Hello this is Melissa Champion... This has been an amazing experience for me in so many ways. When I first got here it totally wasn't what I had expected, I don't know what I expected but it was definitely different. God is showing what it means to press on when things are tough, Philippians 3:14-16 really rung true for me. The people here have so many things that could discourage them but they keep pressing on, it really encourages me. I am excited to get home to really digest what the Lord has done over here...

Aunty Eva's Perspective

Today we were at Phase 4 Caloocan (Living Testimony) - Pastor Bong and Eileen Sison's church. The kids were just awesome and they presented songs and played games. It was so nice seeing the parents very much involved with their kids.









They have this one game where they have to make the longest line using whatever they have on their body. There were 2 boys and 1 girl on this team but the girl had a fever so she didn't participate at all but the 2 boys were so creative that they started to untie their shoelaces, take off their shirt, undershirt, handkerchief, socks, and shoes. Even with only the 2 boys playing they still came up to be the winner.

The Bags of Joy and everybody's happy! :)











The neighborhood around the church was much nicer than any others so far . The roads were paved and wide enough for a car. The barangay (neighborhood) officials seemed to be doing a lot of the community. The have a nice health center right next to the church. The market (or palengke) is big and clean. Over all the neighborhood had a bigger houses with fences, gates and made out of concrete instead of tin or cardboard houses as we've seen before. This church started in 2003 (I think), they were just renting a room and then in 2006 they were able to purchase their own building. His vision is by 2010 to have a 2nd floor.

Next we went to Phase 7C - Pastor Elmer and Marie Vargas welcomed us to their church. This church is only 1 year old and we were the first Bags of Joy team to visit which made it extra special for the parents and us. The kids performed some songs and dances. The nanay's (moms) also performed a Christmas song for us. It was so nice to see the parents had prepared something special too.





There was this one little girl that stood out in the class to me. She so was so cute and petite. I was told by the teacher that she was a premature baby. She is actually 5 years old but when I asked her how old she was, she told me 6! :)

It was so hot in this classroom! We were all sweating so much...even the kids. But the party still went on and we gave the Bags of Joy.

Day 4 - Church Visit to Luzon Ave. Foursquare Church

Hi, this is Jasen....

As you can see...this is a few days late as the New Hope Team had an opportunity to visit Luzon Ave. Foursquare for Sunday service and worship God alongside the filipinos of the community. Sunday service was awesome....and God was all over it. Pastor Jon (of New Hope Seattle) and I went to this same church last year and we absolutely fell in love with them. Pastor Fred is truely gifted in reaching out to the community and his wife Mira has a gift to work with the kids.

What struck me most about these two is how much they love the Lord. Pastor Fred has his eyes set on other properties adjacent to his building so that he can expand his services. Mira also wants to expand the church to at least 300 meters (no idea how much feet that is).....so that she can turn her school into a government accredited school. Many of her students rank in the top of their class as they go into elementary school (1st grade) and you can tell as she commands their attention.

We arrived at the church early so we got to fellowship with the people out in the community. I was so blessed to reconnect with some old friends including a man named "Toto" (previously known as TonTon by me - i got his name wrong last year). He was the man who gave his testimony about losing his construction job, but still had so much faith that God will provide. I really connected with him last time and it was so good to see him again. It was especially nice to have Aunty Eva and Mary Ann there to help me communciate with Toto and translate. I learned through them that he had 2 girls in the province and continues to send money to his wife and children. He is working on a 40-story condominium and works very hard. He is one of the few men to go to the foursquare church and we even asked if he would show us where he lives. Shawn and I climbed up a narrow stair case up to his room where thin strips of wood layed on the floor in which he slept. No furniture, no electronics...simply a floor with a thin sheet of blanket and some clothes for him.

Another person that I was able to reconnect with was little "Leogi" (previously known as Luigi). I couldn't believe how much Leogi has grown (approximately 4 inches)...but I learned that he is now in the 3rd grade now and also attends the children's version of Sunday service (at 1:30pm). Again, Mary Ann and Eva was able to communicate with him and I learned that his favorite subject is english and he likes skateboarding - although he would like to get a skateboard some day. Leogi was entertained by the camera again and the Mosaic ohana also poured out God's love to this child. He was shy at first...but then he gave in towards the end and was dancing, laughing and playing with us. He played pog's with his friends and was always curious where we were. We also got to meet his mother, sister and cousin Jonny (in which Christy was attached to) and see where he lived. Its amazing how these communities are so tightly knit with one another and the importance of family.

