Sunday Update

Note: This was meant to be posted yesterday, but we had problems with our internet connection.

Today has been a fun-filled day for the team. We split into three groups this morning and each group visited a different local church for Sunday service. Afterwards, we were treated to lunch at Chili’s and spent the rest of the day shopping at Green Hills, the local market.

As for yesterday…

Trevor, Ryan and I were the three members of our team to visit the site in Quezon City yesterday where a fire consumed the homes of more than 500 “squatters”. It was tragic to see all of the people rummaging through what was left of their homes; with only possessing the clothes on their backs and some were fortunate to have shoes on. When we asked who else was helping to give relief during this tragedy a local and relative of one of the families claimed that the mayor and a local Christian relief organization were aiding them, yet we saw no signs of help other than what we brought.

Please be in prayer over the next few days as we are planning on returning to bring more water, clothes, and food.

-Cherish

A simple photo

Here is a photo we thought would bring joy to your hearts. :)

Finished with the House!!!

We have finished our part of the house that we have been working on for Shirley!!! It has been such a priviledge to work together as a team to help out an entire family. They say that the house we were a part of building will last for about 20 years...

Not only did we enjoy the work that we were able to accomplish over the past 5 days, but we also met so many different people that lived around the house. Many of the people just aim to survive each day. They live in simple ways. Yet over the past few days they were so kind to allow us into their houses, to know their names, to play with their kids, and to even help with a brick or two! I know that the whole team was thankful to be a small part of this big project. It is amazing to think that we were able to demonstrate the Gospel in such a concrete way for the people, by loving them.

Many on the team are tired, some are hurt or are ill, but we are all in good spirits and look forward to the upcoming week. Continue to pray for each of the team members, but especially pray that we keep good attitude as exhaustion sets in!

Another Prayer Request:
Today we got word that a group of "squatter" houses were destroyed by a fire & that it left approximately 500 people homeless. We gathered as many of our own clothes as we could & filled up as much water as possible to deliver to the people. We sent 3 members from the team to distribute these items, and they said the need was far greater than our supply. Be praying for these people who had little to begin with & now have nothing. Pray that we would be able to help meet their basic needs & maybe even earn the right to share the Gospel with some in this extraordinarily difficult time.

One week

Well, we left a week ago tonight. It is Saturday morning at 7:50 for us.

We have almost completed the house we started. However, about 6 or 7 of us convinced the rest of the team that we finished yesterday while they were out taking a tour of the IJM office here in Manila by taking pictures and video that was quite convincing.

At the end of the night, however,the joke was revealed. :) We will finish today.

The weather is almost unnoticeable anymore as we have all adjusted quite well. The children have captured our hearts and we will be very sad to leave them. Each night for the last 3 nights we have traveled to the home of our friends, Miles, and have fed a group of homeless children. They are allowed to take home the leftover food to their parents. The first night was a good size group, the second about 30 children, and last night must have been about 50. It has been such a blessing to see them befriend us and open up. Becky, one of our faithful team members, has even passed on "Pound it" to many of the young girls.

The team is getting along quite well and it has been such a blessing to spend so much time with these amazing people. Last night, Cherish and I spent the night at the orphanage in the nursery to take care of any children that might wake up needing something. We were up every couple hours and Cherish was up for well over an hour one time. However, seeing their smiling faces this morning was well worth the effort last night.

Please continue to pray for team strength and rest. We are each working hard every day at what we do and are exhausted by the end of the night. There are endless opportunities for ministry and we never want to say no. Also, please continue to pray for attitudes to continue to be in good spirits. We have had no problems so far and it has been a huge blessing. Praise God!

This was the group on Friday night.

Joe leading a game of "Simon Says"

Me with wonderful children :)

Becky with her girls :)

Tired But Happy

For the past couple of days, many of us have continued to help with building the house, while others have helped out with a variety of other ministries. We get very tired and dirty, but we're also filled with joy at the opportunity to show love to these people.

This is one of the neighbors of the lady we're helping; this is typical of the neighborhood and indeed much of the Philippines that we've seen.

We set up a bucket brigade to get the building materials down to the site, as the road was too steep for the truck to take them. In the background you can see the forty 90-pound sacks of cement we also had to carry down.

Shirley, the lady whose house we're building, is standing in front of the pile of bricks.

And now it's time for another big day!

