Former Street Dweller Hopes to Minister to Prisoners

Willy Ada (center) takes part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony.  Also in photo are Geoff Osborne
 of the Wholistic Transformation Resource Center, Nestor Siddayao of KMMC, 
Goldy Valdellon of CCT's savings program, and pupils of the Visions of Hope Christian School. 

Willy  shares his testimony.Photo: Roselyne Ko &
Therese Keirulf of WTRC

Note:  A former street dweller transformed by the grace of God had the honor of sharing his testimony and taking part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony during the recent dedication and opening of the Payatas Community Center in Quezon City.  Here is his story:

Ako po si Brother Willy Ada, 43 years old, binata, at lingkod ng Diyos sa CCT – KMMC.

I am Brother Willy Ada, 43, single, a servant of the Lord at CCT-KMMC (Center for Community Transformation-Kaibigang Maaasahan Multi-purpose Cooperative.) 

Bago po ako napunta sa KMMC, sa kalye lamang ako madalas manigilan.  Ito na ang itinuring kong tahanan.  Wala akong permanenteng trabaho noon, kaya madalas akong nakatambay lamang noon.

Before I joined KMMC I lived on the street.  It was my home.  I did not have a permanent job and spent my days just bumming around.

Sa ganitong kalagayan, mayroon palang laging nakatingin sa akin mula sa kaitaasan.  Ang mahabaging Dios na minsan rin ay bumaba sa lupa.

But someone was watching over me -- a compassionate God who one day long ago came down from heaven to the world. 

Minsan isang araw, dinala Niya ako sa isang feeding sa lugar ng Kalaw sa Manila. Doon ko nakilala ang lingkod ng Diyos sa CCT na ang pangalan ay Angel.  Naglakas loob akong magtanong kung may maitutulong ba sila sa pangangailangan ko sa trabaho.  Noong araw na iyon ay wala pang tugon ngunit pagkaraan ng isang linggo, ipinagkaloob ng Diyos ang panalangin ko.  Inilagay ako ng Diyos sa Tagaytay upang paglingkuran ko siya.

He led me one day to Kalaw St. in Manila where a feeding session was going on.  I got to know Angel, who worked with the Center for Community Transformation. I gathered the courage to ask if he would be able to find a job.  In a week I received the answer to my prayer.  I was given a job in Tagaytay where I could serve Him. 

SIPAG 2 and KMMC construction workers sing: "Parang  kailan lang, ang mga pangarap ko'y
 kay hirap abutin. Dahil sa inyo napunta ako aking dapat marating. Nais ko kayong
pasalamatan kahit man lang sa awitin."
Photo: Roselyne Ko &  Therese Keirulf of WTRC

Napakalaki ng naging kaibahan ng buhay ko sa kalye noon, kumpara sa buhay ko sa CCT  KMMC  ngayon.  Masasabi ko na naging maayos ang buhay ko ngayon.  Una ay hindi na ako pinagkukulang Diyos sa aking pangangailangan.  Mas lalong naging masigasig ako sa pagsunod sa Panginoon sa pamamagitan ng pag-aaral ng Kanyang mga Salita at pagsasabuhay nito.  Natutuo akong magpakumbaba at pagpasakop sa mga namamahala.

My life today is vastly different from my life on the street.  God provides all that I need.  I've become more obedient to God as I study His Word and live it out.  I've learned to submit to authorities. 

Nakikita ko sa aking sarili pagdating ng panahon, loobin ng Diyos ay magpatuloy ako sa paghayo upang ipatotoo ang Magandang Balita ng pagliligtas ni Jesu-Kristo sa mga tao.  Lalo na sa mga piitan, hanggang sa mga kalye na pinaninigilan ng mga halos itinakwil na ng lipunan.   Mangyari nawa!  Sa Diyos ang papuri!

I see myself still serving the Lord in the future, sharing the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ in jails and on the street which is home to outcasts of society.  To God be the glory! 

Misheil Oga's Reunion Story

Misheil Oga (in gray shirt): reunited with her parents after 13 years of separation. 

 Hi!  My name is Misheil.  Thirteen years ago I left my home in the Bicol region, hoping to make a better life for myself in Manila. I was just 16 then. Like many other young probinsiyanas with little education, I found a job as a maid.  My employer, however, was abusive. I couldn't stand the abuse so I ran away. Because I had nowhere else to go, I ended up living on the street.

I met Billy Oga on the street and soon we began living together. To be able to buy food, we scrounged through trash for recyclables that we then sold to junk shops. We worked hard and I can say with my head high that we never stole anything to feed ourselves or our children.

About five years ago we met workers of the Kaibigan Ministry. They told us about Jesus and His love for the poor. They also helped us acquire a bicycle with a side car through a rent-to-own agreement.  The pedicab made work so much easier because Billy and I didn't have to carry sacks of recyclables anymore, we didn't have to walk, and the children could ride along with us as well.

