They put their pain, their heart, their faith in this...

Hi there family and friends!

Sorry it's been a little while since I've had the chance to write! I just returned from a four-day mission to a place in the Philippines called Tiaong, Quezon Province. However, before I share about that, I want to share something else first that's really been weighing on my mind lately. Sometimes I'm overwhelmed with how I blessed I am that I have the opportunity to serve the poor in another country. I wonder if it would even be possible without all the support that I get both financially and prayerfully. I can't thank you enough for your support. Really, with all my heart, thank you!

What I want to share though is a much more powerful testimony than my own - and that is the testimony of the Filipinos I'm working alongside with. They are the ones who have literally given up everything to serve full-time. They serve without any financial support. They are the ones whose faith and resilience humble me each day. You've seen some them in my photos...Tin Tin, Toph, Cecile (in Sucat), etc, etc. Some of them are single mothers, some of them don't have a home of their own, and some of them go for days without eating, even as they feed the street children daily. Often humility and embarrassment keeps them from telling me about these realities about their lives, and they are too afraid to ask for help. But the truth is that they need financial help and support more than I do. Although they will have a great reward and a future in God, that doesn't mean they need to suffer now. So I'm asking if anyone of you has any spare income to share with these so deserving, please email me at johndlcoffey@gmail.com and I can give you more info and answer any questions about how you can help. Fifty dollars a month or less would make a great impact for these missionaries so they can take care of themselves and in turn take care of their ministries. They also have facebook and email so they would personally keep you informed and updated on their ministries. Also, as their stories from their point-of-view often go untold, I've helped one of them start her own blog that you can also check out here - tintinramos.blogspot.com

...back to what I've been up to...On the short-term trip to Tiaong that I just returned from, we brought a team of Filipino youth from four different churches in Manila to experience serving the poor in a different community. Most of these youth come from strained financial situations themselves, but they took initiative even in raising their own funds to support their transportation and food on the mission. I was also amazed how quickly everyone grew very close, and the unity that resulted allowed us to accomplish so much in just four days.

One of our tasks was a "beautification project". We divided our youth into four groups (one led by myself, another led by Jared), and we spent two days cleaning up the community from dawn until dusk. The attitude of humility and joyful willingness that I witnessed was a powerful testimony of what happens when people choose to give of themselves as servants. I was reminded of the story of Jesus washing the very feet of his closest followers as I witnessed pastors and leaders painting for hours under the hot sun, scrubbing toilets, and even trudging through mud to collect garbage.


One of the centers of this community is a small church led by a Filipino pastor and his wife from Manila. They are actually working part-time, and thus through the church they are able to aid the community through feedings for children, college scholarship programs for youth, and of course weekly services and activities. I know there are many people around the globe who are skeptical about the motives of the church, including it's effectiveness in helping the community, and I only pray that they could see the example of a church like this. Though this church is almost 10 years old, it still needed a lot of work. We helped out by painting it and providing some finishing touches on the construction.

Finally, on our last day we ran a program for the children in the community. Although most children there work in the rice fields all day on Saturday (because they don't have school that day), almost 100 kids came out. We taught several songs, played some games and activities, and provided a healthy meal. I was moved when one of the young girls gave me her craft to keep and told me that I could have it to remember her by.


Thanks again for reading! I'll just leave you with some pictures of the incredible scenery in Tiaong, Quezon Province...

Profile of a Street Child in Sucat

Dear family and friends,

This week, I was really affected by the story of a street child attending our feeding program in Sucat. Her name is Imang. Her and I first bonded when we took the street kids on a field trip to Tagaytay (a beautiful place with parks, hiking trails, and horseback riding). Over the last month, I've been learning more and more about Imang's story as I attempt to grasp some sort of understanding on what her life must be like. If you met Imang, I'm sure you would agree that she's a very friendly, positive and outgoing child. However, perhaps you'd soon notice that at times she's also exceptionally sensitive, emotionally volatile, and desperate for attention. At a young age, Imang's mother left her to work in a night club in the city. Although Imang found another woman in the community to live with, Imang soon became the victim of severe child abuse at the hands of her new "mom". Many of the marks where Imang has been beaten with a rod are still visible under her clothes. Recently, Imang's birth mother returned to the community and is battling to take her daughter back.

