I take my coffee with 1 splenda, 1 Tbs. of hazelnut sugar free creamer, and 3-4 ants. The last part isn't a preference, it's more like a reality. There's always ants in the coffee pot here. There's just too many to get out, so instead we ignore them and brew the coffee, ants included. Because this is the Philippines-- T.I.P. as we like to say-- there's a long list of normalcies that you would never find back in the good 'ol US of A. But that's okay, because not only have I learned to live with them, but I've accepted them, and they have become a part of my everyday life… a part of who I am. This is my life.
This is my life. Instead of wake up and smell the coffee, I wake up and smell the fish. I live in Cuatro, a poor, mostly squatters area representative of your average Filipino "homes". The streets are filled with trash and dirty, hungry kids playing in it. The mangy, starving dog with ribs popping out and sores covering it's body begins to blend in with the background…. a sight that would previously make me stop and stare in genuine concern for the 'poor dog' has now become normal. How do I worry about the animal, after all, when their are so many starving and needy people instead?
This is my life. I live in the dirt. It blows into my window and on my bed every day. I sweat 70% of the time. The other 30% is when I'm sleeping. I drive like a native. I swerve, I honk, I never signal, and I regularly cut people off; I drive on the opposite side of the road when needed, I go through the intersection when it's not my turn, and when I'm driving, pedestrians never have the right of way. I eat fruit about five times a day, it's so cheap and so delicious! I live in a house with anywhere from 10 to 100 people, depending on how many teams are here. It's always a mess, always noisy, and the dishes are sprawled out everywhere. And no matter what, I know never to plan anything, because plans always fall through, things are always changing, and you always have to keep on your toes!
This is my life, and somehow it's all worth it. The completely different, often frustrating cultural differences, the lack of a comfortable home, the go go go and the constant exhaustion, the being away from family and friends and the difficulties of support raising…. it's all very much worth it! Because when I feed my two little rascals breakfast or give them their first shower in days, it's worth it. When I'm greeted at the children's home by la pair of tiny legs running at me, arms wide open, yelling "Tita Kissty," it's worth it. When I look at Roseanne and I see the wheels turning and my devotion message start to make sense in her head, it's worth it. And when Vanessa jumps up to hug me at the end of every devotion, and thanks me for sharing, it is very much worth it!
This is my life. I live in a community of focused, intentional people. I share my life with other people called to minister to the same people group as me. We share stories over meals and meet for 10am coffee breaks, sweating extra but enjoying every second of it. I walk up the street with tons of kids yelling my name who I haven't even met yet. They smile and they wave yelling "hello" until you return the gesture. We fight for kids who can't fight for themselves. We provide education to kids who can't afford to go to school. We talk to anyone who will listen about our experiences because these kids and the people we meet have become our family! I'd give up my life to protect any one of them because they mean the world to me and I love them.
This is my life. This is how I live. And the thought of that changing is absolutely killing me. I don't want it to change. I don't want to say goodbye to my friends. I don't want to not be there to feed Imon breakfast. I don't want to stop Tuesday/Thursday devotions with the older girls. And I don't want to live in a place where people are more focused on themselves than they are on others. How can I be okay with my big room and soft, clean carpet, when my two favorite boys in the world are sleeping on hard dirt floor? How can I go back to school to get my masters degree when 14 year old Vanessa is still in grade 5 and needs a lot of help to catch up. How can I share a house with my two dogs, healthier than most of the kids I meet on the street? How can I yet again adjust my "normal" and return to the way things used to be???
I'm addicted to the dirty Manila air. Somewhere along the way, I got used to it. I've been breathing this dirty, polluted air for so long now that I'm not sure I even know how to breathe clean air anymore. I don't know how to be American. And I'm not really sure if I want to....
I wanted to spend one full day of fun with "my boys" before I left Manila. So since Wednesday was a national holiday (Presidential Inauguration), Manny was out of school, meaning that we had the full day to spend together!
