After another long travel day, the Southeast Asia A has made it safely back to Sacramento around 11:45pm on May 27th. They are exhausted but their hearts are full of joy and sweet memories! Join us in praying for them now as they settle back into home life as they may experience some reverse culture shock. Pray for them to have the space to process all that they saw and did on this trip, to reflect well on how the Lord showed up for them, used them, and revealed more of himself to them.
Don’t forget to check in on a team member, and ask them about their experiences in country! They have lots of stories to tell and need their loved ones to listen as they process. 🙂
Today was the last full day we have in this country, kind of bitter-sweet honestly. I’m going to miss being here and having fun with the kids but I also miss home and friends and family and food. It’s been a great trip and I’m super thankful to be able to come and serve. It’s been tiring but also fulfilling and rewarding.
Today was a pretty chill day and I’m not complaining, which normally I like to fill my day but i’m so tired I didn’t care. I woke up super duper early at 7:15 and tried to go back to sleep but my body wasn’t cooperating and it doesn’t help that the sun blinds me every morning. So I got up and kinda just laid in bed for 2 hours, it was pretty fantastic. I finally decided to start getting ready at 9:15 for church. So I took a quick shower and shaved my face and threw on my church fit. I had to wake Graham up, somehow that dude was still sleeping at 9:30. We went down and ate breakfast which was actually pretty good, I had scrambled eggs, cinnamon rolls, and probably some sort of fruit I don’t remember to be honest.
Church was really good and the sermon was very powerful. I walked back with the girls from the girls home, they are so funny. They all call me “Kuya” which means “older brother” in Tagalog. I think that is super cool and I am going to miss all the connections and relationships we have made here.
We ate lunch and Khaycees family surprised her by showing up on the compound and brought some snacks. After lunch we had more free time so guess what I did? Took a nap and laid on the ground. I’m telling yall I’m just feeling extra sleepy today and yesterday, we’ve been go go go all week it’s super nice to just bum around.
At 3 we all got loaded up into vehicles with Azusa to go on excursions. I had no idea what was happening and everyone I asked didn’t know where we were going either. Farmer drove a truck and I sat in the back of the truck with Graham and Judah. I got some motion sickness but it was a cool experience. Ella was in a different car and she threw up on the way there so that’s no funzo hoping she’s feeling better now.
We got to the destination and overlooked the entire city and valley it was really awesome! We went to a restaurant and got to pick between gelato and coffee and cakes and fries and other things. We stayed for a while just hanging out with everyone.
I’m getting very sleepy writing this blog because I put it off and now it’s 11:55. It’s okay I’m almost done. We drove down the hill and got back to eat dinner. After dinner most of us went to the volleyball and basketball open gym happening down the road and had fun playing with the kids.
We got back and have been packing and talking with others who are staying on the compound.
I don’t know if I should wear pants on the plane tomorrow or shorts… that’s really bothering me so I’m gonna sleep on it. We fly out tomorrow afternoon and get back home late Monday night.
This trip has taught me so much and I am blessed to have been able to come and see God working through us helping this community. I’ve met so many great amazing people and bonded with my team and the other missionaries here. God is good and this has been an awesome experience.
Day 12 in country was one of our most relaxing days yet, but the morning and evening were packed full of activity. We started off the day bright and early by meeting up with the Youth Lab Jr. leaders at YMC (where we’re staying). This is a group of teenagers and young adults who are dedicated to reaching people for Jesus. Every Saturday they go out to different neighborhoods and put on different activities and feedings for the kids. It was inspiring to see the sacrifice they made for the Gospel and how joyfully they served. Since Brooks was gone today, we tagged along with them to a community closer to our home base for our final feeding of the trip. We usually do a song or two at feedings before we serve the champorado and lugaw, but today we did much more singing and dancing. The kids also played a variation of freeze tag through the streets, which were mostly steep hills. Afterwards they had a chance to write down prayer request and post them on prayer boards so that the YL Jrs could pray for them. Most of these prayers were for family or protection, although there was at least one request for a tv.
