Author Archives: bukallifeministries

On the Website and Beyond

We’ve been gradually populating this website. First, if you look at the DOWNLOADABLES section, you will see some powerpoints and articles having to do with ministry. We will be expanding and updating this regularly. If you check the AAPCS and DLKC pages, links have been added to the additional info (so far, the AAPCS brochure and the Divine Love Kids Club Newsletter).

By the way, if you want to find some good powerpoints on a number of aspects of ministry, might want to check out http://www.rasnet.org. Click on EQUIP.

Calendar of Events. Mid November 2009

November 21. Celia Munson is teaching a seminar on Missionary Member Care for Churches. This will be held at Chapel B of Philippine Baptist Theological Seminary (www.pbts.net.ph), starting at 1:30PM.  This is part of the Leadership Development Program series of Asia Vision Short Term Missions (AV-STM). http://www.avstm.wordpress.com.

November 26-27. Medical mission in Bagulin, La Union. The valley of Bagulin is one of the most beautiful places you will see. Sadly, it was hit by major flooding from Typhoon Pepeng.  The main mission will be on the 27th, but some preliminary services will be provided on the 26th as well.

November 28.  Bob Munson is teaching a seminar on Contemporary Issues in Missions. This will be held at Chapel B of Philippine Baptist Theological Seminary (www.pbts.net.ph). This is part of the Leadership Development Program series of Asia Vision Short Term Missions (AV-STM). http://www.avstm.wordpress.com.

December 19.  We will be holding a Christmas Party for Divine Love Kids Club (all three branches) at the grounds of Union School International, Legarda Baguio City. It is tentatively scheduled to start at 9am.

Late December. Angie Gomez is coordinating a training program in partnership with the Baguio Branch of the Red Cross. More to follow.

Comments on Relief and Developmnet

Ministry in a community involves two groups, hosts and outsiders, who provide care for a third group, the recipients. The hosts are people or groups in a community who are committed to serving God and the community. Outsiders are, not surprisingly, people from outside the community. They may be short-term missionaries, financial supporters, mobilizers, and so forth. Recipients are people and groups in the community to be served.
Hosts provide at least two very important ingredients to the partnership for ministry:
· Cultural Awareness/Sensitivity
· Long-term Presence

Outsiders provide two ingredients as well:
· Material/Financial Resources
· Special Skills

Each group lacks the others’ strengths. A failure of either group to provide these ingredients leads to a partnership that is one-sided, or ineffective.

The partnership between hosts and outsiders needs to be founded on common philosophy of ministry and common goals, maintained by transparent communication. With this foundation, the two groups must work together to develop a mutual strategy and plan. Any break-down or lopsidedness in this work will lead to problems in the planning and execution of the mission.

The ministry to the recipient should be wholistic. That is, it should focus on the total person and the total community. Individualistic missions will not transform a community. Focusing on only one area (physical, economic, spiritual, educational, etc.) will not transform a community.

Post-ministry tasks must include evaluation of all aspects of the work, and planned follow-up. Seeds planted will not grow well unless they are properly tended. Follow-up work will not improve unless all parties learn from the past. Follow-up is normally the responsibility of the host, but evaluation is important for all.

The Relief Cycle as shown in the diagram shows the role of the outsider as one who may periodically come in to provide skills and resources and then leave. The Development Cycle as shown in the diagram shows the role of the Host, living in the community and continuing in the tending process of long-term ministry.

Early in ministry work, the greater emphasis may be on relief. However, with material and skills transfer, the necessity of the skills and resources of outsiders should reduce, and the emphasis should move towards the development cycle. Progress does not occur if ministry stays rooted mostly in the relief cycle. That is why training is so important. That being said, in any community it is good if both cycles always exist. Why? There are no perfectly self-sufficient communities. We all are interdependent. Everyone lacks something that someone else could help meet. And no one is so impoverished that they have nothing to offer another.

(From research in Dissertation “Strategic Use of Medical Mission Events for Long-term Church Outreach in the Ilocos Region” by Bob Munson.)

Double Vortex Model of Ministry

Belong Medical Mission

P1010002

Bukal Life Ministries and Local Host Team (PMA '94 Wives Group not in photo)

We had a wonderful day. Just got back so will give a fuller report in a couple of days. We partnered with the “PMA ’94 Wives Group” and with local missionaries and church workers in the Tublay area. Belong was hard hit by landslides in October. The following is a quick review of the results.

