It was the first Easter at Hope Chapel Metro, and it was great to celebrate it with everyone out here. Just like Christmas, many people in our church, (and in Manila in general) travel outside of the city back to their provinces to spend the Easter holiday with their families. Although we missed them, it was great to see some new faces at the church, as well as people give their life to the Lord!
Here are a few photos Lynnette took of the night:
This past weekend from Friday to Saturday we gathered old and new leaders in Hope Chapel Metro for our weekend "Advance" (since God's people don't "retreat" we "advance" forward!, as Pastor Nolan reminded us). We stuffed 22 people in 2 vans and drove about 2-3 hours away to San Pablo in Laguna...that's how you do it in the Philippines!
It was a great time of building relationships, especially with new leaders. On Good Friday, we had a chance to take communion together and re-set our hearts on Christ. On Saturday, Pastor Nolan recasted vision as we looked at better ways of shepherding the people. After a good time of swimming, games and resting, we also had a chance to hear from Pastor Luckie.
Pastor Luckie not only ministered to us for inner healing but also equipped us to be able to guide people through inner healing as well, with the help of the Holy Spirit. It was a powerful time, and very much needed as we anticipate a new season of growth in our church.
Below are some photos from our retreat:
This past month we were in a great message series at Hope Chapel Metro, called "Change the World", a great series encouraging people that they can make an impact in the world...if they simply listened to God, and their hearts, and take action. In conjunction with the series I had our Minichurches (small groups) accomplish missions each week. One of them was to bless and serve the community in some way, small or big.
We had groups bring food to Barangay halls, visit orphanages, bring food and pray for guards, and one group even did a medical clinic in the streets! Our group was meeting in a nicer neighborhood and we hurt our brains trying to figure out how to bless people in this popular night spot.
We came up with this idea to bless the Eastwood people by offering to take free photos of them as well as a motion portrait (something I've been exprimenting with). Then we would hand them a card that informed them they could see their photos/videos by visiting the church site, and hopefully be blessed. Great idea!...Except, only two of us could make it, and both of us are introverts, who don't exactly enjoy approaching strangers.
So we saw it as a good challege to pull us out of our comfort zones. Since I was the photographer, Jonathan was the spokesperson and he did an awesome job approaching people, and making them feel comfortable...even though it is always awkard for everyone in those first few moments. We shared about our church, gave them a card and took the photo and video, and everyone had a good time. Below is the video of the motion portraits we did. You can see the photo gallery at Hope Chapel Metro website:
www.hopemetro.com/eastwoodgallery
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSSp9rmPySs?rel=0]
Lynnette and her MiniChurch, from Hope Chapel Metro, went to serve the orphaned infants and toddlers at this foundation. CRIBS Foundation is where abandoned, neglected, surrendered children along with sexually abused young girls are sheltered.
To protect the children, they weren't allowed to film or take pictures of the kids, but here are there reflections after spending 2 hours with babies and toddlers.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ONXSwB_zAw?rel=0]
Find out what's been going on in these past couple months. We got a job update, a new blog from Lynnette and we're learning Tagalog. Good stuff!
Check out Lynnette's Blog site here:
www.lynnetteunplugged.blogspot.com
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBQJ_H3IRAE?rel=0]
We've been here in the Philippines now for about 9 months, and Lynnette is giving birth...but not to a baby! She is birthing a new and potentially powerful ministry opportunity.
Lynnette has discovered a creative way to build relationships with a young sub-culture of people that she can share the love of Jesus with, while doing something she enjoys. What is this creative ministry? It is a fashion and make-up video blog (or vlog) that focuses on the people, places and trends in the Philippines.
The blog includes fashion interviews, trend discussions, and make-up tutorials...but what is awesome to see, is what is happening behind the scenes. Behind the camera, and the videos, she is building new friendships, networking with other bloggers, making new friends in stores and kiosks. In fact she has made more 'non-church' friends in the past few days than she has in the past 9 months! It has really inspired me to look for creative ways to connect with the Filipinos as well!
Please pray with us!
I really feel that God has has been giving her favor with people, in this sub-cutlure, in such a short time. Its a great way to help people see the heart of God, and a great way to connect them to Hope Chapel Metro. I am so excited to see how God will work through her and this unique ministry!
You can check out her new blog and youTube channel here:
youTube: http://www.youtube.com/lynnettegarces
(subscribe to her channel to support her!)
blog site: http://lynnetteunplugged.blogspot.com/
We just returned back to the Philippines from our 3 week trip to Hawaii. It has been about 8 months since we've moved to the Philippines, so it was great to reconnect with Hope Chapel West Oahu, our friends and our family. Lynnette may be taking a teaching job in Quezon City that would require a 3 year commitment, so it may be a while before we can come back to Hawaii. We're hoping and praying to be able to come back to visit again next year.
It has been an encouraging trip, we feel refreshed and refueled...and full (DJ gained about 5lbs by stuffing his face with juicy steaks, burgers, plate lunches, sushi, shave ice, and Korean and Filipino home cooking).
We hung out with a lot of people, sorry if we couldn't get to see some of you, and we wish we were able to spend more time with everyone we did see. We didn't always remember to take pictures of everyone we met up with or everything we did, but here are some that we managed to take.
Thank you to everyone for making our trip an incredible experience, we will really miss all of you!
In addition to the parties, dinners, lunches and coffees, there are also pics of BBQ and Valentines's Day with DJ's parents, Lynnette shooting a gun for the first time, sitting in staff meeting at Hope Chapel West Oahu, and the Kokohead head hike (where DJ proposed over 4 years ago).
