Day 8

Hey everyone!

The remains of group one here, (Blakke, Abi, Eva, Matt.P and Ms. Kelly :)) Our leaders have left to Mindanao as an extension trip. We all wish them a safe trip, full of amazing experiences and we look forward to what they can share when they come back!

As the Phillipinos are 'cray-cray' (crazy) about basketball, we travelled to a live game yesterday arvo. The team that we were rooting for consisted of awesome players, including Kirk Long, the son of Jeff Long's (the amazing guy who runs the ministry centre) these guys have won 24 games in a row and there's no surprise to say that these guys won again!

Dinner was, as usual ''mas masarup''(very delicious) so we thank the kitchen mums for their amazing effort. This continued by the near-legends in group 5 (dominated by us, group 1) who led the devotions at the children's home.  From there it was good night to the kids and big good bye to our leaders. For the night activity we were told by the Beach-man that we were going to be rewarded for all our hard work which was a complete under-statement as we got treated to a pool and a spa followed by an hour long massage. Nikky D and Conner had a unique experience as they got the only two male masseurs. We returned home for a debrief and got to hear Kieran's testimony which was very inspirational. It was then bed time and lights out!

Today we rose at 7am for an interesting apple crumble/muesli breakfast and got to try a Philippino desert, Taho. Eva shredded them down where others where cautiously tasting. Again we went of to construction in the ministry centre where in the pool pit we worked like machines getting a vast amount of dirt and gravel shovelled. This led to a mud fight between the guys who where in the pit and they all ended up looking like giant chocolate mud cakes :P

After merianda (morning tea) we all went on a feeding program together and as this is a public holiday there were way more kids than expected, we eventually ran out of balloons which once again broke our hearts to see them disappointed.

And again lunch was just divine, consisting of sweet and sour chicken! We then had another rotation of construction for an hour in which we filled up a whole truck of mud and gravel together! As a reward we got to rest for a while. Some of us played board games, some of us caught up on sleep but mostly we all just bonded even more with one another through God even more! (which we didn't think was possible as we were already so tight!)

The Rehoboth School crew just arrived to join us and hopefully we will share good fulfilling memories and forge some friends for life during our time together. :)

Keep us in your prayers :) love from group 1 :)  xoxo

PS. our internet was not working until this morning so sorry for the late posting!!

Day 7

Hey guys, group 5 hereeee :)

(Tat, Elliot, Annerlisse, Colin, Connor and Emily Kerr),

Since the previous blog, quite a lot has happened. Dinner last night consisted of delicious chicken parmigiana, rice and butterscotch cake! We headed off for devotions which was lead by group 4. The kids sang a few songs to us which was a good way to end the night. 

We went back to the ministry centre and prepared for Pastor Pete's haircut and shave. Out of all the 42 people, we raised an incredible $3500. The money we raised will go towards a feeding program at Trash Mountain on Sunday. Pete's "luscious" locks and beard were gone, and he now looks like a completely different man! 

For last night's night activity, the groups split up. Some travelled to our destination by jeepney (a long jeep-like vehicle; a very common source of transportation in the Philippines), and others walked and caught a trike (a motorbike with an attached side carriage). We rocked up at a supermarket and each group was given 500 pesos, where we could buy snacks, drinks and all other wondrous delights. Us legendary group 5ers bought an ice-cream each, a drink each, a packet of Doritos, Oreos and MnMs. It definitely felt weird eating these sorts of foods because we haven't had much of it since being in Australia.

Those who travelled to the supermarket by jeepney, walked back to Jolibee (a bad fast food place) and caught a trike, and vice versa. So everyone really did get the best of both worlds ;)

Day 6

Howzitgoin.

Well, Group 4 is back on the blog.

