Name: Harry & Julie Turner
Missionaries From: New South Wales
Location: Hong Kong
Website: www.caremin.com

Our commitment to this partnership is to:
PRAY, CARE, GIVE

International Care Ministries (Hong Kong)
ICM is an international aid agency that is active around the world, but has a particular focus on the Philippines. ICM is involved in nation-building aid programs with a Christian focus that see families in crisis helped through difficulty, whole towns educated in proper healthcare, and pastors of slum churches resourced to share the gospel and teach their congregations about Jesus.

Harry and Julie are former members of St Johns, and through connection with their ministry on the board of ICM in Hong Kong, we have sent people to the Philippines to help out with kids' ministry in particular.

If you would like to know more about ICM, or to get a better idea of what to pray for Harry and Julie and for ICM ministry, you can download their latest prayer points or watch the video below.

August 2011

Dear St Johns Team,

Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of
others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope...
and those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest
walls of oppression and resistance.
- Robert F. Kennedy -

I’m writing to say thank you – for sending a ripple of hope. I want to let you know that you are making a difference. Your long-term commitment to praying for and supporting ICM’s work to empower our partnering pastors in the Philippines over the past months and years hasn’t gone unnoticed. But we haven’t thanked you enough. So I want to remedy that. I’m writing to share with you some real life stories of personal change that your giving has made possible.

Your support is helping provide training, fellowship and encouragement for pastors so they are equipped to make a difference in their churches and surrounding slum communities. Below are just a few stories of our partnering pastors that hopefully will give you a glimpse of how your giving is spreading ripples of hope and light.

Film Showing Program
Some villages in the Philippines do not have access to electricity. One ministry that ICM extends to partnering pastors in these communities, is film showing. People in these communities rarely, if ever, have seen a movie. News of a film showing draws large crowds of people who are anxious to watch. ICM staff travel to these communities, bringing the projectors and screens to show films that allow the Gospel to be shared. This year alone, there were 203 film showings across the six ICM bases.

The ICM team in Koronadal recently traveled to the indigenous T’boli village of Tasiman, settled in the highlands of Mindanao, to show them a film called The Cross and the Switchblade. The partnering pastor, Ptr. Klatonog, is a native of this tribe. He hoped that through this ICM film showing program, his people would allow their hearts to be opened to knowing Christ.

It ended up being a huge event for the village. The crowd of families gathered patiently on top of a hill where the pastors had put up a tent to keep out the rain. The people were so excited to share this unique experience, and for some, it was the first time they had ever seen a movie! The attendance reached 615 persons including fathers, mothers, children, youths and elders with 578 who showed an interest in learning more about a relationship with Christ.

Pastors’ Year End Fellowship
More than a hundred pastors from Negros Occidental gathered for a whole day of lectures and games. The much-awaited friendly basketball tournament was designed to create a bond between pastors from different churches (and denominations). This purposeful time has proven to be a great encouragement to the pastors as they gather together for fun and fellowship.

“The pastors’ fellowship is really important for pastors to relax, reflect and thank God for all the blessings through ICM. It was designed to thank and welcome new partner pastors. It is a great time of fellowship between pastors and ICM staff.” - Ercile Trespuentes.

“It is significant for us pastors to meet other pastors and see how they are coping with their ministry. It gives us the opportunity to encourage each other by playing basketball and worshipping together. It also serves as a break for us by taking the time off from our routine.”  -Pastor Abraham. Tanate.

Pastor’s Mentoring Retreat-Seminar
The Pastor’s Mentoring Retreat-Seminar was a two day session that was attended by 62 servant-leaders who play an active role in the ministry of reaching out to the poorest of the poor. The Mentoring Retreat-Seminar presented training on different aspects of mentoring, self-awareness, the power of healthy relationship, the value of accountability and establishing a mentoring partnership.

One pastor who attended, Pastor Honorato, serves as the pastor for The Lord’s Church in Candau-ay, Dumaguete City. The Mentoring Seminar enabled him to mold and train new leaders in the church. He learned how to raise up new servants to meet the needs of his growing congregation.

On Going ICM Support for Pastors
In addition to the above events, ICM also holds monthly Thrive meetings for its network of nearly 2,000 pastors across the Philippines. ICM’s Thrive meetings are regional “professional associations” for ICM’s partnering pastors. The purpose of the meetings is to strengthen the leadership of local churches through training, fellowship and encouragement. The meetings also allow for accountability for ICM’s program participants. ICM hosted 289 Thrive meetings this past year. The success of ICM’s programs for the poor are largely dependent on the health of the partnering church and the personal investment of the pastors involved.

ICM also provides Philippine Health Insurance for all partnering pastors and their families. The partnering pastors and their congregations are also supported through a network of lending libraries, which provide Sunday school lessons and materials. This year, 3,455 individuals borrowed Sunday school materials for their services or outreaches in their communities. This means that tens of thousands of children are hearing the Good News of the Gospel in thousands of churches throughout the Philippines.

We thought you should know what your prayers and support is accomplishing in the Philippines. Thank you. Your support is causing ripples - making a difference - bringing hope - affecting change. We appreciate your partnership with us. Thank you.

I hope you have a wonderful summer.

Warmly,

Deanna Sutherland
Director of Program Support
ICM – Hong Kong