Day 1 - The Beginning

The Beginning: Keegan and Emily

Our days began much the same as they were different. With Emily beginning her morning with an Outdoor Ed exam and Keegan driving her brother around the town of Perth to get his braces removed, its only now coming to the surreal moment when the juxtaposition of everyday life to now; our upcoming two weeks in the Philippines is hitting home.
With both our expert last minute packing, nothing seriously important has been forgotten. Arriving at the airport and joining everyone to depart Perth, we bravely faced three flights from Perth to Kuala Lumper, Kuala Lumper to Manila, then our final flight which was domestic, Manila to Bacolod. All totalling ten hours, all in one day. We  discovered that sleeping on planes is a talent held by some, including Reuben Barham completely taking up all Em's personal space and Mr Beacham straying his ridiculously long legs in the walking isle, accidentally almost tripping over fellow passengers. Curries received on the plane including a special fish one containing sardines and the special meals Keegan received were "inedible to say the least." The flights felt long and the thick humid clouds of the tropics made our journey rough and bumpy. On our last plane ride scenery contained lightening causing nervousness in the mind and unwanted thrills in the tummy.
After finally arriving in Manila the Filipino custom officers gave no mercy as to why so many "gubbas" (white people) were entering their country on tourism. After Elliot and I (Emily) explained we were here for missionary work they let us through still slightly unsure of our goals.

Matthew 6:33
"Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."
Pastor Pete gave us the challenge of making this verse coincide with our day today. Keegan and Emily had their epiphany whilst writing this blog.
We feel like today we came to the inevitable conclusion that as relatively affluent individuals we see the world in tiny materialistic detail. After arriving in the Philippines we were reminded (as this is our second time) that these details are irrelevant and that physiological needs are the bigger picture and the one that we need to focus on. Whilst in the Filipino sky looking down on Bacolod we saw lights foregrounding blackness. To us, this represents the beauty that shadows the grim as in the happy smiles in the face of poverty. After spending the day with everybody we heard many comments that were unneeded as they reflected the materialistic ways we are trying to leave behind. The purpose of our trip is to serve the kingdom of God and by doing so we will all benefit from it. So from here on we will ignore all the materialistic details and serve the Kingdom of God ( the bigger picture) and allow the small things to be added to us.
Thankyou for reading.
Ps. We all arrived safely

Keegan: To everyone at home, and Harry, I love and miss you guys. xxx

Emily: So glad to be back. Miss you Mum, Dad, Taris and Lil xxx