Email Three

Hi One and All,

I am the one to start this off tonight we are all well except for a few minor cuts and bruises. We are now at Jireh Homes and have been since Friday afternoon. The weather has been a little cooler for the last couple of nights so has made sleeping a little easier as we have no fans in our rooms.
We are about 3 – 4 hours NW of Manila and on the Coast.
Today we are doing various jobs around the home. Sarah, Zara and myself dug a trench from one building to another for a water pipe to be put down. Glenis and Aimee cleaned up the doctor’s medicines and room. Izak and Phil first thing this morning began the outlines of a mural for on a wall of one of the cottages. Gordon instructed Tracy and Alice on how to build a frame for insect screens to replace those already in the cottages. Gordon and Chris have been up on the roof of a cottage sanding and preparing the roof for painting. This afternoon Aimee and Izak were up there helping. Sarah and myself ended up helping Tracy and Alice; Glenis and Zara were helping Phil paint the mural.
The children are rather sweet, ranging from ages 7 to 18 and there are 29 divided between 3 cottages. They run their own laundry called Brighter Wash and have a piggery and what a smell. Then in another area they have a rice field and a chicken hatchery. The vegetable garden is in this compound so they are trying to be self-sufficient.
Well I will leave it at this and let someone else continue.
Margaret

Hello and love to all. We are into our third week now and what an interesting and challenging time it has been. Each area we have visited has been so different and the work we have been involved in so varied. The highlight was yesterday (Sunday). After an early church service at 0730 we piled on the bus and headed for the hills to visit a hill tribe of people who are the original Filipinos. Smaller in stature, darker skinned and with curly hair. They have been resettled as their land was destroyed when mount Pinatubo erupted. We went on a medical mission with the English doctor who is resident here at the orphanage. We organized ourselves into a team and took temperatures, blood pressures, heart rates and resps. Then the doctor saw them and dished out pills. He has been visiting them 3 monthly for the last year and is really encouraged with the improvement in their health. The children were malnourished and with a new water pump so they don’t have to carry water from the river, things are so much better for them. They were friendly, welcoming and grateful for the help they are getting. Must have been hard for them to see 11 NZ white faces when they have had very little contact with Europeans. We had a 45 minute walk into their village from the end of the road so we really felt like true blue missionaries. It was a privilege to be able to be a part of the experience. Glenis.

Greetings! This is Tracy =)
I have had such a wonderful experiences so far. Meeting new people, challenging for the new foods, and doing what I’m not used to do back in NZ.
I’m smiling every second and enjoying every moment. Sometimes I get to think about my family, so I force myself to work really hard and that makes me a little tired but afterwards, it feels really nice. Today, we started on our new job at Jireh home. My job was to make the screens for the windows with my sister. Sawing and drilling looked very easy when my dad did it, but after having a try on it, it was harder than it looks. But I had fun doing it.
One of the awesome parts of this Jireh home is that they have a Karate lessons for those who are willing to take the challenge. It is very hard to keep up with all the other kids but it is very fun. haha
Anyway, thank you very much for reading my e-mail =)
Tracy YOON

Hi All, Sarah here. It’s hard to believe that our time here in the Philippines is drawing to a close. The time has flown by, but at the same time each day seems to be jam packed with enough things to make it seem like two. Tiring indeed! We are pushing ourselves to get three big projects here done. Kuya Joel, who runs the home has insisted that we spend our last afternoon here (tomorrow – Wednesday) at the beach! Phil and I had a big conversation about not being able to go to the beach here earlier in the trip, we’re both excited that we will be able to after all.Yesterday afternoon when most of the kids here were home from school, I pulled out 4 bottles of bubble blowing mixture and some balloons. The younger boys LOVED the bubbles and the others were quick to realize that balloons are a lot more fun filled with water. It was a fun evening. In our down time Izak keeps us amused with his song writing and guitar playing abilities! On the whole we’re much tighter as a group, being squashed together with no personal space in jeepneys and tricycles and sharing bedrooms and bathrooms is bound to do that. However, it’s obvious that we’ve drawn a lot and learnt a lot from each other through the other experiences we’ve had too. Thanks to everyone for praying!
Love,
Sarah


FLASHBACK to Emmaus Bible Camp…
The team met Kuya Rudy Ponce de Leon (what a cool name! And such a cool guy) in Quezon City and he drove us to EBC in Malolos, Bulacan. We took it easy for the first day but got stuck into the work for the following three. Most of us spent our time shoveling huge mounds of gravely dirt and transporting them by native wheelbarrows to fill in an area for another basketball court. Meanwhile, more loads of the aforementioned dirt were being added to our workload. With a bit of Kiwi ingenuity and Kiwi laziness, we devised a Master Plan, which would cut us middlemen and middlewomen out of the equation and have the dirt dumped directly to the designated site.
Chris and Gorrrrrdon helped other men do blockwork on an extension building. Wasn’t involved with that so can’t say more. Kuya Rudy played chess with Izak, which was very entertaining (I’ll let Izak talk more about it). I worked on a EBC sign with automotive paint that refused to dry. Unfortunately I was unable to finish it even with a lot of the team helping out. My aim for Jireh Homes: actually complete a painting job.
Lots of love,
(I miss you Mum and Dad. But shh… don’t tell anyone. I hope these group e-mails are sufficient for you. Its probably more than what I would have done by myself).
Peeleep (Phillip).


