Loving All and Serving All in the Philippines!

 Today was a difficult Monday because it was back to school after an incredible spring break! I spent last week in Boracay, an absolutely beautiful island in the Philippines, with a great group of high school students as a part of TCIS's LASA service trip. We did various activities including laying concrete on a community center, visiting public schools, going to feeding sites around the island where we fed kids and did basic medical, led children's chu rch, and spent time hanging out at the Jungle Barn, our home on the beach. :) I know I had at least 1 mango shake everyday. It was wonderful!

Some highlights:
- we visited a public high school where they welcomed us as the "Korea International School Delegation." After the ceremony, we played volleyball against their teams. We lost, but it was fun to learn about Filipino culture and get to know some older kids.
- On Tuesday we visited a small, isolated mountain village of the Ita people, a native tribe of the Philippines. They were the most impoverished children we met, but also the easiest to love.
- Beautiful sunsets almost every night!
- God was really working in the lives of our students this week. My small group had amazing devotion times; the kids all really opened up to us. It was quite an eye-opening experience for many of them who had never seen poverty firsthand.
- Mango shakes, massages, Mongolian grill, and henna! I love Boracay!
- Getting to know and spend time with 16 high school kids. We had so much fun with riddles, mind games, and rock-paper-scissors. :)
- We set a record at the construction site...along with GSIS, we layed 75 sq. meters of concrete in one day to finish the 3rd floor.
- Returning to the construction site for the first day of work was awesome. The last time I was there, 2 years ago, we were just starting the 2nd floor of the building and now they are holding preschool there!

Compared to last time I was there, this trip was so much smoother. No one got sick, no travel problems, cooler weather. Be sure you check out the pics here. It really was a fantastic week!