Philippines 2019_Day 6_Friday

Hazel

Friday marks the last morning devotion with the lovely children and youth in San Isidro. It’s my favourite time of the day where all of us are gathered, to worship God and study His word. Seeing the children eagerly and orderly waiting for devotion, and then worshipping whole-heartedly every morning, has been a moving experience for me. It reminds me of the need for childlike faith; and that single focus on God even when we do not understand certain things. His promises and words are always true.

With breakfast over, we packed up and journeyed to Santa Monica, an island for the final dental and clinical visit. Paige and I shared at the Santa Monica Church. I gave a sharing on unconditional love and building a personal relationship with God. Paige continued the sharing, ended it with an altar call at which some of the villagers received Jesus into their life. While part of the team were helping out with the dental and clinical service, some of them were praying for healing to those who had pains or aches.

God healed! We witnessed a lame woman who walked in to the church with the assistance of a walking stick was being healed after the team and volunteers joined faith to pray for her! It is amazing seeing Jesus works miraculously in our midst; we know it is not by what we did, but God works in bringing back the people to His Kingdom.

The teamwork is so strong and how things just fall into places! What a blessing to work alongside such a great team (both BLi and River of Life Ministry in Philippines! This trip definitely influences the way I think about my place in God’s kingdom and its effect on the world. Thank you BLi team!

Paige

Today was the last day of our clinic outreach situated in a village called Santa Monica. It is a beautiful island hugged by crystal clear water and beautiful rock formations and palm trees. As we were walking towards the church, the locals greeted us with a warm smile as they stopped their tracks playing basketball. It was a really hot day but patients were already lined up to be seen. We set up the dental, medical and pharmacy stations like usual. Hazel and I were assigned to do some sharing for waiting patients which was also my first time speaking in front of the locals. 

As I was preparing for this sharing, I struggled to find Tagalog words to articulate the message I’ve planned to share some time ago. All of a sudden, nerves got to me and I was so sure I wouldn’t be able to speak anymore. During a moment of panic, God spoke to me through the story of David in Samuel 17:38-39. I knew straight away that God was calling me to come as myself and not to wear an armour that didn’t fit me. In the end, I shared the Gospel and my testimony in the only way I knew at the time. In broken Tagalog. Yet God’s word and the Holy Spirit surpasses human understanding and language. After sharing, around 15 people came forward to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour of their lives! 

We’ve seen God perform lots of miraculous healings. But the one I’ll never forget was the woman we prayed for in Santa Monica. I remember her face so vividly when she first entered the clinic. She walked in with a thick wooden stick to support her steps and her eyes looked blank and despondent. Despite feeling unprepared, I just knew the Holy Spirit was prompting me to pray for her. Little did I know, Jason from the dental station received a vision of pillar of fire and came over to pray for me as I was praying for the woman. All of a sudden, all the Tagalog words I never knew flowed through my mouth. We just knew the Holy Spirit was at work. Afterwards, Edwina encouraged the woman to try her steps, and praise God she was able to walk again and even dance! She then received Jesus as her personal Lord and Saviour and repented for the unforgiveness she had in her heart. What also struck me was the complete change of expression in her face. She no longer had this empty sad look in her eyes, but eyes that were filled with (tears of) joy, love and peace!

Rice Mill

Jason

Arriving home from the Island, we took a detour to visit the rice mill - a partner led project fundraised by BLi sponsors. It stands as a 2 storey concrete construction hidden amongst the natural green jungle forestry. Sacks of brown rice lay around the ground floor and we hear how the mill has been constructed by the local team. A ladder leads to the second floor where a single opening between the wooden beams allows for the brown rice to enter the mill machinery. The machine rumbles as they turn it on and demonstrate the mechanical movements. The machine removes the rice husks and separates the bran from the rice grain.

Whereas previously the husks were individually removed by hand which sometimes took the orphanage up to two hours to do, this can now be done in 10 minutes mechanically. Similar to the tractor, it reduces the labour time and enables a move away from subsistence farming. We pray it enhances the life of the villagers and is a blessing to the village community.

Power Generator Sponsorship

Edwina

Running a kettle, stable lighting and the ability for a fridge to stay cold is something that we had always taken for granted. However, throughout this week, the electricity in the orphanage kept cutting off and the back-up generator had not been able to sustain the flow.

We found out that the ROLM team had had this generator for many years, and that due to wear and tear, the electricity had kept tripping. Each time, the boys had to keep going to the generator shed to try and kickstart it again. This was not just about turning on a switch but it was arduous work for them and required multiple attempts.

With the sponsorship funds we had from generous sponsors, we managed to provide them with finances to get a new generator and no words could describe the joy they showed when that piece of news was broken to them. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to all generous sponsors for helping provide for their needs!