Blessing the Dead with a Life

Hi I’m Ivy, a ministry worker of Bible Baptist Church Katipunan.  My co-worker Janice and I have a special ministry of bringing the Living Truth among the dead.

As we all know, a cemetery is a place where dead people are buried. The Cebu City cemetery is a place where the physically dead and the spiritually dead live in one neighbourhood.

Mostly it is because the people who live at the graves make a living with the dead. They make a living as tomb caretakers of rich Chinese people, some make a living as garbage collectors and find a haven among rotting cadavers while some simply have no place to stay except with the dead.

The graveyard is their home. It is here where the tombs become bedroom, living room and dining room. The hundred or so families here feed on what is left of the living. They gobble whatever morsel there is from spoiled food amidst the stench of gutters, decay and grime.

Janice was then a Bible College student when she first saw the need for God’s work at the graves. In this sordid environment, people need to be dead to sin so they can rise from their graves in a newness of life with Christ in their lives. Moved with compassion, she held Bible Study extension classes here every Saturday. The children of the graveyard would often ask for food, medicine and clothing but because Janice had limited means, the only blessing she could give was just the Word of God. She would often invite the children and their families to attend worship service on Sundays.

Quite unusually, while these graveyard denizens live in stringent and hostile conditions, they have a lot of children. While the children just keep on getting born, their future die as they live in destitution. And if parents cannot even feed children with the barest of morsel, how much more give them schooling? You might say the future of these children die when they are born.

Vessel of blessing.

I soon joined Janice in ministering the Living Word of God at the graves. Janice and I asked God to transform us into vessels of blessing to the children. Certainly our desire aligned with God’s desire and He delighted us.

Pastor Kent Jesalva encouraged Janice and me to train as teachers under the Basic Life Empowerment and Support Services or BLESS. Janice and I underwent training last November 15, 2010. We were thrilled and excited with how the Lord was working in our lives and the lives of the children. I had some experience of teaching children at my home church in Bohol. But the work at the Cebu City cemetery is something God prepared for Janice and me.

The BLESS education program caters to children who are ages 5 to 8 who must be indigent and cannot afford schooling. To qualify as a BLESS student, the child must pass the reading readiness test with an 80 percent score. It is an open door for the schooling needs of children while catering to their spiritual needs. The vision of BLESS is to let every child know that Jesus loves them and that life is worth living with Him. Through BLESS, children impact the lives of parents and their families as they are nurtured in the church and grow spiritually.

We invite you to share with Janice and me in the burden of BLESSing a child. If you want to BLESS a child, you can sponsor a tuition of P1,000 per child or give a special offering for them. Be BLESSed with BLESS in giving life among those living with the dead.