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As early as November, we have been bombarded with phone calls from private individuals, prayer groups, companies, Catholic communities, schools and what have you.  They all wanted to have their Christmas fellowships and parties with the streetkids.  We agreed to accomodate all of them in one common date - December 9.  The big day came and what a grand time we had!  The streetkids truly enjoyed the games, the food and the gifts.

But phone calls still kept coming begging us for a date with the streetkids.  One comany in Makati had the kids as their special guests during their Christmas party.  Bro. Joe Dean trooped to the MRT station with 30 teenagers.  It was the first time for all of them to ride the MRT.  Boy!   Were they excited!  It was another experience upon reaching Makati.  They could not stop gaping at the skyscrapers and shopping malls.

Towards the end of the month, the teenagers had another treat.  A trip to the Enchanted Kingdom!  They were part of the "Children's Day Celebration" program sponsored by the PSPI.  Almost 7,000 indigent kids all over the country participated.

And more and more calls came.  A prominent family packed 100 bags of goodies and distributed them to almost 70 streetchildren.  A group of singers also wanted to share their blessings.  So they came with food and gifts.  They even rendered a short acapella number and made everyone happy with their beautiful voices.

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A Busy December

Every first week of December, the Foundation schedules its 3 day year-end camping.  This year, it was set from December 1-3 at the Tom's Resort at Montalban.  A total of 40 streetchildren ages 13-19 years old were chosen to join the camping.

The theme of the camping was "TIME TO GO BACK TO THE LOVE OF THE FATHER".  Bro. Joe Dean wanted it to be a very intimate encounter with Jesus.  He also wanted it to be a time of healing for them.  To do this , he needed 40 volunteers to make sure that each streetchild has his/her own "Ate" or "Kuya" during the whole camping.  he sought the help of the Marian Disciples of Jesus.  And true to God's promises of providing for all our needs, the volunteers came.  But they were mostly females!  Then came the youth from the Montalban Catholic Community led by Marvin Garibay completing the requirement for male volunteers.

The first day, a Friday, was purely fun and fellowship time.  It was games and swimming until the late hours of the night and a celebration of birthdays of December volunteers and streetkids.  Little did the streetkids know that the following days would be so emotionally draining but spiritually fulfilling.  Before breakfas,t we spent time in communal worship and prayer followed by the reflection on the Word of God, shared to us by Sis. Jo.  After our good breakfas,t Bro. Ben gave a talk on the producal son.  Sis. Cristy Galang, a counselor and a child psychologist, led the group in a dyadic encounter.  Here, the volunteers assisted their streetchildren in answering open-ended questions.  It was the first time for all the kids to reveal their deepest hurts, fears and insecurities.  In the afternoon, Fr. Louie was available for confession.  Again, it was another first time experience.  We were happy to see all of them go to confession.  This was followed by the celebration of the Holy Mass.  The following day began with prayers and fellowship.  The kids also had a chance to share their feelings and thoughts about the whole camping.

This event would not have been possible without the support of our friends.  It was no joke raising about P30,000 to shoulder the rent of the resort, transportation, groceries and food for almost 60 people for 3 days.  Thank you once again to the Marian Disciples of Jesus, the Seal of the Spirit, Marvin and the group in Montalban, Bro. Ben and Sis. Mayete, Sis. Cristy Galang and Fr. Louie.

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He Cares Featured in Brigada Siete

On December 2, 2000, the Foundation was featured in a 15-minute segment of a Brigada Siete episode.  The segment highlighted the daily activities of the streetkids and the personal and family life of Bro. Joe Dean.

Brigada Siete informed us that GMA 7 received numerous phone calls and inquiries about the Foundation after its showing.  A number of people came to the Center and wanted fo find out more about us.  They all left with promises of help and an assurance of financial support.

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