30 hours later

We would be lying if we said that Saturday was not a struggle. I don’t think our group experienced jet lag so badly like we have on this trip. The 12 hour difference has also had a huge affect on our bodies. Thankfully, our Saturday was spent getting settled in, relaxing, and meeting the people we will be spending the next week with. Pastor Mark and his wife Melissa took us to a great local diner to try some Filipino cuisine that was absolutely delicious. Afterwards, we went back to our town homes and had orientation where we were explained what the next couple of days would look like, as well as the history of the Cells Alive Christian Fellowship and how Envision has been supporting the Bright Lights Academy during the past few years.

Pastor Mark is one of the three pastors here that lead the school of Bright Lights Academy. Their goal here is to help students from lower income families from local informal settlements succeed and be able to have a brighter future. In the corporate America world, we are used to “climbing the ladder” mentality, where we “start from the bottom” and move our way up to become something of ourselves. So even if we start somewhere small, at least it’s somewhere and in a few years we most likely will be in a better position. Unfortunately, in the Philippines there is no such ranking. Most of the time, if you are poor, you stay poor. If you are rich, you stay rich and there ends up being a major gap between the two. The Envision interns that we will be working with at the Bright Lights Academy are looking for a better life and better future for themselves and for their family. Most of the males that graduate with degrees seek to help their parents financially, as well as provide support for their siblings to go through the same program.

Saturday night these interns came over to our town homes so we would be able to have the chance to meet them and have dinner with them. Collectively as a group, we were truly inspired and encouraged by their faith and the love they have for one another. The way they proclaim their faith and how open they are with sharing some of the hardest and painful experiences they have gone through before they reached adulthood were truly touching. We look forward to building relationships with them this week, visiting their families and homes, and most importantly encouraging and loving on them.