Hello~!

Hello Everyone,

I hope you are all doing well! I am having a great time here in the Philippines. I am enjoying myself very much and I am so glad that I made the decision to come here. It will definitely be an unforgettable experience for me.

This past week was busy and full of good and interesting experiences. :) On Wednesday (6/28), we traveled to Cebu city (about an hour from Catmon) for a minister's conference. We attended because Bro. and Sis. Vacca are the missionaries here and Bro. Vacca was teaching a class. Many pastors were at the conference and I pray that they were strengthened, inspired, and renewed to continue on doing a great work for God. We stayed two nights in Cebu at a hotel and we made it out alive and well! :) The hotel was okay - it wasn't that bad - thankfully we didn't see any rats or cockroaches. Nevertheless, I did sleep on top of the bed, fully clothed and with my slippers on just in case I had to jump up real fast! Haha
I met many people at the conference and I had a really good time (an adventure!). We went back to our home-away-from-home (Catmon) on Friday.

Saturday was a busy day for me. We started with Sunday School with the children and we had an awesome time! After class (prayer, singing, teaching, and snack), we played soccer with kids. The class was all boys so it worked out perfectly when we divided into teams. They had SO much fun. I got out there and ran and kicked the ball around too. It was great; hearing the giggles and seeing the happiness on the boy’s faces was wonderful! :) I'm so glad Esther had the great idea to buy a soccer ball!
A little later we had our youth service and it was great! There was a beautiful presence of God in the service and God touched and blessed everyone who attended. After youth service and fellowship (we bring cookies!), we had choir practice. We learned and rehearsed the song we were to sing on Sunday. So, by the end of that day, Saturday, we were pretty tired especially after spending a couple of unrestful nights in Cebu. :) Esther and I both crashed on the way home - dead to the world!

On Sunday, we had another beautiful service. We always do (thank you, Jesus!). After the service, I felt a special burden to pray, so I stayed and prayed. I could feel the Lord so strongly! Esther prayed with me also; we stayed in the presence of God and interceded for the people of the Philippine Islands. God has great things in store for the people we are working with. I know He has outstanding plans for them in the present and in the future!

Next Sunday, we will be having service in the new building. So, this week the Vaccas have been very busy getting everything ready for the move. Yesterday, we painted the new church building. It was a lot of work! We painted and painted and painted! You can just imagine painting an upstairs room in the heat and humidity with no air-conditioning. (The church will have air-conditioning; it will be ready to go by Sunday). It was crazy! We worked all day, and we were very worn-out when we finished. But, of course, it is for a good cause and we had a lot of fun doing it! :)

Today, we went back to the church, and cleaned. We had to clean all the paint that was left on the floor from yesterday. We scrubbed the tile floor on our hands and knees. I also cleaned all the chairs, and windows. So, today was another long, busy, hard-working day. I didn't have as much fun today, but I made it! :) The church looks nice and clean now; it looks 100% better than the way we found it! Thank you, Jesus!

Pray for us that God will bless our humble efforts and our new building will soon be filled with souls worshipping God. It is my desire to see many come to God and receive this great gift of salvation. To God be all the glory.

I am posting a couple of pictures. The first one is of some monkeys in the park after Sunday School, and the second one is of me and Esther being silly after a long day of painting on Wednesday. I know we look really cute, especially with those red bandanas! haha... :)

God bless you all~!

Sincerely,

--Jeriann