Tendai Chirau left Manchester some months ago now for Gulu Uganda, since she felt God had sent her to work in a hospital there for a season; she returns to us in September. Here Tendai reports on the work that God is doing through her there.

“Firstly, thank you for your prayers: I am now fully registered to practice here and my visa is sorted. I thank the Lord for his strength through these tough days. This is the only hospital with an orthopaedic surgeon in Northern Uganda and Southern Sudan, so it’s very busy. I currently attend an English-speaking, cell-based community church here. I help with the children’s work which has enabled me to make some good friends in the church.

Allow me to testify how God has enabled me to touch the lives of people in Gulu. One day the Holy Spirit directed me to a house where many children were playing outside. I actually returned another day with bread and juice. A pregnant lady, sitting outside the house, introduced herself as Molly. I told her that Jesus had prompted me to bring her a gift and that he loved her so much. She told me she was a Christian but hadn’t met with the Church as she was heavily pregnant with her fourth child. We chatted for an hour and I told her I would visit her again. I returned three weeks later but sadly complications had led to the death of Molly and her unborn child, of which I was informed by her husband, who was also a Christian. He also told me how Molly told him of the lady who brought juice and bread. Had I not obeyed the Holy Spirit, I may never have been able to tell Molly how much Jesus loved her. I prayed with her husband and family and will visit them again.

Another time the Holy Spirit directed me to a teenage girl, called Helen, sitting outside her home;the left side of her face was swollen.She agreed to let me pray for her and her grandma, who had chronic pain down her left side. Helen had planned to have surgery the following day to remove the swelling, but when I met her the next day the swelling and other problems had completely gone – no surgery needed! Later I discovered her grandma’s suffering had gone as well. Helen is a Christian and a very good friend to me.

Yet another day the Holy Spirit directed me to Abdullah, a man selling clothes at the market. Abdullah told me he was a Muslim; I told him I was a child of King Jesus who made Heaven and Earth. I gave him a bunch of bananas that day. I see Abdullah three times a week and try to share the gospel with him each time. Once he said ‘Praise Jesus’. Though he refused to let me pray for him, I believe he will yet know King Jesus.

I thank God that in the hospital I have encouraged and prayed for many patients, relatives and staff members. I even prayed for the ward manager who had chronic rib pains. The pain didn’t go immediately but after praying on a few occasions it has now gone. Now when she sees me she lifts both arms in the air, something she was previously unable to do.”

Tendai

Let us continue to pray for Tendai, that the Lord would give her strength, provide for her financially and add to the fruit she is seeing there. May we also follow her example in obeying the Holy Spirit.

April and May is school holiday in the Philippines and a busy time for all of us in MWBPI. It is time for VBS (vacation bible schools), youth camps, practical training of bible school teams from Norway, distribution of school supplies for the poor, and many other ways of showing the love of God as we are preaching the good news about Jesus Christ. Already more than 800 children have enjoyed the VBS in different places. In Midsayap alone 337 children had their lives touch by Jesus Christ as his disciples ministered to them in different villages. As I write this news letter we are just finishing a youth camp here in Palawan with 7 people baptized and another youth camp in Ozamiz. Lives are changed and young people become disciples of Jesus Christ.

Along with the proclamation of the gospel, God is doing miracles for people. I got this testimony from Eddie and Ruth: Two months ago, we prayed for a woman desiring to have a baby. They have tried for 6 years. Since the time we prayed, she also started to serve the Lord and helped us feeding the children in Rogonan. Last Sunday, she came with her husband, praising and thanking the Lord for the answered prayer. She was now 2 months pregnant and her husband with tears in his eyes gave glory to God!

The Bible school building at Core is taking shape and will be finish last part of June. We give thanks to the Lord for all his goodness towards us. The roof is now being done and the stairs in the front is built with stones from the river.

We are in the process of building up our emergency unit in Mindoro so we can respond to disasters and bring relevant help to the people in the communities in Mindoro. Already we have done two relief operations the last two weeks responding to the need of villages burned down. There was great joy as the people from the village listened to the good news about the love of God helping us through calamities and problems. The word of God gave them hope and the comfort of the Holy Spirit was right there among us. We have purchased 30 tents from China and after fighting the corrupt custom system here, we got the tents last week.

The training of the voluntaries are going well and they learn languish, culture and more about the kingdom of God.

Tone and Noralv

We are so blessed to look at all that God has done in the year 2010. Full of admiration for a great God we say: Thank you Lord!

