Another picture of Hannah (still sp?) for clarification :)
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Randomness - Now With Pictures!
Well, I don't really have anything actually coherent to add, but I thought I'd throw up some random thoughts and a pic to let every know that I'm alive, and no more normal than before :)
This here above is Little Hannah. She may be the happiest child I ever ever met - all she does is run around randomly all day, talking like the Spanish channel set on fast forward and grinning from ear to ear. Falling down is no problem, and she's so little that the other kids even pick her up and toss her around and she loves it. :)
And then over here on the right we have a Jeepney (sp?). For 7 Pesos, or about 17 cents, you can go anywhere that they go. And don't worry, there is *always* room for one more.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
off to the mountains!
hey all,
our team (minus Tim, Hana, and Patrick who stayed to help out more with the business development/micro-financing part of the trip) just returned from a 2 day trip in the mountains. the purpose was twofold: help plant banana trees, and assist medical staff with their clinic. the hike up was about 2 hours in humid, muddy, steep conditions. the hike alone was enough to tire one for a day, but we trekked on. we split up into 2 teams...one with the trees, and the other helping with the medical clinic. the community we served had about 100 people, many of whom were young children. there was a recent epidemic there that required immediate attention, hence the medical staff attending. the community's water source also recently stopped working. many of the problems that we saw were fevers, coughs, diarrhea, and open sores/inflammed skin. i think we all agreed that the most difficult thing was knowing that many of these conditions could have been prevented if there was clean running water. to date, the closest water source is a river about 1 km away.
i think the trip provided an excellent perspective regarding the degree of poverty we find ourselves amidst here in the Philippines. it's sometimes hard to gauge what "poor" really means until you see a different version of it.
i think will be posting a little bit later about some other things we did during last week - specifically the business development and early childhood education workshops.
it's hard to believe that our time here in the Philippines is coming to an end. tomorrow, our team will be heading off for our debrief. this will be a time to prepare for re-entry back into Canada, and our Western lifestyle. the most important things about debrief would have to be reflecting on what you learned, and what you will do with it when you return home.
please pray for our team as this is arguably one of the most important parts of a short-term missions trip.
much love,
deb
our team (minus Tim, Hana, and Patrick who stayed to help out more with the business development/micro-financing part of the trip) just returned from a 2 day trip in the mountains. the purpose was twofold: help plant banana trees, and assist medical staff with their clinic. the hike up was about 2 hours in humid, muddy, steep conditions. the hike alone was enough to tire one for a day, but we trekked on. we split up into 2 teams...one with the trees, and the other helping with the medical clinic. the community we served had about 100 people, many of whom were young children. there was a recent epidemic there that required immediate attention, hence the medical staff attending. the community's water source also recently stopped working. many of the problems that we saw were fevers, coughs, diarrhea, and open sores/inflammed skin. i think we all agreed that the most difficult thing was knowing that many of these conditions could have been prevented if there was clean running water. to date, the closest water source is a river about 1 km away.
i think the trip provided an excellent perspective regarding the degree of poverty we find ourselves amidst here in the Philippines. it's sometimes hard to gauge what "poor" really means until you see a different version of it.
i think will be posting a little bit later about some other things we did during last week - specifically the business development and early childhood education workshops.
it's hard to believe that our time here in the Philippines is coming to an end. tomorrow, our team will be heading off for our debrief. this will be a time to prepare for re-entry back into Canada, and our Western lifestyle. the most important things about debrief would have to be reflecting on what you learned, and what you will do with it when you return home.
please pray for our team as this is arguably one of the most important parts of a short-term missions trip.
much love,
deb
Sunday, December 2, 2007
hopeless vs hope-full
Yesterday, our team was able to serve in a really unique way. We woke up shortly before 5am to pack food packs for the poorest of the poor in Davao. Like in Vancouver, the downtown core has a plethora of marginalized, homeless and sick people. Every so often, the people here at Hope for the Nations wake up early in the morning to our Filipino friends. The key to this approach is to do it early enough that we catch them before they go off to work...because once they leave, they probably would have not eaten already.
