GET INVOLVED! MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Some of you have been able to come here and teach our children's workers, volunteer with youth, share at bible studies, etc. But many don't have the time or resources to do that. How can YOU get involved? Joining our prayer team is one way. Sharing and promoting the Project Life Subic ministry is another. Here are a few more ideas that would be practical and effective:

Sponsor a college student by covering the miscellaneous expenses for only $85 per semester ($17 per month). Better yet, a donation of any amount would help.

Tina Luna has been faithfully serving with us for over 5 years. She is a single mom who's children are now teenagers or adults and she is ready to go to school. Tina has overcome a stroke and her limp doesn't keep her from sharing the gospel, serving on the women's team at 12th St. or climbing up the hillside to share at the Bulanghagi Bible study! Tina wants to enroll for a two year course starting this June. Any one-time gift appreciated, no matter how large or small! Click on the "Donate" button to make a difference in this woman's future.
Our two youth leaders, Anthony and Darryl, will also return to college next month on scholarships! Any amount given towards their books and supplies would be a blessing.

Sponsor a ministry! What area of ministry is your passion? Youth? Children? Men or women? Is it education- like our Alternative Learning System (a high school diploma program for elementary and high school drop outs). Is job training your interest? Helping victims of human trafficking? All of these programs need funding to continue. Please, prayerfully consider helping us continue to make a difference in the lives of the poor and their communities. Help us share the Hope for the future! Please send us a note with your one-time or monthly donation specifying what/who you are giving to.

Send us your fabric! We are looking for someone to organize a fabric drive in your community. The Sewing Training Center is in need of cotton fabric to make their various products, plus the students need fabric for their class projects. Our fabric choices locally are limited in availability and design. Do you know others (individuals, quilting clubs/shops) who have fabric to donate? Just collect and ship to us via LBC. Message us for details.

Be an outlet for various products being made by the poor. Do you know of a shop that would buy jewelry or soap made by women leaving the sex trade and staring a new life? Or can sell our Matibayong bags made by the Sewing center? Maybe you know how to design a web site where these products can be sold? Please contact us!

It's time to step up and get involved. We need you!

Matain After the Storm

Kids playing after the storm


 

Waiting patiently for food

Disaster relief is ongoing in our area after the latest series of storms and flooding. The Sewing Center made some custom tarps for shelter and we distributed more PACTEC tarps so families would find shelter from the rain. Rebuilding continues as it does each time the shanties are blown away. We fed families a healthy meal, and they celebrated the goodness of God and the fact that there are people like YOU who care about them!
This is a resilient community of informal settlers. When storms come they can't fish and many are hungry. They are so poor that when the children graduate elementary school, the families can't afford to send them to high school because of lack of transportation money. Babies are dying at birth (two just last month) and mothers are having postpartum strokes because of a lack of health care.

Receiving tarps that they can use to rebuild their homes

Project Life Subic is in the process of reassessing the needs and potential of this community. We are trying to determine which projects would make a lasting impact. Some of the ideas that are being discussed are building toilets (there are NO toilets in this community), more health education, hosting an alternative learning program for out of school youth, and finding a way to transport some to high school. We also want to provide more vocational training to those fishermen who want more work options.

As the women's and men's groups have grown, the members of the community are finding more peace with their neighbors. They are finding a deeper level of understanding of God's Word.

The men's group are missing Sonny as he is home recovering from the knee fracture, but JR and Jimson (from 12th St!) have stepped up to lead. They were so excited last Sunday to report that 27 fishermen attended the Men's group. JR said the men were all so eager to participate in worship, teaching and discussion!

We are seeing great changes here, please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Feel free to email us with any ideas or help us raise the funds to see these ideas come to fruition. Together, we can make a difference!

This and That!

• Many are asking for more info on who we are training. The backgrounds of the men and women vary from trash scavengers and bargirls (prostitutes) to those with little skill and no jobs or poor fisherman who can't fish much during rainy season (June-October!) Others are highschool graduates with no jobs looking for another opportunity to train and find work. All are poor, all are vulnerable to falling into a life of crime or begging on the streets. Recently we have seen a need to reach out to local bargirls, many of them young women who think they have no other options for employment. Many moved to the city with the promise of being waitresses or dancers in a local bar and hope to support their extended families back home. Most end up forced into prostitution. Our local area is a "human trafficking" or "sex tour "destination. Many men are on tours, traveling to Angeles City and Subic Bay in the Philippines, then fly on to Bangkok and other places where the nightlife and bargirls are plentiful and cheap. We have many pedophiles "vacation" in our area. Many of the bar owners exploiting these girls/women are foreign. In fact recently there was a raid on a bar just a two minute walk from my house! It involved both the US and Philippine authorities. More on that here: http://abcnews.go.com/International/americans-targeted-allegedly-running-underage-prostitution-philippines/story?id=18582802  Our Sewing Training Center is in the middle of this "redlight district" and very accessible to the girls who work in the bars. We are trying to help them help themselves and start new lives!
• We are all going to jail! (haha) The Project Life Sewing Training begins April 15 in the women's jail. The warden says that 75% of the inmates are there because of drug peddling. She told us that most of the women have no job skills and resort to drugs to support their family. We will be training inmates in basic sewing and and also high speed commercial sewing. Classes will be held three afternoons a week. Our hope is that they are able to find employment and turn their lives around. Thanks to all of you who are supporting these projects!
• We were able to sponsor fifteen of our 12th St and Matain youth to attend our local church's Youth Camp last week. For most of them, it was their first experience at a camp and they were so blessed to be there with 80 youth to learn about God and have a fun time doing so! Friendships were strengthened and their spiritual life deepened as they enjoyed the beautiful campsite outside the city.
• The new youth center opens soon... we are patiently waiting for the building to be finished and will let you know when we move in!

Another class graduates at the Sewing Center

Yesterday's graduation was a joyous time of laughter, testimonies and encouragement! After opening prayer and some worship (and action songs, of course!), each graduate took a turn sharing his or her experiences of the Project Life Subic Sewing training. A recurring theme was how they grew in knowledge and relationship to God, and how that had changed their life. They were all grateful to now have a skill and a way to earn money.
One man, having worked a couple weeks already at PACTEC, (the company that hires many of the grads and helps support the training center) talked about how he never had confidence before. Now he feels confident and capable and his self esteem has grown. He also learned so much during his time at PACTEC and had much to share with the grads. He encouraged them to be excellent employees, to work hard and be serious about their job and integrity. He also shared how proud he was to be able to buy shoes for his children with his first paycheck. His next check provided not only necessities, but he gave his children a little money so they could buy Christmas gifts for each other.
All the graduates received certificates and took home the bags they made so they can sell them and pay for pre-employment physicals, etc.
A big thanks to our faithful trainers- Emy, Cindy, Cathy, Angie and Glenda. Our love and thanks to PACTEC, Lewis, Mike, Arvin and Joanna (and their )families for making this all possible. Merry Christmas!

Celebrating!

This family has been blessed with new beginnings!

Trainer Cindy presenting certificate, new bible and bags

    

Emy encouraging the grads