Ghetto Skiiing...

This past week felt like the longest week since I have been here. I am not sure what it was about the week. But, it didn't go by fast. ha. Monday we did some shopping at the SM Mall and we also watched a movie. Lizzy met up with us for dinner and then she came back to the orphanage with us. She stayed in my room with me. It was nice to have a friend over int he girls house to talk to when falling asleep at night and to just hang out with all the time. She is so funny! She also let me use her computer to get on Skype and I got to call home for the first time in five weeks! It was really nice!!! I needed it this week too!

Lately the girls have been fighting more. This past week I had to literally pull two girls off of each other who were hitting,kicking and pulling out each other's hair by the chunks. I asked what they were saying to each other and one of the older girls said one of them called the other one ugly. haha. Nanay and me laughed about it a little bit but the girls definitely got in trouble for it!!!

This past week we also had a group of kids run away from the orphanage. Someone found them and brought them back! It was a big deal. ANd one of the workers got fired over it. They were a good friend of mine. IT was kind of a sad week in that respect. Everyone was sad because they fired this one worker and the kids were in big trouble.

Lizzy was here filming our team for the video she is putting together for NEhemiah Teams for the summer. I went with her to take the kids lunch at the school one day this past week. While I was there TONS of kids swarmed us. I was so tired that day. And they kept talking to me in Cebuano. So, I couldn't really understand what they were saying. They were touching my face, rubbing my arms, playing with my hair. haha. For an hour I had kids all over me. It makes me laugh what fascinates them. One night I was brushing my teeth and about five girls in my room stood there watching me. I was like,"I have never felt like such an interesting person in all my life!" I mean, everything I do here is fascinating to everyone! HAHA.

THis past week we also looked at and bought some jewelry from Mary D. She is a worker at the orphanage that makes jewelry and the money she makes from it goes to support the orphange! SHe makes some really pretty stuff.

This past week we have done a lot of painting. We finished up painting the only room we had left in the Caltex House. And, we also started sanding and painting the cabinets. Everything looks so good. I got really sore and exhausted though from all the work we have been doing.

Now that MJ is in school I have started washing dishes from 6:00-7:30 every morning. There are so many dishes it takes so long! But, it is good knowing that the lady who usually does all those dishes doesn't even have to for at least two more weeks!

I have been so burdened this past week for the workers here. they never get a break. Some of them have been working for seven years without a day off! They are all exhausted. I just really wish there were some way we could do more to relieve them and give them a break while we are here! I want to do so much more than I am doing!

I didn't get any naps this past week! HAHA! I have been working too much most days for that. I have been trying to catch back up on my homework too because I haven't been doing it faithfully. lol. It takes so long to do what they ask.

Saturday we got to join the staff here at the orphanage to go do home visits for the church. Home visits here are so interesting because you have to hike to get to a lot of the houses. One house was about a mile and a half down a mountain. So, we hiked down. It was SO PRETTY at the top though. I wish I could put up pictures of the view from the top of the mountain. We went down to the bottom and hung out with the family. THe father of the family took us to the river and showed us his farmland. It was really nice to get out into the community and see how people REALLY live. Because, the kids at the oprhanage have it really good compared to most of the community. IT was interesting to see how most people live. It was also very sad.

Saturday we also had a movie night. We watched the movie CARS and had snacks. Some missionaries from Australia brought the kids chips, chocolate and cokes! It was so nice!!! OF course I enjoyed it too! haha. The kids were so cute watching the movie!

Yesterday morning we spent a lot of time cleaning the church for the service. WE set up the chairs, swept, and cleaned the CR (the bathroom). It was hard work and I got all sweaty and nasty for church. haha. I am pretty much always sweaty here. It is funny how back home 85 degrees seems SO HOT but here it feels SO NICE! It is always burning up here.


One of the kids shared their testimony with me this past week. It was so sad because he was given up by his father at age four because his father gambled money away and then couldn't support him. He was then given to his uncle who found him a burden and gave him to a friend. The friend found him a burden and then gave him to the oprhanage. It is so sad to see the affects that the parents decisions have on their children. It makes me so mad to think about a father's choices doing that to a kid! So many of the kids are here because of poor decisions on their parents part or because their parents don't really care. I look at these beautiful kids and it breaks my heart. I'm just thinking,"How could you not want that?" These kids are so precious!!!

Last night they had a going away party for an american visitor that came to visit for two weeks.The kids were getting really sentimental and sad that we were going to leave. So, they kept asking when we were going to leave. They kept bringing us so many flowers. They made me a brown to wear on my head. I had so many flowers in my lap. They kept kissing us and telling us they loved us! It was so sweet but kind of sad. It got me thinking about leaving them and how hard it is going to be! I wanted to cry!!! It is going to be so hard. I only have two weeks left now. I wish I could put up pictures of all this stuff!!!

The kids have gotten into this phase where they repeat everything we say. They play the "copy cat" game. haha.But, it's pretty funny because they don't speak english. So, if you start speaking really fast they can't copy you anymore! I am enjoying that!!! I have also started calling MJ silly! So, she has learned the phrase. She know goes aroung saying,"SILLY SILLY" all the time! HAHA. This past week she tried to fix my hair. It took her about an hour to get it into a pony tail. Finally when she was done she smiled, clapped and then whiped her forhead! HAHA. SO MUCH WORK for such a little person!!! SHe also has been eating REALLY slow lately. And, she won't let me leave the table until she is done. So, everyone will be out of the dining room and it will just be me and MJ at the table. I think she finds it as a game now! HAHA. The kids are teaching me cebuano. And, I picked up some of the phrases like "What is your name?" "How old are you" etc...So, they are really confused now and think I actually know cebuano. They can't figure out how I can answer them. haha. It's really funny!

This past week somehow the water we got has ants in it. So, anytime I fill up my water bottle I get some ants in there. They are really big on WASTING things here so I just decided I would just drink the ants. haha. It was kind of gross. But, I do things here I would never do in America. I guess it is good for you in some way? haha. Maybe a good source of protein? I am telling myself that anyways!!! SO NASTY!

This morning the missionaries here took us to the beach to go skiing. It was kind of ghetto though because he pulled us from the beach on his motorcycle! HAHA! It was a lot of fun! The Filipinos looked us like we were crazy! I face planted it at one point. I am all scraped up and bruised!!! But, it was so fun1 This afternoon we are going to an island to go to a bat cave and to underground waterfalls! It should be fun!!!

It's been a hard week. I am getting so physically exhausted now. The chores I found easy are now ten times harder! Pray for my energy and endurance. I am getitng really weak. God is still teaching me so much. It blows my mind how much I have grown in just two months! He has taught me so much. He is definitely changing me in a lot of ways! And, they are good ways!

I am learning a lot about learning to listen to His voice and not to do all the talking. I am learning to sit before him and quiet myself and just be still. I am also learning so much about not worrying but fully trusting him. I have always been a worrier and it blows my mind how much peace God has given me here. I have not worried about a thing! God is so good!

Some funny things to wrap this up:

When you go to McDonalds here and you want to supersize something they ask you: "Would you like to go big time?" haha

Also, the kids came up to me this week and squeezed my arm and go,"SO BIG!" THey really do have a way of making you feel so skinny! apparently to tell someone they are fat here is a compliment! so they always tell us we are "big" or "chubby" haha. It makes me laugh!!!