My new friend Jude has made me a Filipino Genius. 

Jude is one of the boys in my small group at the Children's Garden. We've been meeting together every day to talk about the things we are learning in the morning devotions. Most of the time Jude sits a little to the side, covers his mouth with his shirt or his hand and gives really short answers to the questions, if he answers at all. 

But, the other day we had a break through. Before the devotion every morning we play a game of
some kind. This day we were playing a game similar to 20 questions.   Jude and I sat in chairs facing each other and I could only ask him yes or no questions. I was trying to figure out what word was written on the paper being held behind my head. The time limit was 2 minutes and I wasn't very confident our skills. Despite my doubt we were victorious and I became a Filipino Genius. I was able to guess the word orphanage with the help of Jude, our translator and a few members of the crowd.

This little bit of change has made me realize that even though I can't really see the effect of my time at the Children's Garden in a big way the little things we do really do matter.

Please be praying for my friend Jude and for me as I keep working to get to know him and share more of what I know of Jesus with him. I may have won the game and technically be a Filipino Genius but if I can let Jesus use me to reach Jude I will be more than just a Filipino Genius.

I'm so excited to see what comes next...

Children's Garden of the Philippines is an organization in Antipolo City, Manila that provides rehabilitation and protection to neglected, exploited and abandoned boys ages 15 - 19. The volunteers work with the boys to teach them about Jesus, help them catch up in school and graduate, provide them with job skills training and give the boys a loving and caring environment to grow and learn about what and who God says they are.

While my team is here in the Philippines we will be spending most of our time at the Children's Garden getting to know the boys and helping to lead the morning devotions. After devotions in the morning we split into small groups and talk about what we're learning. 

The two boys in my small group are Paolo and Jude. They were both really quiet the first couple of days we met and would mostly just sit and stare at me and the translator. Over the last week I've seen a big change in both boys and their willingness to talk to me. Paolo has started using his English more and playing his guitar for me. Jude is still quite shy but chose me to play a game with him the other day. 
YAY Hay! (How you say Hoorah in Tagalog)

I'm really looking forward to seeing what God will show me through these two ministries this month. I can't wait to tell you all about the people I meet and the things I'm learning. So stayed tuned...

I'm sitting in the Philippines listening to a pretty random playlist on my ipod. I just went from Tim McGraw to Paolo Nutini to Rick Pino. These three songs really don't have much in common except for they're music. It's kind of how I feel about the last three or four days of my life. 

Friday I was still in Darwin, Australia saying goodbye to the COC, their amazing ministry and their abundance of bread and crocodiles.    By Saturday morning I had already visited Singapore and spent a couple of hours sleeping on the floor of an airport in Malaysia. A third plane ride followed by a bus ride brought me to Kids International Ministries(KIM) in Manila, Philippines.

This is where the entire squad will stay for the month. Right now we are in the middle of our first debrief. Our squad parents and squad leaders are here and will be meeting with each team individually to help us figure out team dynamics a little more. We will also have times of teaching and worship as a squad. It's also an amazing opportunity for us to rest and get to know our new surroundings before starting our ministries for the month.

To enjoy some of this time, the girls from my team and I went to visit a local market. To get there we rode in a ‘tricycle' and then in two Jeepney's. These are two forms of very interesting local transportation.

I was also able to get a massage from a lady here at KIM who is learning cosmetology and massage as her trade. For an hour of massage it only cost me about 2 USD. What a treat for me and apparently good practice and needed funds for her. I'd say that's a win-win for sure.

I never in my life thought I would say what I'm about to say. But, it's true.

This last week I discovered that I love the laundry room here at the COC.

It was very rare for me to fold the clothes or hang them up in the closet. I always kind of thought it was a waste of time.

 

 

The laundry room here has a huge industrial washer and dryer. 
The amount of sheets and towels that can be found in just one load is really quite amazing. 
The machines are running almost constantly.
 At any given point you could walk in and find yourself a pile of laundry large enough to get lost in for days.

I never thought I would thank Jesus for laundry. But I am so very thankful.