A missionary!? Ok... so maybe i AM.....

"Are you in the Peace Corps?" they ask in hopes to show off their English speaking skills to the blond haired girl with white skin and blue eyes. For this reflection shows strength and promise in this brown skinned 3rd world country.

"No, I am a volunteer. But I have come on my own." as you could probably tell, i am this blond hair girl.

"So you are a missionary?" usually with lit up eyes this is the next expression.

"Well," she stammers, always hating that term..."my life is missions. But i am not a missionary."

This is a conversation i have had at least 15 times in the past 2 years. Maybe you have even been the one asking me. I don't know where my jaded attitude toward that label has come from, but i am more open to what it means after this past weekend.

We were able to go out on our first 'outreach' One of the high school teachers chose 5 students from the Deaf academy and we prepared a lesson in Jesus' birth. 5pm Friday afternoon we began our journey to Jagna, where 46 Deaf Elementary students awaited the arrival of the visitors they were told had activities planned for them.



we taught them new vocabulary that was related to the nativity story. The high school students acted out the entire story. in a 15 minute drama they started with Gabriel visting each Mary and Joseph all the way to the Shepherds and wisemen coming to the manger. We had color pages to relate each sign with the characters to help them understand the concept of Jesus being born.



They understood that Jesus was born. But they could not understand the importance. How do you explain the concept of a Savior to children who just found out several months earlier that they had a name? What is sin anyway? This is going to be a long process. But it seems that God has already begun the process. Mother Teresa said, 'What we are doing may just be a drop in the ocean, but the ocean would be less without that one drop.' living next to the ocean and seeing the days when the sky and ocean seem to be one in the combination of grayness... this journey is bittersweet.



After the day and a half of trying to explain that the baby Jesus acted out in recent drama was the same Jesus on the cross they see all over this 'Catholic' nation... none seem to comprehend.

I spent my last 15 minutes in Jagna trying to reiterate to a 7 year old that Jesus is spelt J-E-S-U-S.. not J-S-S-U-E... it is difficult for them to learn the letter order, much less the importance of that Holy name. It was at that moment, holding back tears when frustration wanted to arrive that my heart accepted the label, MISSIONARY. that word has become less scary, but i still prefer Kingdom Builder. I can not associate myself with those who give up their families, friends, cleanliness ect... to come to foreign places for the rest of their lives, all in His name. My life does not compare.

On a lighter note: here are some of the amazing pictures i promised in my last post... They do not do justice as to how incredible that view actually is. It brings new light to the words in Genesis when it says God created the land and the sea... How light those words seem until you see the splender, and in only 6 days! How great.. impossibly great.


i am standing on some really old volcanic rock. Bohol doesn't have volcanoes anymore..




Splendid view. This is where I will pitch my tent in just 2 weeks:




Imagine the sun rise and setting up here...Another view from where my tent will be pitched:


After riding up and down 2 mountains behind Lee... this is what I looked like:

Aweful Experiences turned into great learning opportunites.

I met a group of good friends about 1 month ago. When I hang it is usually with them. Luke, matet, and jean. One of their friends from manila came to visit this weekend. Jean was very busy at the time of his arrival so I went with her to pick him up from the airport. We dropped jean off at college and Irvin and I went all around Tagbilaran city for 3 hours while jean was in class. I offered them to stay at my house for the weekend. So luke joined as well. Irvin really loves to cook, so he made us a great breakfast on Saturday morning at 5am before we headed out to find waterfalls and caves.



We went to a couple falls and a cave, and explored other places along the way. Because of the on and off storms around the island we were unable to enjoy the water at the falls or climb into the caves due to the fast flowing currents. It is amazing to me how different those same places looked a couple weeks ago when I was there and the tide was low.




We stopped at a pier to eat lunch one day. This particular place doesn't have a menu since whatever is caught that day is what they will serve. Instead of telling you what is available or unavailable (like most places, i go through my first 6 choices before i find one that they have available) they bring you to a standing freezer with trays of frozen seafood that was caught that morning. You pull out the trays and decide what you want them to cook and how you want it cooked. That was a new experience.



