Payatas Ministry Update | Education and Health in the Philippines

The Philippines: Education, Health, and Transformation in Payatas

This month we are focused on the Philippines, a beautiful and diverse country populated by some of the world’s most gracious people. Poverty has a grip on many and in the poorest areas, families are significantly challenged for daily sustenance. God is at work, however, in a dumpsite outside of Quezon City called Payatas, with a population of half a million souls.

This is where Resty and Mel Enguerra minister with other nationals, helping with food, medical aid, and entrepreneurship for those who are willing to take the training. With 50 children from this dumpsite in the IM Child Sponsorship Program, some of you reading this are responsible for praying for and sponsoring these children. Thank you! Below, Resty and Mel share an update of the work in Payatas and how God is transforming lives.

Education initiatives

The months of February, March, and April 2019 were busy for us at the Payatas Dumpsite community. Education is the overarching theme of all our efforts and activities during these months. Why education?

1. A six-classroom building with a computer lab was inaugurated on February 23, 2019, at Promise Land Christian School of Payatas with representatives from our donor/partner Philippine Luxembourg Society. The gift was not solely for the school but for the marginalized community as well. Education alleviates poverty and creates opportunities for a fulfilled future.

2. A holistic approach to education incorporates health in its totality: physical, mental, and spiritual. Thus, Health Awareness Day included medical and dental clinics and health classes with Mel’s nursing classmates volunteering. More health classes have been conducted on cardiovascular diseases (March 30), pulmonary diseases (April 27), and common cancers in May. Future classes will cover mental health, depression and stress, and diabetes. These classes were facilitated by Mel and a few other retired classmates specialized in these fields. Most of these classmates, now retired and living comfortably in the USA, remarked that volunteering at Payatas gave them a fresh outlook and challenged them to re-evaluate their retirement. Years of expertise can be harnessed for the benefit of both receiver and giver.

3. Achieving peak performance through improved memory skills and critical thinking educational modules were recently completed in April for the faculty of Promise Land Christian School. These classes conducted by Professor Rey Alejaga were designed to enhance the teachers’ skills and inspire their students to pursue higher education. The spiritual aspects of learning were intentionally integrated to make education purposeful.

Enguerra Updates…

Will be back in California from May 28 to August 28, 2019!

It’s a Time to Celebrate:

Yearly health maintenance checkups with their doctors.
Time with ministry partners to share what God has done and continues to do in their Bamboo Journey in the Philippines.
Most importantly, they will be present to welcome their first grandchild—Jessi and Brent Baer’s baby—due in early July.

Prayer Requests

Safe delivery for Jessi and Brent Baer’s baby.
Continued health for Resty and Mel as they minister in the oppressive Manila heat.
Provision for the worship center at the Cupang new believers’ community.