HFTN Philippines has always welcomed short term volunteers from around the world, as they bring new excitement and energy to the ministry, and take back with them a deeper understanding of God and His heart for the world. We have developed two strategies to make sure our visitors get the most out of their trip. Firstly, we offer complete hosting for teams of about 6-20 people, and during their stay we take care of virtually all of the logistics, including food, lodging, and travel, so that the team can focus their attention on their ministry. Secondly, we accept interns individually or in small groups who, unlike the teams who have a separate schedule, integrate with our staff and get an feeling of what full-time missions is like.

Teams
If you have a group of people who want to have a short but fast-paced missions adventure in the southern Philippines, our team hosting might be what you're looking for. We house teams at our base in Davao City, and hire on a cook to make sure they get a healthy mix of both exotic and familiar foods. A typical trip might last 2 to 6 weeks, and would start with a day of cultural preparation and house orientation. The outreach would be planned out in advance as much as possible to enable your team  to use the unique gifts God has given them to reach out to the lost and hopeless of Davao's slums, and possibly some of the rural and tribal communities in the surrounding area. Ministry opportunities include:

• Assisting the Tabitha: Food For Life program
• Drama, dance, puppetry and more with youth and children
• Spending a day at a children's home with babies and young children
• Bible studies, open air evangelism and youth camps with local teenagers
• Contributing to the Sunday services at House of Jubilee through music and teaching
• Long hikes in the mud to remote tribal villages in the mountains where there is no electricity
• Work projects that leave a lasting mark long after the adventure is over
• Vocational or ministry training if some of your team have special skills they would like to impart to our Filipino staff and community

These and many other activities can easily fill a team's schedule, but we are careful to provide times for rest and reflection, shopping, and some pure vacation time which is often taken at beautiful beach resorts.

Interns
We also have an internship program which is very flexible and suited more to those who are coming on their own or in smaller groups, and want to learn what it is like to be staff in a long-term missions program. Interns usually stay for one to several months and are encouraged to find a role to play in Hope For The Nations Philippines that is well suited to their abilities and gifts. This includes both the spiritual and practical facets of long-term ministry. Interns also stay at our base, although sometimes other accommodations are available, and are responsible for their own food and personal transportation, as well as much of their schedule, and because of this their daily hosting cost is about half of that of teams. It is our hope that your internship would provide an atmosphere where you can grow spiritually and gain a deeper understanding of the personal calling God has given you, and that you would be able to take these blessing back with you, and maybe even come back and join us or another missions organization for full time work!

To discuss the possibility of volunteering with Hope for the Nations Philippines please contact our director at jenny.montenegro@hftnph.org.