Youth camp - pictures

Before camp began, we surrounded the campgrounds with banners, declaring the place as belonging to the Lord.

Every morning began with a Bible study. Here I am teaching...I was a counselor for a group of ten 13-15 year olds.

A good friend came to visit and we sang together - Mark Schultz's "Remember Me." This was during one of the evening services.

Cheer dance competition! Every afternoon we (in four random groups) played games. In our counseling groups, we also participated in a singing competition and a spiritual cheer competition. It was definitely..interesting, to say the least.

Our bonfire on the last night....Before the bonfire some campers and leaders reenacted the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal.

With my and another counseling group - this was our group for the singing/cheer competitions.

Water baptism in the South China Sea took place on the last afternoon. Around 15 kids were baptized.

Every evening we of course had a service and praise and worship. We had a guest speaker from another church in Laoag come and speak for three nights -- wonderful teaching, but I could only understand some of what he said because he preached in Tagalog and I speak Ilokano. (Tagalog is a language, Ilokano a dialect, for those of you who don't know.)

And of course, we had lots of time to just have fun! Here we are on the beach before going to take a swim.

So much to do, so little time!

Well, I made it through one week of camp -- one more to go!

Last week was the CMMP annual summer kids' camp. It's basically VBS in a camp setting. I taught one of the classes (12 years old). I definitely enjoyed myself, but it was an exhausting week. We stayed at CMMP's campground property in Gabu, a small town/village/whatever-you-want-to-call-it about 35 minutes outside of central Laoag and located right on the South China Sea. We all slept in tents and spent our week singing, playing games, learning, swimming, and getting pretty sandy. I don't think I got all of the sand off of me until I got home and took a bath.

Camp was for sure an overall success. I know the kids (and the staff!) had a great time. Many children were exposed to the Word for the first time, and on our last night of camp several of them accepted Christ. Praise God!

Agenda for this week: Leaving in a few hours for youth camp. Same type of setup, but totally different atmosphere. Hopefully my camera batteries cooperate and I'll have some pictures for you! (I'm serving as a camp counselor, praise and worship leader, and learning-new-songs instructor this week.) Keep us all in your prayers!

In Him,k

P.S. I don't know if you did or did not receive my email, but I still have many expenses to make and my funds for the rest of the year are running pretty low. I would appreciate any help you are able to offer me financially -- even $10.00 will help. If you'd like more information on my needs or where to send your checks, please email me at icekater19@yahoo.com. If you are not able to help me financially, I always appreciate and solicit your prayers. All my love --

StreetJAM '08

Well...StreetJAM: Jesus And Music, the Christian battle of the bands that I was a part of, was a success!! For those of you who aren't already aware, here's how the process worked.

1. Bands from various churches throughout the city and the province composed original Christian songs of any style. (I'm with five guys and I sing lead.)
2. Bands practiced like crazy and went to Praise Charismatic Fellowship, the church that sponsored this event, to record the song to a CD.
3. Judges then listened to the demo CDs and selected bands to perform in the final event. (14 bands were selected this year.)
4. At a prejudging event, bands performed their songs and received constructive criticism from local judges and were given a few weeks to improve.
5. On Monday, February 18, in the Laoag City Amphitheater, the final concert was held. Judges came from both near and far and selected 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners. A Texter's Choice Award was also given.

Although my band didn't win the competition (or place, for that matter), I really enjoyed being a part of things. This is the first time this type of event has ever taken place in Laoag and they plan to continue it for years to come. I had a blast at the concert - listening to other bands and cheering for them, hanging out with the other members of my band, etc. I'd love to return to watch next year, because I know it will definitely be much improved. I think pictures will be up sometime on this website, but they're not there yet.

:]
love,k

"You are not welcome back here."

....That was my dad's comment when I told him my opinions of chicken head and feet, both of which I tried for the first time last night. (I said they were yummy. They are!)

See, I have this little "game" with some friends here wherein I have to try one new and exotic food each month. We started in December - I ate balut for the first time then (and actually liked it!). Not sure what my task for February is, as I've proved pretty easy to please thus far and am seeking more of a challenge. Ha. :]

In other news, our trip to Manila was wonderful. I had a blast shopping and being in the city (although the traffic is atrocious), and more importantly the conference was wonderful. Anne Graham Lotz spoke twice - her first session was called "Jesus is our Savior" and focused on the cross and His death, and second session was "Jesus is our Lord" and focused on the resurrection. Hearing her speak helped me get some things back into perspective and it was just what I needed. A very tiring weekend, but a blessed one.

love,k

Fernando Ortega, here I come! :)

Ack! A month without posting! What's happened to me?

