After six hours of training with the pastors and teachers of Children of Hope project we set out to visit a couple of the churches that were badly hit by the flooding. There was no point in spending all of our time in a classroom with pastors while their communities had been badly impacted by the flooding. Our van was fully weighed down by bags of rice, clothes and canned foods. As we entered the narrow road leading into the community the damage was obvious – the further downhill we drove the worse it became. People had emptied their belongings into the streets and were sorting through piles of debris saturated by filthy water. Soaked and ruined mattresses were being used by children as trampolines. Clothes were hung on every available wire, drying out in the sun. Important documents were carefully laid out to dry. Televisions were disassembled in an obvious hope that they would dry and work once again. The smell of rot and trash at times was unbearable and overwhelming. Our van included two pastors and their pre-school teachers.

As we made our way into the community they pointed out the members of the churches and the children of their schools. They told us their stories of wading through the water to higher ground – carrying their own children from their homes as their belongings were engulfed in the flood. At times we were forced to stop the van and the street had to be cleared in order for us to continue down the narrow road. It was obvious that a car hadn’t been into this area since the flooding took place five days earlier. The waterline was clearly marked somewhere above the first story of the houses. Plastic grocery bags completely filled the trees where the water had passed (apparently Manila Bay had filled with these trash bags – spilling into the ocean in a mass the size of Texas). Men walked by with loads and loads of metal, wood and plastic – going to barter the trash with a recycler in hope of being able to buy some food for dinner. Half drowned animals sunned themselves in their own effort to recover. Women toiled over the wet clothes and the tedious effort to remove the mud from their homes. The streets were packed with children – some who had their feet and legs wrapped in plastic bags in order to create makeshift boots. The churches that we visited had been flooded. The school supplies were completely soaked in muddy water – beyond recovery. Sound equipment was drying out in the hope that it would work again. The flood waters had stripped the walls all signs and décor. The building itself had been spared. When our van stopped we were immediately surrounded by a clamor of people; Smiling children, curious men and women, church members. We were the first people in their community to bring them “relief”. This brought them hope. They speculated that perhaps Bryant was one of the Presidential candidates – a politician securing supporters. When they found out we were missionaries they pleaded with us that their government had failed them again – No one seemed to care about the plight of their community.

The pastors got some young people to help carry the goods to the church. A young man with short and flip flops – his skin covered with mud from his toil, hoisted the bag of food onto his shoulder and proudly walked through the trash filled street to the church where we laid out the goods. We had brought them a “drop in the bucket” to help out. A drop in the bucket in an ocean of need.

I felt like a 25 lb bag of rice and some canned foods was a laughably feeble effort to help. But it was something. And “something” brought hope. All you can ever do is help the individual. If you look at the massive needs it is overwhelming. But we did help someone. Pastor Rickson and his staff know that this is a strategic time for them to reach out to their neighbors. As they take care of their own personal losses they also are addressing the needs of their members and neighbors – some who have had their homes completely washed away. Today we will continue this process of gathering goods and visiting the most badly hit areas. A proper assessment of the damage to the churches will take a couple more days. We’ll keep bringing “drops of hope” into these seas of suffering.

In times like this we must do all we can to help our neighbor. If you want to help, then pray about what you can give – Money is needed to replace mattresses and clothes. People have been out of work for a week so they need food. Disease will press into these communities as the conditions are horribly unsanitary. Medicine must be purchased and distributed. Schools need to be re-supplied. Before this week is over we’ll come up with a clear strategy for relief. For $500 we can probably replace the workbooks and school supplies, purchase emergency food and medicine, and replace some of the equipment. We will give more to the most badly hit churches. We will set up a “relief” fund for the Children of Hope project of the Foursquare Church. (You can give to Manila through www.eastsidechurch.org, by following the Secure Give link). Thanks for your prayers. Stay tuned.

With 80% of the city being impacted by the recent flooding, we are now in the process of assessing the damage to the schools and churches of this project. 

Stay tuned for updates and be praying for the families who have lost their homes or belongings. 

Pray for me as I travel to Manila Sept. 28 – October 8th.  I will be updating this blog while there. 

Designated offerings for flood relief will be used to re-equip schools that have been damaged by the flooding. 

Matt Messner

We are sad to report that one of the alumni children, Jericho, from preschool in Phase 9 has been kidnapped.

