After a long night with little sleep, our Southeast Asia A team has made it back to the states safe and sound! Please continue to pray for the team as they navigate coming back into the US and potentially experiencing reverse culture shock. We are praying that they would lean into all that God has for them now that they are home, and that as they reflect on their time in country, they would be transformed by this experience and obedient to the Lord for what is next.
Make sure to ask a team member about their experience and how you can be praying for them specifically!
Today we woke up early to take multiple Jeepneys and trains to get to Tondo so we could visit Smoky Mountain. Smoky Mountain is a community built on top of a hill made entirely of trash. It is called Smoky Mountain because it is so hot that the trash will burn and catch on fire creating a bunch of smoke. We did a VBS with the kids which included singing songs, playing games, performing a skit on the story of Jonah, and doing a craft. After that we were able to feed the kids and pass out food. This community was the poorest community we have seen so far and the definitely the hottest place we have been.
After the feeding, we were able to visit the girls home in Tondo while the guys visited the boys home. The girls home was an apartment on the 5th story of an apartment complex. The home consisted of 8 girls who all used to live in the slums of Tondo. Every week these girls attend church, Youth Lab (youth group), Bible study, and do community outreach on Smoky Mountain every Saturday morning. It was inspiring to hear their stories and see them all breaking the cycle of poverty while still serving and ministering to their own communities.
After our visit in Tondo we’re able to grab lunch with all of the leaders and then started our trek back home. Back at the YMC, we went swimming, got dessert at Jolibees (super popular fast food joint), and played games to end our day.
Excited for our last couple of days here!
~ Taylor
If you would like to share your prayer support with this team, please feel free to use THIS FORM and we will share your encouragement with them.
Today was a crazy day, in the morning we went to a home for formerly abused and trafficked children and brought food and talked with them and just spent time with them. It was really heavy hearing some of the stories of the kids that were currently there. It was heartbreaking but even despite all of this I could still see hope through a lot of the children that were there.
After we came back and had lunch we all split up, some went to go to the school and practice for worship at the youth group some went to find a sink and try to install it back at the home from the morning and some went to go get their nails done with the fieldworkers. It was an eventful day with a lot happening.
After we went to Youth Lab, which is the youth group that the ministry helps run and it was an amazing night everyone was worshiping and praising the Lord with all of their heart and it made me really happy to just see all of the kids have such a fire and passion for Jesus.
Thank you all for the continued prayers and support!
Hi friends and family! The morning started off as a slow morning of preparation and quiet time with God. We then went and got some bread from a panaderia across the street!
We practiced worship for the youth service and made friendship bracelets for the youth we would meet tonight.
Then, we were headed for the long (ish) trek to Tondo, the most densely populated and underdeveloped slum in this area. We took a van ride, two trains, a Jeepney, and a walk to get to Tondo.
In Tondo, we hosted Youth Lab, which is their version of youth group that is focused on breaking cycles. There were about 50 teenagers—these teenagers are on fire for the Lord and it was amazing! We hosted the ice breaker, the games, and JD, Danyelle, and Karina led the group in worship.
Afterward, we hung out with the group and began the trek back home. We got back around 10:00 PM! It was a long day, but so so sweet and the presence of the Holy Spirit was so strongly felt.
The next day was our off day! We spent our off day exploring caves and playing in a water fall! It was incredibly fun and relaxing.
Then, we came back and everyone at the organization had a giant dinner and some worship at the children’s home here! We tried some….interesting foods, that’s for sure! Lastly, we ended our day off with a wonderful (sarcasm….) game of mao.
Mahal kokiyo (love you all) and we greatly appreciate your prayers.
Hey everyone, this blog is being written by cooper everyone’s favorite child on this trip apparently. Thanks a lot Taylor 🙄. We have had an amazing trip so far doing so many awesome things. Today we started by going to a clothes market there were a lot of new clothes there, most of them were knock offs of popular brands but it was fun to look at it all and shop for bags and other things.
After we were done we went into a McDonald’s and got Oreo McFlurrys after being in the hot humid sun before heading back to the YMC. After all of that we came back and had some nice lunch: pork and rice. The food here is really good.
