From Deep, Down Under

I have got to tell you all how hard we have worked to make this blog possible--

I got to go on a mountain hiking adventure with Mark and Bekah on Monday. We drove back to the mountains on a "scooter" (motorcycle), riding 3 deep (which is totally normal, I even saw 5 on one today including an infant!). I took pictures on the way back because the mountain area seems like a totally different way of life than down in Pandan by the water.

So we hiked up to this huge mountain side that had 3 levels of waterfalls that we could climb up next to. The first hill was pretty much completely vertical for about 50 feet with tree roots to climb on and no safety harness! After the first level, there is a pool is completely clear water! Then there's a next level of rocks and tree limbs to hold onto, then another waterfall that you have to wade through... and then a vine you have to swing across!!! It was QUITE the adventure/workout to the top waterfall. At the top waterfall, there is a large pond of water that isn't crystal clear and is about 12 feet deep. At first we just messed around doing flips into the water and what not, but then we decided to be daring and climb up a completely vertical cliff. On the way back down, I jumped from half way down the cliff into the water. In the picture of Mark, you can see where we jumped from!! TERRIFYING and so wonderful for this adrenaline junky that I am! :) Anyways, my wonderful waterproof (but not floatable) camera fell to the bottom of this pond. We dove for it for literally 2 hours that day. Keep in mind that this is the filipino version of okie noodling, we were diving down 12-14 feet and sticking our hands in blind crevices. It was gross/scary/creepy/ every other scary word. We never found it. We headed back down the mountain with the decision to come back the next morning with some extra help! So the next morning we came back up at 6 am with Raymond and Sean. We carried a car battery up the mountain (yes, my legs are exhausted from this), and attached the car battery to a lightbulb inside of a whiskey bottle and continued to lower this homemade device into the water to dive in with it!! Like i have said, safety is not a big concern here. Don't worry mom and dad, i wasn't the first one in the water with this device. I observed first ;)  We dove for another 2 hours and found nothing. I figured that God just didn't mean for us to find it! :)  I came home, went to basketball practice and came back to the house to find that Mark had hired a local fisherman who is really good at diving to go back and find it. Find it he did!!! And it still works and had all my pictures!!! Kodak deserves a thank you letter from me for their quality camera!!!

Going up the root part of the mountain

Yes, swinging from the vine. i made the tarzan noise!

Yes, i also jumped from that point. terrifying! 

On another note, let me give you a little preview of a night at the Kennys house. After beach time, we drag all the beach play toys back to the house and tramp through the bamboo hut with all our wet, filth and sand. Meanwhile, Miss Patti and her medical assistants were unloading some medical supplies recently donated. At the same time, we were preparing some chicken and rice for dinner. Two patients came in to get a BP check, a pregnant Mimay having a fetal heart tone check, a wound care cleaning for a cut on a foot, and a baby to use the nebulizer. Yes, this all happened in their living room/kitchen at the same time. And everyone had a smile on their face and everyone was helping where they could. Oh, and tons of little kids were peaking their heads in from the front door to say hi to us. It was one of those beautiful disaster moments :)

Another side story- I got to use my Texas football knowledge yesterday at beach ;)) I am not a football expert by any means, but i do know how to teach the guys how to throw a spiral. They were tossing the football around in a circle and i showed them how to run a route to catch the ball. THEN we got really crazy and added some defense. You could see the lights just go on in their eyes! A whole new world was opened up :)

Sunday Funday

Sunday Funday really is an applicable saying here! We started with a nice “brown out” (which is the equivalent to our black out). So church was packed and with no fans… I (trying to be nice and fancy) wore a full-length skirt and was giving my testimony in front of all these strangers= completely sweaty mess! J But with the Holy Spirit’s help, I made it through just fine. I had several people come up after and thank me for my bravery in Christ [when the Filipinos speak English, they speak it veryyyy formally]. I didn’t know a single song that was sang, or what Pastor was saying when he spoke, so I just swayed with the music and smiled a lot. Such an easy default. They are trying to begin fundraising for their Christmas outreach already. Apparently Filipinos just don’t save money, it’s not a part of their culture. So in order to raise enough money to put together rice and other necessities for the families in the surrounding area, they must being raising in any “ber” month [septemBER, octoBER, NovemBER]. Because of you all, God has provided a little extra money to use towards His kingdom while I am here. There are needs for money all around me- so I ask that you all pray for God to show me where He intends this money to be used. I’m serious, please pray for me about it. I know I am often guilty of saying I will pray for something and then forgetting to do it, so please take a short break and consult God on my behalf for wisdom. There is power in prayer in number!

