THE PHILIPPINES | Last days in Malaybalay :: part two
CONCERT
After the pool we all cleaned up for a Christian concert that we were invited to that night at the University. It was kinda a battle of the bands with worship music and they asked us if we would end the night with some sort of song. So, right before it started we were handed out lyrics to a song and we quietly whispered a practice. The concert had rented out a full set of instruments so our squad had practiced a few hours before with Curt on guitar, Chris on drums, Matthew on piano, and Tim on bass (which he had never played). We had our own full R-squad band!
As the concert started it was fun to worship with the teens and see their passion for God come out, and after four bands it was finally out turn. We all went on stage and began singing to “The Anthem.” Then Michael did a spoken word piece and Matthew turned out a sermon. Then as we are all praying, Jasmin and Leyna step up to the mic completely led by the spirit and sing and pray over the crowd. It was all incredible to see R-squad begin to move through the crowd and pray for this generation of University students to rise up in the Philippines and make a difference. I can not wait to hear how they will impact their city as they move in God’s will!
GRAPHICS for Gangstas
Early that week, Michael had asked if I would help make t-shirts for the Gang Ministry boys that we had gotten to know. So, on Saturday I spent the whole day working on these. After a few changes, we were able to leave them with a design they were excited about and I will hopefully have pictures to come of the gangsters in their new tees.
BEAUTIFUL
Every Sunday in Malaybalay we were in charge of cooking meals. Most times, sweet Pam would set out a nice southern meal for us, but on our last Sunday the guys decided that they wanted to cook dinner. I was thinking it would be good for them to have some male bonding time over the grill but they took it a step further and decided to make it a night of honoring the ladies. As we walked up to dinner we were escorted to our assigned seats and handed flowers. The table was gorgeous with candles and even a tablecloth that had the word “BEAUTIFUL” in big red letters written across it with words like “daughter” and “sister” written between in black. On top of the plates, were letters that a member on our team had hand written to each of us. As we sat down we were waited on hand and foot as we were served salad, pizza, icecream with toppings, and coffee if we wanted. We sat in awe at how carefully planned everything was and were even more shocked when they all gathered at the front and began to serenade us and then Michael began to do some spoken word! It was such a beautiful night and they boys made us feel especially honored!