Finally, I wanted to share what an amazing experience the New Hope team had with this special church and their service. Worship was definitely moving the people of this church and you can see their hearts to praise God. After pastor Fred introduced our team to the congregation, it was our opportunity for God to use us to speak to these people. Mary Ann did a phenomenal job preaching and sharing her testimony about "Surrender." Mary Ann was able to speak to each of the Nani's (Mother's) hearts directly about divorce and bring up multiple scripture versus about what it means to surrender to God. From personal experience, she was really able to speak into their lives about issues that they currently struggle with (where their husbands often leave their wives behind for multiple reasons). Aunty Eva was able to share a similar experience and you can really tell that that these people were engaged into the message. It also helped that they were able to preach in "taglish" (taglog and english). Shawn and Christy also did a wonderful job as they spoke more then their allowed 5-minutes to continue the theme of surrender. Then I wrapped up the service and did my first "alter call." It was weird at first, but then God helped me to invite these people to have a personal relationship with Christ. With every head bowed and eyes closed, we had 2 people accept Christ for the first time and then 4 people rededicate. Praise GOD! We closed out the service in prayer and declared it in God's name to be with these people. Amen.

Day 5

Hi, This is Shawn

I guess it's my turn to make an entry to this blog. So here we go.... I don't know what to say or the words to explain how incredible this trip has been so far... but I'll try.

It was amazing and a blessing to see the living situations of these kids and families but at the same time to see the smiles and the magnetic personalities that each child brings. I have grown to really love these kids!

Today we visited a school called "Joash Learning Center". The kids did the most incredible performance to date!!! It's soo amazing how much impact each school has on each individual kid as well as the community. There actually is a kid named Joash that attends this a school and got his name from the school. He was an abandoned baby who the Pastora of this church took in cause the mother just couldn't afford to keep him. Now he's this little kid running around with a huge smile on his face! It's soo fun watching and playing with him! God is definately working in each school that I have visited!!

My favorite part of this trip so far was being able to walk in the streets and alley ways, visiting the families and seeing how they live. It was cool because as we walked around the neighborhood, many kids would follow us around as if we were super stars!! But the real joy was seeing the smiles on peoples faces as we walked by saying hi and waving at at them.

The Philippines has definately left a mark in me. To sit here and actually be here in the moment, knowing that it's not over yet makes me want to cherish the last few days I have left. I'm truly blessed!!

Thanks for taking the time to read this!!
God Bless!!

Day 3 - Team Mary Ann to Bulacan

Team Mary Ann was with Eva, Shawn, and Forrest. We were assigned to two different churches in the Bulacan Area. Since we were going the furthest from our mission house, we had to leave super early. On our way to our 1st destination, we had to make two stops to pick up Julie and Nonong who were two of our escorts for the day. Our host was Pastor Rey and his wife Cecille. Not only did we pick up passengers, but extra cargo aside from the bags of joy we had to deliver. Those extra bags contained items for Ukay Ukay (rummage sale, similar to garages sales for us). It's a good thing for the people here since they don't have lots of money. The money they raise from this will help the church with their building fund. We finally arrived our first church for the day in time...just a couple of minutes before 930am. It was really wonderful to drive throught the country-side since most of our assignements are pretty much in the vicinity of the city.

Before we entered the church to do our program and all...Shawn and Forrest decided to apply bug spray. That bug spray had the pine sol smell. As soon we reached the front the kids weren't too thrilled about the smell. They expressed their thoughts by saying "Ang baho" [It's stinks] The photo says it all. I guess the bug spray works well to repell not only mosquitos but these little kids as well. At that school, Pastor Karina and her staff did a great job, all of the kids who were assigned a bag came to the party. What a success. The also performed a puppet show and some games and dancing for us.

This was a really great school. These kids were absolutely precious. Since we had to trek over to the next destination, we didn't get to spend too much time there. They sent us off with a snack, which consisted of Lumpiang Ubod (Fresh Lumpia) and Biko, and Philippine Rice dessert.

In between our schools, we had lunch at Greenwich [a pizza chain], which was yummy enough.

Our second school was a lot of fun as well...but super HOT. We were sweating like crazy...it was a small room that felt very humid. We made it though and tried to get through it as quickly as possible. Not all the kids made it to the party so we attempted to deliver their bags but had no luck. It was nice walking in the country side and see some local fruit trees and vegetables on our walk.

We are having a great time. It's a lot of work but a big blessing to all the kids who receive these bags.