We're here!

Hey everyone. We're in the Philippines now. We made it with no problems. We were picked up from the airport on Wednesday night and arrived at our hotel around 1 am. We are in Manila which has 15 million people living in it. The city never calms down. At 1 am you would've thought you were in indy rush hour traffic. There aren't really road rules so the driving has been hectic, but it's fun. Yesterday we just spent time getting acclimated to the culture. The two pastors were are working with are Jun and Joel. The best way to describe them is hilarious. They laugh all the time, and their laughter is contagious - even when we don't know what we're laughing about. They feed off of each other too, so it's great.
Everyone here has been really welcoming and sincere. The hotel staff greets us each time they see us with their hand over their heart and a bow of the head. You can't help but smile at their hospitality. The hotel we've been staying at is dorm style - kinda unique. But it's really nice. The food has been good. We've eaten lots of rice and sea food. Yesterday we ate both lunch at supper at SMmall of Asia - the largest mall in Asia. It was really nice food. The meals were cheap - about $7 a person for what would've easily been $10 at home. We like that. The dominant mode of public transportation are tricycles (like motorcylces with side cars) and Jeepneys. We all really wanted to ride in a Jeepney so we were able to do that to supper last night. It was pretty thrilling. It's basically a long jeep with sideways bench seats. I think the idea was picked up after the war when the soldiers left the Jeeps here. They are all really colorful. They make the traffic much louder with horn honks.
Today we are going to a church to play with kids and talk with teenagers. We are all really excited to move from the role of tourist to one of minsitry. It will be a good transition to learning how to relate in ministry to the nationals. Then later this afternoon we are flying (no longer boating) to Cebu where we will be doing more intensive ministry.
One suprising thing here is how much english there is. In all reality there really isn't that much of a language barrier. All the signs and menus are in English and it's almost the dominant language. It helps that we are in a pretty touristy area... although we've seen only a handful of other 'white people'.

Thank you so much for your prayers and please continue to pray with us and for us. We're not suffering with Jetlag too much, but we're lacking in energy. I'm sure working with the kids today will help that (or hinder it, haha). Pray also for continued safety and health. No one has gotten sick yet, which is a praise. The airports were pretty intense about the swine flu. When we landed in Tokyo we had to wait an hour on the ground for quarentine officials to come on the plane and check us out (all 403 passengers). Then they gave everyone masks. No one had it though. It was just kinda humorous. It wasn't an issue when we arrived in the Philippines though. Also, praise God for the wonder and creativity of his creation. It is so different here, and it's actually refreshing to many of us. The colors, smells, sights, tastes, and sounds have us on our toes. In many of the rides we are silent - soaking in our surroundings. It's been awesome.

Peru 2009

Hello!!!!

WE made it to Peru! Safe and Sound! This is our first chance at recieving the internet. We made it in to Lima around 11 o'clock with a slight delay in Miami.

Our past two days have been full of sunshine, children, candy, face painting, laughter, music , taxi rides, and spanglish!

Yesterday we went to a school and did a program for the children and played soccer with them. It has come to my attention how much each member of this team was created to love and to love children well. Our team comes alive at the sight of children. After we went to the school we ate lunch and took a siesta. We then went with the youth group to see the new X-Men movie, the boys were really excited!!!

Today we went to a pre school and did a program in the neighboorhood of San Luis which we are staying in. We all fell in love! We face painted and played with parachutes! After our morning full of children--we went to Pucasana and did a VBS! It was an incredible experience to love on the children of the slums.

We have a day full of Pucasana tomorrow and Saturday we are helping with a soccer tournament.

The Peruivans and Katie are taking such good care of us and there is never a dull moment.
Until next time!

Peru (non-medical team)

They have arrived safely! We hope to hear more from them soon!!

Julia (on behalf of the team)

Thailand Post 1

What up Yall?
... I'm poetic with writing, i know.
All kidding aside, things are going great for us!
All of our flights (21 Hours worth) went off without a hitch, except when we got to Tokyo we had to fill out these crazy forms about the swine flu; and they gave us some sweet face masks. But, none of us has it, so thats a good thing i think.
We stayed at the Christian Missionary Alliance Guest House in Bangkok last night, and tonight we are heading to the south on a 12 hour bus ride; fun times are sure to ensue.
Thats about all i have to say... so, here is a random story:
Once upon a time, i forgot my bag with deoderant, toothpaste and toothbrush and so i was either going to be really dirty or get random things from airports. First, i bought a pink toothbrush and toothpaste from the Tokyo airport... i have no idea what the flavor is, but it says "lion" on the front so i call it lion flavor. And i went to a Thai version of Wal-Mart called "Big-C" and bought deoderant... good times, i know.
Thanks for listening, we are all fine, and you will be hearing more from us.
Sincerely,
Matt (and the rest of the team)

We're going to the Philippines!