Day # 3

Hi Family, This is the first time I've ever blogged.(is that a real word?) I can't express the joy I feel just being here in Manila. The living facilities are very American and they are feeding us unbelievable food. Monday nights dinner was Chicken Marsalle (Spelling?) and last night it was Tacos. AMAZING!!! And for breakfast it's what we eat at home only better 'cause we don't have to cook it. (LOL) and Oh My Gosh the Fresh Fruit. Yummy, yummy, says my tummy!. But we really need the great food because it's very hot and humid and we have hard work to do daily. It's amazing to see our team in action. They all work together so well it appears they've been a team for years. They are very protective of me so I don't have to do the heavy stuff but I am in the middle of every thing as much as I can be and I get the joy of manning (or would that be grandma'ing) the cameras to try to catch all the action and re-actions. Thank you all for sending me and thank you all for all your prayers. We feel your love and are sending back.
Praise the Lord for all our blessings, Sidney

Labors and Luxuries

Well, here we are. Day 3 in the Philippines. :)

Yesterday was SUCH a busy day. We started out after breakfast and headed to a local woman's home. Her "home" is made out of very flimsy materials that are slowly dilapidating. Jeff's idea was for us to tear it down and rebuild her home with cinder blocks and steel. What Jeff didn't realize is that her home is at the bottom of a very steep hill and down a dirt path. Neither of which the trucks with the materials could manuever down. So it was up to our fearless team to carry all the materials down the hill and path and to the location of the home. This was our version of Extreme Makeover: Philippines Home Edition. :)

We started out very excited and very energetic. After a couple of us became injured (me, falling down on the dirt path, and Jessica, who injured her knee here the first day) the team was a little smaller. Jessica, Sidney, and I returned after lunch to the house we are residing in and spent the afternoon relaxing our injuries with Sidney to watch over us. :)

The rest of the team, however, returned to the work site and busted themselves for the glory of Christ. A total of 600 cinder blocks were moved, along with 40 90-pound bags of concrete, about 30-40 20-foot pieces of rebar, a good amount of sand and gravel, and a bunch of plywood. At the end of the day, during which it rained, the team was dirty and accomplished.

We are returning today to begin demolishing and constructing. Praise God for this opportunity to minister to a woman very close to the hearts of the people here at Kids International. After all this work, some of the team went swimming to relax and Jessica and I joined them to relax our injuries a bit. We returned to the children's home last night to do devotions at 7 PM where Trevor spoke to them about the parable of the 1 lost sheep and the 1 lost coin. These children are full of enthusiasm for singing praises to the Lord, and it fills my heart with joy to see their joy in the midst of broken families and abandonment.

We were all a bit spoiled last night, however, when Jeff hired someone to give us all massages after the long day of work. Tonight, it looks like some more massages and some Starbucks is on the agenda! That is, of course, after devotions with the children, and a lesson on culture from a friend of Jeff's.

Please continue to pray for:

1) Recovery of injuries
2) Continued team unity
3) Strength and energy to keep up the hard work
4) That all we do would be for His glory and the furthering of His kingdom

Thank you so much for all of your love and support during our preparation and especially while we are here in the Philippines! :)

Our First Day

Well, we've arrived in Manila and had a full day. Jet lag is affecting us a bit, but we stayed active until night-time, so we're hoping that reset our clocks.

Coming in from the airport we passed mile after mile of tin shacks, punctuated by enclaves of prosperity. Manila seems to be in a constant state of flux, with nearly every building either under construction or demolition, and in use as well. The evident poverty, and the apparent satisfaction which which the people accept it, is sobering. The traffic is nail-biting but friendly; people would wave and grin at us out the window, and then cut us off.

When we arrived we got a tour of the Manila campus of Kids International Ministries. They have a great presence here, with four large buildings all actively ministering to the community. They, too, seems to be in a constant state of flux, this time all good, as teams like us help maintain and construct additions to their buildings. Outside the gates of these buildings lies a hodge-podge of squatters' shacks and uneven dirt roads, with dogs, kids and garbage abundantly underfoot. During the tour, we got to spend an hour just playing with the kids. They are very friendly and accepted us immediately; they're also very lively and wore us out nearly as fast! We got to share a devotional time with them that night as well, and it's heartening to see their simple love and acceptance. Please pray that we'll be equal to the task of influencing these kids for the Lord. Pray that we will be able not just to show them our love, but the love of Christ, that they might come to Him. Pray also that we will be able to build ties in the community, who also seem to exhibit the Philippine friendliness.


On a lighter note, we got to celebrate Sarah's birthday at a nearby Starbucks, where most of us had a great time.

After a long flight on which we had variable success at catching some sleep, we've arrived in Hong Kong. The airport is beautiful, with large windows looking out on misty mountains on one side and the sea on the other. It's 6 AM here, but it feels like 3 PM to us. We've got another couple of hours layover and then it's on to Manila!

First Post!

Hi everyone, and welcome to our team blog. It's almost time to go and we're all excited! We hope as we go and minister to the people of the Philippines that God will give us opportunities to give the gospel and glorify Him. We also hope you'll enjoy keeping up with us here; we'll try our best to update this frequently. Thank you for your prayers and your time!