Visayan Kids

Let me a tell you a story...

There was once a girl who went to the Philippines. She visited Visayan Wesleyan Bible College on the island of Cebu. It had been a whole year since she was there, but when she arrived again she remembered that last year it was her favorite place to do VBS. She thought the kids were amazing there. They had such a different mindset than kids on the other islands she had been to. They were more interactive and eager to be involved. They weren't as initially shy as other the kids she had played with. While some of that can be considered personality she was told that it was think that much of it is cultural.

This year when she returned she remembered three kids from last year - Fransis (her absolute favorite kid ever), Brian, and Mary Rose. (These are pictures she took this year ).

Fransis

Brian

Mary Rose

This is a picture she took last yearMichael in red and Mary Rose in striped dress
When she arrived this year with her team she was reminded why she fell in love with these kids. On May 12 they did their first VBS at the Bible college. Michael remembered her and warmed up fairly quickly but he wasn't interested in the games she was playing. She found other kids to love on and they became her new favorites. She was told you're not supposed to have favorites, but she just couldn't help herself but to fall in love!

Dil John on the first day of VBS watching her play with chalk

Dil-John the second day of VBS when he warmed up to the girl
Dil-John fell off the chair and was bleeding and crying. She picked him up and nursed his wounds and held him till he stopped crying. After that he didn't want to be put down and so she held onto that cutie for over an hour. When she finally put him down he continued to walk behind her like a shadow. It was adorable to watch.

She was trying to learn the kids names (and did fairly well!) but there were so many of them. She pulled out this notebook and the kids jumped at the chance to show herthat they could write their own names. These boys are Dorwin and Ezekil. It was a lot easier to remember their names when she could see them written down :) It's also a good exercise for the kids and a chance for them to have pride in showing off their skills to her!

While the team was playing basketball the girl continued to bond and play with her favorite kids. The kids would all scurry up the basketball goal while the action was on the other side of the court. Sometimes she would climb up after them and they would scream and climb faster. They were so ticklish; she would grab their feet and they would try to cling on as they were laughing.

Dil-John had these two homemade guns. It was just a piece of pipe with a rubberband tied to the bottom with string. He'd put a rock in the pipe, stretch out the baloon, and let go as he watched the rock fly. One time he shot the girl in the eye with a little pebble. It hurt and he knew what happened so he felt bad. She couldn't get upset because he was so cute.

Dil-John shot Fransis in the leg with his homemade gun. Fransis was crying and so she went to him. He wanted picked up so she sat down with him and comforted him till he stopped crying. He was tired and just relaxed in her lap for about 30 minutes. When he looked up at her with his big brown, watery eyes she about melted. While she held him she just prayed over him - for his physical safety and health, for food for him and his family, for an opportunity to have a good education, for spiritual growth and maturity, and that the peace and love of Jesus would surround him and his family.

These are the bonding moments she had with Fransis while he sat on her lap. Even though he's not smiling she knows he is happy, and that makes her happy. She loves that little boy and wanted to slip him in her suitcase to bring him home with her. But she knew that wasn't possible so she just loved him hard while she had the chance. This picture represents one of her favorite memories of her whole Philippine experience.

The kids hung around all day even though the girl's team didn't do a VBS - that day the team just painted. The kids only had the bread and juice we gave them for snack and the team's left-overs from lunch. So they found some mango jello to give the kids as a snack, knowing that they wouldn't have food when they went home. They loved it!

After playing super hard all night the kids were so thirsty. The girl didn't have drinks to give them but she found some ice in the cooler and took turns giving the kids some ice cubes. She even got the kids to say please and thank you.

Here she is at the end of the night when the rest of her team joined in playing. You can tell she is so happy doing what she loves.





Jeremy (white) and BJ- Beryl John (green)

Icho (Jericho) and Hannah

Jeremy

This girl had a blast with these kids. She would say their names and they would run. She'd chase them, grab them, and tickle their. Their smiles and joy were contagious, the girl caught it and was filled with love. These kids - Fransis, Stephen, Icho, Luto, Jeremy, BJ, Dil-John, Hannah, Christian, Dorwin, and Ezekil will forever be etched in her heart. Well I know this girl and I know for sure that she will not pass up an opportunity to return next summer and love on these kids again! But until then she is praying for them everyday!

