Lord, Make Us Your Hands and Feet

Three of my girlfriends and I jumped on a bus and headed up to the mountain city of Baguio. The city was beautiful and the filipinos were friendly. It was nice to have a break from the crazy traffic, pollution, and chaos of Manila.  We enjoyed the fresh mountain air, the cooler temperatures, the city market, and kind taxi drivers, but I think what we enjoyed most was our last night in Baguio.

On the first night we discovered that children come caroling (in return for money) in the city park.  We had lots of fun chatting to them about Jesus and singing with them. We decided to come back another night with candy so that we could have more of these sweet conversations.

On our last night we set off to the city park with candy in hand.  After waiting a few minutes, a little 5th grade girl came straight up to us with her hand stretched out asking for money.  We asked her to sing with us but she got so embarrassed that she sat beside (instead of standing in front of us) and ended up staying with us for about an hour. We learned all about her story ~ she didn't know where her mother was, her father was in jail in Manila and went from wife to wife, she lived with her grandma who was sick with TB, and her grandfather didn't look after them.  Jarael (the little girl) was out asking for money to buy medication for her grandmother. It scared us that she was out so late by herself. So much could happen to her.

More young children began to come over to talk.  Jarael had to interpret quite a bit for us but we loved this interaction.  She said they were from the slums.  Some of the kids were real feisty and began kicking each other and mocking us.  I wondered what kind of influence they had in their lives... where they live... what happens to them when the go home... do they have a home... I began praying for them as we chatted.  All of the sudden a whistle blew and the boys who were with us, Miguel and Milo, said the guards were coming and they scattered.  A few minutes later, some other boys who were with us earlier returned with bicycles.  Guards began chasing them and removed them from the bikes... stolen bikes. The boys got a scolding and went away.  We watched with wide eyes.  These children live lives that I cannot comprehend. Eventually Miguel and Milo came back to talk a little more until we were feeling like it was getting a little late and we were getting a little uncomfortable. We left and went home.

All four of us went back to our hotel and prayed for the children and people we met.  It made our stomachs turn because it seemed like the kids we had been with kept looking around... were they being watched or controlled by someone?  Maybe, may not.  There is so much injustice in the world.  I have so many questions and am saddened by the things I have seen.  I'm grateful that I have Jesus to walk this journey with.  He is teaching me so much and showing me that we can't do the impossible... we need to leave it to God.  We can be willing vessels for Him to use though.  

Caroling in the park

Market time

Baguio City Market

Lights in the park

Baguio... reminds me a little of home

Beyond My Doorstep

I realized that many of you probably have no idea what my life is like here, and what my surroundings are. So this blog will paint a picture for you.

I have two amazing roommates and we are presently house-sitting for a missionary family while they are on furlough. Come January, we will move to another missionary home as the people whose home we are staying in return.  Currently, we live about half a mile down the hill from Faith Academy and are very blessed with our home.  We have an amazing porch that looks down into a jungle of greenery with a river passing through it.  We sure spend an awful lot of time sitting and taking in our view.

As you follow the road around a corner it goes over a bridge. We always see squatters filling up buckets to carry home. The people in the area are constantly swimming in the river and the ladies wash their clothes there.  It is definitely a "happening" place.  I love to pause while passing the bridge to see what is happening along the river banks.  Many squatter homes are found further down from the road.

A road full of pot holes leads up to Faith Academy.  The school is on a beautiful campus; it has been very blessed by the Lord by donors who have seen the vision of Faith Academy and have invested in it.  Friendly guards welcome us to school each morning with enthusiastic waves.

Just down the hill from Faith Academy is a squatter village (still about half a mile from my home).  It is buzzing with life with people chatting on the road, walking to and from, children chasing dogs, and others just sitting around chatting.  They have a basketball court there and each day there is a group of men who are faithful in playing a basketball game between 4-6.

