A little bit of everything

Here is a picture of me with my dear friend, Meredith, who was on the LBC college team.  Sometimes you meet people and you just click right away...and that was definitely the case with this awesome group of college students! I wish I had a picture with all 27 of them!  I am so blessed to have the opportunity to meet and serve alongside so many different people.  I think it is one of the things I love most about being here.

This week we had three different teams arrive from the US.....Its a lot of people!!!  It's so exciting to see how much construction can get done when you have so many hands to help!!!

The past couple of weeks have been challenging for me.  The death of baby Alex was really hard.  When I first moved here he was just two months old.  I loved seeing him every week and watching him getting bigger, start to walk and even start to talk a little bit.   His death was so sudden.   Two years ago his family also lost their three year old.  Death is no stranger to this family.  Although we are still grieving we rejoice to see the hand of God working in the lives of the family even in the midst of the sadness.

Rainy season has come again...Even as I write this there is a torrential downpour and a typhoon on the way.  Rainy season is exciting for me because it cools down just a little bit :)  And if there is a big storm school is canceled and that is always fun to have a day off :)

It is official----I will be home for a visit in September!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  If only you knew how excited I am to see everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!  I am counting down the days :) 
 

Please pray

Yesterday I found out that a one year old girl from one of my feeding sites passed away.  My heart is broken over it.
Of all my feeding sites the one that is the closest to my heart is the Helicopter site (I am at that site in the picture above) and that is where the little girl is from.
Tonight Ate Candy and I will be holding a small memorial service for her.  
I know it is going to be incredibly hard...Please pray for the family and also for me as this really hits close to home.  Pray also that God will use this to draw their hearts closer to Him and that we will have the opportunity to minister to the family and to comfort them during this time of grieving.
Thank you so much.

Oh death where is thy sting? Oh grave where is thy victory? ....Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through Jesus Christ. 1 Cor. 15:55-57

Please Pray

One day as I was walking home from school a young man approached me and asked me if I was a Christian.  I told him I was and he eagerly asked me where I went to church.
He shared with me that he had been led to the Lord by some missionaries in another part of the Philippines about four years ago- but he felt like he was not living for the Lord anymore and wanted to reignite his faith.   I was excited to share with him about our ministry here on Boracay and also about our church.
Sure enough Sunday morning came around and he showed up.  I introduced him to our pastor and they had great conversation.
That was about three months.  He has continued to attend church regularly and seems to be growing in the Lord.
Please pray for Gaga as he is still a new Christian.  Pray that God would continue to capture his heart!

Leshly is a wonderful girl that I met about six months ago.   She works here on Boracay.
She is a professing Catholic but appears to be interested in Christianity.  I have had the opportunity to witness to her on several occasions.  She has come and helped me at my feeding sites before and also helped with construction on the school.   I really care for her dearly and am praying that she would accept Christ as her personal Lord and Savior.  Please pray with alongside me that her heart would be softened towards the Lord!

We also have a team of 27 here from PA.  They are an incredible group of young adults who will be serving with us for the next week and a half.  The days are long and the weather is hot!!!  Please pray for safety and strength as they minister here!

Thank you all so much for your prayers!!! - Olivia Joy