written by June Harvey Flores, ICCM Philippines Project Manager
Not everyone would find a pig to be a good gift. However, children looking toward their future schooling think they are a wonderful gift!
ICCM Philippines have given pigs for children in Bless the Child Ministries, one of its projects in Panagangan, Agusan del Sur. Everyone was excited to see the pigs, especially Ryan and Christina.
Ryan is in the 8th grade. He loves playing chess and solving the Rubik’s cube with his friends. He dreams of becoming an architect someday. His pig can help him save up some money. He enjoys going to ICCM classes. He especially loves to hear Bible stories.
Ryan, Philippines
Christina is in the 10th grade. She enjoys playing volleyball with her friends and loves to sing in church. She dreams of becoming a medical technologist someday. Once her pigs has piglets, it will surely be an opportunity for her to save money for college.
Ryan and Christine are two of the first group of beneficiaries for ICCM Bless the Child Ministries’ Pig Project. They hope that through this project other children and families will be able to have an avenue to start a fund for the future of the ICCM sponsored kids and somehow help in the burden of their parents. Who would’ve thought one pig could help fulfill God’s promise for His children!
written by Mark Logan, Northgate Pastor, Batavia, NY (blog excerpt)
“Once you choose hope, anything’s possible.”
Christopher Reeve
August 22, 2019
It’s about 6:15 a.m. the door to my room is open to the outdoors. I am listening to the wonderful birds of Africa wake the world. A group of people are tending to their crops by hand on a plot of land in the distance. A child just walked by with a large bundle of sticks on his head. The motorbike taxis are already transporting people here and there.
Today is our last day at Gahanda. I have mixed feelings. I am sad because my stay is drawing to an end. I am thankful for all that has taken place. The little school and church Northgate has been called to help has changed over the last two years. And the future is so bright. These teachers from Northgate that I have had the honor of being here with have brought so much hope into the lives of the Gahanda teachers. You can see it on their faces!
And the sponsored children and their families have been impacted in a life changing way. I had the privilege of visiting a sponsored child and family who now have a cow and new home because of one of our church members. The sponsored child’s mother told me, “I don’t know why God chose us, because I am unworthy … but I am so grateful He did!”
I sent photos of that meeting to the sponsor from Northgate and this is her reply, “Oh my ! I am just so humbled God chose me to sponsor that sweet child. His direction led me to pick Nadine that day. Isn’t that just like God? My heart is full and I feel so saddened to know how rich I am compared to those you are visiting in the community. It just seems so unfair. This world will end (someday) and then – oh then my friend, all of us that love Jesus will spend eternity in heaven! No rich or poor.”
Today, I continue to choose hope because of all of the above and so much more! Anything is possible!!!
When I accepted the call of God and the Free Methodist Church to lead International Child Care Ministries, I could never have imagined the joyful journey I was about to begin. Eleven years later, my memories are expansive and glorious! My travels have brought me to exotic lands, beautiful cultures, teeming cities pulsing with life, and, most of all, precious people whom I will always love and never forget. ICCM is in my heart and mind forever. I’ve been delighted by and loved children in more than 30 countries!
On July 17, I was honored and deeply humbled to be elected as one of three new bishops in the FMCUSA. For several months, I had been prayerfully submitting to whatever decision would be made, ready to receive it as God’s will for my life. I have to admit, those months were bittersweet, as I considered the possibility that I would need to hand over “my baby” to another director. That day has come — yet I couldn’t be more pleased.
It is now my high honor and deep joy to announce the appointment of Rev. Alma Thompson as director of ICCM. Alma and her husband Brent serve as co-superintendents of the Ohio Conference of the FMC. Brent will continue as superintendent; Alma will begin as ICCM director this month.
It is now my high honor and deep joy to announce the appointment of Rev. Alma Thompson as director of ICCM. Alma and her husband Brent serve as co-superintendents of the Ohio Conference of the FMC. Brent will continue as superintendent; Alma will begin as ICCM director this month.
Rev. Alma is a graduate of Houghton College (NY) and was ordained as a Free Methodist elder in the Genesis Conference in 2004. She has served as a pastor and also a missionary to Honduras. She and Brent are parents of a mixed-ethnicity family formed through foster care and adoption.
Anyone who has heard Alma preach knows that she’s a passionate communicator. She’s also a strategic leader and an outstanding developer of people. She’s known as a creative mentor and community networker. Her life is always and intentionally cross-cultural.
