Midnight Bus Rides and Sleeping on Tile Floors.

((Typed this up last night while on the bus from Baguio to Manila. Slept in Manila a little bit from 5:30 a.m. to about 8 a.m. and decided to finish up and post the blog now. Sorry for no pictures and not much editing.))

"And so the journey begins. Our air conditioned Victory Liner bus is now moving and making its way to Manila. After this 5 (ish) hour bus ride, we will be saying goodbye to 2 of our 4 SEU team members as they will be departing at 9 a.m. to head home via plane. I will be heading to some place called AGMF or something like that where the interns that we met up with the last couple of days will be staying until they leave on Wednesday. The SAGU team, Jason and I will be hanging out there until the SAGU team leaves around noon and then a professor from the states that has been teaching at APTS the last few weeks and I will head to the airport around 3 or 4 for our 7 p.m. And 6:30 p.m. flights (respectively). I fly from Manila to Bangkok where I will be spending another night in the airport (Not excited). Then around 6 a.m. Tuesday morning I will be leaving Bangkok for Tokyo and then Tokyo to LAX. I'll be arriving around 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday in LAX (6 hours earlier than I departed from Tokyo around 5 p.m. on Tuesday... Gotta love time zones and the International Date Line).

So, to catch up on the last couple days. When we came back from the mountains Tuesday night we met up with the team of 6 interns that had been working in Indonesia after being in the Philippines (this was also the last week of their 2 month trip). As I mentioned before Wednesday was a free day, and, sadly, our “Amazing Race” around Baguio City was cancelled due to weather. Though not too many of us were all that sad about it, I certainly was not the least bit distressed about it being cancelled, but I was certainly hoping to simply have a break after the mountain trip. So Wednesday evening I was able to go to the market for about an hour and do a little shopping for gifts and such. It was most enjoyable. After that all of the teams (the SAGU, SEU, Interns and Sam Houston teams) met for dinner at a Mongolian grill where the Amazing Race was supposed to end anyway (since Tom and Connie already had reservations set up for us there). Thursday, by happenstance, was also a very light day for us as our national team was only able to set up for us to go to one school and distribute Book of Hope in the classrooms. That was an awesome opportunity to share with the students and to be open with them about what we were there to do. It probably took us about an hour to distribute to all of the classrooms with out team and theirs together. So before and after that we had a really light day, which was perfect because Amanda, on our SEU team, was not feeling well at all after the mountains and she really needed another day to sleep and rest and really recover from whatever was going on in her body.

Friday was a very long day of Book of Hope distribution as we went to multiple schools and were able to share in the classrooms about the story of true hope to be found in Jesus Christ. It was a long day, but it was a lot of fun to work with the interns and our national team and to get to connect even more with all of them in both groups. Then, in the evening we said goodbye to the Sam Houston team as they were heading out Saturday morning to do about 5 more days on ministry in another location, please continue to lift them in prayer as they are making an effort to minister in some tribal areas and considering taking a boat to another island to minister as well. They will only just be preparing to leave when I arrive home.

Saturday was another long day, but long in a different sense. Our SEU team and the 5 interns that were still here (one went home Wednesday) were doing a “Youth Summit” for young people which Pastor Anthony and Pastor Tata did a great job organizing. There were 4 sessions throughout the day: “Identity”, “Marriage, Courtship and Love”, “Hope” and “Success”. Together SEU and the interns had the first and third sessions to run. After each session there was discussion in groups which we were in charge of. At that point most of the students have “nose bleeds” that is the term used to refer to “too much English”. So, having to have discussion in English was a bit of a stretch for some of them, but it did make it fun when we could finally get them discussing. I met so many amazing young people yesterday, I don't even know, really, how to talk about them here without putting them in boxes and categories that I would dare not bring into this. Please keep them in prayer and please lift up the many students that responded to a call for relationship/deeper relationship with Christ.

