going on 3 weeks

So this goal of a daily blog won't work I don't think...
We do have internet at home but we only have 1 laptop between the 3 of us so I can't hog it =p



As of the moment, our team has just finished editing the 16-page Construction Contract. This then has to be looked at by our Consultant and then our Contractor. Once all parties agree, our Lawyer will finalize it and it's just a matter of getting the Contract signed. Crazy. I still get overwhelmed when I'm confronted with documents as such. Like hello! I so do not know anything about building houses. But again and again, I find myself so privileged & honored to be a part of something like this. It's such a blessing to know that although I know I don't know much about these things, GOD is a gracious God and He gives us the grace we need in order to do the things that we cannot accomplish on our own.

Meeting the team for the 1st time last week just left me feeling grateful yet again.
As some of you know, we have 3 new Board of Directors for the BABYANNE'S MANSION [BAM] team here in the Philippines. One I have met before but the other 2 are complete strangers. I only know them by paper (their application form).
But when I got to meet them last week, I just really saw how God has answered our prayers. My prayer really was that we will find people who will be committed to BAM... that they will catch the vision of the orphanage and work accordingly. My prayer really has been for each part of the Board to be working to their full potential so that the team can be both productive & effective. And when I got to attend their meeting last week, all I could really say was "Thank You."
Of course it's still a new team and there are lots of areas that they can still improve on.. but I can see that they are all quite enthusiastic about BAM and that just thrills me.


There's also this guy, who is a friend of a couple of our Board of Directors, who we met up with last Tuesday because he was interested in helping out with fundraising. This guy has experience in raising funds and seemed like he had the theory to back up how he does things as well.
And seriously, this is again 1 of those answered prayers.
Sometimes, it just feels like you've been praying for something for so long that you wonder when God is ever gonna answer it (or if He will ever answer it for that matter). But after years and years of asking God to build our team here and give us the people that we need in order to make this happen, now there's this guy who I think will be such a tremendous help to us.


Soo cool.

So to those of you who are praying for us (or who have been praying with us from the very beginning), THANK YOU VERY MUCH!



The next big (grueling) thing we gotta work on is the Building Permit. Funny cuz after being here for a couple weeks, even though I haven't gone to the government offices myself and lined up to get these documents signed & processed, I am beginning to see how 'different' the system really is here in Manila. The process of acquiring the permit could take months! But if we want things to move a little faster, just a few thousand Pesos will solve our problem. It's sad really. Cuz although the employees in those offices know that it's wrong, they still do it cuz that has been the way things have been done for years. Hearing that, I was reminded of what the Bible says about how bribes make a good man compromise (something like that).

A few people have told us already to maybe give a 'little something.' But as much as we would like to get that permit as quickly as possible, we refuse to conform to the ways of this world. Sure it may be 'grueling,' and the process might involve days & days of lining up and our patience might really be tested but, God says that He surrounds the righteous with favor as with a shield. So although it may seem like the only way to get this permit asap is to bribe, we know we have God on our side and that He can cause us to find favor. We will just trust in that.