Greetings from hot and sticky Bacolod City! Ross informed me yesterday that we’re so blessed to have arrived during the cool season. *Cue deadpan stare*
Some of the stuff I’ve seen here is surreal: fields and fields of sugar cane, clouds low hung over volcanoes, Filipino children riding caribows (water buffaloes) and entire communities made of bamboo and sheet metal. I’ve got a list coming in the next few days of all the things that took me by surprise here, but I’m not going to post it until near the end of our trip.
Anyhow, here’s an update of our time here so far:
Sunday:
We took over the Sunday service at New Jerusalem Christian Chapel. The ladies gave their testimony in the ladies Sunday School, Tim led the kids class and Tres and the teens led the youth group class while pastor and I led the men’s Bible study. I think 7 people were saved on Sunday. After church we took the Victory Coach (the truck OVC helped them buy with room for 30 in the back) up to the mountains to drop off the kids. The stuff we saw up there was surreal: fields of sugar cane, kids riding water buffaloes, dilapidated old shacks made from sheet metal and bamboo with people bathing in rivers, and yet still with televisions and cell phones.
Monday:
This was our “day off”. We all slept in, then half the group went to the market in downtown Bacolod City, and the other half (including me) went back up to the mountains to make arrangements with the school administrators about a big event we’re having up there on Saturday. (Pray for that!)
Tuesday:
We drove an hour north to a town called Victorias where we had the opportunity to do a 3 hour presentation at a public school. Picture a huge dilapidated building with an open-air stage and nearly 400 kids crammed into a concrete courtyard. Ross gave introductions, the ladies sang Here I Am To Worship and Sanctuary, several people gave testimonies and then pastor gave the plan of salvation. At least 20 kids came forward for salvation. Then, we had a “game show” where we broke the kids up into several groups and asked them questions about the message. After handing out prizes and a closing prayer, we mingled with the group and met lots of kids. (One of them gave me a Bon Jovi DVD to remember them by!)
Wednesday:
We got up early and headed out to one of the largest public schools in the Bacolod City area. The kids were great there. We met with the freshman the first hour, sophomores the second hour, juniors the third hour and seniors the fourth hour, with 200+ students in each class. Introductions, testimonies, pastor’s message and then either the game show or poetry readings (depending on the class) and then we wrapped things up with me teaching the kids my song Immanuel. It was amazing how freely we could share the gospel at this public school. Almost 150 kids in each class stood to accept Christ! I can’t see hearts, but even if half of those decisions were genuine, thank God! (One of the boys asked me if I knew James Bond.)
Thursday:
We’re heading up to the Sunflower Village to work on a new church building that we’ll be dedicating on Sunday–Sunflower Christian Chapel. We’re putting up some rain shields for the “kitchen” in the church; you should see the system Ross rigged up to get running water: a big 5 gallon bucket attached to the bamboo wall that runs down to the faucet, and another bucket beneath it for a drain! Pray for us as we work on making inroads to the villagers there. The kids are very receptive, but the adults, especially the men, don’t seem to want anything to do with us. Even with the language barrier I can tell that they think we’re here just for the kids. Hopefully we’ll be able to do some things for them to show them that we want to help them, not exploit them. Oh, and today is Lorna’s birthday! We bought her a HUGE pot for cooking meals. I’m not joking, this pot is nearly 3 feet high, and Jared could easily fit into it. We got it for only $70! In the States, something like that would be several hundred dollars.
Friday, we’re scheduled for a study in the morning, and we’re taking Lorna out to dinner in the evening. Saturday we have a huge event up in the mountains: we have an all day event at the school up there. Jackie may even get to ride a water buffalo (or caribow as they call it) soon! Sunday is the dedication of Sunflower Christian Chapel and then Monday I think we’re going to do some shopping before we come home on Tuesday.
So, thanks for your prayers and be sure to remember us for the remainder of our trip!
~ from Bacolod City on the island of Negros, Philippines
