A big and happy hello all the way from Cebu to all those keeping up with my blogs!! I trust everyone is doing well, whether in Canada or somewhere else in the world.

This New Year has continued to prove God’s goodness and purpose in my life. This month of January has been one of the best months so far here on my internship journey that started way back in July. I feel like so much so happened in my being here (and it has) and has gone by very quickly.

One of my major focuses this last month has been with the ministry of the Dolous. I find this so interesting because I had never heard of the Dolous until I came here and felt so out of the loop because everyone knows of the Dolous well here. This ship, which is the oldest and largest floating bookshop in the world, sails the seas and ports in dozens of different countries every year bringing help, hope and knowledge to all those willing to receive it. At any one time there are about 350 crew members all working for the Lord on the ship as volunteers as part of a 2 year commitment. Rhonda and Padala ministries were given the opportunity by the leadership of the ship to be able to sell the many livelihood projects she supports here in Cebu. We’re doing this in order that the local artists and workers are able to make some income for their hard work. So every day this last month, the Padala staff and volunteers have taken shifts selling these items on board. The ship is due to leave Cebu by February 10^th, so until then we have many more hot and long days ahead. It hasn’t always been an easy time on the Dolous, since most of us are not gifted salespeople and are working out the kinks of how to work in an international team of people with very different ways of thinking. But I didn’t come here expecting or even wanting an easy time! I’m here to do exactly this, learn how to work in intercultural ministry! God is no doubt blessing Padala and our team through this experience, so we are grateful for the opportunity. I have met Christian brothers and sisters from over 50 different nations around the world and got to hear their stories. My favourite part has been being able to led some teams out into the city and show them what I do in my internship here!

One of the Dolous teams I was able to lead, was a group of 6. We had one from Mongolia, one from America, one from the Netherlands, one from Japan and one from the Philippines! They did a presentation at Lawaan Elementary School that the children from Didos attend. We thought we were only visiting three classrooms, but instead were able to do an assembly for the entire school on the stage! Who knew!! They did a great job.

Other than the Dolous, I have also been preparing for my ELE trip to Phuket, Thailand! I just arrived here yesterday and now the whole team are here in Phuket together. Duc and Hung just arrived from Cambodia and Natasha from China, Lindsey from Indonesia and Sammy from here in Thailand! We will be staying here for one week at a guest house in the downtown of Phuket. We're planning for some fun events,; beach days, market shopping and sight seeing in the next few days. We can't wait!

Praise God we all arrived here safely with no problems at all and please continue to pray for safety and protection in our travel around Phuket and head back to our homes next week.

Please pray that as we finish our time up on the Dolous, we will be able to continue to work well as a team and be able to network with more crew members on the ship.

Also, for the Dolous itself, it is such a great ministry and outreach. Keep your ears open, it may be coming to a country near you!

Thank you for reading. God Bless you always!

Until next time..

New year = new oppurtunities

Hello one and all! I apologize, it has been many weeks since I have been able to update my blog! There are many things to inform you about.. Where do I begin? Well I left you hanging last time just before Christmas... So Christmas went great. Rhonda and I had a quiet Christmas day exchanging gifts and eating great food. Rhonda and I were invited to dinner with an older American missionary couple on Christmas day so we joined them at their house and had a great time together. We even watched the classic movie, What About Bob! We all laughed a lot,.This couple have been really good to us. When we were missing home on Christmas day they took Rhonda and I like their own "children" and really helped make us feel at home with a family. Praise God for them, it made my first Christmas away from home very bareable.

I was asking for prayer for our youth retreat in Massin, Leyte and thank you for your prayers! It was such an awesome time with the youth. The theme of this retreat was: " Leaders: Challenging the Youth of Tomorrow!" There were over 150 young people from all over the central Visayas who came out to this district conference. And I was able to meet dozens of Alliance youth pastors, youth leaders and of course the youth over the week,. My job was to lead 5 leaders of my youth group from Cebu to this conference in Leyte. Also during the afternoons, I was asked to lead the delegates in team building exercises. At the end of the week, each team won prizes and presented skits and dances. Here are some of the youth making a pyramid for the team building exercise! Each of our days were jammed packed with activities and some of the longest working days of my life. But the best part was, that it didn't feel like work! We would wake up at 5 am and I would lead them in our daily Bible Study and prayer for about an hour. Then by 7 am we would be picked up from the host family we were staying with and dropped off at the church to begin our day at the conference which would go until about 11 or 12 at night! There would be a morning speaker, then three different seminars on worship leading, Sunday school teaching, and Christian values that the youth got to chose from. Then the afternoon activities I led with another youth pastor from Cebu in team building then there was an evening speaker and of course games and songs! (This IS the Philippines) We all enjoyed our time in Leyte and left physically tired but spiritually refreshed and geared up for another year of ministry ahead! Little did I know that just a day later I would have the adventure of a lifetime,..