The night before I told the boys to come over at 8am, and there they were right on time! I invited them inside to my room for some breakfast and a movie, Beauty and the Beast. I know they are boys, but they don't understand English anyways, so it's just fun to watch any cartoon. For breakfast they shared an apple and each had a peanut butter sandwich. And Jeff even supplied some children's ensure vitamin milk drink that was donated.... and they loved it all!
After the movie, we hopped in the car in search of a few things. If you notice from the pictures, they aren't exactly wearing "appropriate" clothing. That is a very loose term, being that they live on the streets and in the dirt, but to take them out to the mall in a see-through shirt, dirt-stained clothes, and no shoes.... well, let's just say they would attract a lot of attention. Even more than normal when there's a white woman with two Filipino boys.
So we stopped first to get them some tsinelas (Tagalog for flip flops). They enjoyed the car ride too of course! I made to sure to keep the windows down and the aircon off, since these boys have never been in a car before (except one other very short ride I took them on). Unfortunately these precautions weren't enough... seconds before parking, while still in line to pay, Imon let it all out. All over his clothes, all over the seat, on his new sandals..... just everywhere!
So I did something I would never do in America. Something I'd probably get put in jail for in America. I told the boys to not leave the car and I'd be RIGHT BACK! I ran into the mall in search of three things: paper towels, washclothes, and a little boys outfit. Since the mall had just opened I was in and out in about 10 minutes. Then I spent another 10-15 minutes cleaning Imon and the car up. And then we headed back into the mall all-together. We went back into the same store to get Manny a clean outfit as well, and then took him to the CR to change clothes.
Looking and fresh and clean (although still in need of a shower), we started out at WORLDS OF FUN! A room full of arcade games, these boys had huge smiles on their faces and were SO excited!
Next stop:SM Department Store. There were a few things I wanted to get for Manny for school during our day of fun. First we went and got him some rubber shoes (gym shoes) for school. Next we went and found him a backpack. He actually had one already, but I preffered that my boy Manny doesn't carry a pink barbie background around. Next, I found the boys some underwear. They usually don't wear any underwear. Not a good thing. So I got them some. And lastly, we got a picture developed that we just took at Worlds of Fun, so that the boys have a picture to remember our fun day out (though I'm sure they won't ever forget!)
And then we headed back to Hypermarket, which is the grocery store/department store. It's kind of like a target... just way less amazing. Anyways, there's some food stalls in front of the store as well so we went there and I got them hotdogs and fries. Big red Filipino hot dogs. Nasty! Haha but they enjoy them :) Me, I just stuck with a fruit shake.
Then we did some grocery shopping. I got more bread and individual packets of chicken/ham salad to make the boys sandwiches for breakfast and dinner. And I also got some groceries for myself. I put both the boys in the shopping cart at this point. They were beyond the point of obeying Tita Christie, and Tita Christie was over yelling their names and trying to get them to not look under the toilet stall doors!
And then it back back in the car and on our way home. I made Imon keep a bag held up to his head the whole way back, just in case he got sick again! Manny just enjoyed the view! They were tired but happy. And I was happy. It was a great day of fun with my boys. :)
I walk out my door with every intention of heading straight to the children's home. It's 9am and I want to get some time in hanging out with the babies. I open up the gate to exit the guesthouse and it turns out there's a visitor waiting for me. I grab Imon by the hand and lead him inside to my room. I grab the bread and the peanut butter, but before I can begin making him some breakfast, I can't help but notice how dirty this little 4 year old boy is. Imon is always dirty, he lives, sleeps, and plays in the dirt. But today he's really dirty. His white shirt is a permanent shade of brown, a shirt I've seen on him most days of the week, for usually 3-4 days at a time. I could make him a sandwich and send him on his way, but instead I decided to smell him. "Naligo" I said (shower). I lead him into the bathroom and text Marilyn asking for some extra little boys clothes. Within 10 minutes Imon is smelling and feeling clean, sitting on the floor eating a peanut butter sandwich, an apple, and a granola bar. With a full belly and a new set of clothes, I sent Imon on his way and headed up to the children's home.
