Philippines 2010 (Saturday April 24th)

Well, we got here with no hiccups. Plane ride was as smooth as can be, we got all our bags, and Korean Air planes recline significantly further than previous years. Needless to say, I got sleep! However, the seats were a bit narrow. We arrived Friday evening about 11pm local time which is exactly 12 hours ahead of New Castle local time. Being able to sleep on the plane made a huge difference for me.

Saturday we hit the ground running. Lois, Karen, Paul, and Rita were at a camp for the special children all day. Pastor Mike, Dan, and Dick were with Pastor Jim Boy all day doing some shopping and trying to hunt down a Cebuano Study Bible. Jenny and Tiffany were with Bing Bing planning the Girls camp and gathering supplies. I was with Pastor Nigel, RJ, and Pastor Hermie shopping for equipment for the worship team. I must say that I enjoyed hanging out with this three incredible guys, but shopping was not very fun. We spent about 4 hours in the mall hunting down the right equipment for the right price. Believe it or not, the sound equipment here is much more expensive than the sound equipment back home. In comparison, a guitar that would normally cost a few hundred dollars in the States was $500 or more here. The first place we went to buy a 30 meter 18 channel snake, they were asking nearly $1, 500. We eventually found a 24 channel snake that had one dead channel for about $500... which is still a bit pricey but cheap compared to any other option we had. The one thing that we didn't get that they need is an electric drum set. Because of the room that they lead worship in and the outdoor venues they play at, the drums are either too loud or too soft. I am praying about this! The cost of the drums are between $1,500 and $2,000.

We visited the new property yesterday as well and saw they new building. When it is finished, it will be fantastic. They have one room completely finished and it looks beautiful. They are using it for a new program they are developing that basically teaches mothers how to properly care for their new born babies. The mortality rate is pretty high for both the mother and the new born, so they set up a program to fight against that. They have such a heart for people! It is reflected in the things that they do! I look forward to connecting with everyone this morning at church, so I need to get done with this report and gear up for another exciting day in the Philippines. And for those of you wanting to know about the weather, here's a little story... As we were flying in to Cebu at 11PM, the Pilot informed us that it was 87 degrees. Yup, that's with no sun! It was hot today... mid 90s and extremely humid. Peace out...

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