On Monday 27th July, City Gates Passion for Missions Team sent over the first group of people who are embarking on a Mission Trip to City Gates Academy in the Philippines! As we receive information on how the team are doing, we’ll keep you posted!

Update:

On their first day in The Philippines, the Team were taken to Smokey Mountain (a mountain of rubbish on which people live) where they experienced the true extent of the extreme poverty many children & their families are living in. The children showed great joy & excitement at their visitors, and the Team were able to hand out a few sweets and treats to them. Not only was this a time of great blessing for the children, but a time of reflection for the Team.

On Thursday, the team travelled to Montalban with Willard and Marjorie Baxter, where they held a three day Youth Conference!!  They also be ministered at a church-plant in Montalban on Sunday, before leaving for Mindoro – an island four hours south of Metro Manila – early Monday morning.

3rd – 5th August:  Mindoro

The Team had the opportunity to get into a high school. Here they went from room to room introducing Jesus to the students through song, dance, and testimonies.  A rough estimate of the students exposed to the good news is around 400 youths.

On their first night in Mindoro, they also held a youth revival night.  The response was so amazing that the young people stayed for over an hour after the service just to fellowship with The Team.  They prayed for the baptism of the Holy Spirit after Paul Gardner gave a great message about the Holy Spirit.

The next morning, the team went to the police headquarters and preached the good news to police officers (who looked more like soldiers!) and had the opportunity to pray for them.  Captain Driz, the person-in-charge, said that the team is  most welcome to return and minister again next year.

After ministering to the police, the team went to the town plaza to minister to the indigenous tribes of Mindoro.  Because of the rains, the Mangyans have not eaten any rice and have gone hungry for more than a week.  The team did not just meet the spiritual needs of the tribe, they were meeting the practical needs as well by giving three kilos of rice and feeding them rice and noodles.  We were able to give out 3kg. rice bags to 250 families.

In the afternoon, the team went up a mountain to plant coconut trees.  It was a wet and muddy trek up for the team while each team member was carrying three or four coconut seedlings.  After planting some of the seedlings, the team had the opportunity to actually see a coconut tree and enjoy eating the fruit.  They also got the chance to see the living conditions of the Mangyan tribe first hand. In a few years, the Mangyan tribe in the community will benefit from the trees that was planted.

The Team had to make some sacrifices in their accommodation, to experience what many people experience on a daily basis, as you can see from the following images:

 6th & 7th August: Rest & Play

On Thursday and Friday, the Team have the chance to relax a little after a week of heavy schedule! They will be at the beach and enjoying some time to recharge together before the next leg of their Mission.

7th & 9th August: Working With the Young People

On Saturday morning, the Team took over the youth club.  They played with the kids and were also responsible for the serving the food. Some members also joined the basketball tournament playing against young people from the community.  In the afternoon, the team went to visit some of kids from church to invite them to the youth fellowship held at 5PM.  During the youth fellowship, they broke off into groups and discussed something about peer pressure.

Sunday morning, they took over the service at the church plant and then went to the main church, Living Epistle, to minister in the afternoon.  They minister to the people through dance, drama, and testimonies.  The response of the people at the church plant was really positive.

On Monday, the youth team had a much-needed break.  They stayed by a pool near City Gates Academy and enjoyed a BBQ in the afternoon.  While they were enjoying the break. The adult Team arrived during the afternoon and went straight to the hotel to unpack.  After the youth team watched a movie, they went over to the hotel to meet the Adult Team and say, ‘hi’, they enjoyed seeing some familiar faces from home! 

Thursday 13th August: Shopping

All the team (both adults and youth) had a break and went shopping the whole day.  It was a welcome break for everyone due to their hectic schedule.

Friday 14th August: City Gates Academy 

The team had a great time attending the school’s Filipino Day.  There were cultural dance presentations, local games, and a beauty pageant as well.  All members of the team had the chance to participate in the games and to taste local delicasies from the different parts of the Philippines.  The youth team also gave a drama presentation.

After the cultural program, we dedicated the school building.  The ceremony was led by Bishop James Isaguirre together with the members of the City Gates UK team.  Prayer were offered with the anointing oil, Pastor Steve Derbyshire’s letter was read, and solemn song were sung.  After the dedication, the team sat down for a Filipino feast.

Saturday15th August:Youth Club & Parents Meeting

The youth contingent handled the youth club, which had 175 kids in attendance.  They had games and fun actvities.  The adult contingent held an informal meeting with the school parents and then gave out packets of rice to more than one hundred parents.  Leon Lynch was really helpful out with the basketball tournament for the young people from the immediate community.  In the afternoon, the youth members took over the youth fellowship of the church plant.

Sunday 16th August: Sunday Service & Awards Party

The youth group went to the main church to take over the 10AM service.  The adults stayed at the church plant to take over the service.  They led the worship and did drama as well, before Jennifer Malcolm stood up to preach the word.  After the service the adult contingent joined the members for a meal, which was a great opportunity to get to know church members from the community.  In the afternoon, we began to prepare the City Gates grounds for the awards night.  The party was well attended by mostly young people.  The mission team had the opportunity to minister to the youth via drama as welll.

The team had very little time to sleep as we had to leave for the airport at 3:00 AM in the morning to catch the flight back home.

The Team are now home safely, you can hear more about their Mission trip in the Sunday service on Sunday 23rd August, or by speaking with any of the team members.

 If you would like to find out more about going on Mission with City Gates Christian Centre, please call the Church Office and we’ll give you details of the Passion for Missions Training Programme.