As fun as it was to connect with the kids, we agreed that this feeding was one of the most difficult for our team. Personally, there were a few sick animals that made me feel pretty uncomfortable and in desperate need of hand sanitizer. It was extremely hot and a few of us had left our waters in the van only to discover that we would be walking back. Thankfully, the YL team knew some shortcuts so the walk back was better than expected.
I did have a kid splash me with dirty bath water though, but he was super cute so I couldn’t be mad at him.
The rest of the day was pretty relaxing because all of our energy was sapped from the long week. Most of us spent the afternoon napping, journaling, watching videos, or talking to other teams at the base. Farmer also picked up all of our laundry, except his – because they forgot to wash it – and mine because it was hidden. But thankfully we were able to find it.
After dinner that night we joined the team from World Race and our new friend Kaitlyn to drive to Cloud Nine (we managed to squeeze 17 people into a 12 person van). Cloud Nine is a lookout spot where we’d be able to see the entirety of the city. What we weren’t told was that we would need to climb up a wobbly wire bridge five stories up through the air to reach the lookout point. But despite the height (and multiple people bouncing on the bridge) everyone made it to the top. The view was incredible! It was dark so the entire city was lit up, and there was lightning flashing in the distance every few seconds. We stayed for a bit to take pictures, and then we headed back to base.
After a quick 7/11 run for some snacks, some of us stayed back to enjoy some karaoke with the boys and girls homes while Graham, Alec, Khaycee and Keilah went on an adventure to get some boba and Dominos pizza. Then we all came back for a time of connecting. I got to talk with a few of the girls we went to dinner with the other night, and it was fun to hear more about their lives and their dreams. It really shows how God is working through people and through KIDS to spread the Kingdom of God in this country.
We ended the day relaxing in our rooms, and Lauren, Graham and I went out and spent some time worshiping and talking with a few people from World Race. I also learned a few guitar chords which was neat. It’s been really fun to connect with them over the past few days.
Thank you all for continuing to lift us and this country up in prayer. God has been so faithful to show up and sustain us. Tomorrow we head into our final full day here, so we will be seeing you all soon!
hey everyone it’s keilah & welcome back to my blog 🙂
We just finished day 11 & i can’t believe we only got a few more days left here! Time has been flying by for real
We started off today with a feeding at a place called Dumpsite. Once we got there , the kids knew what we were there for and they started lining up for some champorado right away. We still had some left over so me & Brooks started to walk around the neighborhood to let more families know that we have a sweet treat for them. As we were walking, we were talking about how both Spanish & Tagalog have similar words like cuchara (spoon), tenedor (fork), para (stop), vacío (empty), reloj (watch). Some words are spelled the exact same and others just have similar pronunciation. It is so interesting to learn that multiple languages have similar dialects.
After the feeding we came back to eat lunch so we can get ready for a volleyball tournament! There was three different teams playing: us , Azuza & the boys home! Our team was perfect because we have Lauren & Khaycee who play volleyball for school and then Graham & Alec have experience in volleyball so they were crushing it too. Meanwhile, I haven’t played volleyball in 6 years so I was just kind of there but it’s okay we still had a lot of fun! It got intense tho! Our opponents were super good and they had some pretty good plays. Idk who ended up winning the tournament bc in the end all the teams were shuffled up but i’m just gonna say we did because we beat both of the teams!
We were all tuckered out from the tournament so we came back to eat dinner and then we went to church where they had a praise night! It was a nice way to spend our evening because it was out of the heat and we were able to praise the Lord with everyone! It was great worship and a great message
After church, we walked to 711 to get some ice cream to share with each other. We got ube cake, cookies & cream and strawberry. they were delicious but the ube cake one was the best! To end today, we all hung out by the pool with some of our new friends from Azuza! Alec & Graham also gave us an outstanding (like oscars award winning) show for us. It was about .. uh .. I can’t even tell you what happened honestly, you just had to be there but they slayed nonetheless
Now it is time to wind down and shower. My bed is looking so comfortable right now. Goodnight everyone, thanks for tuning in ! We miss you and we will be back soon !