That same night after eating dinner, I approached the guesthouse gate again en route to the childrens home for devotions. This time I had two visitors waiting for me. Imon and his older brother Manny. Imon grabbed at his shirt, smiling, showing me that he was still wearing it. This time I grabbed two little hands and led them into the YMC guesthouse. "I'm going to be late to devotions," I told them, "but I don't mind at all." I pulled out the bread, peanut butter, and granola bars, and made 2 big sandwiches for the boys. I hugged them goodnight and told them to come back tomorrow, as I headed up to the children's home.
Manny and Imon. I love these brothers. I'd feed them every meal if I could. But I'm running out of "tomorrow's" ...
When I came home from the world race, I spent 8 miserable months in "transition." For most of that time, I had no job, no home church, and not too many friends. I actually became one of those people that buys things to make themselves feel better. And I'm probably one of the cheapest people you know! Yet I often found myself at Target, Walmart, or wandering around one of the other many shopping centers in Southern California. Out of sheer boredom, I would walk around different stores to create some kind of "purpose" for my day. I literally spent my days on shopping, exercising, and taking care of the dogs.
The point of me strolling down this unpleasant memory lane, is to communicate the extent to which I would never want to re-live this time, or ever have to be job/friend/church/lifeless again in the future. I would never willingly choose that situation. And that is why I told myself, and everyone else, that I wouldn't leave Manila until my "next thing" was figured out. I wouldn't set a certain amount of time to be in Manila, only to come back home clueless and in the same situation as before.
With that being said, I have two pieces of news to share:
1. I still have no idea what is "next."
2. I'm coming home.
I know, I know…. what the heck am I doing?
All of this is very recent. I haven't been keeping my plans secret for a long time or anything like that. I came back to Manila from my 6 week Southeast Asia trip ready to jump into at least 3 full months of ministry. I told everyone that my plan was to stick around at least till the end of August. And I don't like doing less than a commitment; I wouldn't be bumping up my date unless I really felt like it was the right thing.
There are actually a few reasons for feeling like my time in Manila has come to an end….
1. With my commitment as a teacher being finished at the end of the last school year, my other commitments to ministry that remain are: discipling the girls, communication work for K.I.M, and ideas I had for working on a sponsorship program for the kids at school. Over the next month I will continue working on the sponsorship program, setting up a system for others to continue, and if possible, continuing to help with while back at home. As for my role in communications, there was someone before me, and I have no doubt there will be someone after me. This role isn't designed around me as an individual, and there are several people who could take over when I leave. That leaves discipleship with the girls. That is the hard part. Soon I will become one of the many who has come and gone in their lives. I'll leave them, just like their parents left them. I'll leave them, just like so many other volunteers who have come. It rips me apart to think about this. So much so that I am avoiding thinking about it and will stop talking about it too….
2. There is a family situation at home that really prevents me from being 100% here anyways, at least mentally. I don't know for sure, but maybe God wants me to be at home for the family right now…
3. Over the past 8 months God has really been putting in me a desire to return to the States and work on getting my Masters degree. It's something that pops into my head on a semi-regular basis, not only the desire to return to school, but also the desire just to be back in America, to focus on getting a job, saving up some money, and continuing my education.
4. And lastly, my funds are slowly running out! At one point I was fully supported on a month to month basis, but my monthly donated funds have been decreasing over the last few months, and I have been taking money from my general fund to have enough to live on. Between purchasing my ticket home, and living funds for the next two months, I'll probably run out completely in another two months.
And so it seems that all signs are pointing to home. This doesn't make it easy. As much as I am excited to go home, there is an equal (if not larger) part of me that is afraid of going home, and all that goes along with it (more on that in another blog).
But before too much time passed, I wanted to blog just to let everyone know that I am coming home earlier than expected.
The day? July 11.
Less than a month, I know….
Mark the calendar and then pray like crazy for my last month here and my transition back there.
(More blogs to follow in a few days on my thoughts and feelings.)