Amidst this very serious and difficult situation, our team is asking, what can we do to help? Thankfully, one of our Filipino team members has been able to study social work at a very reputable school. Gila's schooling has been made possible entirely by faith - she can't afford the tuition for school, yet donations from others have given her the support needed to attend college. Because of Gila's passion for helping the poor and the oppressed in her community, and because of the way God has graciously provided the wisdom and means to do so, Gila knows the legal rights of both the child and the parent in Imang's sensitive situation. We are currently seeking legal help, and I hope you can join us in prayer in determining the best way to help Imang.

Here are some pictures from our Sucat feeding program which Imang attends regularly.

A victim of child abuse and neglect, Imang never
misses our feeding program. It's crucial to us that
our help goes beyond providing food.

So much beauty to be found in the Sucat community.

Boils are a common skin disease amongst street children here.

In other news, the daycare is continuing with much success and joy. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement!! One of the daycare parents even wrote a touching thank-you letter to Toph, Tin Tin, and I (the three teachers). Also, this Thursday I will attempt to teach the lesson in Nightlife completely in Tagalog. I'm both excited and nervous about that, but I have a script to follow that my friend Mackie helped translate from English to Tagalog. Please pray for that as well. Thank you so much for reading, and take care!

Back to School!

Hi there family and friends!

With June being back-to-school month in the Philippines, we were SO pumped to begin our second year of daycare. This will actually be our first full school-year, as we only officially started the daycare shortly after I arrived in the Philippines in November (...which almost seems like ages ago now). Everyday I take joy in witnessing the daycare's impact on our community in new and awesome ways. Only by God's grace and love has this all been possible - and we rely on Him completely for all the provisions and volunteers. Word has gotten out, and others too are seeing the benefits of this little school in the lives of the children. Several broken families and parents of street children are now asking us if we can accommodate their children as well. Many of the parents in these squatter communities are unemployed, some are in jail, and others work for pitiful wages as a street sweeper or a bartender (to name a few of their occupations). While we originally intended to limit the enrollment in our daycare to 10 students, we've actually allowed 16 kids to register, and we're tentatively considering a few more. However, the average age of our students this year is only around 4-5 yrs old, and without any limits on class size we would be sacrificing our ability to invest in the personal growth of each student. Nevertheless, God is continually equipping us and challenging us for bigger things. Please continue to pray for this investment in our community.

Here are some highlights from the first week of school!

The youth in our church built a giant blackboard for the new school year!

Riveting new lessons from our fresh, new curriculum.

What's a daycare without fun and games?
Everyday our students (and teachers) enjoy playing with their friends.

Our kids grow super tight bonds with their classmates.

Making origami butterflies in the first art lesson of the year.

One of our other rapidly growing ministries is our Saturday morning children's program. Over the last few Saturdays, we've had between 65 and 80 children attending! This last Saturday was an exceptional event though. A charitable organization called "The Chummy Chum Foundation" (...true story...I couldn't make that name up) visited our church and put on a carnival for the street kids. They provided plenty of fun games, cotton candy, popcorn, and even school supplies! Not to mention we were graced with the appearance of their lovable mascot "Chummy Chum" himself - a giant, purple...thing.

Games and prizes at the carnival.

Chummy Chum gets chummy with the kids.

Each child receives a package of school supplies.

Thanks again for checking in and reading my blog! Take care always!

ps. Here's a random video for your enjoyment. This is Bernadette - one of our newest daycare students. She's a 5-yr old singing sensation who also loves to make funny faces while having staring competitions with me.

When it Rains, it Pours...

Hello again family and friends!