Onward- after church we had Bekah’s Bible clubs. These are bible study type sessions for girls around her age. It has grown so popular that there are two groups who come through. The session looked like this:

-handshake they made up to greet everyone

-singing of a couple visaya worship songs & just silly songs I think (it’s in a different language, so guessing is my best game here). In one song, they have to follow the dance moves of a girl they pick—guess who got picked.. da da da dahhh- ME! So I did some ridiculous mixture of a step workout/ pilates move and they died laughing and continued to do it the rest of the day. I’m sure that will never leave now ;)

-a game of weaving hands out of a maze

-a bible lesson taught by Bekah

- a skit to go with the lesson (yes, I was given a really important role ;))

- goodbye snacks and drinks

Bible Clubs are TIRING! Bekah does all the work and I was still tired!! J For dinner tonight, we had a special treat! I got to have a night out on the town in Gingoog City (for those of you trying to pronounce this, it is tricky. It is Ging (like sing), oh-oh-g. All vowels get pronounced. So “I” sounds like the long “e”, and “o” is the long “o”, “u” is like oooo. So we are going out on the town, but we end up taking like 10 girls from the church with us. They all just rode in the back of the truck and the baby in the backseat with no carseat. So different! We grabbed some burgers (12 burgers for $4, take that McDonalds) and headed to the pier. The pier was actually really cool. I got to see the Filipinos having a good time in a typical boardwalk scene. They had little vendors set up along the way. I got a mango slushy and OH MY GRACIOUS- it was better than chocolate. Yeah, I said it. It was amazing, unreal, out of this world good. In fact, I had to go back for a second one!!!! J And I’m not even ashamed. I also tried some boiled egg with flour fried around it… I’m not really sure what it was, but I liked it.

Mimay is still pregnant (she was due about a week ago). She has agreed to let me be present for the whole process so I’m really excited! Pray for God to bring that baby out soon!! Also, a girl named Orpha is pregnant and was hospitalized today for dengue fever. Please also be praying for her. Lola is a 92 year old widow who lives in a one room place here that the Kennys feed every day. I got to meet her yesterday. So many people here are living out so many real problems. I could go on for quite awhile. I realize yall don’t know these people, but they are brothers and sisters in Christ, so I want to share their stories so that you can rally them in prayer from across the world.

Started my day with a wonderful devotional- wanted to share it with yall as it really hits home for me and I hope it encourages you.

“I designed you to live in union with Me. This union does not negate who you are; it actually makes you more fully yourself. When you try to live independently of Me, you experience emptiness and dissatisfaction. You may gain the whole world and yet lose everything that really counts.

Find fulfillment through living close to Me, yielding to My purposes for you. Thought I may lead you along paths that feel alien to you, trust that I know what I am doing. If you follow Me wholeheartedly, you will discover facets of yourself that were previously hidden. I know you intimately- far better than you know yourself. In union with Me, you are complete. In closeness to Me, you are transformed more and more into the one I designed you to be. “

Compassion & Beach Area

\These are the Compassion children that are sponsored in Pandan. They meet every Saturday for a bible lesson (kind of like sunday school). The one on my lap is named Eliza (she looks like she doesn't like me, but i think she does ;)) and her mom is Ate Alma on the left. She speaks english and is one of my favorite people to talk to here. She is soo so sweet and has such a heart for these children! [her son is also Elroy-the new Baylor bear]

Cooking lunch for all the Compassion participants. 

I'm not sure about other parts of the US, but i'm pretty sure none of my Texas people have seen leaves this big!!! :-0

The rest of the pictures below are of the Beach Play area. This is possibly one of my favorite times of the day here. From 4-6pm we bring a variety of activities down to the beach for the community to come and play together. I have played some frisbee, london bridges took place here, swimming, freeze tag, soccer, water basketball, and lots of volleyball! It's so great because all walks of the community come down. We have people from the bible studies, kids from basketball pracitce, from guitar practice, completely strange men and boys, the party goers... basically all walks of life show up here to either participate or watch! There are big visions for the area. Today, with the help of my amazing sponsors, we purchased rope to make a four square volleyball court (basically 2 courts next to each other). It took 70 meters which cost 1,400 filipino pesos (about $35) of rope!! We will purchase the wood for the poles later this week. So thank you so much sponsors for making this possible!!! I think that the Beach Play area is such a great opportunity for an approachable ministry. 

