A Year of Resilience, Growth, and Hope

I can easily say that 2025 was a defining year for 4Freedom Philippines Inc. It is marked, not by ease, but by extraordinary resilience. What began as a year of strategic growth was dramatically reshaped on September 30, when a 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck Northern Cebu, followed soon after by Typhoon Tino. 

Amid devastation, displacement, and uncertainty, one thing remained constant: our commitment to safeguarding children and strengthening families.

At its core, 4Freedom Philippines exists to protect families from exploitation and abuse through prevention, intervention, and collaboration. This year, those pillars were tested—and proven strong. When disaster struck, our team pivoted immediately from regular programming to emergency response. In partnership with local churches, mental health professionals, and fellow NGOs, we supported 420 households with essential relief goods and provided Psychological First Aid to earthquake and typhoon survivors. Our staff also assisted local authorities during active search and retrieval operations, embodying both compassion and courage on the ground.

Alongside emergency response, 2025 marked a major step forward in institutional legitimacy. 4Freedom Philippines secured its DSWD Certificate of Registration and License to Operate, affirming our compliance with national social welfare standards. Later in the year, we were granted a National Public Solicitation Permit, enabling us to mobilize resources on a national scale and ensuring sustainability for years to come. These milestones strengthened our foundation and expanded our capacity to serve the most vulnerable.

Even in the midst of crisis, our ministry programs continued to grow. Through Play Therapy Philippines, sixteen professionals completed an intensive post-graduate training course, and four fully functional play therapy rooms were maintained across Metro Cebu. Church partners and caregivers were equipped through seminars in play therapy, sand story skills, and trauma-informed care—multiplying the impact far beyond our immediate team.

The Alongsiders Ministry also reached a significant milestone in 2025. Across 15 partner churches in the Visayas, 132 Alongsider–Little Brother/Sister pairs were mobilized, offering consistent, relational support to isolated children. The ministry celebrated its first annual camp and graduation and received the Green Mango Stage Award for surpassing 100 active mentoring pairs—a powerful testament to the local church stepping into the lives of children with faithfulness and love.

Meanwhile, Safe Families for Children Philippines was officially launched, mobilizing volunteers to support family preservation and crisis care. Core trainings, leadership development, and international partnerships—particularly through engagement with Safe Families USA—laid the groundwork for future expansion while keeping children safely connected to family and community whenever possible.

Throughout the year, 4Freedom Philippines strengthened strategic partnerships, remaining active in networks such as DSWD ABSNet, the Children’s NGO Network, the Philippine Mental Health Association, and YWAM. International engagements in Thailand and the United States brought global best practices home, enriching local programs with broader perspective and deeper collaboration.

Behind every number is a story of faith, perseverance, and community. In 2025, with a small but dedicated team of staff and volunteers, 461 individuals were trained, 132 youth were mobilized, and countless families were reminded that they were not alone—even in the hardest moments.

As we look ahead, we do so with gratitude and hope. The challenges of 2025 did not derail the mission of 4Freedom Philippines, they refined it. By God’s grace, what was shaken did not fall. Instead, it became a foundation for deeper impact, stronger partnerships, and renewed commitment to seeing children and families live in freedom.

Culture shock

You'd think after 15 years of being in missions and 10 years of living in the same culture, we would cease to have culture shock. But there's always a surprise in store for us hiding. 

When you live in one place for your whole life, one begins to assume that the way of doing things is not only normal, but "right". As you travel and experience differences, these seem 'wrong'. Probably the most stereotypical of these is the relationship to time and respect. Punctuality in some cultures is seen as so important, people will break relationships up if the person they're meeting is late. They will see it as the person not respecting them. However this has little to do with relationship and more to do with the concept of time and the value of time. Time is money, they'll say. So they value the person or the relationship based on how much time they're committing to the person. However, this is not how people think in other cultures. I once had my car in the garage to have it fixed and the guy said it will probably take at least 2 hours and cost in the region of 500 Philippine pesos for the job. After 8 hours, he was still working on it. In my mind, I thought, well if 2 hours costs 500 pesos, then 8 hours will cost over 2,000. When I picked up the car, he'd been working solidly on it all day and apologised, saying the job was a lot harder and more involved than he was expecting and he had to replace more parts. When the bill came, his labour was still charged at 500 pesos. I had been so ingrained that "time is money", that I could not comprehend why someone would "cheat" themselves like this. 

This is when I started to learn that time has a whole different meaning in the Philippines. Take arriving late, for example. In the 'hot' culture, late coming is more tolerated way more than how we show respect to each other, especially to elders and those in positions of power. I only realised the other day that the only person in the Philippines that calls me Peter is my wife! I'm either referred to as Pastor Peter, Sir Peter, Brother Peter, Missionary Peter, but never just "Peter". So, turning up late for an event would be acceptable in many circumstances, but addressing the senior pastor of a church as "Jack" would be considered unacceptable. 

One such culture shock that we experienced when we first arrived was the mapping of places. Big businesses and organisations would put a pin on the Google map for their location in a totally different place to the actual location. It didn't seem to matter to them that their location wasn't exactly where it said it was, as long as they placed a map, roughly near where they were. In the first few weeks of being here, I came flustered to meetings at churches and events in my mind being "late" (5-10 minutes after it officially started -- a cardinal sin in my mind), apologetic for being late, but annoyed that the map was wrong. Nobody seemed a) bothered that I was late and b) that the map was wrong! 