There were some great shells in the water near where we ate. Some HUGE clam shells. i found a ladder leading to the water and decided to go in and get my own clam. The Filipinos i was with discouraged me entering the ocean at a restaurant, but I assured them that they wouldn't have a ladder leading into the water if they didn't want us to go in. I underestimated the depth of the water and was wet up to my waist. But, it was worth it.



Irvin made us an amazing supper once we arrived home. We went to the market to buy seafood and i finally was able to see how to purchase the freshest fish and then how to cook it properly.

Sat, Sun, and Monday everyone stayed at my Bungalow. it was great to have people there. I was reminded how i felt in college when i desperately wanted to live alone, and now how much i appreciated the company.

Monday Morning I went to drop off Jean at home and meet the boys at Dunkin Donuts to start out our next adventure to a zip line about 3 hours away. After arriving at Dunkin I noticed my Ipod did make it with me. I immediately got back on my bike to retrace the 10KM i had driven that morning. with every passing second i began to panic more and more realizing how important that one small device was to me. Searching the sides of the roads while people called out to me from every direction i burst into tears. Pulling over i began to pray and express to God how important it was for me to have my ipod back.
it is after all my connection to memories back home:
..each time I replay Beyonce, Iron and Wine, Ingrid Michaleson, Skillet and the dozens of other playlists my friends have made for me
..several movies Brian had uploaded before my first trip
..Sermons in English
..worship music that is as important for my morning shower as the water that comes from the shower head.
wiping away the tears, i got back on my back still pleading with God that no one had picked it up. After several minutes of this i realized it was impossible that someone would not have picked it up by this time. So i asked the Holy spirit to give me wisdom as to where it had been picked up so they might return it to me. I was asking this over and over and 2 minutes later i saw a group of people and pulled over. I began to tell them I lost something very special to me, and one woman said, "I have it!" and she ran in the house and brought out MY IPOD!!! I burst into tears again , "Salamat Kaayo!!" i repeated several times, "thank you very much" She held out her hand, knowing some American culture, and i gave her a big hug! Very late to meet the boys at Dunkin by now i left. I did return the next day with 2 dozen donuts as a token of appreciation.

Praising Jesus with worship music blaring in my ears from this small device i now had a new found appreciation for, we arrived at Danao Adventure Park. The zip line makes you feel like you are flying. you lay down in sort of a thick blanket and with the command, "BOMBS AWAY" they fling you across the river made cannon. beautiful.

Arriving back in Tagbilaran sun burnt and happy, we prepared our last evening with Irvin.

Wednesday morning Lee and I were given the task of checking in on 2 trainees. Sagbayan and Jagna. They are on opposite sides of the island. Neither of us had ever cut straight through the island. With each of us on our respective motorcycles we began the journey to Sagbayan. On the way Lee pointed out 2 new waterfalls for me, and we stopped at the 3rd. Walking over a small stream, through someone's yard, and down a steep hill, we made it. There are too many jagged rocks and you would have to have perfect aim in order to jump off of it... so we just appreciated the beauty.
(pictures to come)

What should have been a 2 hour ride through the center of Bohol to Janga turned into about 4 hours. We both had been appreciating a huge mountain range and decided to find a way up it. After asking directions several times we found ourselves venturing through the mountain on our motorcycles. Upon reaching the top we walked around and found the most amazing views. no picture or description could even begin to explain this place.
(pictures to come)

Making it down the mountain and back to the roads that led to our original destination we found that the roads are currently being excavated and run jagged up a mountain and back down the other side arriving in Jagna. it was beautiful but VERY dusty. Being behind Lee and every once in a while behind A huge piece of machinery AND lee, I arrived in Jagna with a gray sweater that one was white and a thick coat of gray dust all over my face making me look much older than 24.

