Glow Mission- Day 12

This morning we went to visit the children of the Bajao area. The sun hadn't come out fully but we managed to squeeze over 80 children under one roof. The children enjoyed the action songs and little games and were caught up with the story of Moses that our team acted out as the story was being told and translated.

Afterward we dressed wounds while some of us did face painting. The kids were excited and seeing the smiles on their faces was very strengthening.

On a side note, almost every little boy wanted a dragon painted on their face/arm. I couldn't understand the obsessions with dragons and didn't even know how to paint a dragon. I kept trying to persuade them to other things to get painted :)

One thing I noticed was that these were kids who lived by the ocean. Turtles, dolphins, sharks, and other sea creatures kept featuring in the face painting requests. The houses of the Bajao people are built on stilts over the water. Each one joined by narrow planks. Most of these planks/bamboo were not even fastened to the supports. It was tricky to walk on them with the water just below. A really different lifestyle but with content people. God sustains His people wherever they are.

After lunch we went to the other side of the island to minister in a place called Looc. Just when we arrived they had an electricity black out. So we led worship with just acoustic guitars and a cajon. Praise and worship was powerful as the people sought after God in worship. Some of the Melbourne youth stood up to testify then Pastor Gregory shared the word as the children went out to have their classes and activities with some of the Melbourne youth. Afterward we came back in together for prayer. It was good to see the saints reach out and seek God in prayer. As the Melbourne youth went around praying God began pouring out his anointing upon the whole church.

We were blessed to have sister Fe (pastor David's wife) translate for us to the Visayan dialect. The church building was in a picturesque lot. It was truly a painter's dream. Church by the woods and kids learning outside amongst the bamboo the trees.We finished day at Looc with fresh buko (young coconut). So simple, but fresh and refreshing.

We got back to our accommodation to rest and cleanup. Went for dinner at the missionaries residence. Pastor Don and wife Marie are American.Home cooked meals. Epic. After dinner we sat around the table and drew wisdom from the veteran missionary couple. It was uncomfortable at times when they would ask us strong personal questions but at the end of the night we were all agreed that that was a precious moment for us to learn about the real side of missions and the importance of discipline in a Christian's walk with God.

We got back home to reflect together as a team. The God moments throughout the day became clearer as each one testified and shared. Praise God for another day -written by Apo Leo