Right next door to this squatter community, is an area where people raise roosters for cock fights. These are quite common in the Philippines. We used to hear these roosters EVERY morning but as time has gone on, we hardly notice them anymore. 

The other day I was on a run and was running past the little community when a 7 year old, who was on her way to get safe drinkable water from Faith Academy, ran up to me saying "Ate Ate" (This is a respectful way to address an older female), and gave me a huge hug. This little one is part of the Sunday ministry to squatter kids that I get to be a part of.  It was so neat to have my worlds meet!

There are also many nice homes in my community as we are near a golf course.  These homes are more western styled homes and vary in size.  It can seem strange that the "haves" live so close to the "have nots" (Although there was a lot of this in South Africa too).

There is so much more to say but I think I will leave it at that for now! :) I hope you enjoyed a little larger glimpse in to my life.

The view from our porch

The river around the corner

Squatter community with a basketball court. (I was too embarrassed to go back and take another picture so this one is blurry!)

Faith Academy

The guards at the Faith Academy gate

Some Sunday Fun

My roommate and I were so excited today as one of our filipino friends, who we have been inviting to church for the past few months, finally agreed to come with us! It was so fun to watch as God orchestrated this, and to see her eagerly take notes during the sermon.  We were thrilled when she told us that she wants to come again next week. Praise the Lord!

When we dropped her off at her house, we were very humbled to meet her family and get a tour of her simple home.  We walked up very steep steps to enter in to a very small living room, kitchen, and shared family bedroom.  Her packed narrow street was buzzing with filipino life - venders selling vegetables, children running around, trikes transporting people here and there, and clothes hanging all over windows to dry.  It was neat to see a different side of her and to step in to her world.  

  

We love the culture we are getting to taste and the beauty we are able to see here. 

Learning is more Fun in the Tropics :P

Just over a week ago my class was learning about the Philippines.  To make learning come alive, I took my second graders out to a coconut palm tree and organized some harvesting.  We got to watch as one of the groundsmen swiftly scaled the long trunk, disappeared in to the leaves, whipped out his machete and hacked down enough coconuts for my entire class! It sure put my classroom management to the test as I tried to keep my overly excited boys away from the machetes as the groundsmen chopped open the coconuts for us to eat. :) What an experience to sit around holding coconuts, sipping on milk, and eating the meat as we talked about each part of the coconut!

The Joys in Teaching

You know that you love what you do when you laugh your way through most days.

On Friday my class had swimming and so we all got changed and walked together to the pool.  One of the highest students in my class forgot his shorts in the classroom, so when he changed back in to his clothes after swimming, he had no pants. He wrapped his towel around his waste and joined the class line wearing his t shirt, underwear, and towel. When we got back to class, we put our things away and lined up for music. The little boy asked if he could put his pants on; I said yes but to be quick. He grabbed his pants, and began waddling with his towel for a fast change in the CR (bathroom). With the whole class lining up facing him, he accidentally dropped his towel on the floor. The entire class saw. I tried so hard not to laugh... but it was just too much! The whole class was shaking so hard trying to suppress their laughter.  The little boy was so embarrassed; he picked his things up so fast and disappeared. I think I might have failed a little in my teacherhood at that moment :)

On Thursday, one of the little girls was talking to me after school. She was telling me all about her birthday.  She said that she likes her birthday, but that it also makes her feel sad.  I asked her why and she said, "It's because somebody died on my birthday." I became somber and asked her who, and she said, "Oh I have no idea." How sweet... and a little bit funny.

