When it Rains, it Pours...

Hello again family and friends!

There are two official seasons in the Philippines: dry and rainy. After the high humidity and heat of the last few months, it isn't surprising that something had to give...and so the rainy season hit us hard at the beginning of June. We've almost experienced more rain in the last week than we have in my entire stay here! These rains, also known as monsoons, are a constant wind-bringing rain. At times, I've stepped off of a bus or a jeepney into the street with water up to my ankles! It's all part of the experience of being a missionary in the Philippines, and I'm "soaking up" every moment of it...? (I know, that was terrible)

Moving on, I've got pictures to share from an outing I mentioned in my last post. We took 15 street children from the Sucat community to Tagayay - a beautiful place with a cooler climate, great hiking trails and parks, and even horseback riding. For these children and their families, an event such as this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and they put on their best clothes and eagerly arrive early to go on such outings.

Imang and I enjoy the view from a hanging bridge.

Jared gives thanks for the meal.

The kids can finally enjoy just being kids!

Another awesome first-time experience for the kids.

In other news, in response to a growing need, I've started teaching English lessons to the Filipinos on my team and in our church. Every Tuesday, I now teach a one-hour lesson to my teammates/churchmates living in our community. On Thursdays, I also teach an English lesson to my teammates at the drop-in center in Alabang before we begin our Sucat community and Nightlife ministries. The English language has almost become a necessary requirement for many Filipinos to gain employment. While the Philippines is often regarded as an English-fluent country, English unfortunately tends to be another barrier separating and distinguishing those in poverty from the higher socioeconomic class (...with very few people comprising any sort of middle-class).

This Tuesday, we'll have an orientation for the mothers of our daycare students. We'll be discussing with them the revised curriculum for the new school year and any important details with regards to the daycare (eg., which of our workers will be picking up and dropping off their kids each day, what kinds of healthy foods we'll be providing them for snacks/meals, what records we'll be keeping with regards to emergency contact numbers and student profiles, etc.). We're pleased to announce that some of our daycare students from last year have the opportunity to attend a formal school beginning this month, which also leaves room for us to include new street children into our class. This includes a young child who recently moved to Metro Manila with her father and two older siblings, and they now live in a broken-down, abandoned van on a nearby street corner. Please pray that we will be able to reach out and help aid this family through our many children's programs and initiatives run by our church and our team.

Thank you so much for sharing in these experiences with me! I pray that you will be encouraged by the ways God is working through my team to help the poor and oppressed in our community. Take care!

The Reason I'm in the Philippines

Dear friends and family,

At the beginning of this month, I reached the halfway point of my one-year internship here in the Philippines. I can't believe it's been 6 months already! In contemplating the last 6 months, I realize that what's always got me through both the joyful and the difficult times is the children that I'm blessed to work with everyday. I thank God for each and every one of them. As an expression of my appreciation, I've created a video dedicated to them and the immeasurable impact they've made on my life. However, this video is for them and about them, so this time you won't find any pictures of me in it.

This video is best-viewed on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHFwLXzFvg0

Our final DVBS took place in another remote area called Olongapo. Children came from all over to the church where we hosted the program. Some kids even hiked down a steep mountain each morning just to join us! I'm thanking and praising God for the impact we were able to make in the lives of these children - even if we could only spend a week with them. Not only were the children a joy to serve, but the environment also offered us some incredible sights and adventures. We were able to swim in the river, to eat fruits I never knew existed, and to hike a mountain just to visit the families of the children in our DVBS.

Our team hikes a mountain to meet the community.

Dirt roads in Olongapo lead to the small village where we held the DVBS.

Excited children line up hours before the start-time of our program.

Games and activities in the hot, hot heat of the day.

Our summer minsitries are now over, and June is "back-to-school" month in the Philippines. Our regular ministries with the urban poor in Metro Manila are resuming once again. The day care will officially begin on June 8th, and we're already recruiting more helpers/teachers and planning a revised curriculum for the school year. I've also enjoyed returning to the feedings and programs in Alabang and Sucat. Just yesterday, we took 15 street children from Sucat on a roadtrip to a place called Tagaytay. Here they enjoyed a nature hike near a volcano, a huge picnic on a hill, and even horseback riding! All of these experiences were a first for most of these kids, as they typically never venture beyond the squatter community they live in.

So great to see the Sucat community kids again!

In addition to a healthy meal every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday,
we're also giving vitamins to the kids in the Sucat community and
monitoring their health and weight.

In other news, Jared and I will be moving to a new apartment this week! We actually plan on moving our church and our team office to a new location. The only reason Jared and I chose our original apartment is because it was in the same building as our church and office. However, the new apartment will be just a one-minute walk away, and thus still situated near the squatter communities we're reaching out to in the city. If you'd like the mailing address of our new apartment, just send me an email and I'll gladly pass it along to you.

Thanks so much for reading! Take care and God bless!

Three DVBS's Down, One More To Go!

Dear friends, family, and framily (ie. the ones who are too hard to distinguish whether they're just friends or more like family...which probably refers to the majority of you),

April was a month full of excitement with so many DVBS camps (Daily Vacation Bible School). This is our way of reaching out to street children during the Filipino summer. On the rooftop of our building, we held a DVBS for the impoverished in our own community. I've really been looking forward to this DVBS, because we already have such tight-knit relationships with the kids. Not only do many of them attend our regular programs, such as the daycare and feeding initiatives, but these are the children I greet each day whenever I step outside onto the street.

