Typhoon Haiyan

Dear friends and family,

As many of you know, two weekends ago one of the strongest storms to hit land in recorded history swept across the Philippines.  The local news is still predicting that up to 10,000 people have lost their lives. Many homes have been flattened and destroyed. This a huge tragedy and so many have suffered great loss. More loss is to come. Throughout this week I have been surprised at some filipinos I know who are from Visayas ~ who have family with destroyed homes or who have lost their lives.

A few days ago my friend Nicole and I met with a Filipina friend (Ate Nimfa) at Mc Donalds. She had asked us if we could donate some food to her family who live in Leyte, Visayas. When we met with her, this is what she shared:

Ten of her family members had died in the super typhoon. All of her relatives' homes have been destroyed. Most of them were rice planters or coconut harvesters. With many of the coconut trees having snapped, it will take time before they can grow and be harvested again. The land will also have to recover before they can farm rice.  She said that rice farming and coconut harvesting is Leyte's (the island where Tacloban is located) main source of income.  Many people will be affected by this.  It will be a long road to recovery.  She shared how the streets are full of dead bodies - some in body bags and some not. The air smells of decaying bodies.  It is very sad.

There is no cellphone signal there and so her cousin was able to get to another island where she could call family in Manila to ask for help. Ate Nimfa began to cry as she told us of how she feels guilty when she eats knowing that her family has lost so much in Leyte. The surviving relatives are in evacuation centers. They are given some food but it is not enough to satisfy their hunger.   Five of her family members in Manila are planning on leaving by bus to take a 24 hour ferry ride to Visayas to deliver whatever food, clothes, and supplies they could collect.  I am amazed at how Filipino families constantly rise up and look after one another.  

Please will you join me as we get on our knees before our heavenly Father.  Ate Nimfa is just one of the people who is hurting and impacted by Typhoon Haiyan.  Let’s join hands as the body of Christ and do what we can to help those in need - whether through prayer or financial help. If you are looking for a way to help, please let me know. 

With love,

Kelsie 

Life on Mulawan Street

Roommates

Along with a second year of teaching, it is also my second year of living in the Philippines.  I have three awesome girls as roommates and we live together in a fun, Filipino neighborhood. Two doors down is a 'sari sari store’, which is a neighborhood one-window convenient store.  We have quickly learned to love this store, especially when we realize we are out of eggs in the middle of baking.  We have very friendly neighbors and great neighborhood guards.  A few nights ago, I was privileged to fall asleep to some neighborhood karaoke music. This is not uncommon in many neighborhoods here. We also share our home with many cockroaches, which we could use one less encounter with. However, a feeling of true cleanliness and satisfaction washes over me with each cockroach terminated. 

Our local sari-sari store

Mulawan Street

Our home

We live near an intersection that is on pretty low ground; and so when the typhoons come, this area usually gets a bit flooded.  The rains haven’t been bad this year, until a typhoon began its path through the Philippines ~ giving us a typhoon day and a day off of school. Although a day off is nice, it's tough for people who have homes damaged or belongings destroyed.  A few days ago after a hard rain, I couldn't drive across the one major road between home and school. I attempted to pass through the flooded area hoping that the water was lower than it appeared; but when my engine began to make concerning noises, I decided to turn around.  After a few hours the Manila heat had done its job and the water had evaporated.  

I'm very excited for the school year and ministry ahead.  The Lord's plans are great!

Back to Manila and Back to Teaching

It's back to Manila and back to teaching! This year has started off to a crazy, yet rewarding beginning.  After many of the teachers had gotten their classrooms decorated and set up, our principal decided that my 2nd grade class of 28 (with some more on the waiting list) needed to be split. This meant, moving a teacher from kinder to teach Gr 2 and shifting 3 classrooms. I was amazed by the attitude of my roommate, Nicole (a second year teacher) in being willing to change grade levels at such short notice (she will be my grade partner). The last two days before school started were a bit of a mad rush, but the community really stepped up and helped.

This change has left me with a class of 15 students. It was a little bit of a culture shock coming from my class of 27 rowdy 2nd graders last year, to this year's quiet, small class. Classroom management is a much calmer ball game this time around. I did have any kids running away on the first day of school this year (like last year). I do not have any kids with bottoms hanging out from cubbies (like last year). I do not have kids rubbing my legs and commenting on the texture (like last year).  This is definitely going to be a different year.  Even though my class is small, it is very diverse with students from N America, Europe, and Asia. I look forward to investing in these students and giving them far more one-on-one attention.  I know that God has something up His sleeve for this class this year. 

