Leaders side trip

Day 2 Malaybalay - Mindanao

Today has been very enjoyable because we were able to help out heaps with the community, our first rotation was construction, this was really fun but hard as we were still wiped out from the day before. We managed to move so much sand and gravel to help these guys out with concreting a new kitchen. We then had an amazing lunch served by Ate Oparina, this consisted of rice (of course) pineapple, curry, spring rolls and sweet chilli sauce.

After this we were asked to help out and present in the AWANA program which was basically hundreds of kids, on this basketball court playing games and worshipping God. It was really encouraging to see how much Mt Moriah impacts the surrounding community. Mr Puzey did his classic Didgeridoo presentation and we helped out as well.

We had some chill time after than from about 4.30 to 7pm (I pretty much slept the whole time) but others helped out at the children’s home and played basketball with the awesome kids. Then we all went out again for dinner it was insane (as usual) soup, pork, chicken rice and ice cold sprite. And this crazy stuff in a coconut called Halo Halo, most people loved it. Then we headed out to this really cool Christmas festival with thousands of people in one place, all the lights were so beautiful.

We got back to Mt Moriah and held debrief, prepared the blog and wrote our journals. We were also given the opportunity to purchase some handicrafts made by the locals, the plant from which they are made was unique to the area so it was very special.

It’s been a good day, looking forward to bed and another day in the Philippines tomorrow.

From mostly Sam with the assistance of Irene, on behalf of all the leaders.  

Day 3 Malaybalay - Mindanao

We enjoyed a later start to the day than usual with pick up for church at 9.30am. We are staying at an accommodation on the grounds of Mt Moriah, a camping facility for the local children. What this means s that we are on the doorstep of the Children’s Home and close to the construction project but about 8 minutes out of town. We are often having to wait for pick up as everything seems to run late around here. (Not at all Beacham time!)

We attended church at CCF in town with a real mixture of locals and International guests. The service was in English.

Lunch close by then on to “Builders” another local church where every Sunday the local youth are invited to play competition basketball and volleyball. The locals are so good at basketball and we joined in as best we could. We were again asked to present to the crowd and because we had been playing sports with them our reception was like that given to superstars.

We came back to Mt Moriah and cleaned up and again out for tea. This time it was put on for us by the local church group who we worked with the previous day and was presented in the basketball court where we were working on construction. Pork spare ribs, chicken and vegetable curry, rice and pineapple.....Choice.

In Malaybalay there is nothing happening after dark. So another early night.... no complaints here.

Day 4 Malaybalay - Mindanao

Immediately after breakfast we were to head out to the mountains to tour a huge Banana plantation. We were all ready and..... 40 minutes later Donald picked us up...... Malaybalay time I guess.

It was a pretty long ride, rising up another 500m or so into the foothills of the huge mountains around the area. All the way we went past small holdings with mixed crops and productive trees. There is not a spare spot or any wasted land here, every bit has to pay its way. The soil is very dark and looks like it would just about grow anything. The plantation is very well structured and produces bananas for sale to Japan. The market is very strict and only the very best will do. The Bananas are huge and very sweet and they are called Highland Bananas. We walked across a suspension bridge and toured the processing plant much to the entertainment of the local ladies.

We headed back to town arriving typically around 2 hours late. We enjoyed another lunch, feels like all we have done is eat and completed a session of construction. We finished this and went into town to walk the shopping area in the main street. Mr Puzey gave us 250 pesos and most of us could not spend it all. We discovered chubbies, a local sweet and enjoyed a selection of shakes.  Another meal....really full by now and back to Mt Moriah. 

Day 5 Malaybalay - Mindanao

We woke to a pretty typical day with light cloud cover and a light breeze. We have been watching the progress of a storm to the east and it is predicted to come closer today. The locals say that the storms usually don’t get too bad in the area where we are staying because we are so far inland, so high up and surrounded by the mountains which tend to break the weather up.

