Bicol Baby!!

Day Eleven

These beautiful palm trees are everywhere!

Caaaakkkeee

Woke up a few hours before we made it into Bicol. The biggest difference I saw is there are many palm trees everywhere and people live in huts. So beautiful, really felt like were on a tropical island. We were the very last ones on the bus and poor Cloudy had been struggling with being on the bus. We arrived in Bicol at about 9am and we were picked up by Ps Johns brother, from there we went straight to a place to have breakfast. I had bacon and eggs with pan de sal (bread rolls) and a hot black coffee.







Then we were dropped off at our van, to drive to get to where the celebration

Cute keyrings we got at the end of the night

was being held which was two hours away. The van was huge, we each had our own 3 seats each.

 In the Philippines when you hire out a vehicle, they don't just let you drive it for the allocated amount of days. They have a driver who drives you thats included in the hirage (due to vandalism and theft). So we all fell asleep on the ride to Kuya Johns home town. When we arrived at the resort, we had a quick nap and refresh then we got changed and were picked up just before 5pm to take us to the 70th birthday party.














It was such an awesome experience I felt really honoured to be apart of her birthday. It was really cool the way they celebrated. They had an M.C. for the night and each of her children got up to say a speech. They sung songs to her and displayed many pictures of the memories of the past years. They really made her feel special and was really cool to see how each of them presented how much they love and honour her. She looked really beautiful and sat in a throne at the front. We had cake and ate dinner together and one of Ps Johns brothers even preached a short message. It was a really enjoyable night and was so interesting to see how Filippinos traditionally celebrate milestone birthdays! We left at around 930pm to head back to where we were staying and headed to bed.
 It was a tiring but great day!! :)

This is how we shower in the Philippines- no shower heads just a bucket and scoop :)

This is Anne (nanny) and I's room

Stunning stunning sunsets!

Church and then bus ride to Bicol

Day Ten

Ps John knocked on my door this morning to say that we are catching a taxi to church at 8am. Nyles stayed home with Cloud as he is only five months old and it's too much for him to be busy the whole day. I shouted coffee at a nearby coffee place, we asked for flat whites but they use creamer here and not real milk so it just ends up tasting like instant coffee- but hey at least it has caffeine in it! It took us over an hour to get to the South Church, feeling really excited an expectant for God to do something this morning. This morning we had a swap over service, so the worship teams swapped over and so it was a really good idea because many of the team from the North had never visited let alone worshiped at the South church and vice versa. I noticed here that in the morning service, everyone is pretty much running out the door afterwards. It's not like in N.Z. when church finishes, we hang around for at least 45minutes to chat with people. I found out that it's because most workers have to work 6 days and their only whole day off is Sundays so they want to get home to relax with family before the next week starts. After the service, we sat and had chicken adobo with the worship team and then we headed back home in one of the boys cars. When we got back home Ps John had a call from his family asking when we were going to arrive in Bicol. Ps John said after the phone call that he really feels that we should get to Bicol for her celebration as it is her 70th Birthday thats a pretty big milestone! So we decided that we could all go on the bus down. It is a 12hour bus ride and the bus is at 9pm so suits us well because Ps Johns mums Birthday celebration party is tomorrow afternoon. It only cost 1100 peso for the bus ride each and we had the whole of the back seat. It had air conditioning and a toilet on board which is handy! I went to the doctor before I came to the Phillipines and he gave me all sorts of pills- one of them was sleeping pills incase it would be too noisy to sleep! So I decided to take half a tablet so I could sleep right through the night. We stopped halfway through the trip at Mcdonalds. I woke up and was hungry, It took me so long to count my money I was very drowsy. I couldnt walk in a straight line it was really funny.

Baptism Day!

