Mission Team

Our first stop was in New Lacena. About 30 children and 15 adults gathered to see the 4 “white ladies” from America. Hannah gave her testimony, followed by her friend, Sarah, from Virginia. Lily, the team leader, then led the children in a couple of games, assisted by the American ladies. Then Rebekah, another college classmate of Hannah’s also from Virginia, gave her testimony, followed by Martha.

Lily led the group in a couple of songs and another game. Martha’s Filipina friend, Macian, then myself, shared our testimonies. After a snack time, packets of school supplies provided by Blessings.ph were handed out to each child. The group then descended to a shaded grove of trees where a natural spring flowed into a man-made ceramic pool, where we baptized five new believers.

During the next 12 days, our team visited 7 more places, singing songs, sharing testimonies, playing games, and letting these needy people know that people from as far away as America cared for their needs, both physical and spiritual. Overall, Blessings.ph handed out about 150 packages of school supplies. In addition, the team met new Filipino friends, worshipped in homes, and spent a morning with special needs children.

During their spare time, they have visited an outdoor food market, made ice candy from local fruits, toured the city, and sampled the local cuisine. On one afternoon, they visited a therapeutic fish foot spa, where their feet soaked in a pool of water with hundreds of tiny tropical fish “eating” off dead skin cells. Next week, after participating in a couple of youth fellowships, we’ll spend two days vacation at the internationally known island paradise of Boracay.

The Philippines is an ideal place for volunteers to come serve. Most Filipinos can understand simple English. Tourist visas are easy to get. There are no restrictions on evangelizing. And many Filipinos have an openness to hear the gospel presented. Pray that the Lord will continue to call out workers for the harvest.

P.S. In the past few days, some significant rain has fallen, signaling that our long drought may soon be over.