Update #5 Southeast Asia A

Hi friends and family 🙂

Day 5!!! We started by waking up to the construction, as always, 7 a.m. sharp!
Breakfast totally made up for it though. We had tocino, eggs, and fresh watermelon, which was actually sooo good!!! My team also got to try kutsinta for the first time! It was fun seeing everyone’s reactions since it’s a childhood dessert of mine!
We also stopped at the gas station before leaving. I had everyone try this snack that I love called Sweet Corn! Turns out they loved it as well 😀

We were supposed to leave around 8:45 but ended up leaving later since we forgot to prep the champorado. So while we waited, Laura taught me origami! We made frogs, flowers, hearts, swans, butterflies, and fortune tellers, and we kept practicing it during our long drive to M, which is Pastor Brooks’ hometown!

On the way there, we were also learning some Tagalog phrases and words. It took a bit to get the hang of, but we put together a pretty solid list of things to say when talking to people here. We even started learning this song called “Mahal na Mahal Kita, Panginoon,” which translates to “I love you more than anything, O Lord.”

When we got to the neighborhood where we did our feeding in M, we handed out sweet treats, toys, and champorado. We also got to play with a bunch of local kids, which honestly made me so happy. They were such a fun group!!! They were absolutely full of energy. It was fun to see them enjoying themselves and just loving on them! They were so happy, especially after passing out some of the origami papers we made! They loved it and kept asking us to make more!

Oh! Also, since we practiced a little on the way there, it was the first time we were able to use some of the phrases with the kids like “anong pangalan mo,” which means “what is your name?”

After we finished up, Pastor Brooks let us stop by a local cafe in his hometown. We got drinks and red velvet cake while enjoying the most amazing view. It was so nice to bond with everyone!

Once we got back from that long drive, we had a lot of free time. We ate lunch and went to the pool to relax… and after that, Lauren, Alec, and I took tricycles to the local Starbucks!! Once we got there, it was so crazy how nice it was… it was so big that it felt like I was at a fancy restaurant!

After that, we ate dinner, had a few more minutes of downtime, and lastly went to our sports ministry 🙂 Lauren, Alec, Keilah, and I all helped out with volleyball! It was so fun to see the kids try new drills and be open to learning new things. We played volleyball for nearly 3 hours, just teaching the kids and playing with them afterward. That was such a blessing to be a part of 🙂

Lastly, I wanted to share how during our free time, I was able to have a deep talk with Laura about how grateful we are to be here.
Our trip has definitely come with a lot of challenges, but I see how God is working through all of us in ways I never expected. And I’m truly so grateful to be here with so many great people that inspire me. I truly look up to all of them 🙂

Thank you so much for keeping up with our team and continuing to pray for us! Can’t wait to share more when we’re back home!!!

Love,
Khaycee