Dear KIDS supporters,

It has been a busy few months. God is definitely working in the ministry and in me. It has been a privilege for Tina and I to be able to see Him in action! It has been an exciting, and at times, a humbling experience as well. I tend to struggle believing God will come through and provide what the ministry needs. I am a ‘planner’. I analyze the finances every month. I come up with strategies and ideas. I talk about changes that need to be made to be a ministry of excellence. I tend to try to do things ‘in my own strength’. God is slowly teaching me to depend fully on Him. He is teaching me that it is OK for me to plan, to problem solve, to make changes, to work through issues…. but only if it comes from an internal dependence on Him, with a realization that everything happens because he makes or allows it to happen – not because of my effort.

KIDS 2017 Retreat

The thing that I am most excited about at the ministry really has nothing to do with the ‘outside face’ of the ministry. It is a difficult thing to describe – it is more just a feeling. I am not sure how to describe it other than to use a verse. ‘For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them’. I don’t believe the verse is only talking about prayer. It is talking about believers who come together for a purpose centered around Christ. When that happens, the environment changes. As the ministry becomes more focused on the spiritual things, something happens. You cannot put your finger on it other than to say ‘It feels different when I walk into the gates of the YMC/Children’s Home/School’. I believe the explanation is simple – it is from the verse – God’s presence is there!

I have to say that the thing that I am the most proud about our staff is when I walk into the dining room and see them all at the table because THEY decided to have a time of devotions and prayer. When I go down to the staff area and worship music is playing. I am proud because when the ministry was going through some very difficult times, the social workers at the Children’s Home took time to pray with the care givers. I am proud of our staff and their openness at the 2017 staff retreat earlier this year and the healing that occurred as a ministry after a difficult year. I love it when the school asks if they can also go on a spiritual retreat because ‘they need it’ and didn't get go to on the staff retreat because we planned it too late! -- The 2018 KIDS staff retreat will include all parts of the ministry -- CCS, NFFCH, Tacloban and the YMC!

There are lots of other things happening as well. There is a focus on doing things with excellence. We feed kids… great… but how can we really use the food to be able to invest in their lives spiritually as well. God has blessed us with many donations… how can we use those donations in the best way possible. How can we partner with other Churches and ministries and use what God blessed us with to bless them and allow them to share Christ with others we could never reach? We host teams to serve and do ministry but how can we better impact those who come to serve? To me those teams that come are another one of our ministries – and as one of those ‘ministries’ we do, we need to ‘do teams’ with excellence.

We had a team of 3 nurses come to stay at the YMC for 3 weeks and do a ‘field study’ for their school. None of them were Christians. I was thrilled to see how our staff, missionaries and other guests staying at the YMC built relationships with them. One of the trips we went on with them was to a very poor hospital in Tondo with a Church. We went and fed the people staying with their sick kids and pray for them. During that time the Gospel was shared to a boy and his mom who accepted Christ. I wondered what the 3 nurses thought and was thrilled that they were able to see the gospel in action. By the time they left I had an open conversation with one of them about the trip and the impact on her. There were lots of questions about why we do what we do. The answers to those questions pointed to Christ. Each team is different – some come and do real significant ministry and others are the ministry themselves. It is such a blessing to see how people who come on teams end up leaving different than when they came.

Another great story I would like to share. Many people know Arnold – a young man who lives in Cuatro that attended CCS as a student and now does a lot with the ministry. You may also know Jude – he was in our Children’s Home in Manila for years. Then there is Ariel – he is from the Children’s Home in Malabalay. Both Jude and Ariel were older and could no longer live in the Children’s home so they were living at the YMC. We were trying to figure out how to help them live independently. One day they asked if they could go to a 1 week Youth With a Mission (YWAM ) camp with Arnold. We said yes and they attended the week long camp. When they came back they were excited and wanted to go on a 6 month Mission trip. God provided all of the funds for them to go to YWAM. Today, they are 1/2 way through their trip. Arnold is going on a trip internationally and traveling to Cambodia! Imagine, a kid from Cuatro going on a mission trip to another country! It is hard to imagine that 2 of the boys from the Children's Home and 1 from the community are now on a 6-month mission trip! Amazing what God is doing.

A team from Union Church Hong Kong had the privilege of sending off the three boys to YWAM. The team included someone who had come to the Children’s home 7 years ago and did a Bible study with the boys at the home - including Jude. The impact that people who have come and invested in Jude over the years is now paying off. Thank you to everyone who was part of this young man’s life.

Here is a picture of Arnold with his passport the day before his flight to Cambodia! I doubt many other youth in Cuatro even have a passport. It is amazing what God is doing in his life. When he returns from Cambodia we would love for Arnold to help us with teams at the YMC!

#GivingTuesday - good idea

#GivingAllYearLong - great idea!

This next week starts a critical time for Kids International Ministries. Tuesday is #GivingTuesday. More money is raised on #GivingTuesday than any other day in the year. One of the goals at KIDS is to be financially healthy in order to run the ministries with excellence. We need to improve the financial health of both Cuatro Christian School and New Faith Family Children’s Home.

Currently both ministries are significantly underfunded and depend heavily on teams. The problem is that this source of funding is not dependable. You cannot ramp down the school or the children’s home when we have a ‘dry spell’ of teams coming. It is critical that we solve this problem. We are starting a ‘Partnership’ campaign for Cuatro Christian School and for the Children’s Home. The intent of this campaign is to raise consistent monthly income for both ministries in order to fully fund them. We are kicking off this campaign on #GivingTuesday with the following idea…

#GivingTuesday – Good idea

#GivingAllYearLong – Great idea!

Please consider being part of this campaign.

· Children’s Home - https://kidsim.org/fundraiser-ch

· Cuatro Christian School - https://kidsim.org/fundriser-ccs

NOTE: One other thing that ALL of you can do to help. We will be posting on the Kids International Facebook about #GivingTuesday. PLEASE Share all of those posts! The more people share the more exposure we get. You can help us by simply sharing on Facebook.

Thank you all for your commitment to Kids International Ministries over the years.

In Christ

Norman Denler