On Saturday, our team Manila had opportunity to go serve Arnold's community. Arnold, who is only 19 years old, saw the poverty going on near his community and decided to work at YMC. We went to his village, and Arnold gave a little tour for us. Then, he gathered the kids on one side and started to give a lesson about Bible; he talked about the story of Jesus feeding more than 5,000 people. Because there were at least 30 kids, it was so difficult for our whole team to get the kids' attentions. But imaging Arnold doing this alone all by himself, I was amused by him and his passion. The kids were listening to Arnold very well, and they loved listening to Bible story. After Arnold gave Bible lessons to the kids, we had some time to hang out with them. The kids loved hanging out with us and asked questions to us before we even asked them. I remember every time I came here, I felt like God is unfair, just because I did not go through any poverty while these kids did. However, after seeing Arnold and his community, I changed my mind. Even though they are poor, God still did not give up on them and sent people like us to provide any needs for them. And through those processes, the kids got to know and learn about God. I can't wait to see how God will work more in Arnold's heart and how that will impact his community.
Monday 12 March 2018
Joann Paul
Today me and two teams went to the feeding. The car ride was long but the way was very beautiful as we were going up hill. At one point we stopped to take some pictures of the villages in the valley below.
Half way through the trip, I was told I need to come up with a fun Bible story and act it out to the children. I am used to doing impromptu things and so the immediate thought that came up was that it would be easy but it did take some time. Now I knew a lot of Bible stories but I had a hard time thinking of a fun but also not that famous Bible story. I got recommendations from the people in the car and I decided to act out the story of Zacchaeus. So through the rest of the trip I had to make sure I knew the story, decide what parts we had to act out, and find other people to help me in acting.
We arrived at the place and quickly, the children started to gather around us. There were even small babies who came for the feeding, being carried by their mothers, who came to the feeding. At first I was not nervous but as we started praying and I was called to the front, I really did not want to disappoint the kids and I was panicking inside. Luckily I had Robin, Sihan and Cyrus to help me with the play and it went pretty well. They also improvised and made it more funny for the kids. We had a translator form KIM with us and so she made telling the story much more easier.
After we were done with our skit, Ms Lafferty and Sihan came to the front and played from worship songs and we introduced motions for the kids to do along with it. The kids looked like they were having lots of fun and they danced along with us. It was fulfilling to see their smiling faces.
Half way through the trip, I was told I need to come up with a fun Bible story and act it out to the children. I am used to doing impromptu things and so the immediate thought that came up was that it would be easy but it did take some time. Now I knew a lot of Bible stories but I had a hard time thinking of a fun but also not that famous Bible story. I got recommendations from the people in the car and I decided to act out the story of Zacchaeus. So through the rest of the trip I had to make sure I knew the story, decide what parts we had to act out, and find other people to help me in acting.
We arrived at the place and quickly, the children started to gather around us. There were even small babies who came for the feeding, being carried by their mothers, who came to the feeding. At first I was not nervous but as we started praying and I was called to the front, I really did not want to disappoint the kids and I was panicking inside. Luckily I had Robin, Sihan and Cyrus to help me with the play and it went pretty well. They also improvised and made it more funny for the kids. We had a translator form KIM with us and so she made telling the story much more easier.
After we were done with our skit, Ms Lafferty and Sihan came to the front and played from worship songs and we introduced motions for the kids to do along with it. The kids looked like they were having lots of fun and they danced along with us. It was fulfilling to see their smiling faces.
Friday 9 March 2018
Cyrus Lee
9 March 2018
Today I got to see around the neighborhood near K.I.M. There was much that had improved, and that surprised me. Many houses had risen since the 2 years I had come here here before for WWW. It was nice to see that people were building up and having better places to stay. I also got to play with the dog there, even though there is one dog where there were three before. The heat here in Manila makes me appreciate the air-con in Singapore as well as the conveniences we take for granted in Singapore.
9 March 2018
Today I got to see around the neighborhood near K.I.M. There was much that had improved, and that surprised me. Many houses had risen since the 2 years I had come here here before for WWW. It was nice to see that people were building up and having better places to stay. I also got to play with the dog there, even though there is one dog where there were three before. The heat here in Manila makes me appreciate the air-con in Singapore as well as the conveniences we take for granted in Singapore.
Thursday 17 March 2016
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.
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.
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