Day Nine

 Today we got up at 630am so we could be at the resort for baptisms by 8am. Joy and I went to the t-shirt printing shop bright and early to get the Equippers t-shirts that had been printed that we were going to give to every person who was to be baptized. Then we quickly visited the supermarket down the road before heading off to get some groceries we will need for today's day at the pool. We managed to catch a taxi right away, but he ended up being the craziest driver ever. He was beeping, swerving and swearing and everyone that got in his way. In the Philippines no one wears their seat belts and many taxis don't even have them! haha So we ended up going on a ticky tour around because the taxi driver said he didn't know the way, but we were all pretty sure that he was just trying to rip us off. Once we arrived, there were heaps of people already there and the resort was really beautiful! We had the whole back area of the resort for our church and it had a B.B.Q area, a shower and covered in eating place. Ps John explained to me the reason why every newly baptized church member got an Equippers shirt the day they get baptized:

1. Relationship with Jesus
2. Service- from the day you get baptized you are now invited to service in the house of God.
3. Identity- Their identity is now in Christ and now connected to Equippers Manila.

There was a total of 27 people who were baptized today how awesome! I got the absolute privilege of baptizing two ladies! It was such an honor to and pray for them afterwards, baptisms are so exciting. They each were asked to share a testimony of why they are getting baptized beforehand. Although I couldn't understand what they were saying, many of them were crying and I could tell that their lives had been so impacted and transformed by God. It brought tears to my eyes, it's really awesome to see so many youth so on fire and surrendered to God. Ps John and Nyles are doing an amazing job leading the church! It was pouring down with rain for the majority of the day but that didn't stop everyone from dancing, swimming and celebrating their baptisms! We had a big feast for lunch with B.B.Q fish, chicken adobu, rice, soft drinks and a big chocolate cake! Was an awesome day!

 Then around 4pm everyone started to leave, by now it was pretty cold and absolutely pouring down with rain. We all got changed and headed out. Ps John had already left for home as little Cloudy (his 5 month old son) was sick at home with Nyles.

When we got home, we headed out to the mall to buy supplies for a big 12 trip we will be taking to Bicol for Ps Johns mums 70th birthday surprise party! We ended up going and having dinner in the same branch where we had dinner for eGroup the other night! Little Cloudy then started to throw up, so we had to leave, thinking that he was sick again. We brought some peach and mango pies from Jollibee for dessert, they were very awesome! I headed to bed early not knowing if we were going to be given a van to travel to Bicol in by Ps Ace, so I waited to pack in case we wouldn't be able to go after all. 

Goodnight people

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The Day I Met Rachelle

Day Nine

  So Ann and I headed with the others on a tricycle from the resort where we had the baptisms to a point we were meeting the others. We waited there for the others to all get there, by this time it was starting to get dark. As I looked around, I could see many very young looking girls with young children in their arms. A few came up to us and put their hand out asking for money. Ps John had told me early on when I first arrived, to be careful and to not give them money. Ate Lily who was with us, gave a few sets of people some money. I was trying my best to not look at them cos it was actually really sad. Until this one girl came up to me and put her hand out. She was very short, her hair was falling out and her teeth were rotten. I needed to help her so I asked her if she was hungry. She nodded and I walked over with her to the fruit stall nearby. I asked what her name was and she put her hand out and said Rachelle and asked for mine I asked her how old she was and she said she was 21. She certainly didn't look her age! She looked really pleased that I had brought her some food. Everyone was just getting ready to leave so I said goodbye to her, I couldn't help but think that this was a God moment and God wanted to do something. I felt sad as I saw her walking off, I watched her all the way. Then about 2-3 minutes later she came back again. She just stood leaning against a fence about 3M away and just stared at me for a few minutes. I wanted to go back over to me but everyone seemed to be about to leave. Just as we were going, she came right up to me, held out her hand and said thank you Laura. Just at that moment Anne called me to go. I felt compelled to do something yet we had to go. I don't think I will ever forget this girl, the desperation and sadness in her eyes made me curious about what had led her to be living her life like she was....

