For those of you who didn't know, I was visited by some awesome young missionaries from Escalon this July. Jennifer Schmidt, Jack Berry, Jordan Desa, Katie Heflin, and Montana Nunes left their comforts back home for two weeks to come to the Philippines.They had an incredible amount of work to do to be able to get themselves here and they did it. Last December a group of them came up with the idea of going and I was so excited they wanted to go, but I told them it was going to be a huge commitment and a lot of hard work to be able to make it happen. They said they were willing to do it. As we hit more roadbumps and had more and more challenges, our group got smaller and smaller, but these five stuck to it and committed themselves to coming. It was not easy but I applaud them for pushing through.
I would also like to say I was incredibly impressed by them while they were here. In fact everyone was impressed by them. They did a lot of things and had to deal with a lot while they were here but they were never complaining. They took every challenge with a smile on their face and were willing to do whatever was put in front of them to do. I was so proud of them and was so proud that they represented our town, our church, myself, and more importantly represented Jesus so well.
They had a really tough schedule. They were up early everyday, had to do work construction which made them tired physically, tutored children which made them tired mentally, dealt with new challenges such as all sorts of culture shock which made them tired emotionally, and faced very eye-opening and challenging Bible studies which made them tired spiritually, and some of them dealt with the sicknesses that come a long with being introduced to third world water which made them tired with all of the above. But with everything they put their trust in God and asked for His strength to carry them through and they were amazing the entire trip. They impacted so many kids while they were here and were great witnesses of Jesus Christ. Along with that they were able to spend a lot of time in prayer and in Bible study. As much as mission trips are about serving others, it's also about growing in your own personal life and your relationship with God. We were able to talk during our last Bible study at the airport about what the trip meant to each of them personally and what they took away from it spiritually and it was so awesome to listen to what they had to say. They really took so much away from the trip and were touched in so many ways by what they saw and the people they met. These are such incredible young adults and they are doing so much for God not only in the Philippines but everywhere they go and I couldn't be more proud of them. Here is a basic description with a lot of pictures of what they did while they were here. I had to really limit the pictures and things I wanted to say and I still think it's going to take a long time for you to look through it, but they just did so much here.
Here's the team. Katie, Jack, Jen, Jordan, and Montana. Such great dancers too!
ONe of the awesome things they were able to do is bring an incredible amount of supplies with them. It is very hard for us to get supplies here and can be very expensive. They were able to bring 8 bags of supplies, and the awesome part is that they were willing to pack next to nothing for themselves so they would have more room for the supplies. They brought bags full of school supplies, 3 suitcases full of medical supplies, sports equipment, and even some things for me. The school was so excited to receive the supplies and many of them were very needed things. The medical supplies are being used here in Boracay for the feeding sites to provide the kids with basic medical care, but the majority of the supplies are in the Ati village on the other island. We have a nurse working in the villages and is opening up a free clinic for the communities. We took an incredible amount of supplies over to the clinic and it immediately helped fill the needs of supplies in order to open up the clinic. We had a lot of people donate supplies to the team, and who have donated supplies to be sent to me and we (speaking for the school, feeding sites, and medical clinic) are so incredibly grateful for all of your donations. They are making a huge difference here.
After the team got into Boracay at sometime around 7am, we took them to their rooms and they rested for a couple hours and then heading into the school after lunch. After an entire days worth of traveling, and being on a 15 hour different time schedule, they were willing to jump right into work! They were amazing from the very start. They were exhausted but did everything with a smile on their face. It was awesome to bring them into the school and be so proud of the fact that they were representing where I was from because they were such incredible examples of Christ's light.
They spent some time getting to know my classes: The above picture with grade 6, and the below picture with grade 5. My students loved them and loved getting to meet them and talk to them. They are still asking about them even a couple months later.
Every Friday we have chapel time in school where the students come together to listen to some stories or watch some videos about God, and we alternate classes who perform a dance or song every week.
Watching a movie on Noah's Arc sitting with a couple of my students from last year.
The grade 3 class performing a song during chapel.
Welcome to Agape Boracay Academy
One of the things that the team spent time doing almost everyday was tutoring students who struggle in class. We have students who desperately need more one on one time to be able to work on their reading and math skills. Being able to have 5 tutors to teach kids everyday was such an awesome thing for the school. It made a huge difference in the students they were working with and the teachers were so thrilled to be able to get some help for the students who were struggling in those areas.
Katie and Jen working on sight words.
Jack and Montana working with students in their books helping them understand what was being taught in class.
Jordan practicing reading flashcards.
Helping with the books are so important for the students because many times they just aren't quite able to handle the lesson taught in class so when they get some one on one time with a tutor they are able to pick it up and it prepares them for future lessons.
Jen teaching syllables to a student. A very good strategy and she said that the student was able to understand it and grasp the idea of syllables.
