Tulabots Home/Tarlac Christian College, Tarlac (Thursday)
Thank you, Cave, for again taking the time to write another update!
We were allowed to sleep in a bit with breakfast at 8am – 8:30am. Breakfast consisted of pink hotdogs, Pandesal (Filipinos like rolls), and eggs with coffee and juice. The Tulabots had special guests come in to have a leadership mentoring chat/discussions with several of the Tarlac Christian College team members along with Dr. Cirone and Mr. Alex Fulfer. The rest of us spent time with the children. Marion led the way with arts and crafts with a small, friendly competition. We enjoyed getting to know each kid, while learning Tagalog words along the way. We also played multiple games which culminated in a game of tug of war. It was easily won by Team America but the kids didn’t mind at all, they quite enjoyed the challenge.
Afterwards, it was time to head to Tarlac Christian College for an Education Leadership Seminar led by Dr. Ruth Tulabot.
Many Christian schools, affiliates, Pastors and their wives, and many others (approx. 500) attended the seminar. It started with singing and acknowledgements of the representatives. We were able to do our Tagalog introductions and our team songs.
Dr. Ruth Tulabot led the first session, Introduction to Organizational Management. Guest speaker Attorney Icel Gutierrez led the 2nd session, When David Faced Goliath. It was hard on the team (except for me) because these speakers spoke in English and Tagalog. Nevertheless the team did their best to pay attention. We had a surprise guest visit the seminar, which was Provincial Governor (of Tarlac) Susan A. Yap. She spoke on the importance of education not just in Christian colleges and schools but also in public and local schools. Before the 3rd and final session, there was an ice breaker game which was the game of Bring Me This Item. Dr. Cirone led the 3rd session, Answering the Call to Christian Leadership–a look at the life of Jeremiah, spoken in all English which was a relief to the team.
Afterwards, each guest speaker was given a thank you gift. The team and I were also each given a small gift as token for our part in the seminar much to our surprise. We took many, many pictures. A lot of guests were able to receive some small gifts like rice, umbrellas, and dish soap, given by the Anak at Magulang Organization. For dinner, we dined at a lovely Chinese restaurant. After dinner, the team gave their special gifts to their assigned orphan child. The children were very happy and delighted by their gifts. We spent the remainder time relaxing and spending more time with the kids. Our fearless leader, Mr. Fulfer, even entertained the kids which some fun card tricks. We went to bed early, readying for another day of doing God’s work in the lives of the Filipinos.
Lord bless,
Team Philippines