Finished Product!

Last Monday we finished painting the murals at Onesimo. I didn't get a picture of the very last one we did - it was a bug and it was saying "Come, Let's Study!". Anyways, it was lots of fun. I loved hanging out with Pastor Stan and the youth. We had a great time bonding and talking and getting to know each other. These are the moments i really cherish - I've developed some great relationships with some great people. I'm going to miss them so much but i'm thankful for Facebook and the opportunity to look forward to another return next year :)

More of the same kids came back to help paint, but they painted walls in other rooms, they didn't help with the murals. A few of the same street kids came back again too, Omina (the sister of Amira the muslim I hung out with the week before) came back and talked with me. They all remembered me (of course, the only whitey) and were happy when I remembered them! It's the simple ways that I can make a difference...

May-Anne and I

I love this girl!
What a mess!

We started with the primary colors + black & white and then made our own colors
Cute little boy hanging out
The finished turtle

Notice the title of the book is IWU :) haha
Pas Stan putting on the finishing touches
A pencil in the door way
Robin showing off his hard work

He did the angel all himself!
May-Anne, Robin & I hanging out

While others worked ;) haha jk
The kids did this

Except the white hands are mine, haha ;)
Micah, Sister Rachel, Robin and I

Sister Rachel works at this Onesimo drop-in center
Classroom door to the outside

With a Bible verse
The finished chicken!

Perfect Timing

Yesterday morning I went with MJ, Joel and his family to a pastors convention. I got to see lots of friends, which was nice. There were 3 seminars and we stayed for the first 2. The first was on "bringing order to the church". Most of it was in Tagalog but thankfully the power-point was English, so I could still learn some :) Afterwards we broke up into groups and I went with the young pastoras and we talked about what we learned. The biggest points were on partnering in team work, continuous learning, having accountability, practicing the sabbath, being bold & vocal, be relational - build friendships, and being open with the senior pastor. In the past couple of years my pull towards ministry has grown, which is why I added a focus on urban ministries with social work. Anyways, it was just a really good time of fellowship with other ladies who are facing the same kind of things as me, except they're already in the field i'm just preparing for. I struggle a lot with the language barrier, it gets lonely sometimes, and its hard to talk things through with people.

Then this morning I woke up feeling rather empty, which is ironic since Saturday was such a refreshing day. For whatever reason the devil just attacked my spirit hard and I felt inadequate and dry. I've been spending so much time in the Word, prayer, and devotions but my time Saturday was cut short. I prayed then read for awhile and still felt so distant, I couldn't get focused. I grabbed some breakfast and came back to my bed - still crying out for God. I had 1.5 hours before Sunday school - i was not going to give up! I got a really encouraging text from Joel and one from Andrea at home. I prayed again and played some worship music. During "Desert Song" I broke with tears. God reminded me of the promises I needed to hear. Then "Desire" by Phil Wickham. Those 2 songs refreshed my spirit enough to give me focus. I sat in silence (the Lord even quieted the dog - hallelujah!) and solitude for 45 minutes. I felt absolutely amazing afterwards. I learned that sometimes I just need to slow down. I can't ever do anything to be adequate, though I want much more than adequacy. Reading the Bible isn't always an "automatic fix" either (though it can provide the perfect answers. For me, silence & solitude forces me to rely on His strength instead of my own (because in my own strength I get way too bored!). It was the quality time I needed with my King. I went into the worship service ready to sing my heart out and again the Lord met me.

GREATER IS HE WHO IS IN ME,

THAN HE WHO IS IN THE WORLD

Change of Plans

Tuesday, June 8

I'm soaking in memories here. Memories that are going to last forever, I know it.

Last Tuesday we were supposed to paint at Onesimo but i didn't work out. We got a text on the way there that said we couldn't go anymore... we had to change plans. Initially I was frustrated, because I waited all day yesterday for this opportunity. But, then the boys found another ministry opportunity. So we (Joel, some Bagong Nayon youth, and I) went and hung out with kids (yay!). We had an amazing time. We were there for what seemed like forever waiting on kids - the boys threw rocks down the cliff and Joel taught me Tagalog. When the kids showed up we sang songs, told a story, played games, and had a merienda. Robin sang and danced for them while Marc showed them some magic tricks.

