and then there was Sunday!

You may be wondering why there are no pictures on the blog. I must confess, there are alot of pictures that have been taken, and I remembered the cord from the camera to the computer...yet in my wisdom and discernment I neglected to bring the software that allows the downloads on the computer. So, pictures will be posted when we return.

May I begin by reminding you of God's greatness and goodness. We sing of it, we pray to Him about it, we talk about it, but for some reason; I often walk away surprised acknowledging His goodness, faithfullness and greatness. It is as if I say I believe but half way expect (so I won't get disappointed) that God will not give us more than we hope or imagine...yet He does it over and over again; and each time there is a part of me that is surprised. My faith is weak....anyways, you did not check this post to hear about my faith.

The team had a great breakfast at Tambului ...which makes me smile, again to get personal, this is the place where my friend Arnell got married :-)...so a great start to a busy day. Everyone was up and ready to go by 8am. Some got 13 hours of sleep... I was envious. We headed off to Zion church for a worship service. No one at the church knew we were coming; no one knew to expect us. It was great! We got there as soon as it started. The morning heat seemed to symbolize that there were fires within the hearts of the people there as we were worshipping. The church is not enclosed; to the side the children were dancing to the music and the team was able to freely worship God. There was a new pastor at Zion church named Nick. He preached on prayer and it was great! After the service we were fellowshipping with everyone and there were two boys who were really alot of fun. They were doing flips, hitting each other, playing, jumping, and the team fell in love with them. After a few minutes of interaction we realized that one boy could not hear and he could not speak. He loved to hit the drums and make noises/sounds. The other boy the same age (they both appear to be about the age of my son, 4) interpreted for him; they seemed to have their own language. The pastor shared that the boys were missing for 3 weeks, that they go out playing in the streets, eatting trash, begging, and using drugs. The mute boy's parents will tie a chain around his leg to keep him from leaving the home. The boy had several cigarette burns where people burned him; he had a place under his mouth that was an open sore where he had been huffing glue. The pastor did not have a resource in the community to offer....until there came Sunday and a group of white folks from East TN happened to come to his worship service unannounced and unknown to pastor Nick. Members of the church talked with the parents and they are willing to allow the 2 boys to stay at the orphanage. At 10pm that night the team in the dark, went through small alley ways, climbed over some rocks, dodged power lines that were haphazardly drooping from roof tops as we wound our way back to where the family lived. We were with the pastor and another church member who have committed to help serve and support the orphanage. As we spoke to the parents we discovered that there are 8 children total and they all appeared to struggle in their circumstances. Arnell, the pastor and others talked with the family and invited them to join us on Wednesday for our meal. There was a 8 month old boy with knots on his head, a clift (sp?) pallet who was being held by the mother. The team got to experience first hand the living conditions of the two boys and their family. The family plans to attend on Wednesday and our prayers is that this family will not only get their belly's filled but that the encounter Christ and know of the hope and peace that He has to offer. Please take a moment to pray for this family and this home as we plan to minister and provide for them.

After the worship service, the pastor offered the team to introduce themselves next Sunday. We shared that Jonathan may be coming to spend his summer in the Philippines in order to evangelize and perhaps start a church if possible. The pastor is giving Jonathan Madden an opportunity to share his heart and preach next Sunday please be in prayer.

After church the team had AWESOME chicken BBQ which is one of my personal favorites. We then left to go to the dumpsite. We started by going where we went before and we were able to fellowship with 3-4 kids that we recognized from our prior trip. We walked back through the small alleyway into where they made their homes out of trash and scrap metal. As we walked there was naked children running around, people doing their laundry by hand, the smell of trash was all aroud; and they all had the happiest faces so excited to see us. Chris Brock had brought some candy and the children enjoyed eatting the candy and posing as we took the pictures. The full magnitude of their living environment was not complete until we drove to where the dumpsite caught on fire. There was mounds and mounds of trash piled up, the smell was more intense that I can ever remember it; there were only a few living in this area, scavenging for anything to sell or eat...most are now living on the streets; with nothing to eat...and nothing to sell...simply eroding away on the streets like the trash with no one to help...and seemingly no one to care. It was explained that the dumpsite was an actual good place for these people to be b/c the trash offered hope whereas the heard concrete of the streets offer nothing but pain.

The team then went to the metro to do the shopping. They purchased food for the children to eat on Wednesday; items for their rooms, supplies to work with to build a gazeebo, shelves and a table, and other necessary items for the orphanage to be fully operational. It was a time for the team to bond and dream of how the orphanage may look and be for the children as they get ready to come.

Arnell and I went to a very large orphanage on the other side of the city. They provide a school, a church, and food to over 400 chldren. There Arnell and I interviewed all of the potential families for the orphanage. 14 in total. As we sat there, it was overwhelming to hear the stories of how parents were dead, in jail, unable to work.... simply unable to provide for their children and were asking total strangers to take their child in for a better future. It was in a hot room with no fan, just the heat of the day with families at their breaking point. We were looking these people in their face knowing that many would not be able to come to the orphanage due to the fact that the need is simply greater than the resources. During the meeting a 10 year old girl came in who had been begging on the streets and doing what she can to survive. She was a true orphan....and she made the 3rd for that day that God had brought to us that we know we will be providing care for in our home. She arguably is the most cutest, sweetest child that I have ever seen.

It was late, so the team used a drive thru at Jollibee, got some garlic burgers, and then back to the orphanage to unpack. It was past 9 once we got everything loaded and ready for us to work on today. That was when we got the phone call and the pastor came over to visit the orphanage and we went to the boys homes. I personally got in bed at 1am. The team may have been able to have gotten in bed a little earlier. What a great and glorious day. As God brings His children to us...and we are allowed to love on them and share His grace and good news. We certainly don't deserve all of God's goodness. We had no idea what He had planned for us. What a great day our Sunday turned out to be.

Please continue to pray for us as we will be doing manual labor. It is easy in the heat to overdo it. Please pray for these families that we meet and that God will make it clear as to who will call the orphanage home. Thank you for your prayers and support.