Trip Plan / Details:

CHANGING LIVES FOR ETERNITY

Wednesday, August 26, was lift off day. Kathy Bohlin is off for the Philippines to visit with our 600 children and the 29 pastors who oversee them. Fullness in Christ Ministries (FCM) has been ministering since 2001 to children trapped into a lifestyle of intense poverty. (To read how and why we started in this ministry, go to: Philippines.)

Don’t miss the photos at the end.

In America, it is hard for us to believe that there are children in this world who are not going to school because they have no money to pay the fees, buy uniforms, books, school supplies or even to pay for the transportation to get there. We are blessed in America in so many ways. One of the most taken for granted blessings might be the education available to everyone. We believe education is the right of every child. We even provide school for children of the homeless and migrant workers. From the early foundation of our nation, education has been a priority of our society. Just last night on the 6 o’clock news we were encouraged to go to certain locations and drop off or purchase school supplies for needy children whose families could not buy them. Here in America, we will make sure our children have what is needed for school. That is as much a part of America as apple pie and baseball.

It is not so in many places around the world. As hard as it is for us to imagine, poor children in many nations do not get an education because they live in intense poverty and have no money for what is required. The lack of education insures the repetition of the cycle of poverty that holds them in bondage. It is a cycle of poverty that is inherited from their parents and grandparents. They have no hope that anything will be different for them. They will be beggars and trash scavengers and nomadic squatters just like family members who went before them. Some of them have no family. They are orphans from war and terror attacks. Some were abandoned by parents who could not care for them. Others are merely too poor to go to school because the family income is not enough.

With the help of our local, native pastors in the Philippines and Peru, we find children who cannot go to school. Then with the help of sponsors and those who give to this ministry, we provide what is needed for the children.

This ministry to children is an expensive ministry. Many individuals, churches and businesses invest in the lives of these children and are a vital part of all we are doing. It would not be possible without these ministry partners. Some of those investors give sacrificially and faithfully when they have no extra money. This has been especially true during the past year of financial instability for so many.

We send thousands of dollars to the Philippines and Peru every month. We are not personally wealthy and FCM is not a large ministry with a lot of income and resources. There have been times, especially during the past year, when we wondered if we will be able to continue what we are doing. Beginning in June of last year, our income began to drop significantly. At that time, we had managed to save enough in our “Joseph grain towers” to continue sponsoring the children even though the income was not there to replace what was used. We made it through the school years that ended in Peru in December and in the Philippines in March. Those funds that had been saved have been used now and we seek the Lord daily to provide what is needed to do the work God has called us to do.

We did not add any new students in the Philippines for the new school year that began in June, though every pastor has a waiting list of kids who need help. It is the first time since we began the ministry that we have not been able to add new children. These are different times.

One of our pastors started a pre-school at a large city dumpsite. Some of those attending have been as old as 12 years old, but had never been to school. Last March the school graduated 45 children who were ready for first grade. In a normal year we would be sending those children to first grade, but these are not normal times and we did not have the funds to help them. One pastor wrote to ask permission to send twice as many children to school for the same amount of money, spreading the money to a bare minimum, so more children could be helped. Another pastor works with children living under a city bridge. He and some in his church have a home business, making food items to sell so they can help the “bridge children.”

Our local pastors in the Philippines and Peru are on the front lines of the ministry to the children. They are the ones who minister to them every day, cleaning them up, tending their cuts and scrapes, teaching them to brush their teeth and comb their hair, often feeding them. They teach them about Jesus and disciple them in the ways of godly living. They are the hands and voices of a loving Father God to the children. They help the children grow and become all God destined them to be. Most of our pastors do not receive anything from us for their own personal support. They do it because they love the children and are called to minister to them.

I wish we could say, as one ministry has reported, that our income has not dropped and in fact has increased in this troubled time, but that has not happened. Some of the businesses that were supporting the ministry with percentages of their income have had significant losses, some closing entirely. Many of the children’s sponsors have lost jobs or had incomes reduced and can no longer sponsor the children or contribute to other needs of the ministry as they once did. In the last 2 weeks, sponsors for 4 children have written and said they can no longer sponsor their children. We are committed to provide for these children as long as there is money to do so, but the funds are extremely low at this point. Our ministry income continues to drop and we continue to trust that God will provide for us and for the children.

So, why the trip to the Philippines? The trip Kathy is about to take will cost at least $5000. That is a lot of money. Thankfully that need has been met. God has told us to visit at least once a year in the countries where we minister. This is the first trip since February of last year. It is time to make that visit. When we go to the Philippines or to Peru, we encourage and minister to the pastors and equip them to be more effective in ministry to the children. We visit with the sponsored children, encouraging them to stay in school and stay close to the Lord. These visits are important to the pastors and the children and vital to the transformation of the lives of the children and their families and eventually to the community and the nation.

Trip Details – Philippines 2009:
Kathy departed DFW on August 26 and returns on September 29. It is longer than any of us have ever stayed before. She will visit the islands where we have sponsored children.

The trip will include:

Meetings with Pastors: Kathy will have 3 regional meetings with the 29 pastors on the islands of Cebu, Mindanao and Bohol. Those meetings will be a time to minister to the pastors, encourage them and equip them in ministry to children. Some things we will discuss are discipleship of children and youth, raising up the next generation to be world changers, how to manage a ministry when money is short, ideas for producing income (micro-business), teaching the children and youth how to produce income and become self-sufficient so they do not repeat the poverty of their parents and grandparents.