Us crazy teachers singing and dancing on the rooftop.

The equally-crazy kids love dancing along with us.

Children from three nearby squatter communities came to enjoy a week of games, songs, crafts, stories, plays, food, and absurd amounts of fun. I'm sure even us teachers enjoyed the activities as much as the children. I could tell many stories of kids who experienced new found joy and friendships, and who really fell in love with Christ. The kids are thankful for the type of Saviour who leads people to care for them in a world that often seems to hardly notice them. We also want to thank God and give Him all the glory for guiding us and making this event such a success.

Nicole is also one of my daycare students.

Also, with regards to our community, please pray for more male role models. Most of the congregation in our church are women and children. One of our daycare kids - a 5-yr old named Princess - has a father in jail and a mother who works during the day and thus can't look after her child. Princess's mother has been worried about how she would take care of her daughter from the start. When she gave birth to Princess, she couldn't afford the hospital costs to deliver her with any aid from a doctor or nurse. Today though, she often tells our team how happy she is that we're here to help look after Princess, particularly through the daycare. Without a father figure, Princess clings tightly to myself and the other male teachers/helpers.

Princess (5 yrs old, bottom-left corner) - whose father is in jail
and mother struggles to earn an income during the day - is kept
off the streets through our Daycare and DVBS programs.

After the DVBS in Manila, we travelled to a rural area called Bataan for the next DVBS. However, instead of our team running the program, we encouraged the youth leaders of the local church to teach the kids and run the activities. Only myself and two other Filipinos from my team (Che Che and Rico) went to Bataan to help assist the DVBS - to encourage and empower the teachers as opposed to running the show. I admire the youth there for doing such a great job, and I was honoured to help!

Hiking to the Bataan DVBS site, some use umbrellas to combat the oppresive heat.

As the only foreigner there, I completely submerged myself in the community and culture. I felt blessed to meet many families who graciously opened their door to me, and I was able to really grow through new understandings of Filipino culture and language. I was even very inspired by the children there. In one of the remote tribes I visited, the elementary school only goes up to grade 4. Any child older than that has to walk for 2 hours just to get to the next closest elementary school. Many young children do this walk everyday, to school and back home again.

Notebooks, pencils, and hygiene supplies are packaged for each child in the DVBS.

DVBS teachers and students enjoy a meal together.

Zaira (nicknamed "Sy Sy") - my new best friend in Bataan,
we were truly attached at the hip ever since we met on the first day.

Thanks for reading my blog! Please keep my team in your prayers as we leave tomorrow for another rural community called Olongapo for our very last DVBS. Also, pray for the 120 children that we hope to include in our program there! Take care!

Kanawan, Philippines - Still My Favourite Place in the World

"Magandang araw pamilya at mga kaibigan!" ("Good day family and friends!")

I've just returned from a 5-day trip to Kanawan - a remote tribal village amidst stunning mountains and jungles. There our team hosted our first DVBS of the year ("Daily Vacation Bible School", aka "Christian summer camp"). Over 100 children participated in the camp, and I'm so proud of my team for giving all their energy towards ensuring the kids had the time of their lives. We brought several Filipino youth from our church to assist us as counselors/teachers. For many of them it was their first exposure in missions. I was greatly encouraged by their own personal growth as young, new leaders!

The pastor of the community expresses his thanks for our team's presence there.

"Masarap na tinapay!" ("Delicious bread!")

The theme of the DVBS was entitled "Home Planet". The children learned to become leaders in taking care of our environment - our home! For instance, some of the activities included planting and tending to your own plant and cleaning up the community by collecting biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste. The kids gained a new appreciation for God's creation and had heaps of fun doing it. They enjoyed plenty of games, songs, stories, plays, and of course, food! They were also divided into teams, which helped them develop strong comradery, good sportsmanship, and social skills.

Cleaning up the community by picking up garbage.

Jolina collects seeds to grow a plant.

Teaching the kids how to make hand puppets.

The kids enjoy a nutritious meal at each break in our program.

The Kanawan trip offered incredible adventures and plenty of spiritually-uplifting encouragement for me too. Although we ran a Christmas party for the Kanawan kids in December, this trip was different because I could have actual conversations with the children now in Tagalog! Not only did we build relationships with the kids during the DVBS program, but at the end of each brutally hot day we went swimming with them in the river. In some odd way, I almost felt like a dad to the children as they would all hang from me when we were swimming and they would shout for me to watch them every time they did a jump or dive into the water from the surrounding cliff walls.

Ismael didn't have a lot to wear on the first day...besides his name tag!

On our last evening in Kanawan, the community held a great goodbye celebration for us. The experience was bittersweet. I was both blissful and broken-hearted to witness kids of all ages crying and hugging me tightly as they said bye. Even many of our team members shed tears upon our departure.

The kids perform presentations on "Graduation Day" of DVBS.

Both teachers and children cry as we say our goodbyes.

An unforgettable celebration on our last night in Kanawan.

I'm excited to spread the same joy in other communities in and around Manila in the upcoming weeks! Thanks for your support and encouragement through prayer and through following along with my activities.