Manila Team - Midweek Update
Wednesday Morning, June 6
To give us time to get over jet-lag, they planned Monday as a light day. We took a boat to the island of Corregidor, one of the major battle grounds of World War II. It is a beautiful island now, full of colorful flowers and birds, but it was once a place of death for many thousands of American, Phillippino, and Japanese troops. We toured the ruins, the memorials, and were moved at the price so many have paid for our freedom.
Tuesday we visited some of the wonderful ministries of Faith Fellowship Church and were so blessed to get to know the missionaries and Pilipino Christians who are doing such amazing work for the Lord. Judy Kennedy, one of the OMS missionaries here, showed us the ministry to the children of squatter families who live in makeshift shacks. Dedicated Christians go into these horribly dark and dirty communities to love and teach the children about Jesus, and to teach literacy and livelihood skills. We heard such beautiful stories of how God has touched and transformed families. We also saw the new room that the church has built specifically for ministry to the squatter children and had a powerful time of prayer for God's future work in that area. In the afternoon, after an incredible traditional Phillippino feast at the church, served on banana leaves (without eating utensils) - these folks have gone all out for us - we were taken to meet Meldi, a lay leader in the church who has established multiple daughter churches. This visionary lady has personally led over 200 to Christ and started multiple churches. Her home now serves as a meeting place for a church where up to 100 gather on Sunday to worship (no it’s not big). We were embarrassed to be treated with such high esteem. She had prepared us a huge spread of food, so we ate another full meal out of respect for this Godly woman - no weight loss on this trip! For supper, a missionary couple hosted us for another great meal. Wayne, Jeannie, Dave, and John left for a long late-night rehearsal with the church's band. This musical is a challenge for these guys, but they are working hard and doing a great job. They seem to feel good about how it's coming together. They will do a fine job this weekend when we present "Redemption."
Wednesday Night
This morning we ventured into the heart of downtown Manila to visit the market. Kim Burdick and Keith Kennedy escorted us, otherwise we would probably still be lost down there somewhere. The ride was also quite an experience. Wednesday night we had a combined rehearsal with the band and choir. Things are a bit rough around the edges, but we made good progress. Afterward the church provided us all with another spread of food. It was a nice time of fellowship and mixing between the choirs and bands.
More to come...
To give us time to get over jet-lag, they planned Monday as a light day. We took a boat to the island of Corregidor, one of the major battle grounds of World War II. It is a beautiful island now, full of colorful flowers and birds, but it was once a place of death for many thousands of American, Phillippino, and Japanese troops. We toured the ruins, the memorials, and were moved at the price so many have paid for our freedom.
Tuesday we visited some of the wonderful ministries of Faith Fellowship Church and were so blessed to get to know the missionaries and Pilipino Christians who are doing such amazing work for the Lord. Judy Kennedy, one of the OMS missionaries here, showed us the ministry to the children of squatter families who live in makeshift shacks. Dedicated Christians go into these horribly dark and dirty communities to love and teach the children about Jesus, and to teach literacy and livelihood skills. We heard such beautiful stories of how God has touched and transformed families. We also saw the new room that the church has built specifically for ministry to the squatter children and had a powerful time of prayer for God's future work in that area. In the afternoon, after an incredible traditional Phillippino feast at the church, served on banana leaves (without eating utensils) - these folks have gone all out for us - we were taken to meet Meldi, a lay leader in the church who has established multiple daughter churches. This visionary lady has personally led over 200 to Christ and started multiple churches. Her home now serves as a meeting place for a church where up to 100 gather on Sunday to worship (no it’s not big). We were embarrassed to be treated with such high esteem. She had prepared us a huge spread of food, so we ate another full meal out of respect for this Godly woman - no weight loss on this trip! For supper, a missionary couple hosted us for another great meal. Wayne, Jeannie, Dave, and John left for a long late-night rehearsal with the church's band. This musical is a challenge for these guys, but they are working hard and doing a great job. They seem to feel good about how it's coming together. They will do a fine job this weekend when we present "Redemption."
Wednesday Night
This morning we ventured into the heart of downtown Manila to visit the market. Kim Burdick and Keith Kennedy escorted us, otherwise we would probably still be lost down there somewhere. The ride was also quite an experience. Wednesday night we had a combined rehearsal with the band and choir. Things are a bit rough around the edges, but we made good progress. Afterward the church provided us all with another spread of food. It was a nice time of fellowship and mixing between the choirs and bands.
More to come...
posted by CUMC Team | 7:28 AM
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