After starting the day in typical rotation at the home and on construction we soon had a change of plan. The wind picked up a bit and the rain came in. Mr Puzey pulled the team off the construction site and the group working at the children’s home did not go back after morning break. While all the children were there (school was closed) they were just sitting watching a movie.

The wind and storm peaked around 12.30 with a little bit of damage to the outbuildings around. We spent the rest of the day in the main bunk house which is a three story concrete and steel building. The locals kept calling it a typhoon but it really was not as bad as any of the typical winter storms we get in Perth.

The only hassle is that the area usually gets no storms at all, so with this wind heaps of trees simply fell over. Power went down and then the mobile towers became patchy and eventually stopping as well. The other hassle was we were supposed to leave to fly back to Manila and the road to the city was closed. Later the flights were also cancelled. We were pretty bored and the greatest danger we were ever in was from the gas.... boys! Flights were rebooked and the plans changed.

Early night which was peaceful as the wind was gone by 5pm. The chainsaws came out and the locals turned disaster into opportunity stocking up firewood. By 7pm the roads were clear and while power was still down the town returned to normal. 

Day 6 Malaybalay - Mindanao

We are booked to fly out today and first thing this morning a visitor arrived from Manila. This confirmed all flights were now operating and that the road to Cagayan where we fly from was open. Our drivers were not sure how long the drive would take so we left at 9am despite the flight departing at 5.30pm.

Well most of the community was still closed with no one at work or at school. As a result the road was nearly abandoned and clear right through to the city. A dream run really so rather than it taking longer than usual it was much quicker.

We hoped to change a flight to an earlier time but this was not possible so we hung out at the local mall for four hours. Don’t tell Mr Beacham.... we want him to think we continued to work hard. To be honest after having to sit out the storm the day before this was not what we wanted to do. We also missed out on rejoining the main group so we also missed out on market shopping n Manila. Unfortunate, but that is how it was...

We finally arrived back at the ministry centre around 10.30pm after some of the worst traffic we have ever experienced. Our reception was huge with everyone out the front cheering our arrival. After sharing stories we crashed into bed....bang.... we needed it!

Day 13

Hey everyone!

Its the 2nd last day, and after our tiring day yesterday we were all a bit sore. The war wounds are still present, some worse than others. 

Last night was very relaxing for everyone. Devotions were done by Rehoboth again and we all learnt a new song written by Mr. Price's friend. The play was about Jonah and the BIG fish. After we put the kids to bed we went our separate ways. Mani-pedis for the girls and massages for the guys. The girls were treated to a girly night-in, with clean and painted fingers and toes followed by chocolate, junk food and tea. The guys had a spa and buffet followed by massages, jacuzzi, steam room and sauna. when we all finished and were back at the ministry centre everyone just went straight to bed as we were extremely exhausted.

Waking up at the usual time, we were treated to a breakfast of waffles, pineapple and eggs. After some of us being given basketball jerseys, we headed over to the school next door to play basketball against the teenage boy team. It was a very intense game with three hundred cheering kids on the sidelines. It was a close match, with our guys pulling away at the end. As usual we dominated, winning the match 57-45. 

Next, we headed out to exchange our Australian dollars for Filipino pesos. It took awhile but we were finally ready for our shopping extravaganza. We then came back to see our hard work from yesterday at the Mango Property. The effort we have seen each other put in and the sores on our hands made us proud to say that we poured a concrete slab that was around the same size of the average house (450
 sq m), three stories up. 

Lunch was mus masarup as usual. We had rice with chicken and beans, complimented by a sweet cherry cake. Oh and by the way, to our dearest parents, we do expect different cake with every meal. Straight after lunch, we travelled to the Greenhill Market to put our shopping and bargaining skills into practice. Mr. Beacham told us some scary stories so everyone was wary of guys asking us if we wanted DVDs. Everyone had lots of fun, some people getting a bit lost, but everyone purchasing something. It was really awkward getting money out of our travel wallets without too many people seeing the money that we stored inside. Some of us also had Starbucks before we left. 