We then went and got ready for the rest of the day and we went to a former dump site where we gave food to all of the people living there, with some of the families that are also here staying and helping at the ministry. It was a really amazing, also solemn, experience seeing all of the poverty there and the things these people do to live. We had a good conversation about worldview and about all of the people there maybe never having even left that city compared to us, but then how we also probably have a small limited world view about God’s kingdom and how there is probably so much more we could never see.
After this we went to the hanging bridge which was a really cool suspended bridge that was a lot of fun to climb for some of us, maybe less so some others, but at the top there was an amazing view of the massive city below us.
Super exited for tomorrow when we go to the poorest part of the city and serve people there. See you all soon.
Cooper
If you would like to share your prayer support with this team, please feel free to use THIS FORM and we will share your encouragement with them.
Hello friends and family! Today was day 5 and we had an awesome and eventful day.
After we had breakfast this morning we got to help cook lots of Lu gau and load it into buckets to be taken to several different feeding locations!
We got to join a pretty large group and take some food to a local jail. We all piled into a Jeep-nee and I was hanging on the outside of the back because it was so full.
When we arrived at the jail it was pretty crazy to see the conditions that criminals live in here. We shared the gospel with all the prisoners and then we got to feed each one of them Lu Gau. The girls on our team got to pray with each of the female prisoners as well. They were all so happy to see us. We aren’t able to show many pictures inside the jail due to the law here, but here is a group photo of us!
After the jail ministry we headed back to base camp and the boys began helping with some more demolition for the new dorms to be built. Farnum learned how to drive a 3 on the tree transmission truck full of concrete and helped us take the loads to the site where the ministry is building a hospital. The girls helped cook dinner and made some ma sarap (delicious) Pesto chicken pasta for dinner.
After that JD helped one of the young adult worship leaders here change his guitar strings and we did devotions. It was another great day!
Thank you for your prayers and support!
– Chris
If you would like to share your prayer support with this team, please feel free to use THIS FORM and we will share your encouragement with them.
Thank you for your continued prayers for our team! We are having an incredible time as we are getting into the rhythm of serving. It has been amazing to see how God’s hand has played such a pivotal role in the ministries here in Southeast Asia.
On Sundays, all of the ministry and staff take the day off so we had some down time to explore the city and site see. In the morning, we went to Rockfish Church which is in association with Kids International Ministries. It was moving to see and hear different cultures, generations, and languages all worshipping and praising God. It was a beautiful reminder that God is the savior of the world and is worth of our praise.
After church we were able to take a short bus ride to visit the American Cemetery here and Memorial which is a military cemetery located nearby. This was a beautiful memorial dedicated to honor the American and Filipino sacrifices during the fight for the Pacific in WWII. There were crosses marking the burial sites of fallen soldiers and a circular terrace with maps to recall the actions of the war. There were also names inscribed on the walls to mark the names of those missing from the war. It was amazing to be able to remember and honor the fallen soldiers on Memorial Day weekend and see how grateful the Filipino people are to the United States.
Next we went to a HUGE outdoor and indoor shopping mall in the Metro nearby where we got to try new foods and sweet treats, and spend to pesos on souvenirs to take with us back home. One thing we noticed as a team was the immense wealth of this part of the city. The malls and shops were way nicer than most American shopping centers yet as we left the city we were faced with more poverty not even 5 minutes away.
After our adventures we took some time to cool off in the pool, play games with our team, and go frog hunting. We are excited for our next week of serving and are eager to see what God is going to do next!
If you could continue to pray for our well being, energy and strength, as well as more opportunities for us to serve and love people. We greatly appreciate your prayers and support!
Taylor
P.S. – Mom and Dad I am still alive 🙂 love you!!
If you would like to share your prayer support with this team, please feel free to use THIS FORM and we will share your encouragement with them.
Thank you for your continued prayers! Our team is thriving here in Southeast Asia and we are all sleeping well and healthy which is a gift from God! It is very humid here so we are always sticky, and it has rained quite a bit in the last few days.
