PP Church of Christ Youth Missions 2006

This is an email from Babes (unedited) :

Dear Brothers And Sisters,

One month before you come guys we are so excited about it. people in Taribubu wondered why you really want to visit us, they are so much excited to see you, they are wondered what kind of people you are, but when you came life is just like the same for us but for them who saw people that came  from other places is so different, your action is not just the same as they are, specially your face is not just like with us your eyes your skin, the way you talk and many more are not just the same as in us.We can see that our lifestyle here is harder than yours you don’t need to fetch water and exert more effort for you can get water. you don’t need to plant rice for you can survive, you are sleeping with smooth and wonderful bed, you are eating such great foods,thats means GOD is so great in your life. He is pouring such blessing to each of you. we are so much happy of what we have right now but we are still looking forward and work for it.You Brothers and sisters are so much blessed of what you have right now thats means God is working in you. Praise God Having you. you make us realize that we can make it if we just try to trust God.Thank you so much for being such nice to us, thank you brother Edward, you are always there. Thank you brother Winston your life make us realize that either you are at big, small if you commit all to God he will take care of you. Thank you Brother Boochie you have that courage to serve  even your things are stolen for you everything is fine. Thank you Brother kelvin now we know we need a youth minister like you. Thanks Marisa your such a nice mother we love you so much. To all of you Shawn, Andrea, Sharmane, Nehemiah, Ervin, Sheryle, Valmond, Chinye, Alistair, Joseph, glen,olivia Luis  all of us here miss you guys so much. we are so much blessed by you. No words can express how.God Bless you all Guys we are looking forward again to see you. we love you

Sister Babes

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TUAO YOUTH MISSION TRIP: DEC 2006

This Tuao youth mission trip has been both a learning as well as a spiritual trip for all of us.
The first thing that strikes us in the Philippines is the warmth and hospitality of its people. Three brethren from Baguio city, Shem, Ephram and Julius were there to ferry us from Clarke airport and Tuao with an overnight stop at Ramon. They went back to Baguio city for a few days while we were at Tuao and returned to drive us from Tuao to Clarke. We were very warmly received everywhere we went especially by the brethren at Ramon and Tuao.

The people of Taribubu in Tuao are mainly rice farmers who led simple lives in less than comfortable surroundings and with basic amenities just barely there. Yet they appear happy and contented with their lives and are able to serve and worship God fervently. You can feel the passion they have for God in their singing and their desire to know the Word of God. The minister Jhun Ma and his wife Babe, transplanted themselves from their comfortable urban homes to serve God in Taribubu. We really admire their sacrifice.

Conditions in Taribubu were challenging, with frequent and heavy rains during the trip. December is in the midst of the rainy season, and the two typhoons, although it did not hit Tuao directly, brought along heavy rains to the region. One direct result of the daily rain is the presence of mud everywhere in the village. Once you step out of the house you inevitably end up wading through mud.

Although there is electricity supply in the village, power failures are frequent. On the first night of the youth’s overnight stay with their host families, a power failure plunged the entire village into darkness except for the occasional candlelight in some homes. But when you gaze upwards, you see beautiful clear sky studded with numerous bright stars twinkling in the distance. In fact, a few of the youths saw shooting stars that night. It was a breathtaking sight. It appears as if a message had been written in the sky to let your light shine before men.

And our youths really did let their lights shine during this mission trip. I am very impressed and really proud of this group of PP youths. They were very focused in their efforts to serve God and spread the Gospel. During the school visits, home bible studies, Sunday bible class/sermon, and project works such as helping to fill the floor of the new church under construction with gravel and painting signboards, you can see the enthusiasm and joy in their faces.
During the project works, groups of villagers and their children gathered to watch this group of pampered urban youths merrily performing their tasks. It is a strong testimony to the faith and passion of our youths.

The attitude and resilience shown by our youths were nothing short of amazing. All of them were ready for anything that came their way. Nothing fazes them. Not the ubiquitous mud, the very basic toilet facilities, frequent power failures and incessant attacks by mosquitoes and other unidentified arthropods. Some of the youths have quite prominent “battle scars” to show for that. They took it all in their stride without any complaints. I must specifically mention our four ladies, Charmaine, Olivia, Cheryl and Andrea who were really outstanding in coping so well with the physical and environmental obstacles during the trip and effectively reaching out and engaging the children in the village.
The youth’s resilience was also very admirable. There were many minor hiccups and setbacks during this trip. After a few disruptions to the schedule, punctuality was no longer a major concern as long as the scheduled event took place. What is remarkable is that after each setback, the youths were able to bounce right back with renewed strength and enthusiasm.