Well, to be honest -- not a lot has happened to me. I can't say that I've done anything significant or out-of-the-ordinary this month, and I guess that's why I haven't been posting. Whoops.

One cool thing I did do this month was preach. It was my third sermon ever, and I'm still not used to it. I preached out of Jeremiah and Hebrews on the new covenant and how it allows us to enter into the Lord's presence -- not like it used to be, where only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies, only once a year, and only after a sacrifice was made. I discussed how Christ served as both the high priest and the sacrifice, and how He entered not an earthly Holy of Holies, but a heavenly one. When He made that sacrifice He gave us two things: 1) salvation and eternal life if we choose it -- this is the thing that most people think of -- and 2) the ability to enter into His presence on a regular basis. I then went on to explain how we should be when we do enter His presence: I used Hebrews 10:22 to name four characteristics we should have: a devoted heart, a surrendered life, a clean conscience, and internal purification. If you want more details let me know, but that's the gist of it.

Tonight I am taking the 8 PM bus from Laoag to Manila with several women from the church and other nearby churches. That's a 10-hour bus ride for those of you who don't know, and I'm praying I'll spend most of it asleep!!! We will be attending the Just Give Me Jesus crusade this February 2nd in Manila's Araneta Coliseum (fun fact: it's the largest coliseum in the country!). Anne Graham Lotz will be the main speaker, and Fernando Ortega is leading worship. It's an all-day event, and I'm so excited! We'll be spending Feb. 1 out and about in Manila, which is something I haven't done yet so I look forward to that as well.

And, as always, I'm anxiously awaiting SUMMER! (For me here that means late March through mid-June.) Maybe I'll actually get a tan - because right now I'm still just about as white as it gets. :]

love,k

Just hear those sleigh bells jingling.... Or calesa bells?

Well, the holidays have come and gone. It's another year -- wow!

Probably my favorite part of Christmas here is how low-key it is. In America, I associate Christmas with hustle and bustle, with shopping and last-minute gift wrapping, with hectic schedules and with family. The last is, of course, the most important -- but it is sometimes overshadowed by the others. Here in the Philippines, though, it's not like that. In the months, weeks, days, and even hours leading up to Christmas I really didn't feel in the Christmas "spirit," and I realized that was because things weren't so commercially focused (if that makes sense). It's not the weather that makes it different, or the food we eat, or things like that -- I guess it's mostly the traditions, or lack thereof.

Let me give you an idea of a typical Christmas here, or at least what I know from the people I interact with.

On Christmas Eve (Noche Buena), everyone cooks a big meal to eat at midnight with their families and friends. They spend that entire day cooking the meal, shopping for food, etc. The next morning is just like normal -- families wake up, greet one another "Merry Christmas," then go about their usual business. People can still be seen shopping on Christmas day (and of course wrapping presents), because gift-giving is done later that evening, if at all. Most families don't give one another gifts. Here in our church we have a Christmas service, and at the end of all the presentations everyone runs around and hands out gifts to their loved ones in the church. Other than that, nothing major is done. Some people have Christmas trees, and there are usually lights up on houses, but it's just....It's just not a big deal.

What is a big deal here is New Year's. In short, it involves another late-night meal (here we had a church service so we ate afterwards), time with family and friends, and lots (LOTS) of fireworks. The streets are filled with ash and smoke and it's impossible to walk down any one street without having to stop several times to allow firecrackers to go off!! At midnight the superstitious jump a lot -- so they will grow in the coming year. ;) I had a lot more fun at New Year's than on Christmas, I think.