Today (Sunday) was our last service in the Philippines which was something of a milestone and a little sad to think about. But Pastors Anthony and Tata had arranged for us to go to another church to minister there. I honestly don't know what the pastora's name was, but it was so amazing to meet her and talk with her over lunch after the service about what God has been doing in that community over the last 10 to 15 years that they have been working there. The pastora told us about how many ministers considered that area to be “rocky ground” when it comes to the Gospel as the predominant belief of the people is pagan religion mixed with Catholicism and the majority of the people in the community are somehow related to one another and they persecute those family/community members who are found to be going to the church. The Pastora them went into the stories about the last year of how God has opened huge doors with the religious leaders of the community as well as giving the church a greater voice in the community and greater acceptance and encouragement. It was encouraging for me to sit across from this woman at lunch and to hear about what God is doing in this area that has been considered so much “rocky ground” for so long.

Then it was time to pack and head up to Tom and Connie's house again for our last dinner and team meeting to talk about the trip and what we were challenged and encouraged by and what we are going to do now. Then I went back to the room and slept for 2 hours and how I am trying to not get sick on the buss at 1 a.m. As someone who doesn't generally get motion sick, I don't know why I am having such a hard time at this exact moment, but I really don't feel so great with these mountain roads."

Everything above I wrote on the bus last night from Baguio to Manila, now it's 8 a.m. Monday morning, and we've arrived in Manila and we've gotten a little bit of sleep. The SAGU team just left to go to the airport and head home which is also little sad. I will miss them all. Now Jason, the interns and I are just hanging out until I also have to leave this evening. I feel like there is so much that I am just going to be processing for the next week or so once I get home. Pretty much since last Wednesday I was extremely excited about going home, then on Wednesday evening and Thursday... Well, let's just say, God showed me a few things that I need to do/take care of when I get home that are going to be... challenging, to put it lightly. I'm still looking forward to going home, but taking care of what God has told me to take care of when I get there is going to be a little tough. So, please keep those things in prayer. I'm pretty sure my re-entry culture shock to the U.S. is going to be easier in some ways since I was able to spend this time with many Americans in the Philippines before going back, but at the same time I think it might be more difficult that it has been because this is the longest overseas trip I have ever taken. Please remember that in your prayers as well, and everyone who is excited to see me, I am excited to see you as well, but I may take a few days before I turn my cell phone back on once I get home.

I love you all,

-Kristen

P.S. I will likely update along the way home for lack of anything better to do. I might even add pictures if I can find a stable/consistent enough internet connection. ;)

Baguio, the Mountains, Rain and More Starbucks

Welcome to beautiful Baguio.

We are a mile high and have been battling the periphery of a typhoon since our arrival, so lots of rain. This morning when I woke up at 6 something a.m. I saw the sun for the first time since leaving Manila. I was finally able to see the city and valley from the windows of the Asia Pacific Theological Seminary (APTS) where we have been staying in Baguio. The picture above has been the typical view at almost any time of day for the (almost) week we have been here. As someone who loves the fog, this weather has been enough to convince me that Baguio is one of the most beautiful places on earth. Though it's taking me a little longer than I expected to adapt to the altitude; making the "hike" up the hill to Tom and Connie Bohnert's house from the Global Missions Center where we are staying at APTS takes the wind out of me every time.

Anyway, so, from Manila we took the midnight bus Friday night and arrived at APTS in Baguio around 4 or 5 a.m. on Saturday morning. I ate breakfast at 6 when it opened and then got some sleep. Then we had a meeting with all three teams that are here and we met the national pastor that we would be working with while we are here, Pastor Anthony. Each team is working with a different national pastor so the 4 of us from SEU are working with Pastor Anthony and his church: Baguio Full Gospel International Church. Today and tomorrow we will be working with their students and Chi Alpha ministries distributing Book of Hope on a few school campuses.

Sunday morning we went to Pastor Anthony's church, Jason shared his testimony and one of the students on our team (Grant) preached. Then we had lunch and came back to the church for the youth service from 2 to 5 p.m. We had some fun games, got to know some of the students, Amanda shared her testimony and I preached. I felt it went well and I enjoyed it. I love speaking to youth, which is funny because I have never considered myself one to go into "youth ministry," but it has always been something I have enjoyed when I am presented with the opportunity.