This mission trip has not only touched the lives of the people in Taribubu but also impacted strongly on our youths and in fact everyone in the group. At the farewell in Tuao on the penultimate day of the trip, there was hardly a dry eye in the group. This mission trip has been a powerful learning experience as well as a form of spiritual renewal for everyone.

Ooi Boo Chye

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just before i went to bed last night, i checked my handphone for any new smses and set my alarm clock for the next morning. 

to my surprise, there was an sms from an unknown number with +63 in front and 10 digits.  as i read on my excitement grew, because here was exactly what i read:

“H!,h0w r u?wat makes u bz dztym?gerlyn s h!r,,wat u d0!ng?”

why, this must be the gerlyn we know from tuao! and +63 is the extention for numbers in the philippines.  but reading the sms over, i was and still rather in disbelief that she really had sent the sms all the way from there. 

this must have been the sms i have spent the longest time reading over, and the longest time thinking of what to reply; or rather knowing whether or not to reply. 

in the end i did, though i havent gotten another sms, but i guess it must be expensive to send overseas smses from there. 

reading the sms over, i REALLY REALLY wonder if it came from tuao.  and i wonder if my reply got through.  but for me the sms came at a time where i was just totally exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally from the stresses of school, and i’m really thankful to God for sending a giant ray of hope.  last night before i fell asleep the experiences of tuao just swept before my eyes again, and i realised that this mission trip is not the end.  it is only the beginning.. of eternity.

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Youth Mission Immersion 2006 - Tuao, Philippines

I want to start by saying that I believe God has really chosen each and every one of the 13 youths and 5 chaperons to go on this mission trip to Tuao, Philippines. And he has made use of various ways to make this trip possible for each of us. Even though I think none of us can say that we were completely prepared for what lay ahead of us, I think God had really use what we have and work his way in them. I had wanted to go on this trip because I hoped to take my relationship with God to a whole new spiritual level and to see and experience more things so that I would become a nicer and more matured person.

The trip started on a good note and we arrived at Clark airport at about 1130am as planned. However, the van in which the girls were traveling in soon began to malfunction and we had to stop at three different locations to have it fixed. The last stop at a village was the longest and lasted for 2 hours. As a result, we were unable to reach Ramon by the intended 7pm and I finally understood why it was intended to have it that way. As Philippines is located more towards the east, the sun somewhat sets earlier and by 530pm the sky was like what you would see at 7pm in Singapore. I remember looking out of the vehicle window and seeing absolutely nothing as the darkness was just so penetrating. Thus driving was actually a very dangerous task as the streets often lack lampposts. This task was even made more dangerous by the fact that we had to navigate through two mountains on these curvy roads and dodging those approaching trucks. Olivia actually got motion sickness from all that swirling but she didn’t even utter a word of complain. It felt as if the devil was trying to dampen our spirits for serving the Lord although I highly doubt he was successful.

We went paddy rice planting at wet rice cultivation on our third day in Tuao. I have never seen so much mud in my life but I have to say that I wasn’t a least bit worried until I took my first step (the only time I ever saw a wet rice cultivation was in my geography textbook). I cannot remember much of the experience because everything seems to have past by in a whirl but I heard I pulled along quite a number of people into the shin-deep mud. Every step I took was somewhat a screaming hysteria for me as I struggled to not fall into the mud while my very untrusty flip-flops kept on getting stuck and sucked into the mud like quicksand. We found the back-bending rice planting activity rather enjoyable as we only did it for half an hour but those farmers actually wake up at 4am to start work. I am glad I got an opportunity to try out rice planting and now I can proudly say that I am not as afraid of getting dirty and muddy when required anymore.

Fishing was also something I tried my hand at for the first time on Wednesday and I have to say that it is a real test of patience. My fish took the longest time to bite onto the hook/bait but I got to say that the wait was worth it as I caught the largest fish (: It was definitely a camera-worthy moment as Nehemiah and uncle Edward took a picture of everyone with their fish. We did not exactly fish in a pond or river – it was a fish farm. Not exactly the most inspiring spot huh.

Majority of our last day in Tuao was devoted to mountain climbing at a mountain which was a one-hour jeepney ride away. It was not an easy route up and all of us were tired but happy that we managed to scale a real mountain and not just the cemented path of Bukit Timah Hill. We had our lunch at a pavilion at the top of the mountain and ate the food prepared by our sisters in Christ on site.  Another cause for rejoice is the baptism of a sister in Christ at the foot of a waterfall. It just seems so surreal that in the middle of all this nature someone is getting baptized being added into the kingdom of God. During the trek down the mountain, I got a stick that was to act as a staff to help guide my path down and that stick provided me with so much support, relief and hope. The first part of the Bible that occurred to me then was what King David wrote in Psalm 23 “Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” If even a stick can provide me with so much ease in my trek down, I cannot even begin to imagine what having God in my life and trusting Him can do to my life.

