2 weeks left!

Hello!

It has been quite awhile since the last post and now I am only here in the Philippines for 2 more weeks! Time has definitely flown by. I wanted to share with you what is going on, though at the moment I am very tired so I am hoping you will be able to decipher all that I will share.

Since the retreat with the students from BSU I talked about in a previous post. I had been hoping and praying I could stay in touch with these students and teach them what it means to have a relationship with Christ. Though since the retreat it had seemed nothing was happening with the students, which was becoming discouraging. The school they attend is campus we are not allowed onto, as they do not want their students to be persuaded by any other religion. Two weeks ago I was finally able to get together with the students and found that they were interested in getting together and learning more… though it kind of stinks that it is so late in our time here. I guess it is all in God’s timing and not mine.

This past week when I met with the students for bible study I was not fully sure if they understood the gospel since it was presented to the group and new students had joined our bible study. At the bible study I was able to share my testimony with the students and the good news of Christ. After sharing two of the students came to know the Lord Aira and Roselyn. Since our first bible study we have been able to meet 3 times in the last week and we are hoping to continue to meet this week as well. The students are excited and have such a passion for the Lord it is amazing to see. They want to be able to share with their friends together before we leave so that they can hear the good news as well. During church this week Aira shared, “…I am so thankful to finally understand the truth of God’s word rather than what I had always been told, I now have a growing desire to know and share God’s word.” 

Praise God that these students have come to know the Lord! In our bible studies this past week I pray that the students can grasp the gospel the God and come to have a passion to know the Lord more. I pray that the students will grow closer to my friend Filipino Apol who will take over the bible study when I leave. I pray for Dorothy a student in the bible study group whose father recently passed and is still searching for the truth of God's word. I pray that the students will have time to spend together this week and that God will give me the right words to say in our final time together.

Ednalyn, Dorothy, Aira

The students from the bible study at CLB we had been meeting with are now starting to share the word of God on their own. When we went to the school this past week we found them sharing with their classmates and they will now be starting a bible study with their own students at the school. It is great to see that God's word will not stop when we leave but their are now students sharing with others at the school.

Thank you for your continued prayers and encouragement throughout my 4 months here.

Travels around the Island

A whole lot has happened in the past 3 weeks as the team has been traveling around the Philippines. Here is an update on all the different trips and ministries we have been a part of.

Deaf Church

I was able to attend a deaf church here in the Philippines and get to know some of the people in the community. I am able to communicate with the people here as they do not have their own form of sign language in the Philippines and as a result use mostly American Sign Language, along with some signs of their own they have made over time. In the Philippines those that are deaf or people who have any sort of disability are typically not educated, and many in the deaf community did not have any form of communication for a large portion of their lives. While at the deaf church I met a 40 year old man who had no form of communication as he had never been taught any sign language. Meeting the people made my heart break for those who have never heard the love of Christ because no one has ever given them the opportunity to learn to communicate with others.While at the church I was able to share my testimony with them in sign language and learn their stories as well. At the church I really enjoyed the simplicity in their worship and their genuine faith and trust in God.

BSU Retreat

Our team was able to lead a weekend retreat for a college in the area where we shared the love of Christ. We were all given a team of students we were able to share with and lead. The weekend was so much fun and a time for us to be able to create close relationships with the students here.  During the weekend many students came to understand what it means to have a relationship with God and begin their own relationship. Here most students know of God and say that they believe in Him but there is no understanding beyond that. From the retreat we are hoping to continue the bible studies we started with our teams so that we can have discipleship with the students. We want them to know more about the love of Christ and continue to share with others even after we leave the Philippines.

Vacation

Between the two mission trips we were able to go on a vacation in Bicol. Bicol is in the southern tip of the island about 8 hours from where I live, traveling on a bus through the mountains in the Philippines was an interesting experience in itself. While in Bicol we stayed with a missionary family living there and we were able to go and see many beautiful parts of the Philippines. During the vacation we went to waterfalls, hot springs, a volcano, the beach, and the CWC (a place to go wakeboarding and knee boarding). Trying to wakeboard was a little difficult, as I had cut up my foot trying to be adventurous at the waterfalls earlier in the week. Overall the vacation was a lot of fun, we really enjoyed having a vacation in the Philippines. 

