Mabuhay!

Today concludes the month of June. It has been quite a month! The American Nehemiah teams arrived on June 10th. I had very specific and wonderfully detailed instructions from the better half of my missionary supervisors. However, not even Ate Wendy could have anticipated the nonsense that happened. Despite missing pick up vans, extra passengers, one semi-temporarily-missing student, one too many people and not enough beds, and slow moving airport delivery vans, everyone made it to the ten-plus Filipino ministry sites! Grabe! (That’s Filipino for “ goodness gracious!")

However, I did get a little present from Kuya Jess and Ate Wendy, a TRAVEL BUDDY!

HAAAAAL – LEEE – LU – IAH!!!!

I mean I’m glad they know I’m tough enough to hack it, I’m strong enough to endure it, and I’m brave enough to face it, but…but...dag nabit, I was lonely!… :(

My sojourning companion, Malloree, is the media team member for the four Luzon (northern-most island of the Philippines) based Nehemiah Teams that I’m supervising. She will travel around with me, taking pictures and writing blog entries about the teams we visit. Check out her work:

Urban Rescue (Ft. Bonofacio, Manila)

Manila Nanny – New Faith Family (Antipolo, Manila)

Manila Nanny – Open Door (San Pablo)

Manila Nanny – Ruel Foundation (Mindoro)

The two of us started with our delightfully unique and most hilariously distressing team in Ft. Bonofacio, Manila working in the red-light district, ministering to prostitutes. They are four joyfully spirited girls with beautifully willing hearts. No four girls were more perfect for this ministry. There is not work already being done in this area, it’s pretty much a start from “scratch” kind of gig. They spend their days hanging out in front of bars looking for girls who look like they could be…well…accepting money for sex. In case you weren’t aware they don’t exactly advertise it proudly, especially not to foreign student summer missionaries, so it's not an easy task. Nothing has deterred them. They have encountered bar owners who are snide and have the most unwelcoming darkness in their eyes, the kind that makes your arm hair stand on end and makes you desire several showers after even the most brief encounters. They have witnessed at least one demon possessed woman who stalked them in route home one evening and warned them of the “Satan” that lives in name of bar (left out for the girls privacy). They’ve been stood up on dates with the bar girls for Bible study, but they keep knocking on the doors! Yesterday morning, when Malloree and I went out praying walking with the four, we found all the bars had signs of being closed by “city ordinance,” and after questioning the lingering witnesses, we were informed that complaints had been made and permits had not been paid and they would all be closed until things were cleared up. This has given the girls a wider time-slot for ministry because they have nothing to do and no where to go. Last night during a Bible study, that most likely would have most likely been interrupted sooner by customers, four of the bar girls accepted Jesus! Praise God for picky political officials, unpaid permits, and lack of Filipino need to hurry – business may not be back for a while – pray with us for that!


Next on Andrea’s Agenda:

July 2-7 up river in Eastern Samar
July 8-12 Working at New Faith Family
July 13-18 Working at Open Door
July 19-24 Working at Ruel Foundation
July 25-26 Fairwell Philippines in Batangas
July 27-28 Back with Urban Rescue, just because…
July 29 IMB Guest Units, last minute details to get everyone back to the US
July 30 Plane to USA
Aug 1-3 Nehemiah Teams debrief in Ft. Payne, Alabama

...can you keep up?! :)


***Please don’t stop praying! I need you! This last month will probably be my hardest yet.***