Hands of Hope International

My third trimester

barry — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 03:02:09 +0000

Well done

That’s not how I like my steaks. It’s what I want to hear when I stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ. The word “done” implies action – you can’t be “done” if you’ve never begun. I teach and preach the need for believers to become involved, to commit themselves to the Lordship of Christ, and hate that I’ve become so judgmental against “spectators” who call themselves disciples of Christ. I resent other people who tell me what I should be doing, so I’m going to refrain from doing the same to others. I’m not a cheerleader, and I hate pep rallies. People respond to different motivations, and as I’m entering the third trimester of my years on this planet, I’ve been convicted to hand the torch to those who will continue the work when I am gone. I feel compelled to teach and equip others to extend God’s Kingdom, to take over the work that I’ve begun.Think about it. Companies promote their people, leaving a vacancy which must be filled. If done properly, there should be several internal candidates who have been groomed and prepared to move into that vacancy. People within the organization already know the culture, procedures, tools, the strengths and weaknesses of coworkers … they should be better equipped to fill the vacancy than someone alien to the organization. I understand that “new blood” and outside perspective is often needed, but more often the reason that no internal resource was available is because they failed to train and equip their people.

I was transferred frequently from one place to another when serving in the USAF. The person I was replacing was often already gone when I arrived at my new base, and I could tell you whether they did all of the work alone, or whether they involved others. There was a period of chaos and confusion for those who took on all of the responsibilities alone. In their absence, nobody knew what needed to be done or how to do it. I want to prepare others to continue my work (the Lord’s work through me) when I’m “promoted” and my position is vacant.

And because I am a missionary, I want to train and equip other missionaries. Our work is not pure evangelism and “taming savage beasts” - our ultimate goal is to demonstrate the character of Christ by showing love, compassion, mercy, forgiveness to people who desperately need Him. The Lord has allowed me to fail and struggle in my effort to plant churches and make disciples. He has also exceeded every expectation as we’ve trusted His leadership and followed in obedience. If you’re interested in filling my vacancy, begin the application process here.

http://www.trek-x.com/trek-x/intro.html

Savannah Christian Sewing going strong

barry — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:17:25 +0000

The women from our sewing livelihood have been busy sewing hundreds of school uniforms. Here they are measuring, sewing and helping make our sponsored students new uniforms.Click to view slideshow.

Grateful Father

barry — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 17:07:01 +0000

This short video shows a father’s appreciation for his daughter’s school sponsorship.

Children Feeding Program (4/13/2011): Feed the children… feed your future!

kletzorlanda — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 06:07:57 +0000

Click to view slideshow.

As a way to reach out to the future generation of our church, Malupa Baptist Church organized a feeding program for the children, with the help of our outreach pastors and leaders. MBC is blessed to have volunteers who worked for the feeding program. MBC and outreaches had teams with music leaders, story tellers, food handlers, and game coordinators to work with the kids. Each team members attended meetings, seminars, and trainings conducted by the Children’s Ministry Director of MBC – Sis. Wheng Abenojar. More than 200 children aged 3 and above participated and was blessed in the said event. The nutritious “merienda” only lasted for a while, but the values they’ve learned from the Bible stories will remain in their hearts forever. To God be the glory!!!

Fish holding tank serves as baptismal

barry — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 12:43:07 +0000

My son, Dylan (17), invested his life savings to raise tilapia. He had a holding tank built to hold mature fish that are ready for sale. There have been no fish in the tank yet, but more than forty people have been baptized in it so far! Here are some photos from the first fish tank baptism.Click to view slideshow.

Alta tribe visit

barry — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 12:42:18 +0000

(I thought that this had been posted many months ago, but it was showing as a draft, so here it is. ) Anthropologists estimate that less than 200 people currently speak the native tongue of the Alta (north) tribe here in Aurora. Sixty five percent of the words in their language are unique – not shared with any other known language. We were invited to visit their new tribal hall in Binuangan and organized a group of people from the church to hike in with us. About three dozen people responded to the Gospel presentation, receiving Jesus as Lord. It rained heavily the night before (and while we were there) and the trail was muddy. But it was a great time of fellowship and we enjoyed the time there. I know we’ll return there again.

Python!

barry — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 12:08:03 +0000

We see some interesting things as we visit new neighborhoods – this Python is a rare sight here. they are vanishing quickly. It’s likely that this one was eaten shortly after the photo.

tastes like chicken

I am blessed!

barry — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 12:59:33 +0000

Power outage - most of my neighbors didn't know power was restored

Frequent power outages here serve to remind me how blessed I am. We cheer when our electric fans begin to spin again, but many of my neighbors don’t even notice – they have no electric fan. They don’t applaud when the electric water pump comes on so they can flush the toilet because they have neither of those things either. We eagerly reboot our router and computers and race back to the internet, leaving behind those who can only dream of such things. I’m blessed.

Uniforms for Dianawan High School Students

barry — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 06:22:37 +0000

Click to view slideshow.

Dianawan is a remote community, and some of the students attending school there walk for hours to get to and from school. Most of the students come from families that struggle financially. We asked the staff to identify those who had the greatest need and we delivered school uniforms (shirts and skirts) for those students. These students have no sponsor, but we will likely be providing sponsorships in that community next school year. Anyone interested in helping some students there?

Church water buffalo

barry — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 05:57:04 +0000

Click to view slideshow.Here are a couple of shots of the first church water buffalo at MBC. We purchased a second one this week, and we’re shopping for a third. These will be cared for by church members who will receive every other calf delivered (they are all female.) The church will provide the calves to other members who will do the same. Members can use them for plowing, hauling, etc and they can also be rented out. What a unique blessing this has been! Many thanks to the Vacation Bible School students and staff at First Baptist Church of the Islands for providing these and many more animals to families here.