Coming back to the Ministry Centre, everyone started packing. Mr Beacham had paid for us to have one shirt from the Centre's shop so shirts were flying as people tried to find the one that they specifically wanted. We then got the opportunity to support the Journey for Hope project, that meant we were able to buy some jewellery that was made by some of the women in the community who would otherwise be unemployed with no income to support their families. 

Our final dinner was Lechon Baboy: roast pig. We had some other Filipino delicacies that accompanied the delicious main course. Chris, our Filipino construction manager, hacked away at the pig, turning the meat into edible portions for us, the juices dripping down our hands. We headed to the Children's Home, where the Rehoboth people did the devotions again. This time it was Luke 9:11. It was particularly hard for us because was our last time with the kids to say our goodbyes. Kids were begging us not to go and stay with them. They created a card specially for us, to show our group that we were special to them. 

 Coming back, Rehoboth left to do karaoke, while the rest of us packed to leave in the morning. We also waited for the leaders to come back. Thankfully their flight left at the scheduled time and they have just arrived back at the ministry centre. :)

Thats all for today and we leave tomorrow so this is the last blog. We love and miss you, even though we would love to stay a little bit longer. See you when we get back!

Shout outs...

Johanna - Congrats Mum and Dad on your 25th wedding anniversary. 

Blakke- home soon! cannot wait to see you all xx

Debrief Info for families

The following pages are provided to resource you in receiving your students back home. Some of the information is directed to the family members and other parts of this information is directed to the students. We suggest that you print out these pages and re-read them several times to help you feel better equipped to help your student process the experience they have just had. We would also like to suggest that this printed material be handed to significant others so that many of your family are all working together to make the students growth and transition as smooth and possible. We have started the debriefing process aimed at helping prepare our students for some of the emotions and reactions that they most probably will experience in the coming days and weeks. It is a longer journey than we can hope to finish whilst away so we want to help you feel equiped to take up the supporting role that is needed at this time. It is our hope and prayer that you all enjoy the new person that is rejoining your home

Our hope in running this Philippines trip is to further equip these young people to became ‘extra-ordinary’ adults, and to grow a healthy ‘others’ mindedness. We also would like to assist families to pull together to share one another’s lives as we see this as vital in teaching all the children that move through Southern Hills Christian College. 

If at any time you feel like you need some assistance with your students re-entry please make contact with the college to arrange a chat or meeting with Pastor Pete.

Re-Entry Stress 
Definition:
                   Re-entry stress is like culture shock in many ways - only in reverse. While culture shock is associated with a sense of disorientation brought on by a new and unfamiliar environment, re-entry stress is precipitated by returning to a setting you presume to be familiar, but which in reality is no longer the same because you have changed.

It is the unexpected nature and subtlety of such change that will cause stress for your student. Your once familiar and comfortable environment no longer appears the same. Something definitely has changed. But you don't easily recognise just what has been altered.

Suddenly you find yourself out of phase with your own culture. Your reaction may come in the form of bewilderment, dismay, disillusionment and perhaps even irritation or anger. Somehow, "things are just not the way they used to be.", "nobody seems to care.", "nobody really understands.".

There are several contributing factors to re-entry stress. One is that you are being caught by surprise - you do not anticipate change and consequently are unprepared to cope. Another factor is value conflict. Your values, once taken for granted and even highly cherished, now seem of lesser significance or of little importance at all. Your way of thinking, your manner and your responses to many situations have been changing. Often these changes are not apparent until you are back in your own culture.