Oh, I left out one other detail about my holidays:

MY MOM CAME!!!!! :D
She arrived here on Saturday the 22nd. Pastor Florie had mentioned a guest who was coming but wouldn't say who she was and only said that she was flying in from Manila. I had a suspicion that it was Mom but pushed it aside because I didn't want to get my hopes up. When Pastor brought me to the airport (telling me that this person "really wanted to see me") I became more suspicious but continued to think "no, it's not Mom, it's just someone who's heard about me." But sure enough, it was her! My reaction was priceless -- my jaw dropped, I gasped and couldn't stop shaking for over 5 minutes! I felt like I was dreaming. Apparently this had been planned since September - wow! We had a great week together -- she spoke at our national youth convention (the 26-28th... it went quite well...) and at our church's Christmas service, but we mostly just got to hang out and catch up on lots of talking. She was scheduled to leave on Sunday the 30th but her flight from Laoag to Manila was canceled so we got one more day together and she left Laoag on the 31st. She'll be back in Roanoke on the afternoon of Jan. 1. I still can't believe she was here!! She told me that she was sending me a Christmas package and every day I looked for it in the mail -- well, she was that package. What a great present. :)

love,k

P.S. A calesa is a horse-drawn buggy used here for public transportation.

Miss Atkins, student and instructor

You know, I'm really enjoying being a teacher -- English and ballet. It's so thrilling to help others learn something new, even just one tiny thing like how to correctly releve in fifth position. And teaching is such a great learning experience, too.

I am so in love with my ballet class!!! We're currently preparing for another performance on Christmas Day, and we're all tired but having a blast! I love it, because the longer I teach them the more I learn. I'm learning to balance fun times with serious, stricter times, and I've come up with some really great (not to toot my own horn or anything) on-the-spot games and ideas for our classes/practices that have made them really enjoyable. I feel like I'm getting closer to the kids, too. They used to be shy to speak English to me, or to tell me anything about themselves, but now it's like I have 11 new brothers and sisters. On that note, my class has gro-o-o-wn!! I'm happy to know that more kids are interested in joining, but I finally had to set a cut-off date. It was getting to big for me to handle. We've practiced every day this week, which is pretty tiring -- but it's a great feeling to know that they're so excited to come every day. Last week I traveled to Baguio and they all groaned when they heard we wouldn't be practicing for two days in a row. :)

In other news, the Christmas break is coming up and I just gave my English students their second exam. Two of them have improved significantly, and I'm excited. It's better than none! As with the ballet class, I feel like the longer I teach the more ideas I get and the better I become at it. I never thought I'd enjoy teaching this much. I still don't think it's something I'll pursue as a career, but we have teaching opportunities every day and I'm glad to know that I'm not terrible at it. Oh, I just wish I was staying here another year so I could teach for an entire year and use all of my ideas!

I love you all and hope you're each enjoying a blessed holiday season!
love,k

Cervantes, Mankayan and Baguio

This picture is of our group at the highest point in the Philippine Highway System (hence the sign) -- so cold!

The SAVERS outreach trip was also wonderfully successful. We left late Tuesday night (the 23rd) for Cervantes, which is between 10 and 11 hours from here in Laoag. We took two vehicles -- our jeepney (which has two "regular" seats up front, then a sort of barrier/wall-type thing, then two benches along the sides of the back that face each other) and an elf (which is a small truck made for carrying animals/cargo but many people use it for people). I would have liked to ride in the elf, just for the experience, but wasn't able to -- they wouldn't let me. :[ Oh well, I think they just wanted to keep me safe.


We arrived in Cervantes on Wednesday morning, all of us completely exhausted. We spent the morning and part of the afternoon sleeping on mats in the church before attending a birthday service (service, NOT party) during the late afternoon, which also provided us with our dinner. We gave our program that evening in the church -- mostly old stuff that we have performed several times before, so we weren't as stressed in preparing, which was nice. Of course, there were mistakes, but the performance wasn't bad.

After performing we drove straight to Mankayan, which luckily is only about an hour and a half from Cervantes! This was my favorite of the two places -- the people we stayed with were the nicest and most hospitable people I have been with in a while. We unexpectedly had to stay with them for two nights, but they were not at all bothered. They told us that it was our house, they were just the managers. :)

Can you believe it was between 70 and 73 degrees Fahrenheit the whole time we were in Mankayan, and I was freezing cold?!?!

