Jo had already spent eight years in the Philippines in the 1990s before she joined the staff of SIM eight years ago in the role of Personnel Coordinator. She lived there from 2016-2020 and has been based in New Zealand since then.

Most of each year Jo works from her home in Richmond, near Nelson and visits the Philippines for 5-6 weeks each October-November. SIM Philippines has a total staff of 30 — half of them Filipino, the other half expatriates from a range of countries that includes India, Indonesia and the USA. Many New Zealanders may not realise just how sizeable the Philippines is, with the nation’s population being the 12th largest in the world – spread across 7,641 islands. With a total of over 115 million people, the Philippines population is more than 20 times bigger than New Zealand’s. However its 300,000 km² total land area is only slightly more than New Zealand’s — which is one way of saying that the Philippines is densely populated.

The in-country SIM staff of 30 is spread throughout the Philippines, Transport is in some situations quite time-consuming, which means that by necessity Jo stays in touch with more distant staff via online meetings.

“When I am in Zoom meetings,” she says, “it makes little practical difference whether I’m zooming from my laptop in Manila, or from New Zealand.” However face-to-face meetings are essential, which is why Jo’s annual trips are so important.

One big advantage of being home in New Zealand for most of each year is that it enables her to be close to family, especially to her mother. Jo is looking at the possibility of her home church — Hope Community Church — developing a connection with SIM activities in the Philippines. SIM’s work in the Philippines is both practical and varied, with an emphasis on education, health, livelihood programmes, and community development.

“Much of our work is with unreached ethnic groups” says Jo, “and local community leaders often express their great appreciation of the good work SIM does in helping people improve their lives.” Jo finds that Filipinos are generally warm and friendly. While her work is greatly appreciated and she feels safe when in Manila, Jo is not free to travel everywhere within the Philippines. “There are some parts of the country where it would be unwise for me to go.”

When in Manila, Jo says that a typical working day could consist of visits to communities, encouraging co-workers, plus matters such as planning for an upcoming spiritual life conference. With leadership and administrative skills, Jo finds that the Personnel Coordinator role is a good fit for her skills. She says that “A conference in Kenya in March 2024 for Personnel workers will provide me with valuable opportunities to meet and interact with my counterparts from other countries as well as receive training from the international leadership.”

— David Blaker

Pray:

• Jo is working with the leadership team to develop procedures as the Philippines office takes on more responsibility for processing Filipino applicants for mission work. Previously this was done by the East Asia office;

• That Jo will be a blessing and encouragement to her colleagues when she connects with them.