Mensore: David and Leslie Turley in Okinawa: March 2010

It has been a while since we wrote...much has happened and we are as always so thankful for your prayers and care. We had a wonderful time in Hong Kong with over 700 Asian Baptist Youth and were so thankful to be a part of the excitement and energy these young people have about sharing the Gospel of Christ with Asia. God is doing great things in Asia!

In a previous blog we wrote about going on mission from Okinawa. It may seem strange to some that we would go on mission from Okinawa when we are sent to Okinawa as missionaries, but in many cases, mission to another country means that we can take others with us to see the reality of what service to God can mean.

Next week, from April 4-8, I and three teachers from Okinawa Christian School International will take five middle school students to Manila in The Philippines to work at an area there called "Smokey Mountain". We will be going in partnership with Metro Ministries Philippines which is a ministry started by Bill Wilson in inner city New York many years ago. His vision was to be able to minister to children through a Sunday School approach and the success of that ministry has led to similar ministries all over the world. Each week Metro Philippines ministers to about 20,000 impoverished children.

Here is some information from Wikipedia about Smokey Mountain:

"Smokey Mountain is a large landfill in Manila, Philippines. Consisting of over two million tonnes of waste, it has operated for more than 40 years^[1] and is known for decomposing at such high temperatures that it will catch fire, a fact from which the location derives its name.

Smokey Mountain has a large squatter community, and it is estimated that 30,000 people live near the site, and make their living from picking through the rubbish at Smokey Mountain."

We will go to minister and share God's love with some of the children there and as we get closer to the time, we are all getting excited as we prepare for this journey. The OCSI students have begun asking their fellow classmates to help donate items we will use and they are truly stepping up in leadership for this adventure.

If you would like to see a bit of the Metro Philippines ministry online, you can go to: http://www.metroministries.org.ph/home/
and on Facebook at: Metro Philippines

We ask for your prayers for:
Safety
Continued Good Health
Opportunities for Spiritual Growth
Opportunities for Service

I will try to blog daily so you will be able to follow our trip.

You can see photos on this blog and on Facebook.