Moral of the Story: Be Careful of What You Allow in to Your Classroom!

A while ago we were studying plant growth in second grade.  A few of my students dug up a plant on the playground, found a plastic bottle, turned it in to a vase and brought it in to my classroom to observe its growth.

I forgot about this plant and over the next few days my classroom began to smell like something had died or left its waste in my room. I gagged each time I walked in, but once the fan was turned on and worked its magic, the smell was bearable.  The smell grew worse as time went on. 

I was about ready to ask the custodians to help me search my room when I discovered the revolting source… the festering plant specimen. I grabbed it and started taking it out of my room. Each movement stirred the spoiled water and the decaying smell would waft out. I was going to get sick if I carried it much longer, so I threw it in to the first bush I found outside my classroom. This also happened to be right outside the girls’ bathroom and right where everyone passes by to go to class.

The smell soon filled the area and people upstairs were even complaining about an awful smell.  One of the custodians appeared outside my room and was pointing towards the bathroom while quickly fanning the air.  She started talking in Tagalog to another custodian as they were trying to find the source of this strong stench. I was crying tears as I was watching them and finally went outside to talk to them.  The one custodian said worriedly, “It smells so bad. People will think that I am not doing my job properly.” Through many tears, laughter, and broken conversation, I was able to shed some light on the situation. The custodian was so relieved to know what was causing the problem. Parents and students kept walking past complaining about the potent smell. It literally smelled overwhelmingly like feces.

The custodian tried to clean the dirt with toilet cleaner to get rid of the smell. This only worked for a few minutes before the awful smell returned.  It was so entertaining to watch her efforts.  After many attempts, water, fresh soil, and chemicals, the smell began to fade. 

Moral of this story: Be careful of what you allow in to your classroom!

My adorable Science-loving class!

What I Miss From Home... What I Love About the Phils...

What I Miss From "Home" (Being a missionary kid, I'm not alway sure of where home is, but  I'm referring to Colorado in this case):

• Friends and family
• Traffic rules being followed
• Cooler and less humid weather
• Drinkable running water
• The speed and convenience of life 
• Friends' weddings and engagements
• Understanding language and culture (for the most part)
• Not being the new kid (I don't feel this way anymore, but it became a bit exhausting to be on such a steep learning curve for the first few months)
• My mom's cooking
• Cheese and nuts! (They are very expensive here)
• Fresh milk 
• The clean air in CO (let's just say there is quite a bit of smog in Manila)
• Walmart
• Redbox
• Pandora

What I Love About the Philippines:

• Faith Academy and its staff and students
• The warm culture and kind hospitality
• The beauty ~ beaches, rice fields, people, mountains, volcanos, islands, fish, tree houses
• The perspective many people have on life
• People walking everywhere and catching public transportation
• The low price tag on many things (well, mainly labor)
• The opportunities and ministries 
• The hearts of my students and their parents who work with the needy
• Being able to help the needy all around (although I know there are many in need in the States, it is more visible here)
• Filipinos being so willing to help ~ whether it is jump starting a car or jacking up a vehicle to pull it out of a drainage system.
• People's door steps being literally on the road. 
• The basketball games that take place on the road that have to pause every time a car drives up. These games are complete with uniforms and a referee.
• Mangos and other tropical fruit
• The diversity - the nice metropolitan areas to the informal settlements
• (The geckos, cockroaches, mouse, spiders, and ANTS that happily share our home with us - I'm not sure how much I love these creatures)

Classroom Stories

Here are some cute stories from my classroom:

I was lining up my class so that we could be on our way to music when one of my students starts jumping and smelling my hair. “Uh Miss Carlson, why does your hair smell like…” sniff sniff. “… like plastic and...”, snif snif “… air conditioning?” I reply with a smile, “** (name of student) stop smelling my hair”.  He continues jumping and inhaling, “What? It really really does… it smells like plastic and air conditioning!” Haha I love how honest kids are. (I do wash my hair regularly! Maybe I need to try different product :P ) This is also the kid who likes to touch my leg and guess what I ate for lunch that day... I do use mouth mints and gum (when my kids are out of the room) but this little guy has a great nose!  