There was a sweet little boy named John Paul that just clung on me. He was shy at first but I cracked his shell and he jumped all over me and smiled and had a fantastic time. The kids took our hands and walked us around everywhere. I wish I had more than 2 hands because there were multiple kids hanging all over me and I wanted them all. I almost always had John Paul on one hand and Jules on the other with a little girl grabbing my leg. It was very tiring but I wouldn't trade that day for anything. I tried jackfruit and it was so good. Then we went to Aldean's to eat and I met his family. He gets to see his nieces and nephews all the time and it makes me jealous sometimes, haha.

The boys with a gorgeous view behind them.Robin, Joel, Marc and Rohmar

When Aldean arrived the kids surrounded him. They love him! It was a lot of fun to watch!John Paul is in blue and the boy with the huge smile is Jules.
I love it
Marc and Robin are exhausted and can't keep up with our energy.
Taking a break at the top of the hill. John Paul is still on me :)

Continuously on this trip I'm learning to soak in the little moments... to make myself aware of the ministry opportunities around me... to lighten up and enjoy what's happening...

He loves me!

He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us oh,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.

And we are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If His grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
And heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way…

That He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves...

In the midst of prepping for my message tomorrow I was blessed. I have literally spent hours alone in my room reading and praying and writing, then erasing and starting all over again. I thought I knew what I wanted to say - the message I wanted to get across... but that's the problem for all those hours, it was the message I wanted to share. I realized this through writing - journaling and debriefing - I didn't know where I was going so I just went on a tangent. Then it hit me. Instead of Him loving me how about I love Him?!?! So, you may think the title of this post and the song lyrics are misplaced if I want to talk about my love for Him, not His love for me. But its HIS love that makes me capable of loving Him.

I'm using portions of Psalm 139 as the text. Verses 17 and 18 say,
How precious to me are your thoughts O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake, I'm still with you.Then I started to think about what those thoughts might be... I came up with a list:

* When we'll spend time together next

* The last time we spent quality time together

* What I said to Him in our last conversation

* The things He tried to tell me but I wouldn't listen or respond

* Whether or not I show Him that I love Him

* The last love gift I gave Him

* What the future holds for us together

* How much He loves me

Yikes, I don't know about you but to me that is a scary list to think about my Lord answering. He is the Lover of my soul but do I really give Him enough of me? Do I love Him with 100% of what I am. Do I take enough time to show Him that I do? Does my love for Him overflow and affect the rest of my day? Do I walk, talk, and act differently? Do I have a smile on my face because of Him? Can my thoughts about Him each day be numbered? Whoa... that's a lot to think about. I know for sure this has given me the desire to refocus and re-prioritize.

On a different note, I also want to love others with the love that He has given me. As a social worker - someone with a passion for curing social injustices, for ministering to the needy and vulnerable... how easy is it for me to love the unlovable? Sure, my definition of unlovable is probably different than yours... and that's okay. This is just a personal conviction I need to work on...

Painting at Onesimo

We've been painting at Onesimo for 3 days. The first day was a blast - I had an awesome time partnering with the youth and really accomplishing something. We were energetic and excited. Day 2 was not as much fun. We lost our energy and excitement and we were doing it just to do it. We still talked with one another but it wasn't what we wanted to be doing. We painted at the drop-in center... i thought we'd be at the house facility and that we'd still get to see and play with kids. There area few kids hanging at the drop in center, helping paint... but they're not interested in interacting with us no matter how hard we try. There are 4 or 5 boys, coming from the streets. The oldest boy is very aggressive to the youngest (JM) - he hits him and pushes him. JM takes it but you can tell it hurts him. It breaks my heart for both of them - both probably have very difficult backgrounds. One of the 10 year olds has a six pack - I mean this kid is built in a way that would make a college guy jealous. We talked about it and he's just a hard worker - does very physical labor to support himself. I think of 10 year old boys at home and what their childhood is like. It's drastically different here, esp in the poor areas. The third day (Friday) we started refreshed again. I was super tired but we were painting murals, which is more fun than touching up the seafoam-colored walls :/ Pastor Stan came to draw the murals and then we painted them in. It was fun to bring color and life to the room. The two paintings were of animals reading - its a classroom.

