Christmas party

Last night was our Agape staff Christmas party, but before we the party started the ladies took some fun pictures on the beach.  I love every one of them!

Of course we started the party with food!  It was AMAZING.  Dan and Tori brought turkey, chicken, mashed potatoes, yams, green bean casserole, apple pie, the works!  Oh, and of course there was rice!  It would have been even more amazing if I could have tasted it (I haven't been able to taste my food often the past few days since I've been sick), but the texture was delightful!

After we ate, Praise, Sander, and Andrew sang some fun Christmas songs.  This is when I started tearing up because it was a happy time and I'm going to miss it when I leave in one week.  The last song was "Joyful Joyful" and we were supposed to be going around telling people merry Christmas, but I ran upstairs to try to look normal again before running back downstairs and being recognized for serving here the last four months.  I held it together okay, but I don't think I was totally tearless...

Shannon and Teresa said some sweet words and Dan presented me with a gift, which was a Starbucks Boracay coffee mug and a gift certificate for the Starbucks here which I will be happy to use this week!  We then watched a great slide show that Praise put together for me.

We ended the party with a gift exchange, which we did the same way my mom's side of the family does every year at Christmas eve where a gift can be stolen two times.  The gifts had a 100 peso limit ($2.50) and I went fifth.  I opened up a stuffed Patrick (a Spongebob character) and of course was stuck with it the whole time :)  I gave it to the little daughter of two other teachers.

This is Jhing, my co-teacher, picking out a gift.

It was a fun party!

Today at church some of the kids from the Kagban feeding site that I go to did a dance performance.  I will post a video on facebook as soon as I get the chance.  They did a great job and it was fun to be able to sit with them during worship.  I love that I've been able to build a connection with those kids even though I usually only see them once a week.  It's easy to build connections when the kids just latch on so easily!

I can't believe I'm leaving in a week.  Shannon asked me if I've made a checklist of things I want to do before I leave.  Nope!  I want this week to be like every other week, because that's what I have loved!

The sweetest "I love you"

I really have nothing new to blog about!  But, I thought I'd share a small prayer request.  I've been battling a cough/runny nose for a while now and I REALLY hope I'm better by the time I go home.  I need to be able to hold sweet Hudson, but his immune system is really low with the medicine he's on so I NEED TO GET BETTER!

I also thought I'd briefly write about a little conversation I had with one of my students this past week.  I already had a facebook status about it so you may have seen it.  I'm sure I'll come back and read my blogs someday, so I want to have a record of it!

There was one day when my bag was sitting kind of open at school and Lynnie noticed I have two phones, so she asked me why.  I told her one was so I could text people at home and one was so I could text people here.  I can't remember what exactly was said after that, but it got around to me telling her that I'd be going home soon, which I think Jhing has already told the class.

In her phrasing, she said, "But you will come here first so I will make you a card?"  That's what they did for Luke Russell before he and his family moved to Panay.  I said yes (I'll be at school a few times before I leave :)) and then I told her I would miss them all so much when I leave.  Curious what she would say, I asked, "Do you think you'll miss me too?"

She said yes, paused a moment, and said, "...because I love you."

Lynnie isn't the brightest or most well-behaved student in my class, but from the day I got here she has been the most affectionate towards me.  Her father volunteers at the school sometimes with odds and ends and also has a son in kindergarten.  I've learned that he treats his son like he walks on the moon, and I don't think Lynnie receives quite as much attention.  I'm thankful I've been able to share my love with Lynnie and I really hope especially that she has learned of God's love.

Here are some pictures of all of my precious students!

Mathew

Divine, front left, is Jhing's daughter and was just visiting.  Next is Chloe, Jamal, Eden, and Justine.

Theresa

Mark

BJ (back), Kianne, and Lynnie

Lance and Aivic.  Love this picture!

Aina Rose

Von Sandrix

Gobble gobble

A couple of side notes before I get on topic:

This past week it was my class's turn to give a little presentation in chapel.  They'd been practicing choreography to a song called, "Jesus is my Superhero."  Thursday, Lance came up to me and said, "Jesus is a Superhero!" and posed like Superman with one fist out, the other on his hip, and leaning forward with a leg kicked back.  As if that's not cute enough, you should here his naturally raspy voice and see his fat cheeks and floppy hair!

BJ, the "big kid" in my class (the one with the smelly gas) said to me, "I ate so much for lunch, my neck is getting so big!"  I said, "You mean your tummy?" and he said, "Yes!"  English as a second language can be pretty comical sometimes.