Another thing that the team did almost everyday they were here was working on construction in the school. The school is a big construction project in the making. We are constantly growing each year. We added over 100 students this year and we are hoping to add even more next year. It is hard to afford the construction and afford to pay workers to constantly build it, so when we get teams that are willing to come in and put in some hard labor and do things that need to be done it helps the school tremendously. We wouldn't have the school if it wasn't fr the help of teams coming and building it. We are working on expanding the school on one side so we have room to be able to fit our increasing number of students. The team did a lot of work with concrete to be able to build some walls and you can't see it in the pictures but they did an incredible amount of work.
We also spent a day on the other island in the Ati village. We have a school over there that has class rooms for preschool through grade 3. We are looking to build another building to be able to have grade 4-6 as well. It is in the very beginning steps right now and so we spent the morning digging to make the area level. It is on a slight hill so we needed to move dirt from the high side to the low side.
Jack, Montana, and myself digging dirt from the high side, and Katie carrying the buckets to the low side.
Jen dumping out the dirt to the low side.
Jack helping Jerry break the dirt to be put in buckets.
Myself dumping dirt.
After a lot of moving dirt throughout the morning we served lunch to the school.
After lunch they asked me to do some PE. I was stoked of course and was really excited to show some techniques to the teachers at the school. I am really hoping that they were able to pick up some things they can use when they do PE.
The kids absolutely loved the relay races and it was so awesome to see them having so much fun. It was also really exciting to see how much more disciplined the children have become since they have been going to school. The teachers have really done an amazing job teaching the students to listen and to follow directions. We take for granted how much school does to teach those things to kids because all of the kids we see have easy access to school, but not all kids have that access. Just in the year that I have been here I can see such an improvement in their discipline and it is just really amazing to see.
Nothing but smiles!
While we were they we saw them reward the students who had perfect attendance. This is such a huge thing because that is one thing they have been having trouble with. There isn't much push for a lot of the students to go to class. Most of them have a choice everyday of being able to play or sleep or do whatever they want or go to school. How many of the kids you know in the states would go to school everyday if they didn't have to? How many of those kids would do it if their reward for perfect attendance was a bag of rice? That is a reward that makes an instant impact in these kids' lives, and I hope that this was able to give you a little bit of a perspective of what goes on in different parts of the world. The team was able to see so many examples like this that was able to shape and broaden their understanding of the world. The rest of the world is a lot different than the states and until you see it for yourself it really is hard to understand.
The team also came prepared for some sports ministry. They brought equipment for soccer and softball. The girls were able to play softball with some kids in their free time.
We also had some soccer clinics for the kids on Saturdays and had a lot of fun playing soccer with the kids.
The best part of the sports clinic was hearing Katie give her testimony to the kids after we finished playing. She shared with them how important sports were to her life and how God was able to change her life and become her biggest priority. It was an amazing testimony for the kids to be able to hear. I am so thankful for Katie's willingness to do whatever was called of her to do and this was just one example of how she stepped up and did whatever needed to be done.
One of the biggest things that the team was able to do while they were here was the feeding sites. We have feedings all over the island and the team was able to go to several different sites to be able to serve the kids of Boracay. We do a lot of different things at the feedings and these pictures show the different things we do.
We sing and dance. We have a lot of songs the kids know and we are always teaching them new songs. Our team came with some new songs to teach the kids and they loved learning them.
We tell stories and sometimes act them out. The above picture I'm telling the story of the Good Samaritan with my translator and the team acting it out.
We were also able to work with some other teams from different places and got to sit with the kids while watching the other teams tell their stories.
We have coloring sheets for the kids and they get to color a picture of the Bible story that they just heard us teach to them. We take coloring for granted in the States because we have all had access to coloring but a lot of these kids don't have that access. Kids absolutely love coloring here and a big reason is because it is something a lot of them don't get to do often.
Of course we also feed them. We have cooks that prepare a healthy meal for all of the kids. It's usually in the form of a soup that has meat and vegetables in it, and of course a lot of rice.
We play games! Jack is about to get a kid out in dodgeball.
I also provide basic medical care at the sites that I go to. There are a lot of kids with cuts or infections who don't have access to things like bandaids or medicine, and sometimes even the ability to keep it clean with clean water.
The truth is, even with all of the great things we provide, the best part of the feedings and the part I think is the most important is being able to show the kids LOVE. It is great giving kids food, and medicine, and telling them about Jesus, but so much better is the chance to show them about Jesus. We are able to show them what love looks like. We know how much Jesus loves us, and how much HE loves them and we want to show them that. When our actions back up our words, then our words start to mean something. If we come in and talk about Jesus it means nothing to these kids until we show them what it is all about. These kids absolutely latch on to us and if we are the only hugs that they are getting that day we want them to know that they are hugs full of love, Jesus' love.
I don't think I have to say anything about the following pictures, the smiles tell it all.