Today was a chill day, which was definitely needed, as our team is tired from the heat. But that isn’t stopping the Jessup Squad because this morning we had a feeding at a familiar place (from day 3) called Luinas. It was chill, and not many people were around, so it was a good way to start the morning. Yesterday my dad and Pastor Brooks went to the mall and got a speaker for the ministry (donated from the Jessup team), which is awesome too!! So today, we got to use the new speaker and played a bunch of music at the feeding. It really blessed the ministry in ways of communication ease (it has a wireless mic), great sound, and a portable way to party!! Our team also had the honor of naming it, obviously we chose an amazing name: Jerry!!
After the feeding, we headed to an outdoor marketplace and we shopped around there for an hour or so which was fun! I got a few cute flower hair clips (the trendy thing here locally) which I look forward to wearing. Then, because one of the pastors back at the YMC let 3 of his sons come with us to the feeding, they also got to show us around the marketplace. That being said, our team wanted to thank them for all their help, and so we went to McDonalds and got them whatever they wanted! And the rest of us just got McFlurrys. It was the perfect sweet treat after a long hot morning.
When we got back, it was lunch time. We all chowed down and then a few of us played some card games before we got ready to swim with some of the boys from the Boys Home. The boys came early, so the swimming commenced quicker than we thought, and after Laura and I swam a little (and since I was tired) I headed back early, but Alec, Judah, and my dad stayed a little while longer. The boys from the Boys Home were sweet but filled with energy and excitement, and Alec did a great job playing with them!
Afterwards, we all rested in our rooms and chilled until a little before dinner when some of us girls (plus my dad) played a card game called Poopy Head. Then, we ate dinner and headed to the Girls Home, which is just up the street. There we played with the girls on the playground and then told them a bible story. After that, we all colored with dot markers and danced to Church Clap and Your Ways Better.
When we got back to the YMC, we all played a few rounds of Poopy Head again (we like that game) and Spoons which both got competitive. I got tired early, and so when Spoons was done, I headed to bed, but the rest of the team stayed downstairs and played a bunch of card games with Azusa Pacific until they were tuckered out too.
Well, that’s a wrap on our day!! It was a blast, and I am excited for tomorrow. Thanks again for the prayers, they are greatly appreciated (especially for my mom who is unfortunately still not feeling 100%. 🙁 hopefully tomorrow she will feel better, but so far, her dehydration and exhaustion is large in number.) Missing you all lots!! <3
Man, oh man, today was a day, let me tell you! We started off with a feeding near what the locals call the “chicken arena,” where people raise pet chickens and use them for fighting. They invest a lot of money into these birds, and if they don’t pay their debts, they risk being beaten up, which is more than a little terrifying. What’s even more disheartening is how the men seem to treat their chickens with more love and respect than their own families. But despite that, we got to go in and dance with the kids and feed them champorado a beautiful, joy-filled experience.
Afterward, we headed back to the YMC to mentally prepare ourselves for what came next: forming a carry train to unload 1,200 boxes of rice, each weighing 17 kilo. There were about 50 of us helping out. Funny enough, during the first round before lunch, Farmer took Judah and himself to the mall… while we were carrying the boxes. Weird, right? Haha! (He was buying a speaker for the pastors to use for the feedings) was worth it!
Eventually, we got a lunch break and Farmer had finally come back! We all pitched in and finished unloading the rest of the boxes from the truck. Jokes aside, it was honestly so worth it. We got to work with other teams, listen to music, and share tons of laughs. It was a long three hours, but we made great memories.
