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Living by Faith
From their ministry base, the Atienzas have launched several ministries. While visitors to Boracay see the resorts, they probably don’t see the needs of the people working at them or the inflated cost of living compared to other nearby islands, they say.
“Boracay is a very nice place—we cannot deny it,” Teresa says. “Maybe a businessman sees development as a chance to invest his treasure. For us, as missionaries, we see the needs.”
Meeting local needs
One of those crying needs is adequate nutrition. The Church on the Rock hosts a feeding program that serves 27 neighborhood children one meal a day consisting of rice, vegetables, fruit and meat (usually beef or chicken). The local Kiwanis Club donates 5,000 pesos ($100) a month to underwrite the program, now in its third year.
Rather than feed kids indefinitely, the program gives malnourished kids meals and vitamins five days a week for three months in an effort to get them back up to adequate weight. If they are still underweight after three months, they can stay in for another three months.
Teresa says many of the children coming into the program suffer from advanced stages of malnutrition. “When I see them, my heart melts,” she says.
Another need is quality education. Because of high student-to-teacher ratios, public education here often suffers: 6th-graders nationwide scored an average of 54.05 percent in English in the most recent round of National Achievement Tests, according to an Oct. 13 article in The Manila Times. According to several missionaries interviewed by Called and Sent, if public school students don’t know how to read and write before they enter first grade, they might not ever learn.
That’s if they can go at all. Rolando and Teresa minister to many families who are too poor even to send their kids to public school. The Atienzas turned that need into a ministry opportunity, founding the Smile Learning Center last year in a small cinderblock building in their churchyard. The school has 21 students, 4th through 6th grade. Three parents of students have decided to follow Jesus since the school opened.
“We found out a lot of Filipinos didn’t really have a quality education, and they could not afford to send their children to public school,” Teresa says. “We have a passion to mold children in Godly people who have more Godly values.”
© 2006 Called and Sent Magazine. All rights reserved.
Rooted and growing
Ministry gets permanent home after more than year of wandering
By Called and Sent Staff
Ministry gets permanent home after more than year of wandering
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Rolando and Teresa Atienza
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READ MAIN STORY
BORACAY ISLAND, Philippines—Rolando and Teresa Atienza arrived on this haven of posh tropical resorts in August 1996 with no support, no church and no friends.
They did it because their denomination had assigned them here to pioneer its church-planting and missions work on the island. But more than that, they believed God was going to provide for them when they needed it.
And from their home to their worship center to ministry opportunities, He has.
Refugee existence
Roland and Teresa’s ministry, the Church on the Rock, had a decidedly nomadic look their first year in Boracay. Their small church (they only had four attenders after the first six months) met in disco clubs, pool halls and even outside under a mango tree—wherever they could find affordable space.
The Atienzas and their three small children didn’t live in any one spot more than six months during that first year and a half. They stayed in borrowed or rented rooms, sometimes with no kitchen. One landlord kicked them out when he wanted to rent the space out during high tourist season.
Then a mutual friend introduced them to a local businessman, a Christian who wanted them to talk to his unbelieving brother. Rolando and Teresa agreed. The man came into the meeting scoffing at religion as a moneymaking scheme.
Out of the blue benefactor
But after allowing Rolando and Teresa to pray for him, the man sensed God speaking to him, telling him to help them. He asked them for their plans for a new ministry center. They confessed they didn’t have any. So he asked them to fax him a sketch after he left the island. After they sent the first one, he told them to include their living quarters, promising that if they secured a lot, he would send the money for the whole thing.
The man made good on his promise, sending $11,000 (U.S.) to build a church building plus $1,000 for an adjacent apartment. He then sent another $1,000 for landscaping and concrete steps, and an additional $1,000 for the Atienzas’ personal needs, including a refrigerator and a rice cooker.
“God is so good,” Teresa says, sitting in the churchyard. “He is an unlimited God. He was able to fulfill the promises he made to us.”
BORACAY ISLAND, Philippines—Rolando and Teresa Atienza arrived on this haven of posh tropical resorts in August 1996 with no support, no church and no friends.
They did it because their denomination had assigned them here to pioneer its church-planting and missions work on the island. But more than that, they believed God was going to provide for them when they needed it.
And from their home to their worship center to ministry opportunities, He has.
Refugee existence
Roland and Teresa’s ministry, the Church on the Rock, had a decidedly nomadic look their first year in Boracay. Their small church (they only had four attenders after the first six months) met in disco clubs, pool halls and even outside under a mango tree—wherever they could find affordable space.
The Atienzas and their three small children didn’t live in any one spot more than six months during that first year and a half. They stayed in borrowed or rented rooms, sometimes with no kitchen. One landlord kicked them out when he wanted to rent the space out during high tourist season.
Then a mutual friend introduced them to a local businessman, a Christian who wanted them to talk to his unbelieving brother. Rolando and Teresa agreed. The man came into the meeting scoffing at religion as a moneymaking scheme.
Out of the blue benefactor
But after allowing Rolando and Teresa to pray for him, the man sensed God speaking to him, telling him to help them. He asked them for their plans for a new ministry center. They confessed they didn’t have any. So he asked them to fax him a sketch after he left the island. After they sent the first one, he told them to include their living quarters, promising that if they secured a lot, he would send the money for the whole thing.
The man made good on his promise, sending $11,000 (U.S.) to build a church building plus $1,000 for an adjacent apartment. He then sent another $1,000 for landscaping and concrete steps, and an additional $1,000 for the Atienzas’ personal needs, including a refrigerator and a rice cooker.
“God is so good,” Teresa says, sitting in the churchyard. “He is an unlimited God. He was able to fulfill the promises he made to us.”
From their ministry base, the Atienzas have launched several ministries. While visitors to Boracay see the resorts, they probably don’t see the needs of the people working at them or the inflated cost of living compared to other nearby islands, they say.
“Boracay is a very nice place—we cannot deny it,” Teresa says. “Maybe a businessman sees development as a chance to invest his treasure. For us, as missionaries, we see the needs.”
Meeting local needs
One of those crying needs is adequate nutrition. The Church on the Rock hosts a feeding program that serves 27 neighborhood children one meal a day consisting of rice, vegetables, fruit and meat (usually beef or chicken). The local Kiwanis Club donates 5,000 pesos ($100) a month to underwrite the program, now in its third year.
Rather than feed kids indefinitely, the program gives malnourished kids meals and vitamins five days a week for three months in an effort to get them back up to adequate weight. If they are still underweight after three months, they can stay in for another three months.
Teresa says many of the children coming into the program suffer from advanced stages of malnutrition. “When I see them, my heart melts,” she says.
Another need is quality education. Because of high student-to-teacher ratios, public education here often suffers: 6th-graders nationwide scored an average of 54.05 percent in English in the most recent round of National Achievement Tests, according to an Oct. 13 article in The Manila Times. According to several missionaries interviewed by Called and Sent, if public school students don’t know how to read and write before they enter first grade, they might not ever learn.
That’s if they can go at all. Rolando and Teresa minister to many families who are too poor even to send their kids to public school. The Atienzas turned that need into a ministry opportunity, founding the Smile Learning Center last year in a small cinderblock building in their churchyard. The school has 21 students, 4th through 6th grade. Three parents of students have decided to follow Jesus since the school opened.
“We found out a lot of Filipinos didn’t really have a quality education, and they could not afford to send their children to public school,” Teresa says. “We have a passion to mold children in Godly people who have more Godly values.”