Glow Mission - Day 4

We woke up around 5am to get ready for our next destination which is Laguna. The van arrived at exactly 7am which was one hour late. We thought that we couldn't be able to fit everyone because of our bags. We had 11 people in the van with 19 bags. We all had to fit into the small van. Some of us had to hold luggage on our laps  the van was hot and stuffy. When we stopped for a rest, I had to climb out of the van through the windows as  there was luggage in the way,  so did Thom and Abraham. It was a 3 hours drive to Laguna, we arrived at University of the Philippines, Los Banios around 11:30. We checked in at Searca Hotel. The environment here is way different from Payatas. This place is like a province there are trees everywhere and its clean. But we also missed all the people at Payatas. It came to our mind of how fortunate we are  to be in this kind of environment. The hotel where we are staying at is 5 minutes walk to the conference hall. We had problems with the room arrangements but in the end it was sorted out. We had different people who came  up and organized the place where we are staying at. And we thank God for using these  people to bless us and giving us a warm welcome. The whole youth went straight to the conference and met a lot of people. The only thing we did not expect was the heat. It was so hot that even a five minute walk made us all sweat so bad that our tshirts were so drenched.  Here at the university it is not safe to drink water from the tap because it is kinda dirty. So they provide some drinkable water which is only available between 5am - 8pm. We had to be at the main auditorioum by 1pm for orientation  The Hall was full of people (more than 1500+) from different parts of the Philippines that had gathered together for a conference call Lakas Angkan Ministries National Conference  This conference is about making disciples which helped us a lot for our mission trip, because the mission trip is about this. Most of the message is in Filipino language which is really hard for Pastor Greg, Apo, Tania,  and little Abe so we have to explain what is going on. It was really crowded and hot but we really enjoyed the night, God is in the midst of the conference, the first night was beautifully done we can't wait for the coming days. God is gonna do mighty things amongst us and through us. God can do anything and nothing is impossible for Him. Even though we had tough times God gave us strength and wisdom to go through the obstacles because in the end it's the harvest that really matters in this mission. We also wanna thank the church for praying for us and God trully is a prayer answering God. He never leaves us or forsakes us. - written by Aaron Baccay

Glow Mission - Day 3

We got up at 7:30 and started to get ready. After an exhausting Saturday ,we stiill had to get up early and we headed back to church. I was excited to go back to church quickly because on the previous day, I had an encounter with a little boy named Andrei. Andrei lives in a place near a garbage dump. Later that day, we went on a tour to the dump side. It was a really horrible place. The smell was very attrocious and there was garbage everywhere, water was leaking from the garbage bags and running down the streets. There were kids playing on this dirty disgusting street and dogs were lying in their own poo. There were piles of garbage everywhere. There were even paths made between the piles of garbage to peoples houses. Most of the houses were just sheets of metals with dirty floor.  Even  though this was where he came from, Andrei always had a smile on his face. It was that smile that caught my heart. When we arrived at church, the first thing I looked for was Andrei. The amazing thing about Andrei was that he had only one hand and his other hand his fingers had limited use. I found out that day that he was born that way BUT even though he was born and looked this way, it didn't stop him from having that huge and beautiful smile of his. I walked in church, and there as kids sitting all over the floor. And the adults were lined up against the wall on wooden benches. I saw andrei sitting at the front and his fce lit up when he saw me and he rushed over and gave me big hug. - - Praise and worship began and led by our youth team and it was a great time and the people were really blessed. People hearts were touched and the presence of th lord was there in a powerful way. - - After the service we left the church around 2pm and  went back to our uninviting hotel for a quick rest. We got an hours rest and at 4pm, we got back to the church and started the youth service. We played charades and our team won as usual. ;) it was good because their youth and our youth were really bonding and having fun. After the youth service, we went to the dump-side and had a tour and our tour guides were the people from church's who lives works there collecting garbage or scraps of metal for their lively hood. - - As we walked along, what I really noticed was people were very very happy, and one of the tour guides showed us his house.  He said that his house were not that much and small. It was a small one room hut, he his family and his brothers family all lived in a space that is smaller than my room. But from his heart it was the best house anyone could ever have. And while we were walking, God showed me something, he said that even though they were very poor and they don't have that much, they were happy. Us, in Australia, we got everything and still we take depression pills. I'm not trying to be all rude or anything but I just  want you all to see that those things we have there we take for granted are a basic need they don't have here, For example,  just a simple clean  drink  of water is hard for them to get All they want is clean and drinkable water! - Written by Thom Baccay