Filipinos love Christmas parties and they know how to celebrate. In addition to giving out Christmas baskets to the poor and needy, we also do Christmas parties for the different programs like jail ministry, school programs, dump site (garbage tip), people with disabilities and livelihood. It is a great time to share the love of God in deed and words.

Persons with disabilities in Picgawayan were given a chance to have their Christmas party. Together with the church and DSWD we were able to bless more than 70 disabled people. I got this report from Ruth and Eddie in the church there: They were thankful to the Lord and they were happy for the delicious meal, for the groceries, and for the word of God shared to them. They said “it’s different”, I know it’s the joy and love from the Lord. Some of them were saying thank you, with tears coming down from their eyes. Jesus said: I was sick and you stopped to visit.

The prison in Mamburao is one of five prisons we are working into. We are sharing the GOOD NEWS about Christ and gave praise to the Lord. Everybody loves the games and is having a lot of fun. We had a good meal of pansit and gave toilet requisites as Christmas gifts. Both the trustees of the inmates and the guards said thank you for the work done during the year. Jesus said: I was in prison and you came to me.

We had a Christmas party for women who delivered their babies at our new Iselin centre in Mindoro. 29 mothers with babies came for the gathering. They enjoyed the word of God, some teaching on family planning, and they were all given caps and socks knitted in Norway. It is good to see how they are lifted up and given dignity as mothers. The midwifes are doing an outstanding job demonstrating the love of God to people in a vulnerable situation.

The poor and needy are helped with a Christmas basket to celebrate Christmas Eve with their loved ones. We are touched by the gratefulness of the people receiving Christmas baskets in Mindoro. More than 300 were invited to our Community Developing Centre at Core. Most of them are Mangyans from the nearby villages. One old god-fearing Mangyan lady came to say thanks to Jesus together with me. My limited Tagalog is no problem when we want to give thanks to the Lord. Signs are working and God receives our praise! We also receive many gifts, vegetables and fruit, which I transported back to our children’s home in Cavite. The people like to show their appreciation for the help given during the year. Jesus said: I was hungry and you fed me.

Seeds of Hope Centre are functioning very well. Our day care here at the garbage tip is doing fine and the children are eager to learn the basic skills of reading and writing. All the families at the garbage tip received Christmas baskets today. People are very grateful and we had smile and laughter all over the place. We will help one of the families with a small loan to start a business, so they don’t need to be at the garbage tip any longer. We see small steps of change already and give praise to the Lord!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you!

Tone and Noralv

The Philippines is located in the typhoon belt and have an average of 20 typhoons a year. The season for typhoons is from July to November, so we are coming to the end of the season now. The last Typhoon hit land at the very northern part of Luzon and we only felt the side effects of it. The rough sea stopped the ferries going to Mindoro for one week. We have never experienced this before.

The jail ministry is bringing great fruit for the kingdom. We are working into five different prisons and everywhere we see lives changed to the glory of God. Do pray for Johnny, Joey, Mey and Joel who is heading up the ministry in different places.

In Midsayap we are reaching new villages with the gospel. As we go into a village, we first ask God for the needs He wants us to minister to in the village. We then bring help to the whole community. In that way the whole village opens up for the gospel and we see community transformation. In the village of Medal we have given the whole village water and in that way reduced the sickness and promoted health. There is great openness for the gospel and we are seeing a church born there.

The inauguration of “Seed of Hope Centre” at the dumpsite in Cavite was a great experience yesterday. We have a great respect for the people working at the dumpsite. Even with very hard work, it is difficult to find enough to feed their families. It is good to be God’s answer to the prayers of the children to have more food.

The centre is finished and we have drilled a well for the water supply. We must practice what we teach concerning cleanliness. The celebration went on for two hours with thanksgiving and praise, speeches, special number from the children at the dumpsite and some very good food for everyone to enjoy.

The centre is used for feeding of more than 100 children twice a week, Bible studies as well as other gatherings. In the centre we also plan to start a preparatory school for the children that have not started school yet. Thanks for all your prayers!

Noralv Askeland

We are experiencing some action as Hulda and Solveig witnessed an armed robbery at the local SM shopping mall here in Cavite. Three guards were shot and wounded. We give thanks to the Lord for His protection of all here.

We have started the work among the 80 families living at the dump site in Cavite.

