Living Letters

You are a letter from Christ, the result from our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts 2 Cor 3:3
Sept 2012/ Issue 10

Dear friends,

And the king will answer them, "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.' (Matthew 25:40, NRSV)
As I write this, it is raining outside. The people in many parts of the Philippines are still recovering from the floods caused by the last monsoon. Today we have Typhoon Igme which is on its way out, and Typhoon Julian is expected tomorrow! Scenes of families displaced, water logged roads, submerged houses fill our television screens and newspapers. As the roads were not accessible in the first days, we were able to assess the situation via sms messages with the Balikatan community members in Montalban. Although they themselves were not severely affected, the houses of the neighbouring areas of Kasiglahan K1 and K2 were submerged, and families moved to safer grounds. The initial needs for food, water and clothes were immediate and urgent. In the midst of the disaster, I was very touched by the Balikatan members as they shared whatever food that they had, and waded through waters to bring the cooked food to those who had none. They also collected clothes for those who were left homeless and clotheless. I could see the Gospel in action in their lives! In the following days, we were able to enter with food packs, canned goods, clothes and 60 water filters provided by Charis Singapore. Thanks also to Atty. Tojun and his friend who contributed 300 food packs for the families. In the first week, we were able to visit around 500 families. Now, in the aftermath, our ongoing work is to help provide materials to enable children to return to school and to help families resettle after their houses have been cleared of mud. A local barangay relief worker shared that many of these families have a psychological fear of rain now. At the first few drops of rain, there is fear if they will again be drenched out of homes. It is a real fear as the typhoon season is merely at letter J, and there are quite a few typhoons before we reach Z. Our mission continues here... as you read these pages, please know that without your support and prayers, all this is not possible. Thank you for being a partner with us in this mission, and may the Lord bless you for all that you share to the least of His brothers and sisters!

Note from our Director

Esther Fong Director ICPE Mission Philippines

Our ministries

OUR VISION: Empowering the poor through Gods compassionate love in the heart of Asia

eaching out to our neighbours through...

Home Visits
What started as visits to invite our neighbours for the fortnightly Eucharistic celebrations has now led to a ministry of befriending and praying with the families in our barangay (village). Every fortnight, as we visited the 40 or more families living near our centre, many opportunities arose to encourage them in their faith and to evangelize through our friendship. Neil, aged 34 and the father of a 10-year-old said Thank you for coming and listening to me. You are really my friends. Through the visits, we have also gained a better understanding of the challenges of drinking and gambling that are prevalent in our area. We pray that the families will encounter Christs transforming love so that they will be able to fully live out the Gospel values in their lives.

Ministries in Tagaytay

Eucharistic Celebrations
Our regular fortnightly Eucharistic Celebrations continue to draw an average of 30-40 adults and children. We begin with a short time of prayer either through songs or a simple reflection before Mass. For those who are interested, individual prayer ministry is also available before Mass.

Children Ministry
Every month, around 20 children gather for one and a half hours of singing, prayer and basic catechism. For Lent this year, the children had an outdoor Stations of the Cross and an interactive session on the different liturgical celebrations of Holy Week. They also learned about the gifts of the Holy Spirit as we celebrated Pentecost. We pray that each child will be able to experience God through these monthly sessions and to deepen in their knowledge of Him.

Reading Corner

Balikatan Ministry (Balikatan, shoulder to shoulder in Filipino, supports adults in their Christian faith and
empowers them to take responsibility for their lives and families)

