Humid Holidays In Manila

Dear friends and family,

I braced for a cold Christmas on furlough while my prayers remained centered on Manila. While the ice and snow in Canada have been especially dangerous, how do we comprehend the death toll and destruction from the typhoon in the Philippines? Many organizations, including International Teams, have rallied support to answer the prayer for relief in the wake of this disaster. However, as families across the Philippines who've lost everything move to an already overpopulated Manila, higher rates of out-of-school children will have a long-term effect that cannot be addressed only by short-term relief. Our team at IT Tender engages in long-term community development and education.

In spite of the recent tragedy, God blessed hundreds of children and families through our annual Christmas parties. My team experienced the joy of giving groceries to families and gifts to children at our parties. 

Food and games at Jollibee - the favoured Filipino restaurant of our kids 

At IT Tender we strive to empower the most impoverished communities in Metro Manila. Recently, the local government asked for our help in a new area of Sucat near a squatter community we've invested in for over 10 years. The new area consists of simple shanties built on bamboo stilts over a bay. We are currently surveying the needs of the community and excited to implement income-generating and educational programs that correspond to their assets and needs.

A warm welcome during my first visit to the community

These shanties stand above several feet of water.

Jizza, our intern social worker, gains a broader picture of the community from one of its leaders. 

As requested by the locals, our first priority is to aid them in sanitation and waste removal.

Please pray for this new community and also for the many communities outside of Manila affected by the latest Typhoon. My fiance Jam has many relatives living in the province of Leyte who were directly hit by the storm. I was honoured to meet them months before the storm when we visited for a week. Now we're shocked to see news broadcasts of Leyte in utter desolation and to hear word from her relatives that they were without food and water for weeks.

These young relatives of Jam have lost their homes and are starting over again after the storm.

The very sweet grandmother of Jam with her two brothers

Moving forward and staying strong, Jam's relatives are thankful that they all survived the storm.

There is much work to be done in the Philippines, and I'm ready to return on January 8. I will deeply miss my family and friends in Canada, but I'm grateful for your support and encouragement that allow me to serve Filipinos full-time. God bless you!

John Coffey
Director of IT Tender
johndlcoffey@gmail.com

Caring for street children ~ Isaiah 58:10

For the first time in years, I'm dreaming of a white Christmas...

Dear friends and family,

Whether you've witnessed the snow yet or not, Christmas is coming! It may seem early, but my team is eagerly planning our annual Christmas parties for the street children in our community. This is the perfect opportunity to share our blessings with those kids and their families. Every Christmas we bring our clients to Jollibee (i.e., the Philippines' own popular fast food chain). There we host a giant Christmas celebration with plenty of food, gifts, games, and even groceries for their families. Not every child will experience a white Christmas, but every child deserves to experience the love, peace, and joy that makes Christmas wonderful. Sharing the story of Christ is an important part of our celebrations for the street kids.

You can share the blessings of Christmas with a street child for just $10 CDN/US (or 420 Philippine Pesos). This provides a meal, gifts, hygiene supplies, and groceries for a child and his/her family. Please email me at johndlcoffey@gmail.com for more information on how to give. International Teams issues a tax receipt for all donations. Don't hesitate, as our Christmas parties begin November 30th!

In just a few weeks we are also starting a new feeding program in the community of Putatan where many of our Night Life clients roam the streets. This program will take place three times a week as we hope to bring more children out of malnourishment and offer opportunities to connect them with our educational programs. We are also currently connecting one of our clients Raymond with another NGO named "Kanlungan". Kanlungan is one of our partner organizations who can provide free sign language lessons for Raymond since he is both deaf and mute.

Ana, a local nutritionist, measures the height and weight of each child who will enter our feeding program.

Raymond lives on the street and loves taking care of this litter of stray kittens at our drop-in center.

Not only will Raymond soon be learning sign language, but we are also coordinating with orphanages and the local government to find a home for him (...and his kittens).

