Ben & Katrina Hafar

Ben & Katrina Hafar — Sunrise

Ben & Katrina Hafar

Life Skills Trainer / Faith Academy Teacher

Philippines

Years in Ministry

1 Corinthians 12:12-14

12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by[a] one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

Bits and and pieces

Ben and Katrina Hafar got married August 8 2008, With the Lords calling on our lives to work with the under privilege kids of the world Isaiah 6:8 {.8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” } To start off early in our marriage the Lord trained us with foster and adoption.

Where we came from

Katrina a teacher with a degree, has taught students from preschool to high school from before married life until present.

Ben graduated from high school barley, some Auto mechanic classes in college but loves the outdoors weather its backpacking as a kid to digging up leaky pipes.

Lets get deeper

Ben

I was born in 1974 to parents who loved Jesus and showed His love to us kids. They weren't perfect, but there was love. Living in a small town in Northern California, my mom was a homemaker, and my dad worked in a sawmill. Driving over an hour to church every Sunday didn't always happen. We would get cassette tapes from a Church of the Nazarene in Medford, Oregon, and have our own church service in our living room. Every night before bed, my dad would read the Bible, and then we'd have prayer time. When I was little, he'd teach us the Sinner's Prayer each day.

When I turned 8, I truly felt saved when I asked Jesus into my heart. I knew something was different. When I prayed, I talked to Him as if He was right there with me. It felt real for the first time. When I was older, I felt called to be a missionary. When I graduated high school at 19, I thought I'd join the missions, but the Lord had other plans. Like Moses in the desert, I spent 11 years in the sawmill, working with my dad and grandpa, sharpening saws and adding guides. Around age 30, I got the chance to go to Niger, Africa, to see what mission work was about. I fell in love with sharing the gospel and meeting new people. I returned to California, knowing what I wanted to do. I joined Youth With A Mission and, after biblical training, went to Pakistan for two and a half months, working in a school and struggling with language barriers. We saw people saved, and when we returned, I stayed with Youth With A Mission as staff for almost three years until I decided it was time to move on.

I went back to California and met my wife in a Bible study. We both wanted to go to South America and work in orphanages. We got married and pursued foster care and adoption, welcoming 12 different kids into our home. Unfortunately, with California's laws, we faced challenges with teaching the Bible and taking them to church, so the Lord led us to South Carolina. We lived there for seven years. The boys we had went back, and we only adopted one. It was tough. We had the boys for 8 and a half years before they decided they didn’t want to be around us anymore.

Katrina

Wanted to do something during the summer months after teaching, just after COVID-19. The Philippines Kids International said she could come over without needing the vaccine. She went for a month while I stayed back working. The Lord provided for the entire trip and was working on her heart at the same time as mine. When she returned, we both knew it was time to make a change, even though we didn’t know what would happen or how. Katrina is now a teacher at Faith Academy and absolutely loves it. I started with Kids International as a mechanic, but after a year, I got involved with the orphanage, teaching in the school’s auto shop, metal shop, and even baking. And now, here we are.

what are you doing now?

Currently, Katrina is teaching four classes of 6th-grade science at Faith Academy. Every year, they have an outdoor education program where they take the students out into the forest, woods, jungle, and ocean to learn about the land. We are coming up on two years here in June, and we both love it. We've applied for a three-year visa because for us, there’s no plan B.

I came here knowing that I was called to this mission, although I was following my wife in a way. I joined Kids International with a focus on mechanics, keeping the cars operational. Whether or not I work on them, I'm responsible for getting them serviced. Recently, I started teaching at Quattro Christian School in the automotive and metal shop, and during the summer, I teach high school boys at the orphanage who are interested in automotive and metal work. I've also been teaching baking at the girls' home. My mom taught me how to bake as a kid, so I’m showing the girls different baking ideas. We recently started selling cookies at the YMC that the girls made at the home. It gives them a little bit of money to spend as they wish. This great idea came from Norman.

Katrina and I have been adopted into a Filipino family and love them dearly. We've taken them on small trips as they've been our guides, and we bless them when we are blessed. It's wonderful to see the bond, no matter our differences.

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Community Outreach

Our adopted family.

An outing getting dragon fruit

Faith Academy play with some of orphanage girls

Youth Discipleship

feeding in the flood zone

out door edd

Trip to All about Backing