Well folks, greetings from the mission field! Location: Manila, Philippines. And I have to say, we experienced 3 days in 12 hours. Crazy right? Welcome to travel days and time changes! It’s been a little over a week since our arrival here at Kids International Ministries (KIM), so this blog post is a little overdue. I guess i’ll start from the beginning…travel day, well days, were insane..I’d be lying if I said 40 people walking through airports with huge packs didn’t turn heads everywhere…butttttt it did. And a few curious bystanders asked where in the world we were heading so we had the opportunity to share where and why we were going. Our official arrival time to Manila was around 6am. They introduced us to the staff and the ministry opportunities available. Here’s a few: pregnancy clinic, children’s home, tutoring, swim lessons, school feedings, village feedings, Jazz home and more. So for the most part we are busy bodies!
My main ministries are: the pregnancy clinic, swim lessons, children’s home, and village feedings.
The pregnancy clinic is one of my favorites, considering I get to put my Medical Assisting skills to use. I am usually the one taking the vitals of the mothers or soon to be mothers and documenting them in their charts. I also get the opportunity to work alongside the doctor and the nurse performing ultrasounds and taking measurements of the woman’s baby. My teammate and I have also had the opportunity to lead a couple bible studies with these amazing woman sharing God’s love and studying the word with them.
Swim ministry involves the amazing pool KIM provides and whole lot of kids. There are usually different sessions for the boys and girls. Some can swim and some can’t. It’s a part of Jeff’s (head of KIM) mission to provide the children in the surrounding community to have the opportunity to learn how to swim. Because typhoons unfortunately are very common in the Philippines people are scared of large bodies of water and don’t want to go near it. Jeff wants to show the kids that big bodies of water are not always scary. So we get the opportunity to teach the wonderful community kids how to swim.
The children’s home houses about 40-45 children total. With about 8 toddlers and 5 babies in the nursery alone. The women that care for these children are some of the hardest working women I have ever met. They work day in and day out to provide the children with meals, fun activities, a safe place, and a Christ centered learning environment for all of them, having a daily devotion lead by my other squad members. My team and I lead the Friday devotions. It’s a pleasure getting to know the little ones, and their wide variety of personalities. They will always brighten your day.
“Feeding!!!” Is what is usually being shouted out the window as we drive through a local village and as we prepare to serve them possibly their only meal for the day. The rear view mirror always contains little ones running as fast as they can to make sure they are first in line to get their meal. The meal is carried to two big containers and is always piping hot. They come with smiles on their faces and ready to enjoy, even if it is too hot to eat right then. The last couple of times my team and I went to feedings I got to spend time with the kids in the surrounding area. The kids love to be lifted up in the air, and I mean LOVE. My teammate and I often find ourselves with a huge line of kids waiting to be lifted and catch some air.Even though it’s extremely hot and we’re dripping in sweat, we don’t care because no matter how hot or tired we are, can’t compare to the beautiful smiles and joyous laughter that comes from the children. I can’t stop smiling when we are with them. Even though it’s extremely hot and we’re dripping in sweat, we don’t care because no matter how hot or tired we are, can’t compare to the beautiful smiles and joyous laughter that comes from the children. I can’t stop smiling when we are with them.
Well, that’s a little insight on my ministry so far! Stories to come 🙂
Travel Update: My team and some other teams from my squad will be heading south to Tacloban in 5 days. It’s about a 25 hour travel day. Bus, ferry, and then bus again! Please pray for safe travel! Thank you 🙂
-Kaitlyn <3