43 days ago Marilyn, Daisy, Kim and myself said goodbye to the kids, staff, and other volunteers in Manila, strapped our not-too-heavy packs on our backs, and headed out for a 6 week, 6 country extravaganza around Asia.
We started in Thailand, first in Bangkok, then to Chiang Mai, and then back to Bangkok. We spent 4 days in the red zone of bangkok (that's what we learned to call it), which is the area that the "red party" has come to call home in their protest against the government and powers-that-be. We got massages from them, bought bargain souvenirs from them, and enjoyed many many 10 cent iced coffees and fresh fruits straight off the street. We feasted on pad thai daily and sweated nonstop as we walked all over the city!
We took a 3 day trip to Laos, since we were so "close." We took a 14 hour sleeper train in and a 14 hour sleeper train back, with about 30 hours left to spend in the capital city. We learned first hand that Laos is still a very under-developed, not-too tourist friendly country. We walked around town, continued sweating, and had an interesting experience trying to get back to Bangkok (check out my previous blog to hear that story!)
Our third country was Cambodia. We again traveled six hours by train and another 2 hours by taxi to get there. We had a great time touring the temples of Ankor Wat, and getting great deals in the markets of Siem Riep. And we even got to meet up with some world race friends from last month in Manila. We stopped another 2 days in Phnohm Penh to see the Killing Fields and Genocide Museum, which although it was my second time, is still a tough pill to swallow. We ate 2 dollar buffet breakfast by the riverside and were daily hassled by the children and other locals to buy their rip-off books. Our last night we finally gave in and Marilyn and I bought two books from a young man. His other friends were so angry that we didn't buy any books from them that right before we took off in our tuk tuk, once slapped me in the arm and a young girl flipped Marilyn off while all the others yelled obscene curse words at us (kids between the ages of 6-12).
We crossed the next border into Vietnam via bus. We spent 8 days in Vietnam in four different cities: Saigon (Ho Chi Minh), Dan 'ang, Hoi 'an, and Hanoi. We spent about as much time traveling as we did enjoying being in the cities. We drove around in the madness of motorbikes and scooters in Saigon, saw the Cu Chi tunnels from the Vietnam war, got severely burned in Dan'ang, ate a 5 course riverside meal in Hoi'an, and wandered the streets of Hanoi. We endured several miserable--not an exaggeration-- overnight trains in the top bunk of a 3-high-stacked train car on wooden mattresses with families of 6+ Vietnamese piled in below us. On one particular train ride we were trapped in said bed space for 15 very long, uncomfortable hours.
On April 3 we excitedly packed our bags yet again to head across the seas to China in an airplane. We thoroughly enjoyed the comfy reclining chairs, temperature-controlled cabin, and free food! We saw many famous landmarks in Beijing such as Tienamen Square, the Forbidden City, and of course... the Great Wall! We stocked up on souvenirs and had fun bartering with the local vendors, often getting ripped off, only to get a great deal at the next stall down. I took one last overnight train from Beijing to Shanghai. Due to the Shanghai Expo and a lack of available tickets, I was "forced" to travel in a 4-bed soft sleeper. Free water, slippers, and a tv! It was a relatively painless 9 hour journey. In Shanghai we enjoyed being in a home for the first time in a long time! Hosted by the lovely Harlen and Mary Lyso, we enjoyed being toured around Shanghai to several different locations, soaked our train-worn bodies in the hot tub, had picnics around town, and put on our jeans, shoes, and sweaters for the first time.
We headed to Korea, our final country, also via airplane, on April 10. Happy again to spend time in a home, this time hosted by the very hospitable Pam Wright. I spent a week staying at Pam's apartment in Seoul Foreign School in downtown Seoul. I spent a lot of time walking and looking around, and a lot less time buying things in one of the most expensive cities in the world. I ate two steaks, a burrito, two Indian dinners, cheerios, lots of nuts, and two delicious authentic Korean meals, and spent a lot of time exercising each morning to make allowance for it!
