Rowena Mendoza
(Photo courtesy Haggai0

Philippines (MNN) — James 1:22 tells us to “be doers of the word, and not hearers only.” It’s pretty clear the mandate and expectation is faith in action.

It’s also safe to say we all need someone to show us what this looks like as a lifestyle. For Rowena Mendoza, that mentor was the Haggai Institute.

“Before going to Haggai, I was already a leader. But after Haggai, [it was] like I was given a shot to make me go faster, see things clearer, communicate better,” Mendoza shares.

“You could probably liken it to a car driving at 50 miles-an-hour;  then I go to Haggai, and now I’m going 150 miles-an-hour.”

Faith in action: 50 mph

Mendoza leads a ministry in the Philippines that helps people climb out of poverty.

“The foundation of what we do is microfinance,” she shares. But the group doesn’t just hand out loans.

“Microfinance alone will not take the poor out of poverty. It has to be coupled with…the other dimensions of life.”

That holistic approach includes teaching people about Christ and the salvation He offers.

For example, Mendoza’s ministry holds a “Values Training” course for each person who comes to them for financial help.

(Photo courtesy Wholistic Transformation Resource Center)

“In that 6-month period, they meet every week and they share the Word of God, they pray together, and then they learn other things,” says Mendoza.

“Ultimately, the goal is to build their values, help them appreciate how the Word of God connects with the credit that they’re going to get. [That way] when they get the credit, they value it so much that they already know they need to pay it back, they need to steward it well.”

The end result? People apply what they’ve learned, both practically and spiritually.

“The changes — people going to church, people conducting their own Bible studies — that happens quite successfully,” says Mendoza.

Faith in action: 150 mph

Receiving training from the Haggai Institute helped Mendoza bring her ministry to a higher level of success.

Women’s training session.
(Photo courtesy Haggai)

“Whatever I’m good at, I’ve managed to get even better at,” she shares.

By helping Haggai train existing leaders, you can start a “ripple effect” for God’s Kingdom around the world.

“If God’s power is already pouring upon you, [Haggai] just opens the floodgates so that you can do much more. But even more than that, it helps you bring others along on your journey.”

Visit Haggai’s Web site here to see how you can get involved.

Speaking from Papua, Mission Aviation Fellowship's Wally Wiley tells us Indonesian children lack problem-solving skills. "PISA just did a problem-solving study in 2003 [involving] 42 countries, and Indonesia ended up on the bottom of that list of 42. So it's basically a proven fact that this is an area where they're really struggling."

Wiley says while Indonesia's problems are bad, the problems in Papua are worse. He says it's affecting their intention of training nationals to do the work. "We tried, over the years, to train a Papuan as a pilot mechanic and have not been successful. It's not because they're not bright, but it's because the educational system is faulty, especially in the area of problem solving abilities."

MAF is hoping to open a boarding school called the Papua Harapan Schools to address these needs. Wiley says plans are moving forward. "I have a team from our home church that's coming out do the survey of the land, and if they give us a thumbs up, we'll proceed with the purchase of the land. And then hopefully we'll start the building and the recruitment of teachers and students in the next year."

This has been a six-year dream of his. Purchasing land is the first big step. "Now that that's happening, there are a lot of things to address — recruiting teachers and students, building a facility, and [getting] dorm parents."

With character development an essential part of their education, recruiting the right dorm parents is key.

Wiley believes this school will make an incredible impact in the country. "It's not just pilot/mechanics that we're trying to train; it's grown into much more than that. We want to enable them to take their place in many leadership positions–I would say both leaders of the government and leaders of the church, and other areas, too."

18 teachers are in training and should be ready to join the school when it opens. "Pray for those teachers, too, as they're being trained, that God will allow them to be successful in that training, and as they come back that they'll have the burden to disciple the kids."