Ministries in Montalban

Our goal for this year has been to provide for those who desire to grow deeper in their faith and to strengthen that faith. At the same time, we seek to reach out to those who are seeking God, who are lost and without much hope. This has been done through the Balikatan Community meetings, and in the weekly Balikatan prayer meetings. One major milestone for the Balikatan Ministry is the birth of the Balikatan Community on 4th of March this year. Nine women took another step in making a deeper commitment to being a disciple of Christ; sharing life as a Christian community that encourages and empowers each other. In this past year, they have also served as leaders with different responsibilities during prayer meetings. These are women who have faced adversity: struggling to find the means to support their families, crying out to God for food, healing for their children and jobs for their husbands. Through all the tough times, they have continued to hold onto faith despite their doubts and allow Jesus to walk with them. As part of their preparation before the commitment, they received formation on various aspects of community living and community building that culminated in a retreat in Tagaytay earlier this year. From women who lacked confidence, they have transformed into women who know their dignity as beloved daughters of God, and have been given a voice to make a difference in the world today. It has been a gift for us to have shared this journey with them. The Balikatan Community reaches out to those in the area through weekly Balikatan prayer meetings. We see between 30 35 attendees regularly. The meetings focus on sharing and living the Word of God, prayer, praise and worship and in this Year of Faith, we will be sharing on the Catechism of the Catholic Church. For new members, we had a Life in the Spirit retreat in May. We continue with our ongoing project of small loans to help the women set up businesses, and assist them in finding sustainable livelihood projects. One such project has been the making of pressed flower cards and 2013 calendars. This is in collaboration with Care Channel International. Below are photos of the calendars for 2013. If you would like to support them by buying these cards, please email us at philippines@icpe.org.

Front: Large calendar

Inside : large calendar, small calendar

Front: Small calendar

Seeds of Faith Youth Ministry (Planting seeds of faith and hope in young lives, this ministry aims to love and
affirm the giftnedness of every child as sons and daughters of God)

In the past six months, we completed a series of teachings on the Sacraments of the Church and we aim to emphasize the areas of prayer and the knowledge of Scripture in the coming months. Thus in May, we had a day of Pentecost celebration where the youth recommitted their lives to Christ and learned how to pray in the Spirit. It was a beautiful sight as the whole group ended the day in prayer and praise to God. In October 2011, we selected nine youths with potential leadership skills to form the core group of Seeds of Faith. They have received on-going training and formation in the afternoons after the big group meetings. As part of their formation, they also experienced two outreaches in Tagaytay in October 2011 and May 2012. Here, they learned more about prayer, worship leading and small group leading. They reached out to the youth in our barangay and the child street vendors by sharing their testimonies, performing mimes and animating the sessions. As they persevere in making a difference for Christ in their families, schools and neighbourhoods, they were again challenged to fix their goal in Christ. In June, we had our annual Back to School Mass for approximately 100 children to bless them at the start of their academic year.

In this past year, we have found sponsors who have provided for chemotherapy treatment, medication and lab tests for two siblings, Karen Gacias, aged 15, and Philip Gacias, aged 9. Sadly both Karen and Philip have been diagnosed with Nephrotic Syndrome disease. They have three other siblings. Their mother, Noralyn works as a scavenger, and their father, Julio, is a construction worker with temporary employment. Every month, they have to visit the hospital for check-ups and treatment. Thanks to the medical

Medical Assistance

Philip and Karen Gacias

Dental Mission

Although we occasionally support families in need of

Other outreaches

emergency medical assistance and provide first aid care to children and adults in our ministries, last October was the first time we organized a Dental Mission in Montalban. Fifty six members of Balikatan, Seeds of Faith and our Children Ministry received basic dental check-ups and tooth extractions. A team of dentists and nurses who volunteer at the St Vincent Medical and Dental Clinic came for the one-day mission at the local Health Centre. Thanks to our generous benefactor from Korea and a dentist in Manila who waived his consultation fee, Genalyn Naldo, aged 14, who had severe teeth problems, received a full set of Genalyn having her dentures fixed and a totally dentures for her upper teeth. She underwent multiple extractions new look! and fittings and is now smiling winningly and with confidence.