Pastor Stanley - our artist

Robin and I showing off

That's what you call team work!

While they were drawing the murals some girls came to the door to watch, saw me, and wanted to meet me. The whitey always stands out, haha. So, I went outside and spent probably 30-40 minutes talking with them. The oldest (11) was named Amira and she spoke very good English. She pointed to her covered head and said, "are you familiar with the muslim religion, with islam?" I said kinda and so we talked for a long time about our religions. She was very open and honest with me and was accepting of my sharing with her. We didn't talk about our holy books but we talked about customs and holidays. She comes to Onesimo for Christmas (today she came b/c they were giving free school uniforms) and loves it but her favorite muslim holiday is Ramadan. We talked about our families - she was very interested in mine. Her dad is a leader in their church - a 'father of our muslim people' she said. Then we started talking about her and school. She said she loves school but she gets picked on a lot - the kids make fun of her because she's just a poor muslim . The foreigners and Filipinos make fun of her and don't believe she's a scholar (78%+) because she's just a poor muslim. She said she tells them, "but I know English and you don't, so you're the stupid one!." I couldn't help but laugh...

I realized that Amira was the first muslim i've ever engaged in conversation with. I have been around them before but never on such a personal level. She got her cousins and little sister and introduced me to them all - one of her friends came by who's father just passed away the day before. We talked about that in a very solumn manner for awhile, I'm not sure how the religious differences realte to that issue.... Amira repeatedly told me how beautiful and nice i was. I would in turn say the same to her, she was an absolutely beautiful girl but wouldn't believe me. She would just respond and say "yes, all muslims are nice people..." I'm not sure why she thought she had to emphasize that to me so much... :/ If anything it made me feel optimistic that I could be a positive example of a "foreigner" to her. When we leave Onesimo to go to lunch we walk through a muslim neighborhood and market. Some of the people have said, "watch your stuff, there are a lot of muslims." Its just been hard to digest... especially because i experienced it from both sides of the fence today.

Mindoro

Hey!
I just got back from Mindoro - a small island off of Luzon. Now i've been to 9 islands in the Philippines! 9 of 7,100 - haha, i still have a ways to go :) We worked with tribal kids at the Wesleyan Church there. I didn't get a count but i'd imagine there were between 30 & 50 kids. They were much more behaved than the kids in Manila - more like kids in Cebu. They climbed all over me and loved to have their pic taken (and of course wanted to see if afterwards!). I would've went through a whole memory card if they let me. The kids there are much darker there, almost black, their hair is lighter from sun exposure, but its like an afro (or birds nest as MJ said). They were also much shorter than other Filipinos - if you can imagine. Their tribe started with an M - maybe i'll remember later. It was just Joel, MJ, Joel Serna, and I. MJ and I led songs and games; Joel and MJ did one story each.

It was super hot there so we sent the kids home at noon for lunch and told them to come back at 4. I laid down on the bamboo benches with MJ while the boys went for lunch supplies. We both fell asleep. The breeze felt so good - i awake later to biting ants and fell asleep. Later i woke up again to the snoring Joels, haha. Lunch was sketchy and Joel didn't trust it for me (afraid of a revolution in my stomach, haha) so i gorged myself on PB&J after the family left. It started pouring down rain. We were fearful bc the roads were mud - but it let up 2 hours later. Joel & Joel played basketball in it like little kids - haha. They giggled and laughed - it was fun to watch.

We were going to stay there for 3 days but ended up leaving early. We were going to stay with families in their homes but Joel didn't like the sleeping conditions - he is very protective of me :) The food was also sketchy and our PB&J supply may not last. The water wasn't filtered either. We thought about going to a different location but the NPA (new people's army) was moving around so we decided it was best to just go. It was such a long trip there so it was hard to imagine leaving already... not to mention the fact that I loved the kids and wished i had more time with them. Their life was so simple; i felt very blessed. We left Manila at midnight the night before, got on a boat at 3, landed on the island at 6:30, and still had a 2 hr drive to the village. We had to do it all over again - we left there around 8 and got back to Manila at 3:30 this morning. I slept in the car and on the boat (while Joels snapping my pic, :( haha) but Joel still let me sleep till 10 this morning - isnt he the best, haha :)

These girls are so pretty!