Bring that forwards to this weekend, where we tried out a brand new shopping mall near the airport. In a not too uncommon event, some of us needed the bathroom and sought to find it, only to find the signs pointed in every direction but the bathroom, yet there were plenty of signs proclaiming to show you where the bathrooms were. 

My son spotted this as an opportunity to make a short video clip to share online of this cultural experience:

Listening for God’s Heart: Walking with a Family in Crisis

Ok... I know... this is an AI created image (even the logo is a bit wrong!), but it's hard to include pictures in the blog (which is publicly available resource) which shows the actual work, as we want to maintain the dignity and integrity of the work. 

In our Safe Families work, we are continually reminded that responding to poverty and crisis is not just about action, but about listening. That’s listening first in prayer, then to the families He places before us.

Recently, a new family was entrusted to the Safe Families team at Bradford Church. With so many families living in deep poverty, the needs can feel overwhelming. It is often hard to know who to help and how to help well. Rather than rushing ahead, our social worker brought several referrals to the newly formed team and invited them to pray, asking God to lead them to the family He was calling them to walk alongside.

After prayerful discernment, the team chose one family and took their first step of faith. They visited the family in their community and shared a simple meal together at Jollibee. In that small act of presence, eating together, listening, and learning names and stories, relationship began to grow. On the newly created Safe Families group chat, they discussed their anticipation and ideas of how they can help.

The family lives in a congested slum area where four people share a single room. Poor sanitation and the absence of privacy make daily life exhausting and fragile. This kind of poverty quietly wears people down, affecting not only physical health but also emotional and spiritual well-being. Yet this reality is all too common, and when families reach a breaking point, there is often little government support and uncertainty within churches about how to respond.

Safe Families exists to meet families in these moments. Not with quick fixes, but with compassion, humility, and partnership. We believe God is already at work in each family, and our role is to come alongside, listen carefully, and discern together what hope and support can look like.

For this family, the mother does not have a regular income, leaving the father to carry the full weight of providing. Without a financial safety net, every day is lived on the edge, where one emergency can push the family deeper into crisis. It is a heavy burden, and one that calls for prayerful, thoughtful support rather than short-term solutions alone.

The Safe Families team will gather again to pray, reflect, and seek God’s wisdom on how best to support this family in the short to medium term.

Learning to take a break

Do you ever feel like the wheel is spinning and you just want to get off? I'm not talking about leaving life (un-aliving), more of a need for a break. I, like many, are in a time of my life where things are so busy with so many plates spinning simultaneously, that I don't know if I have the energy or the strength for the long term sustenance. 

But what is the alternative? 

Do I just check-out and stop doing what I'm doing? There are real-world implications for such decisions. It is a realisation that I don't think I can do it!

Right now, I'm running a growing ministry with a task to help poor communities at risk of human trafficking. We do outreach programmes for children, families and youth to be more connected and valued. At the same time, I'm a dad to four very different children, two of whom are home-schooled. 

But who's the home-school teacher and co-ordinator? Me! 

Then I'm also responsible for the fundraising, strategic thinking and growth of the ministry. Then there's the running the house (paying the bills, doing the grocery shopping, banking and other essential tasks). I feel overwhelmed, but I don't see anywhere within my capacity to let anything go. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not super human. I struggle and fail in many ways. And I'm not a typical "busy" person who uses it as an excuse to shun others I "don't have time for". I try to always have time for visitors and others, even when things are overwhelming for me. I rarely use the excuse "I'm too busy". However, I do often let emails and other communication lapse. I don't properly read communications (which has led me to be in hot water on a number of occasions!). There's a great book by Bill Hybels entitled "Too busy not to pray". I must confess, I've never had the time or energy to read it myself (how ironic!). However, the title alone is all I need to know about where I should turn. There are two areas which I need to change going forwards from here:

1. Return to quiet times. Although I've just spent a year studying God's word and I'm continuing the enormous task of reading through my notes and meditating on the deep revelations I was getting over the year, I'm oftentimes neglecting a quiet time to just be with God. 

2. Take a sabbath. Sundays are busy days. We help a local family whose mum is overseas working on a Sunday to take them to church. We have our "work" hats on when we meet with pastors and others on a Sunday. Saturdays are often family days where we're organising activities or ministry. Rarely is a Saturday a restful day! I need to discuss this with my wife, but I feel that maybe it's time for me to carve out a day in the week, when I just dwell in the presence of God and leave all my "to do's" undone for that day. 

God designed us to work. He also designed us to rest. Rest isn't about "checking out" (which I easily do) or doom scrolling or watching movies (which I also do). Rest is about dwelling. As Bill Hybels calls it "slowing down". It's about not being in any particular hurry and not caring about deadlines or particular tasks. After not working, I easily struggle to get going again. Yet, when I've dwelled in His presence, I find myself renewed and refreshed. I find my mood is lighter and my desire to serve much stronger. 

If you think about the encounter Jesus had with Mary and Martha, this epitomises this message. One was busy trying to "please" Jesus by serving him and preparing food (essential, especially in the culture), whilst the other just rested at his feet, knowing deep down that being in his presence was more important than anything else.  

