Tour Dates: 6 - 9 July 2016 | Location: Ilo Ilo, Lapu-Lapu & Cebu, Philippines
Suddenly it became the #FreedomTour. We never imagined that this album would go this far. Well at least that's what I thought. Sometimes you let the physical blur your vision and look pass the spiritual, just like what happened to me. I always thought that the Freedom album would be a church-level kinda thing where we would only sell the albums during events like the church anniversary, Easter, Christmas etc. Little did I know that God has greater plans for us! I remember a few months after the release of the album, someone significant prophesied that the song 'Freedom' would not just be another locally written song but it would be a song to save the youths of today and that it would go far beyond Malaysia.
So as we were preparing for this trip, it wasn't called 'Freedom Tour' in the beginning but Pr Palan prayed about it and felt the peace to proceed with the theme Freedom in Christ. I am not sure how but everything fell into its place perfectly and we know it is God who have orchestrated the entire process. God performed many miracles and one of it would be my passport. Read more here. And another would be how He provided for us through our church. God is so so good!
Preparation wasn't easy at all. We tried to plan and to come up with schedules, timelines, datelines, bla bla bla. Things changed so very quickly and so very much. There were changes made almost on a daily basis - especially the venue, the rental of musical equipment and so on. We got very stressed out that NOTHING at all was in our control. We could only prepare ourselves, our hearts, our spirits for this. We met and prayed every week for 2 months and in between, practiced very hard. it was such a beautiful lesson for each of us to remain still and know that He is God and HE IS IN CONTROL. It was also a season where our faith was tested. We learn so so much.
I would say that this team of 10 people is perfectly ordained by God. First, there is no 1 main leader in the process of preparation. Everyone just knew what to do and how to do and when to do. Everyone just knew their specific roles and stick by them. It was not difficult to get things done as everyone was very proactive and responsible. This usually do not happen in a group of people with no leader. It's so amazing! I just had this very strong feeling that this team would soar together... And we did!
The Arrival
We arrived at the Cebu Airport at about 3pm. Sean & Pr Palan got their local numbers from Globe. It's super worth the money. 400 pesos if not mistaken and we get unlimited data for 1 week! We waited for Pr Allan from Mandaue City Centre to pick us up and then went straight to our motel, Lord's Pension. Everyone was tired but so excited. We went for dinner at Mang Inasal, Mandaue and then went to shop for toiletries and groceries just across the road. Mang Inasal was a love at first bite! I love the texture of the rice... Trust me, it's not the same here in Malaysia. The chicken was just so perfect! I ordered "Pecho". Here, have a look:
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| This is called 'Pecho' and it's non spicy. YUM! |
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| Black: Soy Sauce Red: Chili Oil White: Vinegar |
4 of us had to wake up as early as 1.50am so that we can leave the Lord's Pension at 2.15am to the airport to catch our flight to Ilo Ilo City. Well this was such an amazing experience for me. I have never done this in my life. I only slept for 3 hours and having to stay awake until around 11pm-ish was so crazy! So we flew to Ilo Ilo and reached at around 6am-ish. It's so different here you could tell by the air. It's definitely fresher and cleaner...
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| Touch down Ilo Ilo! |
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| We sat on the Jeepney for the very first time! |
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| Where we stayed and did our workshops for 2 days in Ilo Ilo. I love this house! |
What I have noticed in Philippines is that the weather looks gloomy almost the whole day (probably this season, I'm not sure) and we didn't know what time it was most of the time! The sky turns dark from 6pm onwards and by 6.45pm it's dark.
Day 1 | Central Philippines University, Ilo Ilo, 6 July
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| Dance Workshop by Joanne |
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| Media workshop by Samantha |
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| Setting up for the 1st concert at Central Philippines University |
Day 2 | Central Philippines University, Ilo Ilo, 7 July
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| Greeted by this bunch of sweet mangoes in the morning! |
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| And 'Angelina' bread with fried EGGS!! Nothing better than this! |
1. That the hall will not be filled with people, just simply anyone, but those who only need to hear what God has to say and those whose hearts are hungry. Kate confirmed this with me when she met me at the end of the concert and said something like God wanted her to tell me this, that every person in the hall is ordained to be there. How amazing is this?!! Also, there were more men than women and Pr Palan spoke very specifically to the men and challenged them to rise up!
2. For Kate to be able to make it to the concert... (Even though she had devotional). AND SHE MADE IT! I came down from the stage, sat down and turned around and I saw her. I was overjoyed!
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| This is her! |
3. For the sound crew (whom we hired) to open their hearts to the Word of God. 2 of them received God into their lives! Amen!
God was just so so real to me thus far. It was only the second night and I was already experiencing Him so so much! I don't know how else to say but truly, my God is REAL!
