Friday, May 30, Metro Independent Baptist Church (Quezon City)
Ashlyn Campbell gives us the overview of today’s ministry opportunities. This morning we were excited to dive into day two of VBS. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast at the church and then loaded up the van and headed to a new location to minister to a new group of kids. Mr. Fulfer is experiencing some health issues and had to stay behind with his wife. We missed having him around today.
The weather was overcast with a bit of a breeze and we were thankful for that. The heat and humidity here is so much more than we’re used to. We met in a covered basketball gymnasium that was open on two of the sides so it let the air circulate better than yesterday’s location. The nursing students set up their station in the back to take the adults’ blood pressure and give out medication to those who needed it. We followed the same format as yesterday. All the kids sat in their age groups and Pastor Tulabot started off by sharing a gospel message while the kids filed in. The team spread out and connected with the kids. I loved how we could walk down the lines of seated kids to give them all high fives. What I really enjoy is when I can catch the eye of a child and smile at them and then their face just lights up. I pray that even our smiles share the love of Jesus with these needy kids.
Joseph taught the morning session on the healing of the paralytic man. Chelsea Tulabot translated the lesson and the kids listened well. After most of the kids had left and we were waiting to go to lunch, we got to hang out with some of the kids and just play with them and get to know them.
After we came back from lunch, we jumped into session two. We were all feeling worn out but we wanted to finish well. Brandon had the opportunity to talk with some of the teens, and a couple of girls trusted Christ as their Savior! After he came and told a small group of us what had happened, I was encouraged to be more purposeful in my conversations. I was convicted by how many opportunities that I’ve had with kids that I let slip by where I could have had a deeper gospel conversation. As I was walking around, two boys and a girl who were about ten years old called me over and started asking me about where I was from and about my family, among other things. I eventually asked them if they knew why I was in the Philippines. I was able to tell them that I’m here to share about Jesus and His love for them. As it turns out, they were already Christians. One of the boys said “Oh yes, I’m born again!” The fact that we were all Christians made our connection deeper and I’m glad that I took the opportunity to ask about their faith.
The afternoon session was the same as the day before and Callie taught it again. We sang songs and did a memory verse, and then at the end we helped pass out food, water, and school supplies. It was a blessing to me to get to be a blessing to these kids. After they all left, we played volleyball and basketball with the church volunteers. It was a fun time, and then we headed back to the hotel. Overall, between the two days 2,187 children/teens enrolled in our VBS and several made decisions for Christ.
In the evening we ate dinner at the church with the Tulabots. Dr. Ruth shared about the history of the school and college, and Pastor Tulabot shared about some of the church ministries. It touched me to hear about what some of the kids they connect with are living through. They told us about one little girl who would come to church every week even though her parents would beat her for coming each time. It’s amazing to hear how this church is reaching out to needy families. They’ve started a sewing ministry for women, a welding ministry for men, and feeding ministries for the kids. We’re excited to participate in the feeding ministries tomorrow.
After dinner we got out our guitars and violins and circled up with some of the church people and kids from the children’s home to give testimonies about VBS and to sing praises together. It was a great time of spiritual refreshment, and at the end we split into small groups to pray with and for each other. We left for the night encouraged by our brothers and sisters in Christ.