Learning to Read God’s Word Anew

In my spiritual walk with God, the pattern of behaviour usually goes like this:

I hear His voice. He asks me to do something. I say yes, then do nothing! I freeze with either fear or doubt that I could ever do that thing. The delay isn’t a conscious tactic, rather a reality that God sometimes asks us to do the impossible (or what feels that way). 

I’ll tell you about some of the stories later, but what I want to focus on today is: returning to His word, the Bible. It started back in 2023, when I heard God’s voice: study my Word. 

Cliché I know, a missionary who wants to read the Bible. Many of my colleagues and friends have already been through theological seminary and are now practicing pastors, vicars and other clergy. It doesn’t appear that radical or revolutionary. I won’t be the first person who finds himself on the mission field and feeling wholly unprepared for defending the faith and feeling that he needs more training. But my story is different. I didn’t turn to God’s word out of embarrassment of my lack of knowledge (though that exists) or my desire to know the Bible better (which is also true). No, my push in this season to read and understand the Bible, comes from God himself. He has spoken to me very clearly that he wants me to study His word. He hasn’t told me how, or indeed, why. He has just told me that I need to study his word. This message came to me whilst I was in the Cebu House of Prayer during an intercession time. It wasn’t an audible voice, but so clearly from the Lord. His unmistakable “tone” that gently, but firmly says: “listen” and “do”. 

I shared this message with my wife who asked the good questions. “Will you go to Bible school?” she asked? “To what end will you study?” and “Do you want to become a pastor and have your own church?”. I hadn’t thought of the answers to any of these questions. To be honest, I just relayed exactly what I felt the Holy Spirit had impressed on me. I fumbled an answer of “I have no idea”, which appeared to frustrate her that I somehow wanted to study the Bible, but didn’t know why, how, or to what end! 

Now, my innate ability to procrastinate caused a delay of over a year whilst I gently enquired at a few seminaries and canvassed trusted friends who might point me in the direction of some professional bible teaching. During 2024, I faced the possibility of having to lay down my involvement in the ministry and possibly cease doing homeschool with the kids, to study full time at a theological college. But nothing sat right with me. I thought of just reading the Bible with a bit more intentionality. But I knew that wasn’t quite what God was leading me to. At the same time, I didn’t have peace about embarking at this stage on a degree course or full-time academic study. 

Towards the end of 2024, my frustrations were getting high. I was homeschooling the kids, ministry was getting busy with lots of niggly paperwork and all the jazz you get when pioneering a new charity. My personal quiet time and self-study was taking a hit and days would go by when I hadn’t picked up my Bible. 

Then… something happened. I shared my frustration with a colleague in YWAM who told me that YWAM in Malaysia was offering an online Bible studies course called “School of Biblical Studies”. I’d seen this course when I used to live in South Africa and shared a building with the team that ran this course. Although it looked interesting, I’d been put off by how much work it was, the colour-coding of the Bible pages and the fact that it’s not affiliated with any accredited institution in the UK. 

However, this time was different, as I wasn’t looking necessarily for a degree in theology, but just to study the Bible. I enquired into this version – the online Chronological School which, apart from weekly cohort meetings, the studying was completely asynchronous. There were still deadlines and structured learning, but study could happen at any time of the day, as all the lectures were pre-recorded. 

I jumped at it, contacting the school straight away and asking to be allowed onto the course. After an application was submitted, references given and an interview from the school leader, I was accepted to start my Bible journey in January 2025.

I say, start my Bible journey, as if I’d never picked up the Bible before to study it. That’s not true, so to give you context: having been in missions for 15 years, I knew the overview of the Bible and I’ve spent considerable amount of time studying it before on various subjects matters. I helped the University of the Nations with their new study tool the “SphereView” Bible, where you can break the Bible down into different spheres of society. I’d gone through the whole Bible in depth, drawing out all the areas of communication (good, bad and ugly). I’ve also given my fair-share of sermons and have led small groups before. But I’d never devoted a whole year to studying it, purely for the sake of knowing it better. 

The first class came and it was brutal. For the kick-off, they decided to do several live classes to help us understand the curriculum, learn use the software they required and understand the basis behind the programme. On the first meeting the school leader reminded us that this was serious and it wasn’t an ‘easy’ course and we needed to be fully focused and give several hours a day to this work.  The first task: memorize the full 66 books of the Bible and recite them in order! The deadline? Tomorrow! This scared me! After completing the task, my feeling was: wow, if every class is like this, I’m not going to last the week, let alone the year. 

The School of Biblical Studies (SBS) is a core course with the University of the Nations. It is typically completed in 9 months and is an intensive overview of the whole Bible where each book is read 5 times through building in the student a deeper understanding of the content and context. Rather than studying Greek and Hebrew and picking apart individual passages for theological insight, the SBS is a place to soak in the Bible. It is a place to start to see the bigger picture of this amazing collection of historical narrative, poetry, songs, apocalyptic imagery, parables, gospels and letters. The idea is to let the Bible speak to you before you study it. 

The first term was a bit of a killer. About two-thirds of the way through, I met with the school leader and other staff on a video call to confess that, although I loved the course, the intensity of the work was way too much for me. Before the call, I psyched myself up to tell them that I wouldn’t be continuing the course after the first semester. After I shared my feeling of overwhelmed study and over commitment, they understood, but said something to me that changed my mind. They told me that they would not be running this course next year and they weren’t sure if they were ever going to run it again!

