Hi Family and Friends,
I’m back from Manila and wanted to share about God’s work! Overall, the interns received a lot from their time in Botocan, the squatter community we stayed in. They bonded and made meaningful relationships with many in the community, learned a lot from Aaron and Ema (SP staff there who hosted us), practiced spiritual disciplines like the examen, and reflected on ministering overseas (at this point, 2 out of the 3 interns intend on ministering overseas in the future).
One of the highlights for us was participating in Girls Fellowship, a weekly womens discipleship group led by Ema. The young women are so mature and each one has experienced significant change as they’ve decided to follow Jesus. We were so blessed by their friendships, and it was sad to say goodbye.
We bonded over countless games of Uno and Monopoly Deal! It was so easy and fun to connect over these games. I am now *addicted* to Monopoly Deal!
We spent a lot of time doing homestays, where we hung out at different homes and joined local families for meals. I was grateful for the chance to reconnect with Janice (pictured above) and her family, who adopted me during my 2015 visit. Seven months ago, their house burned down when a major fire tore through the community. They’ve been in temporary housing during the rebuilding process. Although they lost everything in the fire, Janice expressed a deep, deep faith in God’s provision. I was struck by how she embodied this passage from Matthew 6: “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink… Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”
I had the privilege of living with Amor and her family. She is one of the leaders in the church and has an amazing testimony. We bonded over our love for Sara Bareilles.
After the fire, this graffiti art appeared and encouraged the community. The words read “Bangon Botocan,” which means “Stand Again, Botocan.” And BTW, this is me and my interns!
Personally, I had a lot of fear and anxiety going into this trip because this trip was extremely difficult with the last intern class. I worried about potential crises and worst case scenarios. God spoke to me through this verse from Matthew 6: “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” God reminded me to take it one day at a time and to stay focused on the present. Overall, this trip went pretty smoothly, and I feel like God redeemed my previous experience. Praise God!
Bonus food pics:
Lechon! Soooo yummy.
Tropical fruits! Rambutan, lanzones, mangoes, mangosteen, and atis. We were spoiled.
Janelle Look 