Common symptoms and effects of re-entry stress

1. Disorientation - feeling out of place, not fitting in

2. Feelings of loneliness, isolation, or being lost in the crowd

3. Restlessness - a desire to "get away" from those who don't seem to understand or care

4. Feeling that nobody understands your experience or that nobody cares

5. Feeling tired, listless

6. Critical attitude toward home country - its waste, extravagance, wrong way of doing things, etc.

7. Loss of identity - just "another cog in a big wheel"

8. Inability to communicate new ideas, concepts freely

9. Feeling of superiority - standing aloof from others because of your overseas experience

10. Feeling of dissatisfaction

11. Defensive in responses

12. Retreat, withdrawal, lack of concern

13. Unnatural, uncomfortable responses to "ordinary" situations

14. Confusion over conflicting attitudes and responses

15. Rejection of overseas experiences or a desire to forget and not talk about them

Basic Debriefing Tips for Family and Friends 

1. Listen, listen, and listen some more.
            Student  will have many emotionally laden stories to tell. The most loving response family and friends can have is to sit regularly, without time constraints, and listen until all the stories have been told (and re-told). One great way to spend time unpacking the trip for your student is to spend time with them over this blog and/or their Personal Journal. Move through day at a time, the stories will flow and will really help your student to feel heard and understood.


2. Expect the student to be a different person.
             Global experiences change a person. Encounters with poverty, a new culture, inability to communicate in an unknown language, and being an ethnic minority possibly for the first time will alter the way your student views and interacts with the world, including you and your family. Seek to discover the changes in your student and help him/her to make adjustments to living in Australia. Also allow the changes in your student to bring changes in your family, if your student has grown, then your family will have to grow to make it meaningful. Also your student may be experiencing grief at saying goodbye to people with whom they have connected. 

3. Help the student find places to share his/her story.
               Encourage returning students to speak at gatherings and help them to make contact with churches, youth groups and any other groups that would be interested in hearing about their experience. If a student does not like to speak in public, encourage him/her to invite family and friends over for small gatherings where stories and pictures from the trip can be shared.

4. Help students in their church and youth groups for service by encouraging them to:
a. Learn more about the nation they have just visited as well as any other nation they have on their heart

b. Commit to giving financially a regular portion of what they earn (a regular and defined portion assist people to fit their personal changes into regular life without it being forgotten or producing a fanatic) 

c. Consider planning the next year so that a similar trip can be taken soon

d. Study the Bible for, and lead Bible studies about, God’s heart for the nations 

e. Mobilise fellow students and friends to consider giving time and money to international mission service. 




Between Two Worlds: Returning Home 
            Dr. Miriam Adeney, a Christian anthropologist, tells her students that they "will never be able to go ‘home’ again. They will probably always leave part of themselves behind, and thereafter will be split. And home may be in more than one place. But that is the price they pay for the richness of having experienced more than one culture deeply."

Some suggestions for Christian Families:

1. Help your student to find other returnees (short-term volunteers, missionaries) with whom you can share and have fellowship.

2. Give your student time to readjust. Be patient.

3. Recognise and accept which transition stage your student is going through, and remember that "reverse culture shock" or "re-entry shock" is a normal part of the process of returning home.

4. Encourage your student to have a good sense of humor. Be aware, though, that your student could feel that you are laughing at him/her and the mission experience if you make too light of their experience or feelings.

5. Use this time of re-entry as a growing process for your family to learn about your student, the people group/culture in which your student served, and how you can continue to minister to the people group from home. Re-entry provides an opportunity for you and your family to become bi-cultural or multi-cultural people.

6. Express to your student what God has done in your life and your family's life during your student's time in another country. Possibly the changes God prompted were the result of your student serving internationally.

7. Help your student find opportunities to share the story of his/her international mission service. Examples of this can be a church service, Sunday School classes, or other groups.

8. Help your student learn to tell his or her story well. There are many tips to help people effectively tell their stories, please spend some time researching these.

9. Review the most significant changes that have occurred while your student was gone on mission. Talk through the events and changes, show pictures and videos of events, if possible, and discuss the implications of those events and changes on your student's future.

10. Talk with your student about his/her great expectations in returning home. How relevant and realistic are they? What are steps your student can take, and your family can take, to meet the realistic expectations?

11. Keep a clear perspective and remember that God is with you!

Conflicting Values 

Preoccupation with materialism
              Back in Australia, the desire for material comforts and possessions is a dominant theme. Are you prepared to face this fact if you are returning from a culture where people are content with little or have only the basic necessities of life? Has your sensitivity to basic human needs been heightened by your experiences abroad? What response might you have to affluence, waste or overindulgence?

