We made it!

We’re all here! By the grace of God and the prayers and support of all of our friends and family, everyone is finally here! After 5 flights, 6 airports, and 36 hours of travel, we all arrived in Davao Philippines on Friday, April, 20th. It has been a long journey but we’re all finally here…for most of us it is our first time in Asia, for all of us it is our first time in the Philippines, for five of our team it was the first time flying, and for Amanda it was her first time to lose her birthday into the black hole of traveling through time zones.
We were all extremely tired but also very excited! Friday through Sunday, we stayed in a house on the property of YWAM Davao. There we met the Director of YWAM Philippines who shared his passions about God’s heart for this nation. During the weekend, we also attended a cultural orientation, a baby dedication feast, exchanged currency into Pisos, performed a “mini” night-surgery on an injured base dog and tried to squeeze in some time to recover from jet-lag. On Sunday morning, our team split into two groups. Each group ministered at a local Filipino church. Our team of seven attended a very enthusiastic and youthful congregation. It was such a blessing to experience a new culture worshipping God in their own unique way. We worshipped with them and we were also given the opportunity to be involved by praying with the people, performing a drama, giving a testimony, and Jason preached a beautiful message from Mark 5:25-34 about God’s deep love for us and His desire for us to not only be cured physically through medicine but also to be healed spiritually, psychologically and relationally through His love and community during times of suffering.
It’s been a whirlwind of three days but we’re loving it here! Monday through Thursday, we are attending the 35th national conference of YWAM Philippines. We are here for three and a half days to celebrate the Filipino culture and learn about it’s needs. , the president of the Philippines, will speak to us tomorrow about her nation and God’s heart for these people. On Thursday we will leave Davao and move into a nearby slum to begin living with and working with the people within it’s borders.
Please pray for us as we move forward…