Glow Mission - Day 2

We arrived  in Manila early on Saturday morning by the time we left the airport it was around 1:30am. We were all very tired and exhausted but we still had a two hour bus ride to our motel. We arrived there at around 3:30am (7:30 am Melbourne time and we had been up 24 hrs)  We were visited by the Baccay's mother who gave us some food as we were all starving!  Everyone was tired and as soon as we finished eating(it was around 4:30) we went to sleep because we had to wake up early and everyone was jet lagged (such a blessing; we arrived un-harmed, got to eat and had a place to rest). The motel that we stayed at for the night wasn't supposed to be the one in which we were supposed to stay in because the other motel was fully booked. There was no elevator so we had to lift our suitcases up three flights of broken stairs.  It was a run down place where there were holes in the walls, broken windows and a bath room door that had no handle so we couldn't open and close it properly. At least we were safe. Praise God!  We woke up at around seven in the morning and moved our luggage to the motel next door, the one that we were supposed to stay at. Our first destination that we went to was to a Baptist church where  we met up with Pastor Jack. Pastor Jack looks after a group of children who go door-knocking which involves giving pamphlets which tell people about Jesus.  The sisters of the youth helped out with teaching the children to sing as a choir, and the brothers helped out with teaching other little,kids to sing a few songs. Throughout the day we became buddies with the children, supervised them and taught them a thing or two.  After the children went home we went to a mall to get some dinner around 4pm. Soon after we arrived back in the motel because  we needed to pack some stationary packs  for all the little kids from Payatas  and a few toys we had brought. We stayed up to 12 am even though we were really exhausted from having only about three hours sleep the previous night. We just did not want to disappoint those kids. Some of them have nothing not even slippers on their feet but they want to go to school and we just wanted to help them and put a smile on their faces.  Overall I think that today went superbly it was great to see how happy the children were despite the surrounding environment. Throughout the entire day God was at work. When we were waiting for taxis to pick us up from the mall we were expecting two in for all of us to return to the motel, but the Lord had something better in mind. He provided us with a large taxi with more seats than an average five seater so we could return to the motel. During the day I was tempted to just loose it and stampede about in anger, but yesterday I had prayed for some encouraging Word so that the feeling of any anger could be suppressed.  This very morning Hebrews 12:1-3 was put into my mind and the verse was a great one to refer to whenever I was about to stress out. One final thing which really hit me was how Pastor Jack and his wife give so much and are so faithful, it was very inspiring. This reminds me of Matthew 6:33 which says "but seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you".  Written by Kenny Huynh

Mission Update - Day 1

The first step of our Glow Youth Mission Trip: Leaving Melbourne! Meeting up at church at nine in the morning, the youth gather and finally finish packing bags and get ready to set out on our mission. Everyone arrives at church and we we have a final Word from Pastor Paul reminding us to remember Who we represent and that this mission is solely for the Mission of God and with all focus on Jesus Christ. The real encouraging thing I find about our youth group is that we do know that what we do is for God and that we wouldn't even be able to go in this trip, or do anything for that matter, if it wasn't for Him. So after the final words from Pastor Paul, we all pray and get ready to set out. We all began packing the bags in the bus and my mum began to cry (haha); it started the night before so it wasn't all that intense. Saying goodbye everyone, we headed off in the bus to go to the airport.  Arriving at Melbourne Airport, Pastor Greg outlines rules so that we all don't get separated. It was the 'buddy system'. Basically you we were given a partner and we had to make sure we saw them and they were close to the group at all times. At the airport we ate before we went off and had no major trouble with anything in the process of boarding; praise God.  The long trip from Melbourne to Brunei was the transition flight before actually going to Manila. The trip was fun. To burn some time in the plane, everyone just did their own thing : watch movies, play games and Kenny, Apo and I drew pictures. It was a long ride and once we got to Brunei, there was another long 3hour wait till the next flight. But after all that, it was quick 2hour trip straight to Manila. Everyone was extremely tired from the extremely long day because we arrived at Manila at 12am (Manila time) ;this meant that it was already 3 am in the morning for us Melbourne kids. In the end, we we all incredibly knocked out of the long trip tiredness.  We met Paster Don at the airport whom took care of all our luggage and guided us all the way to our hotels. By the time we got to the hotel, I was knocked out and could barely stand and open my eyes, but at the hotel was Anna B's mum. She made us food and brought soft drinks, which kept us all awake for a good 'nother hour until everyone just slept. The First day was incredibly long and tiring, but we made it! We've arrived at Manila, safely and all in one piece. Thank you God. Written by Yung Garol

Glow Video Launch

(Thank you to Anna Baccay for the awesome video)

Glow Mission Launch

Glow Youth is our bunch of passionate young people determined to make a difference in this world. We are about to launch into the deep. When Peter stood on that boat and saw Jesus walking on the water, his desire was to do the same. Yes it was a stormy sea and the problems seemed insurmountable, but he looked and Jesus and said "Master if you bid me I will come!" (my paraphrase). He did not see the storm, He saw Jesus!

Its been quite a journey to get here, There have been ups and downs, some disappointments and some joy! But we stand at the brink! we see Jesus and we have asked Him to call us out! And HE has!! Its time to step off the boat and onto the water! We WILL be able to walk because HE has called us to do it!

Did you know you can only walk on water if you have the faith and courage to step off the boat?

In a couple of days we will step out on Faith and God will meet us! Join us on our exciting journey! It is sure to be filled with all sorts of experiences! we aim to do what God tells us and you can follow all the adventures right here. We will keep you posted!

the fruit of the spirit

What kind of fruit are you?

Matthew 7:16

Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

John 15:2

2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

John 15:4

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

Romans 6:22

22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

Hebrews 13:15

15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.