Staying with Joy & her family

Day Eight

We woke up around 12pm today, it was really hot so a bit tough to sleep. We went downstairs and had a great chat with Lily, Joys mum its so incredible to hear their way of life and how her husband works in Saudi Arabia and he comes home once every six months- a year for four weeks. She is so strong and supportive of him. She is a really amazing lady with such a big heart. She spoke to her husband on skype and I got to meet him over a video call. They were both saying that when he comes over in January, him and his wife will make it their mission to find me a Filipino husband. Lily asked me to pray for him over skype so I did. The Filipinos are so loving and accepting of all people, felt like I was really apart of their family in such a short time.This morning I also had my first experience having a shower with no shower head. Just a tap and a bucket and scoop. It was actually really refreshing cos of the heat and I was able to aim better pouring the water over my head to not get the water that is not safe to drink in my mouth! After getting ready we had lunch at a nearby place on the street near where they lived. I was really afraid of getting sick because I had no idea how they prepare the food. But the food was amazing! I had Chicken Adobo and James, Joys brother brought a selfie stick- they are so obsessed with taking selfies here and you see people everywhere with the sticks taking photos doing everything its so funny!

First eGroup in the Philippines

Day Eight

After lunch, Joy and I headed off for eGroup which was a about an hour away traveling time. We were going to meet one of the eGroup members at a mall on the way and I also needed to find a sim card and phone that I could use for the time that I am away. I will be staying at a few different places around so Ps. John said it would be best if he could get in contact with me, so I'm going to find a cell phone. Once Kathleen arrived we caught two trains and then walked for about 30mins to the Ayala triangle where they had these "dancing lights" it was really beautiful! They turned on every half hour and flashed through each faze for around 10minutes. It was incredible to watch! Was a real Christmasi atmosphere and massive crouds of people. We took heaps of selfies and videos and then eventually decided to go and have dinner in a nearby place. Most of the fast food outlets which we were trying to dine in, were full because of the Christmas rush but we found a nice place which overlooked the Ayala triangle so we had a stunning view of the lights as we had dinner. Joy had asked me earlier to share something at eGroup. I had thought to share a passage of scripture from Romans, but decided to change it last minute and share the scriptures and journey that I had been on to come to the Philippines. They asked alot of questions and we shared life stories and chatted until it got to about 10pm and we decided to head back as we had to be up super early for baptisms we were having tomorrow! All in all it was a good night, gotta be up early tomorrow so goodnight folks!! 

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
 

God is Doing Something

Day Seven

Today we got talking about Filipino culture and the things the mission team didn't get the chance to learn about because they were only here for two weeks. I learnt that in Filipino culture, it's rude to just walk up to someone and ask them to do something. For example "could you go and get that paint brush that's over there for me?" They explained that it's all in the tone of voice you use and you must smile and say excuse me before you ask someone to do something. When you walk into a room or when you need to walk past a group or a person, you say excuse me and move your hand in a forward motion in front of you. In the Philippines, you never point your finger at anyone or even in a certain direction. When you are motioning for someone to come over to you from a distance you never use one finger like we would do in NZ it's a whole hand movement. Pointing your finger here suggests you are very angry and it's incredibly rude. I am thankful I am learning these things so I can put them into practice wherever I am going. 

Somehow we then got onto talking about the church and they shared about how the church started and Ps John shared his visions and dreams that he has for Manila and the Philippines. It's just amazing to hear what God has done in their lives and in Equippers Manila. The two of them are incredible, their faith and obedience to God really is so inspiring. He showed me his journal with the prophetic pictures he had been given from God and described where he saw the church going and expanding to in a year and four years time. Then Ps John said that he had been praying for me that morning and he thinks we need to pray. So we gathered around and Ps John saw an image of two trees growing simultaneously, both with many branches growing from them. Right in the middle of the two trees was my heart. That God is growing two things and my heart is right in the middle of them. The trees represent something for his Kingdom and God will speak and tell me what they represent. That I will lay hands on the sick and they will be healed, when I see the heart image before my eyes to go and pray for that person. They said that in the past my heart has got me into trouble, but God is building something. The branches are going to mesh together with my heart in the middle. That I will bless many people of the Philippines while I'm here. Then they prayed for Gods anointing and commissioned me. They said that I'm under the same anointing that they are under. Of faith and not knowing what the next step is but to just trust him. They said that I am free, I'm forgiven and my heart is healed and now he is bringing forth my heart as an adult. He has me here for a purpose.