This took away my backstop, which was SBS is 3 terms, so “I’ll just do one term each year” plan. It was all or nothing. I had to commit, or I would be back to the place of “what now”?!

Then something strange happened. I gave up my desire to meet every deadline and made a ‘deal’ with the Lord. I told Him in my quiet time: I’m going to continue on the course, using their material, but my focus is not the course materials and requirements, but just on the Word. I will use the SBS framework to study the Bible, but if I miss a deadline or if I don’t complete a work, that’s not as important as the actual study of His word. At first, I found myself dwelling on certain passages or things I didn’t understand and mulling, musing and meditating. However, after a while, the strangest thing started to happen. I began to enjoy it and find it easier and more enjoyable than I had ever found it before. I found myself desiring to do the charting and reading at times when I didn’t need to, or on books we’ve not started yet. My grades started going up and I began to really have fun reading it. Weird things started happening, like sermons at church would align exactly with what I was reading, or circumstances in my life would be met with an answer that I was reading in scripture that day. 

No longer did I find SBS a chore, I found it a joy! In fact, as I write this, I’ve already completed my work, handed it in, had it graded and graduated with top marks. Yet I spent the best part of an hour this morning studying the kings that followed Solomon and re-charting their successes and failures using the SBS method with no-deadline and no grade to look forward to. 

So, where do I go from here? 

I don’t know. 

I still don’t have an answer to my wife’s original question. I’ve found myself looking to study New Testament Greek (for fun!) and feeling pleasure about any discussion that centres around God’s word. I’ve been enjoying doing devotions with the kids (and the neighbour’s kids) and loving discovering new things and stories from the Bible that I’ve never seen before. 

I may well need to be re-disciplined with some theological training, especially if I want to ‘professional’ with Bible exegesis. I’m not closed to these things, but right now, it’s a period of ‘waiting on the Lord’ and in the meantime, diving into scripture with the new tools that I’ve got at my fingertips to learn more each day. 

At church on Sunday, the pastor called our walk with God ‘progressive’. As I read His word, I’m starting to understand in a deeper way, what that really means.  

Exciting Beginnings: The Launch of Play Therapy in the Philippines

2024 is already shaping up to be a groundbreaking year for mental health care in the Philippines, and we’re absolutely thrilled to be part of it. Play therapy—long a staple in child therapy practices around the world and based on practices by Play Therapy International—is making its official debut, thanks to the dedication and hard work of the team at 4Freedom Philippines.

Spearheaded by Becky Clemison, in January, we celebrated a huge milestone: the first-ever play therapy training for Filipino practitioners. Fifteen passionate individuals—psychologists, counselors, educators, and mental health professionals—came together for this inaugural training event, all eager to learn how play therapy can unlock the potential for emotional healing and growth in children. The excitement in the room was palpable, with smiles, laughter, and even a few happy tears. It’s the beginning of something truly special, and we’re here for it!

What is Play Therapy and Why Does it Matter?

For those unfamiliar with it, play therapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses play to help children express their emotions, work through trauma, and develop healthier ways of thinking and behaving. It’s based on the belief that play is the natural language of children, a safe and effective way for them to express feelings they might not have the words to explain.

Imagine a child sitting in front of a small table, surrounded by toys: dolls, cars, blocks, maybe some sand. A trained play therapist observes how the child interacts with these toys, using their imagination to tell stories or act out real-life situations. What might seem like simple play to the untrained eye is actually a powerful therapeutic tool. Through these interactions, children can express anxieties, fears, desires, and even resolve past trauma—all in a way that feels safe and comfortable to them.

The Growing Need for Play Therapy in the Philippines

Did you know that the Philippines has one of the highest rates of children experiencing mental health challenges in Southeast Asia? According to a 2021 study by the World Health Organization, approximately 17% of Filipino children face mental health issues, and of that group, more than 1 in 3 have never received any kind of mental health intervention.

The statistics are alarming, especially when you consider the ongoing challenges Filipino children face, including trauma from natural disasters, domestic violence, poverty, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The stigma around mental health in many communities can make it difficult for children to access the help they need.

This is where play therapy can make a transformative difference. With trained play therapists, we can reach children in ways that traditional talk therapy simply cannot. Play therapy doesn’t require children to verbalize their problems right away. Instead, it allows them to process and communicate in a way that feels natural. This non-threatening approach helps children feel more in control of their emotions, which is empowering and healing.

Our First Training—A Dream Come True!

The training conducted by 4Freedom Philippines was nothing short of magical. We had the privilege of working with an inspiring group of Filipino professionals who were ready to dive into the world of play therapy.

The workshop was hands-on, interactive, and deeply emotional. This training is only the start of a journey for this group who must go through 18 months of supervised practice in therapeutic play. However, at the end, they will receive a diploma to enable them to begin serving their communities. 

What Does This Mean for the Future?

The launch of play therapy in the Philippines marks an important turning point in the country’s mental health landscape. It’s a beacon of hope for children and families struggling with emotional distress. As more Filipino mental health professionals get trained in play therapy techniques, we expect to see significant improvements in the way children’s mental health needs are met.

