It’s been an incredible first week of ministry in the Philippines. For the first time since leaving the States, I’m immersed in a culture that is very different than what I’m used to. 
The food is, of course, very unique (check out the squid!!), and the traffic is an experience all by itself!! As Americans, we definitely stand out here too. Maybe it’s like this for all people, but in a department store the other day I had at least 7 employees helping me pick out a plain white t-shirt. It’s taken some time to adjust, but it’s been fun to jump right in. There’s no better way to do that than to experience one of the Filipino’s favorite snacks. It’s called balut. It’s basically a hardboiled duck egg except that it’s boiled after the duck has been in there between 16 and 18 days. 
Ducks usually hatch at 21 days. So my introduction to the Filipino culture was to eat a 16 day and an 18 day balut. Basically you just crack the top of the egg, drink out the juice, pull the embryo out and eat it, and then eat the yoke. The idea of it was a little intimidating at first, but as it turns out, it’s not all that bad!
It’s a Christian organization focused on helping move the extremely poor in the Philippines to being just poor. They travel around to many of the communities in the area and partner with local churches to share the good news of Christ, teach the people about basic health, help them start organic farms for food and an income, and give them rice and oatmeal for their families. It’s a great ministry to partner up with. 
There are many very poor people in the Philippines, and it’s a joy to know that every day this month we will be working with an organization that is dedicated to partnering up with local churches who can help sustain the work that ICM does in the fight against poverty here.
share parts of my testimony at the ministry sites, and have had countless opportunities to pray with the Filipino people that we’ve met in the communities. It’s going to be an incredible month. The Filipino people are such a beautiful people group. I can’t wait to share more stories about the many ways the Lord is at work here!