Speaking of running.... over the course of this trip I have had the pleasure of running all over the six different countries. I ran down the highway in Chiang Mai, through the red zone in Bangkok, I ran to Ankor Wat in Cambodia and down the river in Phonm Penh. I dodged motorcycles in Saigon, ran along the beach in Dan'ang, through the cobblestone streets of Hoi'an, and in the pouring rain in Hanoi. I ran in a tanktop and shorts in the brrrrrr weather of China, through Tienamen Square in Beijing and around the suburban streets of Shanghai (not to mention climbing the 2,000+ stairs of the Great Wall). And I daily jogged along the beauitful, flower-lined canals of Korea to the World Cup Stadium. I've run in the sweltering heat (100+) as well as the chilling cold (50 and below). I've gotten strange looks from most locals as I ran, but I've always had the pleasure of getting a smile and a thumbs up in each country from an equally enthusiastic runner.
I've eaten delicious foods off the street in every country, watched and observed the locals, haggled for souvenirs from the many markets, and successfully navigated the subways , buses, and walking streets all around South East Asia.
43 days ago we left Manila. And tonight we get on our last plane ride of the trip. Seoul to Manila via Cebu Pacific. Tonight, technically tomorrow, at 2am, I will throw my pack on the floor, wash my face and brush my teeth, and sleep in my own soft bed. And when I wake up, I get to see the many faces I have missed for the past 43 days. I will step outside for my morning coffee, hugs abounding with the kitchen staff, and then I will go find my little Manny and scoop that beautiful little boy into my arms! I am so excited to hear those two little words in his squeaky little voice: "Tita Kissty" :)
I can't believe we're already 18 days in to our trip.... it's been SO much fun so far.
We spent about a week in Chiang Mai, Thailand (in the north)
We spent 4 days in Bangkok, Thailand
We spent 1.5 days in Vientane, Laos
And now we are in Siem Reap Cambodia, where we've been for 1 day and have 1 day left.
Then on to Phnom Penh, Cambodia for 2 days
Then on to several places in Vietnam for about a week.
Eventually China and Korea.
Really loving it! It's been great to travel again. Marilyn and I love to just walk around, take in the culture, and eat lots of good cheap food. My favorites so far... 1 dollar pad thai in thailand and all the fresh fruit! Street carts selling cut up ready to eat papaya, pineapple, and green mango for 30 cents each! I could live off of that alone! Throw in some nice, cheap, street iced coffee and iced thai milk tea.... YUM! (Thankfully I''ve been able to run in the mornings haha(
It is about a bagillion degrees though. Just in case you're not aware, that's somewhere between miserable and "my face is melting off"on the thermometer.
China and Korea will be cooler. Looking forward to that!
Anyways, I''ve spent toop much time inside on the computer instead of out exploring! I'lll probably update next from Vietnam somewhere.
Country two on our little tour around Asia was Laos. It was more of a side-trip really. It wasn't on our original list of countries to see, but since it was so close, we figured we had to go see it! So we took a 14 hour train (i know, "close" lol), and made our way from Bangkok, Thailand to Vientiane, Laos (the capital). We made it in by 930am ish, and spent the next 2 hours going through customs and getting our visa-on-arrival. By 11am we were dropped off in the city centre and grabbed some lunch before heading to our hotel. So by the time we made it to the hotel and showered after a sweaty train ride from Bangkok, we had about 24-30 hours to enjoy Laos. This ended up being quite alright, as it turns out that Laos isn't quite ready for tourists. There wasn't really anything to see or do. Without a map, we wandered around the city for most of our time there.
At 330pm the next day we grabbed our bags and headed back for the border. We made it there quickly and easily, and bought our tickets for the train which you have to go on to cross the Friendship Bridge, which is the official border between Laos and Thailand. Then we waited for the train to leave. Mistake number one. An hour later, as we crossed over said bridge, Daisy asked me, "So how did you like Laos?" to which I responded, "I never want to come back to Laos again." Mistake number two.
