Tomorrow (Wednesday) will be Mark and Noel’s last full day in the Philippines. Please continue to pray for them as they say their goodbyes, which will no doubt be emotional, and as they travel home, arriving the UK on Saturday.

Can I also say a huge thankyou to the friends who have fed and entertained me, Zac and Mike while Mark and Noel have been away.

God Bless

Helen

So this is my fifth visit here. I have been out of the Streets with the Kanlungan team many times. But I still can’t get used to it.

Maybe that’s because its actually the first time I have walked around at night since my first visit here in 2005. When you meet children playing on the streets in the day-time I think it is still just about possible to believe that they have somewhere else to go at night (even though you know they don’t). When you see children sleeping on the pavement next to the small street stall that their parents run to scrape a living it shatters even that last fragment of illusion.

But I am tired of asking ‘Why do people live like this?’ because event to ask it seems somehow self-indulgent. Perhaps even that question is just another level of disbelief that this is really happening. God has given us a world of extraordinary abundance but we have managed to turn it into a place where some live in luxury and some live in abject poverty. And then those who live in such luxury worry that they don’t have enough. Lord have mercy on us.

These are the pictures that we have printed out for the walls of the Coffee Shop.

You can also seem them on the walls … and with the new sofa!

It’s been a week now since the rest of the team went home and almost three weeks since we arrived here. So the sights, sounds and smells of Manila seem very familiar now. One of the great joys of being here for an extended period of time is that we get to spend time with the children and staff at Kanlungan when things are more normal. Life has its own rythym here and you have to always be ready for the unexpected. Once again I am humbled by the dedication and commitment of the staff here and the joy of being with the children who have found Kanlungan to be the refuge its name speaks of.
Yesterday we went to an area quite close to our hotel where many families live on the streets. Sol and some of the Kanlungan Social Workers were leading a workshop with some of the mothers while Wilma, Noel and I played with the children. It was supposed to be at the Open Day Centre but we had to go there instead as there was a rumour that some of their houses were going to be demolished. It is difficult to describe what this experience is like. Playing with the children is really good fun, simple games like Rock, Paper, Scissors and one of those ones where you stand in a circle and do some strange clapping thing (I couldn’t do that at all), but at the same time not being able to escape from the reality of where you are doing it and the huge social problems that poverty brings. One mother was lying in her bike side car with her day old baby, she had just come out of the hospital that morning. What chance does that child have?
We also spent some time putting the finishing touches to the Coffee Shop. The sofa is now there and we have had pictures printed to put on the wall which we spent the rest of the afternoon putting up. I will take some pictures tomorrow and put them on here – my phone ran out of power yesterday so I don’t have any now. Its not too late if you would like to donate towards this mini-project. Just text KSEM12 £5 (or whatever you can give) to 70070. The donation will appear on your bill and you will also receive information about gift aid which is really helpful if you are a taxpayer.
Thank you for your support and prayers. Please continue to pray for us and for Helen, Michael and Zac as we enter the final week – it is harder to be at home than to be here in many ways! This time next week we will be at home, which will be great and we will carry with us all that God has done on this extraordinary journey.

Hi everyone, It’s Noel,
I’ve have now stayed at the farm and the boys home. It was an amazing priveledge to do this, and I am very thankful to the kanlungan team for letting me do this, and to the kids for taking good care of me!
I have built some amazing relationships with some of the boys. They have been brothers to me. I think this reflects on Kanlungan, that they’re job isn’t just to feed them or give them shelter, but also to give them the loving family they deserve, and you get a real sense that this is their priority.
The worship time with the boys is absoloutely perfect. They play an out of tune guitar, and sing in a different key to the one played and mix up all the words. It is beautiful, because they dont sing, they scream in praise to the Lord with all their heart. I will probably write more tomorrow as I’m being rushed to the next place.
I never thought I’d ever enjoy such a hectic busy routine.
God Bless
Noel x

We’ve have another good day here. Noel is back from the Farm and the Boy’s Home. He has had a really good time but has now gone to sleep (he’s been sleeping on a crash mat for the last four nights).

We’ve been to get some photos that we had printed for the Coffee Shop this afternoon. They look really good – canvas prints put over a frame. Hopefully the boys should be able to start putting them up tomorrow. I’ve also been working on an Excel Spreadsheet to help the boys with their management of the Coffee Shop.

Please continue to pray for us and for Helen, Michael and Zac at home. Beginning to realise that four weeks away really does feel like a long time! But it also gives an unparalleled view of what it is really all about here.

I’ll get Noel to put something on here tomorrow about his experiences.

With thanks

Mark

Its been another eventful day!

During lunch at the Coffee Shop I suggested to Ate Sol that it would be really good to have a sofa in the Coffee Shop! So before I knew it we were heading off to the second hand shop (KSEM Best Buy) to get one! You can see a photo below …

However – it would be great if we could cover the costs of it – and you can help in a really simple way.

Just text KSEM12 £5 (or any amount you want to give) to 70070.

Hi everyone,

As has been said the 6 of us got back after 26 hours of travelling and almost clearing the airport in Hong Kong wth a noisy and competitive game of Ligretto! Everyone else was sitting nicely with their books and laptops.

After a long chat with Mike and a soak in a hot bath it was time for bed even though I felt wide awake …but eventually slept until 10.00 this morning.

Back to work in a fairly gentle way but I have left a building committee meeting early as I was drooping badly by 9.30! It feels strange not to be talking to anyone but Mike about the amazing fortnight that has passed but no one (apart from Mike) is really asking about it here! SO they will just have to suffer a LONG sermon on Sunday. I am missing everyone  – Kanlungan and Mansfield people very much…please can I come back?

Love to Mark and Noel – you are very much in my thoughts and prayers…have a brilliant 2 weeks.

Thank you Mark for being a brilliant tour guide and holiday rep and especially for inviting me to join you…may God bless you richly in the coming days

Love to everyone – Fi  xx

There are many worthy causes in the world, but if you have been moved by what you have read on this blog and you are not already a Streetlight supporter … would you consider becoming one? If you go to the main Streetlight site you can find out how:
www.streetlight-trust.org.uk or click on the link at the bottom of this page.

Put simply, the more regular donations we receive, the more we can commit to give to Kanlungan. And all your money comes here … we don’t spend any of it on administration in the UK and we don’t support anybody else.

It doesn’t matter if it is a little or a lot, but it is really helpful if it is regular and committed. And you will make a real difference to the lives of some of the poorest people in the world … just ask the people you know who have been here on this visit.

Well, that’s not quite true … but I am the only one from the original team currently in Manila!

We took Noel to the farm today which was great. He is now staying there for two days before moving to the Boys Home on Wednesday. He will return to Manila on Friday – so he will not be able to get on the Internet until then.

The other highlight of the day was being able to spend a good lot of time talking to Sol – which is always a great joy. She is a remarkable women who radiates the presence of God. As I was walking down the street to get some tea tonight. I was also aware that it is a great privilege to be out here for such a long time and that many people have done a lot to make that possible. I know that my life is so much richer for the opportunity that meeting these extraordinary people and being part of this amazing work has given me.