Here's a summary of our on-going ministries in Tacloban City!
28 April 2017 is a special day for us! Our Sparklers Batch 2 kids have completed a One Year Pre-school Education at our tutorial centre.
We are so proud to watch our 10 graduates from Batch 2 present this worship song "Its a Gift to You"! Out of these 10 kids, 7 of them will start to go to Elementary School this coming June. Jobert (on far right) is a special needs child who will continue with our Batch 3 pre-school program, this time, with a trained special needs teacher, Teacher Emily. Clint (the youngest boy on the first row) together with MeeAnn (on far left) will also join our Batch 3 program as they are only turning 5 in the next school year and are both underaged for Elementary School at this time.
Redjoy was a child whose family was struggling with poverty so much that the children were often seen on the streets without clothes or slippers. Today, Redjoy graduates from our program with 2 awards - most obedient student and most diligent student. As she gets promoted to Elementary School this coming June, her younger sister, Ruby will join us at Sparklers Tutorial Batch 3.
Gedion was so joyful in the above picture. But sad to say, just one week after our graduation day, his mom left him. Gideon cries for his mom everyday, but we are glad that he feels safe and secure in our ministry house. He would draw and paint with the teachers and even watch cartoons.
We are glad to have Teacher Joy and Teacher Emily join our Sparklers Family! Teacher Joy has a diploma in Computer Studies and Emily has a diploma in Teaching Special Needs Children. They both have the passion to care for our children and their families. They are now busy doing their lesson plan and preparing all the teaching materials for our new school year starting on 5 June 2017!
With a second Sparklers Ministry House @ Villa Sofia, we are able to take in twice the number of students compared to last 2 years. Reymond, Leenard and Cloe are 3 of the 23 students who will join us in Batch 3! Stay tuned to know all of them in our Sparklers' Kids Page!
On-going renovations at our 2nd Ministry House! Thank you Teacher Terry and Teacher Salvie for offering your own house for ministry! Thank God for your family's big heart!
Special thanks to Villa Sofia for building a playground in this community! Its such great fun for our Sparklers Kids to have some bonding time @ play!
Children's Ministry is allowing kids to climb on your back and play with your hair! With house-to-house visitations, Sparklers walks into the families and impact lives one at a time. We know their parents, grandparents and siblings! We are able to have heart to heart talks with the family members and pray with them whenever we visit. We believe that by doing so, Sparklers is able to have a holistic ministry and with time, the spiritual atmosphere in that community will start to shift. :)
Its disheartening to see kids falling sick and going to the hospitals. I could no longer count how many times I did children's ministry in the hospitals but I thank God that when we are weak and vulnerable, we were able to experience His strength and miracles upon our lives! I'm overjoyed to announce that Jannah is well and has been discharged!
Our Sparklers Mothers are so talented but they do not have a chance to excel with a good career as they need to stay home to take care of their kids. Some of our kids lost their fathers due to Typhoon Haiyan and for others, the families are neglected because their fathers are addicted to drinking and gambling and they rarely bring money home. Last February, we started this program to give our Sparklers Mothers an opportunity to earn an income while staying home to care for their young children. We are glad to have Teacher Joy take care of this program! She is so good with crochet she can make anything I request (like the cute jellyfish and octopus) without having to watch youtube tutorials!
Here are some pictures of our Bible Study with Sparklers Parents! Teacher Terry and Teacher Salvie are doing such a wonderful work in teaching the kids every Monday to Friday; and ministering to their parents with God's word every alternate Thursdays afternoon. We believe that by caring for each individual child and extending such care to the families, the whole community can be reached over time!
Thank you for reading our blog!
To give to our ministry, please click here. We appreciate your kind heart and generosity to improve the lives of Sparklers Kids, their families and their communities! Any amount is a BIG help! :)