Our first week in the Philippines we lived with host families in the Alabang town area of Manila. During the mornings we helped out with a Vacation Bible School at the Christ Commission Fellowship Church. The church is bilingual and so have both English and Tagalog services. We were able to help with the English week of VBS and so language was not a barrier for us, which was very nice.
The VBS theme this year was, “Chronicles of Narnia” and the church was all decked out with snow and pine trees and even a lamp post and a wardrobe the children had to walk through every day to enter into “Narnia.” We helped out with the games and crafts departments as needed, getting a chance to hang out with the children. On Saturday, they had a graduation ceremony for the VBS and asked us to dress up as the Penvensie Children, as Kings and Queens of Narnia. I w
as Queen Lucy, Natalie was Queen Susan, Nate was King Peter, and Chris was King Edmund. Holli also dressed up as an extra while somehow Emily managed to stay out of it.
I know many of you think I am small, but let me tell you… I had trouble finding a dress in the costume department that would fit. These Filipino women are much smaller than I! We did finally find outfits that would work and they were a hit. For a moment I felt like a celebrity because everyone wanted pictures and I just had to smile and wave. Unfortunately, I haven’t received any of the photos yet from the woman who took them at the church, but she is supposed to be sending them to me soon!
Please feel free to find out more about the ministry of Christ Commission Fellowship at http://www.ccf-alabang.org/. You can hear a sermon given by Vince Burke (May 17, 2009), the husband of the couple that are our main contacts here in the Philippines.