On Thursday we were able to "see the sights" in Mankayan. There is a place there called LePanto, which is sort of a village within a village - it has its own airport, school, a gold mine, etc. - and we went to see that. We took public transportation (jeepney) there, but walked home, which was quite tiring but had beautiful views. One of the Bible students from the school here comes from Mankayan, so she played tour guide. Later on we ate dinner at her house, then went to the place where we'd perform (this time it wasn't a church, but more of a stadium or arena). I thought this performance was the better of the two. We performed an additional 3 dances, were more focused, and had a bigger crowd.

Finally, Friday morning (at 4 AM!) we drove to Baguio City, which is halfway between Laoag and Mankayan, and were able to shower, rest, eat, etc. before doing some exploring of the city. Most of us went to SM Baguio, which is a really big mall. Afterwards I went with a few people to the market to buy what are considered Baguio specialties -- I bought strawberries (my favorite!), peanut brittle, choco pinipig (which is hard to describe but very tasty), and these cookies called lengua de gato. We left Baguio around 6 PM and arrived home at 1:30 AM Saturday. I've spent the days since then sleeping, sleeping, and doing even more sleeping!!!! It's still sem break for us at the Bible school, so I won't start teaching again until next Monday.

love,k

Anniversary

Well, since I haven't written in so long, I am going to write two blogs: one about the anniversary and one about our SAVERS outreach trip.

The anniversary was a success!! I enjoyed the lechon, but wasn't able to name my pig. I hadn't chosen a name by that afternoon, and while I was munching on roasted pig skin (very yummy!) I couldn't bring myself to name it. Oh well.

After the lechon we were able to rest and prepare for the service that evening. I spent the afternoon lying on a pew with my foot propped up -- For those of you who didn't already know, I hurt my toe during the week leading up to the anniversary. I told you I'd been practicing my solo pointe dance like crazy, which later wound up being 1) a very bad idea and 2) completely pointless. I bruised the toenail and probably also sprained the toe (it was my right big toe), and wound up not being able to do the dance on pointe at all. I still danced, but used my flat ballet shoes. :[ I taped my toe up and spent the evening barefooted. My dance was right at the beginning of the service, so I had some much-needed time to rest my foot afterwards.

I don't know how we did it, but we pulled everything off!! We performed 2 hand mimes, 2 dances, and 4 human videos -- everything was brand new! At the last minute (as in during the two days and nights before the anniversary) everyone started showing up for practices and we were able to get a lot of work done. Our two biggest problems in SAVERS are 1) tardiness and 2) lack of focus and motivation during practices. We discussed this the other night during a meeting, and hopefully we'll see some improvement.

Anyway, that's that! 55 years of God's faithfulness -- and we're ready for year 56!

Piggery!

Yesterday I decided to take a break from dancing and go with some people to to look at pigs for the lechon on Sunday after church. (A lechon is a big meal -- for lots of people -- where they roast the whole pig. You kill it right beforehand.)

The place we went was so cool. They had all these different sections depending on the type and size of pig....It was really organized, at least more than I imagined it would have been. At the top they had all these huge mother pigs I think most were pregnant, but some had just given birth (and had adorable little piglets!!). They kept them really confined and didn't give them room to move -- to avoid miscarriages. There was one male pig in the center (it was a huge room) whose role was to impregnate all the women. :) But those pigs weren't for eating, so we went down a hill and around to the back where there were tons more of the eating kind. There was one pen with big pigs (not as big as the mommies upstairs, but way bigger than Wilbur), and they got smaller as you moved down into the other pens. (I still can't get over how cute the piglets were!) We got there around feeding time, so the pigs were hungry and squealing SOOO loud!! The lady started feeding them pen-by-pen beginning with the piglets, and the other pigs could smell the food I guess because then they got even louder. It was pretty funny. It was cool to watch them eat though, because there were these little spickets that they drank water from, and they knew how to take turns and everything!! I don't know, I just thought it was cool.

I got to choose the pig for the lechon, so I chose my favorite -- one that had a big brown spot over its right eye and two large overlapping grey and brown spots on its back... It was adorable and I want to name it. (I don't have any good name ideas yet.) Rendo told me "you know, when we cook it no one will see the spots..." But I still wanted it. (Although...Do I want to send the cute pig to its death? Oh well, too late now.)


So, any pig name ideas????

Needing some time to breathe...