One of my students is so tactile. During chapel two Fridays ago he sat on the floor right next to my chair.  He began feeling my legs. When he went up, he would say "ouch ouch ouch ouch" and when he went down he said, "ahhh".  Ok, ok so I didn't shave that day... but it was so embarrassing. I bent over and told him to look forward and listen to the speaker.  It stopped for a little bit and then continued. I was hoping that if I ignored it, he would stop for good... FALSE.  "ouch ouch ouch, ahh... ouch ouch ouch, ahh". I looked around the room hoping that nobody else saw, and was so embarrassed to find my roommate (the 4th grade teacher) watching and laughing at the whole thing - a 2nd grader rubbing up and down his teacher's shin for a few humiliating minutes. I had to put a stop to this. So I bent down and told the little guy that he needed to keep his hands to himself.  Then this past Friday, to my dismay I sat down in my chair and started feeling hands rubbing my shin again. I looked down and there he was again.... I nipped it in the butt this time and kindly asked him to keep his hands in his lap. It worked :)

Having a classroom with children from many nations and languages makes class a little interesting :).   I had my students write about their favorite memory from second grade so far.  I looked up and saw most of my Korean students (9 of them) as well as my Swiss student over by the wall where the posters of our previously studied Bible verses are. I was so confused as to what they were copying down.  I then realized that they were writing down their favorite Bible MEMORY verse from the year. After a good laugh I tried to re-explain and tell them to write about their favorite story that happened to them this year. I watched as a Korean boy darted for a book (story) that he had read this year.  Haha my whole class was so confused. I had my American, Canadian, British and Australian students trying to explain to their peers what the assignment was about.... and what a memory is.... Ahhh language barriers, gotta love them :)

These are a few stories from the week... I can't wait to keep laughing in the weeks to come.

Our Wet Market Adventure

Since it has been about two months that we have been in the Philippines, two friends and I decided we needed another Filipino adventure.  The wet market sounded like the perfect escapade.

Following the lead of our ate, Nimpha, we caught a jeepney and went public to the market.  It was so fun seeing some culture within the jeepney... money being passed back and forth between new passengers and the driver, tapping on the roof when you want to stop, and bodies squashed together.  I tried to talk to some children who wouldn't take their eyes off the "whities" but they grew embarrassed and quickly looked away. Their mother and her friend on the other hand were not quite so shy.  They were opening aiming their phones right at us to snap pictures left and right.  Being the celebrities that we are, we just smiled back and laughed.  We hopped off at the market place a ways down the road prepared for this next cultural experience.  

After exploring the "dry market" where all the clothing was, we headed for the "wet market" for fruit and vegetables. We soon discovered how the "wet market" got its name.  The floors were covered with water, dirt, and other things that I prefer not to know about.  Fish, pig heads and all sorts of meat lined the walkway. Smells of meat, people, fruit, and humidity mixed together to fill the air as people buzzed around. I loved being able to talk to people, joke with them, smile with them, and try to say a few Tagalog phrases. It was so much fun. We were definitely a sight to be seen. Everyone wanted to pose for and sell to us... 3 white girls with their ate in the "wet market".  :)  Our ate finally decided to turn us back when our feet were beginning to sink a little too much in the mud on the floor.  

What an adventure. It was about time to get out of the classroom! Thank you Ate Nimpha for the adventure!

Jeepney ride with our ate, Nimpha

Nicole, Jacques, and Kelsie

Pig hooves and tails!

A hanging pig head

The wet dirty floor

One Month of Teaching

I just finished my 4th week of teaching (but when you take all the flood days and public holidays in to consideration, its more like 2 1/2 weeks), and I am loving it! Many challenges have presented themselves (working with a new curriculum, unit planning, portfolios, learning routine and how to teach, classroom management, missing home, and living in a new culture), but it has been good to lean on God and those around me. First year of teaching is A LOT, but I am finding so much joy in it.

It has been fun to focus on the small things each day... the things that bring laughter to my classroom - student comments, interactions, and the things they do. They never cease to crack me up!

Each day I learn something new about teaching, expectations, classroom procedures, and class 'meetings'. You really need to think on your feet as a teacher. I have realized that there are so many things I haven't thought about or considered in teaching... time after time I am face with the question "Um, what do I do about this?"

