Going on a mission trip is part of the curriculum when one enrols for City Harvest Church’s School of Theology. One SOT 2018 student shares her mission trip story, an adventure she took with 13 other teammates to Manila, the capital of the Philippines.
By Angeline Har
Many years back, I had a vision of a child’s innocent face. I knew in my heart that it had to do with going on a mission and helping people in developing countries. But I was still a school student at that time and it would be many years before God led me to uncover what this vision meant.
Last year, as I was watching a documentary on the Philippines, I felt a burden in my heart and was prompted to pray for the country. I told God, “If it is Your will, lead me to a mission trip to the Philippines during SOT.”
I signed up for City Harvest Church’s School of Theology (SOT) this year and in July, God answered my prayer. I was amazed.
THURSDAY, JUL 5. A few weeks before the mission trip, we had called for donations of items that we could bring to bless the village of the church we were visiting. That afternoon, many of the Filipinos on my team came to help transport the donated items to the airport in a rented coach. We brought our clothes, toys, and books.
We arrived in Manila at midnight and were very grateful that our team member Zamir Joy Daez-Nacario had arranged for transportation to the church, Dwelling Place Global City Church.
FRIDAY, JUL 6. We awoke in the morning to experience the local culture in Manila. The church workers had prepared a delicious breakfast of “Boodle Fight”. This dish originated in the military where a big pile of food was served in the middle of a long table and hungry soldiers ate with their hands—a symbol of brotherhood and equality in the military. The “Fight” refers to the act of grabbing and eating as much as a soldier can before others grab them. We were literally grabbing the food with our hands because we were so hungry. It was a special experience for the Singaporeans who were not used to eating rice with their hands. Learning about Filipino culture and having meals together was a treat for us.
In the afternoon, with the help of some church workers, we repacked the clothes into piles for children of different age groups and gender. Next, we arranged the piles according to the families we were going to visit over the next two days.
SATURDAY, JUL 7. When Saturday arrived, we headed to Norzagaray, where a branch of Dwelling Place Global City Church was located. This branch church was described as a “miracle building” by Nayny Saling, the pastor of the church. She shared that she was called by God to build a church in this place during a time many years ago when they were worshipping God in tents. Funding was provided by the people who came on mission trips and from Dwelling Place Global City Church in Manila.
The most exciting program of the day for me was leading the children’s service with some members of the team, while the rest served in the adult church service. We decided to bring a piece of CHC Harvest Kidz to Manila, beginning with fun and exciting games. It was great seeing the children have fun.
One of our team members, Charissa Tan is a teacher at the Harvest Kidz ministry. She led the children to praise God in song. Next, we taught them about the armor of God (Ephesians 6) and ended the session by blessing them each with a bag of stationery, toys, and snacks. It was a meaningful trip to Norzagaray.
We made home visits to the slum areas, Villareal and Malabon, in Manila. These are places that the church workers from Dwelling Place Global Church had been doing outreach in. We divided ourselves into three groups to visit some villagers at home. We prayed for their needs and listened as they shared their life stories and problems. At the end of each home visit, we gifted the bags of second-hand clothes and soft toys.
SUNDAY, JUL 8. The next morning, I was serving the newcomers during lunch when I heard that two elderly ladies said they came because they were invited by our teammates the day before. I was so excited to see the fruits of our visitation so soon! They received salvation and came into the Kingdom of God because someone had invited them to church. The two ladies said that they would like to be part of the church! Praise the Lord!
That evening, our team went to another slam areas in Malabon, Manila to do house visitations and conduct church services in another branch church of Dwelling Place Global Church. It was very memorable for me in Malabon because the children here were exceptionally excited when I was conducting games. While we were worshipping God with the song “Here I Am To Worship”, I could feel the whole atmosphere change amidst the voices of the children and I felt God enter the place. We took time later to minister to the kids and pray for them. Some of them were tearing in response to the prayers.
We saw a boy at the entrance of the room. His body was filled with rashes and we heard from the church workers that he had a skin disease and we prayed for him. We did not see any visible change right there and then, but when we returned to Singapore, I learned he had been healed the following day! God is so good!
This mission trip to Manila was such a heart-warming experience for the team and me. We got to bless others and put what we learned in SOT to practical use. The trip was so meaningful because of Zamir, who invited us to stay and minister in her church and the slum areas. The pastor of Dwelling Place Global Church, Reynaldo “Bong” T Tumaque, is a SOT 2017 graduate, and he too was a gracious host.
I hope and pray that we can come as a team to minister in this place again in the future. I believe greater things are yet to come to Manila!
