Nearly home...

Hi everybody! We're currently on our way home via Singapore Airport. Praise God that none of us were sick on the plane, and that Erica and I have remained standing while Sam and Kathryn seem to be just about recovered.

It's a little scary to think that in 24 hours I'll be lying on my bed catching up on sleep. But, as Paul would say (well, he might have said, it, he said similar things) "I rejoice in my tiredness!". Why? Because it shows how much stuff we have done in our two and a half weeks. We've performed to celebrity-hungry kids, we've attended prayer meetings, we've ridden Jeepneys, Trikes and FX's (a kind of taxi/shuttle bus), we've met and prayed with local youth, we've attended house church meetings, we've snorkelled, and we've battled against at least one virus!

God has all shown us lots of stuff during this trip, and we'll keep on updating the blog, filling you in on Calapan, and on our personal thoughts and feelings regarding the trip. But for now, we're going to wander around Singapore Airport before heading off on the flight home! Yay!

Jono

Quick Update

Hi everyone, just a really quick update:
We had a safe trip to Calapan, and stayed in the lovely OMF guest house with amazing sea views. We did 2 concerts there- one was quite wet but the other was dry and lots of people of all ages came (including gamblers on the other side of the park)!
We also spent a few hours snorkeling off a small tropical island- that was amazing!
We'll have more information and photos later...
Unfortunately, I, Kathryn and the guesthouse owners got some food poisoning or a virus or something, and then Erica and Jono got it last night. Thankfully I'm feeling much better, and Kathryn too, so pray that all of us will be healthy and a safe trip home!
Thanks for praying
Sam

19th & 20th January - a Day at Faith Academy & more

 On Wednesday 19th we went to school! that is faith Academy where Di has worked for 2 years previously, and will be again after the rest of us leave. We had a loooong day as we had to be there for soundchecks at 8.15am and got home about 9.30pm. What were we doing there? First we ran Middle school chapel (i.e. yrs 6-8) which included 2 dramas and lots of songs with some prayer and a short talk based on the Sower sketch (by me). We provided some aussie flavour by having an Australian beachball for them to throw round and praise God when they touched it, as well as with some improvising by Jono & Sam to make the wise and foolish builders Australians! Later we did a drama in High School chapel and then after school (they finish at 2.15) there was a middle school kids club where we ran the whole programme, including games, a chat about what we've been doing, and aussie quiz (one kid even knew who our PM is!) dramas, songs and prayers for those who don't know Christ. They were a pretty good bunch of about 50 kids. Then Jen brought us dinner and we were involved with youth group for years 9-12. About 30 kids and some adults, including one of the chaplains who is Australian. Kathryn and Jono gave testimonies, we did a drama and played a few worship songs. We also watched video of Toowoomba floods and the kids prayed with us for people affected by them back home. It was lovely to see their concern, and to appreciate the Christian ethos of the school.

Today (Thursday) we left for our last visit to Welfareville. Jen wasn't coming so we made the journey by jeepney all by ourselves - quite an experience, but with god's help we managed to get to the right place. Then we did a short 45m concert outside the BL centre with preschoolers and others listening and joining in actions, and their teacher Lisa explaining the parable drama. They were very happy and we were very hot! (like being in a sauna)Then we chatted with people, and were treated to sticky rice at the BL guestroom above a Christian lady's dwelling. We also met a monkey named Gordon in her kitchen. Then we faced the outside world again and the jeepney and explored the big shopping malls - quite a contrast!  Eventually we made it back to Jen's and supper of homemade pizza! There won't be news from us for a few days as we go to Calapan on the Island of Mindoro, leaving at 5am tomorrow....so please pray for us as we give 2 concerts there and maybe help play in a church service.

Marge and her team

Prayer, Rest and Encouragement

Hi everyone! Thanks so much for praying and supporting us during our time over here in the Philippines- we're all having a great time and in many ways wish we could stay longer!

