Howdy, y’all!
Friday was our third day here in Davao, and it was quite the charm! To give a quick, skeletal summary of our schedule that day, we started our morning with the usual 7:30 morning QT and breakfast with the Yims. While finishing up our meal, the team was informed that in order to enter Ateneo de Davao University, the intended campus of the day, the girls needed to wear pants at or below the knees and shoulders needed to be covered for both sexes; a little later, we made the necessary changes and were ready to head out! As we arrived to Ateneo, we were denied access because of our attire; on top of what was mentioned above, the boys had to wear long pants and no one could wear sandles (of course all of us were). Much like day two, our plans were altered, so we ministered to students on the streets once again.
To give a glimpse of what the outreach was like, I will provide bits and pieces of my own experience. For the second day in a row, Pastor Jun and I tag-team’d and focused on prayers of affirmation, original design, encouragement, and even reminders; put simply, our focus was listening to God and speaking truth into the lives of the Ateneo students. Our poster asked the question, “Are you free?” and as expected, many students assumed that we were asking in respect to time. That, however, was not the case. By posing this question, we intended to delve into issues deeper than mere time; we were talking about worry, stress, dos and don’ts, limitations, restrictions, imprisonment. . . CHAINS. Based on the conversations we had with students, PJun and I noticed that in life, a myriad of students are chained down and restricted by exams, family, the future, and a more sobering one—religion. PJun and I gently began to point out these strongholds in their lives and added that as children of God, we were neither created nor intended to live a life under the lordship of such things. Scripture corroborates this in Galatians 3 saying, “Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?” Paul makes it clear that it is not our works or our obedient observance of the law that pleases God or secures Salvation. Rather, these things enslave us and inhibit us from enjoying the liberation that Christ brings. Galatians 5:1 says, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
During the lunch break, the team continued our outreach in a nearby food court called City Triangle, where most students spend their lunch hour because of the AC. After a couple of hours of evangelizing and eating lunch there, we headed back to USEP and this time, we were able to enter the campus by God’s sovereignty. I want to share an encounter that could be considered negligible to some, but I am certain that it displays God’s sovereignty and hand at work. That night, we were planning to meet at the local McDonald’s to share life and a meal with some of the students we had met from USEP and Ateneo. For some reason, however, the three girls PJun and I had met the day before had not received the text message we had sent out notifying them of the location and time. Nonetheless, by the grace of God, I encountered them on campus and was able to remind them of the event. There are hundreds of students on the USEP campus, so it was a miracle and testament of God’s sovereignty that I was able to meet them once again.
To continue, the McDonald’s outreach started out a little shaky; there were maybe two or three students who showed up on time. Again by God’s sovereignty, however, students came rolling in by groups of two or three; I think there were about 15-20 students that night. Praise God for his goodness and its capacity to bring hearts together on a Friday night at a McDonald’s when the students could have spent those few hours studying for upcoming exams that Monday.
The McDonald’s outreach lasted roughly three hours, and as we finished, we said our final farewells. For dessert, the team headed out to try Durian. For those of you who have tried it, you can sympathize with our olfactory senses, and for those who haven’t, I suggest you try it at one point in your lives . . . just for kicks.
And finally, to end the day, we put together goody bags with the Pastor Yim and his wife to give out to the children at VBS the following day.
On Saturday, Missionary Yim and his wife took us out to Paradise Island, a beach and resort, to show off Davao. It took roughly 15 minutes by car, and another 10 minutes or so on a fairy to reach the resort. We stayed there for a few hours, played in the water, swam, ate a delicious meal, and headed back to prepare for the rest of the day.
