Gazing into Paradise.

02/07/16

From Michael:

I’ve been putting of writing this post about Paradise because we are SOOOOO close to being completely done! All of the “big” stuff is done and now we have a bunch of small projects to get the building complete. (Side note: We are looking for a sound system and projector to use here. If your family or church has an old one that isn’t being used, would you consider donating it to Paradise Alliance Church? We will be in the US in April and may be able to bring it back with us) I really want to show the amazing process from beginning to end, but because we are not quite done and due to our guest speaker’s schedule we are not holding our dedication service for a few weeks…I’ll have to wait. The last few months have been the best because we saw the church really take shape. It went from just construction to “Wow! There’s the stage! There’s the bathroom! There’s the roof! This place has become more and more incredible with every working light, coat of paint, chair, stair rail and we even have our cross now! But the most amazing thing to see is the people filling those seats every Sunday! I know we’ve only been in the building for a month, but it really has unified our four different groups into one church body.

Today, during Sunday school, I walked up stairs and just took everything in. It was amazing. I was kind of a state of shock thinking about how far this church building and (even more so) the people have come. I looked down, leaning on our newly installed railings and saw all these poor, bruised, uneducated, shoeless kids listening to the word of God and was amazed. Then those same kidos all came on stage and sang the welcome praise song and it made me realize how extraordinary these moments are. Think about it! The almighty, powerful, life-breathing, Creator of the universes is speaking to and through His precious children in this building! It's Paradise on earth! And it was possible because a bunch of people said YES to God. Pastor William and the FCAC team said YES to going into a SUPER dangerous place to share the gospel. A mission group from France called Isaiah 58 said YES to pay for the lot. World Family Missions said YES to raise the funds to construct the building. You said YES to support this church with prayer and finances! And most importantly, the people of Paradise Village are saying YES to Jesus! They are saying YES to turning away from their drunken, violent and sinful lifestyles! They are saying YES to working for an honest living! They are saying YES to instilling the word of God into their children. They are saying YES to holding on to Jesus even when there is nothing worth living for.

     

The theme of our dedication Sunday is going to be “Old to New”. 1 Corinthians 5:17 says “If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. The old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” Or as Christian singer Josh Wilson puts it “That was then, this is now. I’m bought by the blood, saved by the one the saints all sing about. That was lost, this is found. And it’s time to say goodbye to the old you now. Go ahead, put the past in the past. Box it up like an old photograph. You don’t have to go back, because that was then and this is now.”

God has blessed us with a church building and it proudly stands as a glorious symbol of God taking our trash and

sin and turning it into His holy temple.

Thank you Lord for Paradise Alliance Church.  

   

If you would like to learn more or sponsor any of the small projects we have left, please message us on Facebook or email us at contact@worldfamilymissions.com, mjworldfamilymissions@gmail.com (Michael) or sehodgie@gmail.com (Sarah).

Thank for all your prayers and support!

Michael, Sarah, Eden Jones.

www.worldfamilymissions.com

Eden really likes spoons :) 

  

Little Princess

1/7/2016

Princess is a sweet little girl that lives on the street. She turned one year old January 6^th of this year. She is one of 5 children under the age of six. Her daddy is a scavenger and does what he can to provide. For 7 months out of her short, year-long life, she has used water as a substitute for formula.

Princess lives OUTSIDE with her family. She does NOT live in a home. She has a serious infection on her head that needs taken care of.

Her family makes roughly $10.00 a week. Here in the Philippines, it is average to spend $3.00 on a kilo of meat. That is $21.00 a week on meat, for one meal. Not including rice, vegetables, water, or; in Princess's case, it’s not enough to get her formula.

I want to put this in prospective; my daughter is 5 months and weighs around 11 pounds. She is tiny for her age. Princess is a year old and weighs roughly 10 or 11 pounds. It is said that the average SMALL 1 year old weighs 21 pounds, if your baby is on the bigger size, they will weigh more.

It would cost an American $1.27 to get her to a hospital to have her head taken care of. Yea, your read that right. $1.27.  

To get her the medicine for her head and whatever other meds she needs it would cost roughly $21.00 AT THE MOST.

World Family Missions has started a program to take care of these babies and not only get them formula, but seek medical help. Many of our babies are dealing with parasites and serious injuries such as Princess's head. We NEED your help. Without your prayers and sponsorship, we can’t get these babies the care that they need. We are asking that you prayerfully consider sponsoring some of the needs on our list and continue to check back for updates on our babies and shower us in prayer!

