Philippines Medical Missions | Danny Consford | Update 1

From San Francisco to Tacloban: The First 48 Hours

Long flights, confusing time zones, airport shuttles, and a packed church service before we ever caught up on sleep—this was the first 48 hours of our medical missions trip to the Philippines.

The Journey Begins

I arrived at the San Francisco airport on January 26 and met up with the rest of our team. After clearing security and getting organized, we boarded our flight just before midnight. Our plane left San Francisco at 11:00 PM, beginning the long trip across the Pacific.

Time zones stopped making sense almost immediately. Somewhere between meals, short naps, and trying to figure out what day it was, we crossed the International Date Line. After a 14½-hour flight, we landed in Manila at 4:00 AM on January 28.

Manila: Customs, Luggage, and a Long Layover

Once in Manila, we made our way through customs, collected our luggage, and transferred everything to the domestic flight area. That meant another shuttle ride—this time to the domestic terminal—followed by a six-hour layover.

Six hours doesn’t sound too bad until you’ve already been traveling halfway around the world. Eventually, we boarded a short one-hour flight to Tacloban.

Arrival in Tacloban

We arrived in Tacloban at about 2:00 PM and were picked up by Pastor Jerry Tanawan of Ley Sam Baptist Church. From the airport, we were taken straight to the hotel, where we had just a few hours to regroup before heading back out again.

Straight to Church

That evening, we attended the second night of a missions conference at Ley Sam Baptist Church. Two national pastors supported by the church shared presentations about their ministries and the work God is doing through local churches.

Bro. Mike Potrocco preached that night. After a time of fellowship, we returned to the hotel to finally attempt something that felt nearly impossible at that point—sleep.

First Impressions

No sightseeing. No easing into the schedule. Just travel, church, and people.

That’s missions.

This trip started fast and hasn’t slowed down yet. These first days were a reminder that ministry often begins when you’re tired, disoriented, and relying more on God’s grace than your own energy. This is only Update 1—there’s much more to come.