After finishing, Khaycee, Alec, and I decided we deserved a little sweet treat. So we hopped in a trike and headed down the street for some boba. It’s always hilarious trying to watch Alec fit into those little things! We grabbed some road snacks and ended up with some delicious Domino’s pizza/boba.
Dinner was CHILI, and it was SO good! I had the chance to talk with some German field workers and hear about their faith journeys. It was such a powerful and encouraging conversation.
Later in the evening, our team headed to Praise Night where we worshipped, danced, laughed, and made so many unforgettable memories. I truly thank God for everything He’s doing in my life and in the lives of the people around me.
Now it’s time for sleep. Khaycee and I are munching on our snacks… maybe sharing haha.
Good night, everyone! We miss you all and will see you in just five days!
Wow, I can’t believe we just wrapped day 7 here in Southeast Asia. I must say, it has been incredible and has blown my (our) mind(s). I know we serve a big God, but when you see God in action, through his people that you’re not familiar with…I must say I have been challenged and encouraged to say the least!
That being said, here is the recap on our amazing day. It has been a little bit of a bummer because Nicole, my wife was sick on Sunday and then once again today, (Tuesday)was in bed all day. Even still, this morning we got to serve and it was good. We went to a village called Mayanot and did a feeding with the community. I got to share some encouragement and we also did some dancing and singing. It was a fulfilling morning.
After a quick lunch back at Kid’s homebase, we went to the mall with Brooks (our host), Khaycee, and Lauren looking for corn beef for Khaycee’s mom and candy for Lauren’s brother. We had success finding what we went for and of course we got some Filipino chocolate when we were at the store and also came across something that looked like pork rinds, but it is called Crunchy Chicharon Bulaklak (google it). I of course had some with chili and vinegar and it was AWESOME!
This afternoon we went to a feeding at Nagpayong Pasig City. It was pretty incredible. We learned that it was a community that has been relocated some years ago because they were basically gentrifying a wealthy area closer to Manila. The pastor of that location has people on site that do incredible ministry and they are transforming the community with Jesus’ Holy Spirit presence in them. One hilarious thing on the trip is that so many people think the Oakley boys are Marvel characters from the movies. This particular community, it was over the top! All of the kids and even adults think that Alec looks like Captain America and Graham like Thor. It’s pretty hilarious.
On our way back to the van, Brooks picked up Tipas Hopia, a flaky pastry/bean dessert. They look like cookies. The jury is still out on what the team thinks of this sweet treat.
We ended today by treating the women that are part of the kids international transition program to dinner at Kenny Rogers chicken restaurant. Yes… Kenny Rogers.! Filipinos love this place! These are women that went through the residential program at age 18, “aged out” and are now in college. These are women that were orphans and are now in college, breaking the cycle and living out God’s call on their lives. The three women that I sat with at dinner where in orphanages since they were six and now two of them are getting psychology degrees and one is getting a nursing degree. They are resilient women with amazing stories. It was the best way to end our day.
We came back to home base that night, took a dip in the pool, debriefed the day, and laughed at Alec and Graham’s shenanigans like we do daily.
I pray Nicole starts feeling better and I’m excited for what God has in store here on Wednesday. I’ve been super proud of this team and the way they have enthusiastically served each and every day we’ve been in country.
Blessings to you all at home, we covet your prayers, and please know that we miss you at home.
Monday was a busy but fun day! I woke up around 7:00am and went down for breakfast. Then we all got ready to go to a feeding with the Azusa team at a place called Tent City. We took big vans to get there, and our team got the one with the best AC (shhhhh, don’t tell Azusa!).
On our way there we listened to worship music and made some origami frogs and butterflies for the kids, which they loved!! When we got there, it was hot, with not a lot of shaded places, and lots of kids. It was a blast. We got to play some Tag with the kids, play with the origami frogs, toss with a stuffed animal they had, and do the “go bananas” song too!!
