Tita picture picture me - KI

During this trip, I always carried my camera wherever I go whether we were going to the feeding, constructing, or to the Children's home. One of my goal was to capture every single moments throughout this trip and give every single one of us memories to take back to Singapore. Everywhere I go, I heard kids or even adults calling me "tita picture picture me" to take pictures of them. Some kids were shy to asked for the pictures so I saw them pictures I took of others and they were willing to be open minded and posed for a picture. I loved communicating with the kids through pictures. Even if I love taking pictures of everything, I never realised how much the pictures I took could bring that much of happiness to someone's life. This trip has been so meaningful and valuable and will always remember every single moments of it.

Construction WWW Manila Daniel Park

This is my first WWW trip in ICS and I came to this school this year. The one thing that I like was Construction because during construction I did many things such as bagging sand, moving gravel and mixing cement. We were making two houses using cement, it was very hard and exhausting work. Construction is very hard but it is really useful work because we were working hard and we are helping people to live and i think that is very good thing helping people.

How I am doing in Manila-Jiwon

We've been doing a lot of work in Manila. We did construction work, swimming lessons, feedings, and played with kids from the community and the children's home. Construction work is hard, but it's pretty fun because we work together. Swimming lessons are my favorite because you get to see kids learning and applying what they learned. Few days ago I taught a kid named Ariana. She didn't know how to swim in the beginning so she had to hold a tube or I had to hold her body. I taught her how to swim, and in the end she could swim without any help. Feeding is not only a way to help kids, but an opportunity to meet new people. Yesterday during feeding I met 2 girls who were 16 and 19, and they were amazing I was sad I couldn't talk with them more. Going to the Children's Home is also my favorite part of this trip because the kids are adorable. When I first went to the Children's Home I didn't know how to play with kids so I was just awkwardly staring at a wall, but now I learned how to play with kids so I had a great time with them. Time is going so fast in Manila. I feel like we just arrived here yesterday, and I can't believe we are leaving tomorrow. The kids and people are amazing.

Last Night Heart to Heart - Tessa

Over all the trip was really amazing, impactful, and changing. However for me the most impactful thing was the heart to heart conversation we had at the end of the trip. Everyone gathered in the room we gather in every day, and we were all asked to say one thing (or multiple things) that impacted us most on the trip. Everybody shared very deep and meaningful things such as being able to give the children clothes, making a difference for these kids, getting attached to them and seeing how they lived, comparing it to our lives. Many of us agreed that when we have no technology around and no distractions, we are ourselves. We all saw different sides of people that you usually would never see around school or in our daily lives because on these week without walls trips you are put in situations where you need each other and the support of your team. You cannot process things on your own and stand alone while you deal with issues and having culture shock that not everyone has as good lives as us. At the beginning of the year when we get put in these teams most people don't talk and we all feel awkward, once you're through security that all changes and everyone seems to get along pretty well. At the end, Bandy called out a few people that she really wanted to say something to. If you didn't know yet, Bandy has a lot of great things to say, and tonight at the last meeting before sleeping and taking off back to Singapore, she called me out and said everything I needed and wanted to hear. I have to say, I was doing a great job keeping my emotion in until Bandy started talking to me and I lost it. Sometimes the thing that everyone says, does not have a big impact on you until one person says it and it means a lot to you. This has been a breathtaking trip, realizing how much I have to be thankful for, and how amazing every single person on my team is :D

PS to Mum and dad: ik hou van jullie! mis jullie and zo blij om jullie weer te zien. Ja ik ben we weer gevallen hehe en super verbrand op mn rug :D tot snel! Hoop dat jullie Penang leuk hebben gevonden.

Cyrus is awesome

For one, the title was made by Whittaker. Not that I am egotistical or anything. Manilla is very dirty, with trash and excrete everywhere. The children are able to absorb names like crazy, and they also are able to play basketball very well. I saw that even though they where living in poverty, they where able to look at the bright side of things, like Frances. It'S TOO BAD THAT THEY ARE NOT ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE NATIONAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE TOURNAMENTS because they would be able to beat many of the other countries because they have an enthusiasm that no other player can rival. The children also are able to play basketball, volleyball, and other sports very well, and in other circumstances, would be able to have a great future in store for them. I will miss the children in Manilla because the children are so joyful and happy.

Frances - Kids in Manila :-)

Manila is great, the kids are great, the food is great, and even the construction is great. :) This country is full of such kind and caring people and I've loved getting to know the children through working at the children's home and playing with kids in the community. Often there will be kids hanging around the street at the gate next to the place we are staying and whenever I have free time I go and talk to them. Our conversations are quite amusing as we talk about anything from what we did that day to music we like. One day, we went out to the community and invited kids to play sports down in the court. I played basketball for around three hours with a thirteen year old boy named Manny (who was way better than me ;)). Whenever he shot a three I would yell "Steph Curry!" and we would both smile and laugh. Later, when we went to the market, I found a Golden State Warriors shirt with Curry on the back and I bought it for him. I just gave it to him yesterday and today I noticed he was wearing it. :) Another kid that I bonded with was a girl named Marlyn at the children's home. On one of the first days she ran up to me and insistently demanded to be on my shoulders. I ran around for hours with her and we played in the playground and played tag in the field and even though my whole body ached I would carry through because of her sweet smile and laugh. On the last night, she would pretend to hug other people as I would say, "I'll miss you! I love you!" But when Miss Bandy and Miss Cantrell called that there was only one minute left, she jumped into my arms and I carried her until the very last moment when I exited the gate. The kids here are so amazing and I've loved truly taking time to get to know them and spend as much time with them as possible.

