|
|
|
Christians'
Haven is an evangelistic mission to street children in the Philippines. THE
CALL In
September 1996, God laid a burden on the hearts of Ken and Angelica Oosting to
get involved in a ministry. God brought a street child into their lives during
their honeymoon in Iligan City, Philippines.
It soon became clear to the Oostings that God was presenting the needs of street children as a mission
project. Today,
over 400 children under the age of 14 live on the streets of Iligan City. Many
children are abandoned or orphaned by the age of two. With no adult supervision,
many children become involved in crime and prostitution in a desperate struggle
to survive. The majority of street children live a brief, unhappy life with no
one to share the saving love of God with them. THE
MISSION
Our goal
is to introduce these children to the love and saving grace of our Lord by: Ø
Loving
them Ø
Providing
a safe, wholesome environment Ø
Teaching
the Bible Ø
Sharing
our Faith Ø
Providing vocational training THE
FOUNDATION Ken
and Angelica, to begin work with street the
children, laid a solid foundation. They conducted a feasibility study in the
Philippines and created ties with local government officials. Five acres was
purchased and property preparation began. Christians'
Haven's goal is to provide a campus
haven for 100 children when completed. The haven will be built in phases. Ten
cottages will house ten children each. A school will be built on the grounds as
well as vocation training facilities. The staff will
be educated and trained to meet the educational, social, and spiritual needs of the children. Concurrently with the campus preparation,
Christians' Haven began feeding children out of the Abundant
Life Church in Iligan City. Before long there were about
20 boys sleeping on the church floor as
our minister Bevin Bernales feed them and shared the
Gospel. To accommodate these unexpected, but very welcome, houseguests, Christians' Haven rented a
house in Iligan City and the boys as well as the Bernales family moved into a
more homelike setting. Christians' Haven is a 5-acre campus located in the mountain village Tuod, just outside the town of Manticao on the southern island of Mindanao in the Philippines. Christians' Haven currently provides approximately 25 street children with food, clothing, shelter, and the teaching of the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Construction on the new campus began in 1999. The
first building, a barn, was completed in early January 2000. The
building was critical to the campus as it securely stored construction materials as
additional buildings and facilities were built. To date, a
well has been dug and
is producing clean drinking water. In addition, a retaining
wall for the riverbank is completed. Furthermore, workers and masons have erected a 6-foot
stone boundary wall around the perimeter of the campus. Workers carried the
stones, one by one, from the river that runs
through the campus. In 2000 campus construction began on the first
building to house children, house parents, and helpers. While
the house was under construction, Christians' Haven operated out of a rented house in nearby
Iligan city. This rented house was secured in order to relocate
the feeding program from a church at the center of
the city. The distance from the center of the city provided the children a better chance for a new
start, as they struggled to break away from their old way of life. In late 2001 construction was completed on the first
building. The building is two stories with each level designed to accommodate at
10 children, house parents, and helpers. The Christians' Haven
family moved in
to their new home in November 2001. This is truly a blessing to have our family
in the peaceful mountains away from the city influences.
|
