Dear Friends!

We had a wonderful weekend as a team! As you can see we have a new picture that gives you a little glimpse of the wonderful weather we are enjoying here in the Philippines! Together with us is JL, the son of our hostess Nani Luz. On Saturday, Pastor Ronnie gave us a historical tour of Old Manila City. We started our day visiting one of the oldest Catholic churches in Manila and our tour ended at the Mall of Asia, the second largest mall in Asia. The architecture was beautiful from the ancient world all the way to the present.
On Sunday morning we joined the Filipino believers of Good News Fellowship Church in their time of fellowship and worship. We praised God together in spirit as the music team led us in singing songs to our Lord in Tagalog. It was a new and beautiful experience. I am reminded of God's greatness when I think about his ability to relate to people of different cultures and draw them together into one unified body! Katie had the opportunity to share how Jesus has brought change to her life through the relationship she has with Him. It was a blessing to hear her story!
In the afternoon on Sunday we made our way to Neverland to help in the service for children and youth. We sang songs together! It was fun singing "The love of Jesus! Sweet and Marvelous!" with the children! I am filled with joy as these children express their love for Jesus! After our time of singing Rachel shared a story with the children and then we continued to sing. While teaching the children a song I took the opportunity to share with them the deep love of Jesus and His desire to have a close relationship with them as their Lord and Saviour. Brother Lito then led the children in a prayer of acceptance of God's love and forgiveness and five or more children decided to take this important step in their lives and enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ! God is so good and it is exciting to be a part of what He is doing in the lives of the children in Neverland!
We are now entering into our second week in the Philippines. We will be continuing our ministry in Neverland over the course of this next week. Please pray that God will continue to open doors into the community. The relationships that are formed will hopefully develop the foundation for the planting of a church in the Neverland Community! It is exciting to be a part of the expansion of the kingdom of God!
Please also pray for us as a team that we will continue to walk together in unity by the power of the Holy Spirit! We are learning to trust God as we adapt to a new culture in which flexibility is a necessity.
Thank you for all your prayers! We praise God for what he is doing in and through us and we anticipate greater things to come!

Blessings,
Graham and the Exped Team

Thank you dear friends and family for your continued faithful prayer support! God is protecting us here in the Philippines. As you probably have heard, a major earthquake has struck Japan and tsunamis have affected surrounding pacific islands as a result. Thankfully we have not felt the effects of the earth quake where we are currently staying. The news is telling us that tsunamis may hit the North Eastern regions of the Philippines, but we are located on the west of the Island. We thank God for his protection of us and value your continued prayers! We are resting in God's hands and are prayerfully uplifting those who have been deeply and painfully affected by this natural disaster.

Blessings,

Graham

The Expedition Team of Winter 2011

Dear Friends and Family!

We are the Expedition Team of Winter 2011 and our names are Katie, Mat, Graham, Sarah and Rachel (from right to left)! Since the beginning of January we have been on a journey of discovery in which we have learned more about God's character and who he has made each one of us to be. Over our past few months together we have seen how God is working in the communities that make up Kitchener, Montreal and Philadelphia and have had the privilege of joining Him in what he is doing in people's lives! What a joy it has been to be channels of His love and grace!

This past Tuesday morning we got on a plane in Toronto and made the long trip to the Philippines! We have arrived safely and were given a warm Filipino welcome! We have met up with Pastor Ronnie, a missionary here in Manila, who we will be ministering with during our time here! This morning he led us in an orientation seminar which helped to prepare us further for our ministry in the Filipino culture.

This afternoon we walked down the street, under the heat of the sun, to meet the pastor of the church we will be partnering with for the first two weeks of our stay. When we arrived at the church building we made our way to the third story which overlooks the surrounding community. From there we could see the beautiful mountains in the distance and the nearby community known as Neverland through which we would soon be walking. After a brief meeting with the pastor regarding our involvement in the Sunday morning service we made our way to Neverland.

Most of Neverland is surrounded by a river which we crossed over on a bridge made of sandbags. Pastor Ronnie led us around the community and we were able to see the church building where we will be doing children and youth ministry on Sunday afternoon. As we made our way through the community children seemed to come from everywhere and they followed us to the basketball court with curiosity! At the court we met more children and soon they were crowding around us! I am excited to see how God will use us in the lives of the children and their families who live in this squatter community.

We are thankful of your prayers and desire that you would continue to journey with us as we join God in his work in these communities here in the Philippines. I am excited to see how God will use each one of us to accomplish his loving purpose in the lives of those we meet! Please pray for health and strength for us as a team as we adjust to new foods and a large time difference. Please also pray that our eyes will be opened to see Jesus' activity and that we will respond to his call by joining Him with the boldness that is available to us through the indwelling Holy Spirit!

Thank you for your faithfulness in supporting! Your prayers can unleash the power of God to work in and through us!

Blessings,

The Expedition Team!

In Grace,

Graham Sweet