A Magical Christmas Party

Growing up, Christmas was always my favorite time of the year.  As a little girl this magical time of year couldn't come fast enough!  Some of my most fond memories are of Christmas activities.  I always loved making candy with friends at the Hardison's house, and cutting down our "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree" as a family in Fairfield Glade.  You can't forget the "tacky crafts" we made with Mrs. Stacey at Fairfield Glad to adorn the Christmas tree.  And then there was setting out milk and cookies for Santa at Ma's house as we anxiously awaited his arrival.  Most importantly I loved the importance of family and of giving my parents instilled in us during this special season.

After being in Cebu for the past two Christmases I realize these treasured memories are ones that most children around the world do not have.  Lists to Santa arent' made and decorating the Christmas tree as a family while Dad plays "Tennessee Christmas" on the record player is unheard of.  Here Christmas is just another day as most families struggle just to put food on the table.  If you can't put food on the table then how can you put presents under the tree?

Over the past two years working with Hope for Tomorrow and living in Cebu, God has taught me many special lessons.  One of those lessons centers around Christmas.  He's reminded me again and again Christmas day is about the celebration of His Son's birth.  Many times we get so caught up in the traditions and presents we forget the one BIG GIFT we truly are celebrating.  It's because of this Gift that we are called to share our gifts and blessings with others.  He's reminded me of the passage found in Luke 12:48 where he tells us "From the one that has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."  God has definitely entrusted me with much!  I don't know why I was chosen to be born in a blessed country and given the opportunity to have such a great job...but I was!  And since I was it's time for me to give back...especially this Christmas season! 

This Christmas Gepher and I wanted Christmas to be extra special for the children.  I wanted to share a piece of the Christmas magic with them (which I loved as a child) and build memories that would last a life time.  For one afternoon I wanted these special children to be kids.  I didn't want them worrying about carrying water from the nearby well or doing the laundry or looking after their younger siblings.  I wanted them to be children and experience Christmas as I remember Christmas being like as a child.  I wanted to remind them about the BIG GIFT (Jesus) we are celebrating as well as let them know they are special and loved.

 

The children love coming to our house!  (Wouldn't you if the place you called home was made of a thatched/tin metal roof with a dirt floor and walls made of bamboo mats?)  The children have been begging to come to our house but with the busyness of the season we just haven't had the chance.  That desire made us realize that the house was the perfect place to have a magical Christmas party!

 

 

Because our children spend their days doing chores (we'd consider the jobs of adults) and looking after their younger siblings (even though they are only 8 or 9) so the parents can go out to find food or money, we wanted this party to bring out the kid in each of these special children.  A Christmas party wouldn't be a party without fun Christmas themed relay games!  The children loved the Snowball Relay and the Candy Cane Relay...but the game that was the biggest hit of the day was Santa's Beard Relay.  In this game the children slathered their face in Vaseline and ran to dip their chin in a bowl full of cotton to make their very own Santa Beard.  The sights of the "Santa Clause" caused the children to erupt in laughter throughout the backyard!  Some of the children definitely looked more like a "Monster Clause" but either way the children had fun!!

 

    

 

    

 

What's a party without food (and a movie)?!?  In the Philippines you cannot enjoy a good Drive-In movie...but at the Lopina house you can enjoy a fun "Sit-In" Movie!  Thanks to a perfect concrete fence in our backyard and a projector the Lopina Movie Theatre showed "Brave" while the children enjoyed a perfect snack (since it didn't include rice it wasn't a meal).  This was the first time the children had ever watched a movie outside on a big screen.

 

   

 

Christmas is about giving.  God gave us the best gift ever in Jesus!  We have an opportunity at Christmas to give gifts to those we love to let them know they are loved and special.  These are exactly the gifts Hope for Tomorrow was blessed with this year to give our kids at Christmas.

 

 

The kids at Lebanon Road Church of Christ made each child a special tote bag, bookmark, and letters written to them.  Gepher and I have been focused this year on bringing the children (and their families) closer to Jesus.  In an effort to continue this while the children are at home Kuya and Ate had each child a Bible that was written on their reading level.  As each child's name was called to get their bag filled with special gifts there were cheers across the yard.  The children felt a level of love to know that children they will never meet cared enough about them to send them something they made!  WOW...that's what Christmas is all about...sharing Jesus.  As I watched the children carefully examine their bags and letters it reminded me of the passage in Matthew 25:40 where Jesus tells us "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers you did for me."  Thank you Lebanon Road for "doing for the least of these".

