CHRISTMAS
PARTIES!!
By Karin Jose
‘Jingle Bell
Rock’ has been playing in the stores since September and that means only one
thing…. Christmas is coming! That also means the IT Tender Christmas Parties
for our 200+ clients are on their way and we are pretty excited!
IT Tender
believes in a holistic approach to ministry and Christmas allows us great
opportunities to care for our clients physically and spiritually. Through our
Christmas Parties we are able to share the love and hope of Jesus Christ by
teaching the gospel, and it is also a time when we are able to give some
physical assistance. Every year we aim to provide a simple gift of groceries
and/or hygiene supplies to the children and families we are committed to
serving.
In order to
fully invest in the children and have fun with them, IT Tender will be hosting
three separate parties this year:
·
November 30: Educational Programs (100+ clients); hosted at
Jollibee with gifts donated by and volunteers attending from Extreme Response
International
·
December 7: Putatan Night Life and Food For Life (70+ clients);
food from Jollibee sponsored by and volunteers attending from The Rotary Club,
Philippines.
·
December 13: Alabang Night Life (25+ clients); a simple party at
our drop in centre where we are praying to be able to provide a meal from
Jollibee
Please join
us in prayer as we prepare for, fundraise for, and host our parties. We have a financial
target this year of 80,000 PHP/ $2,000 USD but we know that by the grace of God
all things are possible and we are trusting in Him that He will provide all our
financial needs and for all the needs of all His beautiful children.
It takes
only $10 USD/CDN or 420 PHP to provide a meal, gifts, hygeine supplies, and
groceries for a child and his/her family.
For more information on how you
can support, volunteer or donate for our Christmas Parties, please contact John
Coffey (johndlcoffey@gmail.com)
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Enjoying spaghetti at Jollibee (Christmas 2012)
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Volunteers from Extreme Response giving gifts to
IT Tender Day Care students (Christmas 2012)
Rebuilding
The Walls
By: Jizza Magallanes
“Helping
people, helping themselves.” Seeing these wordson a man’s baseball capjust
months ago was like a vision for me. In the 3 years I have been ministering to
the families of the beneficiaries of Sponsor A Child Now, a desire to help them
on a long-term basis has been growing deep inside my heart. Sponsor
A Child Now is an educational program which on it’s own is enough to create an
impact in our communities, but I believe that there is a great need to start a new
program, something that not only involves the children, but the whole
communityin order to addressmuch deeper problems. Although it’s a great place
to start, transformation is more than just sending children to school. The
situation in the Upper Sucat community reminds me of the biblical book of
Nehemiah, where God put His plan of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem in the
prophet Nehemiah’s heart. The broken walls in our ministry areas are
hopelessness and poverty. In reality, street children are coming from
communities whose families are trapped in their own broken walls. Studies
have proven that lack of essential needs, broken families and bad influences
force a child to seek refuge in the streets. With this in mind, IT Tender
Ministry is taking on a new challenge of venturing into community organizing with
a new project called ‘Nehemiah Asset Based Community Project’. It will be starting
in the Upper Sucat Community where IT Tender has been working for 6 years and
has already establishedgood relationships with families in the community.
Although in it’s early stages, people living in our target community are playing
their own part in conceptualizing the project. We have learned that their
primary concerns are protection for their children and that they are in need of
livelihood opportunities. Please
join us as we start this new endeavor by praying for us and supporting this new
program.“Your
people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old
foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken walls, Restorer of Street
with Dwellings.” Isaiah 58:12 (NIV) TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY!
Jizza (middle center) with
community members of Upper Sucat during their 1st ‘General Assembly’
where they discussed the primary problems in their area.
Thanks:
·
For the SBC team from Luton England, who blessed
the ministry with their donations and their loving presence
·
For the life of Lorna Carro, our Night Life
Street Children Ministry Coordinator, who is celebrating her birthday this
month
·
For our new volunteer Amanda Moxley who will
help us every Friday; and also for the successful ministry visit of Carly,
Poty, and Olivia
·
For the success (and fun!) of our IT Tender 2014
Planning
·
To our Almighty, who always leads this ministry
and strengthens us always with His unfailing love, divine wisdom, joy and
blessings as well as in our personal needs.
Prayers:
·
For our upcoming Christmas Parties: We are
sincerely praying for this and welcome you to join us in praying with us,
sharing this message to others or by supporting us. It only takes PHP 420 or
$10 USD to bless one child and their family.
·
Please pray for travelling mercy as IT Tender
Director John Coffey goes back to his family home in Canada for Christmas and
that the Lord blesses him with wisdom as he shares the vision and burden of IT
Tender.
·
The 20 out-of-school youth in our Alternative
Learning System program who will take theupcoming Acceleration and Equivalency
Examination this coming month of November. Passers will receive a certificate that
will give them the same opportunities as a high school graduate.
·
For regular monthly donors who will
financially support IT Tender Ministry helping with our program and operational
costs.
·
That our God may continue to provide us with
our needs - both ministry and personal.
That He will guide us with His immeasurable wisdom, and to keep us
passionate as we share our lives with street children and children from poor
communities.
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