Upon our arrival, the church was already filled with kids of all ages and a few of their mothers as well. We came in under the impression that we would have about an hour to prepare; however, we had to begin earlier than scheduled. With Janet leading praise; PJun giving a sermon; Johnny leading games; myself leading crafts; and Sarah, Andrew, and Linda helping out in any and every way, we were still very unprepared. Despite the chaos though, everything worked out in the end. I am certain that every single person on this team could say that the kids blessed them in more ways than we could ever bless them. Joy pervaded the room and was present whenever and wherever a child was. To witness that they could still say God is good all the time despite their situations and living conditions was beyond humbling, and I think that each member of this team has been influenced by the children of Davao in unique ways and will have very different stories to share.
Today was our last day in Davao, and we didn’t waste a single minute of it. We began our morning with breakfast with missionary Yim and his wife, and headed to Davao Mission Church to prepare for service. Before we arrived, the sanctuary was already set and kids filled every visible seat on the floor. They were so eager and so excited to spend the day in worship and in the presence of our loving, inviting, and compassionate God.
To open, one of the leaders, who is also a student at Davao Christian College, led us into a time of praise. It was so touching and moving to hear the children raise their voices and lift up their highest praise to the One who deserves it all (plus more). Many of the team members shared that we couldn’t help the tears that formed while hearing the innocent, pure voices worshiping, especially during a piece sung in their native tongue.
After praise, we performed the race skit, which is essentially a story about how some runners fall out of life’s race because of distractions (e.g., girls, boys, success, money, etc.) and how others finish the race through the help of others and by setting their sights above. It was pretty simple, but it carried a message that stands as an important reminder for all of us, regardless of age or ethnicity.
Next, PJun shared a message about the love of God and emphasized how it differs from the “love” we have for food, toys, activities, objects, and the like; he explained that God’s love is purely unconditional—no strings attached.
Then, our team performed a couple of songs in hopes that it would bless the church members, and to conclude, we served lunch to the kids and the mothers who were present at church that day.
As soon as we finished cleaning and wrapping things up, we spent some time in fellowship with the youth group. We started out with a couple of games, and then transitioned into a time of testimonies. Johnny, Janet, and I were given the privilege to share a portion of our lives to the youth group and were hoping and praying that God would speak through us and use our experiences to spark hope, muster courage, speak truth, and plant a seed of trust into the youth. As we came to a close, we finished the day with more prayer. We were able to pray for each youth member individually and give words of affirmation, which really moved the hearts of some. It’s crazy to think that God has the authority to speak through us so that we can touch a child living across the globe at a single moment in their lives.
As the day was winding down, we visited a couple of tourist spots, but more importantly, we were able to spend some quality time with missionary Yim and his wife. Over a table of various fruits, we were able to listen to missionary Yim’s story of how he came to Davao and started his ministry here. Let me tell you this: he is a man of obedience and though he is stubborn, he’s stubborn about trusting in God alone (so, I guess it’s not a bad thing!). On behalf of the whole team, I can say with confidence that the lives of missionary Yim and his wife are an example of what it means to obey, to submit, and to worship God completely and whole-heartedly. Their obedience is unwavering, and despite the suffering that they have experienced and have yet to encounter, they push on and truly rely on God’s provision and plan.
Please join us as we continue to pray not only for protection over Pastor Yim and his family in terms of health, for their spiritual rejuvenation, and for their eyes to see the vision God has for them in the years to come, but also for their ministry’s growth and work here in Davao.
(Missionary Yim and his wife on the far left)
A few comical things I’d like to share: 
1) McDonald’s hosting some sort of event for high school students, and one of the employees giving a presentation on bacteria. Never in my life have I seen such a thing being hosted at McDonald’s!
2) A medium-sized order of fries in the Philippines . . . America is fat, guys.
3) A blue crowned pigeon we saw while at Paradise. The amusing part isn’t the little blue afro, but the fact that two of them were prancing back and forth right behind each other. You had to be there! I promise it was funny!
That’s the end of this entry! Please keep us in your prayers once again as we will be flying back to Manila around 9 this morning, and continuing our mission there for the next three days. Thank you!
Philippines 2013 