Twice a week we have feeding for 70 children, teaching them cleanliness and the word of God together with a nutrient-rich chicken soup and vitamins. They are very hungry and the mothers are very grateful for the help. It is hard to understand how people can live in such conditions.

We wanted to start a day care for the children, but the local government first said no. When they now see what we are doing through the feeding without a building, they changed their mind and gave us permission to do all we have planned. Today we signed the contract and we are starting to put up the building next week.

In Mindoro we had an inauguration of the new multipurpose house with Joey and Vivian in Mamburao. The old house collapsed due to termites and this new place will be a great tool for the church as well as for the fisherman ministry and jail ministry.

We also plan for the church to have a daycare for poor children in the area. In the picture (right), people are enjoying food and fellowship in front of the building.

In Mindoro we also have a good working relationship with the police. Once a month I am invited to do a Bible study to bring every policeman to God, so there will be a change in the whole police corps. I believe in the power of the word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit to make a change.

In Mindanao we gave slippers to 90 children in the village of Rongonan together with second-hand clothes from Norway. Most of the children had no shoes and very little clothes. We are working closely with the teacher assigned to this village. She is part of our church in Pigcawayan. It takes one and a half hour to reach the village, but the whole village is now opening up to the love of God. The children formed MWBPI with their slippers, to say thank you for the help given.

Tone and Noralv Askeland

Even though I was given a prophetic word by Ben Matheson the day before departure, that the journey itself to Sans Frontieriès would be significant, I was unprepared for just how much of an adventure it would be.

Excitedly, Vicky Whyborn and I boarded the breakfast flight for Charles de Gaulle, Paris, convinced we were fulfilling a dream she had experienced over a year before when she had seen me joining her on a bus headed for Manchester Airport in a particular hat I like to wear when I pray or prophecy. At the time we couldn’t think why we would be flying together but now we are going to join others in making prophetic declarations over France!

Finding ourselves sitting next to an affable French academic living in Wales and married to a Belgian, we became engrossed as he shared the presentation he had prepared to promote research into how a person’s native language can affect their perception of the world.

With conversation straying into creationism, we discovered that he had often visited a spirit-filled church in France as a teenager and we agreed that we would be praying for him.

Later, on the high speed TGV to Nantes I was astonished as I noticed my neighbour reading a book in English by the godly 14th century monk, Thomas à Kempis. We learned how this Chinese American art student, who had never encountered Christians before, was sincerely searching for God after being captivated by church art in Rome. Being artistic myself, I was fascinated by his story and over the next couple of hours Vicky and I became “living books” for him discussing how Jesus brought us into relationship with God and gave us a purpose in life.

Like Philip joining the Ethiopian on a journey, we were soon pouring over meaningful Bible passages together, sharing our love of God and our excitement at how we are invited to partner God in bringing heaven to earth. Amazed at the encounter, we conveyed our firm belief that God, seeing his great hunger, had sent two people to introduce him to Jesus.

The return journey was more of a challenge and I’d kept the elders in the picture asking for prayer by text. Travelling alone this time and despite every effort to make it, a train strike at St Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, a political demonstration in Nantes and heavy traffic through Paris resulted in missing my flight by just a few minutes.

Even a frantic impromptu shared taxi ride through famous Parisian streets, past the Sorbonne, over the Seine, views of the Eiffel tower, mounting pavements, sneaking down bus lanes and dodging trucks couldn’t get me to my plane in time. But it was a result for the Senegalese passenger going home to see family. I’d told him and the French Canadian taxi driver I was praying. Thanking me on arrival at the terminal, it seemed like my job was keeping the peace between them and changing the atmosphere in the taxi by singing to God!

Later that afternoon, lying down in my room at a nearby hotel, feeling utterly exhausted and really fed up that all flights were full until the next morning, I received a text from Dave Emmett reminding me of the word from Ben. I resolved to do more damage in the enemy camp as a protest at delayed journey.

In a busy nearby restaurant I soon got my chance. As I entered, the effusive Senegalese waiter delightedly informed me of his approval of English women and found every excuse to pass my table, grinning and making suggestions throughout my meal. On leaving, I told him that there was something better than the love of a woman – the love of God and passed him one of our Making Jesus Famous cards with details of King’s Church, swiftly correcting his assumption that it was my personal number!

Concluding that I am “a believer”, he introduced me to a smiling waitress from Ivory Coast who was very pleased when I told her that I had been in France to pray for the country and that my church family in Manchester sounded much like hers in Paris. Hearing this, the Muslim waiter asked me to pray for him there and then for his future. Still more to come!

