Testimony of a Volunteer Missionary

My first trip to Babyannes Mansion was in January of 2010, as part of a team who helped with the final building stages of the orphanage. Together, we painted murals on all the bedroom walls, built a massive 10’ x 150’ perimeter wall, hauled 40 truckloads of dirt- by hand, and planted a dozen mango, papaya and banana trees. Great stuff.! But what was REALLY great, was the feeling I had the moment I walked through the doors. I was home! And I could hear God say “This is what its all been for.! This.! This is why you love children the way you do. This is why your heart breaks for the homeless and marginalized. This is the plan I have for your life!” I knew right then that I would return….I just didn’t have the details.

So after a year of praying, (and not much planning) God brought me back to the Philippines. Only this time it would be for 3 months as chief cook and bottle-washer for the 53 children and staff at the orphanage. What an amazing experience! Each day was an adventure, and each day my heart was stretched, broken, healed and restretched again. And God was right there the entire time, through it all.

During my time at BAM – I have seen children come. I have seen children go as they were reunited with their parents who simply needed a little help during a difficult time in their lives. I have seen children brought to us by social services due to neglect or abandonment, and I have seen the dream that one day these children will have a loving and nurturing home. I have seen a child born, and I have seen that same child die just 12 days later. But mostly – I have seen lives changed.

I believe that God brought me to BAM at this time so that I could witness all these things. And through it all – I’ve seen God. I’ve witnessed how Our loving and faithful father pours out his grace each and every day, and provides in very practical ways. He provides our daily bread through the generous donations of items and money. He provides our strength, because this is SO MUCH MORE than any of us can do on our own. And He provides encouragement by allowing us to see the fruits of our labour. Nothing is sweeter than seeing how our efforts are changing the trajectory of not only the children’s lives, but their parents, and the lives of the staff at BAM through witness as well as the weekly bible study that Karen & Jenny have organized.

So in answer to the question – how has BAM blessed me……Like so many others who pass through these doors, BAM has impacted and shaped my heart and the direction of my life, and molded me into the person I am today, and the woman that I strive to be in the future.

Wendy Conford
Coquitlam Alliance Church Missionary

Early Birthday Present

When you think about birthdays, what comes to mind are cakes, presents and balloons; but, our 1 year and 11 month old Danica received an even greater gift for her birthday. Last June 16, 2011, we received an unexpected phone call from Operation Smile informing us that there is a final assessment for patients in need of reconstructive surgery scheduled the following day. As I shared this information with the admin and staff, excitement filled our hearts for the possibility of another operation for Danica. As I further reflected on this, awe and wonder of God’s goodness and timeliness filled my heart. Danica turned 2 years old on June 29, 2011 and I can’t help but think that this was truly God’s early birthday present for her.

On the morning of Friday, June 17th, together with Anthony and Karen, we headed to Pasay City General Hospital for the final assessment. Danica had to go through eight stations where her health condition was assessed by nurses, doctors and surgeons. Praise God, after less than 30 minutes Danica was deemed healthy enough to undergo the cleft palette operation for that afternoon! By 4:30 that the afternoon I had accompanied Danica in the waiting area of the Operating Room. I whispered a short prayer to the Lord asking for the surgery to go well and for Him to guide the hands of the surgeons and other medical professionals doing the operation. Praise God, the operation went smoothly and Danica is doing fine.

We are so grateful to partner with Operation Smile an Non-Government Organization (NGO), with dedicated medical professionals and caring staff who volunteer their time and talents to provide a safe and effective reconstructive surgery for children born with facial deformities like cleft lip and palette. Babyanne’s Mansion’s goal is to help restore Hope in Danica’s little life, while Operation Smile’s goal is to help restore her smile.

Please continue to remember Danica in your prayers as she recovers. She is currently on soft diet for a month, which has been a struggle for her especially during meals when she sees other children having solid food. Since the operation, Danica has been quite active. We also noticed that her pronunciation of some words are more understandable compared before. What a joy to see the God’s work manifested in the life of little children. Please pray for finances necessary for speech and language therapy to help Danica in this area of development, each session cost around $12 CAD. If you feel led to give towards this cause, please e-mail us at fishersministries@gmail.com or visit our website at www.fishersministries.ca to donate online. Thank you for loving and praying for our darling Danica!

- Jenn

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unKNOWN

I have dealt with abandoned children cases in the past, but the other day, when I did this particular intake, the word “unknown” haunted me as I wrote it line after line on the admission form.