This is Raymond building one of the soccer goals! 

One of the groups that comes to drink at the beach. I love that everyone comes. Come one, come all!! We just need to be a good representation of Christ to everyone and let God do the rest. P.S... yes, they are just sitting around burying each other. Filipinos are completely content just sitting around doing such...

I think I can now name every girl in these pictures. I really want to learn their names because I think them feeling special is a way of showing God's love. Such a simple way, but you should see their faces light up when i simply remember their names. 

These two cuties are floating on one of Mark's recycled inventions. Every day when we clean the beach, we keep anything that is made of foam (such as flip flops), and put them in old rice bags to become floating toys!!! Talk about being green!!! :)) Nothing goes to waste around here. 

This is a floating basketball goal that is floating by the same means as described above. Amazing huh? 

There are big plans for this Beach Area and I hope to help as much as possible in this arena. Thank you all so much for making this possible!!! 

Kapoy [kah-poye]

Kapoy means tired! The Kennys daily pace is a tiring one! I think I have said the 100 times in the last two days! Let's see- where have I been...

Thursday:
-early morning: thought it would be a good idea to go for a beach run and do abs. So I ran to the beach play area and started doing some crunches and bicycles. Next thing I know, there's a little girl next to me mimicking my every move ;) So I thought I'd show off a little and try out every ab workout I could think of... She was adorable. So naturally we moved to yoga moves-- this just made her giggle and giggle and giggle. I started running back home, turned back to see her in the water practicing her new found yoga moves ;)
-mid morning: guitar practice-- fingers now completely raw but strumming a bit!
-afternoon: basketball practice. played 3 on 3. i now completely regret my workout that morning. To say I sweat was an understatement. I think I straight wrung all the moisture out of my body onto my tshirt. Great- there's no such thing as a tall white woman blending in with all the dark filipino boys, so now i am the sweaty, tall, white woman! After bball, it is straight to Moms Bible Study! I brought over a ton of my sisters' (so sweet of them) baby clothes to hand out, and these mommas loved it!!! (by about an hour later in the day, I saw several of the new clothes running around the streets. My personal favorite was a little boy named Elroy wearing a Baylor Bear shirt!! I need to snag a picture of this ASAP!) At bible study, we talked about how it is easier for a camel to fit through the eye of a needle than a rich man enter the kingdom of heaven. The filipinos think that getting to america is the answer to their poverty. So i got to share that america is definitely not the answer. That we, as a nation, are definitely the rich man who cannot let go of his earthly possessions, and that these filipinos were blessed to daily rely on God for provision.

evening: beach time where I finally got to connect to some women who can speak English. It's amazing how precious an English conversation is to me. BUT there's no such thing as a conversation without 15 little girls sitting around us as well. :) AND tacos for dinner. This made me so so so so so so happy, and they were delicious!!!!

Friday:

I actually slept in til 5:30!!! :)) This is progress. I almost went and fed that rooster a bread crumb as a thank you (can you train roosters?). Then I got to skype with pretty much all of my family & Daniel- so rejuvenating!! Then guitar, bible study (pictures above), basketball practice (not really practice today, more of a hard hard hard workout. we ran on the beach for what i felt like was a marathon and did about 150 pushups. We actually ran in a line and had to throw the ball behind our heads for the next person to catch. If it dropped, we had to do pushups.. even in the water. By the way, while doing this, these crazy lil filipinos are doing standing back flips. my front hand spring has been put to shame...), then a much much much needed nap, beach time (i taught the kids how to play freeze tag and they taught me how to play london bridges/ a human chain version of tug-o-war... lots of laughing and smiles), checked some BPs, then to Nehemiah House for family night (games and a movie). We played a mass game of Twister, then they taught me a game of dodgeball... so of course, i fell asleep during Finding Nemo. We are back at the house now and I am kapoy!!

Calling it a night. BUT i do also want to add what God has been showing me while i'm here:

He reminded me that my daily routine here can be pleasing to Him. Even when we walk through life not really feeling like we are doing much, that does not mean that our spiritual walk isn't thriving abundantly. We may be going on the adventure of our lives spiritually, and the only way to make it through is to cling tight to the Light of the World so that we will not stumble. Such a good reminder for me right now, because when I originally said i wanted to do a mission trip- I envisioned me doing huge things and seeing God changing people and situations right before my eyes everyday. But that is not what this is about- this is about making myself available to God and allowing Him to be at work through me, even if i don't always see the results.