Suggestions:

1. Do not be quick to condemn; realize that others have not had the same exposure to another way of life. Their preoccupation with "their world" as they know it is only natural.

2. Be prepared for a sensory bombardment if you are accustomed to simplicity in choice and lifestyle. An overabundance of goods, choices, etc. can overwhelm you at first.

3. Expect others to not fully understand how you feel when their "materialistic ways" strike you as sinful.

Doing things the "best" way
         This is often referred to as ethnocentrism. It's only natural that every culture values its ways. Is bigger, better, faster and more accurate really best? Do other cultures have something to offer us? Expect to receive blank stares or an air of disapproval from your compatriots if you question traditional ways.

Suggestions:

1. Be on the alert for a "holier-than-thou" attitude. Do not be too quick to judge others for their ethnocentric stance or to think that your way is the best way.

2. Share your perspectives, but at the same time avoid becoming involved in arguments . Do not allow yourself to withdraw or refuse to discuss matters because of opposition.

Personal worth and recognition
           Possibly one of the most difficult areas to address is personal fulfillment. Your questions may include: Was my service valuable? Will anyone recognize my contribution or my sacrifice? Will I be just another fish in a big pond? What will the situation be like upon my return? Quite likely you are returning from a position where you were the focus of attention, where you felt needed, accepted and loved.

Suggestions:

1. Do not expect to be in the limelight for long after your return. Some may ask to see your pictures, have you speak, etc., but soon you will be back to your "ordinary citizen" status.

2. Realize that your worth and recognition comes first from God. View your service as service to Him, not something with which to gain recognition and praise from others.

3. Do not allow yourself to feel hurt or sorry for yourself when people do not notice you or your service. God does. Look for ways to meet others' needs; this will help you take the focus off yourself (Phil. 2:3-4).

Day 12

Hey Guys!!

Last night we heard some awesome devotions from the students at Rehoboth about the story of Noah's Ark. They did a great play starring Josh Murray as Noah. We swear it was like being back in year nine Christian Living with his Dad as our teacher... taking the quite literal sense of the saying: "Like father like son." They did a great job and the kids at the children's home really got into it.

After that we took the kids up to bed and read them stories. Then off we went for our night activity. We went up to the pools at Faith Academy for another swimming session. We saw some pretty cool flips and dives from the guys off the diving board while Jo, Abi and Micaela did some AMAZING bombies (just to contrast their clean dives...). Mr Beacham had the great idea of a pool basketball game, Rehoboth vs Southern Hills. It was a very close and competitive game. We all enjoyed it a lot. As you've probably already assumed, Rehoboth got smashed by our amazing team!!

After that, the Southern Hills team (plus 1 Rehobothian) went to McDonald's and have some chill time, while the rest of the Rehobothians got a little lost and ended up coming back to the ministry centre. We caught some trikes back to the ministry centre to end the night activity. When we got back we had some journal and debriefing time as a team, then went to bed.

Today is yet another day on this Amazing trip! Seeing the changes in not only ourselves but our friends is awesome. This morning Mr Beacham was very generous and allowed us to sleep in till 7am :) We had a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, apples and bananas. Marilou and her team are doing an awesome job of feeding our massive group of crazy hungry teenagers! :D

After breakfast we headed down to the mango property to get our cement pouring on. Today we are planning on pouring the third floor. We cant wait to see it finished. We are all so proud of each others determination to see this building finished. Today was the Southern Hills Guy's last day of construction and we are determined to finish it. After this building is finished it is to be classrooms where the kids that live in this community can learn art and music, subjects we just take as a given in our Australian culture, but an awesome improvement for the local school.
At about 10 am Pastor Pete, Peter Janissen and Micaela got the opportunity to chat with Bec and Morro from 98.5 Sonshine fm about this trip and the impact that it has on us and the people around us. We are so grateful for that opportunity :) It will be aired tomorrow at 8:10am & 8:15am.  When we came out from the interview everyone had just come back for marianda of banana bread. It was amazing. Then it was off to some more exciting cement pouring :P