As you all know, Thursday was Thanksgiving at home!  Of course, that's not celebrated here, and I kept forgetting all week that it was coming up and then forgetting on Thursday that it was even Thanksgiving.  Maybe part of the reason I would forget was because I didn't REALLY think of it as Thanksgiving until later that night when it was Thursday morning at home and I could text my family a happy Thanksgiving.  Anyway, it was pretty cool to be able to look at my Thursday and see how blessed I am even with my every day experiences.  How many Americans get to say they teach at a Christian elementary school in the Philippines?  How many people got to sing worship songs, share a Bible story, and help feed a meal to a group of under-privileged children?  And then, the day ended with a terrific Bible study, and it was also great to be able to look around and appreciate the many, many new friends I have made.  Oh, and after Bible study Lauren, Anderson and I still hadn't eaten, so the choice was obvious.  The closest thing to home here: McDonald's!

Saturday was great as well.  All of the Agape staff was invited to the Carla Village to watch the Ati school's first ever program.  They are a sister school to Agape and will be trying to provide the same opportunities as Agape even though there is maybe a total of 20 kids in the school at this point.  The kids gave a fun, cute U.N. Day celebration program and it was great how the kids were able to feel so special and important and didn't have to worry about criticism (which the Ati people receive plenty of).

 

After the program, the Russells had us all over for a Thanksgiving feast!  All of us "foreigners" went, as well as Praise, Randy, and Lilia (Filipino Agape staff) who had also gone to the performance.  We had turkey, which they had put on a stick and prepared over a fire, mashed potatoes with gravy, stuffing, sweet potatoes (which is more like normal potato with a really sweet sauce on it), and PIE.  We didn't know how they would find turkey here but apparently they know someone who keeps turkeys that they were just able to buy from.  They brought the live turkey home and did the whole, well, preparation themselves.  We also didn't know how they would bake pie without an oven, but there is another American missionary family that lives near the Russells and I think they actually have an oven they used.  That's the first oven I've heard of here!  Also, we were promised pumpkin pie, and it was a mystery to us as to where they would find pumpkin.  Turns out it was actually kalabasa pie which tastes the exact same as pumpkin!  There was also apple pie and a custard pie.

Lilia's five year old daughter was there with her and said, "What's a turkey?"

Lilia watched as we put gravy on our mashed potatoes and thought that it was such an interesting concept.  She tried it and liked it!

We also had cool whip for the pies, which she'd never had.

It's so easy to go to a different culture and think of some of their customs as strange, but others think the same thing about us!

Pre-dinner prayer

I loved the food, fun, and fellowship.  God is good!

Volleyball tournament

Over the weekend, I played in a four-on-four volleyball tournament with three of my Filipino friends I've been playing with for a while.  We got third out of six, so we didn't do great but we didn't do bad.

Friday night was a free dinner buffet for all the players!  The four-on-four didn't start until Saturday, but I was still able to eat at the buffet.  I was afraid it would be awkward not being able to communicate very easily with the Filipino guys, but it was fine.  The buffet was just for the players so they had some games planned with give-aways and it ended up being pretty funny :)  The only bummer about the buffet was that I really wanted seconds (and thirds), but none of the Filipinos went for seconds so I didn't either.  I didn't want to look like the "typical American."  Guess I could have swallowed my pride...  I guess I picked the healthier option, but I mostly just didn't want to embarrass myself.

Anyway, another "perk" of being in the tournament was a players' party every night with free drinks.  I knew going in that this would also probably be awkward for me.  Friday night, the party was right next door to where we ate, so I went and it wasn't bad.  My Filipino friends gave me a hard time (in a funny way, not a rude way) about not drinking, but the last thing I would want is to risk one of my students walking by and seeing me drink, or just risking the reputation of the ministry.  I stayed for just a little while and left.

Friday night, there was no buffet but there was a party at 9:00.  I really didn't care to go, but part of me thought it would look unappreciative in this culture for me not to.  When I got there, I wasn't really seeing any of the players around right away so I decided to sit by the beach (my preference).  There were some kids playing and they kept looking at me and smiling while they were playing.  I finally asked them their names, and then we started playing in the sand.  That was my favorite part of the night, as more kids started appearing and playing.  One girl asked me if I was a teacher at Agape and told me she has a friend that goes there.  She said, "The Agape teachers are so nice."  Another little toddler came barreling through our tunnels and roads we had built in the sand and while one of the kids was yelling at her to stop, it was just so funny to me.  It was fun, and definitely worth getting sandy even after I had already showered.

