Project HOPE's year-end update

Dear Friends,

Hope this email finds you all well. Well, 2009 is just right around the corner and we, the Project HOPE team would like to extend our warmest thanks to you who have stood alongside us in praying and helping the underprivileged all around the globe.

Here's an update of where your donations have brought this ministry. Please join us in praising and thanking the Lord for this opportunity to serve the people in need. Whether they are in need of material or a whisper of prayer, Project HOPE has extended every help we can offer this year.

Fund Drive:
Feb & May: Valentines Day & Mother's Day - we delivered flowers & raised $685
Aug: Garage Sale - raised $143

In May, we volunteered to help the poverty-stricken in Zambia & Zimbabwe, through Bright Hope & Willow Creek's Celebration of Hope: We packed nutrional meals & med packs.

November:
Donated $500 to a family whose father died of cancer and have no way of paying for the funeral expenses.

On Thanksgiving, we helped feed 10 homeless individuals through the help of Wayside Cross Ministry in Elgin. We also have committed to provide food for another 10 homeless people this coming Christmas.

Christmas: For the past two years, we've been adopting 10 extremely poor families in the Philippines. These are families who have no other way to celebrate Christmas, but to sleep in hunger. Our team has agreed to provide each family enough necessities to last them for at least a month and be able to celebrate Christmas with hope that our God cares for them. These necessities are: Rice, Cooking Oil, Sugar, Vinegar, Champorado, Spaghetti noodles, Spaghetti sauce, Corned beef, Meat loaf, Cheese, Biscuit, Coffee, Milo, Packs of noodles, and apples. To them this is more than a Christmas wish come true and our hearts celebrate with joy that is beyond dreams.

I decided to include the list of families we are helping this year, in hopes that your hearts will ache with us and continue to come alongside us in this crusade. This ministry is not a joke. Being the hands and feet of God to this broken and hurting world has opened our eyes to not envy the people above us and instead look at the people below us and be grateful for what we have.

* Mr. & Mrs. Lito&Cynthia Santilleces
Tricycle driver & plain housewife with 6 children from brgy. 10

* Mrs. Aida Tolentino – husband deceased with 3 children from brgy. 10

* Mr. & Mrs. Loreto & Gloria Aquino
Factory driver & lavandera (someone who washes clothes by hand) with 12 children from brgy. Lumbang

* Mr. & Mrs. Fred & Deylin Patino
Construction worker & plain housewife with 3 children frm. Brgy. Lumbang

* Mr. & Mrs. Jomer & Joan Moreno
Welder & helper with 3 children from brgy. Lumbamg

* Mrs. Lilia C. Leyesa- husband deceased
Store keeper & helper with 7 children from brgy. San carlos

* Mrs. Alona Kalalo
Cigarette vendor with 5 children from Brgy. Balintawak

* Mr. Armando Mista
Unemployed with 3 children from Brgy. Pinagkawitan

*Mr. & Mrs. Josie Luja Janitress with 4 children from Brgy. Tambo

*Mr. Eddy San Sebastian - Handicap with 6 children

Friends, know that the task doesn't stop here. The need has tripled due to struggling economy. The task is bigger, but the good news is God is greater than anything. He has touched your hearts to help this ministry in extending the love of God to others. And so we are eternally grateful. We have a big job ahead of us in 2009 and so we continue to ask for your generosity and compassion as we come together in unity to help the poorest of the poor.

Now as we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, the hope of the season, we at Project HOPE want to thank you for all the help you've extended in furthering the kingdom of God.

Please let us know if we can pray for you in any way this holiday season, for prayer is the best gift we can offer. We'd love to hear from you.

Have a Merry Christmas!

--God Speed!
Lovely Miranda

Project HOPE Team

Project HOPE on Christmas!

here's an update for you all:

this coming Christmas, project HOPE has once again adopted 10 less fortunate families in the philippines. these families just like the last couple years we've been doing this, are the once who are not able to buy any food to celebrate Christmas. most of these families force themselves to sleep to be able to ignore their hunger. as an added blessing, we're also providing each family enough food to last them for at least a month.

we've also committed ourselves in providing to feed 10 homeless people last thanksgiving and will be feeding another 10 this coming Christmas through the help of wayside cross ministries.

it has been a privilege to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ to these people and we are so blessed to have this opportunity.

as a matter of fact, we are in the process of organizing a "feed the hunger event" this january in the little town of pasig in the philippines. with the help of my mother-in-law and her compassionate team, we will be able to feed as many people, up to the maximum capacity of the vacant town house that will be used to serve these people, owned by our grandma. we will be serving lunch and dinner for one day (date tbd) and will be giving away hope bags for each family as they leave for the night.

all of this because God is just so good and He has touched people's hearts to donate their resources and for many who continues to pray for Project HOPE and our team.

thank you for everything! may our good Lord shower you all even more with His blessings!!!

please continue to pray for us and the projects in store for Project HOPE.

