The good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful...

What an eventful couple of days it has been! On Sunday morning we left for Antique. It is on the other side of the island. We traveled through mountains and hills and after about 2-3 hours finally arrived in our location.

So camp started on Monday it was such a great experience. The kids there were really amazing. They were more active and energetic than the other kids that we have been working with.


I started playing soccer with the boys and I danced with the girls during our free times. I have noticed that I feel that I do the most ministering through those times, just being with the kids and having fun with them. Through these experiences I saw that I was getting more emotionally attached to these beautiful Filipino children.

We had an amazing two days of ministering. We would play volleyball after camp and even got a chance to go to the beach! It ended up raining a lot when we were there, but we wouldn't let a little rain stop us (especially us Americans)!

So Wednesday morning, I was playing volleyball with the kids. One of the kids tried to go behind/under me to get a ball as I stepped back, the result=CRACK! I heard something crack and I was completely out. My ankle gave way and I couldn't walk or anything. So for the rest of the camp I just observed which is so hard for me because I am so active in leading the assemblies and doing the skits. But the kids were so caring and comforting which I have noticed is very cultural here. Filipinos in general are the most caring people I have ever met.

So as I came out limping, the kids all crowded around and said goodbye and it was very emotional for me. One because it was a great camp, two because I became very attached to the kids, three because this is the last camp for my good friend Natalie (she is leaving for the states).

There were some other complications getting back to Iloilo, but when I got back Miss Jude (thank God for retired nurses) checked out my ankle. It seems to just be badly sprained. So please just keep me in your prayers for healing in my ankle. It has proven to be very difficult not to be able to walk really while doing camp.

We are half way done our summer here in the Philippines! Time is flying by for sure, but it has been so much fun and I have really been learning a lot. I have 7 weeks until I come home. I just really want to be used fully in these next weeks. My desire is to touch the lives of the kids here.

Leia Mais…

Lambunao Camp

So the first away camp is finished. It was very draining (my body is fighting some sicknesses at the moment) but it was so very rewarding. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

Just to give you an idea of where we had camp. This is the view. It is on a farm in the mountanous (I'm pretty sure that isn't a word) part of the island.

This is John Evan and I. He would love to run away and be mischievous...
but became a perfect angel when the camera was out!

During down time (snacks and lunch) we had a lot of fun!

These boys challenged me to a little dance off to the High School Musical Soundtrack.
It was hilarious!!

Some storms came and put a little damper on our carnival plans.
But it was very beautiful and after profusely sweating all day felt quite refreshing!

We had some fun games that the counselors...uh I mean kids really got into!

The children really enjoyed their prizes.
It was so cute to see this girl concentrate so hard to blow a bubble!

There were lots of siblings.
It is really amazing to see how they care so deeply for eachother.

John Evan and Jiv Jiv...they were quite the characters.

My favorite part is just hanging out with the kids. They were wonderful.

The kids climbed up the coconut tree and got us some buko
(which is definitely becoming my favorite snack)!

Lambunao was beautiful, but the kids were even more beautiful. Hearing their stories was eye opening. I'm so glad that we got a chance to let them just be kids and have fun, but most importantly opening their eyes to the hope that they have through Jesus Christ. It was an amazing camp...but the hardest thing for me was to answer the "Will you be back next year?" question with a "no." It breaks my heart because I want to spend more time to make a greater impact. But I know that God can use what we did and He can bring people into their lives that can guide and mentor them. I pray that the seeds that were planted would reap a harvest.

Leia Mais…

How I Spent My Easter...

Easter in the Philippines is very different than anything I have ever experienced. The whole city shuts down Thursday-Saturday. On Sunday everything opens back up and is pretty much back to normal. So what did I do for Easter?

On Thursday, the whole gang got strapped up in our life jackets and took a boat over to Guimaras (the island next door to us). These are my new roomies, Sarah and Aimee.

Once we got there, we went hiking.
This is Natalie and I at the top of the mountain, or kinda close to it.

This is the view at the top of the mountain!
It was so beautiful, the picture doesn't do it justice.

We then got to relax and go swimming. The water was so refreshing and clear!

I would have to say the best part was riding on top of the jeepney. It was like a roller coaster! This is Zyross and I on top of the jeepney! Of course it isn't moving in this picture, it was stopped at the market so that we could get some world famous mangos!! Needless to say, this was a great day for us to relax before camp started back up.

On Saturday everyone got together for Easter dinner. The Camp Sonshine staff along with some other missionaries all gathered at the Anascos place to eat some great food! We even had some homemade apple pie (it was definitely my favorite food at the dinner!)

On Sunday and Monday we headed out to St. Barbara. We were helping with church planting…taking care of the kids while the pastors met with the parents.

Aimee and I showed off our tae-bo skills to the kids. They were clearly skeptical at first...


But pretty soon we had them all doing some tae-bo!! Billy Blanks would be proud!

We went to 4 different barangays in 2 days. We played games, sang songs, had skits, and prayed with the kids. It was a lot of fun! I hope that your Easter was refreshing and fulfilling as mine!

Leia Mais…

One camp down...

The very first camp of Camp Sonshine Philippines 2009 is over and it was wonderful! We had some last minute unexpected changes and therefore had camp at the Sonshien Center with our children. About 180 kids showed up Monday through Wednesday to have fun while growing closer to God.

I loved camp because we really just got to spend time with the kids there. I got to know some of the older girls and build relationships. It went by fast since it was only 2 and a half days but it was so good. I remembered how much I love camp and being able to just give everything to the kids there. My prayer is that the kids’ lives were touched in those times and that we helped to build memories that last a lifetime.


Just to give you an idea of how camp is for me, I have two jobs.
One is to help lead assemblies with Nomil...

and the other is to organize and lead the skit team
(here we are acting out Daniel and the Lion's Den).

Camp #1: Success!!!

Leia Mais…