I was blessed to be in a group with Patrick, Tim, Cory (another missionary), and Dexter (a 17yr old volunteer here with Hope for the Nations. The first person we approached was in a city square area sleeping on a piece of cardboard, on a platform by a water fountain. He couldn't have been older than 12, and was disturbingly dirty. As we approached him, my heart began to feel heavy as i grieved his situation. As he awoke, he told us that he was cold...he was sleeping in shorts, and no shirt. I wondered, "where is his family? does he go to school? what does he have to wake up to?!"
we visited more people/families later and came across a family of 4 - Grace, Charlie, Vincent and Precious. here we had an ENTIRE family sleeping together on a piece...several pieces of cardboard. As Grace began to share her story with us, she began to cry. We were humbled. I think my confidence in God and yet the frustration with the degree of poverty was meeting at that moment. I found myself in what seemed to be an utterly hopeless situation.
Later in the afternoon, KP and I made our way to to the home of Bryan, the child that Tenth sponsors. we were there to film his story to take home to Vancouver to show our church family what their money and prayers are going towards. Bryan is 13. His favourite subject is Math. He likes to play basketball and chess. He hopes one day to be a pilot. He began volunteering here at the House of Jubilee in March. the reason he comes? to be with the toddlers. that is precious.
I also met a beautifully inspiring young boy named Dexter. Dexter is 17, and will be graduating from highschool in the next year. Right now, he's trying to decide if he will go to university, or if he will spend some time with Youth with a Mission (YWAM) to do a Discipleship Training School (DTS). If he studies, he wants to pursue Political Science, and one day become a lawyer. In deciding if he wants to go on a DTS, he told me that he wants to make sure that he's NOT going for the wrong motivations. Most people he knows come back from a DTS unchanged because they went with wrong motivations, mostly because they want to leave the Philippines and travel. Dexter, however, really wants to deepen his faith and understand God in this new context, still serving in his country, just a different province. WOW. what youth do i know is so aware of themselves at this age?
and so my friends...Saturday was an overwhelming day. the morning saw many hopeless people. the afternoon saw dreams, ambitions and desires rooted in faith and the strong foundation of God.
incredible.
deb
I was blessed to be in a group with Patrick, Tim, Cory (another missionary), and Dexter (a 17yr old volunteer here with Hope for the Nations. The first person we approached was in a city square area sleeping on a piece of cardboard, on a platform by a water fountain. He couldn't have been older than 12, and was disturbingly dirty. As we approached him, my heart began to feel heavy as i grieved his situation. As he awoke, he told us that he was cold...he was sleeping in shorts, and no shirt. I wondered, "where is his family? does he go to school? what does he have to wake up to?!"
we visited more people/families later and came across a family of 4 - Grace, Charlie, Vincent and Precious. here we had an ENTIRE family sleeping together on a piece...several pieces of cardboard. As Grace began to share her story with us, she began to cry. We were humbled. I think my confidence in God and yet the frustration with the degree of poverty was meeting at that moment. I found myself in what seemed to be an utterly hopeless situation.
Later in the afternoon, KP and I made our way to to the home of Bryan, the child that Tenth sponsors. we were there to film his story to take home to Vancouver to show our church family what their money and prayers are going towards. Bryan is 13. His favourite subject is Math. He likes to play basketball and chess. He hopes one day to be a pilot. He began volunteering here at the House of Jubilee in March. the reason he comes? to be with the toddlers. that is precious.
I also met a beautifully inspiring young boy named Dexter. Dexter is 17, and will be graduating from highschool in the next year. Right now, he's trying to decide if he will go to university, or if he will spend some time with Youth with a Mission (YWAM) to do a Discipleship Training School (DTS). If he studies, he wants to pursue Political Science, and one day become a lawyer. In deciding if he wants to go on a DTS, he told me that he wants to make sure that he's NOT going for the wrong motivations. Most people he knows come back from a DTS unchanged because they went with wrong motivations, mostly because they want to leave the Philippines and travel. Dexter, however, really wants to deepen his faith and understand God in this new context, still serving in his country, just a different province. WOW. what youth do i know is so aware of themselves at this age?
and so my friends...Saturday was an overwhelming day. the morning saw many hopeless people. the afternoon saw dreams, ambitions and desires rooted in faith and the strong foundation of God.
incredible.
deb
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Fall Trusting
(Oops! This one actually written by KP)
During our team building day (Tues. Nov. 27) we had to do many activities in the bright, hot wonderful sun that we were blessed to work under. One of the activities was a trust fall. Not only did we do this with an individual partner but we did this as a group.
