Journey Into The Land Of My Dreams- Week 3- Please Read

This week has been the most interesting week out of this whole trip.. In fact, I think these last few days I have experienced things I've never experienced before.


Wednesday, Day 16- Was a very long day, because we had to take the team to Manila to drop them off at the airport.. We got there around 12 pm and spend a few hours at the mall. Which was fun, because the girls went into stores and started dancing, or they would follow people. It was embarrassing but a lot of fun..
After hanging out at the mall (which is bigger than anything we have in California) we dropped the team off. It was so sad saying goodbye, I even cried and I was going to see them in a week. :P I guess It's just because I got so close to everyone and I had such an amazing trip with them. I know it really changed their life and I'm so blessed to call them my brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Well since they left, this week has not been that interesting UNTIL today.
Today (Tuesday- Day 22) was supposed to be our departure, but guess what, I'm still in the Philippines. Let me explain.

In the last 22 days, we have had rain non-stop here. I've never seen so much rain in my life. The humidity and moisture is so crazy, that mold has been growing on our stuff and in our apartment.

Well, the rain has gotten so bad, that we have had unbelievable flooding. In some places, the water is up the peoples necks!! So we tried to drive to Manila, but the guards turned us around.
The death toll is now rising all over the philippines. So far, 51 people have died.
My heart broke to hear some of the news this morning. A man was walking with his baby, and slipped and accidentally let go of his child and lost it in the flood. Then a 14 year old drowned from playing in the water (The current is very strong) and people are getting electrocuted. The stories are endless.

So when got back into Olongapo, it already started flooding!! Our house on Jones St. was starting to flood, but thankfully it was only up to our ankles. but once you got out into the streets, the water was coming up to our knees. So I thought I would be adventurous and walk out it in (which I'm surprised my dad even let me) It was a moment I will never forget, and even though I know I was probably walking in pretty nasty stuff, I ignored it. I mean, when do you ever walk in a flood like that??
So then we came back to our house and all worked together to sweep the water out.
Now we no longer have water in our house, but outside of our apartment, it's still 3 to 4 inches high. Here are some pictures

Outside our apartment

Jezreel and I in the flood

Just Me :)

So as you can tell, it's pretty bad in Olongapo.. but look at these pictures from Manila, It just gets worse.

Man with his dog

So please pray for us here in the Philippines. It feels like reality has finally hit. I really believe we are in the last days and that this is just the beginning of Gods judgments. I pray we all stay steadfast in the faith and continue to live the life God wants us to. Amen!

~Kenya-Nicole

The Journey Into The Land Of My Dreams- Week 2

Wow, our 2nd week has been just as amazing than the first!! Each day keeps getting better and better, and God continues to show me more and more.

So here is an update, sorry if I skip certain days, because some days weren't that interesting ;)

Tuesday, Day 7- We went out to BalayBay. It's about a 40 min drive from where we live, and the scenery we pass is so beautiful! We had a blessed day there just seeing the land and seeing the House of God that was built.
On our way back though, we were able to stop and see the huge statue of Mary that they have in a place called "The Garden of Gethsemane"
I've mentioned this in some previous blogs but The statue is 2 to 3 stories high, and underneath it says "Oh Mary, please pray for us, for we are in debt to you"
How Sad! They pray to a woman who can't even hear them, and how are we in debt to her?!! She didn't die for our sins, Jesus did!!
So once again, this is why we are here. People are so steeped in their religion.
We do our part by sharing the truth, and if they don't listen, then they will know the truth someday.

Thursday, Day 10- We went back out to Matangib {the place we gave everyone rice}
Since it has been storming non-stop here, we had to drive, instead of going out on the boat. This day was honestly such a special day to me for multiple reasons.
First, my dad had asked me to share my heart with the people that day. So I was a bit nervous, and I was like, Ok Lord, I really need you to lead me today.
So I was looking through a notebook that had a scripture on the bottom of it, and it was Jeremiah 33:3- Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
Just recently that verse has been so special because weird things have been happening in my life, and the numbers 333 have been popping up everywhere. Like, I've been waking up A LOT at 3:33 am and just randomly seeing those numbers together.
So I asked the Lord if He was trying to show me something. Then I was led to the scripture in Jeremiah!! In my heart, I just know the Lord is telling me something in that verse.

Well Thursday in Matangib, when I saw that scripture in my notebook, It instantly took away my nerves and I was able to stand up before the people in boldness..
Then the rest of the day, the Lord continued to give me little signs, that just gave me hope with some things in my life.
I was walking through the shallow parts of the China Sea, and I found the shell that holds the pearl, which I guess is called the Mother of Pearl. It's so beautiful and I kept remembering the scripture that talks about being a pearl of great price :)

What I found!!