This past week I had a 2nd grader ask to go to the bathroom. Unfortunately, she only made it to the door before the class got to see what she had for breakfast that morning; she had thrown up all over the floor. Luckily another adult was in my classroom and took care of my poor 2nd grader and the mess, while I tried to bring the rest of my students' attention back to our handwriting lesson.

I also had the privilege of watching one of my students pick his nose, put this new found treasure in his mouth to moisten it, and then use the green/clear paste to paint pictures on his desk. Gross! A little conversation might need to take place shortly here. :)

Haha each day brings surprises, laughter, and learning. I feel so blessed to be in the Philippines, to be able to pray for/with my students, and to build in to their lives.

The Kids are Here!

After 3 days of school, teaching has proved to be a good challenge. I definitely have had my share of feeling overwhelmed but I am enjoying my little ones, as well as the diversity within my classroom.

I have 27 second graders this year who represent 8 nations (America, Canada, Switzerland, Australia, England, China, South Korea, and the Philippines). How neat is that? I will be working in some time too for students to share lives and stories each week for sure. I also have 8 English language learners who will be interesting to make adjustments for.

Although everything can feel like a lot, it has been really good to realize that I need to lean more heavily on the Lord. Along with the challenges of my first days of teaching, there has been many moments of smiles and laughter.

One of my second graders likes to smell my hair while the class is lining up. He once turned to the little boy behind him and told him that my hair smelt like strawberries and that he should pick one :) (Luckily he decided otherwise). Another time, one of my little Korean boy asked me if I was drinking coffee. He then said, "Um, aren't you too young to be drinking coffee?" After I told him that I am an adult which means I am allowed to drink coffee, he said, "Well I don't think you are old enough, your hair isn't gray." Ah the things kids say and do! :) Its the little things that count.

Today we received our first "rain day" (a day off after just 3 days of teaching) from all the flooding happening around the city. It has been raining pretty solidly for the past week or two. Although I am really grateful for a day off, my heart goes out to all the squatters and people who have their homes flooded around Manila. There are parts that are harder hit than others; fortunately we live up on a hill and haven't really been touched. Please pray for the people who have had to leave their homes and for the people who have been affected by the rains. Thank you!

Week One Complete

My oh my how time flies; I have been in the Philippines for 7 days now. Faith Academy orientation started on Friday and I have been able to get to know some of my colleagues; and let me tell you, I am blessed! I am working with a group of such supportive, understanding, passionate, and fun people!

I walked in to my classroom yesterday after many meetings to find my desks all arranged and my classroom library completely organized. My mentor teacher (A wonderful South African lady) had slipped in to my room to surprise me and take a load off my shoulders. This was well timed because orientation, classroom preparations, and the new curriculum were beginning to overwhelm me. My department administration are also so helpful and are willing to help in anyway they can. I can’t think of anywhere better to begin teaching... and the kids aren't even here yet!

I have also been really excited to hear of the ministry opportunities around. There are many orphanages to get involved in, soup kitchens for underprivileged kids, ministry directed at squatter children, and many more. It is going to be difficult to decide what to jump in to! I can't wait to start.

So many prayers have been answered - I have two fantastic roommates who have like hearts and minds, a great group of teachers to work with, a phenomenal missionary team to be a part of, friends to run with, and most of all, a God that made the seemingly impossible possible by getting me out here. He is so good and it is awesome to serve Him and to be here in Manila.

I'm here, I'm here!

I arrived in the Philippines just over 24 hours ago after receiving a very heart-warming welcome by the OC missionaries in Manila. They have been so kind and hospitable. These families have connected me with a few of their local friends and colleges to teach me some Tagalog phrases and to take me on to the streets to practice it. It has been so fun and the people here are so friendly! They also had me catch a ride back from the bank in a 'tricycle' (a compartment attached to the side of a motorbike) with a Filipino friend. I am very excited to keep learning more about the culture and to attend a Filipino church on Sunday. Tomorrow I begin orientation at Faith Academy.