It has been a busy couple of weeks since we arrived in the Philippines. The first 4 days were spent having debrief in Manila with all of the September team. It was a good time to fellowship with everyone and enjoy the generous hospitality and awesome ministry that Jeff Long and his family are a part of.
Since then, after a 30 hour ferry ride and 5 1/2 hour bus ride, we have been in Dumaguete, Philippines. For this month team Seven:Eleven will no longer be known as Seven:Eleven, but as Beloved:Eleven, because three members of Beloved have joined our ministry in Dumaguete. Yipee! I’m excited for the new members!
We will be in Dumaguete working with an organization called International Care Ministries (ICM) until December 19. I would go into detail about what our ministry looks like with ICM but since we are all doing different things and going in separate directions the whole month, I will save your precious time and just give you a simple answer. Throughout the month, we will assist different pastors with construction needs (we have our hard hats ready), we will do evangelism in different neighboring cities/villages (door to door or more likely bamboo opening to bamboo opening), orphanage visits (gotta love the children), medical and food outreaches (I helped weigh people today. For some reason they didn’t think I was quite qualified to diagnose the villagers illnesses!), and I’m sure various other ministries will open up during the month. Beloved:Eleven is all over the place this month, and we are excited about the opportunities God is providing, but we could use your prayers: for times of rest, for wisdom in how to minister to each other amongst our busy and different schedules, and also for each of us to follow the Lord’s leading in our lives as He teaches and challenges us. Thank You for all your prayers!
There have been some super exciting days for me recently as well. One of them being the amazing Birthday I had on Sunday. Check out Cameron’s birthday video at the bottom to see some of the wonderful times we shared together! Lets just say I’ve never been serenaded at 12:05 am by 15 Filipinos with flowers and balloon in hand or gone to a beautiful sand bar in the middle of the ocean for my birthday! I had such a wonderful day because I not only had fun experiences like I just mentioned, but I was also able to watch a slide show from my parents and open several birthday cards from my family and friends back home. I felt so blessed to have my family and friends back home want to make my birthday special and also get to experience my family in the Philippines and my team want to make my birthday special. It was wonderful!
Oh, and I cannot forget the massive Thanksgiving dinner we had on Saturday the 24th, with around 50 missionaries. The food was so great… of course it was not as good as my Grandmother’s Thanksgiving meal, but I don’t think anyone will ever be able to top that!
Sorry for the delay in sharing what’s been going on with me lately. I look forward to experiencing the rest of this month with you, through my blogs, emails, and all of your wonderful prayers!