We were the first off of the train and the first in line for customs. I handed the officer behind the glass my passport. She flipped through it and said "no"...which is never a good sign. "No, you don't have stamp." It took me all of two seconds to realize that we must have missed a window on the Laos side of the border. The guard checked Kim's and Daisy's passport (Marilyn was in a different line), and said "same, same."Daisy asked, "wait, is this bad?" ....Well we're in Thailand but we're not allowed in Thailand because we technically haven't left Laos but we did leave Laos and there are no more trains going back and our train to Thailand leaves in 1 hour and we only have 5 hours once we arrive there before we need to be on the next train for Laos. YES, this is bad!
The female guard behind the glass points at a male officer nearby and tells us to follow him. Kim, Daisy, and I are practically running behind him to keep up with his fast pace (with our big packs on our back and our daypacks on our front). We follow him to the end of the train station, where we assume there must be an office around the corner. Wrong. He is getting in a car. And pointing to tell us to do the same!
So what do three foreign girls in a strange country, with a fourth friend in a different customs line clueless to where we are do with a Thai officer pointing at a car unable to communicate in the same language??? We jumped right in! 'We're going to Laos!"
The officer (very speedily) drove us to the Thai/Laos border, just before the bridge. Without any other options, and pretty trusting of our helpful friend at this point, we left all our stuff in his car and transferred to the shuttle bus that crosses the bridge. As soon as those bus doors opened on the other end, we raced off and around the corner to get our departure stamps. We were hit with a brick wall of 4 lines of about 15-20 people each. We spread out and waited for about 10 minutes to get our stamps. With only small amounts of Thai money left (I had already converted all to dollars), I rushed to pay for all of our exit fees and bus tickets back across to Thailand. I finished all my Baht on the exit fee and thankfully was allowed to buy bus tickets with dollars (the only 2 small bills i had). We turned and RAN to the bus to go back across the bridge, literally squeezing ourselves in like sardines. (I literally had nothing to hold onto and even nailed some poor guy in the head with my elbow at one point). On the ride back across teh bridge, Daisy and Kim reminded me of my earlier comment: "I''ll never go back to Laos." :/
Back in Thailand we ran into more long lines. This time our guardian angel (the Thai officer), pulled us out of line and rushed us to the office where we were given first priority! After 3 minutes we were back in the car headed to the train station. At this point, realizing we still had 15minutes to make the train, our worried thoughts turned to Marilyn, who we left in Thailand without so much as a word or a wave to let her know we'd be back.
We thanked our officer friend and headed out to find our left-behind friend. We went up and back on the train platform for almost 10 minutes and couldn't find her. I saw our officer friend and said to him, "We can't find our friend." In his broken English he said to me, "She go Laos."
I turned and ran to Kim and Daisy yelling MARILYN IS IN LAOS! We realized she must have had the same problem as us, which we thought we saw her getting all the stamps in Thailand and being passed through. Obviously, she didn't have the right stamps and was doing the same as us, rushing to get all the necessary stamps, this time with less than 10 minutes till the train was leaving.
This is when our prayers got even more intense! Daisy waited by the main entrance and Kim and I waited on the side that we had been dropped off, praying that Marilyn would make it in the next 10 minutes and we would make the train. Otherwise, we would be buying 3rd class tickets for the next train... hard wooden benches for a 14 hour overnight train. Eeeesh.
This is when the storm started rolling in. Without even exaturating, it looked like a scene out of a movie. Kind of like when the tornado comes in "The Wizard of Oz"....the sky turned brown, things were blowing past us and we even had our sunglasses on because dirt was blowing everywhere. Daisy came over and checked in with us and then went back to the entrance she was waiting at. We waited and attempted to look through the dirt to find Marilyn so we could make the train. And then we heard the train whistle. The last call. We had one minute to get on that train, or it was leaving without us.
The next thing I heard was Daisy's voice: "CHRISTIE, KIM, MARILYN MADE IT, GET ON THE TRAIN!" Before she even finished her sentance, I yelled KIM LET'S GO, and we sprinted across the train tracks towards the closest end of our train car. We jumped on and met Marilyn and Daisy in the middle of the train, hugs/smiles/laughs exchanged.
