We arrived at our ministry site in Mindanao, Philippines on Sunday afternoon. We’re living at Mt. Moriah camp, which is under Kids International Ministry.
After our flight from Manila we had a three hour drive through the country to the center of the island where our ministry is. Along the way we made a few stops to see views of the countryside. It blew me away!! I had no idea this place would be so beautiful. There are so many mountains and everything is so green.
There are three main parts to this ministry: Mt. Moriah camp, New Faith Family Children’s Home, and Mt. Moriahchurch. All are located on the camp’s property, which is a couple of acres of land nestled in a small valley in the center of the island, just outside the small town of Malay Balay (pronounced Mull-eye Bull-eye).
New Faith Family Children's Home
We’re sleeping in bunk beds and this week with camp going on and so many people roaming around, it reminds me of being at summer camp as a kid again!
It’s cooler here than any place we’ve been on the race, except Nepal. Still shorts and t-shirt weather for sure but a small break from such harsh heat is nice! There are often clouds in the sky during the day and they bring rain almost every afternoon.
The children’s home is home to 25 kids ranging in age from 1 to 15. There are house parents, mostly college age Filipinos, who live with and take care of the kids. We play with the kids a lot and take shifts in the nursery where there are eight toddlers and only one worker with them at a time, so it’s a handful!
There are various camps that go on during the summer and they offer them free to the kids who come. The main focus is to share the Gospel with these kids so they want as many people as possible to be able to come.
This week, there’s a sports tournament going on, so we all jumped right into it when we arrived. There are three sports for the camp- basketball, volleyball, and soccer. Basketball is the main sport in the Philippines and very popular.
Maybe this will give you an idea of just how widely favored it is…the camp has a
covered basketball court with cement floors and glass backboards while the volleyball court is dirt, which quickly turns to mud puddles after it rains every day. Whoever plays volleyball during the day can be guaranteed to get muddy while the basketball players stay dry and cool in the shade! I’ve been able to play in some of the volleyball games. Good thing I had some volleyball practice in Cambodia to get me ready for this month 🙂
There are several churches represented at the camp this week, each with a team for one or more of the sports. Games are played from 9-5 everyday. We help keep score, play on Mt. Moriah’s teams when they need extra players, referee, and take shifts helping at the children’s home.
During our few weeks here, we’ll be helping with camps, playing with the kids in the children’s home, doing some outreach opportunities in the community, sharing testimonies and preaching in the church, and encouraging the full time workers here.
