BLESS Updates: Our First One and a half Months

The dawning of each year is a reminder of the chances we are given to live life better than how we did the year before. I believe the way to live a better life is to live beyond yourself. After all, the great commandment is about two selfless things: Love God above all, Love your neighbour as yourself.

Our BLESS Center requires a lot of selflessness to operate. We have been blessed by partners who not only support us financially but more than anything, uphold us in prayers.

Learning the Alphabet Sounds

We started operating last November 29, 2010 and 9 kids are presently under the program. It is amazing to watch God work in the lives of these kids everyday. Not only do we see changes in their intellectual lives but we see changes in their behaviour as they come to know more about Jesus everyday. We witness how they learned the meaning of words such as Please, Thank You, Wait and God Bless you.

We had our Christmas party on December 22. The kids had so much fun with the games, the singing and the eating. They also received gifts from special people. Our food were also graciously provided by some of the BLESS friends. Some young adults from the church volunteered to be our guests-slash-nannies for the day.

Getting ready for the game

The kids went home that day with a smile stuck to their faces. They had a wrapped gift on one hand, an apple and an orange on another and a cupcake on…well, two hands were not enough. It was awesome to see how the kids were blessed. We all got an extra hug from them before we said goodbye.

We had classes during the Christmas break. The kids didn’t have anything to do during the break so we asked permission from their parents if we could have them at the center instead. The parents, of course, gladly agreed.

We are a happy lot, aren't we?

Our greatest challenge right now is getting the parents show up at meetings. They know they have agreed on it but most times, only a few attend, even after constant reminders. Please help us pray that God would teach us how to reach out to them so that they too can experience the blessing that their kids are experiencing right now.

Everyday, Gladys (my assistant) and I give each of the kids a big hug before they go home. Just recently, one of the kids blurted out “Palangga ta ka bala Ma’am” (which means “I love you, Ma’am.”) on his own. Then the rest of the kids started saying it. We didn’t teach them to say it. They just did it on their own. I guess, in the eyes of these kids, love has already took on shape.

All of us who are in this ministry represent Jesus Christ to the kids. Thank you so much for your love, your support and your prayers. We are serving a Big and Loving God. The kids can tell.