Mission Trip

For the last week of traveling we were able to go on a mission trip with other Filipino students. We joined a trip called Ignited with other students from around the Philippines. For the trip we went to different churches in the province where we trained the youth in the churches and shared the gospel with the surrounding community. Chelsea, Chris and I were each sent to work with a different group of students in one of the cities in the province. I was sent to Balayan for the week in a church that was part of a fishing village along the Philippine Sea. Going to Balayan was quite a challenge as the people there spoke very little English and just about everything was different from my typical everyday life.  I got to eat some fish straight out of the Philippine Sea, use squatty potties, and bucket showers for the week. During the week we got to have a VBS with about 20 kids in the village and have discipleship training with about 15. The students we were able to have discipleship with we then got to train to share with others and go with them to share with others in the community. At the end of the week 4 of the students from the group were baptized!
The week was difficult having little communication with anyone around though I loved watching the children and loving them even if I could not communicate with them.  In spending time with the children I was reminded of the simplicity in life and what it means to be content. The children have no toys to play but the trash covering the seashore, yet the kids have so much fun with what they have. While playing with the children they found paper, fishing strings, and sticks and made kites they were flying through the air with the biggest smiles on their faces. The children have endless imaginations and have so much fun with what they have. 

Prayer Requests

-Relationships with students to continue to grow

-Bible studies to continue despite students busy schedules

-Staying focused on loving people for the glory of God in the last month

Magandang Gabi

Magandang Gabi,

(Good Evening)

During the past 2 weeks we have been continuing the bible studies with our students from CLB. In one of the bible studies 8 students were baptized last week during our Sunday church service. Yesterday after teaching about the command of baptism with our other bible study the students decided they wanted to follow the command and be baptized. On Sunday 5 students from the bible study will be getting baptized and we are so excited to be a part of the baptism with them. The students are hungry to learn more about God and it’s such a joy to be part of their journey.  

The semester of classes is coming to an end this week and the students will have a few weeks off before the next session of classes begins. We only have two more classes for this session we are praying that even in our last class we can share and students can come to understand the love of Christ. During the break our team is going to be traveling all over the island. Next weekend October 14-16 our team will be leading a spiritual growth retreat for the students attending a college here in Batangas. We will be going to Lipa City to spend the weekend with the students and share with them the love of Christ. From the retreat we are hoping to continue disciplining students through bible studies in Batangas City. After we return we will be taking a trip to Bicol from the 24-29 is the southern tip of the island where we will be visiting a tribe and going on a mini vacation of our own.  Next we will be leading a mission trip for our students to go and share the word of God. The students will be going to towns surrounding Batangas where they will be reaching out to the communities, sharing Christ, and training others to go and share.

I hope you all are doing well, thank you for your continued prayers and encouragement.

Magandang Umaga!

Magandang Umaga Mga Kaibigan!

(Good Morning Friends!)

I thought I might share a little bit of the language here. I have been taking lessons during the week to learn a little Tagalog.

On Monday Chelsea and I were able to share Christ with our entire class at CLB, and half of this class is already attending a bible study at our house. After sharing the gospel with our students we offered the students to stay after class if they would want to talk more and pray together. After class we had 5 students stay and ask to begin a relationship with Christ. Praise God! He is definitely at work in the hearts of students at CLB. Our class at CLB has now become a bible study in itself; the students are looking forward to learning more about God even when coming to class. Before class on Monday I was able to meet with two different students I have been developing relationships with Camille and Mia. These are two students God has placed on my heart at this school and I pray that I will have an opportunity to share with them the love of Christ as well.

Galatians 3:23-25

“Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come we are no longer under the supervision of the law.”

Romans 3:19-20

“Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather through the law we become conscious of sin.”

I pray that the students at these schools can know that since Jesus came and died on the cross for our sins we are no longer subject to the law and that the law was put in place so that we would know of our sin and turn to God. Now since Jesus died on the cross we live by faith rather than by the law. I pray that the students would know the truth of God’s word and that they cannot reach God by their own human efforts but only by faith in God.

During the past week our team was able to go to Tagaytay and see the volcano that is on an island within the island where we live. Going to the top of the mountain to see the volcano was beautiful! While on the mountain I was cold for the first time since I have come to the Philippines, it was definitely a nice change :)

Update

Sorry I have not updated in awhile, life here is continually getting busier. During the past few weeks we have become busy with teaching classes, bible studies, meeting with students, and taking a day off at the beach. We have now started teaching at Westmead, which is a very small and poor school. During our first class my team member Chelsea and I got to share about Christ with the students. The students in the class were interested in hearing about what we believed and asked many questions about the bible that we were able to discuss. After class we were able to share the gospel with students on the campus, though sometimes it can be difficult to understand peoples responses. While sharing with people here in the Philippines can be easy because people are open to talking, it can also be difficult because people think they already know everything they could about God and are very resistant to change. Sometimes you are not sure whether or not people agree with what you are saying because here in the Philippines it is custom to agree with anything people tell you whether or not you actually agree.