We also ask that you like and share this blog so that we can spread the word about these babies and comment so that we know you are praying! It is very uplifting to us to read your encouragement!

Quantity needed	Item	Cost of item
Continual need	Diapers for baby's stay with us	$5.95
Continual need	Baby wipes for baby's stay with us	$2.12
Continual need	Disinfectant spray	$5.10
Continual need	Hand sanitizer	$1.31
Continual need	Body wash	$0.76
Continual need	Shampoo	$6.29
Continual need	Laundry soap	$1.72
Continual need	Dish soap	$3.19
DAILY need	Ice	$0.21
MONTHLY need	Facility MONTHLY	$148.93
MONTHLY need	Utility bill	$26.00
MONTHLY need	Water bill	$20.00
Continual need	Salary for local workers	Based on hours worked

A day to rejoice in

1/3/2016

4 years ago, Pastor William began reaching out to Paradise. He walked in and began knocking on doors, asking people to join him in bible study. People said yes, and the studies began to grow. It went from one bible study group meeting in the streets, to four groups. They met in the sweltering heat of summer and the cool air of typhoon season. They tirelessly met for 4 years, praying that someday they would have a building. A building to meet together; for the first time. A building where they could worship, grow spiritually and encourage each other. A building to take refuge in from the scorching heat and the noise of life in the Philippines.

A lot of hard work, dedication, perseverance and sweat went into this. LOTS of sweat.

4 years of dedicated people, desiring to bring the Word of God to this place. This slum.

Hours of singing with children and ministering to adults.

Time spent growing relationships and deepening friendships.

And then we came along. God showed us a need, and asked us to fill it. We were given the privilege of taking part in this process. We returned to the states and showed you this need and YOU gave what you could to give this body of believers a church! The process of building began, and the dedication and sweat continued. Pastor began going to Paradise FIVE times a week, 8 hours a day, to make sure this church got built.

This Church has changed Paradise. We learned, as the church was built, that Paradise is considered one of the most dangerous places of our area. The people that live in front of Paradise, refuse to step foot in the area in which our church is built. Why? They are scared. It is too dangerous. And yet we have been received with open arms, full hearts, and wide smiles. Pastor was asked to dedicate babies and officiate weddings before the church was even built.

And so, on this wonderful day, this first Sunday of 2016, the body of Paradise got to worship-not as four separate groups; but as 1 complete body of Christ.

I wish you could have been there! I wish you had been worshiping with us. I am so excited to share this day with you in the way that I can!

And so we loaded up chairs.

We loaded up people. 

We unloaded chairs.

We unloaded people. 

We carried them to our church. 

We unlocked the gate and began to set up. 

We cleaned, and the children began to flood in. 

We were joined by the respected elderly, and the precious newborn baby. 

We sang and worshiped.

We prayed.

Michael preached and Pastor translated. 

And for us, it was a day of rejoicing. 

Bless Paradise Village

12/13/2015

Take a minute to watch this.

Last year, we were able to bless the kids and families of Paradise Village with a Christmas party. But We didn't do it alone. YOU sponsored it. This year, we want to do the same. We need you to donate and help! Please consider donating to this cause and giving these kids a Christmas they can remember and be blessed from.

Since we've been back

11/25/1015

Well we’ve been in Metro Manila for over a month now and have been able to work on several projects.

Project 1: Church building in Paradise Village.

The walls of both stories are now complete and the outside of the first floor has been covered in cement. The gates were installed this week; as well as, some of the wires for electricity. We will start on the roof next week.

This church has already made an impact in this very bad area. We were able to use the inside of the building to hold one of our VBS stations, and the outside for another. Pastor William and this Church are also making an impact in the lives of the people of Paradise. The man who is in charge of all cock fighting, is allowing to store our supplies in front of his shop. He is also selling us the cement blocks we need with a 30% discount. We were able to give him a World Family Missions t-shirt and an Armor of God coin. We also have a young man who works for us who God is using this church to change. Early on in the building progress, five bags of cement were stolen from the job site. Pastor William and several of the church members prayed that they would get the bags back, and the man who had stolen them heard them praying. The next day, he came to Pastor and confessed that he had stolen the bags to be able to afford milk for his baby and food for his family. He also told Pastor that just weeks before his brother and him had killed a man and his brother was now in hiding. Pastor told the young man that he did not need to steal, and if he needed food for his baby that we could just give him a cash advance on his paycheck. It’s been several weeks, and the young man has not stolen anything else. He did however, come and ask Pastor William if, when the church building is finished, he would perform the wedding ceremony for him and his girlfriend. Several other workers have asked Pastor to perform their weddings as well.