My partner Janice, who is also a teacher in the Tabitha Program as well as a worship leader - who incidently weighs only 42 lbs...err..42 kilos (she later corrected herself), came up to me and said, "I trust you." I promptly answered, "I'm not good at this trust thing!" (When you have to fall back into someone's waiting arms, there is no time to lie! Besides when I don't fall backwards, I think she'll know something's up!)
Janice falls effortlessly and trusting. Alas, after I put her arms only 3 - 5 inches behind me, so do I. (Ok...so I turned around a couple of times before I fell backwards, but who's counting!??!!)
Great success with that one! On to a new team building activity.
...Except that the new one is sort of like the last one: trusting others to catch you while you fall backwards in their arms 4.5 feet off the ground! Ok...I might have a little problem with this one!
Janice goes, then Glen, then another, then another...until there is only one person left who is going to fall...I go up the few steps that seem alot wondering if I'll really follow through. Another thought that comes into my mind is of course what happens if I fall down and my neck breaks or my spine splits...can anyone remember Joni Erickson Tada!!??? (Ok, so what if it was a dive into the water in her case....work with me...falling backwards is up there!) I mean you never know!??
Believe it or not I've only wasted 10 seconds thinking all of these thoughts. But by the time I yell, I'm falling....I am suddenly washed with a new feeling.
The whole time I watched other people go up the platform and fall, fear and amazment came over me. By the time I was walking up, there was only the feelings of fear, fear, and more fear. But IN the moment I decided I was going to fall...and I was falling, the feeling of peace washed over me.
So much of my life is characterized with fear; I am fearful of outcomes, fearful to reach for something and fearful of even the good things in life - that they can be mine. I so want to have the abundant joy/ life that Christ gives, and embrace it as my own, leaving the fear behind. I want to let go and jump off. Sometimes we don't get to choose where or what we jump off from or into - or even how. Backwards without seeing is NOT my first choice!! However, God, not people, are waiting. God is faithful. God is with me.
Fear, Fear, and more Fear....Peace! I want to be like Janice who says, "I trust you" God!
As the bed of arms caught me, I am suprised I want to do it again!! May it be so.
-KP
During our team building day (Tues. Nov. 27) we had to do many activities in the bright, hot wonderful sun that we were blessed to work under. One of the activities was a trust fall. Not only did we do this with an individual partner but we did this as a group.
My partner Janice, who is also a teacher in the Tabitha Program as well as a worship leader - who incidently weighs only 42 lbs...err..42 kilos (she later corrected herself), came up to me and said, "I trust you." I promptly answered, "I'm not good at this trust thing!" (When you have to fall back into someone's waiting arms, there is no time to lie! Besides when I don't fall backwards, I think she'll know something's up!)
Janice falls effortlessly and trusting. Alas, after I put her arms only 3 - 5 inches behind me, so do I. (Ok...so I turned around a couple of times before I fell backwards, but who's counting!??!!)
Great success with that one! On to a new team building activity.
...Except that the new one is sort of like the last one: trusting others to catch you while you fall backwards in their arms 4.5 feet off the ground! Ok...I might have a little problem with this one!
Janice goes, then Glen, then another, then another...until there is only one person left who is going to fall...I go up the few steps that seem alot wondering if I'll really follow through. Another thought that comes into my mind is of course what happens if I fall down and my neck breaks or my spine splits...can anyone remember Joni Erickson Tada!!??? (Ok, so what if it was a dive into the water in her case....work with me...falling backwards is up there!) I mean you never know!??
Believe it or not I've only wasted 10 seconds thinking all of these thoughts. But by the time I yell, I'm falling....I am suddenly washed with a new feeling.
