Manila Arrival

Hello everyone!

I will have access to the Internet this week, so I decided to go ahead and take some time to give a brief update. We arrived here in the city of Manila on Thursday night. The city is absolutely massive! Over 14 million people. On Friday from 9:30am-6:18pm we broke into 5 groups of 4; we were given a packet with tons of sites that we had to visit and answer questions. It was nuts!!! This city is massive; Did i mention that part yet?! We used trains, Jeepneys (an extended Jeep that can fit like 25 people) I rode on the outside! I think Ywam said not to , but had to try it at least once. All those months of rock climbing paid off; imagine holding on to the back of a truck that goes around 50-60mph for 45 minutes; we also walked and ran like 20 miles. The malls here are huge. 5 hours only got us through half of one of the smaller malls here!

We will start ministry stuff this coming week! The living is cool. 3 bunk beds and 1 mattress on the floor for us 7 guys. The toilet doesn't flush with a button; you have to pour the water in the bowl at the perfect spot to get the flow of water going. But wait, it gets better! The shower is a 40 gallon trash can with a plastic pitcher! The weather here is more humid than Florida! The water is cold but refreshing!

The people here seem great. Although on the inside there is a deep seeded oppression surrounding the legalistic/religious system here! 87% profess to be Catholic-Christian; but they have totally removed the 2nd commandment in the Catholic church. To say the least-Jesus in this country is more of an idol than a Savior!

Pray for us! The Lord is breaking my heart for the people here already! May the word of the Lord run swiftly, with clarity, that our Lord may be proclaimed and glorified in truth in this nation. Tourism does not seem to be that high here. We were literally a group of 17 in a mall with thousands; everyone stares at you and tries to talk to you if they can get the chance. So doors may easily be opened!