This picture is typical of these boys. They were always off in their own world,

and never paid attention to anyone else!

This boy is Mark John Paul He got his puzzle put together way faster than anyone else His sister is blind and he was amazing with her

I loved loving on these kids!

Joel getting in on some puzzle action

Hanging out and having a great time

I'm the only whitey! :)

Coloring the pic of David & Goliath

That's all for now. Tomorrow we're hoping to get into Onesimus with Simon (with "servants" in the squatter's village). Its a shelter area for street kids - to provide some housing, food, baths, and some school prep/tutoring. We may take 2 kids there from the squatter's village who live in a bad situation - an alcoholic father. Then on Saturday i'm going with Aldean and his classmate Jarrett to other ministry opportunities. It should be great! Pray that both these opportunities work out and become amazing experiences!

Making Friends

The brown ones are tamarinds. Don't judge them by their shell. I was nervous getting them so i only got one, which i shared with Michael. But, i went up and got 2nds and 3rds later. You crack the shell and the fruit is inside. It still looks kinda gross - but its so good! It kinda has the texture of a raisen - only its like a bunch of raisens connected in a string, and they have pits inside. I'm hoping to bring some home with me (don't worry, i've got my tactics to avoid customs!)

You can see the coorful array of fruit looks similar to home (watermelon, bananas, oranges, and apples) but they're much better here - perfectly ripe :) Also, you can see above the watermelon are lychi. You peel them and inside its kinda like a big grape with a big pit inside. Its so so so good!

Hey! Today was an awesome day. It was really laid back, which is perfect for me since i'm still fighting a growing head cold. Its okay though :) Joel and I were at the airport very late last nigt picking up Jim Lo and Joe Ruder. They were over 1 hour late b/c one of them lost their paperwork...

We went out for pancakes at Jollibee this morning and then went to church. It was the team's first Jeepney experience - they enjoyed it! Then we went to Joel's church and had a graduation ceremony for the VBS kids. We gave them certificates (and more snacks) and then they sang the songs and did a story summary for their parents. Not many parents were there because the kids were Jeepnied (idk if that's a word, haha) in. At the end my fav little boy Joshua just cried & cried b/c it was the last VBS and he probably won't see us again. He was a tough cookie so it meant a lot that he cried. Then during the service 2 team members shared their testimonies. Lots of the church members remember me from last year but i don't know their names. That's been happening a lot, haha.

This afternoon Joel's church had a missions awareness festival. They had lots of fresh fruit & vegetables. My favorites are tamarinds and lychi =D All the local churches were invited and i think about 7-9 came and there were around 100 ppl. It also served as a fundraiser for the church b/c everyone paid 150 pesos (around $3.25). I got to meet a lot of friends that i have been talking to on facebook - Mark Pappey and Francis Lumahan. I sat down and talked with them and another pastor Mark for almost 2 hours. It was awesome. They taught me some tagalog phrases and we talked a lot about our ministries, families, and my impressions of the Philippines. I just love building relationships and i'm thankful for facebook so those friendships can last. I also met Pastor Aldean and youth from his church. They are a fun group of people and I can't wait to get to know them more! My team has really connected with the youth. They had a great time of playing games and learning dances (ocho ocho and spaghetti).

Tomorow we are going to the mall to hang out with the local church youth that we have been partnering with. The NCD youth leaders have become special people to me: Aldean, Micah, Ronald, and others... Leah, Grace, MJ, Marc, Robin, and Denis. I am excited to go to my favorite restaraunt in the mall - Holy Cow :) It will be a good time of fellowship with friends. Tomorrow is also the election (presidential and the first automated election).

Puga puga! The youth played a little trick on us and this was the outcome... Pastora MJ also got in on the action since it'd never been done to her before. I'd tell you about it but then i wouldn't be able to pull it on you later ;) Pastor Tony, we'll have to do this at the next youth activity!

Keep praying for us. I'll try to keep everyone updated!