Faith and fellowship in the Philippines

So I guess I'm not done writing about the Philippines after all. :)

I'm certainly not done thinking about the great experience I had there! The memories I made on the Habitat trip will last my lifetime.

In addition to Filipino friends and fresh mangoes that I'm still missing, I also really miss my other team members and the wonderful fellowship that we had on the trip.

While I've become used to living in Japan--where the population is less than one percent Christian--it was so refreshing to spend time with a group of Christian ALTs in the Philippines, where about 80 percent of the population is Catholic.


It was nice to see a cross in several different places while in the Philippines, including on this hill which we passed on our route to and from the work site.

Our team was made up of ALTs from all over the world, but we all had living in Japan in common. I really enjoyed being part of such of a diverse group and making some very good friends...

With a combination of the background landscape, Kaspar (from Switzerland) and I wearing our "safari hats," and Abidemi being from Nigeria, we thought this picture makes it look like we're in Africa. :)

Eunice (from Canada) and I became good friends since we worked together each day, all day.

Laurel, the trip leader, (from New Zealand) and I at the farewell party.

The straw hat gal pals :) -- Claire from Chicago and Holly from Canada

Nate looking so handsome with his new haircut! :)

Even though we had so many different personalities on the trip, we all got along sooo well. As I've discovered before, group dynamics can make such a difference.

Most of us had a strong Christian faith in common with each other, and I really enjoy having prayer each morning as well as evening fellowship with the team. We talked about how we each could see God working during our week together in the Philippines. I'm so happy that I met these brothers and sister in Christ, and I pray that I get to meet up with them again at some point in the future!