The last month has been jam packed with special events, helpful visitors, and answered prayers. One of the memorable events was a meeting with some of the most respected community leaders in our local city hall. Jizza and I attended a two-day seminar with the city mayor, chief prosecutor, social workers, lawyers, and police. We discussed ways to coordinate our efforts in proactively addressing the issue of elementary school drop-outs and children in conflict with the law. We were honoured that IT Tender was invited as the representative and voice for the NGO's in our city! We made some promising connections with government officials and organizations that may be able to work alongside us in the future. Praise God for giving us the opportunity to share what He is doing through IT Tender with the rest of the city.

Here's a brief photo-tour highlighting some other events and programs we enjoyed this last month...

My beautiful fiance Jam is a great addition to our team, assisting with the SLC preschool and Night Life programs.

Being a team leader has matured me in many ways...but I still love to monkey around.

Amanda from Extreme Response (top left) now volunteers at IT Tender every Friday. We also enjoyed the incredible support and encouragement from our three visitors from Stopsley Baptist Church in Luton, England - Becky, John, and Sasha (top middle).

The Brits experience the hospitality of our clients in the Sucat community. 

Miranda (in red) from America has been a great help each week in our Friday programs. Her family is staying in the Philippines while her dad teaches at a prestigious University in Manila.  

We're thankful to our partners at Ontario Christian Gleaners for providing a healthy meal to the children in Night Life.  

"Excuse me, waiter, what are the juice options tonight?" 

We're thankful for the opportunity to train workers at Jesus Our Hope Church to run their own feeding program.

Partnering with young churches allows us to teach them how to use the latest effective strategies we're using in our community. 

Last month, Carly (left) visited and assisted our programs for the second time. Carly and I worked together at a summer camp in Ontario and she is now teaching at an international school in China.

Carly brought along some awesome friends from China including Oliva (left)... 

...and Poty (left). 

Jam and I are excited for a long future serving street children in Manila.

As of next Friday it's been 735 days since I last stepped foot on Canadian soil...but who's counting ;). A visit home is long overdue, and I'm very excited to return for a two-month furlough. I will be in Canada from November 8th to January 8th. This is a time to visit with loved ones, report and promote our programs at IT Tender, and to connect again those who so graciously support me and my work. Please don't hesitate to email or call me so we can set up a time to meet! I'm particularly excited to hear about your stories and experiences!

Of course, it will also be hard to leave my loved ones and the street children of my "second home" for two months. Please pray for our programs, my co-workers, and my fiance Jam in my absence. We are praying that we will be able to get a visa for her to visit Canada sometime next summer before our wedding in October 2014.

Thanks again for following along. Whichever side of the globe you're on, I hope to see you soon!

John Coffey

Director of IT Tender

johndlcoffey@gmail.com

Caring for street children ~ Isaiah 58:10

Play hard. Sleep hard. Toddlers do it well.

Dear friends and family,

Nobody understands the seriousness of play like a toddler. I'm excited to have finally launched our new Early Childhood Education Center for children ages 1-3. Entitled "SMART Kids", this is the latest addition to our educational programs for street kids. "SMART" is a Tagalog acronym that describes how our students actively learn and grow. Parents are also an active part of each class as we seek to simultaneously train and empower them. In my orientation for the parents last Monday, I explained how my intention is not to take any responsibility away from them as caregivers. During the program, the parents themselves feed their children, assist them in potty training, and engage them in educational learning and play. Along the way we guide and train these young parents to help them develop greater confidence in their role as the primary caregiver.

"Nice to meet you! You play here often?" 

Greeting parents and students on the first day 

Giving an orientation on the program, including the expectations of the parents, students, and teachers 

I want to thank all of my supporters (including one-time donors) as you have contributed greatly towards the supplies and toys for SMART Kids. This program wouldn't exist without your generous support. I'm also particularly grateful for the self-determined rallying of my sister Erin with her piano students to give donations towards SMART Kids. Thank you!

In other good news, we've had some very passionate and hard-working visitors drop by to help IT Tender. Amongst those are a young British couple named Joe Brook and Johanna Browning (aka Joe & Jo). They dedicated one month to serving the street children in our community. They were particularly fond of the kids in our Night Life program. Bonds were quickly formed, enriching lessons were shared by the couple, and neither the street kids nor Joe & Jo will be the same after this experience.