Clinging tight to Him.

Worship & Washing Wednesdays

I have never had more fun washing clothes!!!! Laundry in America just plain blows in comparison!!! There is a spring fed creek in Pandan where people go to wash their clothes and wash themselves sometimes! The Kennys have created a "Worship and Washing" on Wednesdays where they bring worship music down to the area and everyone who wants to comes and washes their clothes! How fun!!!

Most of us probably assume that the filipinos are just dirty because they lives in bamboo huts. BUT let me tell you- their clothes are washed sooooo incredibly well that I am convinced they are more efficient than a washing machine!!! I was learning how to wash my clothes and Ate Alma just laughed at me internally I think (she's too sweet to laugh out loud). She re-cleaned all the ones i cleaned- so I stuck to the rinsing duty until I am better at it :) Anyways- they use detergent bars and SCRUB the outside, then flip it inside out and SCRUB the inside, then rinse and repeat!!! No wonder their clothes are so thin by now!!! Oh- by the way, washing can take up to 2-4 hours and by the looks of it- everyone of every age helps! :)

A Walk Down Pandan

There was a huge storm last night. Apparently we are on the edge of a typhoon. The wind was sooo strong in my bamboo room last night!! I was literally on the computer under my sheet while the rain came in and the wind beat the mosquito net. My hair was originally wet, but the wind blow dried it! :) The next morning was a little overcast, but I decided to take a walk down Pandan (the barangay that I live in... like a community) and take some pictures for everyone to get a visual. 

These are all the fishermen's boats. They all go out to fish every night and come back in the morning with their catches. The wives then take the fish to the market while the men sleep. And then that same routine goes on again every day! Originally, I envisioned a huge fishing boat with a bunch of men, but really they all go out on their own boat!!! 

This is one of the little girls who followed me around while I was talking pictures. She doesn't speak a lick of English and my Visaya (the language here) is just beginning, so I have gotten really good at playing day long games of charades with people :)

She was little camera shy... most kids aren't. The best part is that most kids will say "facebook!" when I walk up with a camera!!! How in the world do they know what facebook is?! :)) 

These are our neighbors!

Yes, he is sticking his head out the window. A tall white woman is quite the spectacle around here. For right now I feel like the shiny, new toy in the town. Every where I go (and I mean everywhere), people stare at me. Some yell "Ate Whitney!", some just smile and say hi (but stare), and some just stare. But not a set of eyes misses me. I can't wait til everyone just knows me as me and not just as the new white woman in town. I know that this is the time to shine for Jesus while I have their attention. O Lord, that I can be a lamp shining for Him while I am on this hill. 

This is the flooded area from the storm last night. The soccer goal is actually used every single day as part of the "beach time" that Mark has created. Believe it or not, by 4pm that day, all this water had flowed out so the field was playable again! But in all this rain, the trash that has been buried in the beach all comes to the surface :( We pick up the trash on the beach every day after Beach Time. Trash pickup is the time when all the little girls and boys surround me and ask questions or just hold my hand. 

A lone filipino fishing in the flooded area. 

So, in my devotional yesterday morning God was reminding me of the importance of intimacy with Him. He was telling me that quietness and trust was how I am to grow in Him. Quietness around here is tough when you are the new toy in town, so I took a walk down the beach to the play field (it's quiet when it's not Mark's designated Beach Time). I sat on a coconut shell and looked out over the mountains and the sea and sang every worship song I could think of. I cried (but for those of you who know me, that's no new news :)). Then these two little boys waded across the flooded area just to play in the beach in front of me. So I gave in and went to play with them ;) 

One of the many colorful boats! I love all the color and gaudiness here! 

This is one of the streets I walk every day in Pandan. It is also the street that will flood during high tide!! I can't wait to see that and wade in it!! 

THIS IS A GREEN CHICK!!! Somehow or another they dye it!! I don't know if this is bad for the chick, so I don't ask because I really can't handle the answer. I find myself petting dogs here all the time because I just want them to feel loved for a few minutes of their lives. I try to tell and show the kids to be nice to the dogs. :( 

Okay- this was my walk through Pandan- I hope you feel a little more familiar with the town I am in! :))