That night we had a leaders meeting with all the eGroup Leaders, where Ps John taught his leaders and got them to ask some questions that they had personally abut the Bible and also about discipling their eGroup members. 

After the meeting finished, I headed with Joy to Jollibees and had dinner before heading to stay at her place. Once we got to their place, I was so amazed with how they treated me. They treated me as if I was a Queen, I felt really honored but at the same time I didn't need special treatment. But I think it is the Filipino culture that I am still adjusting to. Lily Joys mum had not been feeling well that day but she offered up her bed which was a double bed on the bottom of a bunk bed. I felt so bad cos I could have slept on the mattress that she was sleeping on and said to her that I was ok to sleep there, but she was sleeping there with her Son next to her so I couldn't. It's incredible how honoring Filipinos are, they are so humble, happy, contended and hospitable. Joy and I stayed up late chatting about life here in the Philippines and girl stuff :)

Goodnight all 
xxxxxxx

10th December 2014

Day Six

I see a pattern now of how the days roll out. The mornings are for spending time with God and resting in the house. Ps John spends the morning working and ate Nyles is taking care of Cloud in their bedroom. In the afternoon, is when we head out to explore. In the morning they don't eat breakfast and just drink coffee, but in the afternoon is when they have their big meal. This afternoon Anne and I were about to head out to get some Filipino street food for us all for lunch. Ps John and Nyles stopped me as we were walking out the door and told me that it's hot outside and asked if I had any shorts to wear. I was wearing 3/4 pants a top and a 3/4 cardigan. They said that I can wear shorts and short sleeved tops, that its ok to do here. I told them how I didn't want to wear anything offensive or inappropriate and when I went to the missions team meeting they had said not to wear anything too revealing so I was being very conservative. Ps John said that there's a scripture in the bible that talks about how your'e not transforming yourself but your'e adapting yourself to fit the culture and the people. By wearing the same clothing that the people of the culture are wearing they will be surprised when I say that I am here on a mission trip. People will think that I am religious if I wear clothing that is too conservative, need to adapt to how everyone dresses. They said that they could take me to a place where I can buy some cheap shorts and tops to wear. 

The place where we brought our lunch...mmmm

Then Anne and I went out to buy the street food for lunch. We had this delicious dish called calderera which is a tangy tomato chicken dish, chicken adobo, steamed fish and pickled cucumber and of course rice (rice is served with everything here in the Philippines)- yum! They said that I will be a real Filipino if I can eat street food and not get sick! I managed to keep it all in :P I have been drinking the little drinks that they also sell in NZ that line your stomach and protect you from getting sick- they have been awesome! Ps John asked me to help with the baptisms that they will be having at a resort nearby. He taught me the prayer to say, ridiculously excited to be apart of baptising new christians, an absolute privilege! 








That afternoon we went to some nearby markets to get some clothing everything was ridiculously cheap. We had a look around and brought some clothing. It was a really amazing place to be during Christmas time with all the lights, the music, the food stalls and smells. We stopped to have dinner in a place that sold only coconut foods. I had a pizza and even the pastry was made from coconut and it was all very delicious. We had a coconut egg pie for dessert which was amazing, tasted similar to a custard pie! After dinner us girls had a coconut ice-block which was refreshing. 

Yummy coconut iceblocks for dessert!

I love this photo, they have amazing sunsets here!

 

Wow wow we wow!

My coconut pizza- no meat just veges 

Coconut stir-fry anyone?

Little Cloudy, this child is seriously cute!!

Beautiful lights everywhere!

Cheap cheap clothing!

