By Peter Capili Hansen
In 2006, we started a new mission and relief project in the Philippines, which is called Angel Relief. We have been blessed with great connections and friends in the Philippines because my wife and her family are from the Philippines. Therefore, it had been easy for us to find the right people we want to support and help. We have been to very poor places that are very dangerous and difficult to enter. The only reason we were able to minister there is by God's provision and because of friends that are familiar with those places. We saw a need for relief work that is almost undescribable. Nevertheless, it is easy to find a great need for help almost anywhere you look. There are 90 million people living in the Philippines and most of them have less than a dollar (5 kr.) a day for food and millions of Filipinos go hungry to bed. And to make things worse, rice prices are going up! Which means more people in the Philippines can't afford a simple rice meal.
The Philippines is situated in the “Ring of Fire” which means that natural disasters like typhoons, flooding, earthquake etc. happen very often. There is always a need for relief work in the Philippines.
We believe that mission and relief work go hand in hand. And we want to preach the gospel and share the love of Jesus Christ through practical ways as well. And that is why whenever we do humanitarian work, we also do mission and Christian discipleship.
We have been in the province of Bicol where natural disaster is a common thing. Almost every year you can see pictures and videos about the flooding in Bicol in the news in Denmark. In Bicol we have been preaching at evangelical meetings and prayers meetings. And in addition, we have helped some local evangelical churches with funds for relief work. When we travel around the Philippines and elsewhere, we do NOT stay in hotels. We stayed with the locals. That means we sleep where they sleep, which most times mean the floor! The houses and toilets are not in very good condition, and that is saying it lightly. They are incredibly poor. I remember we had to go up in the mountains, surrounded by a jungle of palm trees to preach at an evangelistic crusade. It was out in the middle of nowhere - literally. The local church had planned for me to preach at the village square, but when it became dark, suddenly all electricity in the mountain village was cut off! No one knew how to turn it on again, so I had to preach the gospel with only the moon shining. We called it "The Moonlight Crusade". What a great experience!
We have seen so many needy people around the Philippines and we want to make an impact. Last year we decided the support a Christian elementary school and help some of the young students to get an education so they can go to high school and college. We believe that supporting this school will help many poor kids to make a difference in the Philippines.
In October, we will go on a mission trip to Ethiopia and do mission and relief work. We have got some great contacts and we will be working with many evangelical churches and be involved in working with HIV/AIDS kids and go to very poor rural villages to give them food! We will also be teaching and preaching in many churches and schools. Keep us in your prayer. Thank you for your support. Our project number in missionsfonden.dk is
