Day 1 (8 Dec 2011) Part 2

...Fast forward to the time I woke from my slumber. 1pm. My team was supposed to be here at 10am. Not a good sign for your first mission trip. So, I decided to visit Hope Manila. Who knows? They might be hanging out there. Remembering the directions Henry gave me, I journeyed along the narrow alleys until I reached a green gate. Then, I saw the very familiar sign:

I found Hope Manila! It looked like a prison cell from the outside with all the barbed wire on top. Problem was: The gate was locked. Bummer. As I turned to head back, a lady came and asked me if I needed help. Turned out she was on her way into the church, so she let me in! Her name was Renee, but she told me to call her Ganda. Apparently it means 'pretty woman', but since that was the name she introduced me to, I called her that for the duration of my stay in Manila, despite her protests. Well, as it turned out, my team wasn't there.

So, how did I meet my team in the end? Renee brought me past the apartments to Mang Inasal, a barbequed chicken eating place. Remember Puregold? It was right next to it (refer to pic). After buying lunch, I popped back to the apartment and saw a note and a sim card on the floor. Apparently, my team arrived while I was gone. They told me to find them at Jollibee...which was opposite Puregold. Ha ha...and that was how I met my team for the very first time in person.

We went to a shopping mall on tricycles and spent the rest of the afternoon there, shopping for breakfast and changing money. We were escorted by Hani (Henry's wife) and Ruffa (sister in Christ), who were with the team at Jolibee. Back at the apartment, they gave a crash course and orientation for us newbies in Manila. We also finalised our plans for tomorrow. Then, dinner at Mang Inasal and more shopping, particularly for marker pens and brown paper to write my lyrics for praise leading.

Tomorrow, we start our mission work. So, what are we doing, and what exactly is my role? Stay tuned to find out! (BTW, if anyone has any specific questions about Philippines and my mission trip, please do leave a comment and we'll try to get back to you soon)

Bonus pics:

Hey hey! Hope Manila's vision statement. Sounds very familiar...?

Hey hey! Hope Manila's vision statement...in Tagalog!

Paul on left and Allan on right. Thus begins an intimate love affair between Paul and Halo-halo, a local Filipino dessert made with ice-cream and tons of ingredients. Paul became addicted to Halo-halo and ordered it at every opportunity he got. And I thought I was a sweet tooth...