The Philippines was such a pleasant change after China. It was quite the sight to see all of iSquad step off the plane the take off layer upon layer. We were so excited for warm weather and tropical climates.
Country: The Philippines
City: Malaybalay City
Ministry: We worked with Kid’s International Ministries (KIM) on Mindanao Islanda. We had a lot of variety this month with ministry. The first week we all had an opportunity to try out each ministry and then after that everyone could pick where they felt God wanted them for the month. We did college ministry, village ministry, sports ministry, helped out at the children’s home, and some manual labor. We also did a little ATL (ask the lord). I used that time to get to know the street kids. I spent a lot of time going to doctor appointments with teammates or helping out with people who were sick.
Contact: Our contacts were William and Tara Miller who are both previous racers. I learned so much from them and they completely understood where we were. They both have a huge heart for discipleship and Will especially loved to pour into the men on our teams.
Living Arrangements: We lived in the dorms that are used for the summer camps. We had bunk beds and cold bucket showers. All of our meals were prepared for us with the exception of Sundays.
Teams We Served With: We served with team Holy Fire in the Philippines. I had so much fun with them!
Money & Exchange Rate: Peso (40 Pesos= 1 US dollar)
Language: Most people speak English in the Philippines but Visayan is the native language.
Off Day Fun: This month was filled with lots of fun off days. It was my favorite month for off days. Internet and cheap massages were common when we spent off days in Malaybalay. We also went spelunking, went scuba diving, and got tattoos.
Great Things From the Month:
-I loved leading with Angela. She challenged me and supported me when I needed it. I’m so grateful for our month together and for her friendship now.
-This month was full of moments where I truly couldn’t believe that God had chosen me to do this.
-Like I said before having previous racers as your contact can make such a difference. They loved to pour into us and supported Angela and I as team leaders in huge ways.
-God worked so much in my team this month. He changed people’s hearts in ways only He could.
-We got to serve alongside some fun South African’s who William and Tara were discipling.
-We also got to spend the month with the passport guys who were having their manistry month.
Hard Parts of the Month:
-This month was a rough month for our Team and for me as Team Leader. We lacked unity and had a lot of conflict but God worked through that and things took a big change by the end of the month.
Memories:
-Our travel day from Manila to Malaybalay was quite funny. It poured down rain, our van overheated, and the back down of the van wouldn’t stay shut. “It’s opening, it’s opening, IT’s OPEN!!”
-When we flew from Manila to Malaybalay, our bags had to be less than 10 KGs. You should have seen us dumping all our stuff out and trying to make bags as light as possible. We made quite a scene.
-One of our weekends was spent playing and helping with a Sports Fest at Mt. Moriah. Our team got 4th place in the soccer tournament and Alex and Isaac had a blast playing basketball.
-We broke so many chairs playing ‘pepsi, coke, royal’ at the college ministry.
-We attended church at Mt. Moriah a few Sundays and were able to share testimonies. I shared about how God taught me that my story can bring healing to others.
-We got to wade through two rivers, walked through a banana field, a rice field, a cornfield, and a squash field to go visit a village.
-Catching Jeepney’s from Mt. Moriah to town.
-Girls’ nights were a lot of fun with Tara and Shanice.
-We helped unload a ton of chairs one day and then road on the roof of the jeepney back. We basically had a parade down the middle of Malaybalay.
-I loved getting my 3rd tattoo in the Philippines.
-I loved spending time with the kids from the children’s home especially little Caleb.
-We got to spend a week with our squad leaders this month. They got to join us for scuba diving and our tattoos.
-We had a mini-debrief at the end of the month in Manila. I loved watching everyone’s farewell videos for Ben and Alexandra as well as going out to eat in Manila.
Lessons Learned:
-I learned to lead from my knees in prayer this month.
-More about patience.
-I learned a lot about choosing my words wisely and thinking before I speak.
-God was working in our team.
-Ministry can be carrying for those who are serving the nations.
I truly enjoyed my time in the Philippines. It was such a fun place and God is doing great things there. Up next is India, the place I feel the most draw of all. Check back tomorrow!