Last night it was Jamie's birthday party at a karaoke hall. The Beached Ham put our singing prowess to the penultimate test and group 4 stepped up to the plate and smashed out Teenage Dirtbag. We have been practicing at every available moment, much to the enjoyment of the people around us. Mr Beacham busted out the Freddy Mercury, it bought a tear to his own eye,  not really but there were dogs barking in the distance . Our group was not the only one to bust out some lyrical greatness, with hits including Sk8r boi, Bohemian Rhapsody, I'm yours, Let's get it started and according to Karaoke tradition we sang We are the champions to finish. Our singing was described as "rainbows touching pots of gold on the hills where the unicorns lay."

Some of us woke up with sore throats and Matt couldn't speak. Wake up was at 4am this morning as we had to leave early to arrive at the Pagsanjan falls. It was a beautiful two hour drive over the mountains. Everyone slept on the bus and the driver had to listen to snores and screams from the Godfather (Mr Puzey) who suffers from ferocious night terrors. The bridge that we usually take to the falls was broken so we all piled on to a party boat and raved our way up the river. On reaching the falls we got in to groups of three and put on life jackets and helmets and then jumped on to our canoes. Matt, Connor and Mr Beacham had a faulty boat that couldn't balance so it was always full of water. Every boat had two Filipinos who pulled us up rapids using their legs to propel us off rocks and push us further up the river.

When we reached the top of the river, we piled on to a bamboo raft that ended up under water with the weight of us Aussies. We were pulled under a massive water fall with the water pummelling us and the guides thought this would be a good time to take photos. The cruise back down the rapids was a lot easier for the Filipino paddlers.
Upon our return, our hard work of relaxing in canoes was rewarded with a buffet lunch which included, vegetable soup, fried chicken, fermented cabbage, spring rolls, spicy broccolini and spinach and rice. It was scrumptious.

Then we all piled on the bus for another two hour trip with more snoring and night
terrors. Then Mr Beacham forced us to have an afternoon nap, which was well deserved after doing nothing all day.

In the afternoon we did rotations which involved feeding program, children's home and preparation for the devotions tonight at the children's home.

Bucketeers signing off.

#godfather #bucketeering #nightterrors #sano #MattandPeteareamazingsingers



Micaela - Hey Guys!! This trip is AMAZING!! I am unable to announce that I havent lost anything as my hairbrush has disappeared.... :P haha
I miss you guys all so much! Love you all heaps xx

Keegan - Hello all, missing you.. especially those who are currently living in my abode... I love you lots and I am thinking about not coming home :D jokes guys, dw. love you xx

Matt- Whassup peep dogs. I hope you guys are crying every night without me. love you all heaps and I can't wait to see you all again.
Corinne, I love you and I'm a fat little baby and I ......(you know the song...)
and I hope you had a great time in Bali.

Mrs O'Hara/A. Jojo/Mum - Big hello's and lots of love to Kait, Alex, Liv, Hanna, Beth, Mum and the rest of the clan. Also a big hello and lots of love to everyone at Southern Hills. Missing everyone but having a fantastic time and enjoying all the activities and especially enjoying the building - a bit of a change to my normal activities :)
Missing you all, take care and God Bless xxx

Emily Pyke - Hi dearest family, boyfriend, and friends! I am having a fantastic time! I have the coolest group (bucketeers), the weather has been rather nice, been having heaps of fun, and Pete C and myself have been saving lives left, right and centre :P. The food has been amazing so I have put on about 20kg. Glorious.
Much love to you all.

Peter- Hi family howzitgoin! missing you all heaps! i've probably put on like 10kgs already and im toning well up ;)hope you guys are still missing me and not selling off my room already, ill see you all real soon.btw i have some awesome as news when i get home ;D love you guys heaps and heaps! ps hi brijee im missing you so much and thinking of you all the time! i love you so much and cant wait to see you real soon :) xxx

Jessie- Hey to my super duper awesome mum,dad, sister, gran and gramps, my second family and everyone else! :) absolutely loving it here, having the most incredible time with the best people :) can't wait to tell you all about it when i get home. Missing you all so much and can't wait to see you all next week! :D Love love love xxxxxxxx P.s. Dad, I'll be expecting that money once i step off the plane :P

Day 5

Since we last left you we have...

