My time in the communities has officially come to a close? I don't know how to process the idea that my time in the Philippines is officially coming to an end. The only way I know how to explain myself is with a "Things that I am looking forward to list" and a "Things that I will miss list"
Things I am looking forward to:
I get to see family and friends again.
I will eat American food again (my stomach is ready)
I will get to celebrate my belated birthday with friends etc.
My bed
My dogs
English being a fluent language with most of the people I interact with.
Not being in the rain EVERY DAY
Things I will MISS:
I will miss the people that I have met here.
The community/love that I have experienced unlike anything else.
Experiencing new foods with every meal.
The people
The people
and maybe.... the people?!?!? :)
My teammates
The coffee, ironically enough
The amount of time that I get to spend in the Word every day.
The passion that I get to share with EVERYONE that I meet
The people
The people
I will miss having EVERYTHING be a new experience
I will miss having at least 4 people around me at all times.
And I will miss having people notice ALL of my habits and quirks
I will miss people being OVER protective with everything you do
I will miss having children get SO excited every time I way to them
I will "miss" having people be sooo surprised every time they see an American.
I will "miss" having people listen with intention every time that I talk.
and THE PEOPLE :)
In summary, I will miss many things here in the philippines. Things that during my time here I couldn't wait to get away from, yet now I find myself aching to experience them again.
I think that it was a weird awakening to me when I left and my host mother cried. I didn't really feel like I got to know this women very well. She cooked three meals a day for me and my teammate, she cleaned my gross/dirty laundry, but never really have any full conversations with us/me. When I went to leave, I found myself wishing that I had interacted with her more. Yet she cried. I am out of time. talk to you later
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Bummer
ONLY ONE WEEK LEFT???? BUT I JUST GOT HERE!
It blows my mind that I am entering my final full week serving in the communities. Granted, I will have another few days here in the philippines after that for some R&R but my time in service is coming to close, and all that I keep thinking is "Where is the emergency break". I don't want this this trip to end. I want it to creep by with such slowness that I feel like I have lived here for years. I have learned SO much since I first got off the plane four weeks ago, and yet I feel like I am still only taking baby steps into the depth of intense knowledge that can be offered here.
My teammates and I had a great chance to celebrate my birthday on tuesday. We went to this RIDICULOUSLY nice (Even by american standards) restaurant and had a lookout view of metro manila at night. We all just had a beer and then talked for a while about old embarrassing stories, or for some of the older teammates from hysterical stories from their jobs. It was amazing, and it made me feel really loved by my team. The community members also made my a lot of cards, made some of my favorite foods (Lumpia Shanghia, and Mangos), and everyone wished me a happy birthday. I couldn't have imagined a better way to celebrate my 21st birthday.
The rest of the week was really great also, we are finally starting to "fit in" a little better in the community which is awesome because instead of having 30 kids around us as once we only have like 5 to 7 which is way more enjoyable because then we are able to spend more time one on one with them. We are still having a lot of bible studies everyday for the kids which is exhausting, but so much fun. The kids are always eager to see what game we have come up with for that day, or what hysterical story Daniel will think to tell them. They are always so much fun, (exhausting) but fun. I was also able to get to know my host family a little bit better this week which was bitter sweet knowing that I only have a week left to enjoy their company.
I was going to write out this whole lesson that I learned but I don't really have time, and I think that it is better explained in person (I hope you feel intrigued :) )
Otherwise that is about it. I only have one week left to serve, Saturday is our last day and then that is it.
It blows my mind that I am entering my final full week serving in the communities. Granted, I will have another few days here in the philippines after that for some R&R but my time in service is coming to close, and all that I keep thinking is "Where is the emergency break". I don't want this this trip to end. I want it to creep by with such slowness that I feel like I have lived here for years. I have learned SO much since I first got off the plane four weeks ago, and yet I feel like I am still only taking baby steps into the depth of intense knowledge that can be offered here.
My teammates and I had a great chance to celebrate my birthday on tuesday. We went to this RIDICULOUSLY nice (Even by american standards) restaurant and had a lookout view of metro manila at night. We all just had a beer and then talked for a while about old embarrassing stories, or for some of the older teammates from hysterical stories from their jobs. It was amazing, and it made me feel really loved by my team. The community members also made my a lot of cards, made some of my favorite foods (Lumpia Shanghia, and Mangos), and everyone wished me a happy birthday. I couldn't have imagined a better way to celebrate my 21st birthday.