Then early Friday morning, around 1 am to 2 am, my room mate Melody and I decided to have prayer time together, because there has been a lot of spiritual warfare going on, so we knew we needed to spend some time with the Lord and pray for some breakthroughs. Well, that prayer time, was so beyond amazing. The Spirit of God hit us and His presence was so strongly felt!! After we prayed, there was such a peace that we could not explain. God is good :-) He truly showing me great and mighty things.

Sadly, later in the day, I started to get very sick. I had a fever of 103.8 that lasted for about 7 hours. Well little did I know, I was getting the symptoms of hand, foot and mouth disease. So now I have it, but I'm thankful that it's very mild. Our team from California had it before we left, so it just spread here.
HFMD is so extremely painful, and it's been hard to walk at times. There has been an outbreak all over the world of this disease!!! So, please keep me in your prayers, for surely this is another attack of the devil.

Monday, day 13- We went to a high school in Balabay to share about the Lord and pass out Bibles to them. So I was in one class room by myself with my friend Jezreel to translate. I was in a room with kids from the ages of 12 to 16.
Sadly some didn't take me seriously, they were having too fun giggling at the blonde american girl that was in their midst. but I did my best to share with them about what it truly means to be Born Again and letting the Lord into their hearts. I also shared about Roman Catholics and how that religion will not save them, nor will they ever see Heaven if they are in that religion & that the only way to be saved was through Gods Word and most of all Jesus. So I pray some were blessed and will think about what we shared.

That is all for now... The team leaves on Wednesday, so I will update again soon.
Thank you to everyone who has kept me in your prayers on this journey, I truly appreciate it :)

God Bless, Kenya-Nicole

The Youth :)

The Journey Into The Land Of My Dreams- Week One

One week has past since our departure and this trip has been fruitful so far. It's been such an honor to be with my dad and my closest friends doing the work of ministry.

Our first week has been extremely busy, we seriously go non-stop for the weeks we are here. So when i get home, I am mentally and physically exhausted ;)

Our plane trip was so much fun with the youth. I have developed a fear of flying recently but sitting next to Mark and Melody helped take away the nervousness I had. Sadly I was still sick with my sinus infection on the plane, and then had a horrible stomach ache {Which lasted for about 4 days} The devil has attacked the whole team, from Sinus infections, to things similar to foot, hand, & mouth disease. & he has continued to attack us because he knows the work we do here. but we are fighting through it :)

Anyways, After 12 hours of flying, we arrived in Manila on Tuesday. All the missionary families were there to greet us. Driving back to Olongapo, we had a few complications, like a motorcycle hit our car. It was the mans fault, because as my dad was turning, He pulled in right in front of him, and my dad hit him. So of course, since he saw that my dad was from America, he tried to create a problem. My dad turned it around on him, and told him he would take him to the police for crashing into us. Thankfully that scared him away.

So when we got home to Olongapo, we took the families to SM mall to go food shopping. Every time we come into the land, we always bless them with that on the first day. They go without so much, but never complain. They were so happy and blessed :)

On Wednesday, It was an extremely hot day (which it always is here) It's mostly the humidity that is insane. We hiked up a steep hill that day, which was so hard on all of us, but we finally made it up the hill, and fellowshipped a few hours. That day, I was still struggling in my physical body, but I enjoyed later that night being able to bless all the families with the gifts we brought them.

Thursday was a great day for all of us. We went out on the island Matangib. I've always loved going out into the remote island areas. So we took our small boat called "Sea of Gallilie" and went across the China sea, with Rice to pass out to all of the saints. The last time I did that, was when I was 6 years old. So it really blessed my heart this time, to bless people that have barely nothing. It blessed me to just see their smiles, and know I made them happy.
The poverty there and in the Philippines in general, is unbelievable. It broke my heart passing children with runny noses, no clothes, and they are crying for help.
but that's why we are here, to help the people that are in need.

Then Saturday, we went to Zoobic Safari to see all the Wild Life. It was pouring down rain the whole entire time, but that made it even more fun. We got to be up close and personal to all the tigers and other reptiles they have. You can seriously be one inch away from their cage, that's something you could never do in America.
So everyone really enjoyed it.

Today is Sunday, and as usual, we went to the House of God. It was so nice being back and seeing all of my friends. It feels like I'm back "Home"
Us youth from California sang Revelation Song to them, which they all loved..
Afterwards we went out to eat by the Bay, and since we are getting hit with a typhoon, The waves and wind were crazy!! I have never seen this much rain in my life, and now some parts of Olongapo are getting flooded. I love it though, because its taken away the heat.

