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