Joe & Jo shared with me some of the lessons they learned during their stay in Manila. In their own words, they explained:

"Our backgrounds in evangelizing at University had placed great emphasis on meeting the spiritual needs of those around us, but here we have learnt that a much more holistic approach is needed. The physical and emotional health of the children needs to be met before sharing Jesus. This is not to say that sharing Jesus with them is not the priority, this is always at the forefront of our minds, but rather an unloved child without food for the day has Jesus at the bottom of his priorities. We have loved loving them holistically."

Joe & Jo lead games with the Night Life clients

There is no electricity in this area where we bring Night Life to the community, so we rely on candles and flashlights

Joe & Jo serve the food for the street kids 

These two lovely Brits will surely be missed!

I was also blessed and delighted when my cousin and close friend Dave Paetkau came to visit. He experienced as much as possible about the culture, the poverty, and the beautiful scenery in the Philippines in a one-week, whirlwind tour. We're thankful for the time he gave in visiting the community and volunteering in our SLC preschool.

First time riding a Jeepney

Getting to know the kids in the Sucat community 

Typical homes in the community 

Dave enjoys bonding with our SLC students

Until next time, take care and God bless!

John Coffey

Director of IT Tender

johndlcoffey@gmail.com

Caring for street children ~ Isaiah 58:10

Together Bear the Burdens and Share the Joys

Dear friends and family,

Serving and working alongside the poor comes with trials and struggles, but the blessings that follow give joy and strength to endure. The last couple months had been more difficult than I wanted to admit to my friends and supporters. My apartment was recently broken into, but I didn't want people to worry about me. I didn't want others to dwell on my struggles as opposed to focusing on the much greater and urgent struggles of the poor communities I'm serving. However, I can now admit that it was discouraging to have a thief break in and steal my digital camera, ipod and some money.

Jam was also discouraged when someone came into her family's home this week and took her laptop, her father's money and his cell phone, and other items. Over the last week, many families across Metro Manila have literally lost everything due to extreme flooding. Some have even lost family members. My team was quick to act, bringing food and relief goods to the families in our community. We continue to pray for those affected by flooding.

Despite these difficult times, there are always reasons to be joyful and to thank God. I told Jam that we are so blessed because we have each other. The things we lost are just that - "things". In fact, Jam and I are overwhelmed with joy and gratefulness for how God has been moving in our lives recently. Together we have been inspired to pray more, to read the scriptures, and to serve the street children alongside each other. Our relationship with each other has only grown, and I really believe we are ready to move forward to the next phase in our lives together.

On August 20th I proposed to Jam on the 70th floor of a hotel with a spectacular view of Singapore in front of us. We could hardly imagine that God would bring us to such a beautiful place, especially since Jam never had the opportunity before to travel outside the Philippines. This trip wouldn't have been possible without the kindness of our hosts Paul, Marcia, and Mark and the generosity of my parents who helped send us to Singapore. There Jam and I enjoyed some much needed rest. Also, the new stamps on Jam's passport will help her chances in acquiring a visa to visit Canada hopefully next summer before our wedding in Manila in the fall of 2014.

Throughout the trails and the joys of these past weeks, the following verses have really been on my mind: Matthew 6:19-21 and James 1:2-3. They gave me a lot of strength and I recommend them to anyone.

Thank you for sharing in our trials and our joys here in Manila. ESPECIALLY in the joy of Jam and I's engagement! Yehey!!!

Jam's first international flight!

We hopped on a bus to Malaysia for another stamp on Jam's passport.

Our gracious and exceptional hosts: Paul & Marcia with their son Mark.

70th floor of Swissotel Singapore where we dined at the Equinox Restaurant.

The incredible view we had during dinner.

She said "YES!!!" ...after she joked "just give me a moment to think about it".

God bless you, and always remember to share with your loved ones - the burdens, the joys, and everything in between. An insightful youth once wrote "Happiness is only real when shared".

Take care!

John Coffey

Director of IT Tender

johndlcoffey@gmail.com

Caring for street children ~ Isaiah 58:10