Yesterday, we mostly had our day of "Sabbath rest" - with Erica sleeping in for the longest she has in her life! We spent the morning relaxing and reading God's word together. It was good after the crowds we had faced the day before! In the afternoon we went up to Faith Academy and swam in their amazing pool (with amazing views of Manila!) and diving board!

This morning, we went to our fellow missionary friend Helga's house for a Urban Poor Ministry prayer meeting. This was a very encouraging time to meet with missionaries and Filipino church workers and pray for the house churches of Welfareville, Cogeo and Trece. We were also reminded to completely TRUST in the Lord with all our hearts, something which the Christians here having to do every day.

Tonight, we are going to an OMF Prayer Meeting, to meet with fellow missionaries here in the Philippines.

Please pray for safe travel in the traffic, on the ferry to Calapan and on the plane home, and that we will have plenty of energy and really make the most of the rest of our time here.
Thank God for our opportunity to meet with fellow Christians here, to spend time with the Urban Poor and to a little bit more like Jesus.


In Christ,

Justin Beiber  Sam Mills and the rest of the team!

A weekend out at Trece Matires

Okay, time for another update...

Our latest adventure was a trip to a town called Trece Matires (Thirteen Martyrs) about three hours south of Manila. It was nice to get out into the country a bit and see some different sights, including coconut and banana plantations, rice fields and the occasional water buffalo.

The poor area we went to was also quite different to what we had experienced in Manila. It is a relocation centre from places where the government had bulldozed slum settlements to make space for water ways or railways. The streets are wider (they actually have streets) and the houses are bigger (they actually have cement houses) but the poverty and unemployment is the same. Fortunately God's grace is also the same.

Everyone else arrived on Saturday, but I traveled down a day early by public transport with a trilingual german missionary veteran named Helga, and Janice, a Filipino from Welfareville. These two go down to do ministry every weekend in the Trece housechurches. I caught a taxi, then a Jeepney, then a train, then a "provincial bus" then a tricycle. The cool thing was I got to hang out with the local youth for an afternoon.

On the Saturday and Sunday we gave concerts on local basket ball courts. Hundreds of people in total attended these; mainly lots and lots of children, but also many adults and teens. Praise God that were were able to share Jesus' love for them with the help of our Filipino MCs Janice and Juvel. We pray that they will respond to what they saw and heard (please join us in this). We had numerous bits of feedback that indicate people were taking in our message. We were also an encouragement to the local housechurch members. We praise God that in answer to our prayers he held back the thunderstorm until just after we finished for the night, and that most of the difficulties of outdoors concerts in a poorly equipped area were overcome.

The children were the most fun. They went kind of crazy at the end, swarming us and shouting out to 'Kuya' Cameron, Sam, Jono or 'Ate' Erica, Kathryn or Marge...
Hello! Hi! High five, high ten, high three, high twenty! Justin Beiber! [that's Sam apparently] What is your name? [and random phrases in Tagalog] Can we have a photo with you? [Yes] Can we have your cell phone number? [No] What instrument do you play? You are so handsome/pretty! [Awkward] Your nose is funny [ummm, okay] and so on.
It was fun at the time but we all decided we don't want to be famous.

I think I've written enough or too much now, so I'll finish by saying we then took the three hour drive home packed like sardines and smothered in luggage, and had pizza for dinner at 10:30 pm.

Bye for now,



Cameron and the team.

New Video Uploaded

We've just uploaded a video we put together of our photos and videos we've taken so far. Hopefully it will be shown at MAC on sunday, but for those followers who may not be there, you can watch it at our youtube channel: www.youtube.com/macmanilamission

Thanks for your support and enjoy the video!
Sam

A typical day in Welfareville...

Today we spent in the large Urban Poor area known as Welfareville.

First, Kathryn and Erica went off to preschool (the BL Child Development Centre), and spent the morning playing with the kids there and learning some more Tagalog words.