Medical services: 168
Dental services: 32
Eye Care services: 26
Total patients: 203
Children’s ministry: 120+

Our partner, “PMA ’94 Wives Group” provided arrozcaldo, pencils and treats for the children. Over 120 were served in this way. Balloon sculptures were also made, and opportunities to share their feelings regarding the landslides as well.

The counseling was of a crisis care form used by NOVA. We did not do normal evangelism due to the fact that shortly after a traumatic experience, it is unwise to push people to make major life decisions. We are seeking for them to find a new normal for their life, and see God’s care.

This Saturday

November 14th, we will be doing a post-disaster medical mission in Belong, Tublay (Benguet Province). Belong is a very small community, so we don’t know what to expect there, but we gladly serve as many as come. We will have medical care, dental care, crisis counseling, and fun and games for the kids. Dr. Celia Brilliante will be coming with her group to provide lunch for the children as well.

Friends of ours (Ces and Dr. Rosa) are doing an occular and mini-dental mission in Bani, Pangasinan at the same time as ours. We pray that will be a exciting and blessed trip as well.

Mini-Medical Work at CARTS

P1010008

Celia and Angie doing pre-check-up evaluations

P1010009
Busy at the Pharmacy

November 10, we did Phase III of our CARTS police cadet ministry. The police cadets were involved in landslide work and body recovery in response to Typhoon Pepeng.

Phase I.  Provided supplies and vitamins to help cadets in their landslide work.

Phase II.  Provided crisis intervention with cadets, and crisis care training.

Phase III. Held mini-medical with cadets. Many suffer from coughs as a result of the long hours of work at the landslides and breathing in the dirt and dust there.  We were able to treat 173 cadets… giving medicines and vitamins for them.

Once again we thank Col. Paredo and Major Benitez, particularly, for their concern for the physical and spiritual well-being of the students under their care at the Police National Training Center at CARTS.

We also thank Dr. Colomma and the numerous nurses and other volunteers who helped make all of this come together.

Thoughts on “Wholism”

“Wholism” is a term used by some in Christian ministry to describe the focus on the whole person or the whole community. Some people spell it “Holism”. However, even though “wholism” and “holism” theoretically are the same word, people often use them differently. The usage of “wholism” comes closer to how we wish to use it.

Wholism places itself in opposition to “Dualism”. Dualism tends to see the world in terms of opposing concepts with no real middle. In ministry, dualism shows itself in spiritual ministries versus social ministries. Spiritual ministries might be thought of as evangelism, preaching, discipleship and such. Social ministry might be viewed as feeding, job training, providing shelter and so forth. Wholistic ministry seeks to do both and fill in the gaps between.

Here are a couple of models for wholism:

Wholistic Growth:
This is sometimes looked at as the Luke 2:52 Model. In that verse Jesus was described as growing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. This verse suggests four types of simultaneous growth: MENTAL, PHYSICAL, SPIRITUAL, SOCIAL. Wholistic growth suggests that ministry should seek to cover these four areas.

Wholistic Health:
This comes from the CHE model (Community Health Evangelism/Education) from Lifewind. It is also related to the World Health Organization view on health accept that it includes the spiritual component. Good health is seen in terms of good relationships. The four relationships it covers is: Good relationships with ONESELF, OTHERS, GOD, and the ENVIRONMENT.

Both models are pretty similar even if different ministries might end up in different categories. One model focuses on growth/development. The other focuses on health/relationships. This is a case of not choosing one or the other, but recognizing that both are important. We are created by God to live in harmony (good relationships), but also to continue to grow and develop.

