Blessings Upon Blessings

What a wonderful month this has been at the Teen Missions base in Buena Vista. It has been a month full of blessings as we’ve spent time with the staff and students at the Philippine base and visited four churches and six Sunday School circuits. The team also worked diligently to complete their tasks on the work projects. Also, they have given their best in learning their 33 memory verses and getting all they can from the Psalms and Proverbs Bible Study and the separate guys/girls classes. To conclude our last few days at the ministry, the team visited Sunday School circuits on Monday and Tuesday. This was the first time the adults and children they shared with had visitors from America. Some of the kids were hesitant at the beginning to come up to our team, but they quickly warmed up as they started playing games together. It has been such a blessing seeing our team interact with all the kids with such excitement! During the Tuesday morning chapel service, Rebecca shared her testimony with the BMW students and staff. You could really see the Lord shining through her! Later that afternoon, a local barber came to the base to give ALL of the guys on the team much needed haircuts and trims. They are all cleaned up for our return to the states! It was pretty fun for them to get some Philippine hairstyles! On Wednesday we started cleaning and packing, which was a bit sad. It seemed like such a long amount of time to stay here and now it has already come to an end. After lunch, the staff and students took us on a tour around the property, showing us the obstacle course their teams use during boot camp. We concluded the tour at the site of the guys’ dormitory that our team helped build. The staff have almost finished putting the siding on, and they hope to have it completed in a couple weeks. We circled around the dormitory and had prayer, dedicating it to the Lord! To conclude our final day, the Philippine staff and students outdid themselves again by hosting a beautiful banquet for our team. They fixed a feast for our us with authentic dishes and fruits. They even gave Mr. Brant his own platter of lychees since they knew he loves them so much! (We’re still trying to calculate the amount he ate over the course of the month!) During the banquet, they presented us with keepsake magnets for each member and leader with a picture of all of us from our trip to the beach. They also gave us an 8x10 picture collage with a beautiful note of appreciation. The evening was concluded with a bonfire, and we sang The Blessing over them. There weren’t many dry eyes as we all have grown to love each other so much! The staff and students have blessed our team and showed us such great hospitality. We miss them already as we flew out early this morning (Thursday) to spend the next couple days in Manila before heading back to Florida on Saturday. Please pray for safety as we’re traveling. Pray that we finish this last week as a team strong. Your teens have really flourished this summer. We can’t wait for you to see how much they’ve grown. We’ve bonded as a family, and saying goodbye is going to be really hard for all of us. The Lord brought each one here, and it has been a gift to share the summer with them. The Lord has genuinely given us blessings upon blessings!

Charity L. - My time in the Philippines has been soooo amazing. I loved going to the different churches each week. God has been working in many ways this summer. It was sad to leave the friendships I made behind. The Filipinos have been so hospitable and the amount they give with the little they have. I’m excited to tell you my stories when I come back.

Aaron P. - My time here in the Philippines has been extremely life changing. As it is coming to an end, I’ve realized how much God has done for us. I couldn’t be more thankful for the people God has placed on this team and the Filipinos at the base. I will definitely miss everyone, but I am also super excited for the next stage God has planned for my life.