Rebuilding in Barangay Tugop is complete! We had the privilege of dedicating the houses to God on 15 June – Father’s Day!
It was a spiritually loaded event as we witness Houses being dedicated, Homes being restored and most of all, Fathers being honored. Not only that, 8 couples in this community also seized this significant moment to take the step of obedience in solemnizing their marriages before God! Through the course of working with them, we discovered many couples are not legally married. They just lived together and had children. As a result, their children are illegitimate and do not have birth certificates. In fact, the couple themselves do not have birth certificates or citizenship papers. Before they can be legally married, they first had to sort out their status at the National Statistics Office and get their names entered into the Civil Register and then to complete a Joint Affidavit of Marital Cohabitation. Thanks to a helpful lawyer and our pastors, all 8 couples managed to get their paperwork done in time for the mass wedding. This not only legitimises their marriages but the legitimacy of their children, thereby ensuring basic child rights such as education and medical care are available to them. This is undeniably a praiseworthy first step towards ensuring that the next generation gets a better future and hope in life.
Rev Pat Capwell of Institute of Foundational Learning (IFL), a local Filipino NGO, not only officiated and solemnised the weddings but also led a team of Canadian-Filipino doctors & dentists here for a medical cum dental mission. They tended to approximately 150 patients over 2 days. More came to see the dentists than the doctors. Praise God for letting us see His present and active involvement unfold in this community – Fathers being blessed, Families being legitimised, Houses being rebuilt and Community being reached.
We’ve also started rebuilding works in our next affected village of San Miguel where 2 of our pastors are. 2 parsonages and a church (80 sqm) are almost ready and will be completed by end August. Everyone is looking forward to the Dedication Service.