Well, I was definitely wrong about not being able to fit in practices this week -- we've been practicing every single night, sometimes till as late as 11!!! I am exhausted and oh-so-busy. Here is my schedule as of late:

1. In the mornings I either teach English or go to the elementary school.
2. After returning I work on stuff for the LCD projector, although I recently learned that I don't have to have everything finished by Sunday -- only the songs that will be used during the anniversary. So I'm breathing a BIG sigh of relief. :]
3. After lunch I get back to work on the LCD stuff, and try to fit a nap in. Sometimes this happens, and other times it doesn't -- but I'm definitely grateful for the times that it does!!
4. Around 3 I go over to the church with my ballet/pointe shoes, iPod, and some band-aids and work on a solo pointe dance that I'll be performing this anniversary. I've been pushing myself really hard to improve on the little things -- I have already made up the dance and remember all the steps; now it's just a matter of making it look good.
5. We have worship team practice every day around 5 or 5:30. I've been singing backup for the past two nights, so I have to be there - and even when I don't have to, I enjoy listening. It's like an extra chance to worship!
6. After showering and eating dinner, it's time for the service (8:30-9 PM every night). We have an opening passage of scripture (from Psalms), do praise and worship, and Pastor Florie prays. There is a theme every night (thanksgiving, church ministries, young people, every family represented in church, etc.), which is cool. After the service someone from the church provides a snack (soup, bread, etc.) for everyone.
7. After snack it's back to practicing -- we concentrate on one thing each night, either hand mime, human video, or dance. At around 10:30 we're usually done, but sometimes it's later. We take everyone home and I crash.

On top of all this, I got food poisoning on Monday from some meat we ate Sunday afternoon. One of the ladies here in the house got sick too, but she is better now -- I, on the other hand, have still been having trouble keeping my food down. I think one of the things that's keeping me from feeling normal is all the stress my body is under from dancing so much, staying up late, etc. If you could keep me in your prayers for that I'd really appreciate it.

Oh, and we finalized the dates for the Mankayan/Cervantes trip (can you believe it? I'd been spelling BOTH of those wrong all along!) - we leave October 23, late at night. I'm excited. I'll give more details about that later. Thanks again for all your prayers and support --

love,k

Busy, busy, busy.

Hey all, sorry for not having written lately -- I've been busy!! (Believe it or not...)

We've been really busy lately preparing for the anniversary. Things are kind of chaotic with the SAVERS -- not enough times to practice, people don't show up for practice, everyone is late to practice, etc. It seems like everyone (with a few exceptions) is in the mindset of "Oh, we have plenty of time to prepare, it's no big deal" when in reality we don't have plenty of time. We probably won't be able to fit in practices next week at all, and if we do they won't be able to last very long (because we have services every night that week!). I know everything will work out, but for now it's kind of stressful. I'm also still teaching my ballet class and working with FGCC's Sunday school students on a song to perform at the anniversary. And, of course, traveling two days a week to Balacad Elem School to teach music -- they're improving, and I'm having a blast!! :)

In addition to all our practices, I am busy transferring all of our song lyrics onto a laptop so we can use an LCD projector (we just bought one; beforehand we'd been using an overhead projector) at the anniversary. There are hundreds of songs and I have a short time to get it all done -- luckily it's easy work.

Finally, in the weeks leading up to the anniversary lots of drama has been unfolding -- slight division and conflicting ideas among the SAVERS, trouble with pastors, etc. I'd rather not give details, but keep Pastor Florie (and everyone else here!) in your prayers, because she is feeling discouraged about it all. Also pray for the event as a whole (the anniversary).

all my love,k

P.S. There has been some trouble with planning our SAVERS trip to Mancayan -- conflicting dates, etc. Also, one of my worries is that several people will not be able/allowed to travel with us, and will have to be replaced -- after the anniversary we'll only have between 1 and 2 weeks to prepare. Sometimes it seems like things are so slow, but right now it's like they'll never slow down!!! Please pray about all of that as well.

Kaitlyn, shy? No!

Well, the performance went really well!! My friend Raquel told me that the people's reaction was stronger than some in the past -- some told her that they were brought to tears, especially by our human video "I Pledge." Overall, Friday was a really great night. I had a fun time hanging out with the SAVERS and I'm relieved that everything went smoothly.

To the right is a picture of me just before my "death." That's Nicko holding the gun.

