Day Three - 5th of January 2010

Day 3 was our first full taste of what is to come. The day started ahead of schedule as people were up at 6am to get brekky and be packed ready to go on the long trip to the airport at 8. We got to the airport with plenty of time to spare, so much so there was a little karaoke to be had with some Filipino passengers who had a guitar. Thankfully we were able to get most of our tracts and booklets into our hand luggage with Steve Cressies being around the 20kg mark (heavier than his checked in luggage)!

The flight was nice and short and we actually arrived almost half an hour early which hasn’t happened on any trip I have been in the Philippines. Straight off the plane ready to head to the hotel will be staying at for the whole time here in Mindanao. ‘Lunch’ or should I say the buffet and a show was provided by the Mayor, and both waited for our arrival. We got to the hotel (owned by the mayor) at around 12 and headed straight to the top floor where a big dining hall was laid out for a big welcome. We were welcomed with Shout to the Lord which was great, however being right next to the speakers was not so great at the volume they were at. We were then overwhelmed with performance after performance of local dances.

At some time between 1:30 and 2pm ‘The Weapon’ (Pastor Gary) was invited to introduce us however was able to make a deal that he would speak after everyone had eaten the massive buffet which had been prepared. So after all of us had eaten far too much and tried almost everything put in front of us, we were introduced and wrapped up the welcome with another dance which we were welcomed to have a try at. I’m sure you will see some pics, but not everyone was brave enough to take on the ankle braking bamboo sticks which we had to step over. Thankfully all ankles are in tact and as a side note Andre continues to be somewhat popular with the ladies here in the Philippines.

We were then briefed by Pastor G about what to expect from the trip and what was expected of us. So after a short break we suited up and headed out for our first official game. What a game it was, as we just got up with a 1 point win. It was a tense last minute and a half in which we found ourselves down by 1 point. We have to make a big note of newbie Tim ‘not so slowbie’ Sobey. After some good movement Tim drifted into space and sliced his way into the key to calmly float one home to get us up by 1 with not much time to spare. The final passages of play included us missing 4 free throws including two from yours truly and the opposition missing a three point buzzer beater which was ever so close to getting them over the line. Another special mention goes to Conan ‘The Barbarian’ Prince who top scored with a solid performance.

Better than the win was the 165 odd responses we received from the 250ish strong crowd! That is a great start and from being on a couple of trips now, that is a great start with everyone getting stuck into what we’re really here for. Please keep praying we can be clear in our sharing of Testimonies at half time, we would have some good conversations with the crowd when not playing and that the local churches will be able to follow up well on all the responses. Please pray for Micko who was under the weather and did not play due to lack of energy and a headache.
All in all it was a great day and I am ready for some shut eye before getting up tomorrow and heading off to 3 more games. Thanks for tuning in.

Hedley Taylor