Visits with the Sponsored Children: The 600 children will come to central locations for regional beach parties. This will be an informal and unhurried time to visit with the kids and talk with them about their dreams for the future, encourage them to stay in school and just love on them, letting them know we care about them. In addition, Kathy will visit homes of some of the children in the garbage dumps, under the bridges and in squatter areas.

Meetings with Elected Officials: Arrangements are being made for visits with the mayors of 3 cities where we work with the children. Our desire is to be part of bringing transformation to the nations where God has sent us. God has granted us favor with several political leaders who are grateful for the work we are doing with the children.

We need your prayers for the trip. At times we wonder why God has chosen us when we can think of so many others more qualified, but He did choose us and we want to be everything to the children and the pastors and the political leaders that God wants us to be. God said He would use what we are doing with the children to transform the nations. What a privilege to be considered for such a task.

Perhaps transforming a nation is too big a thought. Heidi Baker, one of our heroes, once said something like, “You may not be able to help all the needy children, but you can help the one right in front of you. “

We are grateful for what God has done and we are grateful to those who have made it possible by investing their money in the lives of the children and the pastors. Thank you. Will you join us in prayer for the days ahead? There are many more children to help and 700 children in the Philippines and Peru who need to make it through this school year. God tells us that with just small faith we can move mountains. We are asking God to move a mountain of finances into this ministry so many more lives can be touched by Him and His changing power. We cannot do it with Him.

SOME OF OUR CHILDREN

With education and Christian discipleship, these children can rise from poverty and become world changers. Some will become leaders in their nation and be part of transforming it. Your financial support will make a difference in the life of a child.


The house in the background is typical of the homes built on top of the garbage dump. Many of our children live in homes like this one. You can help get them to a safer and better place in life.

One of our “under the bridge kids” washes his clothing with a scrub brush beside a community water faucet. He wants to look nice for school.

Feeding the children is an important part of ministry to them. For $20 you can provide a meal for 200 or more children. For $80 to $100 you can provide a hot meal for 200 or more children one time a week for a month.

We help our pastors feed many hungry children, some who are sponsored and some who are not. This is made possible by your financial donations.

Two sponsored boys in Chiclayo, Peru show off their new winter sports uniforms. It gets cold where they live and the jackets are nice and warm. These boys would not be in school without someone to provide the money required. Some children in Peru received the first pair of shoes they ever had when they were preparing to go to school. Their wide and happy eyes were all the thanks needed.

It is not unusual for entire families to be saved and baptized and discipled when the children are sponsored for school. We praise the Lord for all the new brothers and sisters in Christ. Nations can be transformed – one child, one person, one family at a time. You can be part of changing many lives for eternity.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

1. PRAY.   The importance and the value of your prayers cannot be over emphasized. We need God’s wisdom during these difficult times. The pastors of the children in Peru and the Philippines need wisdom. The available funds need to go farther. Income can come from unexpected sources. We all need to hear the voice of the Father. In the midst of all this, we need to remember that many of the children have been through traumatic experiences and live in extreme and unstable conditions. They need our prayers for healing, restoration, salvation and protection. Whether or not you can give at this time, your prayers are invaluable.

2. GIVE.   Pray and ask God if you are to invest in the future of a child or a community of children. Your investment will affect the life of a child for eternity. Some areas of need and opportunity are:

Food for Hungry Children: Your gift could very well save the life of a child. Through our local pastors, thousands of hungry children are being fed each week. For $20 you can provide a meal for 200 or more children. For $80 to $100 you can provide a hot meal for 200 or more children one time a week for a month.

Education for Unschooled Children: Your gift can provide a way out of poverty for a child and affect their future and even generations to come. We send hundreds of previously unschooled children to school. Hundreds, even thousands more need our help. For $360 a year, you can provide everything needed for a child’s education.

Discipleship: The pastors God has chosen to oversee our children are an awesome and godly team. We could not have chosen any better. They do a great job of telling the children and their families about Jesus and leading them to Him for salvation. It is our desire to provide discipleship materials to them for the purpose of teaching the children how to be strong Christian “world-changers.” For $7000 we can provide materials for discipling all of our sponsored children in the Philippines. More would enable that to be extended to more children and their families.

General Fund: Our ministry general fund has been depleted in recent months due to the drastic reduction in income. Much of this depletion has come because we have continued to provide for children who no longer have a sponsor. This is the “for whatever needed” fund. It is used for operation of the ministry and to fill in when a particular mission fund is not enough. From it, we pay for the expenses related to the Internet ministry “What the Lord is Saying Today” and many other things. A strong general fund is vital. Ask God if you are to help replenish or give regularly to this fund.

When we prayed together a few days ago, God said to call to Him and He would answer and to ask and receive from Him. We are asking God for $300,000 to finance ministry in the Philippines for a year. Later in the fall, we will be asking for more to finance ministry for another year in Peru. Will you pray with us for this mountain of finances to be moved into this ministry? Will you pray and ask the Lord if you are to be to part of changing for eternity the life of a child?

Ask if God will have you give to this ministry. We need you. The children need you. Send a reply to this e-mail to: fcm@fullnessonline.org to let us know what you hear as you pray. Then to give, go to Giving Options


With deep gratitude, love and blessings,

Ras and Bev Robinson and Kathryn Bohlin