Cameron went to the basketball court where he met some of the local youth, heard some amazing testimonies and played some amazingly intense basketball.
Dina, Jenn and Marge went off to visit a Christian lady who cuts hair in her home, while Jono and I performed an experiment so see how many kids we would attract as white young foreigners. We went up to a group of young boys and started playing some games, and before long we had over 30 kids off the streets joining in, playing games like duck duck goose and songs like 'My God is so big"- we made some pretty good friends.

After a lunch break (some of us brave the local food from the stalls on a regular basis, while others stick to sandwiches), Cameron, Marge, Erica, Jono and I spent some time in preschool (some of the kids thinking the transportation we'd use from Australia to the Philippines would be tricycle), while Kathryn, Jenn and Dina went prayer walking.
In contrast, on the way home we went to Mega Mall, a huge shopping centre.
Then, after delicious dinner with some Ube (purple root vegetable) Ice-cream we spent the night preparing dramas and music for the concerts we will be doing this weekend at an urban poor relocation area. (Cameron's going down tomorrow morning, the rest of us following on Saturday)

Thank God for the amazing time we're having meeting with Christians here and seeing how God is at work in Manila. Pray that we will continue in good health and energy, and be able to communicate God's word effectively through our music and dramas.
In Christ,
Sam

Prayer, Faith and Fellowship

Hi everybody! We've all being very encouraged by the comments on the blog, and please know that our prayers are also directed to Australia at this difficult time for the country (the QLD flood made the front page of the world news of a Philippines newspaper, so it seems like it is a pretty big issue!)


We haven't updated the blog for a while, mainly because we've been so busy. These last few days have been packed full of activity. What follows is just a basic overview of what has happened, details will follow.


On Monday we travelled to Cogeo, another slum area on the outskirts of Manila. We visited the B.L. (Dawn for the Poor) preschool there, and made lots of friends. We then went to the Livelihood Centre, where local women intricately weave together old wrappers to make beautiful purses and bags to sell for their income. After lunch we went on a prayer walk around the community, where we were invited into people's homes in order to prayer for them. An elderly lady who lived by herself was overwhelmed as she listened to Erica playing the flute and then to the Megavoice Audio Bible being played in Tagalog, her native language.


Prayers were answered the next day after I (Jono) was back to feeling normal again after several days of feeling exhausted (possibly affected by the fumes of Metro Manila). Unfortunately the day of my recovery was also the day when Sam became unwell, but thankfully, at the time of writing, he is back to normal (constant guitar playing).

We should not have been surprised that our prayers were answered on this day, as it was a day full of prayer for us. We went to the weekly B.L. prayer meeting in Welfareville, where we met and were encouraged by a lady from Trece where we will be performing our first two concerts on the coming weekend. After lunch (some of us bought food from one of Welfareville's stalls), we divided into groups, and along with local guides, walked through areas of Welfareville, praying for it's inhabitants and B.L's ministry. 


That afternoon we travelled to the OMF guesthouse where we went through our official cultural orientation of Filipino history, culture and "do's and don'ts". This proved quite useful in helping us to understand what people sometimes mean by their body language (for instance, if a Filipino raises their eyebrows at you, it means they want to be your friend), and helping us understand some cultural context. We stayed on at the OMF guest house (which was also the HQ of OMF in the Philippines) for our evening meal and the OMF weekly prayer meeting of all their members in Manila. We were able to pray with people from all over the world, from the Netherlands, from Germany, from the USA, and some fellow Aussies.

Today we took a break from ministering with the urban poor and took a trip to Faith Academy, a school for M.K's (Missionary Kids), where Di had worked during her time here. It was obvious to see that she was missed by both staff and students, who almost queued up to hug her and welcome her back. This school had fantastic facilities and a pretty neat playground. We'll be doing some ministry in some of their chapel sessions and youthgroups later on.


