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