With indescribable excitement and joy, the team was sent off by our dearest team pastor, Pastor Simon Yee, and fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, who showered us with their prayers, blessings and well wishes.
After a four-hour journey, we were welcomed to Philippines by awesome weather, with bright sunshine and beautiful white clouds of God's promises, as shortly earlier weather reports promised downpours.
Subsequently, we were received by Pastor Nel of Faith Family Church, who brought us from Manila International Airport to Dasmarinas in Cavite. She prepared a delicious dinner with the help of her talented sister, Joselyn. We were honoured and grateful for their hospitality. We had a great time of fellowship.
The next day, refreshed and recharged, we were greeted by the concert of nature, performed by singing birds, crowing cocks and barking dogs.
After a sumptuous breakfast, we visited a government school, where goodie bags consisting stationery, notebooks and coloured papers, were distributed to 137 Primary-One students. The joy on their faces warmed our hearts. We prayed for the Captain of the Barangay before we departed.
Not only did we work hard, we also played hard and ate to our hearts’ content. Our host, Pastor Nel, brought us to enjoy local beef soup and fish at Tagaytay. The team was too hungry and devoured the food so quickly that we forgot to take a photo to document our delicious food. We then visited a local market nearby to buy some organic fruits and eggs. For dessert, Pastor Nel brought us to one of Philippines’ famous restaurants called “Josephine Restaurant” that overlooked the beautiful sea and volcano to enjoy their local desert “Halo-Halo”.
In the afternoon, we visited one of Pastor Nel’s leaders called Jena, who owned a car showroom. Jena is very involved in the children’s ministry. We prayed for Jena and her husband, as well as for their business. And to our amazement, they actually sold one car after we left. We also met Pastor Nel’s brother, Eddie, who was sourcing for a suitable venue to kickstart his food business. There and then, we prayed for him too.
That night, we were invited to a women cell group at Jena’s house, a workers cell group and a youth cell group at a plantation. To bless our brothers and sisters in Christ, Stephen and Siew Ping shared a word of encouragement. Our day ended with a home-cooked dinner prepared by a humble family that stayed at the plantation.
At around 5.00am the next day, we set off on a prayer walk around the village. We released words of blessing over the village as we watched the sunrise, enjoyed the breeze and took in the fresh air of nature. Pastor Nel also led us to a village that had yet to be reached out to. As we walked the ground, we stood in the gap to pray for breakthrough in this community.
By 10.00am, we started packing goodie bags for 20 families, whom we would visit later at their cell group meeting. The meeting was interestingly held in a tree house. All the people who attended the meeting were workers of a crate factory who lived, worked and raised their children in the area. We were warmly welcomed by the cell group. Rebecca shared the Word, and the team prayed individually for the people while distributing goodie bags to them. Although they were not rich, the joy of the Lord was shown on their face.
At 4.00pm, we hosted a Prayer Tower session at the church. God’s anointing was so strong as the Holy Spirit moved and touched the people that many wept as we prayed and interceded for them. We saw their hunger for the Lord and our hearts and prayers went out to them. We all had a good time worshipping the Lord and praying for each other, as well as the nation of Philippines.
The next day, which was a Sunday, we joined the Creative Arts Ministry for a time of devotion before the service. The youth led worship and shared a Word to remind each other that as extreme disciples, we need to take up the cross daily. It was a divine coincidence as the team had brought FCBC’s “EXD” dog tags as a gift for the youth.
For the service, Stephen preached a message on the character of Joseph. We then had a time of ministry for the church members. As we prayed, we could see that many were touched and thirsted for the power of God. While at the children’s service, the team prayed for each and every child. As they did so, tears welled up in the eyes of the children as they were touched by the Spirit. It was truly a privilege for the team to be used by the Lord in such a manner, and in turn we were infinitely blessed.
The time of departure drew near! With sadness, we bid farewell for our dear brothers and sisters at Faith Family Church. We will definitely meet again in the future!