There are two official seasons in the Philippines: dry and rainy. After the high humidity and heat of the last few months, it isn't surprising that something had to give...and so the rainy season hit us hard at the beginning of June. We've almost experienced more rain in the last week than we have in my entire stay here! These rains, also known as monsoons, are a constant wind-bringing rain. At times, I've stepped off of a bus or a jeepney into the street with water up to my ankles! It's all part of the experience of being a missionary in the Philippines, and I'm "soaking up" every moment of it...? (I know, that was terrible)

Moving on, I've got pictures to share from an outing I mentioned in my last post. We took 15 street children from the Sucat community to Tagayay - a beautiful place with a cooler climate, great hiking trails and parks, and even horseback riding. For these children and their families, an event such as this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and they put on their best clothes and eagerly arrive early to go on such outings.

Imang and I enjoy the view from a hanging bridge.

Jared gives thanks for the meal.

The kids can finally enjoy just being kids!

Another awesome first-time experience for the kids.

In other news, in response to a growing need, I've started teaching English lessons to the Filipinos on my team and in our church. Every Tuesday, I now teach a one-hour lesson to my teammates/churchmates living in our community. On Thursdays, I also teach an English lesson to my teammates at the drop-in center in Alabang before we begin our Sucat community and Nightlife ministries. The English language has almost become a necessary requirement for many Filipinos to gain employment. While the Philippines is often regarded as an English-fluent country, English unfortunately tends to be another barrier separating and distinguishing those in poverty from the higher socioeconomic class (...with very few people comprising any sort of middle-class).

This Tuesday, we'll have an orientation for the mothers of our daycare students. We'll be discussing with them the revised curriculum for the new school year and any important details with regards to the daycare (eg., which of our workers will be picking up and dropping off their kids each day, what kinds of healthy foods we'll be providing them for snacks/meals, what records we'll be keeping with regards to emergency contact numbers and student profiles, etc.). We're pleased to announce that some of our daycare students from last year have the opportunity to attend a formal school beginning this month, which also leaves room for us to include new street children into our class. This includes a young child who recently moved to Metro Manila with her father and two older siblings, and they now live in a broken-down, abandoned van on a nearby street corner. Please pray that we will be able to reach out and help aid this family through our many children's programs and initiatives run by our church and our team.

Thank you so much for sharing in these experiences with me! I pray that you will be encouraged by the ways God is working through my team to help the poor and oppressed in our community. Take care!

The Reason I'm in the Philippines

Dear friends and family,

At the beginning of this month, I reached the halfway point of my one-year internship here in the Philippines. I can't believe it's been 6 months already! In contemplating the last 6 months, I realize that what's always got me through both the joyful and the difficult times is the children that I'm blessed to work with everyday. I thank God for each and every one of them. As an expression of my appreciation, I've created a video dedicated to them and the immeasurable impact they've made on my life. However, this video is for them and about them, so this time you won't find any pictures of me in it.

This video is best-viewed on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHFwLXzFvg0

Our final DVBS took place in another remote area called Olongapo. Children came from all over to the church where we hosted the program. Some kids even hiked down a steep mountain each morning just to join us! I'm thanking and praising God for the impact we were able to make in the lives of these children - even if we could only spend a week with them. Not only were the children a joy to serve, but the environment also offered us some incredible sights and adventures. We were able to swim in the river, to eat fruits I never knew existed, and to hike a mountain just to visit the families of the children in our DVBS.

Our team hikes a mountain to meet the community.

Dirt roads in Olongapo lead to the small village where we held the DVBS.

Excited children line up hours before the start-time of our program.

Games and activities in the hot, hot heat of the day.

Our summer minsitries are now over, and June is "back-to-school" month in the Philippines. Our regular ministries with the urban poor in Metro Manila are resuming once again. The day care will officially begin on June 8th, and we're already recruiting more helpers/teachers and planning a revised curriculum for the school year. I've also enjoyed returning to the feedings and programs in Alabang and Sucat. Just yesterday, we took 15 street children from Sucat on a roadtrip to a place called Tagaytay. Here they enjoyed a nature hike near a volcano, a huge picnic on a hill, and even horseback riding! All of these experiences were a first for most of these kids, as they typically never venture beyond the squatter community they live in.