After a while, I did leave and go into the party.  I went for about 30 minutes, and there was loud music and it was just a bit difficult because I don't really have smooth conversation with the Filipinos as it is, much less with music blaring.  There were a couple of people dancing, and I actually have fun dancing sometimes when I'm just goofing off which is what they were doing (they may have been drunk already), but I was way too shy to dance without having a good friend with me!  I did have an excuse to leave because the Johnstons were having us all over for games, so even though I could have gone to bed right then after being tired from playing that day, I went on my way to the Johnstons (I can't pass up games with friends!).  My teammates probably had more fun after I left anyway because they could speak in Tagalog with each other and not feel like they had to have conversation with me.  In their minds, they were probably wondering why I even went if I wasn't going to drink, which is pretty logical in hindsight.

Sunday night was the big party.  Games were over, so everyone was excited to be able to drink as much as they wanted.  I knew it would be crazy and I went back and forth in my mind as to whether or not I should make an appearance.  Again, I definitely don't want to put the ministry's reputation on the line.  I was exhausted, the party didn't start until 10:00pm, and I was going to have to wake up at 6:00am the next morning.  Finally, I decided to take a nap from 8:00-9:00pm and then decide how I felt after the nap.  Well, I honestly don't even remember if my alarm went off.  Maybe it didn't go off.  I may have slept through it.  I may have turned it off and accidentally fallen back asleep.  I may have even intentionally decided to fall back asleep.  I was so out of it I don't remember!  I woke up at 11:00pm, and by then there was no way I was going to the party, so I put on my pajamas, brushed my teeth and crawled back into bed.  Ten hours of sleep with some crammed lesson planning Monday morning was great.  Maybe it was God's way of telling me I shouldn't go.

The tournament itself was fun!  All games were just one game to 21 unless you made it to the final, which kind of stinks because one game to 21 flies by.  Still, any time I get to play volleyball is a good time!  We lost in the semi-finals to a team we had beaten the day before.  They were killing us and we were playing horrible, but we finally got our groove and had about a 5-point run but by then it was too late.  Maybe we could have beaten them if it was best 2 out of 3, but oh well.  They're actually our friends and ended up winning the championship, so I'm happy for them!

Side note: Before one of our games one of my teammates was smoothing out the sand in front of him.  Then he looked at me and said, "You have to clear your runway!"  SO hilarious!  I have no idea how he came up with that.

Here are a couple pictures from the tournament.

My missionary friends were so supportive throughout the weekend!  True to the Filipino way, I never ever knew when we would be playing.  It would get pretty frustrating and I had to keep asking for the sake of my friends who were wanting to watch.  Even when I was told when we'd play, it would get changed and/or they would tell me wrong and/or I would misunderstand.  Sunday morning, I got there at 8:30 and the tournament was supposed to start at 9:00am (of course, they ended up starting games at 10:00).  First thing I asked was when my team would be playing because I was hoping I could go to church and come back if there was time.  I understood that we would be the second game, but, alas, we ended up not playing until noon after several games had been played.  Oh well.

I felt so loved that I had people there to watch every game except my morning Saturday game and my noon-time Sunday game!  I had people at 4 out of 6 games!  My missionary friends weren't my only fans.  My favorite voices to hear cheering me on were the kids that Carla brought!

AJ, Kathleen, Angel, and Shane.  It was sunny!

Sunday afternoon my team received our consolation prizes from a couple of the sponsors: a Rubbermaid cleaning caddy and some snacks.

Here are some of my other Filipino friends (except the guy crouching next to me or the girl.  I don't know them.), some of whom beat us in the semi-finals...

Top: Alex, Hans, Gerald, Raf, the girl I don't know, and a friend whose name I've never learned (oops).

All in all a fun weekend!  And a great lesson in being flexible and dealing with language barriers!

From high to low to the Most High

Last week was our first week back to school after our break.  First day back, I was working one-on-one with a student in the "library" (a small room where we have a table and a couple of bookshelves with books).

BJ is staring straight forward and not moving.  It starts smelling really, really, REALLY bad.
Me: BJ, do you need to go to the bathroom?
BJ: No.
We continue working while I also attempt to hold my breath.  A minute later, he's holding his stomach.
BJ: May I go out? (the way the kids here ask to go to the bathroom)
Me: Yes (PLEASE).
BJ holds up five fingers and says, "five minutes."

A few minutes really do pass by, so I walk by the bathroom to make sure he's not goofing off because he's someone who would.  A first grader from another class is in there commenting on how bad it smells.  This is my welcome back to school :)

This week, Lance tells me, "I want to ride a cow!"

Also this week, Anderson had my class one day for our "station rotation" and told me he was showing them how to draw a tree for art.  He said one little boy (I'm guessing Lance) walked up to the front of the class and was staring at the board with a puzzled look on his face.  Anderson was expecting a question, but instead hears, "It looks so REAL!"