We made it back to Tagbilaran by taking the highway that runs all along the ocean. There was a nice cool breeze and the sun was beginning to set. We were in perfect position the entire ride to watch the slow and colorful decent from the sky into what seemed to be ocean, but really was the other side of the world. Too bad i can not take pictures with my eyes.

I was on my way back home after working at the office yesterday and the police had set up a block in the road stopping every vehicle to check for proper registration and license. Um, remember how I told you i needed to get my license.. Oops. i forgot, until that moment as i was pulling over. He asked for my passport to see how long i had been here. since i only i have 60 days. Knowing i had been here over 60 days i was relieved to have left my wallet at home. Really the first time i did this. He never directly asked how long i had been here, i didn't lie at all. I began to explain that i left everything at home and express how sorry i was, Sir. And even through in some Visayan phrases. He told me to be careful and to bring my paperwork with me everywhere i go.

No, i will not be getting my license. josh will arrive soon, he can drive until I leave for Indonesia and will get another arrival stamp when i return. Meaning i will have enough weeks left before i need to get a license. :)

oh.. one last thing: I starting Stick Fighting (Arnis) self defense classes last week. :)

responsibilities...

If you remember, i was given a list of responsibilities to accomplish in my time here. I was reviewing with Dennis (the president of IDEA) all that i have been doing the past 2 months and he reminded me of one thing.

He wanted me to assist one of the teachers at the High School with creating an evangelism program for some High School students to visit the 4 Deaf elementary schools. Well, i had only tried a few times, but that teacher was always busy or it just didn't work out. So, Dennis put me in charge.

What he is looking for:
a 4 year evangelism curriculum that will train several Deaf High School students in bible stories so they can reteach them to the Deaf elementary students.

To remind you, this is not as easy as it may sound.
first: four years is a long time
Second: the deaf elementary students are learning their first words at age 8-10. they will not understand things like Faith or even manger when signed. Much vocabulary will have to be taught before any lesson is given.
Third: I am not qualified for any of this.
Fourth: i have never created a lesson much less an entire curriculum to span 4 years.

... none of that matters...

Once given the task i arrived home and began to cry and pray, convinced it was impossible. i was praying for motivation to even begin this project and half trying to figure out excuses to give Dennis as to why I can not complete it.

After about an hour i had a knock on my door. One of the Deaf students from the High School. He was bored and wanted to ask me a million questions about America. I answered all his questions and then he asked if I was a Christian. Then prompted me to tell him a bible story. So i began to reenact the story of David and Goliath in Filipino Sign Language.
15 minutes later the boy stared at me wide eyed and proceeded to explain how amazing it was that David, such a small boy would take up such a dangerous act all because he felt that God was leading him. He was in awe. at 19 years old he had never heard this story. He is not a Christian and wanted to hear more stories.

Needless to say, this is all the motivation i needed to begin writing this curriculum. As difficult as it may be, this is the only way the elementary kids are going to learn about the bible. In turn, the High school kids i train will develop a deeper understanding of the bible.

In a hearing world, these kids learn Visually. So, time to begin creating dramas for every bible story i can think of. :)

Pray for me.
and for encouragement. I find that i am the biggest discouragement to myself.

bouncing buses and super small boats.

I encountered many more adventures this past week than I had originally planned. I have learned to be flexible and in this I have found myself in the strangest places with new friends each time.

I had spent a little over two months in Tacloban, Leyte, another island, a year and a half ago. I have many friends there that I have missed so much. From the moment I arrived here in Bohol I had planned to spend October 31st to November 8th in Tacloban hanging out with friends once again since the Deaf school will be on semester break. Well, the AG church I have been attending was holding a women’s conference from November 3-4th. So I prayed about it and talked with some friends who also thought it would be beneficial to come back to Bohol early and attend the women’s conference.