So great to see the Sucat community kids again!

In addition to a healthy meal every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday,
we're also giving vitamins to the kids in the Sucat community and
monitoring their health and weight.

In other news, Jared and I will be moving to a new apartment this week! We actually plan on moving our church and our team office to a new location. The only reason Jared and I chose our original apartment is because it was in the same building as our church and office. However, the new apartment will be just a one-minute walk away, and thus still situated near the squatter communities we're reaching out to in the city. If you'd like the mailing address of our new apartment, just send me an email and I'll gladly pass it along to you.

Thanks so much for reading! Take care and God bless!

Three DVBS's Down, One More To Go!

Dear friends, family, and framily (ie. the ones who are too hard to distinguish whether they're just friends or more like family...which probably refers to the majority of you),

April was a month full of excitement with so many DVBS camps (Daily Vacation Bible School). This is our way of reaching out to street children during the Filipino summer. On the rooftop of our building, we held a DVBS for the impoverished in our own community. I've really been looking forward to this DVBS, because we already have such tight-knit relationships with the kids. Not only do many of them attend our regular programs, such as the daycare and feeding initiatives, but these are the children I greet each day whenever I step outside onto the street.

Us crazy teachers singing and dancing on the rooftop.

The equally-crazy kids love dancing along with us.

Children from three nearby squatter communities came to enjoy a week of games, songs, crafts, stories, plays, food, and absurd amounts of fun. I'm sure even us teachers enjoyed the activities as much as the children. I could tell many stories of kids who experienced new found joy and friendships, and who really fell in love with Christ. The kids are thankful for the type of Saviour who leads people to care for them in a world that often seems to hardly notice them. We also want to thank God and give Him all the glory for guiding us and making this event such a success.

Nicole is also one of my daycare students.

Also, with regards to our community, please pray for more male role models. Most of the congregation in our church are women and children. One of our daycare kids - a 5-yr old named Princess - has a father in jail and a mother who works during the day and thus can't look after her child. Princess's mother has been worried about how she would take care of her daughter from the start. When she gave birth to Princess, she couldn't afford the hospital costs to deliver her with any aid from a doctor or nurse. Today though, she often tells our team how happy she is that we're here to help look after Princess, particularly through the daycare. Without a father figure, Princess clings tightly to myself and the other male teachers/helpers.

Princess (5 yrs old, bottom-left corner) - whose father is in jail
and mother struggles to earn an income during the day - is kept
off the streets through our Daycare and DVBS programs.

After the DVBS in Manila, we travelled to a rural area called Bataan for the next DVBS. However, instead of our team running the program, we encouraged the youth leaders of the local church to teach the kids and run the activities. Only myself and two other Filipinos from my team (Che Che and Rico) went to Bataan to help assist the DVBS - to encourage and empower the teachers as opposed to running the show. I admire the youth there for doing such a great job, and I was honoured to help!

Hiking to the Bataan DVBS site, some use umbrellas to combat the oppresive heat.

As the only foreigner there, I completely submerged myself in the community and culture. I felt blessed to meet many families who graciously opened their door to me, and I was able to really grow through new understandings of Filipino culture and language. I was even very inspired by the children there. In one of the remote tribes I visited, the elementary school only goes up to grade 4. Any child older than that has to walk for 2 hours just to get to the next closest elementary school. Many young children do this walk everyday, to school and back home again.

Notebooks, pencils, and hygiene supplies are packaged for each child in the DVBS.

DVBS teachers and students enjoy a meal together.

Zaira (nicknamed "Sy Sy") - my new best friend in Bataan,
we were truly attached at the hip ever since we met on the first day.

Thanks for reading my blog! Please keep my team in your prayers as we leave tomorrow for another rural community called Olongapo for our very last DVBS. Also, pray for the 120 children that we hope to include in our program there! Take care!