Last week I was feeling a little blue -- I was discouraged, because although I am forming relationships here, none of them are really that "deep." Sometimes I feel like no one here really knows me. When I'm having a bad day, or missing home, or anything - I don't really know who to talk to. I was able to talk to someone about all of this though, and he reminded me that building deeper relationships takes time. He said to try and understand that it is just as hard for them as it is for me. I feel blessed to have made friends here, but please pray that I'll continue to *really* get to know the people here, especially the kids my age. Things have gotten better though, and I don't feel as discouraged -- I've been getting better about truly being myself around these people. Sometimes I think I seem shy and quiet to the people here -- but those of you who know me well know that I'm usually NOT! (In fact, sometimes it is hard for my family to get a word in at the dinner table!) The other night I finally decided to stop worrying about having anyone to talk to, or people thinking I was crazy. I was myself -- laughing, smiling, talking, dancing -- and it felt great! I found that when I acted more like myself, more people talked to me, too. So I'm going to keep working on that. :]

The "Still" dance is coming along - we know it all, just have to perfect it - and we finished learning our new hand mime!! The anniversary and Servantes/Mancayan trip are coming up quickly though, so we're trying to fit in as many practices as we can.

Finally finished teaching parts of speech to my English students, and we're going to move on -- I'm going to have them read C.S. Lewis' book "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." That should be fun and will definitely be a nice change. I haven't been going to the elementary school lately due to vehicle issues - but today will finally be going again. I hope to teach them another song -- hopefully they remember the last one I taught!!

love,k

SAVERS

Tonight (Friday) I am traveling with the SAVERS Club to a place called Parparurug (I know I butchered the spelling...), where we'll be performing at their church anniversary. I think it's their 12th or something. We're only performing two things -- both human videos -- because the youth at Parparurug also have a performance planned. (Dance, I think.) The first human video is to the song "I Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb." In it, we portray the persecution and killing of Christians. It's really powerful, and I have a role, which is exciting (my role is probably the most dramatic and involves a lot of screaming, fighting, crying, running...). The second is called "Tomorrow," and it's about a girl who postpones giving her life to Jesus. It's much simpler than the first, but also very good.

We're also continuing to prepare for our own church anniversary and our outreach trip to Mancayan, which is about 12 hours away from here and up in the mountains. We're working on two new hand mimes, and I've been asked to lead a dance to the Hillsong song "Still." One of our leaders found a video on YouTube of a Korean group doing an interpretative dance to the song, and we are going to try and learn their dance. I'm still working on it -- it's kind of difficult to watch a video and figure out what exactly the performers are doing. If you're interested, here is the link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyjWUJ4Vels

Outside of SAVERS stuff, everything is going well. I don't have much to report -- still teaching, etc. I'm also learning to cook some cool stuff :)

love,k

P.S. I will try and get some good pictures tonight of our performance -- so you can get an idea of how it went!

Discovering the Reality of God

It's about 9:45, and I just got in from the Friday night activities. Tonight was the night I preached at the youth service -- the other day I still hadn't figured out what I was going to talk to, but in listening to an old sermon of my youth pastor's about the Lion of Judah I was inspired to share some of the same things with the kids here. I preached out of Revelation 5 and talked about the reality of God -- how he is both the Lion and the Lamb, and how in realizing that we will lose our contentedness and live fully for His kingdom. Anyway, I could give a ton more details, but I won't.

All this week (after I'd written the sermon outline) I felt great about it. I had been stressed and worried and nervous about it, and it was a huge weight off my shoulders to finally know what I was going to be sharing -- and to feel so good about it!! Tonight about an hour before it was time to speak all the nerves finally hit me. I wasn't really nervous about the topic, or speaking in front of them, just about talking too fast, for too long, etc. -- and terrified that the kids wouldn't understand at all. I was really praying that the Lord would stir something up in their hearts as they heard me speak, but I was still worried that He wouldn't. However, as soon as I started speaking all my nervousness subsided and I felt totally at ease. Afterwards two of my friends (Macky and Bhong) were making fun of me because I talk with my hands and move around when I'm speaking, and because I kept saying "anyway" and all this stuff. I may not be the best speaker, but I think I did a pretty good job. Even if the kids didn't get it, I think the leaders did -- and that is a start.