So, that was my week so far, and I have 3 more weeks to go. I will continue to keep you updated. God Bless You and please keep us in your prayers.
~Kenya-Nicole

Passing out rice

On the boat going to Matangib

He's so cute :)

My friends Kimuel and Jezreel

The Journey Into The Land of My Dreams: The Philippines

I'm getting ready to take a journey of a lifetime. This trip will be so different than my past journeys, because this time, I'm going to be with some of my closest friends. Youth that I've grown up with. For most of them, this will be their first journey. This will be my 14th trip into this nation. The one thing I'm looking forward to, is just watching them and seeing how this nation will capture their heart. I'm excited to see the experiences they will have, Like going across the China Sea to Matangib, Going to Bahawk market to see the raw meat and disturbing things they have there, but most of all, just to see the amazing work God is going to do in their lives!! I know this trip will truly bring us closer together as brothers and sisters in the Lord. We leave tomorrow, and I have great anticipation. Sadly I've been sick with a Sinus Infection, but that won't stop me from doing what God has called me to do. Every time I go that nation, I become more attached to it, and in my heart, I wish I could stay there forever. THIS is my life, and I would never change it. I've mentioned in a previous blog, how a person used to tell me that horrible things were going to happen to me, and that I was going to die on the mission field & said a lot of immature things. It's horrible right?! Well they don't understand, that God walks with me every step of the way, and He very well can stop a bullet from hitting me. I'm walking into my DESTINY, and no one can change the calling the Lord has on my life. Amen :) So I will continue to keep everyone updated on this journey, for it will be amazing :) God Bless, Kenya-Nicole

I started at a young age ;) Here I am sharing the Word when I was 7 years old.

My daddy and I on our last trip in March.

Philippine Journey- Week 2

So I actually just got back from the Philippines yesterday but I still have to write about my 2nd week in the Philippines. Even though it was not that eventful, it was still very busy.

Monday- My dad had his Elders meetings.. So I went to my friends house again to spend time with everyone.. We had our usual water fight, and had a silly string fight too..
Thursday- We went to Balaybay again.. My dad preached on Roman Catholics and where the religion came from. I was having an asthma attack that whole day, so it wasn't really a good day for me.. but even though I was struggling to breath, it was still a blessing to be there with the saints in Balaybay.. Usually my asthma does not bother me all the time, but the heat and humidity on this trip kind of triggered it. but I told the devil he can't take my breath away and I was continually praying over myself. So I survived ;)

Friday- We had House of God again.. It was our last night there, so of course it was really hard for me to say goodbye to all of my friends..

Saturday was our day of departure.. I'll always remember standing by our car on Jones St. {where we live} and just looking at the people I love and the city I love, thinking how much I am going to miss everything. but I smiled knowing that this is not the end!!
We had a few hinderances on the way to Manila. Our Truck broke down, so we had to go get it repaired. Then other little things happened, so it took us 5 hours to get to Manila. When it should have taken us 2 to 3 hours.. So we lost some time. but it was nice just being able to enjoy my friends and beautiful scenery on the way :)
but the time I was dreading for 2 weeks finally came...We arrived at the airport. It was hard to believe that we were just there getting ready to start our journey, then now we were leaving.

One thing I really hate most in life is doing that.. I held in all my tears and sadness until I got to the airport. As I hugged some of my friends, I just could not hold it in any longer. Saying goodbye to my "Family" there just gets harder and harder.
As I hugged my Ate Sharon, she told me, "Someday we're just going to keep you here" and I said PLEASE DO! This trip really did something to my heart.. I mean my heart has always loved that nation, but this trip I realized something. If it was God's will, I would give up everything in this life in America, to move there to do ministry for the rest of my life.

Being a missionary and doing what I do there, is my destiny!! Ministry is my passion, it's in my blood & very few people really understand! So this journey is not the end!! It's only the beginning :))

God Bless, Kenya-Nicole

P.S here is some pictures of my friends down below.

Best Friends :)

Sweet Rona and I {She is really not as tall as me, she was standing on a chair haha}

Me and Kimmy {Kimuel}

Sisters for life :)

Philippine Journey- Week 1

My first week in the Philippines was truly amazing, but the time is going by way too fast now. We only have 5 more days in this land and it breaks my heart. I know we will be back soon, but it's still hard to say goodbye to the people you love.

So here is my update of what we have been doing this last week.
Tuesday- We went out to place called Balaybay. It's about 40 minutes from where we live..
The scenery that we passed by was gorgeous. I haven't been to Balaybay since I was a little girl, but when I got there I got flashbacks of when I was little doing ministry. The House of God up there is so beautiful. We didn't really do any ministry that day, we just went to check things out and see the need. Which there is a big need.. They lack so much there, but never complain.
Anyways, on the way back, in the middle of like a "Forest Area" There is a HUGE statue of Mary.
The Philippines is mostly Catholic and the graven images here is just unbelievable.

