One month. I have been in the Philippines for one month as of October 1st. Looking back, it’s crazy that one-third of my trip is already over.
I have been busy doing work around the community, working at the children’s home and the JAZ home, going on feedings, taking kids swimming, leading a Bible study for the community girls, and helping lead chapel every Friday at two schools. For those who read this blog, I just wanted to give an overall summary of the work we have been doing here.
Children’sHome: The children’s home is only a 20 second walk from the YMC (Yunjin Lyso Ministry Center). The kids who live there range in age from less than a month to 22 years old. Each one has grabbed the attention of the members of our team in their own special way. Some of us work in the nursery upstairs where the infants and toddlers are, and others play with the older kids who are 4+ years old. You can always either find Sarah Beth upstairs with the babies or giggling with the 22 year old girl with special needs, the boys (and usually Allie) are busy playing basketball with the kids, Karen is probably holding Eunis for hours at a time, and I’m either in the nursery letting the toddlers play with my bright orange skirt or singing The Cup Song with the girls of the home who love to sing their hearts out.
You can always expect to hear the question, “Tita, who’s duty for us later?” Our team has “duty” as house-parents for the kids several times a week, and the kids are always so curious as to who is coming to see them that afternoon.
JAZHome: The JAZ home houses 36 girls, ages 9-19, who have a history of abuse. The girls (and Andy, who comes to help teach guitar) go to the JAZ home every Tuesday night to hang out with the girls and help lead devotions and disciple the girls. Just this week, we split the JAZ girls up into groups for discipleship and now each of the girls from my team are leading a small group. Josie, “mom” to all the JAZ girls, is in the States for the month of October, so we have gone from spending about 4 hours a week at the JAZ home to being temporary house parents and now spending about 60 hours per week there (overnight duty included).
Feedings: Twice a day, Monday through Friday, there is a van that goes out from the YMC with two big bins of food to distribute to various communities around the area. Some feedings are an hour away, while some are only within walking distance. Feedings give our team opportunities to do some extremely Spirit-led ministry. Whether we are praying for a family, inviting people to come eat the food, or playing with the kids, we never leave a feeding without feeling impacted by the things that God does there.
Swimming: At the YMC, there is a pool. Pools are fun. We can’t go a day (or hour) without hearing from the street kids, “(insert name here)! Swimming!” It is a rare occurrence to find the pool empty, especially in the afternoons or on weekends. Twice a week, a few of us also take the toddlers from the nursery swimming as well.
BibleStudy: Every Wednesday evening, the girls of the team lead 2 Bible studies for the girls from the community around the YMC. Each week, we have around 80 girls total come. We lead some songs for them, present the lesson, and then finish off the night by eating rice and meat patties. If anyone has never tried to meet 80 girls in one week and learn all of their names, it’s hard (speaking from experience).
Chapel: Each Friday, our team leads chapel at the two schools that Kids International Ministries runs. We get to hear the kids lead us in some songs, and then our team presents the message and finishes by singing a few more songs. Last Friday, I was able to get my whole team involved (and a few of the students!) and share about the power of God through the story of Elijah on Mt. Carmel. Andy led us in some songs at the end with his guitar and he even got a “one more song!” chant started amongst the students. It was so great!
As we head into October, more ministries are being added every day. Myself and some of the team have picked some kids/teens and started to individually disciple them, some have been able to teach English to Chinese students in Manila, and some of the boys are able to teach basketball clinics.
Please continue to pray for strength for our team as we enter into a crazy and busy month!