I think this trip and the building of bonds with many Filipinos have also taught me to be more people-conscious, more contented and less selfish. We were all brothers and sisters in Christ but theoretically speaking, we were strangers whom have never met one another before. However they never hesitated to give us the best they could provide. They cooked us simple but delicious food with all their sincerity and went out of their way to serve us even though we were there to serve them. And many a times, e.g. the mountain trek they carried all the stuff while we carried nothing. Also Elgin often offered to help carry my belongings and even though I admit that I do as him to take my stuff occasionally, he offers more than I ask. I think this is a rare sight because in Singapore if you ask children to carry plastic bags, they will start complaining and insist that they don’t have to and don’t want to, as it does not belong to them. I think the Filipinos truly demonstrated love in its purest and simplest form just like how Christ’s love for us is so unconditional and everlasting.

As I have failed to mention before, Elgin is a eleven-year a boy whose family hosted me and charmaine during our home stay for two nights. I have to say that those two nights were one of the most unforgettable experiences ever. One of which was hoe Charmaine and I bathe in this open space that was only surrounded by haversacks and the haversacks only covered us till about our waists, which means we had to squad to bathe. There was no floor, just soil with two stone slabs laid over it. Charmaine and I had conveniently found this experience extremely hilarious, which resulted in non-stop laughter through out our bath. Honestly, it sounds funnier when she recollects it so I shall leave it to her to report it. O yea did I also fail to mention that I pee-ed in a potty as there was no toilet at Elgin’s house.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday also saw Tuao East being plagued by a power failure, which resulted in the entire village being plunged into complete darkness. We could only see a few feet ahead of us with the torchlights that we were carrying. Furthermore the ground was extremely muddy because of the constant downpour. As a result, turnout for the Bible class on Monday was a tad bit disappointing. However I think Irvin did a fantastic job at being not too affected by this and delivered an impactful lesson about sin nevertheless. Valmond and Chenyi then followed up with the lesson on Tuesday and Wednesday. I guess what is really miraculous and definitely the work of God was how Thursday was greeted with the return of the power supply and a clear sky. I think this is really special because Thursday was the campfire night and it was an amazing opportunity for us to reach out to more people and tell them about God in a different way. And God made it so much easier for us by presenting this opportunity with such favourable conditions. Many people turned up and I am convinced that they did receive the message we were trying to tell them and now its only left to God to work his magic in them.

There was not a dry eye in sight while we got ready to leave Tuao on Friday morning. Seeing sister Babe cry and singing “If We Never Meet Again” certainly brought tears to my eyes. But they weren’t tears of sadness they were tears of joy. Joy at how each and every one of our lives were touched and changed by the Holy Spirit. And even though there were definitely feelings of missing them after spending ten days together and although some of us may indeed never see each other again, we know we will once again meet in Our Father’s kingdom.

Those ten days were filled with much fun and laughter-infused moments, however this immersion was so much more than just fun and laughter. It is undeniably the most uplifting, memorable and purposeful and experience-filled experience for me. I feel so blessed by this trip because I did so many things I never thought I would do and experienced what it felt like to really go out there to do mission work for the Lord. And to learn that he has a far more perfect and wonderful plan for everyone and thing as our self-drawn up schedule simply crumbled. Nothing was ever for us or about us but for Him and about Him. I use to want to go for camps during June and December because it always leaves me with a period of emotional high after that. But like Irvin had said during the sharing at Cassily: feelings of spiritual high are not what we want because feelings will eventually vaporize and we would be back to where we were before. Instead we should aim to bring our relationship with God to a more stable level for it to last. Even though I don’t feel like this all of a sudden drastically changed and scrubbed young lady, I know that God is slowly working in my life and changing me to be the person He wants me to be.

Cheryl Soh

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The Tuao team will be doing a recording of 12 songs at the church building on 13th Jan 2006 5pm-8pm.

Those involved, please be reminded to drink lots of water, rest your voice and avoid hot and spicy food on Friday.

May God be glorified through our voices and the CD we will be cutting.

The songs we will be recording

1. Lord I Lift Your Name On High
2. Days Of Elijah
3. The Power Of Your Love
4. Here I Am
5. Walking Down Heaven’s Road
6. If We Never Meet Again
7. Hallelujah To The Lamb
8. I Lift My Hands
9. Ammok Ni Cristo Sibibiag
10. When The Night Is Falling
11. Shout to the Lord
12. Rivers of Babylon

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