Hello from the Philippines! We arrived safely in the Philippines on Sunday afternoon (midnight Saturday EST). Our travel day was about 40 hours long and looked something like this:
Ready to fly out!
Friday September 9, 2011
10:30 a.m. EST- leave church for Atlanta on overstuffed school bus
11:25 a.m. EST- catch MARTA subway for ATL airport
3:30 p.m. EST- flight leaves for LAX
5:20 p.m. PST- land in L.A. and enjoy one last meal in America
11:55 p.m. PST- flight leaves for Hong Kong.. cya USA
Saturday September 10, 2011
Sunday September 11, 2011
5:20 a.m. HK- land in Hong Kong after 14 hour flight
7:55 a.m. HK- flight leaves for Manila, Philippines
11:00 a.m.- land in Manila
11:45 a.m.- leave airport for KIM base on bus
1:00 p.m.- arrive at KIM. Home sweet home for 4 weeks!
Manila is beautiful and the people are amazingly friendly and the kids are so adorable and hilarious. As soon as we arrived we noticed that the culture is a strange mix of Latin and Asian culture. It reminds me of Colombia/Mexico and China all in one. Everyone here speaks English and Tagalog or "Tagalish" which makes ministry much easier, not to mention our transition from the states. And praise the Lord; our accommodations are amazing! We get our own room and bathroom this month. While in the Philippines, we’ll be working KIM, Kids International Ministries.
http://www.kidsinternationalministries.org/ (It's fine to visit- it's not malware).
My co-leader Nick and me on a Jeepney exploring Manila!
Jeepneys are old humvees that have been turned into open-air taxis
We're paired with another team this month and we love them! Team Fuego de Dios. We are 8 girls and 4 guys. In our first 24 hours here, we toured the community and explored the different ministry opportunities. The girls have been helping with the feeding program in the community and volunteering at the little girls’ Bible study held after school. At the community feedings Ashley has taken medical supplies and examined multiple children who are sick or hurt.
Getting medical supplies ready Ashley examining a wound on a little boy's foot
The guys have been doing construction, digging dirt and laying part of the foundation for a house that's being built for one of the local families who work with KIM. We’ve also been reading with students in the children's library, serving food at the community feedings in the afternoons, and just playing sports with the boys in the streets.
Only 4 days in and the Lord is showing me how blessed we are. He has given us so much-salvation, love, family, friends, health, education, talents and abilities. And here in Manila, there is sickness, poverty and darkness all around us. We can feed them and tend to their physical needs all day, but unless we give them the gift of knowing Jesus Christ we've have done nothing for them. My prayer is that God would show up and work wonders in the lives of these amazing people. I want to be the love that Jesus was. I want the Filipinos to look at me and not see me, but see Jesus working in and through me.
Reading with Gerald
We love and miss you each of you already! Please email and skype us! We'd love to keep in touch with you as you continue to pray for us. Thank you so much.