All those years on the street I never ever thought I would get to wear a wedding dress and get married in a formal ceremony, but Billy and I were among several couples married in a lovely wedding ceremony -- not just anywhere but in Tagaytay!

A little while after that we were brought to the Kaibigan Village in Nueva Ecija where other families who also used to live on the street were starting new lives.  It was good to be back in a rural setting.  Since Billy had grown up doing farm work in his own province, it was easy adjusting to farm life again.  But soon I began growing homesick and I yearned to be back in my own province.  We knew other street people  had been reunited with their families in the Kaibigan Ministry's Balik-probinsiya program and we asked if we could also be blessed this way.

Earlier this year, thank God, I got to go home, along with Billy and our three children.   My parents thought they would never see me again.  We had a tearful reunion...and I was home to stay.

Billy and I thank God that the Kaibigan Ministry didn't just provide us with bus tickets, but two of the staff, Kuya Angel and Pastor Jun, actually accompanied us home. We were also given a little money to use to start a small business.  (We have decided to raise and fatten hogs.)  We continue to trust in God. We know that He loves us and will always do.  

Misheil with husband, Billy, and children at the
bus station, excited to be going home. 

Home at last!

The Oga family with
Kaibigan Ministry worker, Angel Diel (seated)...

...and with Misheil's family and Pastor Jun Tolentino. 

Kaibigan Ministry Holds Lupang Pangako Groundbreaking Ceremony

Ceremonially breaking the ground (left to right): Pastor Reinard Manahan, special projects
 manager at the Wholistic Transformation Resource Center; multi-awarded Filipino scientist Dr. 
Bonifacio Comandante Jr ; former Allied Banker Mr. Leonso Pe, husband of Kaibigan Ministry Inc. 
(KMI)  trustee Julie Pe; Zaldy Lugay, head of Kaibigang Maaasahan Multipurpose
 Cooperative Construction Services; Angel Diel of KMI; Ariston Balala, general manager of 
Kawanggawa Primary Multi-purpose Cooperative  and
 Rachel Baguilat  of CCT's Business Development Services unit. 

Rosemarie Abaya of the Cabanatuan City agriculture and livelihood management office, representing
Cabanatuan Mayor Jay Vergara, lowers into the ground a time capsule containing a Bible,
a copy of the vision and mission of the Kaibigan Ministry, a copy of the ground breaking ceremony program,
and a blueprint of the site development plan. Looking on is KMI president Ruth Callanta. 

Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija – A groundbreaking ceremony for the Lupang Pangako project of the Center for Community Transformation (CCT) Kaibigan Ministry Inc. (KMI) was held here on May 10, 2014.  The housing development project benefits transformed former street dwellers being served by KMI.

KMI President Ruth Callanta said Lupang Pangako is the beginning of the fulfillment of the vision in Isaiah 65:21 and 24: “They will build houses and live there. They will plant vineyards and eat fruit from them. Before they call, I will answer. While they're still speaking, I will hear.”

Pioneer beneficiaries of the project are five couples who used to live on the streets of Manila, who expressed interest in doing agricultural work, and who have lived in one of the Kaibigan villages in Cabanatuan for more than a year. "Matagal-tagal din po namin pinangarap ang magkaroon ng sariling bahay," said Edwin Agcopra who was a street dweller from his youth. "Maraming salamat sa Panginoon!"  (I thank the Lord for this! Owning a house we can call our own is a long-held dream.) 

The project site is Kaibigan Village 7 in Kalikid, Cabanatuan City where the five couples and their children will be allocated 1,000 square meter lots per family for housing and livelihood. They will pay for the lot on easy terms and will be assisted in building their houses by the Kaibigang Maaasahan Multipurpose Cooperative construction services. 

“Someday this place will be filled with green trees, and people who live here will themselves eat the fruit of trees they planted,” Ruth Callanta said. “Most importantly, they will have a good relationship with God and with one another.” 

She reminded the beneficiaries and guests gathered for the event that businesses will eventually rise on the site and will be sources of income provided by God.  “But the question is, will we be faithful to God for the long-term?  Are we willing to work with our hands to bring this vision to fulfillment?”  she asked. 

KMI ministers to street dwellers initially through evangelistic Bible studies and a feeding program held on the streets.  Follow up programs to help transition them back to mainstream society include skills training, education, job placement and enterprise development  intertwined with discipleship and spiritual development.

Mrs. Callanta explained that the Kaibigan Ministry now owns a total of 23 non-contiguous hectares of land in Cabanatuan City, beginning with a one hectare piece of land donated several years earlier. All these will eventually be developed into projects and structures for the benefit of former street dwellers, she said. 

Pastor Seymour Meman, CCT spiritual development worker for the provinces of Nueva Ecija and Pangasinan said in his dedication message: “All the earth belongs to God. This community will be a God-fearing community. People in the surrounding areas will see the difference in the lives of the members of this community.”