When the others got back for lunch it was very exciting to hear about how much they had done. We had chicken broccolini, rice, fruit salad and the best carrot cake ever!! It was awesome. After that the others all headed back up to do some more exciting cement pouring :P We wanted to head back up after lunch but Miss Kelly said I wasn't allowed -.-  Ironically she is now sitting across from us as she has been told that she isn't allowed to do anything either... PAY BACK TIME!! THANK YOU MS O'HARA (Aunty Jo Jo) AND MRS TIDY!! Haha. So here we are now writing this blog waiting for the team to come back and give us the opportunity to announce that we have finished the third floor................... FINISHED!! They did an AMAZING job! So proud of all of us!! It has taken a lot of energy to get to this point! YAY!!

We have had contact with the leaders in Mindanao, there flight has been delayed and they will hopefully be with us tomorrow, they are staying in the church tonight and are all safe and happy :)

We are having heaps of fun over here! We miss you all heaps though!!
See you when we get back :D
Love Micaela and Chenoah :)

Chenoah : Hello dearest Mum, Dad and Family, missing you all and i can't wait to see you on Friday :)
And yes some how on every over seas trip i go on i get sick, this time with a throat infection!! I hope everyone is safe at home. Love you all Chen XX

Micaela: Hey everyone :D I miss you guys all heaps, since last time I've found my hairbrush, so I am back to announcing I have lost nothing and the trip is almost over!! Can't wait to see you all on Friday! Love you all Micaela xx

Day 11

Since we last left ya'll we started our exciting day at the usual Beacham time of 5:00am. We weren't struggling as much today as we were excited for the adventures ahead of us. Although many of us are still battling slight sicknesses, we still rocked the small island of Corregidor's socks off. 

We travelled for roughly an hour by bus to a small jetty to board our 'plane seat' styled cruise boat; most of our crew slept. We then arrived at this tropical island paradise, surprisingly not shocked by the rubbish floating in the water or  the mountainous views. However we were shocked by the small amount of rubbish on land. We then jumped onto our cruise bus which had no windows, so the sights we saw were inescapable to our eyes. We toured through the lands held fast by our American and Filipino soldiers. The beauty of the green rainforest against the deep blue of the ocean was a delight to our cameras. 

Our tour guide was fantastic with his humour whilst still being serious about the amazing commitments that the Filipino soldiers made to protect their freedom (and our own), from the Japanese. We shared laughs and amusement throughout, stopping at the various ruins and cannons remaining at Corregidor. 

We had a fulfilling lunch at a local hotel, with strange coconut juice and a different creamy jelly desert, which most people avoided. Personally Emily and I enjoyed both of these local delights, whilst my fellow blogger Keegs did not. We then hit the road again to visit some more historical stunners like cannons embedded under 8ft of solid concrete, or cannons still with their shells in them, as if waiting for the next Japanese paratrooper to come along. 

We also stopped by the museum to see the relics including uniforms, canteens, medals, guns, swords, knuckle dusters, headbands, soldiers' dog tags, cutlery, money, bullets (of course), plus much, much more. The lighthouse was a lovely sight because you could see the whole of Corregidor from the top, the volcanic sands and the other four islands. 

As we have been constructing lately we understand how the cement walls have been built, using the long metal reo bar supporting the cement, whilst half the cement had collapsed from the various bomb blasts over the many years most of it was still standing. All I could do was feel sorry for the men who had too build these structures and the poor souls who had to defend and live in the building below and above the ground. The more recently built memorial was a beautiful feat of engineering. It was a white dome with a big round table in the middle of the vast surroundings which was designed so midday on 6 May the sunshine would perfectly illuminate the table. 

We also went on a small tour through a display tunnel. (Don't worry relatives it was safe.) featuring many black and white films and slide shows, light shows including still manicans and set ups, set like a play with a man speaking, many of us becoming jumpy as a "bomb dropped," causing rooms to shake and lights to blow. 