Name of child: unknown
Date of Birth: unknown – Date Found: June 14, 2011 Age of child approx 2-3 yrs old.
Place of Birth: unknown – Place Found: Marketplace
Name of Father: unknown
Name of Mother: unknown
Medical History: unknown
And so on…

The little boy was sleeping in the arms of the case worker that brought him to our facility. His body was full of scabs, sores and open wounds. His hair had to be shaved to treat the wounds on his head. He wakes up as he was being handed to our nurse, he starts crying as he stared at the eyes of another complete stranger.

Still trying to process the reality in front of me, I think to myself “truth is stranger than fiction.” Just a week ago, we did an intake on 4 siblings ages 8 months to 6 years old who were abandoned in their home for 5 days until a local community official took them to Social Services. The grace of my sovereign God allows me to believe that He is in control and to Him, these children are KNOWN!

As I was interviewing the Social Worker who brought the little boy, I asked what name she wanted to give him– she paused for a second and said she’ll name the child after her cousin, Emmanuel. In my head, I was like “great choice!” To her, “Emmanuel” was just her cousin’s name – but as a Christian, I know what Emmanuel stands for – God with us! I did not think for a second that the choice of name for this child was coincidental. God was truly with this child during the time he was left all alone in the marketplace, He was with this child when he obtained every single wound in his little body, He was with this child when he was crying for his mom and when he was crying from hunger. God is with this child now, here at Babyanne’s Mansion.

- Karen

Testimony from a Missionary

I really do not know what to say, but before coming to BAM I had been struggling with brokenness and broken family life. I felt so distant from knowing what family was even though I surrounded myself with my friends, step-family and my church community. It was really hard to see and grasp the idea of God as my father and accept his fatherly love, but during the time at BAM I was blessed with the opportunity to see and understand Gods fatherly love for all those broken and needing to see and witness his love even if it isn’t from the status based biological family setting society expects us to consistently rely on. I was so blessed and encouraged by seeing how big God’s love is, even in the smallest moments of childrens, who have endured suffering, smile and laugh. BAM, as a a place and organization, Jennie, Carmen and Anthony, and Karen showed me what it is to put all their trust in God and be willing to take risks that may not please many people who have hopes and expectations in what they will do or could do, but please God and utilize and put into practice the passions that God put on their hearts. My time at BAM has began to heal me and it showed me what God’s love is and where the root of love is from and how no matter what we do, we know that our ultimate father will always be there for us. I have learnt so much from BAM and only pray that others will be able to witness the God given life and love changes that BAM is offering to children and anyone who goes there. My biggest prayer for the founders, house parents and staff and children is that Gods hand continues to enrich their lives and guide them to know his heart and receive the vastness of His love.

Love you all and miss you,

Jennie Stanford

New School Year

On June 6th, 2011, five of our children attended their first day of classes at Tarcan Elementary School. Preschoolers Christian and Joy attended kindergarten class while the bigger children Jochelle, Andrea and Harry were enrolled as first graders. The children were all thrilled to wear their uniforms and shoes to school along with their backpacks with school supplies such as pencils, crayons and notebooks. I want to say a special thank you for our generous supporters who donated the first set of uniforms and school shoes for the children.

The children were given an orientation during their first day of school and were then assigned to their specific sections. As the children begin their formal education and enhance their social experience by mingling with peers and meeting new friends, we are hopeful that this is contributing to each child’s better future.

Should you wish to give donations in kind towards the Educational program, we are looking for the following:
- A second set of uniform
- Socks
- Shoes
- School supplies such as: pad paper, colored paper, pencils, crayons, stroller bags

As the rainy season once again starts we are also in need of raincoats, rain boots and umbrella. You can also give a financial donation towards other costs such as special projects and field trips at school.

- Jenn

Vacation Bible School

We had a fabulous week on May 9–13, 2011 as twelve children had the opportunity to experience a 5day Vacation Bible School (VBS) summer event in the home.  The theme of the event focused on “The Fruit of the Spirit” where the children were taught the value of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control through various bible stories.  We had a great opportunity to plant seeds in the lives of the children and to share the love of Jesus in a fun, biblical and life-changing manner.

A dear friend Ms. Marisol Llenado helped organize the program and conducted the story telling. Teacher Carmen was in charge of welcoming, praying and assisting with the craft activity.  Karen taught the kids the actions to the song “Fruit of the Spirit” and our volunteer, Mary Kris helped prepare and build the props for the event.

The entire week was a lot of fun, high energy and lots of laughter.  The children thoroughly enjoyed every single activity and the special treats prepared for them. It was filled with prayer, learning of action songs, story time, small group where the children got to answer questions about the story, memory verse, coloring activity, and the children also learned other songs like “Big Backyard” & “The greatest commandment.”

On the final day of the event, the kids had a simple graduation where they were given a certificate of completion.  They also performed the song they learned and recited the memory verse.  Several awards were also given to the children to their delight, some of these are Best in Memory Verse to Christian, Most helpful to Joyjoy, and Most Creative/talented to Harry.  It is truly a joy to see little children grow in the knowledge of the Lord and in caring for others.