We envision a future where children can grow up with the tools they need to express their emotions, cope with life’s challenges, and thrive in a world that can sometimes feel overwhelming. Play therapy offers a new path forward—a path where every child has a chance to heal, grow, and become the best version of themselves.

Let’s Celebrate This Milestone!

As we look ahead to what’s next, we’re filled with pride and excitement. The inaugural play therapy training was just the beginning, and we know that the ripple effects of this program will be felt for years to come. This isn’t just a new therapy technique—it’s a new way of thinking about children’s emotional well-being.

As we continue to build awareness and train more professionals, we’re optimistic that play therapy will become a vital part of the Filipino mental health ecosystem.

To all those who participated in the training, thank you for your commitment to making a difference in the lives of children. And to everyone else, stay tuned! The future of mental health care in the Philippines is bright, and play therapy is leading the way.

Let’s keep the play going! 🎉

Prayer walks

 This past month, God has been calling me to do prayer walks around Cordova. To squeeze in the time, I get up at 4am and head over there to see the sunrise at 5. It's so peaceful and calm at that time of the morning and I can really sense the presence of the Lord as I walk. 

I'm contending in my prayer time for His guidance on our work. As a foreigner here and a missionary, it's my job to share the good news. However, from all my reading and research, the truly successful missions were preceded by a significant amount of prayer. 

Thankfully, I'm working with the right team at Cebu House of Prayer who back me up in regular times of intercession. 

Please pray with me as I seek him. We want to do His will and not mine! 

 

Pioneering

The steps to getting established are many. Having been in missions for nearly 14 years now, we have seen many ministries start and fail; many projects seem successful but ultimately don't achieve what the original vision intended. We have been gathering information and looking at what works and what doesn't when setting up a new ministry and pioneering new work. 

We are aware that we are not 'reinventing the wheel' and there are many people doing similar work here, but the approach we're taking, particularly in regard to the therapeutic services that we're wanting to offer are rare in the Philippines - particularly play therapy and other after care services in the community. 

Right now, a lot of our work is desk-based, trying to complete all the necessary requirements to make 4Freedom a sustainable and longterm mission work that will benefit individuals, families and communities in the Philippines for generations. 

The process is intentional and gradual. We pray that, as the Lord leads us, we will be faithful. At home we have bookshelves full of stories of pioneering missionaries, whether that's Mary Slessor or Hudson Taylor, who fearlessly dedicated their lives to serving others. We use these stories as inspirations to keep us going, especially on days when we feel like giving up. 

With 4Freedom, the vision was received by Becky in 2017, shortly after arriving in the Philippines. She had a very clear picture of the four freedoms: Freedom in Christ, Freedom from Slavery, Freedom from Poverty and Freedom from Pollution. I also felt that this was a word from the Lord that, together, as a married couple and as a family in missions, we were to embrace this vision together. It was a daunting and exciting time. 

Visit from Grandma

We had such a lovely time in January with Pete's mum visiting for a month with her friend Janet from church. They enjoyed their stay and we visited the south and north of Cebu island. They also met the ladies and saw some of our work, and left last week. 

Good news: after much praying and work, we have received “pre-approval” for our SEC (charity) registration. This has been a big piece of work and we’re grateful to be taking steps forward in it. The pre-approval has a very short deadline for us to complete several documents and submit them for final approval. Our social worker has compiled these documents, and it is just a matter of the board of trustees signing them. That is easier said than done, with our chair of the board living in Manila right now, we’ve had to send the documents up to him first. All the documents have to be signed by all the trustees. 

Valentines is a big deal in the Philippines. Lots of people do activities for the event and shops, café’s and restaurants are all adorned with love hearts and various gift ideas for the one you love. Pete had the privilege of teaching a group of former drug dealers (they’re called surrenderers – those that have chosen to change their life during the Duterte regime’s war on drugs). It was at an event called “together forever”, hosted by a church in Cordova. There was buffet food, the place was decorated beautifully and it was a chance to bring fun, games and deeper community relations. Pete was the keynote speaker for the evening and it was a great opportunity for Pete to share the gospel in light of the only eternal relationship. We have till death us do part, but what happens beyond the grave?

After the talk, the pastor led the congregation in a pledge to turn away from our sinful ways and towards God. The whole room stood to make the pledge. It was a really moving event. Please pray for these drug surrenderers.

Busy summer in Cebu

Hope you have been having a wonderful summer! School is about to start in England, meantime, the Cebu school year started in earnest about 2 weeks ago. This is the first time for most children to have face-to-face instruction for two full academic years. According to Save the Children, as many as 80% of children learned little or nothing during the school closures. You can read their report here. 

We've been following the heatwave that has hit many parts of the UK! Hopefully there's some cooler weather now. Apparently according to some reports, there'll be more hot summers to come! 

National Conference

Every couple of years, Youth With A Mission (YWAM)Philippines holds a conference. This conference is an opportunity for the all those involved in the wide range of mission that goes on across the country under the banner of YWAM to come together, worship, get teaching and share knowledge. It's a prized refreshing time for many who work tirelessly, often in remote locations, to meet with other like minded missionaries. We always really enjoy the conferences here and feel very refreshed and invigorated afterwards. 

