The Lopinas had a wonderful trip to Cebu this summer. We stayed very busy with a team from Harding leading VBSs to over 350 kids across several churches in Cebu along with our time with the HFT kids and staff. We treated the HFT kids to a Back to School party at the wave pool. The shouts and screams of delight could be heard for miles when the whistle would blow and the waves would be turned on. Everyone went running to enjoy playing in the waves. It was the perfect way to kick off our 7th school year!
The kids of HFT are off to a great start of our 7th school year! We have 35 enrolled this year. We are also expanding our staff to allow Grace and Zyrus more time with the kids, school, and families. We've hired a cook, Charlotte, which is one of the mom's who has been active in volunteering. We also have hired an intern (who is starting this week), Glen. Glen is a graduate of CBC and has a heart for ministering to young people. He has a natural ability to draw people in. We know he is going to make an awesome addition to the HFT staff.
We’ve also been blessed with several generous donations to improve our facilities. Praising God for this! Because of this it's taken us a little longer than we'd hoped to get it all purchased at the lowest price possible so that we could be good stewards of the gifts we've received. We’ve been able to repaint the kitchen, purchase new kitchenware to better provide lunches and after school snacks daily. We’ve added to the playroom a slide for the younger kids to enjoy during Kids Club. We’ve purchased new computers and we’ve purchased a TV which we use for both a projector and our Friday movie reward days.
HFT is finally an "officially" recognized non profit in the Philippines. This is a dream we've had from the beginning and one we are excited that has finally become a reality.
I saw such a growth in maturity in the kids while we were there. They know just how great HFT is as a gift to them. They realize how we are working to help them daily both in and out of school. They see we want nothing but the best for them and they are pushing harder and harder to strive for that. This year our goal is to intentionally invest more into them and their families spiritually. We have started Family Sundays which is the last Sunday of the month. It’s a time for HFT to partner with the church and encourage the parents to come join us in worship and providing snacks/games after church. We’ve also reinvigorated Mom’s Club to include a monthly outing for those mom’s. Our prayer is that these kids and families will grow closer to God and give their life to him in baptism. Please join us in this prayer.
All of these things aren't possible without your generous support both financially and prayerfully. We have several of our students that are still in need of sponsors.
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