SK Philippines: Final Ministry Days

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FRIDAY:
   Yesterday was our last day of VBS and it is really hard to write about it. We started the day as usual with breakfast, devotions and worship. Arriving at the school, the students were waiting for us as usual. Our last character trait  that we wanted to leave them impacted with was LOVE! The students performed skits, we sang our songs together, Megan shared her testimony and Pastor Steve danced to ONE DIRECTION. The students loved games and craft time! At lunch time, the JollyBEE mascot came to deliver lunch and the students were ecstatic!
    We were able to share the salvation message with the students, sharing with them how much God loves them and wants to have a personal relationship with them. Most of the students are raised in a catholic home. Many of them were hearing that Christ wants to have a personal relationship with them for the first time in their life. It was very difficult to say goodbye. We ended with lots of singing and dancing together. Through the support raised by our sweet students and supporters, we were able to give them bibles and school supplies as a goodbye blessing. We shared that this was just a small token of our love in comparison with the love of Jesus Christ.
    Some of the students were crying and having a difficult time knowing that our time together was ending. We assured them that Saddleback Church, Manila will be here for them as will Ate Monette (Mrs. Monette). One of the most impactful moments happened as these students who do not have much, came to school with parting gifts for many of our students. What little they did have, they freely gave! We were able to learn so much from these amazing new friends. The teachers, staff and parents were able to watch the church in action this week! We thank God for the many memories we will be taking home with us. This trip has been so wonderful. One of our parents, Jerry Dalo said it perfectly, "I feel like this week was as close to heaven on earth as it will ever get".
     We came home and ate a wonderful traditional Filipino dinner together and played a few games of spoons! Pastor Dave of Saddleback Church, Manila came over with his family and it was so wonderful to see them one last time before we leave. We are so grateful for their hearts and ministry in Manila.

SATURDAY:
    We woke up and shared a Filipino breakfast together. It included noodles, broth, garlic, green onions and hard boiled egg. Quite delicious! They have a wonderful bread here, called Pan de Manila! It is so soft and yummy! We shared a devotion together in Psalms 136. His love endures forever! We said a prayer together before leaving for a local church. We partnered with some local churches in the area through the Philippines Children Ministry Network that links churches together in ministering to street children. We had a fun morning spending time pouring into about 70 street children who spend their time working through out the week. We are very blessed in America to not have many children living on the streets, like other parts of the world. James shared his testimony and Pastor Steve had a wonderful lesson for the children about how they are God's masterpiece. At the end, we finished with a lunch from JollyBEE (surprise, surprise) and were able to bless them with a parting gift that included a hygiene kit. It isn't easy to see so many people in need and feel like we are only making a dent in the problems at hand. We feel lucky and honored to have been a part of something so amazing. Spiritual battles are real and we need to continue being God's vessels as His will is completed!
    We finished the day by eating at an italian restaurant and some shopping at Greenhills mall. It is an underground warehouse of assorted goods. It was a fun way to celebrate the end of an amazing week. We are in the living room right now and the team is gathered around the table eating Balut. I can't believe they are actually consuming Balut, but it is definitely happening. I am praying they don't get sick, so you can join us in that prayer! Tomorrow we will begin our debrief process as the team rests, reflects and enjoys the beauty of God's creations in the Philippines.  We'll update you again as we prepare for our departure, but pray for our final memorable moments together as we close out this amazing P.E.A.C.E Trip. It is going to be very hard to say goodbye to say the least.

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