Kingdom Message Ministry Foundation

A new school year has arrived! The opening of classes was very successful. We praise the Lord for His guidance and your prayers for the school and us all. We have added quite a number of children to last year’s students. Also, adding the fourth grade contributed to the overall growth of the school. During the enrollment process, we learned that there were many more families who wanted their children to attend our school than what we were able to accommodate in our limited facilities. Some of the parents kept coming back asking us to please let their child enroll as they had heard about the good performance of the school. And so, our school has grown from 93 students who attended classes last year to 140 who will attend this year. We are very humbled to know that the hand of the Lord is upon our work and the school has gained good reputation in the area.

Following is the list of the enrolled students by grades:

Kindergarten: 31
1st Grade: 33
2nd Grade: 30
3rd Grade: 31
4th grade: 15
Total: 140

Due to our limited classroom capacity (17-18 desks), the children from kindergarten to 3rd grade are divided into two sessions – one class in the morning and another one in the afternoon. Only the 4th grade is having whole day classes.

This year also brings three new teachers to join our faculty:

	Janice Angelle A., a computer teacher Janice graduated with a Bachelor of Elementary Education majoring in Science. You may remember the new government requirement to teach computer science in schools in such a way that it requires a full-time computer teacher. Thanks to the generosity of one of our sponsors, our new computer lab is getting equipped and Janice will be busy passing her computer knowledge to the little minds.
	Edelyn A., 1st grade teacher Edelyn also graduated with a Bachelor of Elementary Education majoring in Science. Edelyn steps in to replace our last year Grade 1 teacher Gesine S. who got married this past summer and moved out of the area. Even though we were sad to see Gesine go, we are happy to welcome Edelyn.
	Jezreel D., 2nd grade teacher Jezreel graduated with a Bachelor in Elementary Education and had previously taught in a public school. Jezreel is a sister of our Kindergarten teacher Dharine (who has been with us since we first started) and is a very valuable addition to the school’s operation.

We trust we will be able to share more about our faculty and staff in the weeks ahead so that you will have the opportunity to get to know them better.

We are very excited to start this new school year and have high expectations. Please pray with us so that the children and their families find their calling and election in Christ Jesus. Thank you for all your support and care.

Our summer class has come to an end and we are happy to share a few pictures with you.

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Our summer school reconstruction/renovation is moving ahead at full speed as everything has to be completed by the end of May. We are very blessed to see the progress and are happy to share some pictures with you.

Building a hallway from the school entrance to the 4th grade classroom, which is located in the adjoining building:

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Cabinet building:

Plywood for cabinets

New cabinet ready to be painted (1)

New cabinet ready to be painted (2)

Painting the new 4th grade room:

Beginning the Job

Finished Job

Comfort room (bathroom) on the first floor:

Before renovation

After renovation

The following are the materials used for the renovation of the school for the upcoming school year 2014-2015. What looks like bundles of sticks are materials used for the new chairs.

These are the materials for painting the Science Laboratory and Computer rooms, as well as the Principal’s Office. They will also be used for repainting chairs and tables as well as painting the new chairs.

The following is the Library area. Our two maintenance workers, Bro. Rolando and Bro. Lito, are scratching off the old paint so that it can get freshly repainted.

This is our kitchen area. Bro. Rolando is painting it to make it presentable to the parents who prepare meals for our feeding programs.

Have a peek into our stairway leading to the first floor.

And now comes our new Grade four room. It’s hard to believe we will already have fourth-graders! New chairs will get added to this room as well as a new ceiling fan and lights.

This is the computer area. It is being repainted and three computer units will be installed together with a new air conditioner.

The Science Laboratory has already been repainted and is ready for the first scientists to begin their work!

Finally, have a look at Bro. Lito creating new chairs.

Summer has arrived and with it our favorite summer classes. It is a government requirement for the kindergarten children to attend summer school in order to be fully ready for their first grade. Also, our school provides extra classes to other grade students who have had lower grades during the previous school year. These extra lessons during summer time help them to catch up with their classmates.

There are 44 students enrolled in the classes and our two teachers have been busily imparting knowledge into their little minds. The classes are split into two groups – morning and afternoon. Teacher Dharine is focusing on letter sounds and writing, while Teacher Rio handles letter words and comprehension. Some of the children are already showing an improvement in their reading skills for which we are very grateful. Thank you, Sisters Rio and Dharine, for your effort in helping these precious little souls.

Dear Brethren & Friends,

We praise God for His enduring mercies and blessings upon His people. Another year has passed by in our little school in the Philippines and we are back in the summer months and the much needed reconstruction/repair time. (Note: April & May are considered to be the summer in the Philippines.) As every summer, we have been busily working on making sure the school premises meet the required standards for the next school year. Due to the flooding that devastated a major part of Butuan City last January, there is still a need to do some repairs to the building itself. Thanks to the generosity of many of you, some of these repairs have been financially covered. In addition to these, we are working on a number of upgrades. The first major one is adding the 4th grade, which requires additional classroom, desks and chairs. Also, starting in June, the Filipino government requires us to set up a separate computer laboratory, in which the children can learn the necessities of the 21st century digital living. Even though this requirement will add to our overall expenses, we are excited to know that our children will acquire the so-much-needed knowledge in order to be able to secure good jobs after they graduate.