-Jenn

God’s grace over Jay-em’s surgery

Jay-em thanking one of his supporters

On May 30, 2011, Jay-em went to the Philippine Heart Center (PHC) for his routine check-up.  That afternoon, we received a phone call from his doctor asking if we could take him back to the hospital that evening for admission.  A scheduled surgery for June 1st has been cancelled for someone else and they chose to give the slot to Jay-em amongst many other patients.

Jay-em underwent the surgery in the afternoon of June 1st.  Much prayers have been uttered for the success of his operation and by the grace of God, all went well!  After the surgery, we were informed that Jay-em will be transferred to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for a close monitoring of his recovery.  Praise be to God, he was doing so well, the doctors deemed it unnecessary to take him to the ICU ward.  Jay-em spent 24 hours in the recovery room; afterwards was brought back to the pedia ward for recovery and observation.  Five days later, on June 6th he was discharged from the hospital and brought back to Babyanne’s Mansion.

Since his operation, we noticed a significant change in Jay-em’s physical and emotional state.  He is much happier and more energetic, we have to remind ourselves he is still recovering from his surgery!  The story of God’s grace over Jay-em’s surgery is a blessing to all of us!  Overnight, God provided the money we needed in time for his admission ($2,000CAD).  Jay-em and our staff found favor in the sight of the medical professionals at PHC and we were treated very well!  Jay-em’s recovery is astounding all of us, we can’t help but believe God surely has great plans for this little boy’s life.

We thank all of you, our friends for supporting Jay-em during this life-changing event in his life.  Your prayers and financial support gave him the much needed and much awaited heart surgery. We are truly grateful, to God be all the glory!

Update on Jay-em

 

Jay-em is our 1 year, 7 month old child who has been dealing with a congenital heart disease shortly after he was born.  He was brought to the care of Babyanne’s Mansion at 10 months old.  Over the last eight months, our team of social workers, nurses and our executive director have been coordinating with various government agencies and the Philippine Heart Center (PHC) to get Jay-em scheduled for a charitable surgery to correct his condition.

In September 2010, in coordination with the Philippine Heart Center Social Service Department, we were able to get a 90% discount which meant we only needed to raise P60,600 to cover the cost of Jay-em’s surgery, namely: “PDA Closure and repair of coarctation.”

In April 2011, we were once again informed by PHC that all charitable surgeries are on hold due to lack of government funding.  We were advised by the physician to approach Social Services once again to elevate Jay-em’s “class” in order for us to even be entertained his much needed procedure.  Without further delay, we went to the Social Service department do discuss the matter.  At that point, our only option was to increase our contribution to the surgery from P60,600 to P159,000.

Because we had already raised the P60,6000 ($1,515.00CAD)previously, we are now endeavoring to  raise the rest of the funds which is P98,400.00 ($2,460.00).  We were advised by the hospital that Jay-em will likely be scheduled for the procedure by the end of May or beginning of June.  This gives us a few weeks to raise the remainder of the necessary funds.

On behalf of our team at Babyanne’s, we ask that you prayerfully consider giving to this cause.  Jay-em has grown weaker over the past months and is more susceptible to illness due to his condition.  Our team is trying our best to support and love him during this time.  If you feel led to give, please visit our website for more information or send us an e-mail at fishersministries@gmail.com.

- Karen

 

The New Danica

Hi Friends!

This update is long overdue, but it’s still worth the read.

Our 1 year and 10 month old, Danica has successfully undergone her cleft lip surgery last February 2011 courtesy of Operation  Smile.  Danica had a hard time during her recovery process, but all of us at Babyanne’s tried our very best to love on her during that time.  Today, Danica is a thriving little girl.  She does well with the routine in the home and positively interacts with her peers and caregivers.  We praise  God for the successful cleft lip operation.  Please continue to pray for her general health as we await for her cleft palate surgery, hopefully sometime this year.

Thank you to all of you who kept her in your thoughts and prayers.  Big thanks also to those who donated financially for the costs associated with Danica’s surgery.  God bless you!

On behalf of all the staff and kids at Babyanne’s, we send you our love!

Karen

Cash in Wardrobe & Change Lives!

A group of students from the University of Kansas Medical Center and some of the members of New Hope Church of the Nazarene are donating their formal dresses and other items of clothing to be sold on eBay from April 2 – June 20, 2011.

Their goal is to raise $1,000 wherein 100% of the proceeds will benefit the children of Babyanne’s Mansion.

To start bidding on these beautiful dresses, click here.

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Many thanks to those who donated their clothing and for Isaac Alongi for free photography.