Today was another fun and full day of ministry. In the morning, we got to participate in a VBS program in a nearby community with YouthLab, a youth group made up of student leaders who share the gospel with the community. I am so inspired by their passion for the Lord and for ministry. They ran the camp all on their own, dedicating their time to serve God. We sang songs, played games, and saw a skit put on by the youth, which had to be moved into a covered area because it began to rain. The kids called this area the chapel of their village, but it consisted of only a concrete box with tin roof. We passed out sandwiches to the kids and then got to help fill buckets of water from the well and deliver them to homes in the community.
The chapel we visited in the community.Filling water in the wellMe (JD) getting mangos from a tree
The village we visited is located in a gated community with many big, expensive homes. We even passed a golf course on the drive in. The village was very impoverished, with small makeshift homes and trash everywhere. It is heartbreaking to see the immense poverty located so close to great riches. To me, it feels like an injustice, but somehow the people living there are still joyful.
In the afternoon, we got to put on our own small VBS program at the children’s home. We had worship, a skit telling the story of Jonah, and some rotating stations which all the kids enjoyed. Many of them are orphans or their parents cannot keep them. Being able to spread the love of Jesus to them was amazing.
We had a little bit of time to rest and debrief tonight, and tomorrow will be a more chill day which will be nice after all we have experienced.
We look forward to what God has in store for us next!
Today after breakfast our team decided to take a tricycle ride to get some starbucks to start off our day. and here we have two basic white girlies getting starbies in a tricycle.
Coming from feeding the poor yesterday to getting a Starbucks drink we’ve noticed the different classes of society. That there’s not much of a middle class, you’re either rich or poor. I am super grateful for the blessings and opportunities God has given me in my life.
We then came back to our facility that we are staying at and the girls got ready to help out in the kitchen while the boys went to help out with demolition and construction.
Today we’ve also visited a children’s home from ages one to five. We got to spend some time together and connect with them.
To finish off the day we attended a praise party which we were able to worship with the teenagers and hear an amazing word.
Please continue to pray for us as we serve in different communities and connect with the people here, as well as get used to the time quicker here! Thank you!
If you would like to share your prayer support with this team, please feel free to use THIS FORM and we will share your encouragement with them.
Kamustaka! Danyelle here with a blog post for Day 1!
Today is what we called “jetlag day”— we are 15 hours ahead! We arrived at base around 1:00 am and started bright and early at 7:30 am with breakfast and a tour of the facilities! Side note….we had to check ALL of our luggage due to weight (on top of the supplies, sports balls, and clothing donations) and by a miracle of God, ALL 18 pieces of luggage made it here with us!
Anyway, the tour was awesome! God has done some amazing things with the organization and it is so cool to see how the Lord has provided for them! They have a children’s home, a home for crisis pregnancies, a clinic for pregnancies, a feeding ministry, a Christian school and a thriving youth ministry! The director was able to tell us the amazing testimony of this organization and it is truly guided by amazing faith in God’s timing and provision. The director said a quote that accurate depicts all that God has done: “There is a thin line between faith and insanity; walk the line.”
We have the opportunity to participate in every ministry here, which so far has been wonderful to participate in. The first ministry we got to participate in was the feeding ministry. We got to go into a community and provide some soup to families in need.
This was such a heartwarming experience as we got to hang out with all the kids in the community and make connection with them.
When we got back, we had an amazing Filipino lunch and we laid out all of our donations.
We were also able to swim in the swimming pool here! They have some super fun slides and diving points. We also made a little friend!
Then, we were heading off to our next assignment, which was to hang out with some of the kids at the children’s home. Here, we played with the kids, made cute bracelets, and played volleyball!
We came back home, ate dinner, and then had team time! It was difficult, but we mostly made our goal to stay up until 9:00 pm. 😎
Overall, it was a great day and we are so grateful to be here!
Prayer requests
continued strength to do God’s will!
for God to use us greatly!
for continued provision for the ministry here
Signing off,
Danyelle 🙂
(p.s. hi family and friends!)
If you would like to share your prayer support with this team, please feel free to use THIS FORM and we will share your encouragement with them.
