SK Manila: FULL Day of VBS

Today we woke up and hit the ground running! Our morning started as usual with a yummy breakfast, worship and devotions together. We were all so excited to go back to the school. The sweet, smiling students were already waiting for us as we drove up the driveway. Today, the character trait that we taught the students was kindness. We used the story of Jesus washing His disciples feet as a foundation in learning what being kind looks like. Jesus is always the best example! Each day we have been singing songs with the children. Becky Bernardes has done a wonderful job sharing the hand motions with students and leading them in worship, alongside our students. The students have learned the songs and shout out all of the lyrics! They have so much fun worshiping God in a new, fun and creative way. We are continually blessed by the students. They are so sweet, humble and genuine. Their smiles light up this world! Games and crafts were wonderful, as the students were encouraged to decorate popsicle sticks (as bookmarks) to give away to someone else or keep to themselves as a reminder to be kind. Teia shared her testimony with the students today and incorporated the difficulty, but joy in being kind to everyone. It was amazing to see our team members show the students what being kind can look like, as they washed each of their feet (just like Jesus did)!

In between school times, the entire covered court where we have been "hanging out" all week was filled with children of all ages. We played jump rope, sang songs, played games and continued to get to know the students. We ran the VBS two times, as we have done each day this week. Once in the morning and again in the afternoon. Around 300 students are able to hear the word of God and learn more about how to follow him in very real, practical ways. Our students have completely bonded with the students of Kamuning Elementary School. They are already asking if we are coming back next year. It has been an encouragement to hear feedback from the school faculty. They are very grateful and are also wanting us to continue coming back through the years.

We arrive home around 4:00 pm, drenched in sweat and ready for a hot meal and a cold shower! We ate a homemade Filipino dinner which included mixed vegetables, pancit and chicken. Our students are quite the adventurous eaters! Thunder was booming through the house for about an hour. It was so loud and the rain came down so fast. It is crazy how humid it is all day. It definitely feels very tropical to say the least!

At night we were able to have a team debrief. We shared stories from the day and talked about different things that impacted our hearts. The students shared about materialism and how so many of the things they have at home are not real "needs" at all. They shared about the kindness of the students. Many of our students received gifts from the children of Kamuning Elementary School. These children, who in comparison with the "wealth" in our country do not have much at all, but will give the little they do have to bring joy to someone else. We realized that we often have more to learn from them than they do from us.

We finished the night writing in the 300 bibles that we are able to give to them. Every student and Pastor Steve was able to write their names in the bible with a message: "God loves you! Love, Saddleback Church, Manila". We hope and pray that these bibles will be read and shared together amongst the students. Today, I thought about P.E.A.C.E. I thought about how all over the world, there are people who do not know Jesus. I love the stories that we get to here from other countries who have established P.E.A.C.E and have many churches. It is an encouragement in hearing successful stories, as we are in the midst of planting one here. It is not an easy task, but it is a noble one that requires a lot of energy, love and courage. Our pastor is remarkable and it is times like this that we feel so blessed to be under his leadership.

We look so forward to the days ahead when Saddleback Manila can be known as a city for Jesus. We know in our hearts that the seeds planted today are going to grow into something more beautiful and impactful than we could have ever anticipated. There is so much hurt, so much loneliness, lack of hope and homelessness. There are children starving on the streets. There are girls being sold into sex trafficking. There are children being abused and people that do not know the love of Christ. We serve a BIG God that is doing BIG things in Manila and we all feel VERY fortunate to be able to be a part of something so amazing. Starting a church is not easy, but with Christ nothing is impossible and it is so fun knowing that when we place Christ first, He brings healing.

We love the Philippines, we love Manila and we LOVE Saddleback Church, Manila!

LOVE,

Your Manila Team

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