Getting there wasn’t without its challenges – one of which was our flight being changed last minute by the airline from 6am to 11pm, which almost caused us to miss an important immigration appointment in Manila. Praise God that we made it to the conference and to the appointment - someone very kind at the airport was willing to book us on another, earlier flight without any additional charge. 

This was an amazing answer to prayer - thank you to all those who responded to the Facebook post for the prayers! God really helped us, especially when it looked like it was impossible! All the requirements have now been completed for our 2 year visa. 

Please pray that immigration issues the visa soon, because every month they don’t issue the documents, we have to pay £230 in tourist extension fees!

Getting registered

We are working on getting the charity that we've founded (4Freedom) registered as an entity here in the Philippines. This is quite a task, bringing all the necessary information for all the board members to be scrutinised by the relevant authorities. We have a social worker processing the documentation right now and will hopefully be 'live' soon. Pray that they will accept our application, so that we can open a bank account and start building a fund for the charity. 

 Prayer times

Peter has been organising prayer walks once a week in Cordova which is the hotspot for online child trafficking in the world. We also want to start a monthly online prayer gathering on the first Saturday of each month at 9am UK time (10am German time). If you would like to join, please send an email to peterclem@gmail.com and he'll send you out a link to join. 

Please pray for us in this time. Since the pandemic, we've gained some support and we've lost a major donor. Moving back to the Philippines has been expensive with new visas and set up costs (including back to school costs). Please pray for us as we continue to build this ministry that we will be able to find some more regular supporters for our personal everyday costs. 

Frog porridge

 One of the things that Becky and I like doing when we travel is to try the local cuisine. In the district of Singapore where we stayed overnight during our 20 hour layover, frog porridge (rice porridge with frog meat stew). The taste was actually quite nice - a mix between fish and chicken - in a very delicious sauce. 

The children didn't fancy it, so we gave them some spring rolls, french fries and mini burgers. All in all, a real treat for the family (and not too expensive) as a break away from airline food!

Saying farewell to Stockport (and England)

Saying goodbye is always hard. The children especially are affected by goodbyes. My daughter, Hannah was playing with a school friend of hers and came back very down and sad, slumped on the sofa, as she processed (in her 7-year old way) 'never' seeing her friend again. 

As a family, we are preparing to depart England for Philippines after a long Covid-restricted home-working season! This is the longest our children have spent in the UK. Usually when we visit Europe, we spend no more than a few days in each location. It's a very busy family time of speaking engagements and home visits. This time, because of Covid, it was much more grounded in one place and the children for the first time got to experience 'normal' English life. 

As the borders opened up in February, we had to make a decision, as a family - and in consultation with our mission agency, VDM -  when would be a good time to go back. It was decided that, because the children were in school and things weren't properly ready for us in Cebu, that we would wait until the end of Spring term 2022 (i.e. Easter break) to book our flight tickets. Well , it came about quicker than any of us thought and packing up our belongings, giving away stuff and shipping boxes takes its toll on our emotions. For me, now I've got the 'go' signal to return, I'm ready to say goodbye (nicely, of course) then go! After we've said farewell, I don't like to hang around for too long. It feels awkward and uncomfortable!  

When we left the Philippines in 2020. Like so many, we never expected Covid to last so long and the borders to Philippines to remain closed for so long. We anticipated returning in early 2021! 

Here is Becky's dad, Andrew, helping us get the final box packed up, ready to ship! 

Shipping boxes, known as 'Balakbayan boxes' take upwards three months to get to the Philippines, but are much cheaper than paying for excess luggage at the airport. Much of what we're shipping will be used for a book and toy library we're setting up to be used by those who are looking after survivors of OSEC (online abuse). Right now, as far as we're aware, this seems to be mostly kinship care (family), but we would love to see more foster carers recruited, especially among the Christians and supported by churches. 

This weekend we'll be visiting three churches: Trinity Church, Authentic City Church and Emmanuel Church. It will be a busy weekend, but we're grateful that so many people are wanting to engage with us and 'say goodbye'!

Thank you, St Mary's, Luton!

 It was so wonderful to be at St Mary's, Luton. 

Luton is a place where, even though I didn't grow up there, I always feel like I'm coming home. Sadly we don't have a house in the town anymore, and during the pandemic finding accommodation was nigh-on impossible! Thankfully, as things are easing, we've been able to travel back to this wonderful place that sent us into missions in the first place. 

As we process any change in our ministry work, we always seek advise and counsel from Luton first. St Mary's is where I got married to Becky and where I really deepened my faith and commitment to the Lord Jesus! 

If you're interested, here's the talk I gave (underneath is the transcript for the sermon, if you prefer reading to listening). 

Fear of the Lord only

We’ve been part of St Mary’s church since 1999. I was a cell group leader and cell pastor. I love Luton. It’s the place where I studied, it’s the place where I met Becky. This church is where I got married, and it’s this church where we were sent into missions 12 years ago. By God’s grace, He’s kept us going strong. And St Mary’s has been a huge part of that. Thank you.

Becky is a missionary kid, grew up in Nigeria. From the moment we met, she talked about travel and getting out there to share the gospel. It took me a few years to get on board! 

After five years of marriage, we finally went into missions in 2010. We served for 6½ years in Cape Town, South Africa before moving to the Philippines where we are now. The move to the Philippines was a chance for us to expand the work we’d been doing in South Africa and we felt it was the place with the greater need for anti-trafficking work, especially in regard to children.

