The last night is by far the hardest night of the trip. Saying goodbye to our new Filipino friends and also new ISC friends is sad and bittersweet. My heart goes out most to the students who are seniors. Two SYIS seniors had to say goodbye to the children they sponsor. Hopefully one day they'll be able to return to see them again. Many ISC students committed to sponsoring Journey for Hope kids. We are so proud and excited that they have made this decision to continue to impact a child's life!
I was also proud at how much the students donated during our offering service on Tuesday afternoon. We spent the entire afternoon debriefing the trip, but we also gave the students a chance to donate the last of their pesos to 4 different needs/ministries: KIM's Tacloban Disaster Relief Effort, Trash Mountain, Journey for Hope, and a love offering for Pastor Dewey, who preached to us on Sunday morning and led the many baptisms we had this week. Altogether, the students donated almost $4,000! This donation also included the last of the emergency team money. (We are so thankful for no emergencies this year!) It was a joy to see the students' generosity!
After the last goodbyes at the Children's Home and Journey for Hope ministries, we enjoyed a fun game night of improv games. It was a late night with some very early wake up calls. WYIS left at 2 am, and SYIS followed at 5 am. CDIS later left at 7:30 am. SYIS students did a great job packing their things and the vans at such an early hour. The Manila airport was as chaotic as always, but we are so thankful for a smooth checkin and security experience. Everyone made it safely on the plane and were soon asleep in their seats.
I'm sure the students are overwhelmed with memories and emotions, as are we leaders. I am so proud that they sacrificed their Chinese New Year break to work and love so hard for 10 days. This trip make me so happy to be a teacher. It is my pleasure to see the students experience this type of trip. I hope the impact is life-long.
All pictures have now been uploaded to this blog, so I hope you enjoy them. Students, if you want the pictures, just bring a USB to me at school, and I'll transfer them to you. (Please make sure the USB has lots of empty space!)
After months of planning, fundraising, and training, it's bittersweet to see it end. As always I look forward to next year's trip, and I hope that many students will return. No Philippines Trip has ever been the same as the year before.
Students - I love you all and am so thankful each one of you came. I hope you can rest well and recover from your coughs and colds before Monday.
Mahal Kita,
Ms. Baker