He was walking home from school and was taken – evidently it was witnessed. He is 7 years old and spent two years with Teacher Donna and Pastor Monching’s (Munch) preschool.

His parents are part of the congregation there, Living Bible Foursquare. Please pray for his release and safe return. We are aware of the human trafficking here but we have never had it hit so close to home! Heartbreaking to say the least. From our end flyers are going out to as many communities as possible – he obviously will not be kept in his community to work the streets but transferred probably to somewhere else in the metro manila area – at least for a while. The people here say the children are forced to work the streets then sometimes shipped to other countries.

Thanks for your prayers! We will keep you updated.

(See comments for update – He is back with his family now!)

Our annual project “Bags of Joy!” is starting again. We will be collecting over a 1,000 one-gallon Ziploc bags with unwrapped toys, gifts and hygiene items to be delivered by the Eastside mission team to the preschool children of the Metro-Manila Children of Hope Project. Each bag should include:

Toothbrush, Toothpaste, Bar Soap, Small Washcloth

Other suggested items:

Matchbox cars, Dolls, Stuffed animals, Yo-yos, Balls, Pencils, Crayons, Markers, Paper, Construction paper (cut in half), Small coloring books, Stamp and inkpads, Comb or brush, Vitamins, Flashlight with extra batteries, Ball caps, Sunglasses, Small storybooks. (All items must zip up in the bag)

Do not send:

Candy, Used items, War-related toys, games, guns, etc., Perishable food items, Liquid soap, Shampoo, Lotion, Bubbles, Medicines or Anything sharp that may puncture the bag

After you have completed your bag, please bring it along with $5, and any other donation you would like to add to asssist with shipping and distribution, to the Bags of Joy table in the foyer of Eastside Foursquare Church between August 8 and September 13. Please use one check for multiple bag donations!

To see the latest Updates from Bryant and Patty Sabandal in regards to the Manila Schools of Hope click on the link provided.

November 18-28, 2009:  Bags of Joy Team

Come deliver hope and gifts to the Manila Children of Hope Pre-Schoolers.  Families and individuals are all welcome to join this trip.  Please contact Brandon Brazee at brandonb@eastsidechurch.org for more information. Cost:  TBD

The UCPP has become  The Manila Schools of Hope.

We are currently starting seven new preschools which will be established during the coming few months in slums of Manila.  Our teachers are being trained, students have been recruited and hope is emerging for hundreds of new children. 

Let us know if you can pray or give towards this transformational project. 

2009 Schools of Hope

By Ina J. Hughes

We pray for the children who put chocolate fingers everywhere, who like to be tickled, who stomp in puddles and ruin their new pants, who sneak Popsicles before supper, who erase holes in math workbooks, who can never find their shoes.

And we pray for those who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire, who’ve never squeaked across the floor in new sneakers, who never had crayons to count, who are born in places we wouldn’t be caught dead, who never go to the circus, who live in an X-rated world.

We pray for children who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions, who sleep with the dog and bury goldfish, who give hugs in a hurry and forget their lunch money, who cover themselves with Band-Aids and sing off-key, who squeeze toothpaste all over the sink, who slurp their soup.

And we pray for those who never get dessert, who watch their parents watch them die, who have no safe blanket to drag behind, who can’t find any bread to steal, who don’t have any rooms to clean up, whose pictures aren’t on anybody’s dresser, whose monsters are real.

We pray for children who spend all their allowance before Tuesday, who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food, who like ghost stories, who shove dirty clothes under the bed, who never rinse out the tub, who get visits from the tooth fairy, who don’t like to be kissed in front of the school, who squirm in church or temple or mosque and scream in the phone, whose tears we sometimes laugh at and whose smiles can make us cry.

And we pray for those whose nightmares come in the daytime, who will eat anything, who aren’t spoiled by anybody, who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep, who live and move, but have no being.

We pray for children who want to be carried, and for those who must. For those we never give up on, and for those who never get a chance. For those we smother with our love, and for those who will grab the hand of anybody kind enough to offer it.

1700 bags have been received for the Pre-school children and are ready to be shipped out to Manila, Philippines. These gallon sized ziploc bags are stuffed with toys, toiletries, and school supplies donated by the members of Eastside Foursquare Church. The Bags of Joy Team arrive in Manila during the Thanksgiving week where they will distribute the bags to the Pre-school children as Christmas gifts.