Then There Were Two (PI Trip ~ Day 9)

 

I'm coming to the end of our Filipino journey - for this time!  On Monday the Luzon Youth Camp started. Unfortunately, Les had to be in New Jersey the following week, so we knew we couldn't stay for youth camp.  The bus with campers and some of our group left at 7:00 a.m. and the van with the rest of the crew left at 8:00 a.m.  We lazed around and enjoyed having a place to stretch out before heading to the airport.

 

 

Bro. Dino picked us up around 4:00 p.m and it took less than half the time to get back to the airport than it had taken us to get to Bagong Silang just 48 hours earlier!  We learned that Bro. Dino is a Grab driver, so he knows the best way to get places.

We arrived in plenty of time for our flight, got checked in, checked our bags and found some coffee!  I had some snacks in my bag and we decided that would be enough until we got in the air.

 

We also did a little shopping.  Les got a nifty neck pillow that had a hood - it worked like a charm for him.  I got a little t-shirt for our quarter-Pino (1/4 Filipino) great nephew, Bo.

 

We also found some candy that looked interesting - Calamansi Caramel Chocolate.  Calamansi is a citrus fruit grown in the Philippines.  It makes the best juice!  It is tart so I thought it would add a little zing to the chocolate.  The taste was there, but it wasn't very strong.  But we still ate it....

We had booked bulkhead seats again but we got an added blessing on this part of our trip.  I received an email from Philippines Airlines to upgrade our seats.  We didn't want to pay for business class, but they did have a "Neighbor Free" seat option.  Les and I were seated in seats B and C, giving us an aisle.  This upgrade would give us seat A, the window seat.  When I showed the offer to Les, he said, "Get it!"  It was $120 ($60 per person) so I put the offer in.

Yes, we are as tired as we look!

We didn't know for sure until a few days before we flew home, but it was money well spent!  We ended up sitting in seats A and B, which meant the aisle seat (C) was empty/filled with extra blankets/pillows.  Neither of us had to deal with getting banged up by carts and people coming down the aisle, but we also didn't have to climb over someone we didn't know just to get up.

 

The flight was LONG, but we both slept quite a bit.  We ate the first meal, slept through the second, and ate the third meal.  We made it to LAX, got through customs pretty quickly, had our luggage and were headed out of the airport in about an hour.  My flowers didn't make it home with us, but every card we received did!  They are such treasures and reminders of the wonderful people in the Philippines!

ACTS Bible School and Headquarters (PI Trip ~ Day 8, Part 2 of 2)

One of the things we did not get to do when we were in the Philippines in 2019 was visit the ACTS Bible School.  This is such an important part of the work in the Philippines.  Americans come and go, we give, we pray, we love, but it's the Filipino saints and ministers who make the difference on a daily basis.

 

Bro. Weidner gave us a tour of the Bible school

They're taught practical skills, as well as the Bible.

The boys' dorm:

Everyone has chores!

Sis. Aida, who keeps the office running smoothly!

The view from the top of the building:

Our group then took a walk to the open market just down the street.

The young man with the glasses is Bro. J.R.  He is a Bible school student who was in Mindanao in 2019.  When I talked to him about it, he wasn't sure if he remembered me at first, then he said, "You gave me chocolate!"  That totally made my day.  

 

I have taken chocolate both times I've gone to the Philippines and it is a hit.  This time, I went to See's Candies and the lady who worked there told me that she sells a lot of toffee to Filipinos taking it home to their families.  She was right - they loved it!  I gave some to the house angels in Mindanao and when I brought out a second box in Luzon, there were squeals of delight!  

 

We finished the day visiting and enjoying a little down time.  And being entertained by Clark Judah!

Sunday in Payatas (PI Trip ~ Day 8, Part 1 of 2)

 

 

Our group of 13 spread out to the surrounding areas on Sunday morning.  Pastor Oscal preached in Pasay, Pastor McCoy preached in Taguig, Elder Dansby preached in Bagong Silang and Les preached in Payatas.  This reminded me of my first trip to the Philippines in 1984 when we were all sent out to various churches.  You can read about that experience here, go about halfway down the post to read about me trying to organize the shy group I was with!

Brother Dino, Pastor Abante's son-in-law, picked us up at headquarters.  The drive to Payatas was about 10 miles, but it took about 40 minutes.  The traffic:

But the traffic was forgotten when we walked in to the church.  There was a beautiful time of worship, including the singing of "Because He Lives."  We have heard this song many times in the Philippines and it is so evident that they sing "life is worth the living just because He lives," with all of their hearts!

Pastor Abante, such a sweet man!

We were given a traditional Filipino welcome.  I will never feel worthy of the love they lavish on us.

So many flowers!

We sang/played "The Blood"

Les preached and had a fantastic translator!  Les preached about God's power and gave his testimony of how God healed him from Muscular Dystrophy:

 

There was a beautiful move of God's Spirit in the altar:

God's beautiful family in Payatas!

 

The house angels put all my flowers together in a beautiful display when we got back.