I love my kids.  I didn't think I was ready for break was to be over, but when school started back up I realized how happy I was to see all of them!

Now onto today...

Today was a mostly great day.  I left school feeling very happy about how smoothly things had gone.  My kids had behaved pretty well.  PE was easy, which rarely happens.  I left school with a smile on my face!

I went back to the Barn, got my laundry to drop off, and as I was walking past the school to take my clothes to the laundry place I saw Shannon and she said my box had arrived that I've been waiting for from my mom and friends!  I was SO SO SO happy to find a box full of yummy snacks, a few Thanksgiving decorations, some school supplies, and a few things I had requested from home.  I still can't stop looking at it!

A while later, Anderson and I headed to Kagban where we go every Thursday for a feeding site.  Jerry, a worker at the Jungle Barn, had told me he didn't think there would be a feeding because he's usually the one that goes and gets the food ahead of time, but Teresa hadn't told him to this week.  We decided to go anyway and thought we'd just play with the kids if there wasn't a feeding.  Sure enough, there wasn't, so Anderson pulled out a Frisbee and we started playing!  Eventually, I became a human toy for about four kids as they ran around me in circles, pulling my arms along with them.  It was fun!  It was a blessing to be able to just spend time with the kids and love them.  Parents were standing around watching us play, and I hope that we were displaying Christ's love to them that we came to have fun even when there wasn't a feeding.

We were having so much fun, I had to get some pictures.

At one point some of the kids saw the coloring sheets in my backpack.  I had assumed I'd save them for next week, but they all wanted to color!  I told them they could color if they wanted to hear the Bible story first, and it made me so happy that they seemed excited for the story (I'll hope that they weren't just wanting to color).  Sometimes I wonder if they understand a word I say, but the best I can do is to do the best I can do! :)

As I pulled out the book and was using the pictures to paraphrase the story of 12 year old Jesus teaching/learning in the temple, a little kid brought me a stool to sit on.  I thought that was so cute!  He stuck it right behind me, so I sat down and the kids gathered closer to look at the pictures.

I had literally just gotten the last word out of my mouth when all the kids ran off for a reason I didn't understand.  Ramelyn, a friend and the on-site helper at the feedings, told me there was a fight between two women.  I went off to a corner with Ramelyn and a few kids and then Ramelyn informed me the ladies were going to get knives.  It got scary then, as I saw a lady storming off to her home (it's the one with the green in the back center of the above picture) and then come out later with a knife.  I wasn't able to see what was happening very well because the skirmish was around the side of a house, but at that point I was holding back tears and had already been praying to God.  There was a circle of adults that seemed to just be watching, and the kids were all running back and forth not knowing what to think.  I thought SURELY people would hold the women back, but for a moment I wasn't sure.  I could just hear them screaming at each other and was finally able to see some adults holding back the ladies.

I guess the lady I had seen go get the knife had gotten it taken away from her, because next thing I knew she was off to her house again and came out with a long, pointy thing that could have definitely caused some damage.  The one man that was near-by when she came out managed to get it away from her and somehow broke it.  She tried to straighten it back up and fix it on the ground, but eventually gave up on that.  Her next weapon was a really long bamboo stick.  Lastly, she got a big, thick piece of wood.  Everything got taken away from her as she brought it out.

At one point during a lull while she was looking for her next weapon, I texted some other missionaries here and asked for them to pray.  I believe in the power of prayer, and while part of me thought it may seem odd that I would text during this ordeal, a larger part of me decided that powerful prayer was in order.

Also during all of this, I found out from Ramelyn that two of the kids who had been hanging all over me playing earlier were the children of this lady we kept seeing go back and forth finding new weapons.

Kagban is the same site I have posted about previously where there is a diabetic boy whose family can't afford medicine, so he takes spoonfuls of sugar and has diabetic ulcers on his legs.

Also at this site, the pastor for the community recently passed away unexpectedly.

Even living here, I still get stuck in my own little bubble and sometimes forget what's happening just up the road.

While my great day had turned into a scary one, I thank God that He kept us all safe.  Jesus Christ is still Provider, Comforter, Prince of Peace, Almighty One.

I'm thankful that Ramelyn was there to help me understand what was happening.  I'm thankful Anderson was there because it somehow just helps to know that I'm not the only one that experienced it.

I'm thankful that I went today.  After things died down, the kids still got their coloring sheets.  I may have handed them out with shaky hands, but maybe it was God's way of getting their mind off of what they saw.  The two children, a toddler and maybe a four year old that belongs to the crazy mother, were kept away from the scene the entire time and seemed unaware of what was going on.  I'm also thankful I managed to get the whole Bible story out just in time!