Day at the Resort

While teaching and meeting students at CLB we have seen the most response to the gospel out of all the schools we have been to. When going to our class this past week we found out from one of our students that they would not be able to attend class because they were going to the wake(showing) of one of our students, Aldrin, whose mother who had passed away. Instead of having class we were able to join the students in going to the wake. (here in the Philippines schedules don’t matter and anyone can attend just about anything) We were really glad to be able to go and meet the family and mourn their loss with them. From going we were also able to spend the rest of the day with the students in our class.

bible study with CLB students

Lately I have been convicted of the way I often say that I want to become more like Christ, to draw closer to him. Yet I feel that we only want the traits of Jesus that seem appealing. We want to be more loving, understanding, wise, knowledgeable, traits of Jesus that will keep our lives just the way they are. Though that is not all of Jesus, were saying that we only want the parts that will be easy. Jesus was a man who laid down his life for the purpose of making the glory of God known. He gave up everything his family and comforts, the things of this world. He was persecuted, poor, homeless, faced hardships and even death. Do we really want to become more like Christ? Or do we just want to be more like him in parts that are convenient to our lives?

2 Timothy 3:12 “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

During the past week Chelsea and I adopted a little kitten his name is Goliath. While we were walking back from a friends home we saw a little kitten that could barely walk almost get hit by a trike. Chelsea decided she wanted to take the little kitten home and now we have a pet. We are hoping he will he will be okay; he is pretty small and may not survive without his mom. Here’s a picture of little Goliath:

Prayer Requests:

-For our classes to continue, since our classes are extras their schedules they will often times get cancelled or moved giving us less time with students

-Aldrin and his family whose mother passed away this passed week

-To be satisfied in Christ alone as being here can often become lonely

-To have opportunities to share Christ with students and that their hearts would be ready to of Christ in a new way

-Continuing to share Christ with students and not become discouraged

Praises:

-We have been able to get access to more schools to teach and share with students

-I am gaining close relationships with friends here in the Philippines that are encouraging and inspiring

Campus Ministry

During the past week our team was able to begin teaching at more schools here in Batangas City. The conversational English classes at the Universities are optional and as a result we are able to talk to about God in our classes as we wish. As long as the students are practicing their English skills we can do what we please in the class. By next week I will be teaching 5 classes in 3 different Universities WIU, LPU and CLB.

Thursday we began teaching at LPU and my first class was a full class of 40 students and our classes are usually only about 20 students. I feel this class will be a challenge for the next 6 weeks as it is difficult to have an interactive class with 40 students. My other class at LPU is only 15 students which is much more manageable. On Thursday during our class we were discussing a story based on values and as a result we were able to have a conversation about sin. Through our conversation we discussed James 2:10 and discussed how God views our sins. After class the students stayed around to talk and I was able to share my testimony with them and talk to them about how God has changed my life. I am really excited to see what God will do with this class and I am looking forward to spending more time with these students. I’m really excited to begin teaching these new classes and sharing Christ with the students at these schools.

Prayer Requests:

-Relationships with students in the schools to grow stronger and be based in Christ

-To find creative ways to share with students in the classrooms

Culture of the Philippines

Here is a little bit about life in the Philippines!

Religion

The main religion here is Roman Catholic, though most people do not even understand what it means to be Catholic or to know God. Since the Priest is the only one who can read and interpret the bible, many people have never read a bible for themselves. Prayer in their religion is always done through prayer books they are given to pray to different saints when problems arise, or prayers they will read in church.  As a result many people have never said a prayer of their own, talked to God in their own words. When a person sins in Catholicism they then must go to the Preist and confess, pay money for indulgences for themselves or the dead, and do good works in order for their sin to be covered. People believe that if they are good enough and do enough good works to cover their sin they will eventually go to heaven. Catholicism here is also full of witch doctors and fortunetellers that the people when go to when they are sick or want to hear from God. 

Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not by your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

Transportation

Very few people in the Philippines have cars, and if you do have a car you are seen as extremely wealthy. Though there is a lot of public transportation. If you need to go somewhere you can either take a jeepney or a trike.

 A jeepney is the typical bus transportation, there are many jeepneys that have different routes and you have to find the jeepney you need to get to your destination. When you ride a jeepney you just pile onto the benches in the back with all the other riders and have no sense of personal space.