The adventure starts on October 31st. I woke up at 3am in order to do my devotions and prepare myself before leaving at 4:30am. I knew the first van left the terminal at 6am, however I live 5km away from the terminal and needed to find a ride. So I gave myself plenty of time to wave one down. At 4:30am I proceeded to walk about 1 km to the highway where I only waited about 15 minutes before a tricycle driver (a motorcycle with a really cool side car) was able to pick me up and take me to the terminal. At 5am I was not prepared to argue with him in my broken Visayan so I paid almost twice the rate I was prepared (still only about 50cents) as he took me the long way to the terminal. As many of you know, time is not really of importance in third world countries. So even though the first van leaves at 6am… really we left about 5:30 since the van was already full. 50 degrees hotter and Two hours later I found myself in Ubay, another city on the other side of Bohol. I was told I could take a boat to Leyte for very cheap. Along with that advice I was told it was only a little smaller than the ships I had taken in the past. Well… the ships seated about 200 and were enclosed… this boat was maxed out at 40 with splashes from the ocean on occasion.. And that is 40 Filipinos, so really only 20 Americans. Not to mention about 10 minutes into the open sea that same friend who told me to take that boat text me and said that another typhoon was heading toward manila and maybe I should take the bigger boat to be safe. Thanks. On this boat I made some friends who harvest seaweed for a living. They actually make a lot of money doing this. They have their own private section near a small island. They gave me their phone numbers and prompted me to call them once Josh arrives and they will have us come with to their plot and let us snorkel for free while they harvest some seaweed. I am not sure if Josh is up for that, but I sure am. Don’t worry mom, I won’t go alone. Another two hours later and I arrived in Bato, Leyte. I was able to catch a van from Bato to Tacloban which took about 3 and a half hours. It was a long trip. I could have taken a plane ride which takes 1 hour for about $25, but this trip cost me about $6 total and I met some new friends.

Once I arrived in Tacloban I was shocked! It is a new city. They built a HUGE mall, even bigger than the malls here in Bohol. And also they tore down the small store that I always went to and built a bigger version of it adding a KFC and a Pizza Hut! Not only that, they have Stop lights and cops now! People seemed to be obeying the traffic laws even more than they do in Bohol. They also built a dome that has different bars and coffee shops all around it. There is WiFi every corner you turn. And my favorite Videoke (karaoke with pictures) bar has closed down, moved across town and now has Huts and cement floors instead of Nipa walls with a dirt ground. The people seem to have more confidence no matter what part of town I was in. A much different feel to the entire city. All I have to say is that if I had arrived in Tacloban now instead of a year and a half ago, it would have been a different experience. It made me realize the importance of God’s timing at an even greater depth.

After the short trip of seeing all my friends and accidentally making new ones, I was off again at 3am on Monday morning. I found a van that was going to Maasin, Leyte. None were going to Bato. I was almost positive that Bato was on the way to Maasin. However, my Vasayan was no good in Tacloban since they speak Wary-Wary. And all I could remember was Please, thank-you, how much does it cost, and Stop. So, those phrases didn’t help in figuring out my way back to Bohol. Anyway, yes, Bato was on the way and I got off near the port and rode on a bicycle of nice guy to the end of the pier. I noticed there was a boat going to Talibon, Bohol that left half an hour earlier than the boat to Ubay. They are both equal distance to Tagbilaran, however the boat should take less time to get to Talibon by the way of the waves. This would have been true if we had not had engine trouble half way to bohol. No problem, we made it. It took much longer, but we made it. Then once I arrived I decided to take the bus that was ready to leave, rather than wait for a van to fill up. The bus was so full I had to hang on to the outside of it for the first 10 minutes, then I was able to stand inside for another 15 minutes before getting a seat. November 1st is All souls All saints day. Bad day to travel. All the Filipinos go to the grave site of their dead loved ones and celebrate the life they remember with that person. Everyone travels on the 1st and 2nd as they are National holidays as well. The entire bus ride ended up taking 5 hours. I should have waited for a van. Either way, I made it.

I didn’t realize how much actually happened this past week. I guess the Women’s conference will have to wait until another post. I will try to put up pictures of it all soon. Thanks for your prayers. I am certain that is why I have peace when I travel without an itinerary and still arrive