contrast

Today a storm has blown in.  It's like a monsoon.  High winds, rain, the surf is up.  We have literally battened down the hatches. 

Brian and Seth went out to negotiate a rental agreement on a house, and then they were going to get haircuts.  Can't wait to see what they get in the way of haircuts here. 

The damp is getting to me here at the Jungle Barn.  Our room is very dank, like a basement.  My pillow smells musty now and we all have sore throats.  The volunteer team from California is leaving this morning so we could move upstairs where it's nicer, has AC and is dry; but I hope to get us moved out this weekend so we won't bother with changing rooms. 

I can now see how important it is to rent a place with a sunny spot for drying our clothes and airing out our bedding.  The place we plan to rent has an open tiled 3rd story - perfect for getting everything good and dry.  We will likely hire a house helper to wash laundry (by hand), and to go the markets for us.  Filipino gals can get much better prices at the market than I can, and probably get the fresher stuff, too. 

Mussels washed up on the beach.

Just south of the Jungle Barn there are 3 resorts that were purchased by a Korean, then got tied up in a property dispute.  Foreigners are not supposed to own land here, so maybe that's the problem, or perhaps the person who sold the resorts was not in fact the owner.  Whatever the problem is, these resorts are falling down and being taken back by the jungle.  Such a shame in a place where so many people are homeless.  A homeless Ati family lives under the tree in front of this resort.   Of course the same can be said about the US, so many homes sit empty for most or all of a year, when there are homeless families.  Comes back to the sharing of resources.  God has not created too many people, we just won't share. 

Taking a bag of dirty laundry to be washed at our friends' home (they have a washing machine).  

View from the R family house.  I confess to having a bit of view envy.

The neighbors of the R family.  Not so much envy here.  The guy raises fighting roosters.

Many mangy dogs run on the beach, but most of them have collars, not sure what that means.  The dogs are not aggressive, but I've told my boys not to touch them anyway.

Can't quite come up with a caption for this one.

Our little corner of the world

The ministry here has many different pockets.  Each morning there is a sports ministry on the beach.  Our boys love taking part in the early morning activity.  The first sport 'camp' starts at about 6:30, another one follows at 9:30.

My men killing a monster spider in the bathroom.

Our temporary room at the Jungle Barn.  We have been looking for a home to rent for the next 10 months to a year.  I had hoped for something native but on this island you either get European or more native than we want.  The native huts have no toilet, folks just do it in the woods.  And the garbage is really nasty.  On the other island we'll be working on, Panay, the native housing is more what I had in mind.  Each hut has a fenced area around it so your livestock stay under and around your hut, there is some way of dealing with pooh and such, there is a well for drawing clean water. 

So it looks like we'll be renting a house on Boracay for now and possibly move to Panay next year. 

Yesterday we took a boat over to Panay, then a trike to the Ati village at the Carla site.  3 days a week the ministry feeds the kids there, loves on them, doctors them up best that we can, and tells them that God loves them - they matter.  We are building a school on this site that will eventually have k-6, and if that goes well, another one through highschool.  The Ati kids are allowed legally to attend the local Filipino school, but they are shunned, not given supplies, bullied...so most simply do not go to school.  The Ati are the lowest people on the pecking order here.  They are called negro. 

Can you imagine what impact, what an eye opening thing to have our family in their midst?  around the island?  in other communities? Filipinos assume that our three Ethiopian boys are Ati, they can't imagine why we would care for negro kids.  I think God has a great plan for using our family here. 

Poverty

Poverty here on Boracay is worse than I expected.  On other islands in RP I've seen poverty but it's more spread out - here it is compact, everywhere, inescapable.  Somehow it seems worse when the poor are crammed together.  More sewage, trash, dead cats, sick kids. 

It's hard to see that one family could possibly make any difference.  It would be easy to get discouraged, and we've only been here two days.  But God reminds me of what He told Mother Teresa about not trying to do big things, but do small things with great love.  Or how He told Katie in Uganda to help the one He puts in front of her today, and trust that He has other plans for the rest. 

Help the one that God puts in front of you today.  Seems like that is doable.  If more Christians would help the one in front of them, we could change the world in a Big God way. 

The ministry here gets service.  I can tell that First Love and On the Rock Ministries understand that you can't change everything, or help everyone.  Nor can you just give handouts, then walk away.  They understand that you have to change the opportunities available to a people so that the people can then help themselves.  So the school we are building will serve a small portion of kids in need, but we'll serve them well and they will have a chance to change the cycle. 

So this is a place to order pizza in Manilla - I have no idea where they cook the pizza...

From the prop job we flew to Caticlan.

Taking the boat from Caticlan on Panay to Boracay.

Leaving Caticlan.

The sun was setting.  By the time we made it to our temporary home it was dark.  The boys swam anyway!  Our new best pals, the Russel family, met us at Caticlan and escorted us to the Jungle Barn.  Then the boys all swam in the dark.  

At about 5am the next day the boys were back in the water.

Temporary quarters while we look for a house to rent.

Well I've got to go.  We are heading to the scuba shop to get masks and snorkels for everybody.  After lunch we head to Panay and the Ati site where the second school is being built.

off and running

We've arrived and I'm full of terribly wise things to say - ha, not really.  Later I'll share my smarts but right now I'm perched on the edge of a bed, been awake since about 2am here, and now it's 6:04am. 

Ever wonder what happens when you take an 11 year old boy, fill him with excitement, keep him up until 2am, feed him a big bag of goldfish crackers, a bottle of Dr. Pepper, then put him on a plane?  I just gotta say thanks to Eva airline for having more than enough vomit bags. 

