Philippines by Julie

When John asked me to write a note about my recent trip to the Philippines my mind began to wander. That’s a lot to put into one paragraph. Many visits to small village churches, a large service in an outdoor gymnasium, everywhere we went worshiping the Lord with people who live on the other side of the world! But what really stuck out to me was the fact that often times where the Lord wants us is not in OUR schedule or in OUR plans.

                                                     Picture of Julie in action! (not added in here by her!)

One day our van was out of gas and I began to watch the scene unfold around us. We were near a park area where many homeless live. As we sat there John begin talking with some boys, I’m not sure if they understood or what he was saying but I do know that their faces began to smile. Fratt and Randy began to sing, gathering a crowd of rough looking men, who first watched, then you could see smiles and thought full faces, feet tapping, some even sang along or clapped. Leona sat down on the dirty sidewalk and pulled out some sheets of paper, she has a talent with children and attracts them everywhere she goes. They proceeded to make paper frogs, possibly the only toys these children have ever have had, the smiles on their faces were now mixed with laughter.


Later on this same road trip we stopped in a small town along the way. Again I watched the scene unfold around us. The local “pool hall” was a table under a wood canopy, many man were inside some with their children. John began a game with one of the men. In a little while Fratt and Randy came over and began to sing “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” and “This little Light of Mine”. The crowd grew, school must have just gotten out for the day, many children stopped in to see what was happening.


The love of Christ was shared at each of the places, through music, smiles, hand shakes, and the Word with the Message of Christ’s love. Many people in the Philippines know English, however one phrase John had learned in their language is “God is Good, All the Time” so we, and everyone heard that everywhere we went, what an awesome reminder!