My first day:
My day started in Park City, Utah where I had spent the night with Josh Morken. We woke up early, and he drove me to Salt Lake I was to catch my first of 3 flights on my way to Lucena City. SLC to LA then LA to Tokyo then finally Tokyo to Manila. I was met at the airport by Jake and Mak Mak. Jake is the son of the Toto who is the Filipino leader of Sankey. Mak Mak is one of the kids who lives at Sankey. I knew both of them from my first trip to the Philippines, so we had a nice time catching up. They then drove me 3 hours to Lucena City where the orphanage is located. We got in around 1:30. So all in all my first day had a ton of travel, and when we finally got to where I'm staying I flopped exhausted onto my bed and quickly fell asleep.
I woke up around 8 and had breakfast with the Luchavez family. I had a great time meeting everyone, and it didn't hurt that the breakfast of eggs meat and rice was delicious! After breakfast we went to church where I was able to meet most of the kids from Sankey Samaritan Home. It was such a blessing to be able to go to church and sing praises to the Lord. He has provided so much for me it is hard to comprehend. The service is conducted in a gym. They have a worship team that involves drums, guitar, bass, keyboard, and a couple singers. The sermon is given in Taglish which is a mixture of Tagalog and English, so I was able to follow some of it.
The best part for me was the scripture reading. 1 Corinthians 15:58 "Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." I think that is such a perfect message for me to have heard on my first day here.
Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers. I 'm going to try and give myself fully to this work that the Lord has for me here.
God Bless
BEST WISHES JOSH. You are in our daily prayers. Love you muches!! So excited for what you will discover and be able to bring to those amazing children.
ReplyDeleteMake sure you post some pictures Josh. I am living vicariously through you and need to visualize!
ReplyDeleteHey Josh! We had dinner with your folks, Mike, and Zack Saturday. We hold you in our prayers! I love that 1 Cor. 15:58 text--it's a resurrection text. All you do for him has life in it; nothing will die. -Uncle L
ReplyDeleteJosh
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update. I spent time in the Philippines in the early 80's while in the Marine Corps. A beautiful country and great people. And, you are right about the seasons, especially the rainy season..I even learned a little tagalog like umulan...which means rain.
Keep us all updated and know you are in our prayers.
John Vining , RCC