This afternoon some of us went for a swim in Faith's pool, which was a good way to cool off, and tonight we had dinner with, and spoke with Fred and Mimi, leaders in B.L. about how the Megavoices could be used effectively for ministry in Welfareville and beyond.


Tomorrow, we'll head back to Welfareville, where Cameron is keen to do some basketball ministry and we'll help at preschool and pray with people. This coming weekend we will be performing our first concert at Trece. Please pray for us. For energy, motivation, wisdom and godliness as we prepare for this next step in our missionary journey.


In God's Grace
Jono

Day four

Hi everyone... Day four in the Philippines

This morning we attended church at Welfareville, the largest slum area in Manila. We were blessed to meet part of our family under Christ who worship the same God in another part of the world in another language in circumstances so totally different to our own. Part of the service included some songs and skits that we played for them and which attracted many children and fathers who usually avoid the church. It was a great time to get to know some of the young people who we will be seeing a few times over the next weeks. I really enjoyed the company of a group of girls who were very eager to introduce to me all their friends and family. A group of boys thought that Jono was Justin Bieber and wanted him to dance for them... I have attached a photo of Jono and his fans :)

Thank you for all your prayers... we have passed your greetings on to the church in Welfareville.
Oh, and Sarah, just letting you know that my knee is better... thanks for your prayers!
          Erica

IN THE PHILIPPINES!

We made it! On late thursday night, we made it in to the country, and to Jenn's house in Manila.
The next day we mostly rested, with a short walk around the suburb.

Today we went on a cultural tour of downtown Manila, and we saw massive catholic churches, busy marketplaces, overcrowded streets, wild traffic (we rode on Jeepneys!), historic sites, and the Filipino's answer to McDonalds (Jollibee!). As white westerners, many people looked at us excitedly, and we even had people taking photos of us - it;s like being celebrities.
Tomorrow we are involved in the Welfareville combined house churches doing music and drama. Some of the poverty we've seen already is pretty confronting, so please pray that we respond wisely and in a godly way.

Thanks so much for supporting and praying for us!
Sam and the rest of the mission team here in the Philippines.

Our Intinery (Could change)

Date	What we are doing...
Jan 6-8	Recover from jet-lag          Orientation to Manila, Faith Academy and B.L. (dawn for the poor)
Jan 9	Worship with the joint fellowship of house churches in Welfareville slum          Musical and drama presentation
Jan 10	Prayer walks and house church attendance in Cogeo or Pandacan
Jan 11	B.L. prayer meeting          OMF prayer meeting
Jan 12	Faith Academy chapel presentation
Jan 13-16	Travel to Trece relocation area 3 hours south of Manila          Music and drama presentations at schools or on basketball courts
Jan 17	Day off
Jan 18	BL and OMF prayer meetings
Jan 19	Possible ministry with teens at Faith Academy          Prayer walk in Cogeo or Welfareville
Jan 20-23	Travel to Calapan City, Mindoro Island          Music and drama ministry          Youth ministry          Snorkelling at a local reef

2 days till blast off!

It's a bit scary, but yes, we only have two days before we depart Australia to the Philippines. Today was our last meeting together before we see each other in the airport. We ran through a couple of songs, and read-through a new drama based on Adam and Eve and the Fall (which I wrote :)). It's exciting to think that this time next week we'll be a third of the way through a trip, and veteran performers. Please keep us in your prayers as we prepare to embark on what is not only an adventure of a lifetime, but a small part of God's ultimate plan of salvation for the entire world! Pray for safe travel and that our culture shock won't be too severe, but that we can immediately start furthering the work of the gospel, to the best of our gifts!

I'd better start packing....

Jono

3 Days and Counting!

Please pray for Cameron, Di, Erica, Jono, Kathryn, Marge & Sam as we set off very soon! Pray for final preparations, safe and easy travel and God-focused mindset.
We'll probably be able to update this blog while we're over there, so keep checking it!