Bethel and Assembly Hall

The Philippine Branch has undergone alot of change since the buildings were first built in the 40's. Now it has facilities for over 400. Of course the grounds are immaculately kept, the gardens are well manicured, buildings still look new and pathways and roads are clear of any rubbish.

During our tour we ran into many who had been there for over 30 years and knew Love's parents from when her dad was at the branch.

Guess who the one on the right is...

Our room.

We enjoyed staying for a couple of nights and even got to work in the laundry for a few hours. We had a great time with Kuya Dennis and Ate Susan who gave took us around and took us out to the Assembly Hall as well.

The Assembly Hall is a covered open air ampitheatre that seats 10,000 and can accomodate upto 15,000 including the overflow. There are great big fans in the top of the roof to suck out all the hot air. Considering the hot weather, I think you'd do whatever you can to get here early enough to get a seat under the shade.

We also paid a visit to Ate Susan's family just out of Manila and got a first hand account of some of the incredible water during the floods in September. Water flashed in and got as high as 6ft in the house for many hours. Just enough time to climb onto the roof!

Apparently cats cant swim very well.