Over the next thirty or so weeks, I am going to attempt posting a blog each Sunday, where I will be introducing one of the kids from the children's home, and sharing a little bit about them.... favorite food, number of siblings, what they want to be when they grow up, etc. If any particular child strikes a chord in you, and you would like to know more about them and how you could become a part of their lives, please just let me know. We are always looking for monthly sponsors for our kids, and penpals as well. So today I am going to start with the youngest at the home, Heartlyn.
Heartlyn: 11 months old
Heartlyn came to the home in early October of last year, at only 2 months old. Like many of the children who come to our home, the beginning of her life faced many physical challenges and many nights in the hospital. In her first month of stay at KIM, she was in the hospital for a long list of illnesses, including double pneumonia. Several short term missionaries stayed the night with her and prayed all night for her health. By the grace of God, he healed her completely! Now, 9 months later, this little girl has grown so much! She has regained a normal, darker skin color along with proper nutrition, and is getting so big! Heartlyn is known for her full head of hair and strange growling noises that she often makes.
Heart for short (since her name is so unique), is just weeks away from truly becoming a walker. She stands very well and has taken 5-10 steps at a time already. I'm pretty sure that in no time, this one will be running around with the rest of the toddlers!
Heart is already well into the process of being available for adoption. She has already gone through local adoption without being matched to a family, and now- God willing- will be matched with an international family. Please remember to pray for Heartlyn this week. Pray for her future family. Pray for her health. Pray that wherever she grows up, she will be raised in a safe, healthy, God loving enviornment.
Mark in Manila. I already mentioned in my last email that my teammate Mark from the WR was coming to visit. It was a great time! I wish I was able to take him around to tons of places, unfortunately, Manila isn't that kind of a place... nothing is outdoors and everything costs money... but we still had fun! Thank you SO much for coming to visit Mark!!!
Drivers license. Got it!
Physical Therapy. As some of you might know, I've had a lot of knee issues in the past 10 months. So after it got really bad this past week, I finally decided to go see a doctor. I went to Ataneo University, where Jeff's son and daughter play basketball, and had their sports therapy department take a look at it. I've gone twice now to get some therapy done and I've also started some stretches that hopefully will begin to make my knees feel better soon.
Church. I've been to several different churches since I arrived here in Manila. CCF, JCCV, 2 GCF branches, and a couple others... It's hard to find an English speaking church within close distance, and one that I enjoy as well. So next weekend Amber (another volunteer here) and I are probably going to go back to GCF East for the second time, which we have enjoyed the best so far. It's also only 10 minutes away and has a great mixture of Filipinos as well as international members.
Discipeship. This week Ive started having a one on one bible study with each of the older girls during their bible class time. We are working on a fruits of the Spirit study. I am excited to see how it goes.
Birthday. Today was my birthday... and by the time you read this in the States, it probably will still be my birthday over there! I woke up this morning and had a restful, enjoyable breakfast. After awhile I headed up to the nursery to get Laine and Amanda from the nursery, along with the babies, to go swimming. So the 3 of us, Venus, and 5 of the babies went swimming at the condos for a bit. Came back and got clean, and went over to the children's home for lunch and a bday party for Venus-- who turned 10 today! Then Amber, Marilyn, and I went to the mall to get a pedicure and foot spa (equivelent to an American pedicure). After a 2 hour pedicure we came home and met everyone to go out to dinner/an activity (a surprise!) .... it ended up that we went to a place called The Elbow Room, where we had our own private room with a pool table and kareoke. We spent a couple hours eating dinner, singing, and playing pool. It was fun! A HUGE thanks to everyone for making my bday so much fun!!
Me and Venus with most of the babies
Cris John and Andrew with a great smile!
Tyra having fun jumping into the pool
Venus- the other birthday girl!
Laine and I after kareoke fun
All of us at the end of the night @ The Elbow Room
July? I can't believe that there is only 1 week left in June. Time goes by here so fast! There is always so much to do and so much fun to be had, that the weeks just fly by without even realizing it! I really am loving being here and am enjoying the feeling of knowing I am exactly where I'm supposed to be.
Tyra. 9 months ago this little girl stole my heart, when I was here last October. I am so amazed and so blessed to see her growing so big and becoming more and more joyful with each passing day. It is so wonderful to see her fear and hopelessness disappear and instead be filled with love, joy, and hope since she has come to be a part of the New Faith Family Children's Home. Even though I don't work in the nursery anymore, every day I find a way to come see this beatiful little girl and get a nice big hug and smile from her.... it really does make my day, how could it not?