Behind the scenes, Alma fills her life with neighborhood children. You’ll see some of their pictures on page 2 of this newsletter. On the day I called Alma to see whether she would be interested in being considered for this position, she asked me to hold the phone while she answered the door. “It’s several neighborhood kids; I invited them over to bake a cake.”
On her application form, when asked “Tell us how you would view this job as ministry,” she wrote, “Ahh … what clearer ministry could there possibly be?!” and listed several Bible verses, including Jesus’ words, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3).
Six a.m. Wednesday, August 14, do you remember what you were doing at that moment? Around 6 a.m.-9 a.m. (CST), you weren’t aware of it, but during those hours, you, an ICCM sponsor, were being prayed for!
As many of you know, for the past several months my name has been among those being considered to serve the Free Methodist Church on the Board of Bishops. On July 17, the church honored me by electing me to serve in this role, along with two fine colleagues, Keith Cowart and Matt Whitehead. I’m humbled, amazed and grateful that my Lord has seen fit to entrust to me this leadership responsibility.
After 28 years of serving the Free Methodist Church, first as a pastor then for the past 10½ years at ICCM, I took a six-week mini sabbatical. For one week, I was in a silent retreat at an abbey in the Coronado National Forest of Arizona. I watched the sun rise silently over these mountains every morning, and then I went to chapel and let the sound of Psalms being sung wash over me. I read six books, journaled, prayed, exercised and rested. It was wonderful! The other weeks were filled with rejuvenating time with dear friends … and more exercise and rest in beautiful Arizona.
Thrive, a group of young women in Kenya who are raising awareness of gender based violence, human trafficking and ways to connect survivors to services, has been traveling to International Child Care Ministries schools to talk with and educate girls about Days for Girls (menstrual health and sanitation).
Thrive is a group of young women in based in Nairobi, Kenya who are raising awareness of gender based violence, human trafficking and ways to connect survivors to services. (Top row from left: Yvonne, Lillian, Violet, and Kathleen. Bottom row from left Jayne, Pheliciters, and Naomi. Naomi, Violet, Yvonne, Kathleen, and Lillian are ICCM alumnae.)
Violet reports, “The Days for Girls was such a nice experience. The girls were very excited to receive the kits, which are beautiful. We taught them how to count their days so they could be prepared in advance. Everyone concentrated fully as was evident from their eye contact and facial expressions.”
“Such training is vital. They could share their views from their perspectives and they asked burning questions. The training is important, providing facts that dispel misleading, inaccurate information gained through friends. Some parents do not share with their children the whole process, how and why it occurs. In many cases the girls are not comfortable sharing with their parents what happens in their bodies.”
“Having such training is crucial because the girls count on us as their big sisters. The schools were supportive. Some teachers came to assist us.
The Days for Girls kits will help the girls to fully attend classes and this improves their performance. We are thankful for the hands that prepared the Days for Girls kits.”
Without a solution to manage their monthly cycles:
“Around the world, girls and women resort to using rags, mattress stuffing, banana leaves, feathers, and even cow dung to manage their menstruation. Days for Girls provides a safe, beautiful, washable, and long-lasting alternative — along with vital health education.”
— DaysforGirls.org
Achiever. Leader. Teachable. Dependable. These are the qualities that define an 18-year-old ICCM scholar, Sheila May Bayanban.
She has been sponsored for 11 straight years, and while being a sponsored child she has become a role model to the younger generation in their hostel in Saloy, Calinan, Philippines.
She expresses how thankful she is for International Child Care Ministries and her sponsor for being a great help in her life for 11 years.
Without them, she would not be able to study in high school because of financial constraints.
In return, Sheila has been a good steward of God’s blessings.
Since 7th grade, she has always been one of the Top 10 in her class.
She is also a leader in the hostel and at school.
The young achiever shares how the training and the rules in the hostel has molded her to be self-controlled, disciplined, and confident.
She willingly observed the rules because she knew that they help her grow and become better.
Being one of the eldest occupants in the hostel, she is also one of the facilitators.
Sheila advises from her own experience that once you are a leader, you need to be patient and understanding.
You also need to act first so that others will follow.
How she has dealt with the children in the hostel has taught her to adjust and be confident in dealing with her classmates at school.
Above all, she never forgets to acknowledge God for being the source of knowledge and wisdom, and for touching her sponsor’s heart.