There were several kids who did see the whole ordeal, and I'm praying for them.  I pray that they will completely forget about it, and I pray that they don't follow in these footsteps.  I pray for the children of these two mothers.  I pray that God teaches them, and all of the kids, what love looks like...HIS love.  A perfect love!

Ariel's Point and weird conversations

Last Wednesday the Johnston family, their friends that are visiting, the Kropps, and Russ, Anderson, and I went to Ariel's point for cliff diving.  I knew going in that I'm not too keen on cliff jumping, but I've heard about this particular place quite a bit and felt like I needed to go before I leave here.  The first time I ever jumped off a cliff at a place near Austin, I didn't know you had to jump in a certain way.  My legs were kind of just out in front of me when I entered the water and I got some pretty nasty bruises on the back of them.  It's given me a fear of cliffs!

The first leg of the trip was taking a 30 minute boat ride over.  A buffet lunch and drinks were included in the trip fee, and the drinks started on the way over.  I went crazy and got a Sprite!  When we got there, we saw the boards extending off the cliffs...a 5 meter board, 6 meter, 8 meter, and 15 meter.  There were also a couple of shorter platforms to jump off of.  The Kropp boys and Johnston kids, as well as the dads, Anderson, and Russ started jumping right away.  I watched for a while trying to get up the nerve.  After a little while, I finally jumped off the 5 meter board and thankfully made a clean landing.  Shortly after that, I went for the 6 meter board, and that went smoothly as well.  Woohoo!  Of course, by now I didn't even feel very proud of myself because the dads, Russ, Anderson, and Kiara (Johnston) had all done the 15 meter board.  Oh, well.

For lunch, the buffet included rice, some sort of Filipino noodles that I can never remember the name of, chicken curry, a type of sausage, fruit (including a yellow watermelon), and I can't remember what else.  Yummy!  Soon after eating, everyone was jumping again.  I decided to be photographer and take pictures, but then decided that I needed a picture of myself!  That meant jumping again.  I briefly thought about trying the 8 meter board, but ended up all the way back down on the 5 meter one.
 

Inclusive in the price of the trip is the chance to snorkel and kayak.  Since I got about as much jumping in as I could stand (three jumps), I decided to take the snorkels for my first ever snorkeling experience.  It was pretty cool seeing different fish and starfish as well as some cliff drop offs in the water, but I ended up getting some sort of little stings all over me at one point and headed back.  It was really cool but short-lived.  I hope I get to go snorkeling for a longer period of time before I leave!

A little later I went kayaking.  That was also fun, but nothing spectacular because there wasn't really any special place to go explore.  I paddled around for a while and when I was done, went back up and thought I'd explore a little bit while everyone else was still jumping (the qualms of being the only one that was not a part of a family and not a big jumper was that I kind of was on my own...the worried moms wanted to watch their kids, of course!  Thankfully, I don't mind doing things alone).  The area where we were wasn't particularly large, but had lots of paths going different directions.  I found some places with hammocks and different viewpoints.  I sat in a hammock for a couple of minutes just because I felt like it couldn't be passed up.  When I headed back, I continued to watch the others jump and just hung out.  For me, it probably would have been a more fun trip if Carla, Olivia, or Lauren had went, but I still had a lot of fun anyway.  I was even exhausted enough that I took a short nap sitting up on the boat ride back.  Apparently Anderson did too, and the parents were all joking about how strange it was that us young ones were so tired.

Thursday, I went down the beach to play volleyball.  I found a spot to sit in some shade while I was waiting for a game to finish, and a Korean guy I was sitting near started a conversation with me.  I don't remember everything, but it was one of the weirdest conversations I've ever had!  He asked me how many husbands I have.  I told him none and he seemed so shocked.  I think what he meant was how many husbands have I had, as in the number of divorces or something.  He was kind of odd to be honest.  A part of me wanted to leave but I also wanted to stay in shade.  Plus, I really had nothing to lose by talking to him.  I figured it would at least be an interesting experience.

I told him why I'm here, what I studied in college, and I don't remember what else.  He told me I'm very good at English (thanks...) and that I should write a book.  Most interesting part of the conversation: he said he's been to rehab four times for some sort of drug that's like cocaine.  I don't remember what he called it, but he told me how to make it and everything.  So, that explains his strange personality!  Ha.  He said that he doesn't do it now, though, and that he bikes every day.  He told me he's thankful for his wife because she's stayed with him this whole time.  He also said he's very lucky because he doesn't work and he made it sound like his wife has some great job and makes lots of money.  His kids are all very smart, too, and went to or are at great universities.  Throughout this conversation, his family was coming and going back and forth to the beach and lawn chairs.

