What to expect when you visit Arms of Love’s home in the Philippines

Accommodations
Ministry Opportunities
Church Relationships
Recreational Activities
Scheduling Your Trip

Accommodations

We can accommodate up to 20 people at our House of Love. The House of Love includes a large kitchen and a substantial dining area, though teams are typically treated to dinner in the individual family homes. Visitors sleep in bunk beds, and there is one small shared bathroom with a cold-water shower.

Visitors receive 3 meals per day. Your team will be served a mix of local Filipino foods and more traditional “American” foods. You will eat lots of white rice ... and the mangoes are considered among the best in the world.

There is a volleyball net as well as a half basketball court that gets lots of use!

Ministry Opportunities

Crafts, basketball, baseball, water balloon fights … there are endless possibilities to connect to the kids. During school season (June – March), the kids don’t usually finish their studies until 4:00, your team will want to plan other midday activities.

We often have various work projects that teams can help with such as painting, landscaping, property repairs, etc. Please ask us what our current needs are when you schedule your trip and let us know what your team’s special skills are.

Teams often like to venture out and do ministry in the community providing more opportunities for team (and faith) building. You can plan an outreach to a neighborhood or to the area where a large number of street kids live. These are all wonderful ways to challenge and stretch your team.

But the most important part of every trip is ministry and relationship.  Your team will have many opportunities to share your faith with the children, to pray with them, and to encourage their spiritual growth.  The staff also appreciate receiving ministry, as caring for our children can be exhausting work.  By building relationship with the staff and the children and ministering to them, the body of Christ can be strengthened across cultural and geographical barriers.

Church Relationships

One of the principal values of Arms of Love is to develop each project as a ministry of the local church to its own community. The children who reside at the Arms of Love Children’s Home attend services at the Vineyard church in Tagbilaran City. Teams are welcome to join with the local church in ministry to the wider community.

Arms of Love is currently coordinating its efforts in Philippines with a partnership of Vineyard churches in the United States that is led by Steve Alvarez, senior pastor of Vineyard El Paso.

Recreational Activities

The island of Bohol is one of the most beautiful and tropical of all of the Philippine islands and is convenient to tourist sites and recreational areas. Your team can make a day trip to the amazing Chocolate Hills, or visit the beach (only about 30 minutes away), which makes for a perfect outing for your team and the kids. The kids also love the nearby waterpark.

Scheduling Your Trip

To schedule your trip download the Team Information Form and send it to us today. Your team members will complete the Volunteer Information Form and you will send them to us a month before your team arrives.

For details about travelling to the Philippines and team life read Making a Trip to Arms of Love Philippines.

For more information about bringing a team to the Philippines contact us at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Helpful Downloads
Making a Trip to Arms of Love Philippines
Checklist for Teams
Team Information Form
Volunteer Information Form
Short-term Teams Manual