Barrio Weekend

Saturday morning all were up bright and early because our bodies weren't used to the time yet. I was up at 4, showered and was blessed with an extra long quiet time watching an AMAZING sunrise. I was brought to tears as I was reading God's Word, overlooking the jungle and listening to the morning jungle sounds. I'm really in the Philippines again!

I was thankful for the extra time, as the campers arrived 2 hours earlier than we had planned, which means we had no time to plan and get ready for them. We played a timed "Amazing Race" game on the court in which teams competed against each other completing obstacles such as making a pyramid, making basketball shots, popping balloons, passing a rock to each other only using a spoon in their mouths, chair/no-chair, stacking cups, "bucket bum", etc. It was a lot of fun and became HOT really fast! We played other games such as bump and link tag, before we played a water balloon toss to get cooled off a bit. Good thing we had extra balloons, because the water balloon fight afterwards was fun!

After lunch we had two crafts: tie dye t-shirts and making paper boxes. It continued to be really hot out and the students always look forward to having a pretty crazy time in the pool. It was so fun to see the Filipino students and American students interact so well. Those who didn't swim or cut the time short in the pool, were able to make duct tape wallets or paint their toe nails. I think we wore out the Filipino students because after about an hour and a half, they all took off to take showers and rest. Usually we are kicking kids out of the pool after 3 hours so they can get ready for dinner. We did skip the siesta time we usually take after lunch, so maybe they were really tired.

After dinner, we practiced for the talent show. It was so encouraging to see many Americans and Filipinos interacting with each other, planning a dance or song. The talent show itself was a lot of fun. We then performed our two team dramas. Our first one is "Behold the Lamb." This is a very powerful song that we sign and dance a little to. Our second drama is "The King of Hearts." Four of our students perform this one. Before and between each drama a student stood up and explained why were are here and explained the dramas fully. Most of the Filipino students understand English but there is still definitely a barrier. Luckily we had a pastor, Francsis, formally from the barrio as a guest this weekend. He did a lot of our translating, making sure the students understood our message. It was a great night, but it felt like it went by so fast!!

We woke up Sunday morning refreshed, ready for a full day. I led Bible study this morning and talked about Joshua 1. Joshua 1:9 is on our team t-shirts, so I thought it was important for the team to know what it meant. Especially since this was the last day hanging out with the barrio high school students. I talked about how the Lord commands us to be "bold and courageous" and today was the day to do that. It was not the day to be passive and shy. We all need to make a conscious decision to walk up to a student and initiate a conversation, hoping it will lead into a spiritual conversation. Sometimes, when we are tired or just want to give in to that passivity, we miss an opportunity that the Lord presents us. Our opportunity is when we are with the kids and it is now. We need to "Joshua 1:9 it!"

Our Sunday morning church was preached by our friend Francis. I love it when Francis preaches, he's so funny and full of joy. About half of his sermon was in English, the other half in Cebuano with his sentences using a mixture of both languages. It's all very interesting. After church we took our 65 campers and may friends from the barrio to the Nature Resort on Panglao Island. We had an amazing lunch and then headed for the beach. We played hard on the beach, the man-made island and the pool for about 3 hours before saying goodbye to our friends.

We then headed to Bohol Deaf Academy (BDA) which is the Deaf high school. Only about half of the students were there, since the other half had traveled home for the weekend. It was so emotional to see them again! One of my friends, Judith, accepted Christ last year after a few days of in-depth conversation. She had given it careful consideration and the last time we were able to visit them last year, she came up to me saying she was ready to accept Christ. It was an emotional time then, and then even more today. She said she was still following the Lord, going to the local Deaf Christian church, TipTip and was also traveling with some older Deaf Christians to teach about Jesus to the elementary Deaf schools. I am so proud of her and her perseverance with her faith. I know it was a hard decision initially for her to make, as her parents are strict Catholics and are probably not accepting of her Christian faith. Many students tell their parents of the decision and are then physically persecuted for it from their family. I hope this is not the case with Judith, as she shone with joy when I was talking to her. Another student who has since graduated, Carissa, accepted Christ two years ago. At our beach day with the Deaf, she came to me asking me to forgive her sins. I explained that I couldn't do it, but only Jesus could. She wanted forgiveness for her parents divorcing, as she thought it was her fault, because she was Deaf. Divorce is very uncommon in the Philippines. She cried so hard and so loudly at the beach (she couldn't hear herself cry) as I just held her. She didn't understand the divorce wasn't about her. We talked in length and she wanted to accept Christ right there on the beach. She and I prayed and she instantly was full of joy. Seeing her today brought such joy to my heart. She is also still following the Lord and is leading the group of students around to the elementary schools teaching those students about Jesus. This brief visit to BDA made me even more excited to spend time with them at their Wednesday Bible studies and when they come up for their weekend retreat. It was really encouraging to see the other team members so excited about the Deaf and trying to communicate with them.

We left and went back into town to go to dinner at the Garden Cafe. This is an IDEA restaurant that is run mostly by the Deaf. When students graduate from BDA, they have the opportunity to get a job at several business run by the Deaf, that IDEA sponsors. The Garden Cafe is one, in which graduated Deaf are waiters, cooks, bussers, etc. It not only gives them a job, but also gives them a skill with their support staff, in which later could go out into the city to get a job with that skill set. We enjoy eating there and supporting what IDEA is doing for the Deaf on the island. It was a full weekend and we had a lot to talk about and be thankful for!