We were also able to do some special feedings while the team was here. One of them was a feeding at one of the public schools on the island. The government might have a lot of corruption, but at least they allow the Bible in their schools. When we have teams here we like to take them to the schools so they can feed a lot of kids, but also so they can see what the public school system is like here. The classes have on average between 60-80 students in a class with one teacher. The class our team was in had about 70 kids. For those of you who are teachers just imagine that. Trying to handle 70 kids in a classroom where some students are average, some are excellent, some are years behind, some listen, some talk, some cause distractions, and almost all of them need one on one time to be successful. Good luck. The schools lack funding so there are almost no resources for the teachers, things that we take for granted in our schools that these teachers just don't have access to, like paper. That is one reason we are so proud of our school because we are able to provide education while keeping our class sizes to no bigger than 20 students. It gives our teachers the chance to reach the needs of all of their students. The difference between teaching 20 kids and 70 kids is astronomical. It really is amazing what our school is able to do compared to the other options kids have here.
Have you ever been that awkward kid on the first day at a new school and you just don't seem to fit in? hahaha
Telling a Bible story in front of the students.
The team was also able to spend a lo of time at my feeding site. Escalon Presbyterian Church, along with my other supporters have adopted this feeding site and are financially supporting it to continually be run every week. I have been adopted into the community and have been able to develop so many relationships with the people and the kids in this community. I have been doing feedings here for almost a year now and it is really an awesome feeling to be so close to everyone. I was so happy the team was able to spend multiple days there. The kids loved just hanging out with them and they still ask me now where my sister is and where my friends are. They are requesting another trip!
Dudong and his crazy smile.
Chaos in the streets!
Of course I don't mind naked baby on my leg... haha
The other special feeding the team was able to come to was on the island of Carabao. I was so excited to take them over to Carabao to see the beautiful island and to see the things I was starting to do there. At the time my ministry was just in the very beginning of what it would soon become. My next blog (which believe me, I really am trying to do a better job of getting you updated) will be all about my new ministry on Carabao, so I'm not going to talk much about it now, just let you know what the team did.
We left bright and early Sunday morning (as you can see we took a giant ship) on the 40 minute trip to Carabao. We arrived on Carabao and were taken to the mayor's house for breakfast. That was a huge surprise, and obviously a huge honor. We had breakfast with the mayor and then went with his family to church. We were definitely a big deal in the church. We were all introduced and I was asked to pray in front of the church. We were also asked to help with Sunday School. So we did. It was a lot of fun and we did a lot of similar things as the feedings.
We sang and taught the kids a lot of songs.
We told our Bible stories for them and also looked at some verses. The kids took turn reading different verses from the Bible.
We gave them vitamins.
And we played some games. We played 4 corners with them.
I also gave them some medical care.
A picture with the kids and Sunday School teachers.
A picture with Jerry and his wife, the girls, the mayor and his wife, Jordan and me, and the pastor.
After church we went back to the mayor's house for lunch, then headed over to the feeding up in the mountains for the indigenous children on the island. Jerry has been doing the feeding for almost a year and got me involved to help with it and I definitely wanted the team to come and help with it as well.
We sang songs with them, told them a Bible story, let them color, gave them vitamins, medical care, and brought them food to make for dinner. It's such an awesome group of kids and I love being able to work with them and they loved our team coming and hanging out with them.
On the lighter side of things I was really blessed to have my sister and the team here on my birthday and it was really awesome being able to celebrate with them and my friends. The night before my birthday we all went out to my favorite restaurant for Indian food. On my birthday my friend cooked us all lumpia for dinner and they even bought me a cake. It was really good to have them all there for me on a day that I definitely missed home, it would have been a really hard day if my sister wasn't there.
The team also got to enjoy the number one beach destination in the world a little bit. They were able to spend some time on the beach swimming around.
Unfortunately it had to end. They couldn't stay here forever. It was tough to send them off but it was so amazing to see all they did and I was so happy they were able to come.
Our flight back to Manila was interesting to say the least. Oh man, we were pretty crazy. We were all exhausted and it definitely brought out the best? in us. The other people on the plain better have been entertained.
It was such an incredible time and I was able to see them do so much and they were able to inspire me to keep going and keep pushing forward. I also want to thank everyone who played a part in getting this team over to the Philippines. It was a lot of work and they had to go through a lot to get there but they did it. They received a lot of help and support from a lot of people to be able to plan everything, and raise up all the funds to be able to make it. I want to thank everyone who helped set up or run the fundraisers, anyone who donated things or time to help, and anyone who went to the fundraisers or donated financially. I am so thankful for everything you did to get this team over here to do amazing things for God and the people in the Philippines. Thank you so much.
If you haven't seen my sister's blog about the trip you can use the link below to look at it. She talks about what they did and gives her perspective on the trip, (it's also a lot quicker read than mine)
http://jenjenforjesus.blogspot.com/2013_07_01_archive.html