It's been raining all day today and a lot this whole week -- weird, because it had stopped raining until recently. I wonder if we're getting in one last good rainfall before rainy season comes to a close. Regardless, I kind of like it. I love that rainy-day feeling, just cozying up on the couch with a good book and some fuzzy socks and a bowl of soup. (Mind you, here it's rainy and hot, so I really don't do any of these things. But you get the idea.)

Tomorrow's Compassion Day and will hopefully just be a good time of me spending time with people. I'm looking forward to that -- I always look forward to the weekends. :) All in all, I'm doing pretty well and feel great about life in general here, especially my role (I still haven't figured out everything, but I know that I am being used). It's encouraging.

love,k

Cold, Cold Baguio City

Just a quick update on what I've been up to lately --

Thursday and Friday of last week I was sick with some sort of stomach virus. I spent the majority of both of those days resting. Friday night I traveled with the youth group to Sarrat, a place about 10 or 15 minutes away, for a joint youth fellowship between several different churches. We began around 8:15 and finished after 11!!! I performed the "Shine" hand mime with the SAVERS club for the first time, and we did pretty well.

Monday (yesterday!) I went to Baguio City with the three ladies I live with and Rendo, our driver. I woke up at 4:30 and we left around 5:30. Ugh! The trip takes around 7 hours, but it took us longer because we stopped over somewhere for the end of a funeral (I didn't know the people, but I've met some of their family members). While there I learned some of the superstitions and traditions they have here, especially regarding funerals -- foods not to eat, ways to turn the casket, clothes to wear, etc. Apparently most Christians do not follow those (thankfully), though. We arrived in Baguio around 3 PM -- it was freezing cold, because it is up in the mountains -- and visited Pastor Florie's cousin, who had been living in Italy until recently when she began having severe pains in her right leg and later learned they were cancer-related. She's had two surgeries since June, one last Sunday. Later in the evening I took a taxi with Rendo and Auntie Pat (the younger sister who I live with) to meet Jay, a friend of mine from the church here who has been studying in Baguio. It was an exhausting day but worthwhile. I really loved the city and can't wait to have an opportunity to go back!!

all my love,k

Balacad Elementary School

On Tuesday I traveled about 30 minutes away to a more primitive area called Piddig, where one of our daughter churches is located, for the church groundbreaking. The church members previously met on a basketball court -- praise God that they will now have somewhere to meet!! A construction team is doing much of the work (headed by one of Full Gospel Main's members, the father of two of my friends), but many of the local church members (men who aren't working during the day) are laboring for free.

Today was my first day at Balacad Elementary School -- about 20 minutes outside of the city. Two of the older church members teach there, and we've arranged for me to work with the students there, primarily in their music class. Today I stayed for about an hour and taught them the song "Eagles' Wings." Hopefully I will go back next Tuesday and teach them some motions to the song. (That is something I still haven't gotten used to -- the kids here are taught motions with practically every song they learn!!) I meant to bring my camera along so I could take a picture, but I forgot. Maybe next time.

Tomorrow I'll be going to Pagudpud, what they call the "white sand beach," with the ladies I'm staying with and some other women who have been visiting (they are from Manila and are here for a women leaders' seminar). I'm excited to have a day to relax while still being around people.

I miss and love you all! I'm preaching at the Friday youth service on the 21st-- pray for me, that God will give me the right message for these kids. Also, tomorrow night I will be leading the "learning new songs" session for the youth group and teaching them two Hillsong United songs: Hosanna and Solution. I hope that God will use even that time to minister to the young people here through me.....
love,k

Students

These are my students -- the second years! From left to right: Baby Rose, Minerva, Ruth, and Cheryl-Lai. :)

Multilingual God

Life in the Philippines can be pretty slow at times. It's funny, many people here talk about their “busy schedule” – but for most, it isn’t that busy at all. I think that if these people were to see how rushed things are in America, they’d be amazed. We are all in such a hurry for nothing in particular. Sometimes it’s nice to enjoy life’s simple pleasures. I have to admit, though – I am naturally a person who likes to be busy, so all this relaxation is starting to get to me. I’d like to have more things to do. I have become addicted to Francine River’s “Mark of the Lion” trilogy, but am worried that once I finish the books I will become more easily bored. (This is a great Christian series, if you’re ever looking for one.)