Coroz, Tublay Project Report

Trip Report: Coroz, Tublay, Benguet
Date: October 31, 2009
Purpose: Post-Typhoon Pepeng Community Support

Host: The Winter Family, Missionaries in the Tublay region

Partners: Virginia Baptist Mission Board (Financial and Training)
Members of several churches including (but not limited to):
-Union International Church, Baguio
-Greenhills Christian Fellowship, Baguio
-Calvary Baptist Church, Baguio
-Beacons of Christ, Baguio
-Various AG congregations, Tublay

Services Provided:

Medical Care/Pharmacy/Crisis Care Counseling: 85
Dental Care/Crisis Care Counseling: 40
Children Ministry: Balloons, Songs, Coloring, etc. 70
School Teachers Trained in Crisis Care Counseling 5
Disaster relief Several sacks full of clothes.
Total people ministered to: about 180

Coroz is a small mountain community in the district of Tublay. During Typhoon Pepeng (also known as Parma), the area was devastated by landslides. At the request of the Winters, we visited the site and determined that it would be a good location for a medical mission. We decided to focus on crisis counseling. Often we do classic Christian evangelism, but decided that it was inappropriate under these circumstances. The recovery time after a traumatic experience is generally a bad time to make life decisions.

The road to Coroz was difficult. In many places on the Halsema Highway, the road had been cut away by landslide resulting in dangerous looking detours. The 1 lane road from the Highway to Coroz looked rough and slippery and was also damaged by storm. Nevertheless, we arrived at the mission site, the elementary school in Coroz, to find very few adults but lots of children. As the adults came in they were brought over to do crisis care counseling. This appeared to be very effective, with many able express their emotions about the disaster. The children we taken elsewhere where they sang songs, and did coloring. One of the things they were asked to do was to draw what they experienced during the typhoon. The drawings showed the depth of the fear and pain related to this event. When the principal of the school saw these pictures she saw the need for her teachers to be able to address the situation. Therefore, we provided training for the teachers in how to help the children in Coroz work through the emotions of the event and fears regarding recurrence.

While we were there, a truck arrived with school supplies. These were provided by UNESCO. That was a big help to the children… many of whom had considerable losses in this area.

Follow-up:

On of the major losses expressed by the children was of tsinellas (sandals/flip-flops). They are often placed just outside of the doors of houses. So many of them were washed away by the storm. Therefore, we bought a large supply of tsinellas. These will be delivered to the elementary school at Coroz.

Thanks:

We thank the Winter family, Shane, and others from the Tublay area for making arrangements for our mission. We thank Chaplain Charlie Benton, of the Virginia Baptist Mission Board, for coming from the US to help in training us in Crisis Care Counseling. We thank Ptr. Manny Domeris, of Calvary Baptist, for working with friends and local leaders in arranging transportation over the rough roads. We also thank Principal Brigette of Coroz Elementary School for hosting us in Coroz and being concerned for the teachers and children there. To all members of the team, we give thanks to God who brings together His people from all over the world to do great things in His service.

P1010047

Children Singing during Disaster Relief Mission

CARTS Project Report

CARTS Police Cadets Project.

inspection oct. 21, 2009 001

Police Cadets Doing Landslide Recovery Work

aP1010001 (6)

Chaplain Benton leading training at CARTS

One of the hidden victims of disaster is recovery workers afterwards. We had the wonderful opportunity to develop a relationship with many of these people. One such group is the CARTS (Cordillera Administrative Region Training School) for police cadets. They had to set aside from their normal studies to work over 12 hours a day digging out landslides and search for victims. This is a very difficult job and one that, sadly, often does not get appreciated. We were able to work with a number of doctors, businessmen, and churches in providing vitamins, facemasks, gloves, and other needed items for their work. After their digging work was done, they needed to return to classes, but the memory lives on. For many, this was their first face-to-face encounter with the recovery of the dead. We were invited to speak to them on November 2nd. The day was divided up into 4 major sessions, each about 90 minutes. The first session was crisis intervention, where cadets were given the opportunity to share their experiences and discover meaning in this situation. The 2nd through 4th sessions were to help cadets and instructors in providing emergent crisis care. Since many of these cadets will become law enforcement officers who regularly meet people undergoing crises, this training should be a great help. We provided some Crisis Care manuals from the Virginia Baptist Mission Board Disaster Relief Program, and most of the discussion was led by Chaplain Benton of the same group. We provided merienda in the morning and afternoon, while CARTS provided a wonderful lunch for our team. Follow-up medical screening is planned for November 10th since a large number of cadets are suffering from coughs and other similar symptoms after the disaster relief work. Thanks to Colonel Paredo Jr., and Major Benitez in inviting us to be partnered with their work at CARTS. Approximately 221 cadets were helped and trained, along with several staff.