Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

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Manila, Philippines

90 million people live in the Philippines
310 million people in the US
If you were to scrunch up the Philippines it’s about the size of Arizona
Arizona’s population is about 7 million
30% of Philippines live below poverty level
80%  are Catholic
under 5% Evangelical Christians

This is the information I received on the way to our first day of ministry at the Children’s Garden. Phil, our contact, is full of knowledge and information which makes for great conversations on our 15 minute drive to and from ministry. The Children’s Garden is a residence program for about 20 boys, ages 15-18. These boys are street kids of which most have been abused and/ or come from broken homes. Most started drinking alcohol, taking drugs, smoking, and sniffing solvents as early as the age of 6 or 7. Many have been in and out of gangs. A few were fortunate enough to have been transferred from younger orphanages. These boys have left the streets and entered into a place a structure, discipline, and love.
 

 

At the Children’s Garden, the boys get the education they need to be able to go to college, are fed 3 meals a day, learn karate, and hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let me paint a picture of a typical day for you:
We arrive around 9:30 to start devotions. Between my team and Team LPP, we alternate days to lead these devos. We start out with an icebreaker, followed by worship and a short message. Most of these boys know a little bit of English, but for the most part, everything we say has to be translated into Tagalog. After the devo, we break into small groups of about 2-3 boys, 2 world racers, and hopefully a translator. This is a time where the boys typically start opening up. I am in a group with Paulo, Jude, Choy (the translator and chef) and Amy Book (Team LPP). Jude is extremely shy, but opening up more and more each day. Paulo is my little buddy. He has been open from day 1 and is striving so hard after the Lord. When we are finished with feedback, Paulo and I take turns with the guitar, even though he is WAY better.
At this point, it is about 12:00 and we load up our van to head back to Kids International Ministries (KIM), where our whole squad is staying this month. Depending on the day, the afternoon is different- on Tuesdays and Fridays, we do outreach under the overpass (blog coming soon), and starting next week, our very own Courtney will be teaching their ALS (alternative learning system) program and a few of us will do some one on one tutoring.

Jude is on the left, Paolo on the right

 

our small group
 

This ministry has quickly become my heart. Not only are we able to pour into and help push these boys to greatness, we are learning what it truly means to have childlike faith. I am so encouraged by the boys and the growth they have already exhibited.


all of the boys, plus a few staff