Genesis 1 Verse 1

 The Holy Spirit put it on my heart a couple months ago to begin reaching out to the kids in our neighborhood. I don't know much about most of their home-lives, but I know they play in the street in front of our compound every day. It really couldn't be an easier opportunity to love on people. They're out there almost every afternoon and they long for attention. Nonetheless, I voiced this to Josh and he really helped me put feet to the idea.

We started playing with them about 2 days a week. We now know most all their names and personalities and really look forward to our time with them. But we needed some structure in order to tell them about Jesus :)  We decided to lead these kids through the same scripture that we would lead lost adults through. Beginning with Creation and working our way towards Christ, we're telling these kiddos the stories of the Bible. They are memorizing verses and we play games, sing songs, and make crafts that help them apply the story to real life.   

We began this Monday with the creation story. On Thursday when we met again, they were so proud to share the verse they had memorized! Enjoy the video of these sweet babies (and I say that with the Spirit and Love of God in me. some of them really aren't very sweet :)  Pray for us to have patience as we tell them about Jesus. Pray for us to love them with all we can. Pray for the Holy Spirit to soften and awaken their hearts. Their Roman Catholic/Spiritist roots go deep. Pray for Jesus to be glorified on the streets of Maria Aurora.

"Nang pasimula ay nilikha ng Diyos ang langit at ang lupa." Genesis 1:1 

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Genesis 1:1

We recently experienced our first wedding in the Philippines. It was a sweet celebration and most definitely a lesson in this hot-culture in which we live. The wedding was set for 4pm. Us Americans and a few Filipinos from the big city arrived at 10 minutes 'til 4 to find that the bride and groom were no where to be found, the caterers were still cooking, and decorations were only being finalized. Finally about an hour later, the locals started rolling in and the bride and groom finally arrived. I thought back to our own wedding last summer and how all our guests arrived about 30 minutes prior to the ceremony and it began only a couple of minutes after the set time. We had set all the decorations in place early that morning haha.

What we learned (from this experience plus the help of the book Foreign to Familiar) was that Filipinos and people of similar cultures are event-oriented. This does not mean time is important, but rather experience and relationships. When they said the wedding started at 4, they meant the entire event started at 4. Helping the bride get dressed and decorating the site are just as important to each guest as the actual ceremony and reception. So in essence, the 'wedding' started at 4. Once things got rolling, the ceremony was very sweet and the food at the reception was so delicious. But most of all, we enjoyed the company of our warm Filipino friends.

Final decorations

Waiting for the Bride and Groom to arrive

Lovely Decorations

Happy Wedding Cake :)

The Bride's Auntee and Friends

They've arrived!

Dum dum dum dum

Cultural tradition to unite the couple

Yum Yum Yum

First wedding we've attended since our own!

The happy couple :)

Me, Lilia, and Monica

I invite you to consider our own American culture. Then seek to learn about other cultures around the world. You'll find there is much to gain from the way others view life.

Side Note: Please pray for Josh and I this weekend as we will be sharing our "love story" with a singles' group in our community. They're holding a love banquet in light of Valentine's Day and have asked us to share our testimony as a couple. Please pray the Holy Spirit will give us the words to encourage them to behold and delight in Jesus alone.

Monica is 21!!

I'm a little late in posting this, but Monica turned 21 on February 3rd! After the whole church sang Happy Birthday to her, we took her to the market so some of our friends could decorate for her surprise party.

Little Mermaid chocolate cake

All the Filipino children have these at their parties :)

Surprise!

Balloon hats

Baby Jeremiah

Playing cards

We were all giving 'special birthday wishes' to Monica!

Singing "Happy Birthday"...again :)

Spaghetti, Macaroni Salad, Spam, and Watermelon

Friends

Homemade Mango Ice Cream with Watermelon..Yummy

We are so thankful for Monica's life and for the Lord giving us the deep friendship that we share with her. We wouldn't want to be here with any one else :) Happy Birthday Monica!

Friend :

 a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection.

Eat all you can

Today we attended an "Eat All You Can" lunch fundraiser for our church plant in San Leonardo. They are raising funds to build a public comfort room (restroom) for the community. They sold tickets and prepared an incredible meal of some special Filipiono dishes. But better yet, the ladies decorated the church beautifully, played native music, and dressed up in traditional Filipino wear. We had a great time with friends and met some new people as well. Enjoy the pictures!

Lovely door greeters

Beautiful view behind us

Early birthday party for Monica!

They had balloon animals :)

Yummy!

Eating with family and friends

Pako, Okra, and Menudo

Gabi, Stew, and Bicol Express

Pancit and Lumpia.

Smile :)

Haha..

 

 

 

 

Sweet family that lives across the street from us

Friends

Meet Jelay

And Carl

Washing dishes

We had such a great time at the fundraiser. We are thankful to the Lord that the rain stopped long enough to eat and clean and that the whole event was a huge success. It will be such a blessing for this group to have a comfort room.