The rest of the week was really great also, we are finally starting to "fit in" a little better in the community which is awesome because instead of having 30 kids around us as once we only have like 5 to 7 which is way more enjoyable because then we are able to spend more time one on one with them. We are still having a lot of bible studies everyday for the kids which is exhausting, but so much fun. The kids are always eager to see what game we have come up with for that day, or what hysterical story Daniel will think to tell them. They are always so much fun, (exhausting) but fun. I was also able to get to know my host family a little bit better this week which was bitter sweet knowing that I only have a week left to enjoy their company.
I was going to write out this whole lesson that I learned but I don't really have time, and I think that it is better explained in person (I hope you feel intrigued :) )
Otherwise that is about it. I only have one week left to serve, Saturday is our last day and then that is it.
Sunday, July 8, 2012
My Mind is Blown!!!
This has shaped up to be an incredibly heart warming, and encouraging week.
To start with irony: my team mate and I had our first open disagreement. (I know what you are thinking... how is this encouraging?). The awesome part comes from the open communication and respect that was exchanged during this disagreement. As with any team we don't always get along, but I would just normally chalk it up to no big deal and then continue to be frustrated. Luckily for me, Daniel is more confrontational and called me out on my frustration, and it ended with a really honest and personal conversation about different insecurities that we have in our ministries and how we can encourage each other a little bit better throughout the week.
Another awesome part of my week came during our children's bible study. Throughout the week I struggled with whether I felt like these kids were learning anything about the bible, or anything about the love of God. On friday though, Dan and I were burnt out so decided that instead of prepping a new study we would just do a review study. Low and behold the kids remembered a lot of things that we went over during the week, and were even able to come up with specific examples of things that we had said from throughout the week. It was the first time that I felt like these kids were understanding what we were sayings, and it warmed my heart because it allowed me to see the fruit that God is using us for.
Friday was in general just an awesome day. In the afternoon Dan took a nap and it rained so most kids were inside their houses and it allowed me the time to have a sincere and awesome heart to heart with the one of the women in the community. I was able to share part of my testimony and ask her about her own. It was really incredible to get to share such an intimate part of my life with someone so soon after having met them. After that we went to Kuya Willie's house (our filipino team leader) and ate dinner with them, and then i just got to relax with Jon my other team mate and just watch a little TV and read one of the books that i brought with me, and just enjoy a little down time before teaching school the following morning.
It is a little sad to think that I only have a little over a few weeks left here. The people here are just such incredible, generous, giving, kind, compassionate, and just amazing people. I have so much to learn from them and such little time to acquire all the knowledge. They have set an example of how to live that you can't find in America. I can't seem to shake the uniqueness of this culture. I had a conversation the other day with my team mate Jon about the different ignorance that can be found between America and the Philippines. In America we are ignorant to all that we have, and all the blesses that are provided even in the midst of our struggles. In the philippines it is opposite, they are ignorant to what little they have. One of the girls that I live with had to write a short paper in english about her family that she let me read. In it she described how her family wasn't poor, but middle-class. She talked about how close her family is, and how much time they take to spend with each other (The girl is being raised by her aunt because her mother has too many kids and can't take care of them all). With all said and done, by the end of the paper I was speechless. This girl didn't see a lack of anything in her life. She has enough food to eat most days, a roof over her head, and a family that she can spend her time with (biological or not). That is all that she needs, and therefore she considers herself middle-class and lucky because she doesn't see how much she is missing out on compared to my American perspective.
Thats all I have time to write for now, and I may not have time next week to write very much but then we will be in debrief so I will have time to write again.
I hope everyone on the east coast the best of luck with the weather that is going on. I heard about the major storms and I am glad that everyone is Ok. We will be praying for everyone who doesn't have their power back yet.
(PS Mom and Dad, I am going back to the community today ( a day early) so we can't Skype, but I will call you on my birthday)
To start with irony: my team mate and I had our first open disagreement. (I know what you are thinking... how is this encouraging?). The awesome part comes from the open communication and respect that was exchanged during this disagreement. As with any team we don't always get along, but I would just normally chalk it up to no big deal and then continue to be frustrated. Luckily for me, Daniel is more confrontational and called me out on my frustration, and it ended with a really honest and personal conversation about different insecurities that we have in our ministries and how we can encourage each other a little bit better throughout the week.
