DAY 8: DWELLS GOD, ETERNAL GOD

Day 8 Post No. 3
Today was a day for all of us to have Christmas parties at the various schools. The Samaritans + the guys from Kings went to Masarawag Elementary School (AGAIN! YAY!!! :D ) while The Maccabees + the girls from Kings went to Guinobatan West Central School.

SAMARITANS REPORT:

We were all SUPER HAPPY to be back at Masarawag Elementary School! The children there were also extremely excited to see us again. We started off by playing a game which required them to pass the fruit loop cereal using a toothpick. (like what we played during church camp). The children were having a lot of fun as they tried to balance the fruit loop on their toothpick. WE WERE ALSO HAVING A LOT OF FUN PASSING THE FRUIT LOOPS TO EACH OTHER! (: This time, we started off pretty well and were not as shy as the first time, we didnt hesitate to talk to the children. Two girls even gave me a christmas present. (AWWW SO SWEET...) We also played Splat, Duck duck goose and Tangled. We ate some snacks and took some pictures. And then we headed back. WE REALLY DIDNT WANT TO LEAVE! We wanted to stay there the entire day!!! :( On the bus back, as usual, THE SAMARITANS, were singing AGAIN.

In the afternoon, villagers from Malabnig came to our hostel to collect some goods. We welcomed them and personally handed them gifts. My group performed various songs for them, our closing performace (which we spent a lot of time planning and practicing. So proud of the Samaritans for putting in so much effort to come up with lyrics for the song.) We had a wonderful day with our CRAZY GROUP who loves to sing. :D Our mission trip is coming to an end and we will miss everyone, the children in the schools and our fellow team members :D

MACCABEES REPORT:

WE WENT BACK TO GUINOBATAN WEST CENTRAL SCHOOL AGAIN! Amazingly, the kids there still remembered us (ESPECIALLY VANESSA GOH'S FAN CLUB)! We had a Christmas party there and it was really fun! The kids sang Christmas songs (like O Holy Night) to us and put up a skit about how Jesus was born! There was also a group of 5 kids who danced to Jingle Bell Rock and it was really interesting!! At the end, the school principal invited us to dance to Jingle Bell Rock with the kids, even the principal and the teachers joined in!! Then, we went out of the hall for a break. After that, we went to one of the Grade 5's class and entertained them by singing to them What Makes you Beautiful (sang by One Direction) and dancing to Babra Stresein. Then, we went to the hall and went on the stage to dance for the kids. At first, we sang to the kids What Makes You Beautiful (this time without music) and there was this small boy who taught us how to dance to Teach Me How To Duckie!!! After this, we reluctantly left the school and went back to our hostel.. Then, the villagers came and collected the food and gifts that we had for them. We all welcomed them with a big smile on our face! When they settled down in the canteen, the Samaritans sang songs for them and the Kings and Maccabees did a skit (which was REALLY FUNNY even though it wasn't super good)! At the end, we all had our turn of being able to give the villagers food and gift and they were really happy when they all received it!

Now that the mission trip is nearing to an end, we are all starting to not want the mission trip end earlier! Thus, we all try to spent our days like it's our last!

Day 8 Post No. 2
From the time we began our mission preparations, we have always told the youth that there will be many surprises in store for them. And that God will manifest himself in many unexpected places, if only they would stop, look, and listen.

Dwells God! Eternal God! Self-giving God! All Powerful love!

The youth stopped, looked, and listened. These words rang true in the mission team as the teeners spontaneously reacted to the needs of a rabies-stricken boy the Kings encountered yesterday deep in the wilderness of Dona Mercedes. At a cell meeting last night, the L9 youths dug deep into their pockets and raised 13,800 pesos among themselves for the emaciated boy. Even as I write this, a team comprising spiritual director Sr Grace, Maccabees leader Stephanie Sukarti, logistics IC Vanessa Tay, and team nurse Gina Dizon are motoring back to Dona Mercedes to hand the money over to the boy and his family. We hope and pray this small amount, which came out of a spontaneous gesture of love from our L9 teens, would help alleviate the boy's suffering, and afford him and his family some joy of Christmas. Most importantly though, our teens' show of concern, their smiles and presence, will bring the light of Christ to the boy and his family. This is the essence of Mission.

These are the surprises that measure the rate of spritual growth of the teens involved in this mission trip. This singular act of mercy has made organising this mission trip really worth it. Boys and girls of this mission trip - indeed in you Dwells God. 

Meanwhile, a team of mission trippers made their way to MORMS to present our gifts of spectaclest to selected reenagers from that school who needed spectacles but were too poor to buy. Our teens handed over 9 sets, with the rest being handed over to teh recipient by the school nurse on Tuesday next week.

- Mission HQ, Singapore

DAY 8 Post No. 1
This isn't going to be too heavy a day for the mission trippers as they wind down their activities. They will begin their final day of mission work with Christmas parties in Guinobatan East, Guinobatan West and Masarawag Elementary Schools in the morning. In the afternoon, they will host selected folk from Malabnig village who will come down to the hostel to collect their relief goods and be entertained by the teens. Simultaneously, a group of three teens will make their way to MORMS (secondary school) to present spectacles to selected students.

Later in the evening, the mission trippers will give a thank you dinner in honor of the volunteers, supporters and the hosts.

They will be on a rest and recreation program tomorrow, before making preparations for departure on Saturday.

Meanwhile, a tropical depression is scheduled to enter the Philippine area of responsibility from the general direction of Palau island sometime today, which will bring more rain to Bicol. The depression may or may not escalate into a typhoon; it all depends on the prevailing atmospheric conditions. While no weather advisory has been given by the authorities, all mission trippers are reminded to exercise caution in all they do.

We hope the bloggers can give us more updates on what they did on Day 7. And we hope they can give us more details on their Wednesday encounter with a youth who is stricken with rabies, fo whom they are now raising funds among themselves to help him get the required medication.

- Mission HQ, Singapore