 

 

 

Kuya and Ate had one final surprise for the children.  We had a special "Santa Clause" purchase a toy for each child.  Toys are treasured possessions for our kids!  Most of our children do not have toys to play with. Instead they turn their slippers (flip flops) or rubber bands or sticks into toys.  Each child was given a number.  When their number was called they were allowed to choose any wrapped present from the boy or girl pile they liked.  As the paper was ripped off of the gifts...the air erupted in squeals of delight.  This was the magic of Christmas I wanted these children to experience!!

 

    

 

    

 

 

 

Smiles were plastered over everyone's faces (even the adults)!  Immediately toys came out of their boxes.  Little boys began racing their remote control cars all across the yard.  Helicopters invaded my back porch and robots marched across the grass.  Barbie dolls were admired for a while in their box as not to mess them up but eventually were carefully pulled from their boxes!  The air in the backyard was electric as everyone enjoyed the "Christmas morning joys" of the new special gift!

 

    

 

Although I didn't get to spend this Christmas with my biological family...I did get to spend this Christmas with my "adopted family".  The smiles, squeals, and joy on the faces of our "adopted children" are images that will not be erased from my mind.  Seeing them experience the magic of Christmas I have enjoyed for 20+ years was priceless.  For a moment these children were just kids.  Kids that are loved by our Savior and kids that are loved by you from across the globe.  The children on this special afternoon felt loved and special...just the way kids are suppose to feel.

Merry Christmas from Hope for Tomorrow

 

 

 

God has allowed us to bless the children of Hope for Tomorrow as well as their families this year because of your very kind generousity. We are forever grateful for your very special gift.

As we take a moment to stop and celebrate Christmas this year. May we remember the true reason we are celebrating. It's because of Him we are providing Hope to these children and their family.

May God continue to bless you in 2013 as you have blessed us.

(For anyone who would like to become involved with HFT in 2013, please visit our website or send us a note and learn how you can get involved.)
http://www.hopefortomorrownaga.com/

BACKPACKS, CRAYONS, & PENCILS OH MY!!

Just because this is our second year of Hope for Tomorrow, the excitement of starting school was still there.  Nothing says Back to School like the smell of new crayons and backpacks.

 

No matter how old you are or where you are from, brand new school supplies are always exciting!  This year we invited  our 32 students  along with their parents to the  church to discuss the logistics and expectations for this school year.  To make sure the children stayed attentive to the important information, we kept the backpacks filled with supplies out of sight.

 

Finally, the meeting came to an end and the highly anticipated event  of the day was ready to start.  The kids had been asking us what the backpacks looked like, what color they were , and other questions.  They were so excited they could hardly wait for their name to be called.

 

This year we were so  excited to have matching backpacks for all of our kids.  The teachers will be able to easily identify our children.  It also helps make our children feel extra special.  These children are  part of a society that tells them they aren’t important and they don’t matter.  At Hope for Tomorrow, we work hard to change these thoughts in our children.  Having matching backpacks is just one small step in helping them change their self-esteem.

 

Every child was called one by one so they could chose their specific backpack filled with all the things they needed to have a successful school year.  We are so excited for these thirty-two children as they begin a great adventure this school year.  God has BIG plans for them this year !

 

 

Our Brand New Library

Thanks to wonderful donations of children’s books, the HFT Library made its debut during the Summer Program.

For most children in the Philippines, books are a luxury. Books are an item that is treasured and loved but not something that most students own. Public Libraries and School Libraries do not exist.

Now our HFT children can grow their love of reading and expand their minds thanks to our brand new Library. The kids were excited to get to pick a book and sit and read. It was so neat to watch them pick books that reflected their personality (and even challenged their reading levels). You cannot open a book without learning something.

Our Library continues to grow with new offerings and is even outgrowing our current shelf space! What an amazing gift these books are for our children.

Jump Start to Success

At Hope for Tomorrow, school was in session before the first official day of school!

As we wrapped up our first year in March, we were excited to see such growth in the children both inside and outside the classroom.  We didn’t want to loose this growth and connection with the children over the summer.  As a way to stay connected and continue to help the students build a strong educational foundation, we started “Sonshine Summer School Spectacular”.