Another awesome part of my week came during our children's bible study. Throughout the week I struggled with whether I felt like these kids were learning anything about the bible, or anything about the love of God. On friday though, Dan and I were burnt out so decided that instead of prepping a new study we would just do a review study. Low and behold the kids remembered a lot of things that we went over during the week, and were even able to come up with specific examples of things that we had said from throughout the week. It was the first time that I felt like these kids were understanding what we were sayings, and it warmed my heart because it allowed me to see the fruit that God is using us for.
Friday was in general just an awesome day. In the afternoon Dan took a nap and it rained so most kids were inside their houses and it allowed me the time to have a sincere and awesome heart to heart with the one of the women in the community. I was able to share part of my testimony and ask her about her own. It was really incredible to get to share such an intimate part of my life with someone so soon after having met them. After that we went to Kuya Willie's house (our filipino team leader) and ate dinner with them, and then i just got to relax with Jon my other team mate and just watch a little TV and read one of the books that i brought with me, and just enjoy a little down time before teaching school the following morning.
It is a little sad to think that I only have a little over a few weeks left here. The people here are just such incredible, generous, giving, kind, compassionate, and just amazing people. I have so much to learn from them and such little time to acquire all the knowledge. They have set an example of how to live that you can't find in America. I can't seem to shake the uniqueness of this culture. I had a conversation the other day with my team mate Jon about the different ignorance that can be found between America and the Philippines. In America we are ignorant to all that we have, and all the blesses that are provided even in the midst of our struggles. In the philippines it is opposite, they are ignorant to what little they have. One of the girls that I live with had to write a short paper in english about her family that she let me read. In it she described how her family wasn't poor, but middle-class. She talked about how close her family is, and how much time they take to spend with each other (The girl is being raised by her aunt because her mother has too many kids and can't take care of them all). With all said and done, by the end of the paper I was speechless. This girl didn't see a lack of anything in her life. She has enough food to eat most days, a roof over her head, and a family that she can spend her time with (biological or not). That is all that she needs, and therefore she considers herself middle-class and lucky because she doesn't see how much she is missing out on compared to my American perspective.
Thats all I have time to write for now, and I may not have time next week to write very much but then we will be in debrief so I will have time to write again.
I hope everyone on the east coast the best of luck with the weather that is going on. I heard about the major storms and I am glad that everyone is Ok. We will be praying for everyone who doesn't have their power back yet.
(PS Mom and Dad, I am going back to the community today ( a day early) so we can't Skype, but I will call you on my birthday)
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Quickest Update Yet
This will probably be the quickest update yet. I have spent the last week in the community, and my view point on this country changes more and more everyday. I am blessed to have two other people serving with me in the communities (Daniel and John). They are great, Daniel takes the lead when I am in my shy phase which I think helps us to compliment each other because when he is exhausted from doing all the talking is when I am coming out of my shell. This is John's third year here, so it is nice to have someone who knows what is going on, and can explain this to us in clear english.
I have a few funny stories about the communities but I will try to put those in another update. The kids are very fun, they like to teach us tagalog, and we try to teach them english. The kids also like to follow us around the communities, we joke that they are our body guards because we can never get away from them (which is teaching me patience). I am learning a lot about what it looks like to live in poverty, and yet still find joy in the daily blessings. It also blows my mind how gracious and giving these people are. No matter how tight they are for money or how little food they have they will give you anything they have just to make you feel welcome.
Another thing that generally impresses me with this culture is their natural respect for one another. The majority of the people in these communities haven't even met with us in person and yet they want to hear our thoughts on the gospel, and they take everything we say to heart. This whole idea blows my mind because in the states you have earn that kind of respect.
I am in the middle of team bonding night right now, so thats the reason for the quick update and bad grammar (Though lets be honest, my grammar is always terrible) :)
Talk to you soon :)
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Where God Calls, I will follow :)
It's amazing how much can happen in 48 hours. I have officially decided to live and serve in the slums. Until the weekend I will be living with the community leader a little ways away until we can arrange a more long term place for me to sleep. My other team mate is Daniel, the guy on the team. I am excited to serve side by side with him in this community. The rest of the group also split into pairs of two. Elizabeth and Jacque will be serving at the local college campus UPD. Also, Rachel and Karla got the last minute opportunity to serve in a local community where prostitution has become a way of life for many of the girls (Don't worry safety is always first for Navs so they won't be in any danger).
On another note my luggage finally arrived, Praise God because I was starting to get a little rank :)
Yesterday was an amazing day for us. We got to just hang out as a community before we all leave today for our assignments. We ate A LOT of food, my team mate and I bonded over our mutual sarcasm, and we all got to know each other on a more personal level. We also got the exciting news that some of the other teams may join us in the slums on Saturdays to help with teaching the students at the communities school, which would be awesome because it would give us a task to work on together.