A number of you have been asking us about the specific purchases that we will be making so that you can contribute towards them. Following is our list:

If you would like to donate toward these specific needs, you can do so either by mailing a check to Sonlight Ministries Missionary Fund, PO Box 1128, Mahomet, IL 61853 or paying electronically by using our secure payment system. Please designate your contribution to “PH School” and the project/item of your choosing from the list above.

It is difficult to put into words what your generosity is doing in the lives of those who are being ministered to. Thank you for your part in this labor of love and for sharing your kindness with the indigent of the Philippines.

In His service,

George Herrig
Mark Jantzi
Pavlina Davis

The Family of Queenie Joy M.

Father, Christopher is a carpenter and Mother, Marilou is a housewife. They have six children – two girls and four boys. Queenie Joy in now in Grade 1 and tries her best in school. Her mother is only an elementary graduate and even though she would like to help her daughter more with her studies, she is finding it difficult. Queenie Joy’s father is busily looking for a job as his carpentry projects are only sporadic. The family’s original house was completely damaged by the heavy rains and floods. At that time they lived beside the river as the house was washed out by the strong flow of water. Thankfully, they are now in the process of building a new house. Even though it is not finished yet due to financial shortage, they were at least able to purchase bamboo matting from the money received from the school to cover the side of the house. They can now sleep better. They are so thankful for the blessings given to them by the school and the mission. It has been a big help for them.

The Family of Jiffry & Jirry Mae C.

Jiffry is an eleven-year-old Grade 1 student; Jirry Mae is a kindergartener. Their mother is a housewife, their father is blind in one eye and unable to find a job. They are very thankful to the School and the Ministry for it provides great help to them. Even though they joined KMMSI only a year ago, in a very short period of time their children were added to the sponsorship program. They can see a significant improvement in both of their children’s academics in comparison to their previous school arrangements. As parents, they always follow-up with their children so that they would learn good values and respect for elders. Neither of their children has any problems with their studies. They are happy to see their children striving towards receiving good grades. They are also thankful for the weekly fellowship as that is a big encouragement for their family. They are praying that God will bless them with an additional livelihood. They trust the management of the school will continue to prosper so that they can help more parents who are not able to support their children’s studies.

Earthquake & Fire Drill

Another school year in the Philippines has come to an end, however we still have a few things to share with you from our latest activities.

One of these activities was an earthquake/fire drill demonstration performed by the Bureau of Fire Protection personnel. According to them, Butuan City and its Barangay are a zone prone to such calamities. Faculty and staff, some of the parents as well as the children very much enjoyed participating in the demonstration exercises. BFP personnel also gave a short lecture and safety tips in case of emergency. One of the team from BFP instructed the teachers with the basic safety tips for the children on how and what to do in emergency situations. They also taught them how to use fire extinguishers. The children, parents, the faculty and staff all liked trying the equipment as you can see in the pictures below. 🙂

Fire Drill (1)

Fire Drill (2)

Fire Drill (3)

Fire Drill (4)

Fire Drill (5)

Fire Drill (6)

Flood Relief Distributed

Thanks to many of our sponsors, brethren and friends we were able to distribute quite a large sum of money donated towards the flood relief. Most of the parents didn’t expect this blessing. Some received it with tears of joy and testified that the school is a great blessing to them and their children. Most of the families also received some extra clothing. Our heartfelt gratitude goes to all those who lend their hands to the Lord for the poor not only in the Philippines but also throughout the world. Thank you, thank you, thank you very much.

Flood Relief Distributed (1)

Flood Relief Distributed (2)

Flood Relief Distributed (3)

Flood Relief Distributed (4)

4^th Commencement Exercises & Recognition Program

As every end of school year, we have held our Commencement Exercises & Recognition Program. It is hard to believe that this was already our 4th one. Everything went very well and we can testify to the success of the whole program. Praise God! Our commencement speaker was Ms. Marilyn F. Antiquina, regional personnel from the Department of Education. She had a wonderful and encouraging message to the Kindergarten graduates. Yes, it is true the kindergarteners officially graduate in the Philippines! It is a major step in their lives to cross over to the first grade and so a formal graduation forms a part of this step. Each grade had a wonderful presentation and the children were awarded medals and ribbons for their year’s achievements.

We would like to thank you all for your support, sacrifices, labor and prayers. We would also like to thank the sponsors for their love and care for their children. The families are so very blessed and grateful to have you, sponsors, to provide education to their little ones. May the Lord bless each and every one of us as we work together in His kingdom.

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