 A trike is the typical taxi transportation; trikes take you to specific places. A trike is a motorcycle with an attached cage for the rider. The driver can charge whatever price they choose and you can bargain with them for a price. As a foreigner riding trikes can be difficult as they will try to charge you way too much assuming you are rich and do not know what the price should be. 

Time

Here in the Philippines the way that people live is much different than the U.S. First of all time American time and Filipino time mean to 2 completely different things. In America if you are suppose to meet someone at 3pm they would typically show up at 2:50? In the Philippines if you ask someone to meet you at 3pm they could show up anywhere between 3:30 and 5, and if it is raining they may not show up at all.

Money

Money here is a huge issue, the economy is terrible forcing many people to work overseas. Here 1 dollar = 50 pesos and a typical person makes 150-200 pesos a day. Meaning they only make 3-4 dollars a day to support their family.

Family

Family structures are much different here, and broken families are typically due to the struggling economy. Most of the students either live with 1 parent or often times an extended family member. Since the economy is so bad at least one parent is typically forced to work in another country typically Saudi Arabia, to support their family.  Some of the students I have met in my classes have not even met their father because he is trying to give their family enough money to get by. It seems the families have the choice to either live in extreme poverty or to be split in different countries. As a result of the money issues and split families there is much prostitution throughout the country. Families will usually only have enough money to get one child through college, therefore after one child is through college they then have the responsibility to get their younger sibling through college. 

Praises

Our team here in Batangas has grown so much stronger together in the Lord.

We have started a bible study with 8 students from CLB who are curious about having a relationship with the Lord.

God is at work and moving within the hearts of the students in our classes!

Prayer Requests:

I pray that the people here can come to know God for themselves rather than knowing of a religion. I pray that they would realize their is nothing they can do on their own to get to God but rather it is believing and surrendering their lives to the Lord. I pray the people would know that it is not by good works that they are saved, but that Jesus paid the price for their sins and it is by grace that they have been saved through faith. 

Prayer for the classes we are teaching at Lyceum of the Philippines and CLB, that we would be able to share Christ with our students in our classes as well as students at the schools.

If you want to send me mail... I learned what my address should actually look like when it's written out. Sorry I apparently was not writing it correctly. If you want to write me a letter I'd love it! Sending packages is really expensive so please don't feel like you should :)

Joy Ashton

#4 GME Apartment

Delta Road Villa Jose Subdivision 

Kumintang Ibada Batangas City

Philippines 4200

Batangas City

We are now here in Batangas City and moved into our apartment where we will be living for the next 4 months. Our apartment is quaint we have enjoyed living there so far, but there are bugs everywhere. I am learning to live without the everyday comforts I am used to and realizing they are not a necessity. Living without a car, internet, hot water, air conditioning. It has been an eye opening experience and I am realizing that most of the world does not live with the everyday comforts that I have.

As we were driving through the Philippines to Batangas City all of the poverty we saw broke my heart and made me want to help and change the situations the people we were living in. As I was praying I realized that I cannot change the living conditions that all of these people are living in, and even if I could the more comfortable life I could offer would only be on this earth. Though something that I do have to share with others is the love of Christ and eternity with him and that will last forever and is far greater than anything on this earth.

Starting Monday we will be teaching English at the Universities here in Batangas City where we will begin building relationships with the students. This past week we were able to observe in the classrooms where the missionaries Jeff and Kim are teaching and we were able to meet many students at the schools. We are hoping to reach out to the students on the campuses and begin bible studies in the next few weeks.

Things I have learned about the Philippines:
1. Never say that you took a shower, always say that you bathed. If you say you showered it means you just sprinkled some water on your head.
2. Never ask for napkins at a restaurant it means toilet paper. If you want a napkin you either clarify a table napkin or ask for a tissue.

We Made It!

Hello Everyone! I finally made it to the Philippines after some very long plane rides. I left Columbus Monday morning at 8:30am and finally arrived here in Manila Wednesday at 11:00 am. On the plane ride here I was able to meet the other students on my team and fly with them the whole way from Detroit. The other students on my team are Chelsea and Chris.

Me, Chris, Chelsea

 

 

This week our team as well as the team going to Indonesia are doing training here in Manila. We are staying at a guest house in Manila right in the middle of the city. Our first day here in order to stay awake and try to get rid of our jet lag we explored the city of Manila and went to the boardwalk as well as the Mall of Asia. Driving around Manila was a new experience with people walking in the middle of traffic, vendors selling items on the sides of the roads/ people selling items at your car window, zero traffic laws, and car horns blaring everywhere.