This is one of the ladies we help, her name is [name removed].

After 20 months of being away from the Philippines, due to covid travel restrictions, the question came to our minds: is it safe to go back? Since January 2021, we’ve been regularly checking the entry restrictions and trying many different ways and means to get back to do the physical mission work, though we continued working remotely with the help of staff on the ground. Every avenue we tried didn’t work. Suddenly, at the end of February 2022, the Philippines announced the opening up and allowance of foreigners to re-enter the country.

The question then comes to mind: the borders may be open, but is now the right time? 

A typhoon in December hit Cebu hard. Our house, thankfully, wasn’t affected so badly, but we still lost parts of our roof, the water, electricity and internet connections.

After consideration and prayer, we decided that just one of us should go out and survey the land – is it possible and is it wise for us as a family to move back at this time!? What about our budget – can we afford to live? How are prices now and do we have enough support?

I had to go to the airport without a ticket and trust the Lord that if it was right to go that he would make it happen. There’s more to this story as to why I did that – not my normal way of doing things, but it was to do with a step of obedience and step of faith.

I had had a false positive covid test. I knew it was false positive, because I had recently recovered from the actual virus! The positive test result, even though false, caused my ticket to be invalidated by the airline (I called the airline with the news and they put my ticket on hold, until I could get a clarification of it being a false positive). Thankfully, I was able to confirm with the testing company that it was, indeed, a false positive and a repeat test showed a negative result. Going back to the airline, they'd already sold my ticket so someone else and there weren't any seats left at my price. On discussion with the agent and not having any easy option, I prayed about it and felt peace to go to the airport anyway without a ticket and trust that I could fly. 

On arrival at the airport, Becky reminded me that we had been forced to pay for extra insurance by the Philippine government to cover covid-19 incidences. We discovered, to our surprise and delight, that this compulsory insurance covered false positive tests and they agreed to pay the fare difference. This was a miracle - we didn't have the money for a new ticket and for the provision to come at this point (just 3 hours before the flight) was amazing and so exciting. It's my first time going to the airport without a valid ticket! I was nervous, but somehow knew that God was going to get me back to Cebu! 

So, I arrived in Cebu and met with colleagues and friends and began my work. It was such a wonderful time and full of God’s guidance and provision.

These are some of the ladies with whom we work and I was able to meet some of them on my trip. It was amazing to be back, to meet new members of the team and to survey the land! Straightaway work began on fixing the roof and it was completed in a few days. The internet was restored and inside the house was re-painted and broken items fixed. Only the Lord could have made all these things happen so quickly, because so much of it was out of my control. It really felt as though the Lord had his hand on our return.

I spent my time in Cebu visiting the projects where we work, putting things back together and putting together a budget for the next year of work if we were to return as a family.

I’m pleased to say that: based on the kindness and support from St Mary’s and others, we’re now up to about 90 per cent of our budget from donations and pledged gifts. This is amazing and we’re so grateful for this support, especially in this time of uncertainty and increased costs for all of us and for all of you. We really appreciate the sacrifice that so many of you have made in supporting us – especially supporting us through St Mary’s.

This gives us confidence to return, knowing things are ready for us, as a family, in Cebu and to continue the work and even expand on what we’ve already been doing. This is a really exciting time for the mission work and it’s so good to have a great team around us in YWAM at the House of Prayer. 

Our next task will be to see if we can raise enough to replace our car which is spending more time in the garage than on the road. It’s a 22 year old Toyota and I think it’s pretty much at the end of its useful life right now!

We will be flying out as a family on Monday, 2^nd May 2022. The children will be homeschooled for a couple of months whilst we register them for the new academic year in Cebu, when – finally – face to face instruction is expected to return. Children in Cebu have been off face-to-face schooling for over 2 years now.

The bible passage we’re looking at this morning is from Matthew 18, which begins with the disciples discussing with Jesus about who is the greatest. I’m not sure what they were expecting, but I’m sure they never expected the response they got from Jesus, as he invited little children to come and sit with him. Jesus identified the pride in their hearts. If you think about it from the disciples’ perspectives – “hey Jesus, we left our entire lives to follow you – surely we get a special place in your Kingdom?”. This is a very easy place for missionaries to fall – we left our homes, family, comfort zone. Where is my reward? How great will I be in the Kingdom of God.

The answer is not so comfortable to read!

Jesus turned their question on its head and shows examples of the Kingdom of God and how we need to be childlike in our walk with God. Jesus talks then about how he will bring severe judgement on those who cause the little children to sin. He then concludes with a parable that says how he will persevere to protect his flock, even if it means leaving those that are safe to find that 1 lost sheep. I’ll come back to that 1 sheep in a bit, but let’s examine this childlike faith a bit further first…

It’s really only when we lay down our rights to these home comforts unconditionally – without expectation of reward – do this passage becomes truly comforting. As I lay down my own pride in what “I have achieved” and lean on Him, then this message from Matthew’s gospel becomes so powerful. If we truly look at my own abilities to do what God’s called us to do in the Philippines, the need seems overwhelming. But…

…if we just come to him, like a child, and have that willingness to just go, the impossible task becomes possible. This has rung true in so many ways. We often do not know how things will pan out and the work that God has called us to do seems overwhelming and I certainly feel underqualified for it. But… his faithfulness that we have seen over the years brings confidence to the unknown. My flight out to the Philippines was impossible, but with God, it became possible!

