Meeting more people

Tuesday (6-14) we went to Cebu Bible College to meet all the students. They had just started school, so this was our first chance to meet a lot of the students. We sat in on their orientation and chapel. They really love to sing! There are about 20 students- give or take a few- at the bible college. It was neat to see such a tight-knit group. In the afternoon we went to the Bible Study Center to meet the Murrells (another missionary family here) and hear a little bit about what they do. They hold several classes there that help Filipinos learn about the bible. We are hoping to get to work with them later on.

Since the students are now back from school, the VanDykes (another American family) started their Tuesday night devos again. It was so good to finally meet them. They are such loving, friendly people. A lot of the college-aged people from Downtown Church and the students from Cebu Bible College were there, along with some others. I was surprised how many people were there! We had a lot of good singing, and Mark VanDyke gave a really encouraging talk about fanning your flame. At the end of the devo, we finally got to hear the Heartbeats sing. The Heartbeats are a group of singers from Downtown Church. We had heard so much about how good they are. Ethan had the solo as they sang "Testify to Love" by Avalon. They sounded so amazing. After the devo, we had some food and good fellowship. I know they must put so much work into feeding so many people. It was so encouraging to worship with these students, and to see how much community there is between so many people from so many different places.

Wednesday we went to Cebu Bible College again to hear the guy's reports on their summer internships. They started with a group of them singing a song they had prepared. They were so good!

Then the guys started reporting on all their internships. They were all so funny and very shy of their English. They like to laugh at everything. They are such good-humored people. We got to hear about some of their funny experiences, as well as the good that came from their internships. One group had over 30 baptisms! After they all told about their internships, the 7 new students got up, one by one, to tell why they came to CBC. It was so encouraging to hear them. They all have such good hearts. They all come from different backgrounds, but they all want to share the gospel with others. Even the really shy students are so adamant about sharing Christ.

We finished the day by going to look at some of the beach resorts on Mactan island. I am constantly surprised by how beautiful this place is!