Flocks followed Jesus
Wednesday brought a new experience for most of us — new and quite impactful, one of those experiences that will change our lives forever.
Highlights from the early day:
- Bea and the “Sandwich Team” prepared over 200 sandwiches which would be distributed later in the day.
- Beverly led the team at Learning Links where we visited two more classrooms. Rob and our kids acted out the story of David and Goliath and Peter walking on water. We enjoyed more crafts and worship with the first and third grade classes. The sweet children are such a joy to work with. It is quite adorable when they ask our kids for their autograph!
THE highlight of the day:
In the later afternoon our entire team went into the neighborhood of Don Jose. It is best described as an underprivileged village where goats, dogs, and cats roam amongst the open air market vendors. Most of our children had never seen conditions such as this, but their hearts were prepared to share the love of Jesus. Jorin invited the children of Don Jose to join us on the grass field and basketball area. We played soccer, tag, volleyball, and basketball. The children of Don Jose came out in flocks — there were between 175-200 kids. Teen girls were enamored with Emily, and Kaito made such an impact on the boys playing basketball they brought him one of their own Don Jose basketball jerseys!
After an amazing time of playing and connecting, Jorin brought the children together to sit down and enjoy the sandwiches and cookies we brought. What a privilege to serve these beautiful children! He then invited them to join us this weekend at the SK Manila services. We continued our time together with worship songs led by Paige, Aaron, Abi, and Lyndsey. It was fun to sing and dance around while worshipping God with our new friends! After an enthusiastic game of Sharks and Minnows we had to wrap up our time with the children of Don Jose. There were hundreds of high fives, hugs, and smiles as they “escorted” us to our vans.
Here’s a few takeaways from our children:
- Abi — “It was so much fun seeing their sweet smiles. It makes me more thankful for what I have.”
- Hunter - “It was spiritual, but it wasn’t like work. It was fun playing together.”
- Jeremy - “I learned you don’t need words to spread God’s word.”
- Noah - “Although the kids of Don Jose didn’t know we were planning to be there, they came out in flocks when we arrived. The Bible tells us that where Jesus went, crowds followed. It was like Jorin was leading us as the body of Christ.”
Though we were physically drained at the end of the day, we were spiritually energized and thankful for the privilege of serving our Filipino brothers and sisters. We ask for your continued prayers for the our team members and all the lives we are impacting here in Manila!