For the last week or so I've been thinking about how I really need to post a blog. I knew it had been a while, but when I actually looked at the date of my last post, I realized it's been 3 weeks, wow! Where does time go? So I must first begin this blog by apologizing for the lack of communication these past three weeks. And secondly, I must apologize for this blog I am posting right now, because it is going to be a very brief and succinct post. Unfortunately, it is about 9pm, the night before the first day of classes, I haven't finished preparing, I have my friend and former teammate Mark here in town, and I only got 5 hours of sleep last night. So basically, I am trying really hard just to keep my eyes open and I have to get a few things done before I am allowed to close them for the night. Anyways, here's a brief update, which I hope to expand on later.
Puerto Galera. When I came here with the World Race we went to Puerto Galera, a beach town on Mindoro island, about a 4 hours journey from Manila. I had the opportunity to go back and have 2 days of relaxation and prep time with my fellow teachers. There were 15 of us in total... 11 teachers, 2 Principals, and 2 ministry volunteers who actually sponsored our trip because of extra funds raised for their time here. Anyways, what I really want you to know about this trip was that the banca (boat) ride involved several people vomiting in bags and over the side, people clenching onto lifejackets, and all of us teachers planning on what to do once the banca capsized. Both on the way there and the way back. It wasn't exactly a pleasant ride. Fortunately, the two days on the beach were enjoyable.
Teacher Training. The week after we returned from the beach was our intensive week of teacher traning. From 9am to 5pm Monday through Thursday, we met together and talked about the upcoming school year, preparing our classrooms, being effective teachers, and listening to a sermon series on being Christian leaders. Most of the afternoons were spent preparing our classrooms, and in my case, trying to get all the computers working and put together with typing software. And to be honest, it's still not done.
Mark in town. Guess who came to Manila! Mark Newland, my teammate from the World Race! He's been in China since January and it worked out for him to stop by and visit me before heading back home to Vancouver. So he'll be here for 3 full days of fun! And wouldn't you know, as we were in church this morning, during worship, they sang our team song, "Blessed Be Your Name," which I haven't heard sung even once yet during my time here. I think it was a special little gift from up above.
Building a school. This year is the second year that we will be holding half of our classes at the JCCV church next door. Last year we had about 25 students at this location. This year, we will have 127 students in total (over twice as many), with 60 being at the JCCV. So the last month or so they have been doing renovations on the bottom level, preparing the classrooms. Yesterday evening was when they finally completed all the work. 2 days before classes. And when I say "completed," I mean that enough is done for the studends to have class. There is still much to be done!
Running. I've started running again a bit. My knees often hurt, especially when I am running, so it's not something I've done very much in the past 6 months, however, I really miss it, so I've been pushing through the pain lately and I've been able to get back to a 30 minute run without being in unbearable pain. It feels good to be back out there. But I do hope the pain subsides.
Back Problems. Speaking of pain, my back had been hurting really bad the last month, extremely achey and consistent all day long, both upper and lower back. The last couple days it's gotten a little better, since I've started sleeping on a regular mattress and had a 30 minute massage the other day (for 3 dollars). Hoping this feels a lot better soon too!
Ate Yoly. One of the sweetest and hard working woman I have ever met in my life, Ate Yoly, (Ate means big sister) has been working here at the YMC as a cook for the last year. The family she normally works with went on furlow back to Australia, but at the end of June they are coming back, so she will return to work with them. So unfortunately, that means we will be losing one amazing woman! Some of us were able to take her out to dinner and Starbucks as a thank you for all her hard work. Tomorrow we will go visit her again at her new house and she is going to cook us dinner and then we will have a game night! She is the best!!
Upcoming week. This next week is looking busy as usual! Monday I will begin computer assessments with the kids and spend good quality time with Mark. At night we are going to one of my favorite Ate's house to have dinner and play games. Tuesday Mark and I are going to go do something fun. Not sure what yet, only time can tell. Wednesday I will wake up at 3am to take Mark to the airport, do more computer assessments, and take my weekly Tagalog lessons. Thursday and Friday I will do more computer assessments and hopefully go with Rollie to get my Philippines drivers license! Saturday will be a day to catch up, work on lesson plans, and do all the things I have yet to do because I am already so far behind and school hasn't even started yet!