This photo very accurately describes the relationship between Marlyn and me :):) Mahal kita Marlyn <3

Children's Home

During the first day, I was able to go to the Children's Home. There I played with the kids, and also hung out in the nursery, feeding, playing, and putting some of the adorable babies to sleep. I was able to run around with two little girls and put them on my shoulders although the weather was really hot they were still so joyful and always smiling that we were there and playing with them. Being around the kids made everyone so happy and I didn't want to leave when it was time for dinner. I always look forward to go to the Children's Home and I'm really grateful to be able to spend time with the kids.

Deep Stuff from Eman (Emanuel Koo)

This week has been harder than I anticipated but also very interesting since it is very different from any other service trip I have gone on. This service trip, we really connected to the kids in the children's home. It is also much more difficult compared to the other service trips I have been on because there is more work to do, but that work really gives a sense of satisfaction and happiness knowing that we have done something for others in the community. Another thing that I have really enjoyed though is hanging out and playing with the kids in the children's home. Making connections with people from different cultures and different ages is very special. Investing in other people makes all of the hard work really worth while.

Hoonjoo - meaningful time in Manila

When I was preparing for this trip, I never knew what will happen. All I knew was that there will be some children that we will be leading devotions and we will be working on construction. When I reached here, it was similar to what I thought. It was hot, there were many children, and constructions going on. However, when I went to the feeding, I was shocked. When I saw the house of people who are in need of feeding, I realized how much blessings and advantage I have. It was a huge influence to me. After feeding was construction. Thanks to the help of the influence, I could work hard. I also enjoyed fighting against my own limit. All of the time will people in need of help, as well as people working together was meaningful, and joyful. I am truly happy as I got to know more about people that I did not know.

Kids in Manila - Yujin

Our team Manila all came to KIM ministry last week. Since this was my second time coming to Manila, I was really excited to see kids from last year. Last year, I could not interact with kids in Manila that much so I always regret about it. This year, I played with kids a lot, interacted with them, and I had more courage to go to them first and talked to them. Some of them remembered me, which was amazing! I was so shocked that they even remembered my name. After I went to them and tried to interact with them first, they all started to open their minds and be really friendly and nicely to me. Our team is going back the day after tomorrow and I am so sad that there is no enough time for me to have more good memories with them and waste the time. I miss Singapore too but then I really do not want to go back to Singapore. I made so much memories with the kids and I do not want to forget this time forever. Even though I like the last year team better (It does not mean that I do not like this year team member), I like this year's trip better. It was especially meaningful and impactful to me. It makes me cry that although they had some bad memories when they were young, they still laugh with their big smile and welcome strangers. I love the kids so much and it was the best WWW trip ever. I really do not want to forget this happy memory ever.

Lucas' Amazing Adventure

My stay here in Manila wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting, and I wasn't expecting it to be very bad. I guess that means that it's been pretty good. The construction is hard and stuff, but after a while you kind of just learn to deal with the back pain and blisters and just work for whatever amount of time passes without realizing it. Also, eating and sleeping after working for three-ish hours in a row is way better than eating and sleeping normally; massages are basically the best thing ever. Playing with kids is definitely the highlight of the trip. Every time you come, there is a kid who just comes up to you and asks you carry him or read him a story or something like that and they are so ready to just run up and play. Every time you come back, there's a new kid just waiting to do the same thing. The team is also pretty great, people who I've never seen do any physical work before are slinging bags of gravel over their shoulders and throwing dirt out of chest-deep holes like it's nothing. So yeah, pretty life changing, I'd do it again any day.

Joses on construction

Today, my group and some others did some construction. Although, it was really cool in the morning it got very warm as time went on. We divided into three groups. One team did digging, another team continued to demolish the house, and the last group were in charge of carrying dirt to another location. Afterwords, all of us formed up to carry cinder blocks to another site.  In one of the houses, we had to dismantle a concrete platform so some of us used a drill to break it up into smaller pieces.
This experience has made me appreciate the construction workers in Singapore, because now I know how it feels to work in the hot sun all day.

Sonia vs. nature

     I killed a cockroach with a giant rock today! It was my first time, and it felt amazing. Other than that, the construction site we were working on today was hot, dusty, infested with red ants and roaches, and populated with sweet families. Together with the community workers, our teams worked on demolishing and rebuilding two cute little tiny houses for families. We've really only started on the digging and getting the foundations in, but we'll get there. One more thing, I think I've found my passion: I really enjoy digging. Digging also taught me that patience is the key to success, because it takes quite a while to stake the rocks and loosen the soil before shoveling can even take place.