So quick outline of what my week will look like: Monday through Friday we will be helping with the bible studies that are already in place, and just living among the people and sharing life (1 Thess 2:8, Such an awesome opportunity) On Saturday, we will teach during the day, and then take part in the communities weekly "community night" (Which sounds like our version of a block party). Sunday's we will return to the Nav headquarters to shower (the community showers are buckets of water), sleep, rest, decompress from the week, and just spend time in fellowship with the rest of our team. Then bright and early on Monday we will head back to the slums and do it all over again. I don't think that I have been this excited to serve a community since ASP which is really exciting.
That is all that I have time for at the moment, but expect updates every Sunday when I have some free time, and a computer.
On another note my luggage finally arrived, Praise God because I was starting to get a little rank :)
Yesterday was an amazing day for us. We got to just hang out as a community before we all leave today for our assignments. We ate A LOT of food, my team mate and I bonded over our mutual sarcasm, and we all got to know each other on a more personal level. We also got the exciting news that some of the other teams may join us in the slums on Saturdays to help with teaching the students at the communities school, which would be awesome because it would give us a task to work on together.
So quick outline of what my week will look like: Monday through Friday we will be helping with the bible studies that are already in place, and just living among the people and sharing life (1 Thess 2:8, Such an awesome opportunity) On Saturday, we will teach during the day, and then take part in the communities weekly "community night" (Which sounds like our version of a block party). Sunday's we will return to the Nav headquarters to shower (the community showers are buckets of water), sleep, rest, decompress from the week, and just spend time in fellowship with the rest of our team. Then bright and early on Monday we will head back to the slums and do it all over again. I don't think that I have been this excited to serve a community since ASP which is really exciting.
That is all that I have time for at the moment, but expect updates every Sunday when I have some free time, and a computer.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
WELCOME TO THE PHILIPPINES
I am officially in Manila safe and sound. In true Rebecca fashion however I had a rather challenging traveling experience. My first flight was cancelled, my second flight was delayed, and due to the first cancellation my reservation for my second flight was cancelled which created further delay. Due to the delays I had a 30 minute layover in Japan, which resulted in a speedy walk from one terminal to another. My reservation for that was also cancelled, though I was still able to board on time. However, due to all of these problems my luggage never made it to Manila. So I have been wearing the same clothes since Sunday (It is now Wednesday here). I heard the news this morning though that the airport called and has my luggage so hopefully by tonight I will have clean cloths.
Now to talk about the AMAZING city of Manila. Yesterday was our first full day of exploring the city. We ate breakfast at a local restaurant. We ate rice (for Breakfast! what?) along with various poultry. We then got to visit a local college campus that our directors daughter attends. From there we visited a local living community in the slums, which was beyond an incredible experience, there were some ADORABLE children. After a quick rest we took a bus and jeepke (A local taxi of sorts) to another campus described as the Harvard of the Philippines. It was an beautiful campus, bigger than Ohio State (I know, I was shocked that was even possible). We attended a Nav Night for the college students and enjoyed their extreme enthusiasm. To wrap up the night a few of us ate Balut, which for those who don't know is a chicken egg which has been fertilized and grown for 17 days. GROSS, but did i really come all the way to the Philippines to not try some of the delicacies (google balut, and i promise you will not want to eat an egg for a week). But for those skeptics out there who don't believe that I would try such a thing I got footage on a camera for proof :)
So it is bright and early on Wednesday today, and we have huge decisions to make. We can chose to serve in the Slums and live in their community (WHAT AN OPPORTUNITY!) or we can live on the college campus and serve the college students. Both options are amazing, and both will be glorifying it is just a matter of making a decision that will both challenge me, and let me play to my strengths at the same time. At the moment I am lean towards the slums but by the end of today I will have made my decision for sure.
I am running short on time now though and I have a few other things to get done this morning, but I will hopefully have an update to everyone by next Sunday to let you know how everything is going.