Baguio Full Gospel International Church youth group

Monday we went up into the mountains to minister at a church there. The place we went to was called Pual (pronounced as you would say it in Spanish). It took an hour or hour and a half drive and then an hour and a half hike down and up a mountain or two to get there. I will post pictures soon (have to get them off my camera still). It was absolutely beautiful. Many of the people there in the mountains make their living growing and harvesting syote which is a vegetable that grows on the steep mountain sides. Most of the church members there have to walk (read as "hike") half an hour to an hour to get to the church at all. We did a service Monday night there, had some fellowship with the church there (the 5 or 6 people that came) and were able to minister to them. Then we spent the night at someone's house and on Tuesday we went to a couple of church members' homes so that we could pray for them and bless them. They are some of the most generous people as they gave us fruit, vegetables and sugar cane, to take back with us. I don't think I have ever seen so much syote and passion fruit... Though, considering I had never seen either before that trip into the mountains, that's not saying much.

Then we were able to get a ride back up the mountain to the highway... which might have actually been more painful and longer than hiking back up would have been, but it was still a lot of fun. We had 10 of us in standing in the back of a truck going up dirt roads around 2 or 3 different mountains to get up to the highway again. It really gives one an insight into how these people live and make their livings. The people of the church there were amazing, generous and joyful. It was such a blessing to be able to minister to them on the mountain side.

Spontaneous anecdote time: as we were walking up the mountain it started raining so we took refuge in a covered area by a school along the road. Once the rain let up (about 5 minutes) we continued. Pastor Anthony and I were walking in front and Pastor noticed a snake, which appeared to be being chased by a small chicken. I laughed and kept walking, but then the snake coiled up and reared its head. Yes, it was a cobra. The chicken decided to keep its distance at that point and the rest of the team stopped. The snake was in the middle of the path. After a few minutes, Jason threw a rock at it and smashed its head. It took a bit of stepping on it and crushing with a rock or two, but we did finally manage to kill it, and after that all the kids in the school, who had just gotten out of classes and watched the whole thing, followed us up the mountain the rest of the way to the church. It was a great story, no? Sadly, like the balut, the only photos I got were blurry, but I will post soon (probably on facebook).

Tuesday night we had dessert at Tom and Connie's house (the missionaries we are working with) and then we had some absolutely amazing time of sharing. The Sam Huston team (19 people), the SAGU team (5 people), the SEU team (4 of us) and a team of interns who had just returned to the Philippines from Indonesia (6 people) were all there and we were able to take some time to share about what God had been doing in all of us and through our teams the few days we had been in Baguio. We truly overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. There is so much power and encouragement in hearing how God has been using those around you and what He's been doing in the team as a whole.

Wednesday was our free day and we were supposed to do the "Amazing Race" around Baguio, but the rain kinda killed that, which I don't think anyone was all too sad about as most of us just wanted to rest and not run around the city in the rain anyway. So, we got to go to the market and do a little shopping and things like that. And today, as I said earlier, we will be distributing Book of Hope in the schools and again tomorrow. Then tomorrow night (Friday night) we will be doing a big youth service at Pastor Anthony's church. Saturday we have a big youth summit all day that we will be helping with and participating in. Then Sunday morning we will be going to a different church in the morning and then in the afternoon we will go back to the youth group at Pastor Anthony's church. Then we leave Baguio Sunday night on the midnight bus again to return to Manila. We arrive in Manila Monday morning and Amanda and Grant fly out Monday morning, I fly out Monday night back to Bangkok (where I get to spent the night in the airport again and then fly back to CA Tuesday morning) and Jason flies out early Tuesday morning from Manila. Busy next few days, but I am looking forward to it. And I'm also looking forward to getting home.

Please keep the health of our teams in prayer. Amanda (on the SEU team) is sick and has had a fever the the last day or so, Becky (on the SAGU team) got really sick (throwing up and such) last night and 4 or 5 of the Sam Houston team members have been sick on and off since we arrived in Baguio. Health is a big deal right now as we are trying to finish strong these last few days here. I know that my body is tired and on the verge of getting sick, so I have been trying very hard to keep a lot of vitamins going and getting as much rest as possible. So far I haven't been sick at all on this trip and I would hate to get sick my last 4 days here. Thank you all for your love, prayers and support. I look forward to being home and sharing more of the bits and pieces that haven't made it into my posts here.

Much love,
Kristen Joy