At one point when I told him I teach English and Bible at a school, he asked how much I get paid.  I told him I do it voluntarily and that I got donations at home to come.  He asked me if I was a missionary like the Burnhams who were taken captive here by the Abu Sayyaf a few years ago (he didn't really use that terminology in his broken English, but I understood "missionary" and "Abu Sayyaf").  I actually just recently read Gracia Burnham's book and knew what he was talking about, and said that yes, they were missionaries and I am a missionary.  He asked what religion I am and I told him I'm a Christian.  "So you're Catholic?"  "No, I'm a Christian but I'm not Catholic."  "But you're a Catholic Christian?"  "No, I'm a Christian but I'm not Catholic or Baptist or anything."  I don't really remember what I said but I think I tried to explain what non-denominational means.  He said, "Oh, me too.  I pray every night."  To that I think I said something like, "Good!  I pray too, in the day or night, anytime I want!"  Eventually, we somehow got back on the topic of me not having any husbands.  "Not even a suitor?  But you're very, what do you call it...friendly!"  I was laughing on the inside.  Maybe I don't have a "suitor" because I have conversations with four-time drug rehab patients.  But, I did get my interesting experience out of the deal!

My fall break is over now.  Iloilo, Ariel's point, games, volleyball, and this conversation made for a break to remember!

Iloilo

Last week was exam week for the kids.  I gave my exams on Wednesday, and I was so happy to see that the kids overall did pretty well.  We had our staff meeting after school that day and had a guest come do team-building exercises with us.  It was fun!

Activity one: we formed ourselves into a human knot, holding hands all twisted up, and we had to untangle ourselves to form ourselves into a circle.  I'm in the back of the picture and was unaware that the picture was taking place :)

I don't have a picture of our second activity.  In the third activity, we had a row of boxes drawn on the ground and half of us each stood in a box facing in, and the other half stood in their boxes facing us (also inward).  There was one empty square in the middle.  The objective was to get everyone moved across to the other side.  You were only allowed to move forward, and could only step forward one box or pass around one person at a time who had started on the other side.  We were happy when we finally figured it out!

Dan and Tori were here last week and Dan told us Wednesday that there was supposed to be a fairly strong typhoon passing right over Boracay at noon on Thursday.  Shannon decided to cancel school Thursday, which I'm sure was the right choice but inconvenient timing since the kids were supposed to have exams Thursday as well.  Friday and all of this week is fall break, so the kids will have to go a week and a half before taking their exam.  And guess what, the weather ended up being clear.  That's the Philippines for you!

Friday, Carla, Lauren, Russ, Anderson, two of the Russell boys, and another MK that lives near the Russells, and I headed to Iloilo, which is a city on Panay Island.  After taking the ferry to Panay, we had a van driver take us to Iloilo.  It was such a weird sensation to ride in a vehicle for four hours when I've only been in a van maybe five times for no more than ten minutes since I've been here.  Other than having the AC blasting right in front of me (but I had to keep it turned up for the sake of everyone behind me) and my nose freezing off and running, it was a smooth ride.

First thing we did after we got there and got checked into our hotel was head to the mall and eat McDonald's.  So funny that McDonald's probably isn't my favorite choice of fast food at home, but it was EXCITING to get to go here!  And the mall was nice too!  I couldn't stop smiling while I indulged myself in possibly the most unhealthy fast food chain in the world :)

The Russell boys and Gaant (MK's)

We then headed upstairs to the movie theater and saw Taken 2.  It was a short movie but pretty good.  We don't have a theater on Boracay, so that was fun.

Lauren, Josh, Carla, and Adam holding up their tickets into the movie.

After the movie, we headed to a coffee shop run by some young Americans about my age and got there at about 9:00pm.  Russ and Carla had met them on a visit last year, and the coffee shop is geared towards high schoolers and is a great witnessing tool.  It is Christian based and this week was social justice week.  They had an art exhibit night, music night, dance night, and I think another night of some sort to bring awareness to the large amount of slavery and sex trafficking that exists today.  A couple of years ago I went to a Passion conference and learned that slavery is more prominent today than it has been at any time in history.  Friday was dance night, and there were some really cool dances performed by amazing dancers that told stories of abuse.  There were also a couple of songs where a couple of high schoolers read what they had written to go with some background music.  It was deep, Christian-based, and very inspiring!  After all of the choreographed performances were done, the floor was open for break-dancing and we got to see some Filipino kids do some amazing tricks!

