Samson Adventures

as servants of Christ to unreached people groups, our strategy to enter restricted access areas is to utilize a tool we developed called the International Service Corps of Asia based out of Manila, Philippines. It is an officially registered non-profit, non-government community development organization aimed at helping the poor in places where other charity groups are lacking. though the ngo is not overtly evangelical or faith based to protect our work, our purpose is still To help church workers and missionaries gain Access to closed off People Groups. Our newest tool is our ambulance agency (social Enterprise) called Hope REscue EMS. It is staffed with EMTs, including edwin, and has been a tremendous tool we’ve employed to save lives physically and spiritually.

Because of the work we’ve accomplished through God over the years, our borders have expanded and our Filipino team has been sent and is consistently being requested to help churches and missions teams all over Southeast Asia through our training program. We help create Community Health Evangelists, which is a role that incorporates the skills and work we do with Hope Rescue EMS with the knowledge and ability to do discipleship and church planting. Not only does our American Heart Association Basic Life Support course and our NAUI First Aid program provide real, accredited, and international certifications to workers who may not even know how to read and write, we get to be a part of saving lives - spiritually and physically!

Here's a sampling of some of the projects we've spearheaded. To see our current work with Muslims in metro manila and in the autonomous region of muslim mindanao, please Check out our Newsletter Archive page or follow our facebook pages here: samson missions support team, international service corps of asia, edwin’s home page.

Discipleship

Watch the video below to experience what it's like to worship with one of the house churches in our network. The reason that we conduct community development projects is because we believe that the mark of a Christian is to serve. We use the term development as a fancy word for doing good deeds. When our faith is strong, our works abound. Doing things like drilling wells or feeding the malnourished are activities that pour out of our hearts because we hope to see people thrive. The harvest we get to reap because of that love is evident in our Bible studies and house churches. Sure, we have a lot of people that we love that decide not to take part in our Christian community. But we have many more that ask us about what it means to follow Jesus Christ and they end up surrendering their hearts to Him. For us, all of the work we do to love on people is well worth it when we can raise our voices and hands up to God in worship to our Almighty Creator!

Hope rescue EMS (Emergency MEdical ServiceS)

Ambulance! What does that have to do with discipleship? A whole lot! One of the greatest needs that developing nations have, especially in the Philippines, is delivering effective pre-hospital trauma emergency care. Our missionary team is comprised of certified and vocationally trained EMTs and First Responders, not just ministers of the Gospel. This has been one of the greatest tools we’ve been able to implement to not only save lives, but also to build relationships and share the love of Christ. Did you know that the Tagalog word for savior is “Tagapagligtas?” This is the same word for “Rescuer.” So maybe now you can see how valuable it is for discipleship when our Rescue Team enters a 4-alarm fire at a squatter community, or when we attempt to revive a patient with their family members watching praying for a miracle. Not only do we get to pray for many, many patients and their families, we also get to talk about our love for Jesus Christ. And we often get to go back to the home for follow-ups. During those follow-ups, we have the opportunity to pray again and even lead a Bible study. This work is not for the faint of heart. But our team of courageous first responders are willing to risk their lives to save others and for people to know what it’s like to have a relationship with Jesus Christ.

HOPE Playgrounds

We build playgrounds! So far we have three playgrounds and we’re not stopping. Sure, three doesn’t sound like much, but these projects are so involved and so costly, that it takes an act of Congress (or the Philippine local government authorities) to build a park. But we do it because we love bringing joy to the lives of impoverished children. We also believe that playgrounds play a tremendous role in the formation of a child…a role just as important as academic and classroom development. It has been a spectacular community entry project as well. We have a close and loving relationship with the Muslims located at the New Manila Golden Mosque and Cultural Center. What better way to show that we love and care about their little ones that to move mountains to get a playground installed in one of the busiest places on the planet. Check out the video below to see what I’m talking about.

Computer Literacy

Our flagship program is a class called Unlimited Potential. It is a Microsoft sponsored course teaching computer fundamentals. Though the picture below is of elementary school students, most of our recipients are actually adults working in professional careers such as teachers, government officials, nurses, bankers, businesspeople, and college or graduate students. A majority of our house churches are actually comprised of former and current students and even those who have become volunteers with the NGO.

Watch a video explaining one of the ways we enrich the community through computer literacy programs. Click here for a direct link.

Public Library

We are passionate about education. It's not surprising that we would place a lot of effort in ensuring that students, young and old, have access to literature. On the island of Catanduanes, we have helped to supply and currently operate the Calolbon Public Library. It is a joint effort with the local government and the civic association. It is also the base of operations for our local Service Corps chapter. We conduct seminars and host the town's community based drug rehabilitation program of which our volunteers are leaders of. Pray that we can establish more libraries like these!

Hope Farm

The San Andres chapter of the Service Corps has spearheaded a project called the Hope Farm. It will function as a place of retreat for believers to go for spiritual formation and for house churches to come together to worship. It is most importantly going to be used as a demonstration and resource farm. Locals will be able to help the poor by giving fruits and vegetables away to address hunger. They will also be able to teach residents how to do subsistence farming. Livelihood projects such as coconut oil production and paper making, as well as innovative technologies like aquaponics will be housed here. We are hoping to multiply this model in other areas to be used to empower people and transform communities.

Creation Care

We spend a considerable amount of time enjoying and stewarding God's creation. Not only is engaging in environmental concern a mandate given to Adam by God, it is also one of the most important aspects of community development. There is a direct link between the state of the environment and poverty. But by taking care of the creation that was made possible through Jesus Christ, we are using our strength to make a sacrificial offering to God which in turn benefits the people. It also allows us to mobilize volunteers, Christian or not. Doing things like beach cleanups, coastal/underwater/river cleanups, tree planting, and ocean awareness seminars, we get to have opportunities to bond with locals and to explain why our love for Christ compels us to value the earth. 

Watch the video above to experience first hand how scuba diving, discipleship, and community development work go hand in hand.

Our primary work today is focused on serving Muslim people groups. Not only do we love them tremendously, we also believe that they are the most under-served population in the country. They are discriminated upon as well as overlooked. We currently work with three Muslim communities in and around Metro Manila and another one in the southern most province of the Philippines in Mindanao. Please check out our newsletters of our mission page and NGO page on Facebook, as well as our Newsletter Archive section to see more detailed updates regarding the most important aspect of our ministry.