Summary of our trip

As I sit here in my home I think back to my twelve days in the Philippines and think of how blessed I am. I have a loving family, a roof over my head (which is a mansion compared to anything we saw while in the Philippines)all the food I can eat and the love of GOD in my heart. I have to choke back tears each time I speak of the Philippines. The people have really captured my heart. My kids asked me to take them to Mcdonalds for dinner and as I thought about taking them I realized that the money I would spend for 5 of us to eat there could feed several families for a week in the Philippines. I challenge everyone to think of this as they eat out or purchase something that is a "want" more than a "need". For as little as $20.00 a month you can sponsor a child in the orphanage and this will provide food for that child. Please consider sponsoring a child at the Wesley Home for Youth in the Philippines. We have placed 5 girls and 6 boys in the home. Their ages range from 15 to 7 years of age. Their names are Emily, Geraluz, Daisy, Michelle, Catherine, Glenn, John Micheal, Jolly, Jusin, John Lloyd and Dave. Please feel free to contact me for more information. I hope to have pictures and profiles of all of the kids next week and will place them on the bulletin board at church. Please take time to look at them. Chuck, Chris and I will be giving our Mission report at church in a couple of weeks. We will have lots of pics and video to show you. I hope to see everyone there. In the meantime here are a few pics for you to ponder over. Please take time to pray for these kids. Most have lost their fathers, have been living on the streets with no one to care for them, they have been begging for food and have been exploited in some way. They were like sponges absorbing all the attention we would give them. They were so appreciative and respectful.

I made friends with one little boy. His name was Jusin. He was nine years old, deaf and mute. He was the size of an average 6 year old american child. He was very sweet and wanting to be loved. I met him while attending a church service the 1st Sunday in the Philippines. He would look at me and grin a

nd I would make faces back at him. He would go back and forth and I wondered where his parents were. After service I was speaking with one of the pastors and asked about the child. He proceeded to tell me that he was a child that lived near the church but was not cared for by his parents. Both parents worked and they would leave him home alone with other siblings. Just the week before he had been missing for over 7 days. He had been roaming the streets riding one Jeepny (this is their version of a bus for public transportation) after another in Cebu. I later found out that out of desperation by his mother they would chain him up to keep him from wondering off while they were gone. This just broke my heart and I wanted to do something for this family not only for the kids but for the parents so that they would know that their children were safe. After several meetings with the parents Dustin and Arnell were able to convince the parents to let the two brothers move in the orphanage. The day the boys were dropped off at the orphange was a very joyful one. They were like kids in a candy store. They picked out their beds and were so excited to be doing so. One of the boys kept rubbing the wrinckles out of his blanket like he was ironing it. The boys were very dirty so I asked Chris to show them the shower. Chris said as soon as they saw the shower they jumped up and down very excited and began stripping off their clothes. For you see, these boys did not have a bathroom in their home. They used a simple garden hose to bath with. This simple fixture which is nothing to us americans was a "luxary" to them. Things that we take for granted was "luxary" to them. When one of the girls was asked if she would like a queen beed with sheets, blankets, pillows and curtains she responded with a simple "NO" when asked why would she not want this she replied, "it is too much". This got me to thinking......what is too much? That struck me to my core. When we think we need more money, more physical things, etc we should drop to our knees and thank GOD for what we have because when we think of the people in the Philippines WE HAVE TOO MUCH.

Here are a few pictures for you to think about. Please pray for these people. They need our prayers!

this child was sitting along the roadside. All alone with no parents.

this is where the children at the dumpsite play

Top Row.....Emily, Geraluz, Michelle, Catherine and Daisy

Bottom Row....John Micheal, Jolly and Glenn

Not pictured.....Jusin, John Lloyd and David

Jusin and John Lloyd....these are the brothers I mentioned above. As I was leaving for the airport to return home little Jusin ran to his room and grabbed his bag and placed it in the van next to mine. So sweet yet so sad.

Sad Day Today

Today we left 10 beautiful children in the Philippines. It was a very sad and emotional day. We had a farewell dinner with the kids last night because most of them were going to be in school today. The kids names are Emily, Daisy, Geraluz, Michelle, Catherine, Glenn, John Michael, Jolly, Justin and John Lloyd. I can't wait to get home and share their stories with you all. If you have not sponsored a child, then you need to. We accomplished a lot in the little time we were there but they will need continued assistance to keep the orphanage operating. Here is a pic of the kids with us. Justin and John Lloyd were not in the photo because they did not arrive until this morning.

Photos

Here are a few more pictures. tomorrow I will post pictures of the progress at the orphanage. Today electrical was run, beds were made, property was cleaned up, and bamboo was cut. This was just some of things that were done. Check back tomorrow for more progress.

We will be making a bamboo table using bamboo from the property. Also, there are many fruit trees on the property that will provide the children with fresh fruit. Below is Jack Fruit very expensive to buy here.

Pictures taken at Dumpsite

Little Boy at Santa Nino

Processing Our Day!

Wow! What a wonderful and busy day we had. We went to church at Cebu First Baptist. We met several wonderful people but the one that sticks in my mind the most is a 9 yr old boy. I would like to ask for you all to pray for him and his family. He is the cutest thing. We found out that he is being abused at home and can not speak or hear. We met with the parents last night and they may let him and his younger brother move into the orphanage. The father wants him to move in but the mother is hesitant. Here is a picture so you know who to pray for.....his name is Jushon and he is the one in the middle. The little boy on the left is is 6 yr old brother. They would both move into the orphanage.

After church we went to the dump site and bought the kids some candy and visited with them for a while. You would not believe how they live. It is so sad. We are so blessed to live in Americal. We need to try to do as much as we can while we are here. I will be bringing profiles back of the kids. Maybe you all could consider sponsoring a child. Just a few dollars will go a long way here. You can feed and send a child to school with just a few dollars. Please pray for these kids and all of the Philiapino families that live here.

After the dump site we went to the mall and purchased some supplies for the orphange. While we were doing that Arnell and Dustin were meeting with the parents of the kids that will be moving into the orphanage this week. We will be hosting a dinner at the orphanage on Wednesday for the parents and kids. We plan on making them a American style dinner.

We will go back to the orphanage today and work on electrical, painting, build a Gazebo and table out of bamboo that is on the property. We have lots to do in little time.

Thanks for following our progress. We miss everyone but know that we are doing GODs work and it is very rewarding. It is hard for me as a mother to see all of these kids without parents and just wondering around but I feel GOD has put us here to make a difference and we will do all we can to further his ministry and to help these people. GOD Bless and keep praying! Prayer is a powerful thing!

Good Morning!

Santa Nino
statue outside

little girl and baby begging on the street
people praying
Good morning from the Philippines. It is 9:00 am Sunday Morning. We are off to church, then to the dumpsite to visit the kids and then back to the orphange. We forced ourselves to stay awake yesterday after arriving in CEBU so last night when we went to sleep we very tired. We took a city tour yesterday and saw the Santa Nino. Here are a few pictures........

chuck after 12 energy drinks

We are in Manilla

After leaving on December 31st at 12:30 pm our time we are finally in Manilly on January 1st at 2:59 our time. Here in Manilla it is 4:00 pm on Jan 2nd. We are waiting to board our next flight to Cebu. We are tired but very excited to be here. I will try to post pics later.