Highlights Retrospect - Outlook CHRIST FOR ASIA INT L transforming lives
Retrospect In life it is sometimes like driving a car: If you want to make safe progress, you have to take a look in your rear-view mirror every now and then. And this look fills us at Christ for Asia International with gratitude for God s faithfulness. We have experienced so much in the past year. We are grateful that we were able to give hope and future to many people through practical help, encouragement, prayer, education, but also dignity and respect. It is nice to see how future perspectives grew in individual lives and positive changes came. We gratefully accept volunteers from all over the world, a team of employees who live the vision of transformation and help for street children in Cebu with great loyalty and passion; as well as partners and supporters in the Philippines and the western world who make a great contribution through finances and prayer. A heartfelt thanks to God in the expectation and hope that in the coming weeks and months God will write his story in the lives of street children!
Bible Month For our Nehemiah School it was a brilliant start into the new year. As part of the National Month of the Bible, which is celebrated in the Philippines every year in January, the School Authority announced a competition with various questions about the Bible. From all the schools a representative of the 6th grade took part and Mariel Balobog from our Nehemiah School succeeded in winning the first prize. January
February Feeding in Pasil Every afternoon, the CFAI outreach team visits depressed areas, cemeteries and slums in Cebu City to reach street children and other neglected children with a warm meal and the Gospel message. For many of the they there, these meetings are a weekly highlight where children experience dignity and acceptance and are encouraged to face the challenges of their daily lives.
Prison ministry Our team at Christ for Asia International is committed to addressing the needs of a young generation. Therefore the vision is not limited to the children in our children s homes, but also reaches young people who are in conflict with the law in the youth prison of Cebu City. Every week Ruel and his team hold a service behind prison walls because it is there that the Gospel message brings change to hopeless hearts. It is so important that someone gives meaning to these people, participates in their lives and moves their concerns before God. This is the only way to find real comfort and future perspectives in the hearts of the young prisoners. March
April 10th graduation ceremony For many of our NSOI students April 11th was a very special day. Filipinos know how to celebrate a graduation duly. Grace, our new principal and her team had her hands full with preparations for our 100 plus students. For 7 primary school pupils this day meant the transition from primary school to secondary school and 6 secondary school pupils had mastered the transition to Senior Highschool with their graduation. What seems almost self-evident to us is a special milestone for former street children, which strengthens their confidence to escape the spiral of poverty. A number of students from the University of Cebu took part in this celebration to encourage our students for the next leg of their journey. Even the head of the Regional Education Authority urged our children to pursue their dreams in life, as poverty is not an obstacle to success due to the support of Christ for Asia International.
Go Camp Like every summer, the unbroken highlight was the two-week Go-Camp, which took place at Christ for Asia Intl. and in the City of Naga, south of Cebu. Fellowship, games and fun were not neglected - but also deep encounters with God and motivating sermons found their place. Later, more than 200 campers set out to meet the Ati tribe and other villages in the region around Cebu City with an inspiring program and a message of hope. May
School starts into the new school year Everyone had come - CFAI staff, teachers and house parents to start the new school year with a school service. And after the summer holidays that took place in the Philippines in April/May, many of our students started the new school year with motivation and passion. For us this is always a reason to be thankful that our Nehemiah School of Opportunities provides over 100 students with the opportunity for education that would otherwise be stuck in the spiral of poverty and would have no chance of school education. Juni
Family-Center strengthening families Couple Nights for parents On Valentine s Day we organized a special evening for the parents of our Family-Center. This evening was also the first of a total of five Couple Nights. As CFAI it is our concern to make a difference in the lives of the street children right into the middle of their misery. One of our approaches is to work with the families and especially with the parents. A healthy and strong marriage of the parents is fundamental for a healthy family. Trapped in the cycle of poverty, many marriages break down and the children always suffer the most. So it is on our hearts to strengthen marriages and thus to prevent a break of the family or to make reconciliation possible. For Valentine s Eve we have invited the first 20 couples from families living below the poverty line who are part of our Family-Center. You are welcome to accompany these families and couples and join us in prayer.
Children s homes The different projects and approaches of CFAI ministry are about meeting the children on the streets of Cebu in their need and making real change in their lives possible. Life on the streets is really about survival. But we don t want to stop in feeding the children. We want to show them opportunities and give them the chance to live a life beyond survival where they can discover and develop their talents, gifts and abilities as well as discover and live their value and dignity. The many opportunities offered by employees, social workers and volunteers open a broad field in which our children can develop. In addition to all school and educational activities, the children have the opportunity to develop themselves further in sports and music. We are always amazed at what God can do with these lives, which were marked by rejection and abuse. In the children s homes they live together in small groups with their houseparents and shape daily life like in an extended family. This is followed by the offer to live together as young adults in small residential groups (SILA) and to receive some support from the social workers. July
July Earth Quake and Fire Drill Throughout the country, a disaster control exercise was held on 27 July, which Christ for Asia International used as an opportunity to train students and teachers in the use of fire extinguishers and how to behave in earthquakes and disasters.