Prayer Requests. Pray for this first week of school, for the construction to be accomplished, enough money to come in to finish projects, for my first week as a teacher, for all my lesson plans to be accomplished, for my planning of my first week of discipleship to start next week, for my back and knee pain, to not stress about how many things I have to get done, and that I would always have energy to serve the Lord each and every day, no matter how much or little I have to do. You might also want to pray that I start writing my next blog soon, so another 3 weeks don't go by without the next one :)
There's a common saying that you have probably heard at some point in your life... If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans. Another way of saying this comes straight from Proverbs 19:21: You can make many plans, but the Lord's purpose will prevail.
And I'm finding this to be true already during my time here in Manila. While in contact with Jeff while still living in the states, we discussed what I would be doing and where I would be focusing my time here. My answer was always pretty simple... I love babies. I just want to be in the nursery. I remember upon arriving telling someone that I was pretty open to helping wherever the needs are, as long as I didn't have to help out in the school.
And I should have known better than to say such a thing. Because when you make that kind of a statement, you are really saying.... God stretch me. And that's just what God plans on doing. After about 3 weeks spent in the nursery, I realized that God was calling me to something else. While in the nursery I felt anxious and discontent. Because being in the nursery isn't where God has called me.
Instead, I'll be spending a lot of my time in the school (go ahead and laugh). My focus will be two-fold... discipleship with the older girls, and helping with the children's education.
On the discipleship side, I will be teaming up with Ernalyn, a local Filipino staff member who is about my age. Together, we will be taking care of the older girl's (Age 10-13) physically and spiritually. The four eldest girls in the house-Roseanne, Vanessa, Maria Fe, and Joanne-will be moving over the the YMC (the guest house where Iive) and will begin to do things separately from the younger children. Ernalyn will help with most of their caretaking, such as making sure they are up and ready for school, overseeing their chores, teaching them how to cook and do their laundry, etc. During the day time, I will be teaching bible class for these 4 girls, for 30 minutes each day of the week. In the afternoons, I hope to spend time with them in a relaxed, non-structured environment. And at night time, Ernalyn and I will take turns leading devotions before bedtime. It is my prayer that these girls would begin to understand what it really means to have faith in Jesus and to truly accept Him as their Savior. Unworthy and unequipped as I am, I pray that God will use me to impact the lives of these 4 girls for His Kingdom.
As for the educational aspect, I will also spend a good chunk of each day tutoring, and will be teaching two classes: library and computers. Monday through Thursday, I will teach 3 classes each day... I even have a teacher's assistant! The focus of library will be reading of course, for them to practice and for me to read to them. As for computers, I will be teaching basic computer skills, including typing, which will hopefully be a huge asset to many of these children in the future.
Part of me thinks that this whole thing is quite amusing. And then part of me is scared to death. But mostly I'm just focusing on the part that knows that God sees the big picture, and has the absolute best plan for my life. Although I am about to dive in head first to things that I would have never chosen on my own, I still feel the peace of being obedient to what God has called me.
Because it doesn't take faith to be obedient. Rather by being obedient, God will build my faith. So I am blindly walking into something that is way beyond my abilities, way beyond my equipping, and way beyond my comfort zone... yet I know that God will be there every step of the way, giving me everything I need and guiding my every step, letting me be a part of this awesome thing.
Here are some pictures of my time spent in Malaybalay, and a little info on each one of the kids there. This is a great group of kids, please keep them in your prayers!!
Ariel is the leader of the pack, at 12 years old. He is a sweet young boy, very helpful, respectful, and really enjoys spending time with visitors. Ariel would walk me back to my room each night to make sure I was safe and my room was free of rats!
Gege (pronounced gee-gee) is an awesome young lady! Gege is 12 years old as well, and a huge help around the home. She mops, empties the trash and cleans the bathroom without any complaints. Gege loves having visitors come to the home as well, and wants to be a missionary when she grows up!
Cedrik is 10 years old and one of the few kids that have been at the home since the beginnning. Although only 10 years old, it is clear that Cedrick is becoming a teenage boy! He loves to play basketball, and also enjoys helping the men do construction around the home. He has a great smile and is very welcoming to all visitors!
Mart is a very quiet and shy boy. I think he is 9 years old, and is currently in-between the young boys group and the big boys group, and I often would see him playing with both. He has a very sweet smile and you never catch him yelling or saying mean words to any of the other kids.
