Update from the Philippines: February 4th and 5th

Saturday, February 4th - Megan Cameron

Yesterday we arrived at Tahanan and were greeted in true Miller style with a delicious meal and already made up beds for these weary travelers. We traveled close to 50 hours between our drive to Chicago and our 3 flights with layovers. I really felt God’s favor as we traveled with Toby, my 5 month old. We didn't experience any traffic or flight delays. Toby was a real champ, resting when he needed to and remaining happy when he was awake. I was so happy to get to see the Millers again. The last time that I saw them was 2013 when I was here for 3 months with my family.

The Filipino love for music and performance often results in more spontaneous moments of worship amongst youth at Tahanan.

Today was our transition day, which included time for us to mark some things off our logistics task list for our upcoming conferences and to get reacquainted with the Tacloban/Palo area. This marks my 4th trip to the Philippines since 2008. This trip is only the second time that I have been to the island of Leyte, with the first being in 2008 when I went on summer internship with G.O.D.

On Saturday nights Tahanan hosts a movie night for young people. We had been experiencing a scheduled brown out (power-outage) all day that was supposed to run 5a-5p. About 6:30p the power was still out and it was getting too dark to see without candles and just as we were considering cancelling the event, the power came back on! Even with a smaller turnout, we had a good time fellowshipping with one another. Our scheduled movie night turned into a time of worship and bible study with some really sweet young people.

Sunday, February 5th - Megan Cameron

Today we visited King’s Chapel Tacloban, where Pastor David Pica preaches. Pastor David and his wife Lyn have been friends of our ministry for a long time. I first met them on summer internship in 2008 when they hosted us and allowed us to accompany them in serving the underprivileged in Palo. The Picas are such an encouragement because they busy themselves with working for the Lord with genuine hearts.

This big table has already hosted a number of large meal gatherings. This week it is full of youth and leaders who are eager to learn more about what it looks like to model the life of Jesus in the midst of the world in which they live.

Our friend Calven, who we met in 2013, arrived last night to spend the rest of the week with us. In the last few years, Chris (my husband) has had a few opportunities to come serve in Tacloban and Calven has come down from Luzon to serve alongside him. I am thankful for this growing relationship that we have with Calven and the opportunities that we have to share about what God is continuously doing in our lives.

Tonight the men (Jason, Ty, Chris, Clark, & Calven) went out for a fun outing to hang out and fellowship with one another. While they were away, Rina and I spent some time playing games and watching a movie with the kids. I am away from my two daughters for this trip and miss them very much, but I am thankful for this chance to love on Rina’s kids.