as many points as possible.  Everyone enjoyed building stronger relationships with one another as they were persistent to finish the tasks.

As you can tell from the picture below, everyone (including Gepher) had a fabulous time!  I have a feeling this will not be the last Scavenger Hunt the south of Cebu sees.