Accreditation by the Social Authority Every 3 years the operating permit of our children s homes as well as the state recognition must be renewed. For 3 days we had an employee from the Ministry of Social Affairs in the homes, who put our children and employees through their paces from the use of our money, through therapy measures, documentation and also in group discussions. At the end the employee gave us an excellent certificate and thanked us on behalf of the Department of Social Welfare and Developement for the good work among the street children in Cebu. August
September MILO Mini Olympics Scrabble, Chess, Badminton and Sepak Takraw are the games in which the Nehemiah School (NSOI) participated during Milo Little Olympics along with 400 other schools. Although the NSOI did not make it into the medal category, the students said they were very happy because they could meet new friends, discover their strength and strengthen their self-confidence. Nervousness and tension were written all over the faces of our contestants, but they were able to finish the game with a smile on their faces.
Landslide in the South of Cebu
It was shocking news that spread like wildfire at the end of September. A huge landslide had completely unexpectedly partially buried two villages south of Cebu City. The news moved us a lot - after all, one of our co-workers lives in one of the two villages and with the local Christian community we had been evangelizing in these villages for many years. For our staff it was a matter of course that we would help - and so we coordinated an emergency plan with the authorities and obtained the necessary permits. On the one hand, there were opportunities to help in a practical way by distributing relief supplies - but also by taking time to listen to the stories of the victims, to convey comfort and hope and to pray for many of those affected. It was truly moving when one person told how difficult it is to continue, seeing that death was literally after him and his family. So our team was able to pass on love, hope and practical help to people in need.
International Ministry School From a time of prayer and asking about God s ways with CFAI, a new ministry branch emerged - the International Ministry School. In addition to two firmly enrolled students from Germany, there were many other interested people who joined us for individual topics or outreaches. And already in its first year the school became a time of deep encounter with God for each of the participants. And through various outreaches, the Kingdom of God was expressed practically to people in prison, on the streets or even on distant Philippine Islands. Already in September 2019 the International Ministry School will start its second year.
October Visit by the Cebu City Sports Commission officials On October 17, 2018, some members of the Cebu City Sports Commission visited the NSOI students to introduce different courses. They gave demonstrations of the sports they will teach for the free weekly training of the students. The students were very happy and excited as they watched CCSC athletes show them certain sports such as Sepak Takraw (Asian version of Football) and Athletics.
3rd Family Day Already for the 3rd time CFAI invited the families of our children from the homes and it was a day of emotions. While some of the children were looking forward to the day and were happy to see one or the other family member, others hesitated because they didn t know if anyone would come at all. And so there were indeed joy and tears. The staff were prepared for this and took special care of those who did not receive visitors. While the children surprised their parents with dancing and singing presentations, the focus was on fun and games in the afternoon, also a speech and a joint lunch. In addition to the games prepared by our German Interns, there were also Philippine street dishes and snacks. A special highlight was a spontaneous singing number of the parents, in which they expressed their gratitude to God. The whole day was marked by a special festive and joyful mood and many parents expressed their gratitude that their children can be with CFAI. November
united after 20 years For three brothers this day was a special day of joy because after more than 20 years they saw each other again for the first time. Nelson, the eldest, told that he was truly grateful to the Lord that his brothers were safely accommodated in CFAI and that he was overjoyed to finally see his brothers after 20 years. Was he not even sure if they were still alive? On the other hand, he said that he had never given up hope of seeing them again, how he loved and missed them. Junior was also very happy to see his eldest brother and be united with him, hoping that he would see his other siblings as well. Junior was very hesitant at first because he thought that his older siblings had just neglected him and didn t care about him. Nelson had a lot to share about the family and it helped Jason understand the situation. At the end of the day the brothers had a good time taking pictures of their reunion. For them, the joy of seeing each other again was priceless.
1st Christmas Musical December
Christ for Asia International wanted to thank all its supporters in a special way by performing a self-written Christmas musical at the end of the year. With two performances at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. as well as a live broadcast on the internet, many visitors and guests could get to know CFAI and its different services and the message of the birth of Jesus reached many hearts.
Young people who take their lives into their hands, people who take God into the misery of their lives and develop future perspectives - these are things we expect in the future. They don t just happen - they need partnerships and opportunities. Christ for Asia International wants to come to the side of people and be a catalyst so that hope and future can find a place in the lives of people in need. We expect great things for this year s Go-Camp in May, where again more than 200 children, young people and co-workers will live together for two weeks and draw perspective from the Word of God. For the first time this summer, a team of young people from Christ for Asia International will set out on an evangelistic mission to Hong Kong to spread the message of hope. Three weeks of outreach form the environment in which a team of young people from all over Germany would like to meet street children and carry the message of the Gospel to dark places. In September our second year of the International Ministry School will begin and... much more. We will continue to live the vision entrusted to us with all our commitment, to turn the plight of street children around and to give hope and future a place in their lives. We look forward to the stories of hope that God will continue to write or rewrite in the lives of individuals in need. Outlook
Christ for Asia Bahnhofstraße 45 72213 Altensteig Germany Fon: 07453 275-42 E-mail: office@christforasia.info www.christforasia.info www.facebook.com/christ.for.asia Christ for Asia P.O. Box 1061 6000 Cebu City Bank connection Germany: JMS Altensteig - Philippinen- Volksbank Nordschwarzwald IBAN: DE92 6426 1853 0062 5430 24 BIC: GENODES1PGW Bankv connection Switzerland: Christ For Asia Intl. PC-Konto Konto-Nr.: 85-584261-3 or donating online through our web page: www.christforasia.info