A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

"Magandang umaga/hapon/gabi! Kumusta po kayo? Ito ang blog ko."
(in English..."Good morning/afternoon/evening! How are you? This is my blog.")

I'm so grateful to share that we've just finished our second week teaching academics and literacy in our daycare center. Just before I arrived in the Philippines, Toph (23 yrs old) started the daycare as a way to reach out to his community and to provide role models and a basic education for impoverished children. Tin Tin (18 yrs old) and I quickly caught the vision and the potential for this ministry, and we joined alongside Toph as the teachers of the daycare. Although we have big dreams, we're starting small with the daycare. We're focusing on teaching and really investing in just a handful of kids to begin with. Despite our limited resources and experience, and despite the fact that the only teacher with a teaching degree is only just beginning to learn the native language, culture, and school curriculum (...referring to myself, of course), we are amazed with how far our students have come already. We also thank God for the relationships we've built with the children and their families, and we pray that the community will be encouraged by our efforts to support them.

To summarize the events of the daycare this week, we learned the letter "b", basic counting, printing our names, and the primary/secondary colours. Two of our students had birthdays this week (Ja Ja & Sophia), and they were elated when we surprised them with a big birthday cake.

Our youngest student Ally learns to write the letter "b".

Tin Tin (left) and I teach the lesson.

Chel Ann practices her printing.

Tin Tin assists Nunoy in learning to print his name.

After daycare on Tuesday, I took one bus and one jeepney to Sucat for our weekly ministry with the street children there. We provided a healthy meal, my Filipino teammates Gabby and Cecile taught a bible lesson, and I led a game with the kids. After the ministry was over, Gela (who I mentioned in my last post) and I visited some members of the community in the shanties where they live. We were heartbroken to witness two of the adults in a paralytic state who weren't receiving any medical care. We prayed with them, bought groceries for them and their families (from a nearby shop), and discussed ways in which we might be able to get them some proper care.

Street children in Sucat eagerly await our weekly program for them.

Playing in the street.

Mike (left) and I gather the kids for a game.

We never get tired of seeing these big smiles.

Finally, on Saturday we took over 40 kids from the squatter communities near our home to the park. These are the children that regularly attend our Saturday morning program. As usual, we fed the children, shared a story, played some games, and sang some songs. I was able to help lead a children's song in Tagalog (the second Tagalog song I've committed to memory!). Here's a sample from the chorus: "Sumayaw at umindak indak, kumaway paa 'ay ipadyak padyak. Sumayaw at umindak indak, kumaway paay padyak." ...which roughly translates to "Dance and groove, wave your hands, step with your feet, and repeat" (along with actions).

We rented a jeepney to transport the kids to the park.

So many excited kids packed into one jeepney.

Singing my new favourite song, "Sumayaw".

Role Models in My Life

Hi everyone!

Thanks again for taking the time to read my blog! The last couple weeks have been very exciting for me. The students in our daycare center have been very receptive to my lessons, and they're already making some progress in their literacy and numeracy skills. They're also teaching me how to read and write - in Tagalog, that is. Tomorrow we'll be learning how to print our names and learning about colours (with some hands-on paint activities). Jared and I also enjoyed our first formal Tagalog lesson, and we're very impressed with the professionalism and teaching philosophies of our teachers.

While I could share more about what I've been up to, I hope you don't mind if for this entry I share some stories of others who have made much greater sacrifices in their work - and who inspire me immensely.

The first is a woman from my church named Yvonne. This week she travelled to Haiti to assist in a medical mission. However, when the big earthquake went off, the Guest House were she was staying collapsed and trapped her within. She lost her life. As we pray for her family, we also admire her for the incredible sacrifice she gave in serving others in need.

Another inspiration of mine is a Filipino whom I serve alongside on my team here. His name is Pastor John Basiwa, but I call him "kuya" - or brother, in English. When he was in his early 20's, he left his job to serve the poor full-time (which primarily meant feeding street children and sharing his faith). He believed that serving the poor was God's call for his life. However, particularly in this culture, a young man is expected to earn an income and provide for his parents and family. As a result of his decision to answer God's call by providing for the poor, his parents kicked him out of their home and disowned him for "loving his God more than his family" - as they claimed. Nevertheless, Kuya John continued to spend each day feeding street children whose only previous role models were likely entrenched in gambling, alcoholism, and violence. Kuya John also provided a drop-in center for youth and adults who were addicted to sniffing solvents. At one point, after Kuya John had made a family and a home of his own, he was so dedicated to providing for others first that he sold his own house and lived in the drop-in center with no electricity with his wife and two kids. However, God has been faithful to Kuya John, and today his family has a house, his two children go to school, and his ministries with the urban poor are thriving. Also, Kuya John's parents have come to believe they were wrong in disowning him before, and they are very proud of his character and daily sacrifices. Every Tuesday and Thursday night, I have the honour of assisting Kuya John with his evening program for a squatter community...(on a side note, I mentioned before that this community was living under an overpass, but last week they were forced to move to a new location because the police were physically harassing them and pressuring them to leave).

Below is a picture of Kuya John and his wife - Ate (sister) Gela.

Gela and John Basiwa

Getting Down to Business in 2010...at times that includes Monkey Business

Hello family and friends, and Happy New Year!

I hope you've enjoyed your holiday! I truly missed home this Christmas season. However, my Filipino friends made me feel like family as they included me in their many holiday celebrations and traditions. I also owe a big "thank you" to my mom, dad, sister, and brother-in-law for the Christmas gift they gave me - a vacation to another island in the Philippines called Palawan. My friend Jared and I enjoyed many adventures and some much appreciated rest on the trip. We arrived back in Metro Manila yesterday with renewed energy to serve the poor and devote ourselves to the community here and now in 2010.

One of the monkeys I met on a trek through the jungles of Palawan, Philippines.

For me, 2010 is looking to be a busy but exciting year. I've decided to focus my efforts in three main areas...

1) The first is the new day care centre which runs out of our church. For now, I'm preparing the daily curriculum for the kids and teaching the lessons along with the help of two young Filipinos (named Toph and Tin Tin). Toph is the one who envisioned and created the day care center. Our main curriculum goals include teaching basic literacy and numeracy. I'm hoping and praying that in the future, we might be able to hire a Filipino teacher and one day have the day care accredited as an actual school. In the meantime, we'll provide these children with the best care and schooling we can offer - which of course is significantly better than what they'd learn in the streets if they didn't have the day care.

2) Tuesday and Thursday nights I'll be helping with an evening ministry for squatter communities living under an overpass and in the slums of Alabang (a bus ride away from my apartment). I've discussed this ministry in earlier posts - the program includes providing a meal, a shower, and enjoying some fun and fellowship together.

3) Starting this week, Jared and I will be taking Tagalog language lessons every Monday and Friday morning in a place called Quezon City. It's a bit of a commute (we'll have to ride a combination of transportations to get there, including a train, bus, and "jeepney"). However, this school came highly recommended, and the Filipino teachers are trained specifically to equip missionaries with the necessary language and cultural knowledge for working with the communities we'll be helping.

Please pray for strength and wisdom for my team and myself as we eagerly await what God has in store for our ministries this year!

High five for investing and growing in relationship with the urban poor in 2010.