It was at the beginning of March 2008 that myself and eight others from the Community Church in the Northwest of England set out on a two week trip to the Philippines. After a very long journey we arrived safely at the administrative centre of ministries without borders Philippines International in Cavite. I remember how impressed I was as we drove up to the building, lit up in the late evening, having the appearance of a high class hotel. Having received such a warm welcome from everyone, as well as much needed refreshments, we all headed off to our beds hoping that the jet lag wouldn’t be too much of a problem.
 
For the first week of our stay in the Philippines we were based at the Centre in Cavite, which we used as a base to travel out to work with the children in the local area. We had great fun with them all as we told them about Jesus by using drama, balloon animals, songs and a very individual retelling of the parable of the sower.

 

It seems that children everywhere are just the same. They are all fascinated by balloon animals, and it is almost guaranteed that girls will play nicely with them while boys will deconstruct them to see if they can find out how they work!

 

During that week we had an amazing time with all the children in the villages as well as those that where in the prison, and I know that we were able to impart to them something of who Jesus really is. If we left them with anything it is that God loves fun as well as them, and that the British are kind of mad!
 
On the site at Cavite we were also able to see what amazing work is being carried out at the maternity and children’s Centres. The local Filipino staff working there do a great job, and it’s good to see how such a place can help people to learn new skills while helping other members of the local community. That is the whole ethos of the work being carried out there to help the people, not only to help themselves, but to also help those around them that are even less fortunate than they are.
 
The majority of our second week of the trip was spent on the Island of Mindoro. It is a beautiful place, full of lush green scenery - a tropical paradise. But with this beauty comes the awareness of the remoteness of the villages as well as the poverty that the people live in.  As in Cavite, we spent our time going into the local villages to talk to the children about Jesus. The children there had a tendency to be more reserved than those on the mainland, but they still found us amusing! Even the parents seemed to be impressed by our dramatic abilities.
 
One thing that touched me about our visit to one particular village was the generosity of the people toward us. We had gone there, not only to share our faith with them, but also to give out much needed clothing. In return they gave us a large amount of their root vegetable crop, food that they could not readily spare. It was clear that these people appreciated what we had done for them and wanted to let us know this by giving of what little they had.

During our time on Mi ndoro we went to the Core site which is currently under construction to become a teaching centre for church leaders, children’s groups, as well as having a health care centre for the local population. It is in a beautiful location, and it was a privilege to be given a tour of the site by Noralv, where he communicated his vision for this place to us. I have a lasting image in my mind of standing on top of the hill looking out over the tropical landscape and picturing all that Noralv had shared with us.
 
Going to the Philippines to see the amazing work that God is doing through his people out there was an honour. I think once you have been there then you are guaranteed to come back home changed in some way, I know that I did. I also think that it is fair to say that all of us on the team would love to go back at some time in the future. Not only to see the on going development of the work being carried out there, but also to have the opportunity to give to others, and most importantly share our own faith in Jesus.