Praise God for a day of worship and fun! With buses and vans loaded with kids and staff members, we headed to a morning of worship at Bethel Bible Church. Pastor Lito preached an inspiring sermon in both Tagalog and in English on Psalm 122: 1 "I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the LORD!'" It is such an amazing thing to worship with our fellow Filipino believers- to sing at the top of our voices and to read God's Word together. At church we were surrounded by the Sankey kids and staff- which was so very sweet.
We also had the great privilege of giving the kids their Christmas present- a trip to the mall for an all-you-can-eat rice and chicken lunch and then money to spend at the mall for whatever their hearts desired. They had three hours of complete freedom at the mall to buy treats, window shop, and just hang out. What fun to play in the arcade, go to the photo booth, eat Filipino treats, go to the bookstore and just chat with the kids.
Our next activity was one that Jeff P has been planning for the past two years- a GIANT slip-n-slide on the soccer field. The kids screamed and slid and dog piled and screamed with laughter some more. We also shot off bottle rockets (another treat that we have been waiting for since last year when we brought the rocket launcher but had to abort due to the February rains).
We ended the evening with devotions with the kids. Instead of doing one big group we broke up into small teams. This allowed us to talk to and encourage each of the kids and answer any questions they had about the Bible reading and discipleship material.
Special relationships with the kids are being rekindled or built anew. Many of the high school and college students need an extra dose of encouragement and love as they struggle through life and school and relationships. John Paul, the newest addition to Sankey, loves Jeff O! It is so very precious to see this little man, who just over a year ago did not have a safe place to live or grow up, laughing, playing, and building trusting relationships with others. He has the sweetest smile and the most giving heart.
Note from Noah: Saturday was cool. We did some fun stuff on the medical mission. We met some guy named Herbert, he was a big help to us. I worked at the Pharmacy with Jeff O and La Ne' too. We finished early so we hug out with the kids after that and watched a movie. I was excited for Sunday so I slept pretty good. Sunday was the BEST! We went to church in the morning and went to the mall too. After that we broke out the slip-n-slide. That was wet, crazy, and wild. That was very fun! And then at night we did a devotion and played. I got some Tagolog lessons with Arlene and Genevie and Aicel. I will never forget this day!
Signing off for another night- sending our love to all our friends and family-
The Philippines Team