The whole time I watched other people go up the platform and fall, fear and amazment came over me. By the time I was walking up, there was only the feelings of fear, fear, and more fear. But IN the moment I decided I was going to fall...and I was falling, the feeling of peace washed over me.
So much of my life is characterized with fear; I am fearful of outcomes, fearful to reach for something and fearful of even the good things in life - that they can be mine. I so want to have the abundant joy/ life that Christ gives, and embrace it as my own, leaving the fear behind. I want to let go and jump off. Sometimes we don't get to choose where or what we jump off from or into - or even how. Backwards without seeing is NOT my first choice!! However, God, not people, are waiting. God is faithful. God is with me.
Fear, Fear, and more Fear....Peace! I want to be like Janice who says, "I trust you" God!
As the bed of arms caught me, I am suprised I want to do it again!! May it be so.
-KP
The Company You Keep
It's hard to believe it's already day 5 here in the Philippines. As you have read we have experienced so much in the last couple of days as a team that it seems like a huge task to even process.
One thing that impresses me is our amazing team:
Patrick - who is always ready to answer questions and guide.
Debbie - who is good at keeping us on track, and leads us in team worship.
Kim - who is easy to talk with and leads with listening ears.
Tammy - who is compassionate and prayerful about the animals around us that are starving and weak.
Hana - who suprises me with her humour, and is ready to claim for Christ what is already His!
Jean - who also suprises me with her humour, while she is ready and willing to help.
Tim - who is easy-going, trusting (us with his computer!) and ready to have kids climb all over him.
Alice - who is such an adventurer ready to try anything!
Alex - who teaches and prays with such power that we are truly witnessing God's Presence as she lives out her life's dream!
It has been a blessing to see how each of us fulfills a role here and how our skills and gifts work together for the common good. We bring with us our own styles, opinions and hang-ups, and I am thankful of how we bear with one another in true love, helping and serving one another...even if it's 'killing' a scrurrying roach!
-KP
One thing that impresses me is our amazing team:
Patrick - who is always ready to answer questions and guide.
Debbie - who is good at keeping us on track, and leads us in team worship.
Kim - who is easy to talk with and leads with listening ears.
Tammy - who is compassionate and prayerful about the animals around us that are starving and weak.
Hana - who suprises me with her humour, and is ready to claim for Christ what is already His!
Jean - who also suprises me with her humour, while she is ready and willing to help.
Tim - who is easy-going, trusting (us with his computer!) and ready to have kids climb all over him.
Alice - who is such an adventurer ready to try anything!
Alex - who teaches and prays with such power that we are truly witnessing God's Presence as she lives out her life's dream!
It has been a blessing to see how each of us fulfills a role here and how our skills and gifts work together for the common good. We bring with us our own styles, opinions and hang-ups, and I am thankful of how we bear with one another in true love, helping and serving one another...even if it's 'killing' a scrurrying roach!
-KP
Tabitha Feeding Program
Yesterday was our first day working with/observing the Tabitha Feeding Program.
The morning starts out with the kids coming in and taking part in a group activity like singing songs or having books read to them, while the pre-school aged children go to class. So much of the focus of the program is making sure that the children learn about hygiene and healthy bodies so each one is asked first if they had a shower within the past day. This seemed like a rude question to most of us, but I guess they are used to it now. (No, my co-workers, I will not start asking you every day now if you showered :) ). The organization of the program amazed me. I was impressed at how they had trained all the kids to follow their instruction. There were 70 or so kids ranging from babies (with mothers) to children aged 12.
Next up was the washing of hands. Each child lined up and washed their hands thoroughly while being watched by the leaders. Lunch time came after all the hard work of many ladies and the kids gobbled up their lunches. Some ate up every last morsel. You knew that was maybe all they had eaten since they were there the day before. After lunch, all the children brushed their teeth with the toothbrush with their name on it. We noticed that they liked to 'perform' for cameras so we would take lots of pictures to encourage them to keep brushing for longer!
Then all the children went home and it was time for our lunch. It all went by in a blur and we got to experience it all again today.
Guiding, training and feeding the children will (hopefully) lead to a brighter future for Agdao in Davao City.
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