Here’s what’s been going on since my last post (Wed. August 16):

On Friday (Aug. 17) there was a pastor’s conference here at the main church. I attended the morning service, then ate lunch with everyone and planned on relaxing or talking to the Bible students for the rest of the day, while the pastors had meetings. I wound up spending several hours in conversation with one student named Michal, a 17 year old girl who moved to Laoag this year from 10 hours away to begin Bible school. Over the past few days I’ve found that we have a lot in common and are going through many of the same things. One struggle we both have is – “Why did you bring me here, God?” We also both have a heart for the young people and a desire to somehow make a difference in them. Through our conversations this week she’s been a huge encouragement to me, particularly through sharing things that God has spoken to her about me. I know now that one of the main (if not the only) reasons God brought me here this year is for this youth group. I long to see a shift in their hearts, their desires and their priorities. One thing in particular that I am hoping to see is a move toward more Spirit-led worship. Right now, praise & worship often consists of just singing song – the flow of the Holy Spirit is “broken,” as Michal put it (she is also praying for this move toward Spirit-led worship).

Michal and I will be leading the “learning new songs” week – the second Friday in September. We have to choose 4 songs and will be teaching them to the young people….One we have already picked is Hillsong United’s “Hosanna.” I know that the songs don’t really matter when it comes to worship, but I am praying that God will show us the right songs to teach them. Maybe in the process we can introduce a completely new atmosphere of worship that isn’t as structured as it is now.

I have had several opportunities (mostly over the weekend) to be around the young people in the church and get to know them better. (Of course, I already knew most of them – but God is establishing friendships rather than acquaintances…) I wonder if this is related to the ministry I will have with the young people – if these friendships will pave the way for deeper ministry. I’ve been asking God to show me specific people and how I can be used in their lives – because I feel like I am not only supposed to work in the youth group as a whole, but in certain members who have more specific needs. In the meantime, I’m enjoying hanging out with the kids in the church here. They remind me a lot of my youth group at home (in some ways – but they are different in others).

The other night as I was praying, I asked the Lord what he wanted me to show these young people, what it was that I had that He wanted me to teach them. He told me (in Ilocano!!!) – “your desire.” I am excited to have received some answers about my role here, even if I don’t know exactly how things will play out. Pray that God continues to increase my patience while I am here, in all areas of my life.

Finally, I have become much more comfortable with the Bible students. They are still much shyer than the young people in the church (Pastor Florie tells me that the youth group here were drawn to me from the beginning, much more than any other person my age who’s been here – was this God’s way of opening doors for my ministry to them?), but they’re not as shy as they have been in the past. My English class is going well – I am teaching basic parts of speech and am trying to make class more fun. They students have been participating and seem to be enjoying themselves, so I hope they’re learning.

Thank you for your prayers and support….

love,k

Tudo (Rain)

Well, I made it through my first day as English teacher!! It went well, for the most part. My students were very quiet and shy, though. I am hoping that after a few lessons they will become more talkative. By the end of today's lesson they were answering my questions and seemed to understand the basic parts of speech I taught them using the sentence: "Silly Billy, a nice friend, ran quickly to the park and sang Susan a song."

The textbook that the teachers in the past have used for this class is okay for basic English learning on your own, but does not provide much to use in a classroom setting -- it basically just allows for lectures. Since that would be completely boring for me and for the students, I have been adding some of my own (and my mom's -- it helps having an English teacher for a mom!!!) ideas. The school year began in June, and they supposedly covered two chapters already, but in my review of those chapters I found that they didn't have any grasp of the material.....it makes me sad to think that all they've been getting in class are lectures straight from the textbook -- word for word!!! Rather than move on to the third chapter, I've decided to go back over the things they have covered but don't understand. I think having a "native" English speaker teach the class should help.

Naragsak nak (I am happy) to say -- I have learned some Ilocano!!! (The dialect they speak here -- Tagalog is the national language, but there are many dialects.) Tonight the people I'm staying with hosted a party, and some of the young people from church stayed around afterwards - they are the ones who taught me. I already knew some things, but I am learning more and more. Hopefully by the end of my stay I will be able to communicate..... once I get the hang of the "ng" sound!!


Naimbag a rabiiyo amin! (Good night to you all!...I will have to check my grouping of the words -- everything blends together when you say it, so I'm not sure how to piece it together.)
love,k