My MARCH newsletter is below or can be found in the proper format at:
http://www.fire-international.org/philippines-bethany-ricci/
Just click "Read Bethany's Current Newsletter"
If you would like to receive it via email or be added to my mailing list contact me at: BethanyRayLife@gmail.com
It is with great excitement that as I type this letter, I can say that I am sitting in my new home on Samal Island! After about
30 hours of travel, I stepped off my final plane into the Davao City Airport and was greeted by the Hope for All Children
Team. There was a group visiting from Church on the Rock (Goldsboro, NC), so I was immediately thrown into the schedule
of their mission trip.
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| Eating Lunch at Penongs with the team. |
First stop, PENONGS! For those of you who are going “huh?” it’s a filipino BBQ place that serves one good chicken on a
stick with rice. After lunch was devoured, my good missionary friend Sherika Lockhart took me to the mall where we got an
ICED beverage (sidenote: even the Filipinos were complaining how hot it was that day!), and then to the grocery store to
pick up a few things. I was shocked to see how much has changed since I was here just 2.5 years ago. The city itself is pretty
much the same with its dust, diesel fumes, and traffic, but the mall was so...well, Western.
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| At the market with Rika, buying fresh veggies for the feeding program! |
After that “quick” stop, we headed over to Samal Island via the ferry. As I sat on the ferry for the 30-minute ride, I was overwhelmed with both thankfulness and just God’s goodness. Once off the ferry, it was dusty, bumpy roads. I observed all the motorcycles flying by with anywhere from 2-6 people on a bike! Then we turned onto a long dirt road that led to my new home...right along the shore of the beach. The house itself is beautiful; its not an “American” home, but it has character and beauty in its own way.
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| Tanya, Michelle, Myself and Crystal at Boat Day (note my jet-lagged face) |
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| Boat Day : ) |
The next day, I was blessed to be a part of the teams’ Boat Day. We sailed a rented boat about an hour away until it
dropped us off at the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. Although I was fighting jet lag, the beauty of this beach woke
me right up! The water was a full blue-green color palate and so clear you could see all sorts of creatures and shells in the
water. These types of adventures aren’t necessarily the norm, but the team does try to take breaks from ministry to enjoy
one another and relax, especially if there is a team there for a missions trip, and to avoid “burning out.”
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| Receiving prayer at my Send Off at my home church, Grace & Peace and my parents & I at my Send off celebration. |
Many people have been asking me, “How do you feel?” and my answer is this: anything that you can “feel,” I am and have
been feeling, which I think is normal...I moved away from the comforts of my home to be a part of Hope for All Children
here in the Philippines, and that kind of transition can take both a positive and negative toll on the heart, spirit, and mind.
With that being said, I am thankful for the prayer covering I have through supporters like you! Not only have you made this
“God dream” a reality, but you are aiding and equipping me personally, and therefore equipping the locals here. Your
prayers and generosity is what fuels God’s mission here; isn't that exciting?!
I hope to be more settled in and more adjusted to my “new normal” by my next newsletter and/or blogpost (mymissionsjourney.blogspot.com) so I can write more on the ministry here and so on. Please see below how you can join me in prayer. Until next time, God bless!
Please Pray for the Following:
- Grace for the transition/culture shock/etc.
- Ability to learn the language
- For continued financial support & blessings on those who support
- For God to speak clearly to me as I begin to commit to different things, involving HFAC.
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| Boxes being shipped to the Philippines |
