Hey everyone -
We were able to get internet access at Bethel Baptist Christian Academy in Malaybalay City....so I am going to post an update about what we've been doing here the past few days before we leave early tomorrow morning (3:30AM our time, 2:30PM your time) for a day and a half of relaxation on Camiguin Island before catching our Cebu Pacific flight back to Manila late Friday.
As I mentioned before, this area is completely different than Manila....much more agricultural and rural, and the air is clean and fresh (except for the smells of Durian, which incidentally we can't stop eating -- honest we've tried, but we were sitting in the Barangay Captain's office and he offered us plates of Durian (we knew it was there before it even arrived at the table ;-) A Barangay Captain is kind of a local magistrate for the municipality, and Captain Jun Antiposado is a believer and has been very instrumental in the founding of the Children's Home down here in Mindanao.
Something else I found interesting is that he is Captain of 1 of 46 Barangays in Malaybalay, and his particular Barangay has the largest concentration of Muslims of any of them. We held a VBS today and there were 4 or 5 Muslim women who came and brought their children. They were very reluctant to participate at first, but after observing for awhile, they decided to let their children do the coloring of a sheep from Psalm 23. They reviewed the material afterward, and at least initially let their children keep the papers, but not sure what happened after that.
Other than the VBS sessions we've had (one at the Barangay hall today, and one for the Children's home and their local neighbors yesterday), we've been working very hard on digging a deep (deeper than Mack is tall) trench from the mud to pour footings for a retaining wall that will be used to protect from land erosion around the area of the new camp housing being constructed, sifting sand, and loading rock by hand into a dump truck for hauling across the campsite.
There is so much to write about, I feel like I am picking and choosing what I can include here, but I will say....PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE post Comments to our Blogs, we are hoping that you find them interesting and give you an idea of how to pray for us. At this point, I would say that we need prayer for continued health and strength as we've been working very hard with very physical labor, sloshing around in mud up to the knees and doing other things that remind me of the movie Bridge over the River Kwai (without the beatings and torture of course ;-)....you can also pray for our emotional strength as we near the time to say good-bye again.
That's it for now....our next posting will likely be from Manila sometime on Friday your time.
We miss you all and look forward to seeing you again soon.
Kevin for all of us.
2 comments:
It is SO GOOD to be able to read these updates and know a little bit of what is going on with you all in the Philippines.
We are praying for your safety,good health, and good ministry.
Can't wait to hear and see all about it when you get home.
Ruth & Neil Jaeger
You can't say you're eating lots of Durian and not explain what it is! My co-worker's in-laws used to be missionarys to the Phillipines, so I asked him what Durian is - he described it as a fruit the smells like rotten onions - yummy! He brought me a piece of Durian candy yesterday - I can describe it in one word - YUK! It left a yukky taste in my mouth for 2 hours afterwards.
Seriously, hope you enjoyed your day of rest and relaxation as you prepare to say good-bye and take the long flight home.
I've enjoyed the updates and can't wait to see my dad sign up for nursery duty upon his return!
Post a Comment