From the Field Friday: ID-202

Another Friday, another pastor letter. It amazes me a bit how many of these I've typed up already. And I still have many to go!

Today's letters is from East Indonesia, project ID-202. This is the project my boy Nico attends.

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Dear Kayla, 

I am pastor Hengly Mantak of the Filadefia Tondangow Church. I am also the advisor of the Filadelfa Child Development Center where your sponsored child attends. The center is located in Tomohon, North Sulawesi province in Eastern Indonesia. Through this letter, I want to thank you for sponsoring Nico. Currently, we have 445 children and 33 of them are waiting to be sponsored. 

Most of the people in our community are farm laborers and do odd jobs. Therefore, their family's income is low while the cost of daily needs increase each day. They have a hard time to get what they need daily. The education cost is higher too. That is why some of their children can't go to school or continue to a higher level of education. The parents really need someone to help their children to get education and fulfill their needs. With the present of the center in our community, people are more aware about the importance of holistic development for children. 

The children have a close relationship with Jesus. They are active at church, know how to pray and some teenagers have become Sunday school teachers, singers, and worship leaders at their local church. Not only the community and the children, the staffs are impacted, too. By becoming staffs, they get to learn about administration and finance. Some of the staffs' last education is only until elementary school but their willingness to help the children and work for God enables them to maximize their potential. 

Within this year, we have been visited three times. The sponsors who came don't have any sponsored children here but they would like to see how we run the center. Nevertheless, this visit has given encouragement for the children when they interacted with them and visited some of their homes. There is one visitor who decided to sponsor a child who home was visited. These visits have encouraged the children and the families to do the best and love their family more for there are other people from other place who love their children as much as they do. 

There are many sponsor letters that we have received at the center this year. These letters play an important part in the relationship between the sponsors and children and even with the children's family. The sponsors and the children have motivated one another through encouragement, advice, prayers, Bible verses, and photos that make them to know you more. The children want to study harder at school and at the center because of their sponsors. Please continue to make the time to write to Nico. It means a lot for them and your investment have caused the parents to commit and support the work of our church. 

We hope that the children will be people who obey the Lord Jesus, independent and responsible towards their duties. We hope that the work that we are doing will encourage other community about the importance of holistic development in the children which centers on Jesus Christ. Please pray for all the children that are part of the center so that they can grow healthy, strong, and have a great Christian personality and reach their dreams. We also hope that you keep praying for the staff and tutors to keep committed to their work. Thank you for reading this letter. We hope and pray that Jesus' love and blessings will be poured onto you. May Jesus bless you. 

Pastor Hengly Mantak 

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