Jesus said in Matthew 16:18, “I will build My Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.” (KJV). Guess what? He wasn’t kidding. You rarely hear about it on the news. You rarely even hear about it in churches in the West, in the East, or even in the Middle East. But the big, untold story is that more Muslims are coming to faith in Jesus Christ today than at any other time in history. After criss-crossing the Islamic world over the last several years and interviewing more than 150 pastors and ministry leaders operating deep inside the most difficult countries for Inside The Revolution, I can report that in Iran, more than 1 million Shia Muslims have turned to Christ since 1979. In Pakistan, there are now more than 2.5 million followers of Jesus Christ. In Sudan, there are now more than 5 million followers of Christ. Not every country has seen millions leave Islam to become adherants of the New Testament teachings of Jesus. In Syria, there are between 4,000 and 5,000 believers, but this is up from almost none in 1967. In Saudi Arabia, there are about 100,000 followers of Jesus now, up from almost none in 1967. But overall, the trend has been dramatic and largely unreported.
With the VisionQ's uncle and mentor, Mr. Ben Quiñones
Mr. Ben Quiñones conducted the Build Shared Vision (BSV) Workshop in Davao for his nieces and nephews who are aspiring to be national leaders for a better Philippines. The two-day workshop was held in Royal Valley, Bangkal Davao City. Mr. Ben Quiñones taught the team the importance of developing a learning organization, discussed the different types of learning disabilities and helped them overcome these by providing solutions.
Meet the VisionQ team
In building their shared vision, Mr. Ben Quiñones introduced the functions of a storyteller, inquirer, facilitator and documentor. He then asked the team what is their vision for the Philippines. From that thought-provoking question, each member was able to come up with positive hopes for the country. Later the team considered possible steps to achieve their goal of a progressive, globally competitive nation having good governance with citizens living in unity, who have environmental awareness and are God-fearing .
Kaycee Quiñones commented that the workshop was just like an ice-breaker that she could easily share to friends. Everyone in the group agreed that it is doable. The cousins decided to call their team as VisionQ (Vision Quiñones. VisionQ can also be ” Vision Ko” or My Vision in Filipino, replacing “ko” by the letter Q). The team agreed to meet at least once a week to plan for the first BSVworkshop in Davao City on May 23-24, 2009.
Our national hero once said the youth is the hope of the motherland. The VisionQ team is committed to do something to contribute change.
Thus, there is hope for the country.
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By Bro. Ben Quiñones, Jr.[1]
1. THE BAYANIHAN CENTER IS THE FUNDAMENTAL OPERATING UNIT
· basically a Cell Group with mininum 15 members, maximum of 30 
· 5 elected officers: Coordinator, Assistant Coordinator, Secretary, Treasurer-Bookkeper, Collector supervised by an Account Officer (AO).
· The AO is the teacher- mentor- coach- dicsipler of group members.
· An Account Officer can supervise up to 15 groups a means for inculcating the guiding principles of Bayanihan Savings Program.
· Inculcate the basic values and attitude of a BC member: (1) “Maka-Diyos” (God-fearing); (2) “Masagana” (Abundant spirit/mentality, not poverty mentality); and (3) “Mapagbigay” (Generous, a channel of blessings, not mendicant)
2. COLLECTION OF PLEDGED SAVINGS IS A CORE & CONTINUOUS ACTIVITY
· Every member has a pledged savings, i.e. the amount one is willing to save and capable of saving regularly on a weekly basis.
· Depositary bank/ financial institution
· Each member has a Bayanihan passbook, updated every week
· Always maintain a collection rate of 100%. If your Group cannot collect 100% of the savings, it cannot collect 100% of any money it may loan out to members in the future.
· Your savings record is your credit record. Members who cannot save regularly are highly likely to be bad borrowers because their payment schedules are irregular/unpredictable.
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A blessed greetings to NYSL (National Youth for Servant Leadership) for the successful launching of its Official Handbook. From a small seed, you have grown into a large tree where various kinds of birds roost, symbolizing the different talents and skills of its members who collectively advance the organization’s goals.
God planted this small seed in the heart of one NYSL leader who was then serving as Bayanihan Savings Facilitator. He asked me if the youth in Bagong Silang, Caloocan can be given training in order to help them become God-centered, generous, and prosperous entrepreneurs. VEDCOR readily responded to this request through its Executive Director, si Kuya Jojo Padilla, who designed and implemented the Youth Leadership and Entrepreneurship Course (YLEC) in 2006. Thanks to the funding support of On Eagle’s Wings Foundation (OEWF), around 130 youth from Bagong Silang registered for YLEC and attended the training modules.
Start Slide Show with PicLens LiteApril 1st, 2009 by webmaster | Filed under Economic Justice, Organizing, Pushing Obama, Youth Insurgency, trade unions.
The Solidarity Economy Movement
Emerges in Its First U.S. Conference
By Carl Davidson
SolidarityEconomy.Net
Nearly 400 organizers and activists gathered at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst March 19-22 for the first national gathering of the U.S. Solidarity Economy Network, exceeding the expectations of its organizers.
The deepening economic crisis made the meeting quite timely. The overall theme was ‘Building Another World,’ and drew participants from the East Coast, South and Midwest of the US, even Alaska and Puerto Rico. Internationally, delegations came from Quebec, Venezuela, Peru, Mexico, and Canada. People represented economic justice and green jobs projects, food coops and credit unions, worker coops and labor unions, and peace and justice organizing efforts.
“Our diversity was very dynamic and creative,” said Julie Matthaei, a USSEN coordinating committee member. “It served us well in affirming our unity, discussing differences, and helping us reach a deeper understanding of the solidarity economy in our context.”
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