New Life mission trip to the Philippines, July-August 2006. Click on any picture for a full-screen view.
We went to Infanta National High School, where we were greeted enthusiastically by the students. They were eager to meet American teens and to listen to what they had to say. About 200 students crowded the assembly hall, where we performed two skits, much to the delight of the Infanta students. We introduced ourselves, Mike spoke, and Janet shared the gospel using EE’s youth version. She led the altar call and nearly all the students said the prayer aloud. Rex Dela Peña challenged the students to follow up their decision by making a commitment to follow Christ. He stressed that their worth is not dependent on what they have in life or how they look at themselves but on how Christ looks at them and loves them. He led the prayer again for the students and prayed for two students whose father and aunt were trapped in Lebanon in the midst of the fighting going on there.
We felt like celebrities as the students asked for our autographs. Some students used camera phones to take pictures of the visiting teens. When the teens met adults, they often touched the adult's hand with their forehead in a gesture of respect. On the way back to Manila, Rex discussed the event with the American teens and asked them what lessons they had learned from their visit to the school. He noted that everyone wants to be connected (to have relationships) and everyone wants to leave a mark (to have some significance).