Laughed, cried, sung songs, consumed gross foods (delicacies), worked hard, fed the needy, gone to Starbucks, heard testimonies, built foot paths, dug holes, read to children, moved apartments, experienced new things, been inspired, felt our hearts break, oh and Nic Dawson finally ate a mango!

Last night after the blog had been written we sat down for another round of amazing dinner, how does home made lasagne sound? Because it tasted mas masarup!! Then came the nightly devotions at the children's home led by Kieran Burne and the rest of group 2. We learnt about "Good ol' Daniel" and the lion's den. We attempted to calm the kids down and put them to rest through the reading of bed time stories.

The group headed back to base and Mr Beacham started to smile... not a good sign! On the table was a number of dishes all covered but we knew something wasn't right. It was time to taste some true Filipino cuisine! Entree was skewers of fried pigs intestines followed by pigs lungs (also skewered) we switched animals and went on to eat chickens feet and then moved to the other end of the bird (the head, brains and all). The main course attempted by some brave souls who couldn't have a taste bud between them was none other then balut! A hard boiled egg containing the embryo of  14 day old chick. A few legends managed to keep their serving down with Chenoah and Eva leading the way, while others complained that theirs was undercooked and left a foul (fowl) taste in their mouth! To get the taste out of our mouth we jumped in the vans and headed to Starbucks, Pastor Pete is beginning to get used to the Manila way of driving! Frappes all round were certainly needed and very much appreciated.

For our own devotions and daily debrief we headed to the church just down the road. Jamie Mellor shared his life story, it moved many of us as we heard the trial and tribulations he has recently gone through. Then came the challenge; don't waste your life! After the day we had and the experiences we had been through this challenge hit many of us hard. As some of the group members overcome by emotion could do nothing else but sob others prayed for those who have quickly become brothers and sisters, the team is now a family not just a group of school students

After a physically and emotionally draining day we hit the sack which brings us to today. A pancake breakfast welcomed us as we went straight into group construction. The group went hard again and was able to put down 2 slabs a pillar and half a wall. We headed back to the ministry centre for merianda where we were treated to banana lumpia a favourite of Mr Beacham and Mellor.

This lead us to the various daily rotations each group undertakes. It was an especially heart wrenching experience for those that undertook the feeding program. They headed to the river flood way and were instantly confronted by death, sickness and severe poverty. While trying to make the final balloon animals one popped, this served as a catalyst for the group as many felt their emotions deflate and broke down in tears. Some things will never be forgotten, this experience is certainly one of them.

Lunch had a different atmosphere as the groups came back from rotations and shared their experiences over a plate of chicken curry. We reenergised enough to go another round at construction. This time we were helping dig out a pool. This task was started by the team last year and some of the boys underwent the task of finishing it off. At the end of their shift they looked more like mud monsters, something their parents have probably said before.

As the group was busy digging other members were off helping move furniture from one apartment. Not an easy task as carrying a fridge down a flight of stairs with no assistance of pulleys or trollies is not something we do on a regular basis. However, the work put in by those who helped was very much appreciated and rewarded with Gatorade and Mountain Dew.

As we finish off the blog the team have returned from another round of rotations which include; feeding programs, swimming lessons, cleaning and working at the children's home.

Many of you may have seen the piece written about our trip in today's West Australian. There has been an overwhelming amount of response with phone calls and messages to the school in support of the work we are doing. If you haven't read it but would like to please click on the following link

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/15488086/leavers-leave-legacy-to-slum-kids/

This is group 3 ( DEAN MACHINE) signing out with a few final updates.


Mango Report - Nicky D = 1
CR Report - Peter J = 13 Matt Hansen = 12 The other twin = 4
Happy Birthday to Jamie Mellor.
Pretty sure Mr Beacham cried again today :).



Peace and Love

Nic James Dawson, Dean Hansen, Johanna Noppers, Emily Adams, Enna Brazell, Amy Watermann, Nic James Butson.