Sorry it's dark, but I didn't want the flash going off!  Wish I'd caught them spinning around on the ground :)

At the very end, they had everyone in the shop stand up and learn some dance moves.  We practiced them a few times and then they said there would be a dance competition!  They asked for three volunteers, and Anderson and Lauren both volunteered.  Pretty funny considering we were surrounded by people who knew what they were doing a lot better than any of us did, but no one else was stepping up, so they did!  The other "volunteer" was one of the coffee shop workers that they dragged out to the floor.  I loved seeing Lauren getting out there because she's really shy, but apparently she loves dancing!  Technically, the coffee shop worker probably should have won but that wouldn't have really been fair, so that left Anderson and Lauren.  They were all supposed to do the dance that we learned, first together, then individually, and then freestyle by themselves for 16 seconds.  The worker did all of that.  Anderson did the choreographed part with the group but didn't do it by himself and just freestyled.  Lauren did the choreographed part with the others and then by herself but basically skipped the freestyling part.  In the end, it was pretty much a tie based on everyone's cheering but they gave the award (a free snowcone) to Anderson.

For the first part, doing the choreography together, the leader helped them out.  Pretty funny they're going the opposite direction from her :)

Saturday morning, Carla, Lauren, and I ordered breakfast in bed!  I got a combo meal including French Toast, sausage, scrambled eggs, papaya, and juice brought to my room for 160 pesos...$4!  We headed to the mall for lunch, and of course ate McDonald's before going to see another movie.  By the way, the medium meal deal for a quarter pounder with cheese here is $4.  Movies are $3.25.  We saw Argo which was really good.

After the movie, we walked around the mall for a while and I bought the book The Hobbit.  We headed back to the hotel then, played games for about an hour, and then headed out to eat at a Greek restaurant.  My meal was $4.50.

Sorry, the waiter covered up the flash!

Then we went duck pin bowling.  It like bowling, but the pins are smaller, the bowling ball is also much smaller, and you get three turns to roll the ball each turn instead of two.  There's a worker that waits by the pins to reset them after every third roll and he also rolls the balls back.  It's pretty funny because the gutters were shallow enough that sometimes the ball would hop around enough to still knock down a pin.  Also, if the balls aren't rolled back just right by the worker, they lose momentum and won't make it all the way.

 

That was fun, and then we went back to the hotel.  I was so tired and my nose was still running and my throat hurting just a little bit from drainage...but we brought high schoolers with us, so bed was not an option.  Especially when Carla, Lauren, and my room seemed to be the hang out place.  I was half asleep, but still had fun playing charades for about four hours, and then sardines (backwards hide-and-seek where one person hides and you look for them and join them once you find them) for about an hour.  I finally got to bed at around 4:00am.  I'll admit us 20+ year olds have stayed up almost that late playing games a couple of times, but that's when I wasn't already feeling tired beforehand!  It was fun, though.

Sunday we woke up and got ready to go.  Of course we stopped at McDonald's to grab lunch to-go as we headed out.  It was a great trip, but I'm happy to be back.  Especially when I received a greeting like this (and the picture doesn't do justice):

I also loved seeing all the kids around the Barn when I got back, and I was even happy to run my errands today, walking around the island in the heat dropping off laundry and grocery shopping.  I needed to work up that sweat after eating at McDonald's three times :)

New experiences for all

Friday I woke up with pink eye!  I'd woken up a couple times during the night because it was so miserable.  It felt like there was a huge clump of something under my eyelid that I just wanted to pull out and my eye was so watery!  I finally woke up once and for all at about 6:00am when I thought I needed to get ready for school anyway, but when I saw my eye I texted Shannon and told her I was heading to the clinic.  I missed two school days in one week!

I got to the clinic and thankfully I was the only one there!  The doctor was a little Filipina lady wearing denim shorts, flip flops, and a tshirt.  She gave me my prescription and I was able to get it filled right there.

Two firsts for me: pink eye, and a doctor dressed so casually!  My eye is great now.

Saturday morning I was out on the beach with a volleyball and noticed a little Ati girl hanging around some of the little boats that were pulled to shore.  I first asked her if she wanted to play with the volleyball, showing her with motions because I doubt she speaks much English.  She was super shy and hid behind the little boat.  I sat on one side of the boat and started playing with the sand and singing "This is the Day that the Lord has Made" in a tone kind of like I was singing to myself (I felt pretty silly), and she started playing peek-a-boo around the boat.  That's as far as I got with her!  After a while, I finally went back to my bag for something.

Some of the other neighborhood kids were playing with the volleyball now, and at one point it bounced off and rolled to her.  She gave a good kick at it and it came soaring back!  Then, she went into hiding again, staying behind the boat.

