Baby Home

As some of you know, I don't only teach fourth grade all week, but I also help out a local baby home. It is so amazing to see how fast these little ones grow.
It is against good teaching practice to "play favorites", in this case it is easier said than done! Yes, I have a favorite little one, her name is Shiela Mae, she is so cute! All of the babies are up for adoption....so of course I wanted to take her home!

Korean Exprience

Since I have moved to the Philippines I have enjoyed trying all kinds of new things. I have rode on different forms of transportation, I have eaten all kinds of different foods and have shopped at very unique stores. Tonight a Korean friend from Bible Study (Ryan) took my friend MaryBeth and I out for Korean food. This was not "Filipino style" Korean food but real authetic food. He showed us how to use chop sticks, which I really couldn't get! He than proceeded to tell me there was something wrong with my brain becacause using chop sticks makes your smarter!
MaryBeth and I agreed our favorite Korean food was a wrap using lettus. It included putting one piece of meat dipped in some sweet sause into lettus and adding some cabbage, using your hands you make the whole thing small and shove it in your mouth all at once! Not very lady like if you ask me!
The best part of the night was when Ryan realized he had ordered way too much food and was left with three bowls of cold noddles. What an exprience!

Singing

Palm Sunday was an exciting day for me, not only was it the week before Easter, but it became a stretching day. Myself and three other friends from Faith sang at church. We had spent over a week practicing and the day finally came. We were the first special music of the day. We were relieved to be first since the it is very common to be about 10-15 minutes late for church, this meant the church would not be as full.

A lot of friends from Faith came to support us. I wish I had a picture to show the row of teachers from Faith who came to hear us, we really stood out in an all Filipino church! My special Filipia Friend Rita came to hear us sing. Her husband is a pastor and singer and I have heard him many times!

beaches

One of the best things about the Philippines, besides working at Faith,are the islands. I spent a few days away from Manila on a beautiful Island called Palawan. My friends and I stayed at a New Tribes Mission Guest house. We spent the days traveling and reladxing by the sea. Riding on bumpy roads and getting wet on long boat rides were the highlight of our trip. Here are a few pictures demonstrating the beauty of God's creation!

life

I am not doing a good job at updating this blog on regular basis! Here are some pictures I thought you may find funny!
My apartment that they call a condo...but really is far from one and some typical store items, rainbow bread and whole frozen fish. My friends and I have good laughs every time we go shopping!

Frustration

I am sure there are times in your life when you become frustrated at one thing or another. Today I had that exprience. I had ants all over my kitchen. Alhtough I know this is a normal part of living here, I became annoyed as I was trying to make muffins and dinner on a counter full of ants!
My annoyance lead to thinking...where are they going? and where did they come from? I sometimes find them crawling on my living room or bedroom floor...far from food!
I decided to do a Biblical search on these small but annoying creatures and found a verse in Proverbs 30;
"Four things on earth are small,
yet they are extremely wise:

25 Ants are creatures of little strength,
yet they store up their food in the summer;

I guess they are good for something!

Cup

How many of you carry a spiritual cup around with you, asking others to fill it up with complements, love, hope etc. I have been challenged this week to carry my cup to the Lord and get my security and love from him. He desires to give me an over flowing cup of goodness. He desires to meet me where I am and to fill me with his love. I too often look for my security and hope in others instead of in the one who will never fail me. This week I have decided to start carrying my empty cup daily to the Lord asking him to fill it with his love. No matter what the day or week holds, I can reat assured that I am loved and care for by an awesome God. I hope these words encourage your heart! Have a great night.

Dorm Sitting.

Dorm sitting is one of my favorite extra activities to do at Faith. I love hanging out with the girls and talking. If you notice this dorm is named after a Brethern Missionary who helped to establish Faith.

Celebrating the Philippines

Every year the elementary school students celebrate the Philippines. Everyday for a week the students do different activities related to the Philippines. Each class is responsible for teaching some aspect of the Philippine culture. The fourth grade class learned about Filipino celebrations and festivals. Throughout the week the students were reminded to be thankful for all the blessing they experience in this poor country.

Here are a few highlights of the week:

On Tuesday the whole elementary school went to the Zoo. I was impressed...I was expecting to see skinny animals, such as the wild goats and cows I see wondering the grassy fields near Faith. But, these were nicely maintained animals and looked really healthy. The excitement of the zoo was seen in their faces as they ran from cage to cage. I too was excited to see a little bit of Canada... in the Philippines when I spotted the Canadian Geese!



After the Zoo we traveled an hour to a shoe factory. The Philippines is known for their many shoes! There are stores throughout the Philippines called SM (shoe Mart) because they sell a lot of shoes. The children got to see all stages involved in making shoes! It was really fascinating!

Wednesday was an exciting day because the students participated in community service. The fourth grade class planted trees in a nearby park and then picked up trash. It is very common to see trash all over the road here. Garbage cans are expensive and often get stolen and never replaced. My fourth graders were so excited to pick up garbage. They had fun seeing all of the different pieces of garbage they could find. After returning to school we had a brief discussion about the joy of serving others. They commented on how good it was to serve the community. It shocked them how Filipino people did not care for their land and threw trash everywhere.



Thursday was a day to say thank you to the many Filipino workers who work at Faith. We made cards and put togther a gift basket for each of the workers. At 10:00 am 13 workers came into my classroom and my students thanked them for their hard work at Faith. It was turly a blessing to see how much the cards and baskets touched their hearts.

My Classroom

Some of you are wondering what my classroom looks like or even what Faith looks like. Here are a few pictures, my door, the "open" breezy hallway and a few of my kids. They are the reason I like teaching fourth grade.

Rest

Life can become so busy. I am not sure about you, but sometimes I feel like my life never stops. As I prepare lessons plans, drive people around, take care of babies, and do other ministries, I am struck by how much I hate being busy. I really crave for a times of quiet stillness.
A few years ago I read a book entitled, "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World" I reacently took that book off the self for some inspirition. I came across countless quotes I had underlined about being still and sitting at the feet of the Lord. I was once again challenged by how little I sit at the feet of the Lord and wait, asking God to speak to me. I know for me I am more like Martha who flutters around trying to get lots done instead of sitting in stillness before the Lord.
One of my favorite quotes thoughts from the book states, how easy it is to get caught up in our busy lives that we forget the reason Jesus came and the purpose for which we are called
Sometimes when I want answers to questions or I wonder what God is doing, I am reminded of Elizebeth Elliotts book, "Keep a Quite Heart", here she say that God asks us every day to wait, be still, trust and obey. More than once this past year I have found myself repeating that little phrase as I wait patiently for the Lord. My prayer is that in the months remaining I may have more of a Mary heart ready to listen to God! I hope this challeges you in your daily life as well.

Christmas in January

Yes, you read it right...I just attended a Christmas party last night. It was the CMML Christmas party. It was really weird to see christmas cups, table clothes, plates etc in January. Despite the month, the time together was fun. It was wonderful to talk to everyone and hear how God is using their ministries. I am sorry I have not pictures of the night. You will just have to imagine the group!