Earlier this week, after music, two of my kids had a little bit of a disagreement during our bathroom break.  I had the whole class come in to the classroom to begin our Social Studies lesson and was having kids turn and share their ideas with their neighbors. I noticed an empty desk in my room and opened the door to see where this student had gone.  One of the custodians pointed to our cubbyholes outside and I saw a little bottom hanging out. I’m amazed at the amount of flexibility and creativity this kid had to stuff himself in with his bag! How can you not burst in to laughter at that? I talked him out of his cubbyhole and convinced him to come back inside.

A few days ago while I was on duty, some kindergarteners were having an argument. One was very upset that the others were tickling her and began ignoring them. I talked to the other girls and asked if they thought she liked them tickling her. One of them paused and thought for a moment. Then she replied, “Well… she did say stop.” I had to pretend to wipe my mouth to cover my laugh as we finished our discussion.  There are many adorable rocket scientists in kinder!

I got to say, being a teacher is really fun.

Sweet Reminders

Yesterday was a day full of great reminders of God's love and faithfulness.  It was one of those days when you feel the Lord's smile and hear His sweet whispers all day long.

One of my favorite moments was when my 9 Korean students ministered to me.  I was asked to come sit in my students' ELL (English Language Learners) class so that they could practice their English and practice sharing the Wordless Book with me.  I sat there with one student at a time, knee to knee, face to face, and listened to each one thoroughly share the amazing Good News with me.

With each question I asked, they answered so clearly, confidently, and thoughtfully.  I had goose bumps running up and down my arms as I listened to their powerful words.  I sat in awe, with my eyes tearing up.

We talked about how we are all CHILDREN of GOD... which means we are children of the KING... which means we are his PRINCES and PRINCESSES. What an honor.  We don't deserve any of this... and yet He LAVISHES His love on us.

What a precious, precious, precious moment this was.  It was a good reminder that we should be thinking about this love and this gift all the time.  This is why I am here... to invest in missionary kids and missionaries, and to walk with them in their journey with Jesus.

Some Puppy Love

Last Thursday my roommates and I heard some major puppy whining going on somewhere near our house. Eventually it was getting so bad that my roommates went to go check it out. They found two adorable little dirty, flea covered puppies. With one look at my roommates' faces, I could tell that we might be keeping these little guys. We bought some food, bathed them, removed their ticks, and have been treating them and pulling fleas off them ever since.  It took a little more time for me to get used to the idea but they sure warmed their way in to my heart.

Meg and Nicole with our first two findings

Friday night rolled around and my roommate, Nicole, and I got a text from my other roommate, Meg. Meg informed us that she found ANOTHER puppy in our garden! 3 puppies for 3 girls... GREAT! Or so it seemed. Although we have loved these puppies and all their cuddling and puppy kisses, we have found that they are a BIG responsibility.  After cleaning up some accidents in our home, stepping in a chocolate delight left by one of the puppies, and all the other things that go with puppy raising (x3) we have decided that we might need to return the puppies to where ever they came from. Sadly, tonight is our last night with these little cutie patooties.

A Talented Little Class

My roommate and I rewrote the lyrics to "Party in the USA" for the second grade David and Goliath chapel yesterday.  My kiddos did such a great job singing. I felt like one proud mama.  Here is a little glimpse of my second graders.  We were outside practicing and so my students were very distracted (and embarrassed) by a few passing students and parents.  :)

Happy New Years

I have never quite seen a New Years Eve show like the one Manila just put on. It was an amazing way to go in to the new year.  Tons of families from Faith Academy headed up to school (as it is on a hill) to join together in basketball games and in fireworks viewing.  People sat and stood on a ledge that over looks a good chunk of the city, to watch the already polluted Manila fill the sky with explosions of fireworks as far as the eye can see ~ we were even warned to make sure our windows were closed to avoid all the smog that would enter our homes. It was incredible! I love being part of a community that comes together like this to celebrate a new year.

I was excited to see some kids from Gentle Hands, a orphanage that I have recently been visiting, also up at Faith for the firework show. It was neat to sit with those kids and silently pray for them and for the year to come, dedicating it to the Lord.


This break has been good. On top of having an adventure with friends up north to some filipino rice terraces and caves, I spent some time reflecting.

This year has been crazy.  I graduated from college with many tears, celebrated the beautiful wedding of my brother and sister in-law, said my goodbyes, and then moved to the Philippines for my first year of teaching. Although this year has been filled with the unknown, it has been an awesome journey ~ especially since I know I'm not alone.  I couldn't be happier than where I am now. I truly feel the Lord's pleasure right now and hope that you might feel that too.

Blessings on this new year 2013!

Fireworks across the city

Rice terraces in Sagada

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