Day 1

First Impression 
It has been a long day traveling through the airports. We started out in Pittsburgh, flew to Chicago O’Hare where we boarded a 15+ hour flight to Hong Kong. As we were walking through the airport I looked at a fellow student and said, “Can you believe we’re in Hong Kong!” Within an hour's time we boarded our flight and  headed to the Philippines.

We arrived safely in Manila and made our way out of the Airport to the hotel for the night. I still could not believe I was on the other side of the world! As we left that night to head to our hotel the traffic was busy. I later found out from Bro. Petit that it was a slow night for traffic. I remember looking at the drivers dash and reading 100 on the speedometer. It finally registered that it was 100km/h and not miles per hour. We made it to our rooms and got settled in around 2:00 AM. The S.E.N.T. Team left for the Manila airport early the next morning and took our final flight to the City of Laoag.
 
Impression of Laoag
After landing in Laoag and getting off the plane the sun was beating down on us and I realized we're not in Pennsylvania anymore. As we made our way through the city I began to see Jeepney's and tricycles. The only thought I had at that point was "I want to ride on them!" The traffic in Laoag didn't scare me to death this time. I guess I got used to it by then as long as I'm not driving in it we'll be alright.

We arrived at FBI (Faith Bible Institute) and were greeted by a sign the students made that said "Welcome back to the Philippines SENT Team. God bless your ministry here." Taking a look throughout the campus and the dorms I realized how good I really have it back home. I learned a lesson the first day here. It was not to take anything for granted. I already knew this in the back of my mind, but it really came to life when I arrived here.

The SENT Team had a meeting with the Petit's that night to discuss the schedule for the two weeks we were going to be here ministering. When we started going through the schedule I felt anxious and nervous at the same time. Part of me was excited to do things I had never done before, but the other part of me was afraid to do it. I had never taught adult Sunday school, taught a college class, or even preached with an interpreter, but I knew God called me here and he will help me accomplish all he has for me to do.