- Shout out to friends and fam. Can't wait til you get here Phoebs. NB

Jo - Hey everyone hows it going? Miss you guys heaps but am loving everything over here. And i haven't got sunburnt yet! Love you all and seeya soon

Amy- Hey to all my family, miss all you guys but i am having a great time and learning and experiencing so much. Lots of Love, see ya later :)

Enna- Hello to all of my family and friends. Having so much fun here and wish you guys could experience the things that we are. Take care and see you guys later.

Emsycat- missing everyone at home, learning so much over here and developing so many friendships, sorry if i don't come back, Manila is a blessing x

Dean- Howsitgarn fam, missing you folks, hope you had a good time in Singapore, the other twin says hi. It's been good and I can't wait to share my experiences with you. Love you lots, catchya later.
P.S My balut was undercooked, i wanted medium rare and i got rare. #FWP

Day 4

Last night's dinner consisted of a lovely Potato Bake, some fresh salad, and chocolate cake. After the food was consumed and the dishes were washed, we journeyed to the Children's Home to perform some Devotions, a task that was left to Group 3. Their devotions included a comical drama that was none other than David vs. Goliath, where Eva dominated Blakke in a classic battle of the ages. Songs were sung to lift our spirits - including Shout to the Lord and This is my Desire. We were blessed to have the children sing to us - performing an unknown but enjoyable song.

After our devotions, we were given the task of putting the children to sleep - as we read them books and prayed with them, they became rowdy, leaving us with more than a handful on our hands. It was harder for some then it was for others, as a "Killer Giant Cockroach" assaulted Rebecca and Chenoah, although they were saved by none other than Jamie Mellor, who displayed some Mr Beacham level moves and made the Cockroach Yip. When the children were settled and the killer cockroaches were killed. We returned to the Ministry to begin our night activities.

The group was told that the next night activity would require us to bring a light jumper and possibly another pair of socks. Although we were deceived by none other than Mr Beacham, as he took us to Robertson Cinemas to watch the latest James Bond movie; Skyfall. We encountered some pretty funky popcorn flavours - including Sour Cream, Cheese, Barbecue, and the classic butter. However, it was somehow illegal to sell straws with our drinks.

Skyfall was a blast - we sat in awe as none other than James Bond displayed some intense techniques, including (spoiler alert) riding along the rooftops of a bazaar on a motorcycle, and annihilating a group of men with only a rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol. But, it was not enough, the Mr Beacham now affecionately known as "The Ham" got sick of seeing James Bond use moves that he created, causing him to fall asleep through the film. After the film was over and James Bond shot up his old home, we returned to the Ministry and went to bed at the insanely early time of 12am.

Mr Beacham was horrible and woke us up early (7am) after the late night. Some of us had an early shower followed by a breakfast of toast, fried eggs and pineapple. After breakfast we began our first rotation of building; again Mr Beacham brokedown in tears at our amazing progress - as if that was possible :) with everyone dripping with sweat it even looks like mr Beacham was crying.

2 groups went off to a place called tent city for food distribution.  It is a re-location facility for Filipino's who have been displaced because of natural disasters.  It was very confronting for many of the team members as they were swarmed by people wanting food and balloon animals.  It's hard to imagine being moved from an area you have lived your whole life in to the middle of nowhere without any ammenities or opportunities for employment.  It was a very depressing sight which caused may of the team members to breakdown or get angry with what they were seeing.  Although we weren't able to do much it was nice to help a bit.

Back to our group our fearless leader overexerted himself - the Luggosaur (Chris Lugg) carried so many  buckets at the same time: Causing Chris to make skyfall look like Dora the Explorer. Morning tea was "Philippino concrete"- Babinka.