Less than ONE minute later, we were on our way to Bangkok... with Marilyn!
A little over a week ago I left the Philippines for Thailand. After a short day in Bangkok, we hopped onto a 14 hour train to Chiang Mai. I've been on an overnight train in China, but never in Thailand. I'm not sure which is worse haha. In China there are 6 beds in a room. In Thailand, there are no rooms, just seats that convert to beds with curtains to seperate from the other people. But the worst part about Thailand trains... they never turned the light out! All night, as I slept on the top bunk, the light poured into my bed and woke me up every 30minutes. It was a LONG night to say the least.
We arrived 930am on Wednesday the 7th. We had a driver for the day, which we had to pay a big chunk of money for, so we had him take us to China Embassy, to the gueshouse we stayed at, out to lunch, around the city, and to the night market. A busy first day! Since then we've been working in Doi Saket area, about 30min drive outside of Chiang Mai city.
In the mornings, I wake up and workout. It's the PERFECT area for working out. A nice, clean, paved road residential area about a quarter-mile to the main road. Then the main road is a highway technically, but it's not too busy in the morning and there is a bike lane for me to run in :) It stretches on and on so I was able to run for as long as I wanted without needing to run in small laps to create more distance. The only drawback to my morning runs were my three little friends across the street.... two litle pugs (which I named Dee and Dum) and their bigger, slightly more intimidating friend (which we'll call Duke). These dogs somehow made it out of their gate each morning and were waiting outside of our gate, drooling everywhere, jumping up on the gate in expectation. I managed to trick them into going back inside their yard one morning (all except Dee, she's the smart one). By my last morning they got a little smarter though, and I spent my first 5 minutes jogging around the neighborhood with Dee, Dum, and Duke nipping at my heels the whole way. After 5 minutes they became tired enough that they finally went back into their yard and layed down :)
Then I would come home, get cleaned up a bit, and have breakfast with Marilyn, Kim, Daisy, and our host Bud, as well as another guest here Jeremy. After that we headed to the work site, which is the children's home here. We spent our working time hacking away with hedge clippers, rake, and saw. We worked along the barbed-wire fence to get rid of overgrowth and weeds to actually be able to see the fence. There were plenty of prickly plants and red ants to make the process a little more difficult! We worked for a couple hours a day, not being able to take much longer with the heat. It's even hotter than Manila here!
We'd come home and get cleaned up and eat some lunch. Afternoons were more of a restful time. laying in an air conditioned room reading does a lot to rejuvinate a body! We also went out a few afternoons downtown. Walked all around Chiang Mai. And on Sunday went to church, out to a bottomless salad bar at Sizzler (thanks Bud!), and even got a foot massage (thanks again Bud!)
Today we are getting things together, doing some laundry, maybe going down the street to get some lunch, and then packing up and taking a taxi to the train station. Bangkok here we come. Laos 2 days later. And then Cambodia. Keep you updated as I can!
One of our newest children to come to the New Faith Family Children's Home, and also appearing as our child of the week... Jomar!
After seeing Jomar's picture (and video below), you can already see that Jomar's childhood has not been an easy one. Jomar will always wear the physical scars on his body that represent the emotional scars we hope can be healed over time. Without getting too much into Jomar's history, what I will tell you is that Jomar's mother died while giving birth to him. And the result of that, is that his father has never stopped blaming him. And that is why Jomar is now living with us at the children's home.
I can't begin to imagine the 9 years of this little boy's life. I can't begin to understand all that he has been through, the way he has been treated, the lack of love and care that he deserved but never had. My heart breaks when I think about it.
The first week of Jomar being here, I tried to give him a hug and was pretty much rejected. The next week, I came walking into the children's home only to be surprised with a little boy running at me at full speed and jumping into my arms! I think he's starting to make up for lost time! Jomar is being cared for and loved for the first time in his life, and he is soaking up as much of it as he can!