God speed!

back to regular week!

well, how was everyone's thanksgiving celebration? hope y'all had and awesome one just like mine! the highlight for me was the time we spent expressing reasons to be thankful for, before we started eating. although some were caught off guard, i'm in awe for the sincerity of everyone... from the youngest to the oldest. ahh! thank God for my entire family!

nwayz, thanksgiving week is about to end and i'm back to job hunting, kids are back to school tomorrow and noel's back to work after a week of family time and many expressions of gratefulness from the family to God.

so... how was black friday for everyone? this was my first year not going. thank God i didn't feel quite down about it. i guess coz i was so tired preparing and plus the kids in our family are well aware and understand our situation (i'm so thankful that they do). i know retail was down this year tsk tsk tsk.

just the other day, i was reading the article about the great depression and the economic crisis the world is going through right now and i must agree to all of the people that were interviewed, who experienced the great depression, when they said that the generation nowadays will feel the hardship more due to the lifestyle we have gotten used to compare to their lifestyle in 1930s. well, thank God we have God with us to satisfy our every need and to give hope when the situation continues to exhaust it. i tell yah, faith in God really helps to get back in the game!

yesterday was my friend, larraine's graduation party. it was held in a fully renovated, classic bowl. it was a joy seeing some of my girls i haven't seen in ages... gosh! i miss them again already hehehe. too bad i don't have pics, but i sure hope those who took pics will somehow have the time to forward them to me *ehem girls!* as usual we were all loud, cheeks were hurting coz of laughing and are thumbs were close to getting blisters coz of bowling. it was a fun night and i sure hope rain had an awesome time. congratz again my loves! you did it! we're so proud of you!

here's a shot of the shadow box i made for my friend, rain. i'm glad it put a smile on her face =)

k, this is it for now... y'all have a good nite! God speed!

hAPpy ThAnksGivIng EvE!

thought i'd blog before i start with my busy day. we're hosting thanksgiving this year and i've been trying to joggle my schedule everyday since last friday. see here's one of the many things i'm grateful for even if our budget is tight... i may not have the luxury to be shopping for myself anymore, but the Lord continues to shower us with food. 2 of our fridge are full - it never runs out - that's why i really find it hard to complain coz God continues to provide for our needs.

thanksgiving and Christmas are 2 of my favorite occasions to celebrate... there's nothing like recognizing how awesome our God is... although everyday should be thanksgiving, tomorrow is the highlight of the amazing journey our Christian brothers and sisters (pilgrims) went through. from numerous trials and sufferings... they were faithful to give thanks to our Lord! now that's faith!

so to you my friends, what are you most thankful for this year?

have a blessed thanksgiving to you and your loved ones. may you cherish each moment coz no matter what, everyday is different... and each day is a gift from God.

p.s. it's not turkey day... it's THANKSGIVING DAY - recognizing the blessings God has given you. (it won't hurt to be reminded)

muah! i love you all =)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

although everyday should be full of thanksgiving to our dear wonderful God, today is too special... i've incorporated something different (full of great memories) - not just traditional thanksgiving (no filipino food this time), but a day full of gratitude. i've asked each member of our clan to write down 5 things they're thankful for and out of those 5, we will pick one that is most significant to us and tell the story behind it. can't wait for every one's sharing!!!



we'll i'm just doing a quick blog since i have a lot of last min. errands to do. i wanted to share to you one of the most heartfelt experience i had with willow creek (our home church), last sunday. part of the thanksgiving service they included, towards the end of the service, the baptism of people who are ready to take the next level with Jesus Christ. the experience was awesome! so many people who expected to be baptized that day as well as people who just felt the calling to do so that day, most of them were all expensively dressed, some i'm sure with a $$ do, but nevertheless that didn't matter... the Holy Spirit definitely touched the heart of these people and i tell yah, i could not get myself together - i was in awe and tears just kept running down my face. the presence of the Lord was just too strong that day that even if the service was waaaay over, people stayed to witness this phenomenal experience of grace. i'm sure the Lord was absolutely pleased with the whole thing.


well, that's it for now... hope you all have a wonderful thanksgiving with your loved ones! may you all be filled with gratefulness to our Almighty God, who has been soooo good to all of us from beginning up to the very end.


all glory to our Savior, Jesus Christ!

i would like to leave you all with a treat from yanna... here's what she does when she's bored: