Saturday

Travelling around the small Island of Boracay it is abundantly clear that there are nearly as many roosters as people. These roosters are a source of pride for their owners and are prominently displayed in the local’s yards, contained only by a 4 ft line attached to a roosting post. Used for fighting, the restrained roosters still compete with volume at all hours of the day and night. It is a noise that wakes you up in the morning, you learn to work with throughout the day, and finally nod off to each night!
This morning the group was split in half with some people going to the construction sites and the others off to Kalibo for some shopping. The construction projects are at a point where many hands do not make work light and an extensive shopping list provided the opportunity to make beneficial use of the division of labour. The shopping list included items for Joven and Anita’s sponsorship program that they operate for Strong Roots Ministry.
The construction crew was split up with a few people going to each new build site. With two crews working there was significant progress made on the new house builds. The first house is nearly ready for the tin roof and painting and the second is just a few hours of work behind. The plan is to complete these houses early next week so we can start on a few much-needed repairs for locals whose houses suffered extensive damage from the recent typhoon. 
It is incredible to hear the back story from Joven on the families who are getting the new homes. While we do not think much of a 10x12 foot wood structure, these families were moved to tears when Joven mentioned that a group was coming from Canada to build them a house. They were so desperate after the last storm and did not have much hope for their future. Some had just scrounged together enough money over 6 months to complete a new roof that was ripped off the following day in a typhoon. The locals could not understand why someone would build them a house and they wanted to know what was going to be required in return. Joven told them that nothing was required and that it was due to God’s hand in both their life and ours that led to this project. It is very humbling for the opportunity to be part of a project like this and it is encouraging to see the locals being shown the love of Christ through our work regardless of our often-flawed intentions or motivation. 
As a group, we know that many people have contributed to these projects in various ways and we hope that the positive impact can be conveyed through this blog. The gratitude is evident, and our hope and prayer are that these humanitarian efforts will lead people to Christ.