On the return flight, I sat with a lovely Jamaican lady returning from a funeral, who I believe was a Christian, reading our Bibles side by side. I recounted how praying in tongues had strengthened me, healing me emotionally over a recent disappointment.

God is awesome and has been repeatedly showing me how he sends us on adventures, encouraging us to live in this world Sans Frontières.

Lis Herron

We’ve just received news of the successful graduation of the first 16 students from School of the Word in Canada. It’s great to hear how men and women from North America are being equipped and trained in taking the Gospel of the Kingdom to the world around them.

Dave and Richard spent a week each with School of the Word class in Canada over this last year and were able to impart to and share with the students in Canada their passion and heart for the Kingdom of God.

On Saturday 19th June, the class of 2010 from the School of the Word in the United Kingdom will graduate here in King’s House. For more information on all that is happening here in the UK with School of the Word, click on www.sotw.org.uk for more information

Gavin White

The camps
We thank God for what he has done in the camps last month. Over 100 youths received Jesus and were baptized in water and the Holy Spirit. We studied the word of God, talked about what we learned and prayed together. The team of young people from Norway and Vietnam did an outstanding job in the camps. In Ozamiz, 60 youths gathered in a resort. Many are former street children that have had their lives changed by Jesus. Some of them are now graduating from college. Jo Jo and Helen are doing a wonderful work for the Lord.

Street children
Some of these youth, which came off the street 5-6 years ago, are now leading the work among the street children. Every week they go out on the streets to gather the children for teaching, singing and a nice meal. It is done in three different places in the city. Children as young as four are among those gathered. As we come together in the open area in the centre of the city, it starts to get dark. The children sing with joy, listen very attentively to the word of God and pray with all their heart as they are lead in prayer. Then they have a meal with rice, chicken and vegetables.

The dump site
The school supplies are helping more than 5000 children go to school this year. It is also a powerful way of showing the love of God and we give both the children and the parents the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are now working at the big dump site in Cavite helping the poor families living there to send their children to school. On the picture you see some of the children at the dump site going home with new school bags. We will also start a feeding and daycare centre to bring change to the lives of the families living at the dump site.

Tone and Noralv Askeland

Adoption
Grace was seven days old when she was brought by her biological mother for adoption to our Center. Her mother just visited her once, and admitted that she could not care for her and wanted us to find good parents for her.

Grace stayed in our Center for 11 months. A Filipino, Christian childless couple both teachers by profession, fell in love with her immediately after seeing her case folder at the Social Welfare Office.

Mr. and Mrs. Jose and Janet Villa were just blessed for their new baby who was discharged to them on March 5, 2010. It is always a mix of joy and sadness as one of the children are leaving us. But our whole purpose for the children home is to find good parents for the abundant babies.

Medical mission
Is a program to help poor people with free medical and dental assistance. Today we had four dentists and two medical doctors helping almost 300 patients. These are all from our neighboring area in Cavite.

Because of the great help from the church in Ottawa Canada, we are able to help them all with free medication. They all listened to the gospel and learned how to receive Jesus. It is a great joy to be able to share the best medicine, ever – the gospel of the kingdom with the people.

Thanks for your help and prayers.

Noralv and Tone

We are happy to inform you that we have served 5,870 families affected by the three typhoons – Sante, Pepeng and Ondoy. We have reached out to nine cities in Metro Manila and two municipalities in the province of Cavite. The affected families were moved to the different evacuation centers, while others stayed in their houses which are floating in water and mud.

Our relief operations were done in coordination with the local government officials and the pastors of the local Christian churches. It was good to see people touched by the gospel every time we would share the goodness of God, and also show a demonstration of His love through the work that we are doing. You can see the faces of the people, some teary-eyed and some full of hope even in the midst of their difficult situations. We provided sleeping mats, blankets, towels, complete set of kitchen utensils, boots, assorted groceries like rice, noodles, milk, sardines, toiletries, cooking oil and soya sauce.

We are grateful to God for his people responding in times of need. In most areas the churches were also affected and had limited recourses to help the people around them. We came in and help them to reach out with the love of God to the people in their community. In this way they could build relationships and be a testimony in their area. It is wonderful that God’s people can be part of the answer in times of need.

(L-R) Some places looked awful; the help arrives from ministries without borders

Noralv Askeland