The four of my youth: Nadine, Lyka, Emmy and Fredgie took an early boat back to Cebu on the 30th with about 100 other youth from the conference. Rhonda, myself and Riezel stayed behind in Leyte for another day to go visit some extended family of Riezel way in the "boonies" of the island. Before we went all the way out there we had left all of our stuff with friends of Riezel in the city and then made our way. We were visiting the auntie of Riezel and her cousins who live in this humble little provincial home in the middle of a rice field. In order to get to this house you have to climb down a cliff, cross a river by a raft and hike back up another cliff, cross the rice field and you are there (as in the middle of nowhere!) Check out the pictures below! We spent the day with the family, visiting and eating and playing some games. I wanted to explore a bit around their property but it began to rain, and hard! Our boat to Cebu was leaving that night at 9 pm, so at around 6 pm we began our trek back to civilization through muddy fields and steep cliffs..! (it's all so dramatic I know!) By the time we reached the river, (after falling into the mud a few times and being completely soaked from head to toe and laughing hysterically with Rhonda) it has risen so much from the rain and was moving so fast, that it was too dangerous to cross. Thankfully Riezel had already crossed safely earlier and was able to catch a bus to the next town and stay with the friends who had all of our stuff. So Rhonda and I were stuck in a flood with no clothes or money and missed our boat back to Cebu! During the night the water continued to rise and snapped the nylon rope that is needed to pull yourself across on the raft. Thankfully word got out that night of our situation and by early the next morning one of Riezel's older brothers who was living in the next town came to rescue us. He swam across the river and fixed the rope and we were able to get across and catch another boat to Cebu on the 31st. We got back just in time for our News Years celebration with some other American friends and watched the fireworks with them, and of course had some of our own as well :) So, I ended off my 2008 with quite an adventure. But thanks to God we were completely safe and will always have a fun story to tell.

I also was able to celebrate my birthday here with many friends. On Saturday, the 10th there was a group of over 100 scholars who are in a tutorial program run by Jiji and Rick a missionary couple here in Cebu. They were having a celebration day at this beautiful park with a petting zoo, a pool and huge areas of grass and places for kids to play. And it just happened to be my birthday so they invited me along and turned it into a birthday party for me and there was cake and ice cream and lots of games and prizes for the kids. I rang in my 22nd year with beautiful children of the Philippines, there is nothing better :)

Right now, in this month of January, Padala ministries has been given the opportunity to sell many of its livelihood products for the poor on the OM ministry ship called the Doulos. This is a massive ship that travels around the world with over 350 crew members and ports in different countries to do ministry and also let the public come on board for their famous Christian book store. I has never heard of it until I came here, but its a huge thing here. And thousands of people come each year to see this boat, tour it, and shop at the bookstore. I am also in charge of taking teams of crew members on the ship and leading them to different ministries we're involved in. I will take a team of about 6 to Stepping Stones where they will lead a children's outreach program for the kids and I will take them also to meet the youth I work with and they will lead the youth group for a night. I have been able to be on this ship helping sell the recycled bags which are a huge hit for crew members on board and its a great ministry opportunity to be involved in. The Doulos will be in Cebu until the second week of February, so please pray for this ministry as they reach out to the communities in Cebu and also invite those to come to the ship and offer them hope in Jesus :)

There is also a group of young people from Nyack university in New York visiting on a missions trip right now staying with Jiji and Rick who I mentioned earlier. They are a real fun group and I have enjoyed getting to know them. Rhonda and I have been working closely with them and touring them around this last week and a bit. They will head back to New York this Saturday.

So it is a very busy new year here in the Philippines! Though I am loving every minute of it as I soak it all in. I am now over half way done my internship and the end is fast approaching with many more things to be accomplished before I go back to Canada in April. But by God's grace it will all be finished and finished well.

Thanks for reading! I appreciate your prayers and support! Pag Ayo Ayo mo!

This is a view from high up of the river and field.

Here I am crossing the river by raft with Riezel's auntie and little brother, Arnel.