Hey guys! This is the Philippines team. We are packing to leave tomorrow morning. The team heads off from Detroit at 2:55 on a 13 hour flight with a layover in Tokyo before we land in Manila at 11:20 pm on Wednesday. We will be ministering in Manila and the islands of Cebu and Palawan. There are 8 people on our team. 

Top (from left to right): Amanda, Meghan, Dr. Pettis, Kristi, Lindsey, Jessie. Front (from left to right): Jamie and Laurinda 

We will be spending our time in ministry doing VBS, evangelism, church planting, leading worship, and teaching english. We will be working alongside bible college students. It is our prayer that God will use us in ways beyond our preparation. That the seeds that are planted will be planted in fertile soil and reap a plentiful harvest. We pray that we will be used by God in ways beyond our imagination. It is our desire that we can encourage the missionaries and the nationals, as well as one another. Although we don't know how frequently we will be able to blog, we hope that you will follow our story and what God is doing while we are doing His work in the Philippines. 

Here are some specifics you can pray for:

* Spiritual & emotional strength as we are tested with a new routine, jet lag, and Satan's disgust

* Safety in our flights to and from the Philippines, on the boats from island to island, and traveling around in the Jeepnis

* That we will be models of the love of Christ to all that we meet

* That we will be guided by the Spirit to do His work according to His plan not ours

These are the missionaries we will be working with: 

Jun, Mamel & Jairah Rafael

Romy & Linda Carnigal with their 11 yr old twins

A Countdown to CAMBODIA

Family, Friends and Faithful Supporters,

We are excited to share our experiences with you while we are in Cambodia.  I hope that this blog will be a testament of God's faithfulness and He works in us and through us to bless His children and see lives changed.  We encourage you to follow our postings while we are in Cambodia so that you can pray for our specific happenings and follow our reflections on our ministry.  Please leave us comments of encouragement, share with us how you are praying for us, and let us know what you would like to hear from us!

Early Saturday morning the 7 of us will depart from a variety of destinations and meet in Los Angeles, before the 13 hour flight to Seoul, South Korea, then another 5.5 hour flight to Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Sunday night.    Please pray that there are no complications and that we are able to rest on the flights.

Other specific prayer requests include::

We will be traveling 3-6 hours every few days as we travel from province to province, so please pray for safety as we travel a variety of elements, and pray that we will share God's love with the people we meet along the way (van drivers, market vendors...).  Also, I expect that these hours will be a great time for ofur team to bond with each other and with our missionaries.

Pray that we will be filled with and led by the Spirit as we share and minister in the churches, teach in the schools, and encounter many unbelievers on the way.  Pray also that we will see opportunities to offer our hands and hearts in love.

Pray that we can be an encouragement for the students and staff at the Wesleyan Bible College, for our missionaries Greg and Resie Fernandez, and for the pastors that we meet in the small country villages.

Finally, pray that our team will feel God's presence and see His blessings with each new day.  Pray that we will be filled with God's love for the Cambodians, and for each other.

"The Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;

the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace."

Numbers 6:24-26

Blessings,

Jewel Reed

Hannah Puffer, Zoey Henderson, Loren Dearth, Angela Schram

Jewel Reed, Ashton Rank, Aimee Odum

Departure soon approaching...

The end of the semester is approaching and along with finals and graduation, last preparations are also being made for the World Impact trips. Let us all join in prayer for each person going out this summer from IWU. May they be united in Christ. In His love and grace. May they be safe as they travel and continue to grow in their unity and His wisdom with each passing day.

As the teams are able to have access to internet, they will post updates to this site. Please continue to check back for their words and any specific prayer requests along the way.

The body of Christ is a powerful weapon. Let us continue to be united in our prayers.

In His Grip

Jeff Miller - Coordinator of World Impact