Ron Ron is quite a character! He doesn't speak much English, although he does understand quite a bit, so our communication was pretty limited. Ron Ron loves to play basketball and ride his bike. He also loves to take care of his younger brother Oneil, often doing his chores for him or sharing his much bigger clothes.
Roldon and his younger brother Erick are the two newest children at the home. Although they are still adjusting, they have made it clear that they would rather be at the home than go back with their mother. They are happy to be a in a safe and loving enviornment and are soaking up every minute of it. Roldon loves to pray and is known for his long and in-depth prayers!
Marvin is the younger brother of Mart. He isn't quite as shy as Mart, but he does have his moments! Marvin loves to ride bikes and play with the other kids. He gets along with all of the other children and will rarely see him in a disagreement or argument with the other kids. He is very sweet and loves to spend time with volunteers.
Ella is one of the few girls at the children's home. She is a happy, sweet, and carefree young lady. She listens very well and when asked for prayer requests, her reply was: "that we would obey the adults." She enjoys playing with her younger sister Roxanne.
Oneil is a funny little guy! Younger brother to Ron Ron, this little man is your typical little boy. He is often found rolling in the mud, wrestling with the other young boys, and loves to yell. Oneil was born with a cleft pallet and has recently had surgery to fix the problem. However, he has yet to learn how to speak and is in great need of a speech therapist to come and help him.
Roxanne is a spunky little girl. She absolutely hates all vegetables, and will usually be at the table 10-20 minutes after all the other kids, while trying to finish eating them. Roxanne has a very expressive personality, and often shows how she's feeling by the look on her face. I got many less than pleased faces while spooning her some vegetables.
Joshua is an adorable little boy. I've always been drawn to the young, small boys, and Josh is that boy in Malaybalay. Josh is similar to Oneil in his day to day adventures of being a boy... rolling in the dirt and splashing in the mud are everyday occurences for him. He was always the first to greet me each day with a great big hug and a huge beautiful smile.
Erick was another young man I spent a lot of time with. Erick is younger brother to Roldon and has only been at the home for a couple months. Although 4 years old, when he arrived at the home he wasn't able to walk because of the severe malnourishment that his body had endured. Just recently he has begun to walk and talk and is loving every minute of it. He doesn't speak English, but he does know how to repeat just about anything I say, and follows up with a huge toothless grin.
Nathaniel (Tan-Tan for short) is the baby of the home, at 9 months old. Tan Tan is a pretty happy baby and is known for the look seen below in the picture, where he scrunches up his face and puckers his lips. He has also never had a hair cut, because some Filipinos believe in waiting until babies are 1 years old before giving them a haircut... hence the poneytail. It was nice to get my baby fix from Tan Tan while in Mindanao!
Below are some other pictures of my time spent in Malaybalay....
I've been in Malaybalay now for a week. It's funny how in some ways a week can seem so short, and in other ways, soooooo long! Putting yourself in an unfamiliar, uncomfortable situation is always difficult. I'll be honest... I like being comfortable. I like my bed, my car, American food, warm high pressure showers, and so many other familiar things. On the other hand, I'm not so fond of dirt, foam mattress pads, having rats for roommates, eating rice and fried chicken every meal, or cold showers.
But I know I was never promised comfort. And I know it's good for me to not always be comfortable. And I know in the grand scheme of things, 10 days in Malaybalay is actually a really short period of time... and so I am making the most out of these 10 days, whether I'm comfortable or not!
I wake up fairly early and head over to the children's home around 730am each day. I spend the next 5 hours hanging out with the kids. There are 13 kids at this home, the oldest is 12, a boy named Ariel, and the youngest is Nathanial, 9 months. In between the two you have a big handful of boys: Cedrick, Ron Ron, Mart, Marvin, Roldon, Eric, Joshua, and Oneil. The girls are Gigi, Ella, and Roxanne. The kids play pretty well together and are actually quite well behaved. Because there is so much construction going on, they are usually playing in the dirt, shoveling, raking, building, etc.
They have a basketball hoop out on the dirt field, as well as a volleyball net, and a few bicycles as well. Other than that, the wide open space is their playground and the rest is up to their imagination. They have a lot less stuff than the kids in Manila, but they don't seem to mind.
In the afternoons I take a little time to rest, and then in the evenings I head back to the children's home to help out with showers, dinner, and chores. Then we have devotions around 7pm and the kids are in bed by 8pm.