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| And the ladies... |
There's another person that I would like to bring up here... She's Phebe. Always ready to help, she's a gem! She works quietly and excellently. On the second night, while we were preparing ourselves for the concert, I left the albums in the bag and forgot to put them out on display. Phebe did everything without being asked and she helped us sell the albums without being asked. A beautiful soul she is...
Are you tired already from reading? Haha you can continue tomorrow if you want to!
But before I forget, I just wanna say that I am so so thankful for those who served us. I felt very bad being served but I gotta learn that it is ok! Everytime when we were just sitting on the dining table while they prepare the food for us, I felt bad. Whenever they wait for us to finish eating, only then they will eat, I feel bad. Gah! I'm so grateful and thankful for them! And I learn that I don't quite like being served. Heh!
Day 3 | Benedicto College, 8 July
We flew back to Cebu on the third day and did the workshops at Lord's Pension. Surprisingly, the hall on the 3rd floor is pretty beautiful! We had a beautiful devotion time in the morning led by Danica. It's about thankfulness. :) After that I got to rest for a bit and it was so refreshing! Later in the evening, we went to Benedicto College to set up. Here's the story... The hall is fully padded therefore the sound wasn't that nice. We sounded "raw" I hope you understand :D And a few of us were obviously very frustrated and tried very hard to fix the sound. Well, there was really nothing much we could do, except tear down the pads on the walls? Haha! Of course we didn't. We just had to 'live' with it for that few hours. I was very sure that this was the work of the enemy, trying to make us go crazy and frustrated. But I told Sean (he was super upset with the sound) to let go and let God. God can still move in this kinda situation. True enough, there were close to 200 people who turned up that night and almost 90% of them responded to God. Hands were lifted up across the hall and it was an awesome sight to see. God spoke through Pr Palan and it touched the hearts of the students! Again I say, God is good!
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| Look at these hands & hearts lifted up to Jesus! |
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| The dynamic duo behind working hard to ensure everything goes smoothly |
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| 'Adam' and his manager |
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| 'Adam' and 'Pastor Daniel' |
Day 4 | Lapu-Lapu, 9 July
A place where we were drenched in our sweat but it was totally worth it. There were about 80+ people who came and 26 accepted Christ. It was a little difficult to get the crowd in the beginning but God still showed up and touched their hearts. Here ends our Freedom Tour 2016! We will be back again next year but different locations! So excited already!
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| Outdoor hall |
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| Japanese students who attended the concert |
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| The process of getting a professional shot! |
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| Hellooo there! |
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| Us selling our album to a Japanese student. Praying that he will be blessed! |
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| Pr Palan speaking to the people |
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| The people behind our concert tour.. They went around to distribute flyers and arranged for the venues and equipment and did much more! Thank you, team! We love you! |
Day 5 | Sunday Service, Mandaue City, 10 July
We did worship and word for Sunday service at Mandaue City as well. Luke preached about The Law & The Gospel, we all shared our testimonies. I couldn't hold my tears sharing about how God healed my beloved grandmama and I caused a few girls to tear up too.. Sorry, ladies! Everything went on smoothly and we went back to Mandaue City Centre for lunch and workshop.
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| Luke preaching for the first time! |
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| Lavinia conducting Sound workshop |
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| Kar Liang teaching the ladies about video editing |
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| Sam teaching the ladies how to use the new laptop which RGBC has blessed them with. |
Side Story 1:
The enemy was very unhappy that we were going for this trip because he knew that it will change things. Not only in the Philippines, but also for us, RGBCians. There were many incidences that tried to kill our motivation and energy prior to the trip but I am very glad that we made it through by the grace of God. My grandparents both had emergency health issues just 2 days before I left and it definitely bothered me so much, I was so worried and I was shaken. But time and time again I am reminded to be still and know that He is God. I worshipped Him and praised Him, the whole team was praying with me and I felt so much peace the day I left. Here's to encourage you. When you're about to do something significant for the kingdom of God, the enemy will try his best to destroy the plans. But never ever fall into the trap, especially emotionally. He is very smart and will attack our weakest point subtly. So, always remember to be still, always go to God no matter what and the enemy will be DEFEATED!
Side Story 2:
We've created memories that would... probably... last a lifetime! There were so much fun and laughter especially in the van. We came up with a song for "MANDAUE" and we made up words like SOCKSES, EGGSES BENEDICTS and more. It was pure joy just talking and laughing all the way. I hope we didn't irritate the drivers. But all in all I think we all grew closer to one another, of course we've seen the true colours of every member but we all learn to love and to work with one another. As the saying goes, "If it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you!" we were challenged and I believe we are changed!
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| We took a day off before flying back to Malaysia and it was breathtaking! |
Philippines, I will see you again in 2017!
Hope you were encouraged by the post and thank you for reading patiently...
Love,
Sheryn
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