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! :)