Our second rotation was at the school and Library. Rebecca helped in the special needs class where she met a 23 year old named Abby who was learning to distinguish between c and k. Chenoah helped in year 5, Chris and Cameron helped in year 6, Kieran in year 4 and Jack and Nic also in a different year 4 class. Then the children read us books in the library.

lunch was another Filipino dish called chicken Adobo - a rice dish with chicken and potato followed again with more cake and cucumber.  After our main break for the day when went back to building site (new school classrooms) and we went crazy and got so much done it was amazing.  We were divided into three groups concreting, cement rendering and shifting huge amounts of clay and rubble.

Afternoon tea break (merianda) consisted of coconut and cinamon biscuits and the last afternoon rotation consisted of us writing this blog and preparing for running the devotions at the kids home tonight.  We have no idea what the night activity is but knowing mr Beacham it will be some weird and wonderful activity.

Bye and goodnight from group 2

Day 3

Day 3

Mr. Beacham was feeling very gracious again this morning letting the team sleep in til 7 am. Today being the sabbath, we got dressed in our "Sunday clothes" to enjoy a well prepared breakfast of boiled eggs, Filipino bread and pineapple. Church began at 8 and the Filipino's welcomed us with open arms. The service was heart warming and gave everyone the opportunity to unite before God with the other filipino people. We got to meet people from all over the world who shared our desires to praise the Lord and make a difference in the hearts and lives of the locals.

 One of the students was particularly touched when a the Filipino woman sitting next to her asked her to pray for her only daughter Ria's safe delivery as she is expecting in early January.

At 9:30 after Church we had a break until 11am where we were greeted with another "mus masarap" meal by the lovely kitchen mums.

We did something very different this year; we visited "Trash mountain" which is a community full of poverty stricken people who are forced to live on the mountain of rubbish and who try to make ends meet by scavenging through the rubbish in hopes of finding anything of value.

It was humbling seeing their gratitude in what little we had to give them. We gave them food, water, sporting equipment, pipe cleaner figures and balloon animals. Although we struggled with the concept that we couldn't give them more, Pastor Pete wisely said "Don't let the things we can't change, stop you from changing the things you can change." It was amazing to see their faith in God despite the chaos of their lives.

On the bus journey we were blessed with the view of an incredible scenery which once again made us realise how great God's creations are and it's not a question of whether he made it but how he made it. However we also saw the tin houses, the ladies washing their clothes in the sewage streams and working hard not to afford luxuries but just for survival.

We arrived home to marianda (afternoon tea) waiting for us and concluded the days incredible journey by writing in our journals and sharing thoughts on the experiences encountered throughout the day. After which we watched in inspiring documentary about a Canadian athlete who lost his leg due to cancer but ran many marathons with an artificial leg to raise money for cancer research. (He raised half a billion $$!) This showed us how much one person can do despite the hardships of life.

All in all its been a good day,
group 1, over and out :)

Day 2

Howzitgoin! :) Day 2 already!!!! Arrgh

It is our second day on the trip. Mr Beacham was nice and gave us a sleep in until 7 am (even though the boys were up by 6.30). We had a scrumptious breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast with mango jelly (jam). After brekky we all headed up to the 'mango block' and smashed out a couple of hours of building, clearing land, cementing, rendering and transported the dirt elsewhere. This is all contributes to the building of 4 brand new classrooms. This was an awesome building exercise and Beacham wept tears of joy at how amazing Matt, Pete, Jessie and Kurt were (we guess everyone else did alright ;) ). Nick D was getting in touch with the local wildlife when he kissed an ant and got munched on by a lizard. While others tackled blisters, muscle cramps and the sweltering heat and humidity.

For merienda (meal break) we had Krispy Kreme Donuts then we continued on to our first rotations for the trip. These included swimming lessons in the new pool, a visit to the children's home and prepping for the feeding program by which we smashed out in a major group effort. Matt and Pete dominated in frisbying pencil packets and Kurt hit at least everyone twice in the head with an assortment of objects as we sorted through the mountain of donated stuff we carried over with us. We were all blown away by the amazing donations and we are all so thankful for the hundreds of people that contributed! (You all know who you are)

Next was our scrum-didly-umptious lunch which was chicken, black bean and rice. We all chill banged (relaxed) for a while and then smashed out another hour and half of building. This time there was more cementing, casually laying a road, cleared more land and lifted bricks to make walls. Mr Beacham was again reduced to tears and was sobbing on his knees at our bucketeering skills (inside joke).

