The month of May was a busy and exciting month at HOHFA! The school held its 5th Graduation Rites and 4th Moving-Up Ceremony. The Graduation Rites are when parents and teachers celebrate 6th Grade students’ achievements and their transition into High School. The Moving-Up Ceremony is an occasion where parents and teachers celebrate Kindergarten students’ special milestones, achievements, and their move into Elementary school. Covid restrictions meant the celebrations were not as big as normal, but our fantastic school staff still made it a day to remember. Click here to view photos.
HOHFA students should be returning to school (face-to-face classes) in June/July. We are just waiting for confirmation from DepEd. This year we will be adding a Nursery to our existing Kindergarten and Elementary levels. Philippine Nursey is for 4-year-olds and is like New Zealand’s Kindergarten. The HOHFA School Board and teaching staff believe the introduction of a Nursery class will enable students to better integrate into Kindergarten. At this stage, we have 15 Nursery enrolments out of a possible 20.
Over the last few months, we have been working on a new school website. It has a lot more information about the school as well as ways to stay connected or up to date with what we are doing. A special thanks to Jacob who has helped in the design process.
Ministry, churches, and small groups
Marivic continues to oversee and faithfully run the ministry during our absence. This involves Sunday services, emergency aid, small groups, and much more. With some of the Covid restrictions still in place, the small group network has become increasingly important in connecting and ministering to people. Marivic and the leaders head out most days of the week to lead small groups in several villages. We received photos and updates on answered prayers, miracles of healing, and salvations each week. They are a joy to read.
Though the Sunday services will remain an important part of our ministry the restrictions on meeting in large groups because of Covid have led us to seriously think about what the church will look like in the future. For example, will we be able to have large meetings? Will the church be faced with more lockdowns? Are large meetings the best way to facilitate evangelism? Therefore, at this stage, we think it is better to focus more on small groups and increase our small group leadership base. From my (Duane) experience in the Philippines and New Zealand, I tend to think small groups are better for a) developing authentic relationships, b) pastoral care, and c) training and equipping people for ministry. Click here to view photos of our small groups.
Land
We are currently in the process of negotiations to purchase another 4000sqm’s of land. It’s more of a strategic buy for us as it has road access, next to a canal, and it connects to our existing 10000sqm lot. The price of the land is N$45,000. If you would like to donate and partner with us in purchasing it, please click here. PLEASE NOTE: This link will take you to our Hands of Hope Ministry website.
A big thank you to all our partners. Please continue to pray for our ministry leaders and the school. We do post regular pictures and news on our Website, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, accounts. It’s a great way to keep up to date. Please add us as we would love to keep in touch.
Blessings
Duane, Jenny, & Joe