Pastor William and all of us who regularly attend the Bible studies at Paradise have made strong relationships with the people there. It’s great to see how kind Pastor is to all of the workers, while still making sure they are doing their jobs. They all know if they have any issues or need help they can talk to him.

Project 2: VBS in Paradise.

During the mornings of the week that the team stayed with us, we ran a VBS for kids ages 3-13 in Paradise. The kids split into four groups, led by the youth leaders from our church. They then rotated between four stations, led by our team. The stations were Games, Music, Craft and Story, then at the end we gave the local mothers money to cook meals for all the kids. It was great to see everyone come together to put on this VBS! The older kids helped show the younger kids what to do, the mothers cooked meals, our team led the groups and even the youth from the church in Navotas spent their semester break from school helping. We were so blessed to be a part of these kid’s lives!

Our VBS was centered on the Gospel Wristband and each day represent one of the 5 colors. Day 1: Black/Sin. Day 2: Red/Christ’s Blood. Day 3: White/Purity and Forgiveness. Day 4: Green/Growing and Going. Day 5: Yellow/Eternal life with God. On the last day everyone received their own Gospel Wristband.

Project 3: Painting the Church in Navotas.

Because of the skilled work and team that the Lord put together, we realized that spending all our time on the church in Paradise would not be wise, so God gave us another project to work on. Our home church in Navotas (Pastor William’s Church) really needed to be painted and so we decided to get it done. We spent three afternoons (after VBS) and then all of the Monday before the team left getting everything painted.

Since the team left last week we have been getting settled into our house, began Tagalog lessons and have been taking Inna and MJ (two of our team members who stayed longer) to see their families here in the Philippines. In the next few weeks we have several events coming up: a conference, youth sportsfest and a gathering of all the local churches for “Family Day”!

Please pray for us as we look for more ways we can meet needs and share God’s love here in the Philippines!

God bless,

Michael, Sarah and Eden.

  

Tré Davidson

10/1/15

We are just 20 days away from leaving for the Philippines!! Several of us have not been fully funded yet so please pray that the funding comes in as our departure date gets closer! If God puts it on your heart, you can donate at http://www.worldfamilymissions.com/#!give/cilx or write a check addressed to World Family Missions with the name of the person its intended for on a post it note. With that being said, I would love to introduce one of our youngest members, Tré!

I want to go to the Philippine's because it is a combination of the two things I have always wanted to do; leave the country and build a building. I want to build a church because I go to church and enjoy making friends and learning about God. Jesus is awesome because he was part of God and came down and healed people. I believe in God because it is an extremely good explanation for the beginning of time and our universe, that has such cool nicknames like "Milky Way." I feel very happy that I have a home in the universe on a planet that has so many things to learn about! I like learning about the stars and other suns that might have a solar system of their own and might not be just lonely fireballs. I thank God for all of it and, because I enjoy church so much, I want other people to have a church to go to too!   

-Tré

Inna Hetrick

September 22, 2015

Exactly why do I want to go on this mission trip? A Mission trip specifically to the Philippines?

Well, first of all, I was born and raised there until age 14 when I was adopted by an American family, and moved to Boise, ID.  I do believe that God brought me here to America to be able to end some unhealthy cycles in my birth family. God has blessed me so much the past few years, and I want to give back by serving him.

Recently, I was fortunate enough to be able to go to Mexico for a mission trip, with my church.  My experience there was amazing! I went on this trip because I like to serve people, and also to see if missionary work is for me long-term. One thing that’s really been on my heart is to go back to the Philippines, and work with orphans or in an orphanage.  This trip gives me the opportunity to help people from my country.

    

Please support our team through prayer, encouragement and anyway you are able.

-Inna

If you would like to donate, you can do so at  http://www.worldfamilymissions.com/#!give/cilx

Also, our next fundraising event is Thursday, October 8th at the Chic-Fil-A at the Village in Meridian from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. 10% of the proceeds goes to World Family Missions!