Afterwards we had merienda which involved cheese whiz on skyflakes (Australian equivalent: cream cheese on salada's). We continued on with our group rotations which was the same as the morning ones, swimming lessons, children's home and blogging/devotion prep for the children's bed time tonight. We lovingly enjoyed our showers and chilling under the fans while everyone else worked. Dinner's still a mystery because we haven't had it yet.....??????

#Group4 #Beachamcrying #MattandPeterandJessandEmilyandKurtandKeeganandMicaelaruletheworld #dominatinglife #bucketeers

Matt- hows it going? love ya mumma. Have fun in Singapore without me. Buy me something cool and I'll think about buying you something groovy. love you all xoxoxoxoxoxox (except jono) (lol jokes)
Hi Corinne, love you heaps xx

Jessie- Hi everyone hope everything is well :) loving it here once again :) lots of love xoxoxoxo P.s. All the best Gabs for Monday night and leavers! :) Matt is disappointed you didn't invite him to your presentation night hahaha.

Peter- Hi guys, having so much fun and I'm working hard making concrete and building walls you would all be proud. missing you all heaps! also working on my tan at the moment ill be the darkest when I'm back ;) love you guys so much and cant wait to tell you all of my stories. ps Hi brijette I'm missing you heaps and heaps and ill see you really soon i love you heaps!!! xxxxx

Keegan- Hey, I am having fun and I love the culture, cheese wiz is awesome!! Just a shout out to my chocolate bear, Livi, Kaiti and Alex (STUDY HARD). Mum says hello and lots of love to everyone. Don't die, pay the bills and please don't have too much fun without me, although I am having a blast without you :D love Keegan xoxo

Micaela- Hey Guys!! :D I'm loving Manila! I miss and love you all heaps! Cant wait for the rest of this trip!!! So PUMPED!!!!!!!!  I'm glad that you the house is quiet now I'm gone haha :P I am proud to announce I have not lost anything!! Love Micaela xx

Day 1

sorry we have had a few technical difficulties but we are finally able to post information

Day 1


hello :) This is the Manila crew signing in for the first time after zero hours of sleep. Irene, Tat, Jessie and Amy (us cool second timers) and here to reflect on our arrival in the Philippines.

We arrived at around 2:30pm, confronted by one of Manila's regular heatwaves while waiting for the bus. The drive was about an hour and we were faced with Manila's devastating poverty and pollution. there was an obvious change in culture in comparison to Australia. The traffic, the people and the environment were completely different to Australia's chilled lifestyle.

For us second timers, it almost felt like "deja vu" seeing the walls of the good ol' Ministry. It was the same but different: definitely a weird feeling being back!


When looking back on last year's trip, it was a really good feeling seeing the enormous progress that carried on after our two weeks of work last year. The pool that our group started digging last year is now completed and another one is now under construction. The foundations that were started and dug last year have now turned into an amazing 3 story building with 9 new classrooms, 2 accommodation areas and a playground area for the kids.

It was really encouraging to see the kids at the children's home, who we got to know last year, recognise us and want to play with us again. It was also nice seeing the kids get to know the other group members.

After saying good night to the kids we went to our night activity. We packed into a bus and a small van and squeezed our way through the Manila traffic to a place called World of Fun at Santa Lucia Mall, 5 stories of shops and eateries, quite a contrast from the community around the ministry centre.

When we arrived back at the ministry centre we all had our small group debriefs and then a whole group session. We washed and then we quite deservedly went to bed! We looked forward to the best sleep we have had in the past 50 hours!

Day 1 finally up and day 2 will follow very soon! Thanks for your prayers and blessings from home.