Peace 
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Meeting Street Children Singing Carols

We waited until 730PM to head back home as the traffic is crazy if you try to go anywhere before then.  As the sun was going down it was a stunning and vibrant place to be. We sat down on a grass area they had and ate some quail eggs and cashew nuts that we brought from a vendor. While we were relaxing we had three street children come up to us and sung a Christmas carol in Tagalog. Ps John and Nyles said that they were saying Merry Christmas and were asking in a polite way for money, but if they were annoying us then they are sorry. They were really cute and happy and we had a photo together. I tried talking to them, but they didn't speak very good Tagalog. I asked them where they lived and they pointed around the park. It was really sad to see how dirty and ragged their clothes were. But they also looked as though they were really enjoying themselves and loved having the freedom to joke and play games with each other into the night. Who knows where their parents were!As we were leaving I witnessed something I will never forget. As we walked towards the car and approached the carpark it was dark we saw a man and a child sitting in front of where we had parked the car on a concrete wall. At first it looked normal, but then we noticed that the little boy was holding a plastic bag filled with white powder. Kuya John said that that the powder was called "rugby" and it was a glue that was used to stick wall paper to the wall. As soon as we arrived, the man walked away and left the little boy. Kuya John said to quickly get into the car, the little boy was high and was holding the bag of rugby in the air and staring straight at me, pointing to it. Ps John locked the doors as the little boy stood at his window with desperate eyes that were as wide as saucers staring at us. It was heart breaking to see a boy so young out at night, high trying to sell drugs to adults. He looked like he was about 6 or 7 years old. Ps John said that street children like that one often had other people around hiding and keeping watch over them while they tried to sell, so you can't approach them and try to talk to them as it can be very dangerous! It was so sad and I wondered what the story was of a child to be in that position. 

I Love This Place

"Not just that God prepared a place for me but He has prepared me for this place. I am thankful that He has led me all this time to be ready for this call."

Thankyou God, no storm!!

Day Five

    









Woke up today and it's still raining, went for a walk with Kuya John to see if there was any flooding anywhere. The house had stayed up until 3am this morning to wait to see if all the valuables needed to be moved when the storm was meant to hit at 3AM. Praise God, the storm was very dimmed down and didn't hit anywhere near as hard as it was meant to!






Everyone else slept in quite late. At about 1:30pm we all went to the mall to try a traditional fried chicken, banana ketchup, kumara chips and sinigang (tamamind soup). Oh how I love the sinigang, it is sour and delicious, Nyles said that she can teach me how to make it. Would love to take the recipe to make for people back in New Zealand!  Fried chicken is also a real favourite here in the Philippines!









Then we just waited around a little, until we met Joy- Ps. John's personal assistant at 3pm at Starbucks. Once we met her, we had coffee and donuts and talked about what the schedule would be for while I am serving in the North Church. I had a Christmas cookie latte which was really yum, Ps. John ordered our coffees and we each had funny names- he was Brad Pitt, mine was Katie- Katie Perry that is. Haha. My coffee tasted like gingerbread biscuits and I had a creme brulee donut. Here they really love donuts and they sell them everywhere in the malls. As so the Christmas decorations are everywhere, really helps to get you in the Christmas spirit. 


We talked about what my schedule and decided that I will go and stay with Joy and her family for a few nights. So that I can go be apart of her eGroup with her seven girls on Friday night and then meet Ps. John and ate Nyles at the resort for the baptism on Saturday. Ps John asked if I could write a letter that we can send out in the church for people to take to their workplaces to raise some funds. I will be working with Nikka for getting the Care and Connections up and running with systems like how it runs in the city- or as close to. Ps. John asked me if I could set up/ come up with an idea for an outreach project to the University students, then find people to serve on it. That by January if I have the idea we can start, that's when all the students will be back from their Christmas holidays. I will also be working with the hosting team to help set up and teach them how the team in the city runs. They already have a team and a leader, but they currently all just stand outside and greet people at the door. 

When then visited a close by mall to get some running shoes because I didn't bring any with me. I found a brand new pair of red nike shoes for only $32 NZD, for that pair in NZ they would be over $100, amazing! We all had a massage on these chairs they had in the middle of the mall - it cost 10 peso for 3 minutes which is well under $1 haha. That night when we arrived back home, Anne and I went for a run at the nearby University park. It was ridiculously hot was sweating like pigs, but was such a beautiful park to run in. One lap was about 4KM and had fairy lights in the trees and is patrolled by security guards 24/7. Got home from the run, had a shower and then bed. 

Goodnight all xxxxx