And it doesn't take much longer for me to fall asleep myself! No television, no movies, no cell service, no internet, and no one to talk to (except for the rats of course). I read a little, get the coffee pot ready for the morning (there are still some perks!), and then I hit the hay... or in this case, the foam.
Besides, the longer I'm awake, the longer I hear noises that scare me. Even now as I type this I hear Grizzly, the orphanage dog, barking and growling at something, and to be honest, I'd rather not know what that something is! Anyways, I have two more days left at the children's home here in Mindanao before I catch a plane back to Manila. Pray that I would make the most of my remaining time here! See you in Manila!!
I admit it. I think crocs are ugly. You know, those plastic shoes with the holes in them. An eye sore, really! I cringe a little every time I see someone wearing them. Especially now that they have those little decorations that you add to the holes... it really only makes them worse!
I also think they are stupid. It's like a shoe trying to be a sandal... or a sandal trying to be a shoe. It's never made sense to me... if you want to enjoy a cool breeze on your feet, you don't poke a bunch of holes in your shoe...just wear sandals!
Unfortunately, crocs scored some major points in my book today. Here in Malaybalay, the physical needs at the children's home are a lot greater than I have seen in Manila. Earlier this week, three of the kids went without shoes for a couple days because their cheap sandals break so easily in this construction zone that surrounds their home. Two of those kids "fixed" their sandals by hammering a 2 inch nail through the strap and into the base. The only problem is that the sandal is only a half an inch deep, meaning that over 1 inch of the nail is sticking out. Not a very good solution if you ask me!
So Mama Belin and I went into town to look for some sandals for those kids whose sandals broke this week... Eric, Gigi, Roxanne, and Joshua. As we went into the store I knew that I wanted to find them something nicer than your typical sandal. The cheap plastic ones that these kids are used to break within one to two weeks, especially with all this mud they play in! So as I'm looking around at the different options, I see a little pair of crocs.
My typical reaction in this situation would normally be one of disgust. Stupid crocs! But as soon as I saw them I knew right away that these were the best option. They don't have the thin plastic straps that easily break, and they are sturdier for playing in the mud and construction area that currently surrounds the home.
Immediately we started trying them on the three kids we had with us. Pastor Larry took the car back to the orphanage and picked up the rest of the kids. In less than an hour, and about 20 dollars later, 12 kids had brand new, sturdy, reliable shoes!
I still think crocs are ugly. But they sure are one great ugly blessing for these kids!
I'm sure that the title of this blog is confusing... if there were no internet, then how could I be posting this blog? Well what I mean to say, is that there is no internet AT the place where I am staying. I wasn't sure if there would be, but I had some people make me think that there was, when in fact, there isn't.
So now I am at the BBC... a coffee shop/fitness center (unfortunately i'm on the fat kid side on this one, enjoying a hazelnut frapp type beverage). It is about 2pm and I don't feel like I've done much today, even though I've been awake since 2am. So I am currently in Malaybalay, which is the name of the town here. Mindanao is the island. And while I'm at it, Bukidnon is the province.
So this orphanage is currently working on transitioning some of their childcare workers into the administrative side of things. And they are awaiting four nannies to arrive to help out with the kids in early June. So for the month of May, they are a little short-staffed. That's where I come in. I'll be mainly helping with the 'house parent' role during my time here.
So I feel a little guilty bailing on the first day in to come to a coffee shop in town... but I wanted to take the first day here to let everyone know that I would be out of contact for the most part, possibly the whole time here. I don't know if I'll end up back here at the coffee shop, but I don't want anyone to expect that I will, so for the next 10 days, just expect me to be MIA. And then if it does work out, you can just be pleasantly surprised.
So for now I will leave you with a nice picture I took on the way into Malaybalay. It is green, it is mountainous, the skies are blue, and It is pants and jacket weather!!! So I will be enjoying the nature and quiet and beautiful weather during these next 10 days.
Just a quick update to let everyone know I'll be going to Mindanao Island (in Southern Philippines) on this Monday, May 4th through Thursday, May 14th. I'll be in a much more rural area than here in Manila, so I'm not sure how well I'll be able to communicate during this time, so I just wanted to give everyone a heads up!
I am mainly going be helping out with caretaking, as they are a little short-staffed right now.
I am looking forward to open air, pretty mountains, cooler temperatures, and how beautiful I heard it is there! Other than that, I'm not really sure what to expect! But if possible, I will keep everyone updated!