After that, we drove to Jollibee’s (a fast food chicken place people loveeeee to eat at here) for a much needed lunch break and spontaneous team bonding time. We all ordered, but found out that sadly they were both out of fries and the peach mango pies we all love! 🙁 But somehow, my dad was able to get us Large size ones (I guess they had them versus the regular size?) and we were all over the moon with excitement!
When we wrapped up at Jollibee’s, we’re then headed to another adventurous spot – a waterfall called Daranak Falls. It was very cool! The water was cool and blue, except the waterfall part was not flowing a lot, it still was a cool experience. We all got to cool off in it for a few hours and just play which was a lot of fun. When we were finished swimming, we all had to be dry in the vans, so some of us had to change into dry clothes, which took a hot minute. But, it was definitely worth being dry on the long car ride back to the base. The nice ladies who make the food back at the base also packed us lunches (PB&J’s, juice pouches, and apples which were very tasty and perfect after a long swim!).
When we arrived back, we all got a little cleaned up, and then headed to the Adoni House (a home at the base for young, 12 – 16 years, pregnant girls) to play games, do karaoke, and we even got to make Turon (a filipino banana roll dessert, which is super tasty)!! The girls were so kind and had the best laughs and smiles, I loved getting to know them and hang out.
Afterward, we went upstairs to dinner, which was a taco salad bar! I liked it, and we brought up the Turon we made so everyone was able to enjoy it too. Then, Brooks (our host for the trip) told us he had what is called Balut (a fertilized duck egg that has been incubated for 14ish days and then boiled) and that the brave people who ate it would get a pin saying they did. I was grossed out and chose against eating it, however, Lauren, my dad, Khaycee, and Keilah were brave enough to eat the baby duck. We got the whole thing on video, so don’t worry if you need to ask one of us for that! 😉 But everyone on our team who tried it, was able to swallow it and get the pin!! It was nasty, and Lauren almost puked, but she pulled through in the end, ewww!
Once the birdies were in their tummy’s, we all went up to the boys home to play sports with some kids and the pastors from the area which was cool. We all had a lot of fun, the kids are really good at all of them!!
Well, that’s all for now! It was quite a day, and can’t wait to see what tomorrow has for our team!! Thank you for keeping us in your prayers, it is greatly appreciated. We love and miss you all!!
Pretty chill day today, it’s our rest day so we didn’t have to do any work. I woke up in a puddle of sweat this morning and the sheets stuck to me. Best sleep I’ve had here by far, we were all able to sleep in for a little bit. I didn’t head downstairs till 9 and had to gobble up breakfast really fast before we left for church.
We walked into church and were instantly greeted by lots of friendly people. Church was very good, the service went for 2 and a half hours because they were praying away different mission teams they are sending out. It was a very powerful message and great atmosphere.
After church we came back to the compound and me and my brother took our laundry to the place down the road bc we missed laundry two days ago. We only have one outfit so i’ll have to recycle the one i wore today for tmrw (gross).
We ate lunch and decided we wanted to spend the day at the mall. So we took some tricycles and a bus to the mall an hour away. I got a seat by the window so i had to duck my head the entire bus ride, ouchie. We got to the mall and split up buying things. This one lady was trying to scam me and my brother for two bracelet but Graham wasn’t having it and talked her down from 4000 pesos to 2600 pesos. We all splooged and shopped probably for two hours. I’m not a big shopper so that dusted me.
We took the bus back and were all very very hungry. We stopped at Jollibees and I was being a big back and got a burger, chicken sandwich, large fries, large orange juice, and a mango pie. My burger was dripping oil and i squeezed it and oil would ooze out for a solid 30 seconds. I didn’t care I was too hungry, gobbled that down, it was buss and was still hungry but we had to leave. It’s okay I’m munching on triscuits right as I write.
We got back, watched some neighborhood basketball for a little. I’m too tired to shower so I just jumped in the pool, that did the job whatever and now it’s bed time.
bye bye
Also, Khaycee got to see her cousin at the mall! Pretty amazing!
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!!!