Isidro, the fix-it man at the Jungle Barn, had also tried to get her to play a couple times.  I don't know if it was on purpose for the girl or coincidental, but he eventually went and got a dog he's been dog-sitting to take it on a walk and the little girl suddenly came out and wanted to play with the dog!  She was having a blast, and wasn't even shy towards the other Filipino kids when it became more of a small group gathering.  I bet that was one of very few times that she's ever played with the local Filipinos, and who knows, maybe her first time.  I LOVED to see that.

Eventually the dog got taken somewhere, and I decided to see if she'd kick the volleyball around with me for a while since she'd kicked it so well earlier.  She did!  That was fun for a few minutes, and then the dog reappeared and off she went again.  I think she eventually just ran off and left, but it was pretty cool to see her playing while she was around.  It's also rare for an Ati child to see a white person and not put on their "sad face" and stick out their hand for money.  It breaks my heart that that's so ingrained in them.  They may be running and playing with siblings and friends, but as soon as they see a tourist looking at them their whole demeanor changes.  They learn at such a young age, too.  I'm so happy this little girl got to simply enjoy some play time!

U.N. Day and feeding site

Yesterday was the United Nations celebration.  I haven't seen any parades here, but apparently they're popular, and that's exactly how we started off the morning!  The kids met at the school at 7:30am and we left at 8:00am to walk down the streets of Boracay.  This kids were so cute!  I was thankful that most of the parents walked in the parade with their kids.

An interesting fact about the Philippine culture: no matter how poor you are, you get decked out for school programs.  It's really kind of ridiculous.  Every kid comes wear fancy costumes and the girls will often have on a ton of makeup.  It kind of makes me embarrassed to post photos on facebook because people probably wonder what kind of mission trip I'm on because my kids look rich, but that's really not the case (although some are more well-off than others).  It really is just a big thing in the Philippines to get all fancied up on special occasions.  It’s kind of the same concept with the birthdays I posted about a while back.  There are certain ages here that traditionally call for big celebrations, and you can bet the parents will give a big party.

The kids did a great job!  I have to give Jhing the credit.  I would have loved to help out but she pretty much always worked on song/choreography with the kids in the afternoon after I was gone.  I wonder if she may have done that because I “kindly disagree” with her on several things that she does in the class, so she was probably worried that I would do the same for the dance.  Oh well!

Another interesting thing: Filipinos get so caught up in the production, the learning aspect gets pushed to the side.  I’m not sure if any of the kids learned a single thing about the United Nations.  They just know that it’s an annual school program.  Some classes did get costumes that went along well with their assigned country.  Some classes also did really neat dances that tied in with their country.  And some classes, like mine, just wore fancy clothes and danced to a song that does talk in some way about unity in the world, but didn’t have much to do with New Zealand (our country).  I guess I could have tried to give more of an opinion for my class, but I just let them do their thing.  They were cute, after all!

Lance.  He can be pretty rambunctious, but just look at that face!!!!

Aina Rose, Mark John, and BJ

Aivic

Lynnie

Von Sandrix, Jamal, and Justine

Eden and Teressa

Kianne and Mathew.  I love all my kids.  I don't have favorites.  Really!  But Mathew sure can be extra cute sometimes!!!

Blurry picture of Chloe and Eden

Eden

Von

Justine and Kianne

Aivic

Teressa

Today was feeding site day.  After I helped lead the songs, story, and provided coloring sheets, I offered to serve the food which I’ve done a couple of times before.  These kids were hungry today!  There’s usually at least a little bit of a lull after we give the first serving.  The kids will come back for more just here and there, and the food dwindles down until it’s gone.  Today, though, the line never ended because kids were coming back for seconds before I ever finished serving firsts.  My back was aching so much by the time I was done!  The food was gone in a flash.

Anderson has been coming to this site as well and doing the first aid.  There’s been one boy, probably a preteen, who Anderson has been doing his best treating what we thought were bad burns on his legs.  They were looking better each week but today they looked worse again.  According to Ramelyn, a Filipina who helps at the site, they’re not burns but are diabetic ulcers.  That’s so sad, and it really stinks to know that no matter how much they’re treated, they’re likely to just come back.  It makes it even worse when they live in filthy conditions and therefore the sores stay uncleaned.  I learned that the boy’s mother is the cook for the feeding site (Teresa takes to food to her every week), which is a connection I hadn’t made.  Ramelyn also said that he’s the oldest of seven and is “special,” which I assume means he’s mentally handicapped.  They can’t afford diabetes medicine/insulin for him.

Even though I live here, I hate to admit that I sometimes forget about the conditions that the majority of the island lives in.  Every time I get out of my own little bubble on the island, I’m reminded of how blessed I am.