the philippines point-blank

Alright, it's Lisa reporting this time. We have had limited time to access the internet here in San Jose so we have left you all hanging a little on our adventures here. We'll just call it suspense...

Life as the minority is...interesting. I was reminded of this even more today because we had the morning off and us girls went around with Ate Merly to different stores and markets. People will stop everything they are doing to stare at us and call out "Maganda" which means "beautiful." It's a strange feeling but I suppose it's the norm here. It is a little hard to get used to people standing around, taking our pictures and reaching out to touch our white skin when they get the chance.

What a jam-packed week we have had! I'll have to keep this short because we don't have much time but I hope it will wet your appetite for more of our adventures and be a good start to know how you can be praying for us as a team.

I think most, if not all, of us were excited to finally get into ministry, the reason why we came. As fun as it was to fall off a Caribao and chase after a cute little piglet, this past week has been where the real challenges have come in. Our mission: music and arts workshop for around 30 youth. This was something that none of us had done before but the Lord gave us strength to make it through each day and we are all excited that we were able to teach the youth the different skills we have learned in keyboard, guitar, drums, voice, and dance.

After two cooler days of Typhoon rain, the sun shone yesterday for the mini-concert for family and friends and the kids performed the song and the dance we taught them. It was really beautiful to see the final product of all our work. I think my favourite part is hearing them singing our songs on their own time! I am confident that the talent we saw here in San Jose will be used to glorify God as they continue to develop these abilities.

Of course, this week hasn't come without its challenges. How do you relate to giddy girls who speak little English and only giggle when they are around you? How do we interact sensitively with the youth when homosexuality is often the norm in this culture? It presents quite touchy situations and as a team and individually, we have had to make a lot of sacrifices to be acceptable in the culture here so our ministry is still effective.

This coming week we are anticipating different challenges and we have been warned by our Filipino friends here in San Jose that we will struggle a lot this week. The reason: we get to spend a week in ministry in the slums of Manila! We need your prayers!

Please don't forget to pray for us when you think of us. It is the Lord that sustains us in this heat and culture shock and nothing else. Continue to pray for team unity because of the effect it has on our ministry. We love you and miss you all!