A Warm Hello from Alison Tait ...

Hi everyone ... well, true to her word Alison Tait is going to do the first ever 'Guest Blog' on the Real Deal. Alison, her husband Michael and niece Jemma Rose have been here at Sefton for the last week and we have had a great time with them. Here is what she wants to share ... well done Alison!

" A warm hello from Sefton Village - a place where you never know what will happen next. This is our third visit here and we always enjoy spending time with Mark, Mary, Lydia and Josiah and our Filipino friends. We have also enjoyed fellowship with Keith and Anne, who just cooked us Paprika Beef and trifle for tea. It's very hot here - some rain is always welcome. There is so much to tell you about, but here are just a couple of highlights.

On Tuesday we set off to a local school where we met the Cornerstone team who fed around 700 children some rice mixed with lots of nutritious ingredients (5 hours of cooking was eaten in 15 minutes!) The teachers were desperate for us to do a programme for the children, so pastor Jun spontaneously arranged some games, singing and prayers with the children. They loved it and their smiling faces showed it. That's when you know you're in the Philippines - when unplanned stuff happens with such blessing.


Today (Wednesday) we had an early start, first to the Cornerstone office for a short time of worship and prayer, before about a dozen of us went to the local government emergency hospital. We were told that the patients would be laying in the corridors but nothing prepared me for the smell and to see these people, most of them on drips, laying on their own camp beds outside, with a small roof covering them. The team went in twos into different wards and corridors, getting to know the needs of the people and praying for them. They did this with such love and respect for these patients honouring the name of Jesus.

Sefton is a colourful place in many ways with beautiful people...