When we got off the plane here we
felt the hot air hit our faces and knew this country was going to be a
different experience. The airport terminal had vending machines selling
SIM cards for cell phones and security was nearly nonexistent. I half
expected us to ride in some kind of broken down van or decades old bus
to get to our next destination. Instead we were met by Jeff Long, a new
air-conditioned bus and three coolers full of sandwiches, snacks and
drinks. Jeff is the founder of Kid’s International Ministries (KIM) and
he and his wife Colene, along with their kids, have been in the
Philippines for the last 20 years working in Cainta, a small community
just outside of Manilla.
The only way to describe KIM is as a ministry hub. Jeff and his staff
started children’s home across the street where they house almost 50
kids, including teenagers and infants. They started a feeding program to
go into the more impoverished areas and feed and minister to people
twice every day at 10am and 4pm.
They have also done a census of the surrounding area, covering about
800 homes and families. The census was an opportunity to give people
food and share the gospel, as well as a chance to gather medical needs.
As part of the census, each family was given a white cross with a house
number and their family name on it so that they can be located with
provisions they’ve requested or follow-up contact.
Every morning at 7am the staff of
KIM give out free children’s vitamins on the corner of the street. The
ministry center is also stocked with an entire medical room of
prescriptions, pills and medical supplies for people in the community.
Jeff has also started a clean water initiative where they are placing
water stations around different areas of the city for people to get free
and clean water.
Jeff and the ministry staff have also started a school that meets in
two locations and trains the local kids in Christian values, as well as a
standard education from 1st grade through high school. The
school is part of a partnership Jeff started with a church that is next
door to the ministry center.
Jeff’s daughter, Josie was trained as a massage therapist in Kansas
so she has 
trained another 7 Filipino women
who will eventually be opening a salon and spa under Josie’s leadership.
The women come to the ministry center three days a week to offer
massages, pedicures, and manicures as practice. They charge 100 pisos,
which is the equivalent of $2.50. The money they earn is actually a very
good income for people living in this community and it all goes toward
feeding their families and meeting their financial needs. After many
sleepless nights and long days in the heat of Australia, Catherine and I
have been more than happy to help take care of these women and their
families by availing of their services once or twice.
All of these things are done by a ministry center that has a staff of
about 8 people, but it’s made possible by donations of medicine and
financial support.
So far we’ve been working on the census, painting rooms in the
orphanage, painting a widow’s home, tutoring children so they can pass
their classes and many other side projects. Lots more to do and some
amazing stories to tell. We’ll give some more details on these in the
next blog.
