Community Christian Church

Ron and Jenine Reier in the Philippines

This past summer my husband Ron and I made the trip to the Philippines. Prior to going we had never been on a mission trip before but have always talked about going. We weighed the pros and cons and decided there were only pros because we would never regret going on a mission trip to do Gods work. After deciding to go we had lots of people asking us why we would go there when there is so much we could do in the US to help others. We both have never heard that God only wants you to help people in the US so we felt confident in our decision to go. Also, poverty in the states does not compare to the level of need in the Philippines.

Some of our favorite experiences in the Philippines included doing nightly street feedings, teaching lessons at the school, praying for people in the hospital, going door to door to fellowship with people, spending time at the dump site and spending time with the beautiful FTC children.  

During all of the experiences we had noticed one commonality wherever we went. We were so touched by how grateful and loving every child and person we came into contact with. We would go to someones home that literally had sheets for walls and they would tell us they were so thankful to God for what they did have. At one street feeding we met a man that was in desperate need for medicine but could not afford it because he claimed that it was super expensive. Later, we learned that he would need the equivalency of $4.00 American dollars to get what he needed to survive. Some of our favorite times were spent with the FTC children. These are kids who were just waiting to be loved and waiting to give love. Prior to going I thought the kids would be depressed and we would need to cheer them up but because of what so many people at Frontline are doing, you could tell that they are far from depressed and they are just so happy with having visitors to spend time with them. We met kids who were going to college because of their US sponsors. It was obvious to me that they were not only going to college because of the monitory donation that came to them, but because of the relationships that were built on this trip and they now had another person who believed in them. We loved all the kids so much that we would have been happy to take any of them home with us!

We were so blessed by all the love that the people of the Philippines had to give, and were amazed by how strong their faith was when it seemed like they had nothing. We think of our friends we made in the Philippines often and it has really encouraged us to live our life in a more generous way because it has opened our eyes to see how far building relationships and donating really does make all the difference. 

Ron and Jenine Reier