Children Educational Sponsorship

(Financial sponsorship to empower children and youth through education)

For the new academic year of 2012-2013, we continue to assist the families of four children in their school needs. In May 2012, just before the start of the academic year, we gave out 120 sets of school supplies to the children and youth in Montalban. They each received a set of writing material, paper, notebooks and other stationery needed to start school. This year, we also helped two High School graduates obtain further education in training centres. We are also assisting our youth in the first year of their college education. Another youth, Riza Ymas, won a years scholarship to study in a private school in Tagaytay. She is currently in the first year of her High School education. Although she stays in the schools dormitory from Mondays to Fridays, she returns to our centre for the weekends. The exposure in a private school setting is a challenge for her but she is determined to make the best of this God-given opportunity to study.

The child street vendors of Tagaytay

In the heart of Tagaytay City, children ply the streets everyday to sell local snacks, steamed peanuts and candy. Most are school drop-outs between the ages of 8 to 14 while others start working straight after school to supplement their family income. Last September, we started visiting them to listen to their stories, to share food items and to give them school supplies. From the visits ,two subsequent outreaches were organized to share Jesus with them. The first was an outreach last Christmas in Jollibee, a local fast-food restaurant. For most of the twenty-five children who came, it was their first time actually inside a Jollibee restaurant although they sell snacks outside the restaurant everyday. The second was held in May this year together with the leaders from Seeds of Faith, our Montalban youth group. Fifty children between the ages of 10 to 16 joined the session where the Gospel message was shared through songs, mime and a time of prayer.

Youth Ministry

(Nurturing youth to be leaders, and men and women of faith and integrity)

Since October 2011, we have had two outreaches to the youth in our barangay to share with them the basic Gospel message. At the end of every outreach, the youth were invited to receive prayer. Since then, weve also invited the youth for two separate sessions in our house where we would spend some time in prayer. In July 2011, we have also started going to the Tagaytay City College for the Campus Ministry as part of the Tagaytay Religious Association (TRA). Every Thursday morning, we meet students to befriend them and to listen to them as they share their stories. Once a month, we will participate in the half day sessions of Bible Tagaytay City College sharing.

Community Experience
In September 2011, we welcomed Gemma Kim from Korea who began her season of community experience with us in the Philippines. Gemma has been serving together with us in the various ministries in Montalban and Tagaytay and will return to Korea in September this year. How did you decide to join the Community Experience? I joined the School of Mission in 2010 in New Zealand as I was interested in mission life and I wanted to know more about God and myself. As I still had that desire after the School of Mission, I decided to join community experience to deepen in that knowledge. Describe your experience in the Philippines Although community life can be challenging at times, I enjoy it a lot. Every challenge that has arisen has helped me to grow. In this short season of community experience, I have gained much insight into my past. This time is also a season of strengthening my faith for the future. I know who God is to me and I am able to place more trust in Him. What did you enjoy about your community experience? Esthers questions, Jitkas friendship, Joans warmth and Denzils mischief I enjoy living with members of this community and being one with them. What advice would you give those who are considering joining ICPE Missions community experience? Dont focus on your fears and worries, dont think too much about your surroundings.. just TRY IT!

us in praying:that We invite you to join talban and Tagaytayyouth ministry in Mon + For our rd. and identity in the Lo ay find their security they m membersoject of our Balikatan For the livelihood pr + ide them with a to develop and prov that it will continue of income. sustainable means anent house of d us to a more perm + For the Lord to lea d encounter with may come for rest an oasis where people Him.

s P r a y e r I n te n t i o n

+ Thank you fo r every donatio n given to our differen t ministries. + Thank you to our regular benefactors w ho support us in our daily living as missionaries in the Philippines.

T hank YO U

Institute for World Evangelisation ICPE Mission

111 Lourdes Street, Barangay Maitim II Central, Tagaytay City, Cavite 4120, Philippines Tel:+63-46-8524010 Email:philippines@icpe.org Website:www.icpe.org Bank account name ICPE PHILIPPINE FOUNDATION INC Peso account 003-115250-042 Bank address HSBC Ground floor, Discovery Suites 25, ADB Avenue Ortigas Centre Pasig City. Metro Manila. Philippines Swift code HSBC PHMM