Barkleys in the Philippines

Narelle and Gary spent several years in the Philippines working on a range of projects. Now based back in Canberra, they are visiting the Philippines over winter 2024 to reconnect with some of the people and programs that they were involved in.

They survived monsoonal storms, flooding and power cuts, enjoyed wedding and birthday celebrations and reconnected with their local neighbourhood.

Some highlights of the trip include:

Education sponsorships

The Barkleys help pack and distribute education sponsorship packs. These Mangyan (tribal) children in are receiving their packages, including school supplies and uniforms for the coming school year. Narelle and Gary are the Australian coordinators for this program. It costs around $150 per year to cover expenses for a child to attend school (more for uni or college).

Sponsored for university

Redhill gave some money to the Barkleys to help them cover expenses while in the Philippines. They decided to use this money to sponsor Dan (pictured) to go to university to complete a four-year IT degree. The money will cover his entire tuition. His family are blown away!

Prison baptisms

Sixteen inmates of the local prison declared their salvation in Christ Jesus through baptism. The Barkleys described this as a ‘truly moving and divine moment’.

Speaking and encouraging

Narelle and Gary brought messages of grace, hope and love to a variety of groups.

The Barkleys will be back in Canberra in August.