 

 

Sonshine Summer School Spectacular was an opportunity for children to experience hands-on fun learning and receive a nutritional lunch.  We were excited to be able to open the summer program to not only the HFT children but also our church families and the HFT siblings.  We had 50 children enroll for the summer.

Because the Filipino classrooms are so overcrowded (50-100 students per class), individual attention from a teacher and hands-on learning activities are things that don’t happen as they do in a US classroom.  The generous donations of learning games, books, and readers were put to great used and made the foundation of the program.  Kids earned stars for both attendance and participation which they could cash in for fun prizes in the Treasure Chest. 

The children were so excited about “having fun” and earning towards their Treasure Chest trip, they forgot they were learning.  This truth is a sign of a successful first summer program.  We can’t wait to see what this “Jump Start” will do for our children this school year!

 

Join Us on this AMAZING JOURNEY!!

May 14, 2012

Dear Friends and Family,

One year ago, my life forever changed.  God was at work in my life in ways that were both seen and unseen.  He lead me to the man I was to marry and serve Him with, Gepher Lopina.  He helped me smoothly transition my life to Cebu, Philippines.  And He moved mountains to make our dream of Hope for Tomorrow become a reality.

Life in the Philippines has become an adventure and an eye opening experience. You cannot walk outside your door in Cebu without being reminded how very little most of our world has.  It’s these scenes that help me realize just how very blessed we are.  As Americans we take lots of things for granted.  One of the biggest things we take for granted is a public school system that allows every child (despite economic standing) the opportunity to go to school.  In the Philippines, the school system will not allow a child to enroll in school if they cannot afford to provide their uniform, school supplies, transportation, lunch, and supplies for various school projects.  Even though the school system is supported by the government, the funding they receive is very minimal and therefore requires the student’s family to shoulder most of the expense.  The reality of some children being deprived an education due to their economic status touched our hearts and lead us to dream of starting a program that spread Jesus’ love through meeting the educational needs of the poorest of poor.

One year ago, Hope for Tomorrow was just a dream.  It was a dream of changing a child’s life, a dream of being Jesus in a tangible way, and a dream of sending only five students to school.  Today, Hope for Tomorrow is Matthew 17:20 in action.  “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed…nothing will be impossible.”  Because of faith and generosity of wonderful sponsors, the impossible has become possible for our twenty-eight children!

The average Filipino family today has 4.61 children on a yearly income of $4,700.  Unfortunately many families are put in situations where they must choose which children they can send to school.  This is where Hope for Tomorrow steps in and provides an education for a child.  Last year we sent twenty-eight students to school from three different areas of Naga, Cebu.  Many of the children we support are either over aged (for example 12 years old in the 1^st grade) or have had to stop going to school because they come from homes of 10 to 16 children and there was not money for both school and food.

The children in the Hope for Tomorrow program come from nothing.  Most of them live with dirt floors and bamboo walls.  Many of them have chores we would think should be done by adults.  They have worries most children their age should not have to even think about.  All of these responsibilities and realities steal their childhood and self-esteem.  When the children began school last year, they had low self-confidence and believed what society had told them; that they were not loved or important.  All of these feelings and beliefs have been washed thanks to Hope for Tomorrow.  With us they get to just be a kid!  They are loved and made to feel important.  It’s in this environment that we have seen the children soar!  They now feel special, loved and worth something.

We have so many wonderful memories this year of the children reaching new milestones.  I vividly remember James Ombao giving Gepher a high five because he could read!  James Ombao is an orphan whose sisters were feeding him out of a trash can before he joined Hope for Tomorrow.  Vanessa and Princess bring a smile to my face every time I remember them telling me they use to be teased at school because of where they live (they live outside of the cemetery as their mother’s clean the graves), but now because of HFT they aren’t!   I can’t help but smile when I think about Marilyn coming into church on Sunday to tell me she finished 10th in her class (and her Mom thought she was lying)!  And then there was Hannah Mae who was so proud of her homework grades that she couldn’t wait to pull it out of her backpack to show me at lunch.  I’ll never forget Joan who repeated the 3rd grade this year and finished with the highest grades she’s ever achieved.  These are just a few of the victories the children achieved.  It’s these faces and stories that will forever be etched in my heart and mind.  

We are so excited to see these children continue to grow into the children God always intended for them to become.  We love seeing their faces in Bible class every Sunday and the excitement they have for learning more about Jesus.  It warms my heart to see prayers answered as more of their families are coming to church and letting us have Bible studies with them.  God is definitely at work in this ministry.

