Haven of Hope Orphanage

The Work of Community Resource Center (CRC)

 We are so excited to tell you about what God is doing in Digos through the CRC staff members who  work in the village centers.  

The pre-schools, ongoing education, tutoring, clothing distribution and the literacy centers have been some of the keys God has used to unlock the doors to these limited access areas. 

We will give you  examples of some of the ministries in this issue and share some of our immediate needs.

We appreciate the long-term support of churches and individuals in the US to keep these programs going.   Many lives are being transformed by the power of the gospel that is being spread through the many programs implemented through the CRC ministries.   

Guihing Outreach Last Week - 50+ Come to Christ at Talent Night

On March 26th, we held an outreach in the Guihing village using believers to share God's message through their talents.    Many villagers came to the "talent night" and also were able  to hear the gospel message through an evangelist.   Praise God there are now many more new believers in the village.   We are working on follow-up  with them and are in the process of giving each of them a Bible in their own language.  Below is a picture of the outreach.  For those of you who donated to the Bible project, we now know why God put this on our heart.   

God continues to harvest much fruit in this village.   A very active church meets each Sunday with about 100 in attendance.   Prayer and discipleship groups meet weekly and  transformations are happening in many of the families. 

This has been a tough ministry area as there are many superstitious beliefs in the village.  Many of the women have been involved in prostitution and it is so good to see God  at work to break these long-term bondages.

We do have an immediate challenge in the village ministries as funding has dropped off to support the work there.  

Please pray that God will raise up supporters so that we do not have to slow down or even close down the ministry center there.  We need a minimum of $350 USD per month to keep the basic ministries going in the church.  That amount funds the pastor and the operating expenses.    If $600 USD per month can be raised we can keep all the ministries going except the pre-school.   At this time, it appears that we will likely be closing the pre-school for the next school year.   We know God has a plan for this village and we trust Him as always to provide the resources to bring people to Christ and make disciples.

Pre-School Graduation - March 18th

Graduation ceremonies were recently held for the pre-schools in both villages.   About 200 people were in attendance including several visitors from outside of the area.   The parents, relatives, friends and visitors were able to witness the remarkable progress of the 80+ students who have been attending the pre-schools. 

Several native dance numbers were performed as well as many speeches from the children and local dignitaries.  Parents beamed as they were called upon to lead their children to the stage.

The pre-schools are conducted using  Christian principles.    Students are exposed to the gospel message through the curriculum, songs and activities.    As part of the 10 month program, students also received a meal in the morning and were taught  to use improved hygiene practices, such as learning how to brush their teeth. 

At this time, the pre-school in Punta Biao pre-school will continue operating next year but the school in Guihing may be closed due to lack of funding.

There is a lot more we would like to share with you and invite you to view the Website at:

                                                      www.hohkids.com

Check out the recent pictures of the graduation, look through the staff pictures on the CRC Village Ministry page.  View some pictures of some of the village scenes and of course the kids living at the orphanage.

Focus on Scholars 

We are pleased to be able to support the continuing education of several scholar students from the villages.  This is made possible by the generous donations of people in the US, primarily from California.   The students are so grateful for the support for their education.   Each month we will try to focus on one of the scholars so that you can learn more about their lives and the blessing it is for them to attend school.

Below is a picture of Mary Rose.    Mary Rose lives in the village of Guihing and is 17 years old.   She is one of seven children and is a member of the Kalagan people group.   Her father is a worker in the banana plantation and the family lacks the resources to send their children to school beyond the elementary level. 

Mary Rose has been faithful in the ministries of the church that was planted in Guihing, serving in the past as Youth President and is also a member of the Praise and Worship Team.    She earned a small allowance last year which allowed her to be able to attend a 10 month vocational course in Guihing.   This year, she will be starting college.  

She hopes to improve her chances for employment to help support her family.  She also desires to be a good example to other young people in the village so that they will aspire also to complete higher levels of education.  Mary Rose hopes to become a teacher.

We thank you so much for your faithful prayers and your financial support.    As stated above, we are running low on support for the Guihing program and will likely have to make some adjustments.    If you wish to make a financial donation, please go to the Sowers International Website at www.sower.org and follow the links to the donation page.  You can also send a donation directly to:

Sowers International

PO Box 2260

Orange, CA    92859

Please be sure to mark your donation for "CRC Philippines ministries".  

Thanks again for your prayers and interest in God's work here in the Philippines.

May God continue to bless you as He is blessing us.

Philip Pabalate

for the CRC Staff and Ministries