Jomar began his time with us frustrated at his lack of communication
with all the foreigners. He speaks and understands very little
English. In fact, for the first couple weeks, he kept asking our Filipino staff why we are talking to him in English and not Tagalog! We keep reassuring him that he will learn English very quickly, he just needs to practice and be patient. Jomar also enjoys going to school, playing basketball, and running around with the others kids. He has a great laugh and smile, and is extremely witty, always ready to respond with a quick, silly, comeback, accompanied with that great giggle of his!
Please be praying for Jomar and his transition into life at the chlldren's home. Though he came from a bad situation, he still misses his father at times. Please be praying that he would feel loved and cared for by all of us at the children's home. Pray that he will see the love of Christ in us and that he will begin to learn and understand who God the Father is and how he is different from the earthly Father that hurt him and let him down. And pray that all of Jomar's paperwork is thorough in order to more easily find a family for him one day.
Enjoy the video--which has a special guest appearance by Armie, 8 year old translator :)
In 3 days I leave for a 6 week trip around Asia! I think we're calling it the "Massive Asia Trip" ... "we" being myself, Kim Courtright (director of CCS where I taught), Daisy Chell (director of children's home nursery), and Marilyn Curtis (nurse/overseer of children's home). Out trip itinerary looks something like this...
Chiang Mai, Thailand Apr. 5-14 (helping to build sister orphanage) Bangkok Thailand Apr. 15-17 Laos Apr. 18-19 Cambodia Apr. 20-24 Vietnam Apr. 25-May 3 China May 4-10 Korea May 11-17
We are very excited!! And with only 3 days left, my head is a jumble of to-do lists and on the top of one of those lists is to write a blog with a little recap of what's been happening lately. A little update I guess. So that's what this is... if you haven't caught on to that yet :)
Ministry Update I'm still discipling the 4 older girls. We hang out Tuesday/Thursdays and some Saturdays. And we do devotions together every Tues/Thurs as well. We just finished a two month study we've been doing on the book of John. It worked well that we hit the last two chapters right during Easter, so I've been able to tie in our study with the Easter Holiday. This Sunday I'm bringing the girls with me to church which i'm excited about. The two oldest girls have shown a lot of maturity and understanding and it's been great to see their walk with Christ grow the past few months.
I've been continuing communications as well. Projects always go slow here, working with the locals is always a bit different than we foreigners are used to. For Americans, time is money. For Filipinos, time is relative. I'm just finishing working on making bookmarks, still trying to get tshirts made, and constantly working on updating the kids photo albums. I'm also beginning to work on setting up a system for sponsors and their children to have better communication.
And lastly, I've finished teaching at the school. The 09-10 school year has finished. It was a successful year, but I'm also happy to be done and move on to other ministries. When I return from my trip I plan on dedicating my morning time to helping Angela, a former student, learn English. I also want to spend more time with Manny, the little boy I've come to love (I've blogged about him before).
Easter Holiday I wrote a blog about the Easter holiday a year ago. You can read it here. It is still sad to see the local people be so obsessed with rituals without meaning. Read the blog you'll know what I mean.
Lots of Teams We're at the end of 6 weeks of lots of teams being here. Well it's not technically the end... just for me, since I'm leaving. Regardless, it will be nice to have a break from living with 100 people. They have helped us a lot with ministry though, and blessed so many Filipino people with their time, talents, prayers, hugs/love, etc. Thank you to everyone who served here!
Races I finished my third half marathon this month. And my second actually. I love it but my legs needed a break so I'm giving myself 2 weeks off and doing some swimming/biking/anything other than running. I miss it though!
I guess that's it. Or all i can think of right now. I have one more kid of the week video, which will be tomorrow, and then there won't be any while I'm gone on my trip. You've now officially met all of the children's home kids (minus one... there is only one child I haven't done a video on yet, but she is still very new so I'm going to wait a while for her, get to know her better so I can make a better video).
If I'm feeling inspired and have an internet connection, I might even write a blog while I'm on my trip... but none of us are bringing computer so it's not very likely :/
If not sooner, I'll update in 6 weeks! God Bless! Christie