There are many more children in Naga just like the twenty-eight we are currently supporting.  We would love to grow our program to 30 to 35 for the second year.  This will allow more children to experience Jesus’ love through the gift of an education.

We would love for you to join us on this fun and exciting journey.  There are two ways you can help be a part of “Hope for Tomorrow”.  The first is through financially supporting a child.  The Filipino school year runs from June to March.  For $300 a year (or $25 a month) you can send one child to school.  This will cover the costs of their uniforms, school supplies, books, food, transportation, a teacher, as well as supplies for school projects.  Gepher and I want you to be a part of the child’s life (if you wish); therefore, we will send you information on the child as well as pictures and progress updates.  The investment you can make in a child’s life is priceless when you consider how little it financially costs us.

There is a fund set up at Southside Church of Christ where your tax deductible donation can be sent either monthly or in a one lump sum.  Please be sure to indicate on the checks the funds should go to “Philippine Ministry – Hope for Tomorrow”.  We also have a website set up that will accept online donations.  We invite you to check out our ministry and support a student for the year at:  www.hopefortomorrownaga.com.

The second way you can help is by becoming a prayer warrior for a child.  We will pair you up with a child giving you details about them, their family, and their school situation.  Having an army of prayer warriors praying for both the spiritual and academic needs of the “Hope for Tomorrow” children will open doors for God to work in ways we cannot imagine.

Gepher and I would love to talk with you more about the work in Naga and Hope for Tomorrow.  You can reach both of us on Facebook or by email at hope.for.tomorrow.naga@gmail.com.  You call us directly at 615-831-1605 or 615-618-4454. 

We have also set up both a Facebook page and blog dedicated to Hope for Tomorrow.  We invite you to visit both to see all the transformations in the children through this amazing first year.  

Gepher and I are excited about the ways God is working in Cebu and specifically Naga.  We are eager to see how He will use “Hope for Tomorrow” to touch hearts and change lives.  We hope that you will join us either financially or prayerfully as we work to change the future of the Philippines one child at a time.

Blessings,

 

Gepher & Andrea VanDyke Lopina

Looking through the Rearview Mirror

One year ago, Hope for Tomorrow was just a dream.  It was a dream of changing a child’s life, a dream of being Jesus in a tangible way, and a dream of sending only five students to school.  Today, Hope for Tomorrow is Matthew 17:20 in action.  “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed…nothing will be impossible.”  Because of faith and generosity, the impossible has become possible for our twenty-eight children!

 

As we take a moment to look in the rearview mirror and reflect over the first year of Hope for Tomorrow, I can’t help but first stop and say “Thank You”.  Thank you to God for blessing this ministry beyond our wildest imagination.  He opened doors for us and provided opportunities we never thought possible.   We also want to thank our sponsors.  Your generous donation of money, clothes, books, shoes, vitamins, angel gifts, school supplies, and other items allowed us to minister to these children’s every need.  Your support allowed us to provide more opportunities for these children (Hope for Tomorrow Sundays, Field Trips, Honor Roll Program, End of School Party, Christmas Program, Carnival, Children’s Library, Summer Program, etc) than we ever imagined.

The children in the Hope for Tomorrow program come from nothing.  Most of them live with dirt floors and bamboo walls.  Many of them have chores we would think should be done by adults.  They have worries most children their age should not have to even think about.  All of these responsibilities and realities are forgotten when they are in school and participating in the HFT activities.  With us they get to just be a kid!  It’s in this environment that we have seen the children soar!  Their self-esteem and self-confidence have grown exponentially.  They now feel special, loved and worth something.

We have so many wonderful memories this year of the children reaching new milestones.  I vividly remember James Ombao giving Gepher a high five because he could read!  Vanessa and Princess bring a smile to my face every time I remember them telling me they use to be teased at school because of where they live (they live outside of the cemetery), but now because of HFT they aren’t!  I can’t help but smile when I think about Marilyn coming into church on Sunday to tell me she finished 10^th in her class!  And then there was Hannah Mae who was so proud of her homework grades that she couldn’t wait to pull it out of her backpack to show me at lunch.  I’ll never forget Joan who repeated the 3^rd grade this year and finished with the highest grades she’s ever achieved.  These are just a few of the victories the children achieved.

This year has been an amazing year filled with answered prayers, transformations, and God’s hand actively at work.  We know this is only the beginning and we cannot wait to see what God has in store for this coming year!