Here are few pics that we've taken, more to come, and I'll try to get video of the insane comedy that they call driving.

The following are from our layover in Taiwan.

Seth, the vomit victim, feeling much better.  This is what we had for breakfast at the Taipei airport at about 7am.  Well, except for Man, he had a ham sandwich.  

At the Taipei airport there was an orchid show going on.  See the bird? the leopard?  the flower - well that's kinda easy.

Our wonderful, fully stocked, 747-400 plane.  I really liked flying EVA- highly recommend them.

Then we arrived in Manilla and boy what fun that was!  Yo had a heavy case of insta sweat, dripping, running sweat, cleaned those toxins right out.  It was a 'feels like' 107 degree day. 

Needing some food, and a way to spend the evening, we headed for Asia's biggest mall.  Named The Mall of Asia.  It is huge.  Covers acres, I had no desire to see it all.

Funny thing is you can get married in a group ceremony at the Mall of Asia.  How odd is that?

The Mall has a ferris wheel, and a zip line that shoots out of the white building.

What I wanted for dinner ( i love spam), we had pizza instead.  I was not happy.  

The Mall has an ice rink, with fake snow.  Of course the boys wanted to skate, and of course I said 'no, that looks dangerous!'  Kidding about the danger, but we did not skate.  

We fly from Manila to Caticlan, then take a boat to Boracay this afternoon.

Love to all.

share your stuff

I'm reading a really super fantastic book titled Right Here, Right Now: everyday mission for everyday people by Alan Hirsch and Lance Ford.  You are right in that I read lots of great books and I think everyone should then follow my lead and read them, too.  What's wrong with that?

Anyway, to simplify the book I'll just say share!  If you have a big house, or a little house, share it.  If you have more than one winter coat, share.  I love many of the stories in this book.  Like the single Mom with two kids who posted on craigslist "free Christmas dinner".  She had like 18 people respond to donate food, and a bunch of others respond and say "yes".  So for Christmas they had a house filled with people made in the King's image, how grand is that?  Or the family blessed with a 3800 sq foot home....in addition to the mom and dad and three kids they opened their home to homeless folks and have 5 other adults and 2 teens living with them. 

No way!  Those are crazy irresponsible people!  I would never risk my family's safety like that. freaks.  I know we tend to think that way, even us Christians.  But it's wrong.  Who loves your kids more than you?  God does.  Who ya gonna have faith in?  Are you going to be stopped by fear that is from the devil, or are you going to obey your Master and Commander? 

I just finished reading Katie Davis' book, Kisses from Katie (read her blog, link to right).  I love Katie's heart.  Oh my.  If this does not get you stirred up with love and passion for God's people, you do not have a pulse, or you are heading someplace super hot...just sayin'. 

Katie talks about the fear thing, too.  As she started adopting her girls, she wondered about the fact that her door was always open to anyone - HIV? come on in.  Scabies?  welcome!  TB? pull up a chair.  Katie asked God if she was being foolish exposing her kids to all that.  God told her that He loves her kids more than she does.  If it's His will they get sick, then they will.  Katie puts her trust in the Father.

As we leave for the Philippines next week I know there will be times when I'm tempted to fear for my kids' safety, but I will remind myself that God loves my kids even more than I do.

On that note of keeping kids safe - our went flying today!  Grandpa D treated Man and the boys to indoor skydiving today.  It was so fun!

So - share your stuff.  Even if for today you only have a smile to share, spread it around generously!

this is marriage...

Ann Voskamp sent a link to my inbox for a video that's stirred her heart.  I find that the things that stir Ann usually mess me up - and i need that!

The marriage in the video exemplifies our marriage with Christ better than any other I've seen.  It is selfless, giving, beauty in two becoming one.

Man and I knew a couple in our church in Tulsa, a few years back, that I am reminded of today.  The man was wheelchair bound, he had profound CP (if I remember correctly), the woman was (maybe still is) a professional model.  They were engaged to be married.  I admit it made me uncomfortable, how could they get married, how could she love him?  He could not speak, they had their own kind of sign language.  As I have come to greater relationship with and in Christ, I think I can grasp the corner of what their love must be like.  A true model of marriage, a thing to be envied. 

I'm blessed with a good marriage, a great one actually.  If yours needs help, then I recommend getting John Piper's book mentioned in the video, you can get it for free on desiringgod.org.  And read Debi Pearl's book Created to be His Helpmeet.  Good stuff!

sinking deep

As our time in Washington finally draws to a close, I think I've learned something - hope I've learned something. 

I can sink deep.  It is possible to settle into a moment, even a painful moment, and savor time.  That is what I've learned.  I pray it sticks.  Just tiny moments in time, no matter the place - in the kitchen, in bed, driving, sitting, each moment is worth value.  God saw fit to give me that moment.  There is no wasted time with God. 

My mom is dying.  These weeks here helping the helpless, hard drawing down weeks.  Sleepless nights.  How does God strengthen us for these times when we say Stop!  This is not what I want.  My branches will surely break and then I'll be a heap of sadness, no good to or for my family.  But there is no Stop.  Just another moment after the one we are in.  I'm getting comfortable in the moment, finding Him there, my Comforter.  Ah, there's the key.  Finding the Comforter, because He is there, always. 

If I can hold onto this truth and make it habit, I truly can do all things in Him.  Just one moment in a string, that doesn't seem too hard, does it?

Pacific Ocean water is really cold!  Unless your name is Bis.

Aunt T giving Tom a haircut.  How DO you cut these curls?

Uncle T and Aunt S had a pizza feed for us.  

 My Mom enjoying some sunshine.