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New Partners in Asia
by Carmen Imes, SIM Staff Writer
1 June 2006
What does “urban ministry” mean? Dedicated Filipino Christians are a living demonstration. Each weekday morning at 5:00 a.m. “Betsy” (all names changed) leaves home to do the day’s grocery shopping in the local market. She takes the groceries to “The Center,” where she prepares a nutritious breakfast for more than 50 poor children on their way to school. After breakfast, kindergarten teachers Tina and Sheryl join Betsy and her assistant to teach 120 children who could not otherwise afford early childhood education. Without kindergarten, none of these children can hope to enroll in public school. They gather around long child-sized tables at The Center and begin their day with a prayer in Jesus’ name. At noon 50 more children sit at these same tables to eat a hot lunch. In the afternoons a tiny room on the second floor is crowded with young people working on their computer skills. John, a pastor on weekends, spends his weekdays here with the youth, interacting with them as he guides them in basic computer usage. On Tuesdays he can be found on the community basketball court, coaching a competitive basketball team. On Wednesdays, some mothers meet quietly with The Center’s director to explore what the Bible teaches. They must use caution or risk backlash from the religious leaders in their community. All of these activities take place in the heart of a crowded slum. Eleven thousand people, all of them from minority tribes sharing the same religion, call this place home. The Center, a tired 2-story building sandwiched between the homes of poor families, is the only school, the only place to learn English or computer skills, and the only place for malnourished children to get a regular hot meal. The key to its success is a staff of faithful Christians, unafraid to let their light shine in a dark place. ( See New Partners - Inside Look.) SIM is privileged to welcome these workers as members of FilSIM, a new entity under SIM Philippines designed for Filipino ethnic missionaries who share SIM’s vision to reach ethnic minorities. Seventeen Filipinos in various urban locations around the Philippines are now partnering with SIM through FilSIM. All of them have been faithfully serving without membership in any organization, but they have lacked pastoral care, accountability, financial support, and the sense of belonging to a group. SIM is privileged to be able to provide an organizational umbrella for these missionaries. Welcome, Filipinos! 
 
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