(Please ignore an major typos, I don't have time to proof read)
Now to talk about the AMAZING city of Manila. Yesterday was our first full day of exploring the city. We ate breakfast at a local restaurant. We ate rice (for Breakfast! what?) along with various poultry. We then got to visit a local college campus that our directors daughter attends. From there we visited a local living community in the slums, which was beyond an incredible experience, there were some ADORABLE children. After a quick rest we took a bus and jeepke (A local taxi of sorts) to another campus described as the Harvard of the Philippines. It was an beautiful campus, bigger than Ohio State (I know, I was shocked that was even possible). We attended a Nav Night for the college students and enjoyed their extreme enthusiasm. To wrap up the night a few of us ate Balut, which for those who don't know is a chicken egg which has been fertilized and grown for 17 days. GROSS, but did i really come all the way to the Philippines to not try some of the delicacies (google balut, and i promise you will not want to eat an egg for a week). But for those skeptics out there who don't believe that I would try such a thing I got footage on a camera for proof :)
So it is bright and early on Wednesday today, and we have huge decisions to make. We can chose to serve in the Slums and live in their community (WHAT AN OPPORTUNITY!) or we can live on the college campus and serve the college students. Both options are amazing, and both will be glorifying it is just a matter of making a decision that will both challenge me, and let me play to my strengths at the same time. At the moment I am lean towards the slums but by the end of today I will have made my decision for sure.
I am running short on time now though and I have a few other things to get done this morning, but I will hopefully have an update to everyone by next Sunday to let you know how everything is going.
(Please ignore an major typos, I don't have time to proof read)
Monday, May 28, 2012
Let God's Plan Prevail :)
I have some major news to share with everyone. My trip to Namibia has been cancelled. There are many reasons for why this happened, but everyone has come to peace with the decision. One significant reason for why the trip was cancelled is because the size and make up of our trip troubled our leader, Ed. We only had two female students, including myself. This would mean that two young girls would be traveling internationally with a older man, which could at times put us in uncomfortable or awkward arrangements. In addition, we had originally planned on meeting up with team from South Africa in Namibia, but the closer we got to the trip the less likely it seemed that they were going to make it. A last major reason for why the trip was cancelled was simply because it didn't seem like it was working out as smoothly as necessary. All of these reasons have led to our trip being cancelled late last week. This left me with a decent amount of money fundraised, and no where to go.
I then received the news that I had two options: Thailand, the Philippines, or wait until next summer. The Thailand trip is unfortunately an all guy team. This would mean that both Rachel (The other girl from my original trip) and I would both have to decide to go to Thailand in order to have it be appropriate. Low and behold, Rachel chose the Philippines. This meant that I had to decide between the Philippines and waiting until next summer. My opinion on waiting until next summer was essentially summed up by the unknown plans for next summer. With graduation in the spring there is no telling what my summer plans will pan out to be. After all is said is done, cutting a longer story short, after much contemplation, and many conversations i am officially GOING TO THE PHILIPPINES!!! It has taken some getting used to, and I still have a lot of research to do before I leave but I am excited about the opportunity to serve this culture.
A few changes that go along with this decision include a few things. For starters I leave a little earlier and return a little later then originally, meaning I leave June 17, and return July 26. I also will be serving with a larger team, so instead of only three of us there will be seven of us, which is incredible because I love the idea of serving with a large team. In addition, the projects that we will be working on are more applicable to my interests. We will be working hands on in the slums of Manila, helping to teach english, working with children in orphanages, and living life among this community.
That about sums up the changes the moment. If you haven't looked at the thermometer since this change you will know notice that I am now fully funded. Thanks for reading, and following along on this exciting adventure.
I then received the news that I had two options: Thailand, the Philippines, or wait until next summer. The Thailand trip is unfortunately an all guy team. This would mean that both Rachel (The other girl from my original trip) and I would both have to decide to go to Thailand in order to have it be appropriate. Low and behold, Rachel chose the Philippines. This meant that I had to decide between the Philippines and waiting until next summer. My opinion on waiting until next summer was essentially summed up by the unknown plans for next summer. With graduation in the spring there is no telling what my summer plans will pan out to be. After all is said is done, cutting a longer story short, after much contemplation, and many conversations i am officially GOING TO THE PHILIPPINES!!! It has taken some getting used to, and I still have a lot of research to do before I leave but I am excited about the opportunity to serve this culture.
A few changes that go along with this decision include a few things. For starters I leave a little earlier and return a little later then originally, meaning I leave June 17, and return July 26. I also will be serving with a larger team, so instead of only three of us there will be seven of us, which is incredible because I love the idea of serving with a large team. In addition, the projects that we will be working on are more applicable to my interests. We will be working hands on in the slums of Manila, helping to teach english, working with children in orphanages, and living life among this community.
That about sums up the changes the moment. If you haven't looked at the thermometer since this change you will know notice that I am now fully funded. Thanks for reading, and following along on this exciting adventure.
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