It's so sad, the other day we were in the mall. and at 12 pm, this little bell went off through the intercom, and all of a sudden, people started crossing themselves. A woman's voice started talking and started saying a prayer to MARY and reminding the people to pray with their rosary's that day. I was kind of shocked to hear that but that's why we are here. To be a witness to these people!
Here is a picture of the Statue

On Wednesday we didn't have much to do. So I was able to hang out with some of my friends. I am really thankful for the friends I have made here.. I mean, I've grown up with all of them. but now that we are older, things are different. My heart has been knit together with theirs. We had such a fun time fellowshipping. We had a water fight with all the kids on the compound then later had a pizza party :)

Rona, Luke, Kimuel and Little Matthew










Thursday we crossed the China Sea to go to Matangib.. They built a new House of God there, so we went to dedicate it. I know it was such a blessing for everyone!! We also brought some toothbrushes and toothpaste and passed it out to all the little kids :) Their smiles were priceless :)

Friday was my friend Kimuel's 17th birthday.. I wanted to bless him with something but wasn't sure what to give him. Then I heard that he didn't have his own Bible and the Bible's he did have, were just hand me downs. So I thought I would give him a new Bible. That's the best gift I could ever give him anyways.. :) I know he was really happy when I gave it to him and just seeing him smile and use his new Bible blessed my heart :)

Here is an old picture of Kimuel and I on my last trip

On Saturday we went to Zoobic Safari.. It was so cool to see the White tigers and other wildlife that they had there.. They took you inside caged jeeps, and the tigers would come right up to your window or get on top of your vehicle! We were just inches from them!!!
Then later on in the day, I was walking past some tigers to take pictures and one tiger just decided to spray me and mark their territory. EWWW :( It was horrible and I smelled like Tiger Urine all day haha It sure was an adventure and is something I will never forget!! Then we ended the day with a nice fellowship for everyone at the house. They made Chicken Lumpia and I made some Pumkin Pies!! It's been years since some of the missionary families have had that. So I know they enjoyed it!

Then Sunday, was our last Sunday with everyone. I tried just to be happy, but deep down it was really hard to say goodbye. but we still had a wonderful day together! They had a youth fellowship after service, So I was able to have some time sharing with them.
I talked about Holding on to Gods promises in our life. I shared about how God's love is unconditional but his promises are conditional. So if we are living in sin and not living the way we are supposed to, then it can prevent God's blessings on them, and God's people. I shared with them how many times in Isreal, they prevented God's blessings because there was sin in the camp and that even today, when there is sin in the church, It could prevent His blessings. So that we need to live a pure, holy, and righteous life, and let God purge and cleanse us from any sin.
After that, I just ended with encouraging them to not be weary or discouraged and reminded them of another promise God gave to us. That He will never leave us or forsake us and that they are not alone. I know it touched their hearts!! At the end, I almost started crying when I was saying my goodbyes. I told them how much I love them and love their nation and want the very best for all of them.
I just pray now that they stay on the right path.

So even though this trip has past by so quickly, It's been fruitful. God has continued to change me and strengthen me and change everyone here as well!! We still have a few more days left to do ministry, so I will write another update soon.

God Bless, Kenya-Nicole

After Service on Sunday

My Journey Begins...Again!

It's hard to believe that 2 months have passed and I am once again getting on a plane to go back home {Philippines} What an amazing journey I had in December and I know this journey will be so much better. The last trip was just the beginning of what God wanted to do in my life, and since then it's been life-changing!! The miracles I've been seeing and the happiness that has been brought back into my life, has been wonderful.

I am doing what God has called my Dad and I to do, and that's to spread the gospel and help people that are need.. There's no greater joy in life than to be on the mission field, leading people to Christ and giving them hope in their life.

Some people tell me-- "Oh you'll die on the mission field" "It's dangerous" or "God won't stop a bullet from hitting you" Well, you see, they don't understand. 1st of all- My life is HIS, and when He wants to take it, He will. 2nd- I will go anywhere God calls me to and 3rd- You don't know my God then. because He can very well STOP a bullet from hitting me. :-)

People need to understand, that this is my life and my whole hearts desire is to help people, care for people, love people, and bring them to the Lord!! :) I am really looking forward to this next Journey. Even though it will be short, God will move in our midst and will be with us every step of the way.

God Bless, Kenya-Nicole

Yes, I am Indiana Jones's daughter ;)