Thank you for your prayers

OK, let’s move on to look at the 1 lost sheep.

The need in the Philippines is so great. Our work is to help survivors of human trafficking. We feel led to expand that work to help the survivors of OSEC – online exploitation of children – and it is a form of trafficking. With the incredibly long lockdowns and with the closure of schools for 2 years now, online abuse has grown exponentially, as families struggle to make ends meet and seek increasingly desperate measures to survive. Within a few minutes, the traffickers can earn a week’s wages.

As we look at this growing problem of human trafficking, we can easily feel overwhelmed by the need. However, as we discussed this issue with one of our mentors, they said “focus on the one”. If you can start with helping one person or one family, then things can grow from there. This encouragement has inspired us to think – and reminded us of the parable of the lost sheep – that Jesus would go after the one. If we can bring the gospel to the one, share the love of Jesus to that one – if they respond and give their lives to Jesus – then we have helped that one.

In our mission work, we have a vision of 4 freedoms:

Freedom in Christ – bringing the gospel to the poor

Freedom from slavery – giving people a hope away from control and abuse

Freedom from pollution – of the body, soul and mind. Bringing an environment of clean, healthy living.

Freedom from poverty – bringing sustainable income, to remove the snare that brought them into bondage in the first place.

 

So, as we go back, even though we’ll be developing strategies to help whole communities escape from poverty, we will always look to celebrate each one we help.

Back to Pete:

The stumbling block for me on sharing the gospel over the years is fear. Fear of being mocked, being laughed at. Fear of rejection. Fear of how it would look to be a bible basher! For people I’m close to, my fear is based around losing the relationship – being rejected. I have really struggled to share my faith with my family, especially, as I’m scared to lose my relationship with them! It stopped me from going into missions for many years, much to Becky’s frustration! I’ve seen other Christian friends who have become isolated from those close to them, as they share their faith, people pull away from having a relationship with them.

In today’s Old Testament reading, we had Proverbs 9:10, The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. In 2nd Timothy 1vs7 it says: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” So, if I’m afraid of sharing my faith – the bible tells us that that doesn’t come from a fear of the Lord, it is a fear of man. It’s very sobering and it has motivated me to step out of my comfort zone and say: Lord, if you didn’t give me a spirit of fear, then help me to be bold, even in the face of rejection!

Supernaturally, God has given me boldness in the Philippines to share my faith in places I never have before – with bus conductors, or the mechanic fixing my car. Even foreigners I see in the malls. I’m still a work in progress – I still shy away, especially in my own culture and with my own family – and I need to ask God continuously to help me lay down my own fears and submit to the fear of the Lord!

Whilst praying on what to share today, the Holy Spirit is speaking to me about fear of man. Fear of man is simply allowing what others think (or even worse, what we think they think) to shape our actions, rather than leaning on what the Lord is telling us to do.

It’s something which I fall into very often and something which the Lord has been working on in my life over the past 20 years or so. And it’s not just limited to sharing the gospel. I still find myself making life decisions based on what others would think or say.

But when we think about eternity, that never ending life that we know exists for those who trust in the Lord, isn’t it worth it? Our walk with the Lord is a daily process of looking to him and him alone.

In today’s passage, Jesus compared obedience in the Kingdom to being like a little child. In many ways, we overcomplicate our walk with God, don’t we. We try and justify our actions as being the sensible way to do things. But our ‘sensible’ way, isn’t always the way the Lord leads. My experience has been sometimes that the Lord will take me halfway across the world, just to highlight an area of my life he wants to deal with.

 

I think that’s possibly our challenge for you: if you look at your community where you live, where you work, where you study…who is the one you could make a difference to? 

Who is the one that’s never heard the gospel that you could share with? 

A whole movement can start with the life of just one person being transformed by the gospel.  And you could be that one that shared with them. 

On the road to recovery

Thank you so much for your prayers and support over the past few weeks. I am resting at Becky's parents house at the moment. It has been frustrating, knowing that we leave the country for the Philippines in 10 days and not being able to do any kind of heavy lifting. However Becky has been a superstar, connecting in with friends and physically sorting many of the things needed to be shipped to Cebu! 

We are due to 'set sail' on May 2nd. Looking forward to checking in with folk in Luton when we visit St Mary's on April 24th and Emmanuel Community Church on May 1st. We have also been blessed by great fellowship with members of the Trinity Church in Offerton who befriended us during the lockdown when we didn't know anyone in Stockport. We are so grateful for the community we have seen here in Stockport which has sustained us! 

Unexpected turn of events

 After a wonderful time at St Michaels Church in Warfield who have been faithfully supporting our work, we headed down to my (Peter's) mums for the kids to see grandma and for us to say our goodbyes to her before venturing off to Cebu. However, maybe the goodbye will be slightly longer than anticipated, as on arrival I came down with acute stomach pains and was rushed to hospital and was diagnosed with appendicitis. I'm out of surgery now and I'm the recovery suite. 

Two weeks rest might mean longer at Grandma's than I had anticipated!