The day began with a miracle.

It had been raining from midnight to dawn, and by 7am there was no sign that the rain would soon abate and finally allow us to leave our hostel for our destinations. It was simply a grey and wet morning. Our agenda included Masarawag Elementary School, Republic Academy, and Pamasan. While Masarawag and Republic were schools, Pamasan was a little village which was to be accessed by our missionaries by trekking through lahar and paddy fields.

And it looked like the weather would thwart our Pamasan trek. Uncle Al was going to cancel the trek when Sr Angie asked everypne for a huddle around the entrance to the hostel, and led us into prayer. She asked us to sing the song "How Great Thou Art" prayerfully. In the middle of the song, the sky above us cleared, and before long, the sun rays came through the clouds by the time we finished the song. Just like in the movies.

If that was a sign of good tidings for us, then it was  really a sign, for the Masarawag outreach led by Mark Lee went without a hitch. After an hour-long cultural presentation, which included the singing of the Singapore National Anthem, the team  did their usual classromm teach-ins. They also painted one classroom, played games with the kids (basketball, and Uncle Al actually taught the kids how to play rugby), and became instant celebrities to their new-found fans and friends.  Around 3.30, Uncle Al was informed that Masarawag is under Typhoon Signal 1. So all activities were stopped by then and all the teens were ordered back to their marshall point in the school. The team left Masarawag by 4pm and were safely back at the hostel by 4.30pm.

The Pamasan team made their trek an eventful and memorable occasion, complete with tadpole catching, giving gifts and relief supplies, and witnessing how coconuts are "harvested" from the tree, etc. The team was back at the hostel by 4pm.

The Republic team, led by Nicholas Neo achieved what they wanted to achieve in carrying out their activities in their sassigned school. They left the school at 4pm and arrived at the hostel by 4.45.

After dinner, the group had its daily evening prayer/sharing session, followed by carolling practice, and a briefing by Uncle Al on the typhoon signal situation. Supper was served (mee goreng, prepared by Uncle Richard - Daniel Seow's dad),  and it was lights out by 12 midnight.