Monday Construction (from Wonwoo's perspective)

Three groups went to the construction in the morning today. Jungmin, HoonJoo, and I carried the water tank to the construction place and it was super heavy. Thanks Jungmin and HoonJoo! We first had some people to keep digging the hole and collect the soils and rocks into the sack and we had some runners to carry the sacks. Every single one of us were working hard under the hot sun: shoveling and carrying. We also had some people collecting the gravels and sands into the sack while others were carrying those sacks to use for mixing cement. I carried one of the bags of cement which is 40kg and it caused me to be 10 years older after carrying it. I saw all members working nonstop with a very positive attitudes. We encouraged and tried to help each other. It really inspired me and also made me to appreciate my teammates. Through the construction, I felt a strong bond between each members and I thought that I am really blessed to serve other people with this teammates in Christ.

Jung Min & the Kangaroos go on a feeding

On the second day (Friday) in Manila, my animal group (Kangaroos) went on a feeding session with the people from the World Race organization. My group members were Tessa, KI, Hong and Daniel Park. We got in the car with the World Race organization and I sat at the very back of the car with Daniel. It was very hot in the back as four people were squished inside the back. The ride felt like ages, we went through bumpy and busy roads of Manila. Finally, we arrived at the village nearby the TayTay region. We got out of the car and started roaming around the village shouting "FEEDING!" it was done to alert the kids that there is food. After the food went out, we played tag with the kids and played around with them by carrying them on our shoulder and back.

We played for a long time and I was exhausted. My shirt was soaked with sweat and dust because the ground was full of dust. Overall, the feeding was one of the best part of the trip for me last year and this year it was the same.

PS. KI took amazing pictures; Hong and Daniel Park played hard with the kids.

Hong's Blog (Saturday Morning)

Hong's:

In the morning, we had our "morning meeting" with Ms. Bandy and the group. We usually split into our animal groups, to have our own individual work but today was different, our leaders decided to split us into boys and girls. The boys were schedule to do construction and on the other hand, the girls were to play sports and games with the  kids and then swim with the local girls from the community. As the boys were dragging their feet and making their way across the floor, the girls were excited. I was ready to go, but I felt a bit frustrated. As we made our way through the streets, the adults and kids were giving us a warm welcome by giving us high 5's and saying hello. I was lifted by their welcome and was full of adrenaline. I worked, and rested for a 5 min break. While I was resting, the kids were hugging and having a conversation with me. I remembered smiling at them and began to enjoy myself for a bit. After the break I began working again until we headed back for lunch at 11:30am.  After we finished eating, we rested.

Koala's Community Walk

Today the Koala group (Terry, Bryan, Frances, Cyrus, and Ji Won) went on a community walk. We first headed out to the street where we met the local people and their environment. We walked and occasionally stopped and prayed for the kids and community. Once or twice we stopped and played basketball or soccer with the kids. Ji Won liked how unexpected everything was and enjoyed interacting with the kids, not just walking through the streets. Cyrus loved how friendly all the people were. Terry was amazed that the kids weren't scared and readily approached us and came to us and high-fived us and asked what our name was. Frances met one girl named Princess who gave her a bracelet that she had made. Bryan liked playing basketball and soccer with the kids and brightening up their day. It was a very fun experience and we definitely want to do it again. :)

Saying Goodbye By: Annika Petersen

       Saying goodbye can be the hardest part of leaving. Whether it is saying goodbye to your friends, your pet, your family or for some people their phones, it can be difficult to say goodbye to all of these things, but saying goodbye can lead to great things like spreading God's love and word. Once you say goodbye it can be scary at first but gratifying in the end. If we never let ourselves say goodbye we would never be able to create memories, share love and wisdom and be servant's for others.
        Although it is only day two and there are many more things to come, saying goodbye for me was really hard to do but upon doing that I am able to open up and do what God has called me to do in the Philippines. Saying goodbye affected some more than others, but it has led to laughs, and inspiring moments. It will never be easy to say goodbye but the experiences that come from it will be great.

sunhee's Friday post

We came to Manila and it is very nice so far. The food here is awesome. I was worried because father told me the food in Manila is terrible but I love eating here. Part of the ministry is a spa.  There's a saying, "Get a massage, feed a family." It only costs about 10 SGD and it is really nice.  I am planning to get it everyday, if that works out. Playing with kids are fun, even though they are so energetic. I think Singapore's weather is cooler because here, even if I stand outside doing nothing, I will sweat a lot.
-Sunhee

A Little Bit Of Everything - Zayne

Hello, today I went to play with the toddlers in the morning and that was really cool. A kid was named Renzy (probably not how you spell it) but I thought that was cool because it's my brothers name with "zy" at the end - but his is spelled differently. This afternoon we're going to a feeding and I'm really looking forward to that. I also think that construction will be extremely satisfying - but tiring too. :P It's so much nicer here than I thought it was going to be. They have come a long way from where they started and it's really inspiring to see. It makes me want to start doing this too. Goodbye, Zayne.