Me and Chelsea in front of the sunset on the boardwalk

 Today we started our training where we are learning more about the culture and how to share Christ with the students here in Manila. At training we met the last member of our team Jaydee who is a Philippino student that will be working along side of us for the next 4 months. While we are here Chelsea, Chris, Jaydee and I will all be assigned to a different university in the area where we will teach English and spend time with the students. At the university we will eat lunch with the students everyday and build relationships with them we will then have bible studies in our homes every week to share Christ with the students. We will be here in Manila until Sunday then we will be traveling 3 hours to Batangas City where we will spend the next 4 months.

Here are some prayer requests, I will to make sure I keep you updated on how you can be praying for me and the team here in the Philippines.
-Growth within our team. I pray that our team can grow together in Christ and grow closer to one another.
-I pray that God is preparing our hearts for our time in Batangas City and for those we come in contact with.
-Universities where we will be working, that the students will be to us and to hearing about Christ. 
-Safety and health

Random things I have learned about the Philippines:
-You must always carry toilet paper with you where ever you go. I learned the hard way that if you are in a public place there is no toilet paper in the bathroom.

I will try to keep you all updated as much as I can, while in Batangas City we will only have access to the internet about once a week. I'm looking forward to sharing with you about my time here in the Philippines!

ready to go.

Thank you to everyone who has helped in making this trip happen. I have now raised all the money that I need in order to go to the Philippines! The trip is now 3 weeks away and I am so excited to go. I will hopefully be updating the blog about once a week to share with you stories, pictures and prayer requests. If you get me your e-mail I will send out notifications for when the blog is updated.

Update!

I was finally able to come home this weekend to spend some time with my family and catch up with them. With coming home I knew that I had some checks from support letters, but honestly with being away at school I had no idea what to expect. I started with $3,500 to raise and I am so excited that I already have received $1,845 towards my trip! I am over halfway there! I feel so blessed to have received so much support from people, it is amazing to see how God provides. Thank you so much for all you have given.

When I was going through my support checks and came upon my Grandmothers I was taken aback by the amount of checks in the envelope. My Grandmother had taken my letter to her bible study of ladies and shared my letter with them. The way the ladies gave, even if it was a small amount, was so beautiful to me. When I was going through the ladies checks I almost started crying because it was so cool to me that they just wanted to support me and further God's word in the world even if it was by a few dollars. The ladies simply wanted to give what they could. Seeing the way the ladies gave reminded that it's not the amount that we give whether in money, time, or resources but it's about being faithful to God's calling.

Moving to the Philippines

Matthew 28:19-20 "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age."

As you may know I am moving to the Philippines on August 10th. I am so excited for this new life journey, but it will be definitely be a change. Throughout college I have always had a desire for missions and I have followed this desire by reaching out to high school students in a ministry called Young Life. Leading Young Life was one of the most wonderful experiences in my college years. I was able to walk beside girls and see them come to know the love of Christ and experience the power of prayer. 

Since I have stopped leading Young Life my heart has grown for international missions, when this desire came I began exploring other countries and opportunities to go to another part of the world. I finally ran into an opportunity with the International Mission Board for college students to go on semester long mission trips. After looking at these trips I knew this was what I should be doing with the next stage in life and applied to go, and I received one of the 30 scholarships to go on a mission trip. Now I am going to be moving to Batanga's City in the Philippines in less than 3 months! After looking at all the possible trips I could go on, the Philippines kept pressing on my heart. Growing up my family supported a child in the Philippines through the ministry of Compassion. Compassion is a ministry that helps International children in poverty while showing them Christ. From sponsoring her and reading letters from her while growing up the Philippines became a place where I wanted to go and share Christ with others. 

The Philippines is a BEAUTIFUL place with large gaps between the upper and lower class leaving large amounts of poverty. While in the Philippines my team is mostly going to be focusing on reaching out to college students. The college students are the upper class, the elite in the Philippines. In their country only the elite go to college, and the elite will be the leaders of their country. In our time there we hope to reach out to these college students so that the leaders of their country will be followers of Christ. By showing the future leaders of the country Christ we hope to impact the country as a whole. In our time there we will also be simply getting to know people in the community by going to where they are whether that be in malls, internet cafe's, or on the streets of the town.


I pray that through this trip I will grow closer to Christ and come to know him in a more intimate way. That my love for him will become deeper and that I will grow in my wisdom and knowledge of my Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that I will be a shining light of Christ to the people of the Philippines and I will know that the Lord my God goes before me in every situation and that he will not leave me nor forsake me. 

If you want to stay updated on my trip through my preparation and time there I am going to be posting to this blog in order to stay in contact and share my experiences!