We ventured back by bus to our cruise ship and and were finally home to dinner, consisting of sheppards pie, garlic bread, salad and choc slice. We are soon to do our usual trip to the childrens home to sing, pray and put them to rest before school starts for them tomorrow, this is my favourite part of the day, as most of us are becoming really close with the children now. 

So far during our trip to Manila we have seen the juxtaposition of rich versus poor, conquered feeding programs with begging children with the look of desperation sparking in their eye, raised three and a half thousand Australian $'s to whip up simple care packages in one of the worst parts of the country; Smokey Mountain. We fed many mouths, helped smiles spread in random faces and for those few moments it felt amazing. Keegs and I worry about what they have coming for them and if they even have the chance of life, health, education and safety. Some days are hard, some are easy, but we all support one another. 

Today all I could think about was the change back in Perth as it's coming soon, the locals who always greet me as Tita Em, I may not ever see them again. But all we can do is smile at them and ask them how their day was. We can't ask them what they want to do when their older, or how old are their parents or even if they know their true birthday. It's amazing how happy they are, how thrilling it is to see how happy they are to just see us and give us a high five or a big juicy cuddle. 

The children here are our inspiration and motivation. We are here to help and here to make a change, time is almost over and their is still so much to do in this country. But their are only so many mouths we can feed with so many hands, with only one amazing guy like Beacham. Beacham keeps us going, he is firm but friendly. He is our leader, but also our guardian, we are so thankful to have him leading Reho and ourselves. Thankyou Manila and thankyou Mr Beacham for this heartbreaking and breathless experience in this mesmerising culture in this country. 

The people here are amazing, they always smile, wave and laugh at our lack of Filippino words besides Salamat. For instance, Chris one of our drivers and son of Artae Flow was in Jollibee with us and by just talking (in Tagalog) had the female cashier and her fellow coworkers fanning themselves from what we can guess were compliments. No matter the circumstances these people pull through happy. In Shakespeare's Hamlet he said, "To be or not to be, that is the question." The Filippino people are happy and love and embrace life with open arms despite their poverty stricken world. It just makes you think….

Peace Out

Emily A. and Keegan O.

Day 10

Howzitgoin ;)

Peter and Connor here with your latest update from the very cloudy city of Manila. Yes today we experienced our first taste of rain in this tropical climate. It was very much needed after the long hot days we have been experiencing, anyways what did we do today?

This morning we were inescapably woken up at 5.30am for an early breakfast to be up at Faith Academy by 6am, but it being Manila we didn't get there until 7am ;) so we wolfed down brekky and got up to the oval to set up for the second annual Southern Hills Invitational Soccer Tournament. This tournament is designed for the homeless children in and around Manila to be able to play in a competition and show their skills in a fun and safe environment. It was inaugurated by Southern Hills last year and the competition got much bigger this year. With 16 teams this year the location was moved to the fields at Faith Academy.

Our role on the day was to help set up and run the event. We were linesman, referees, ball catchers, drink runners, food servers and general helpers in our effort to try and help the day run smoothly. It was a very successful day with many teams competing and the level of skill for such young kids in both the under 12's and under 16's was very high. It was such a joy to see the smile on the children's faces as they were having fun playing soccer (on grass!).

During the lunch break there was an exhibition match between our Australian contingent and a highly skilled team of amazing Philippine players was held. (most of them played in the homeless world cup campaign) The previous year the Southern Hills team won the match last year, but sadly this year we were defeated 5-4, though with some very impressive efforts by Kurt, Pastor Pete, Kieran and Nic Dawson who scored in the match. During the game the heavens opened slightly and we were lightly rained on, which was so refreshing for the team, but made the pitch so slippery.
The second highlight of the day for our Australian teams were the 10 second pulled together Under 16 girls team (who were closeish to being 16!) who managed with a huge effort to win the championship game and took it all the way to a penalty shootout. They were nil all at half and full time, they played another five minutes to no avail and then they had three shots each to win the game. Everyones hearts were in their mouths as we waited, the first two goals on each side slotted. The next two the same, then it was the Filipinos turn and the shot narrowly missed hitting the cross bar and bouncing out, then it was up to our girls to take the next shot and win. As we all held our breath time slowed down and we watched the ball sail into the top left hand corner and we had won the game! It was an awesome effort by all the girls on the team who worked so hard to achieve this result and a special mention to the amazing coaching staff of the team, the fantastic coach Peter Janissen and the brains of the operation assistant coach Connor Ferguson. Without their undying will to help urge the girls to victory we might've had the cup slip through our fingers, but we held strong.

Once the competition had been all well and done, we packed up and headed home. We all had a quick dinner and got changed to go out to night church. We drove into the city and went to CCF and huge church in the middle of a shopping centre. It was an awesome service with pumping praise and worship and a very challenging sermon about conviction vs convenience. After we had left the amazingly air-conditioned auditorium we went to a local fine dining experience, Jollibee... It is a mix between Hungry Jacks, KFC and a weird Asian-Italian combination. We all tried a few different things, hash brown burgers, interesting floats and some rice dishes. After our culinary delights we hopped back on the vehicles and went back to the YMC for debrief.

We are now off to bed getting excited and pumped for our tour of Corregidor Island tomorrow...

Goodnight :)

Peter- Hi everyone still missing you guys and cant wait to be home, see you all friday morning hopefully :) love you all xx ps. Hi Brijee hope your feeling much better now and that your back at work now i am missing you and i cnat wait to see you friday i love you heaps xxxx

Connor- Hello Everyone having a good time again off to a island tomorrow to see some cool stuff going to be lot's of fun. Hello mum I hope everything is god at home and Cameron has been doing his jobs. Thats all for now until next time.

Day 9

Mae West said "You only live once (on Earth) but if you live it fully once is enough". We the Aussie team (Southern Hills and Rehoboth) have seen how true this quote really is and how it applies beautifully to the life we are living right now. Once again today has been so fulfilling as we are here doing what God ultimately wants us to do: to love and to cherish one another and to glorify him.

We woke up feeling pretty stiff after yesterday's full on day of hard work, however the kitchen mum's delightful breakfast (eggs, toast, mangoes and our favourite bread rolls) made it all better and filled us up with the energy we needed to get through another tough rotation of construction. We worked together with the Rehoboth team and got most of the swimming pool dug out!

No matter how small we may think we are, with God anything is possible. Today was one of those amazing days where we got to witness that first hand. The $3650 that we raised amongst the 42 of us bought soap, rice, shampoo, noodles, face washers, sardines, water, rice, crackers, combs, coffee and hand cream which will last the 350 families we gave them out to about two weeks!

After that was lunch which consisted of curry, rice, watermelon and chocolate cake and was Mas masarup! The second rotation of construction was held near the mango property where we managed to pour the floor of a basketball court for the community.

The feeling of giving with no expectations is like no other. We went to Navita, which is where the food parcels were handed out. The ride to Navita was long, tiring, hot and crammed but seeing the life of the locals pass by in a chaotic maelstrom, we felt incredibly fortunate to be sitting in van with clean clothes and listening to music with friends!

When we got to Navita, we were standing face to face with poverty: meeting some of the poorest people on Earth. Seeing the satisfaction on the faces of the people after getting their parcels was amazing! But on the other side of the coin, we couldn't feed every one in the big community and to look at the desperation on their faces was heart breaking. It made most of us stop and re-examine our own lives. We know that these people could have easily been us and out of all the people on earth if God chose us to be here, to help the poorest people and to witness the sufferings, then it's pretty clear that He wants us to do amazing things in our time on Earth. This was not chance, it is a plan made above.

And with that we carry on with the rest of our lives, keeping in mind that the love that we have for our neighbours won't ever be a dot but a line that stretches for the rest of our life both in Earth and Eternity.

God Bless

Southern Hills Manila Team