Greetings STOP.
Phil has dared self to write telegram style in attempt improve brevity STOP.
Much wildlife at Emmaus STOP.
Frogs in bathroom, geckos in kitchen, snakes in dirt pile STOP.
Terrified walking outside at night STOP.
Afraid might step on poisonous killer frog STOP.
Cold shower shared with said frogs STOP.
Cockroaches size of fist STOP.
With wings STOP.
Was eaten alive by mosquitoes and giant ants STOP.
Discovered grubs described Enemies of the Republic by Kuya Rudy STOP.
Enjoyed myself STOP.
Namarie STOP.
Zara STOP.

Ok, hey, Izak here.
A lots been covered by everyone else. So I feel at a loose end. The people here that have been hosting us throughout the Philippians have been so gracious. For example. We are half way to Jireh homes when we realize we are an entire day early. And all of us are going “Oh my goodness, I hope this hasn’t put them out to much. I hope we have a bed to sleep in tonight. 0_0”
But we did. Although the girls showers didn’t work, which caused a small turf war over the guys ones. The girls won. But us guys got the ultimate win later on when the girls got their bathroom back, only to realize their toilet didn’t have a seat. The guys toilets has a seat, and we NEVER put it down.
Kuya Rudy and I had a chess match, which Phil mentioned earlier. On the first game he bet me in moments, both of us only taking two pieces each. It was mind blowing. The next game was fairly even, until we both only had three pieces left (Not including the king.) He seemed so wise teaching me the game. As if he was at the same time, teaching me valuable life lessons. So my word of advice to you. When life is getting you down, and you seem to be getting nothing but problems. Just put your rook right in the middle of their pawns and start slaughtering them one by one. To give your opponent some grief for a while.
Peace, IFM


This whole time away has been a real learning experience. I am still overwhelmed by the contrasts in every aspect of life here. Poverty and wealth share the same locations, city & rural are intertwined so that it can be hard to work out just where you are. But the constant is one of such generous, warm, friendly people. At times they are shy or even afraid of us, especially as a group, but it can be easier in small groupings. The needs wherever we go are endless. We have notes of all sorts of possibilities for ongoing assistance both financially as well as practically. How can we best help? Is it by sponsoring individuals to give them a chance to change the cycle of life they are in; is it helping to fund a hovercraft to gain access for a missionary doctor to reach inland tribes with very significant needs for health care; is it to help fund the medications he needs on a regular basis; is it the building of a residential care for infants; is it the building of school blocks to provide opportunity for those who cannot afford to carry on through the system; is it funding for the maintenance of existing buildings that have got into serious disrepair due to both lack of funding as well as lack of expertise?
I could go on for ages. We have long lists. The needs are great. What we can do seems insignificant, yet we know from those here that it is anything but. They are very appreciative of what we can do. It’s our last day here & we have still a lot to get through so I’d better stop writing & get on with it. Look forward to catching up when we get home. God’s blessings to you all, Gordon

I’ve been asked to talk about my cockroach killing exploits at Jireh Homes… on our first night of our stay in the guest house we encountered a large 2-inch roach. Gordon managed to lure it into an empty packet of chips, but as we tried to move the bag outside it jumped out and made a run for it. At this I stepped on it with my sandaled foot and attempted to slide it out towards the door as it was trapped under my foot… which only resulted in a large smear across the floor. Disgusting, I know, but that was not what I had hoped for! Later we found another big one in the guys’ bathroom. Zara will point out that I was quite jumpy while dealing with this roach, but my defense was that I had no shoes. And I’ll mention that Zara was standing on the top of a stool. In another room. Enough said. I managed to remove this one without a large mess!
On a more serious note, I would like to mention a man I had the privilege of working with at Emmaus Bible Camp, named (Kuya) Johnny Ursa. He had the most infectious grin I’ve ever known and got stuck into his work with great and lively enthusiasm. But what I have remembered the most about this man is his strong and clear faith in Jesus. I can not easily describe it but I was struck by the strength of his conviction of the truth of the gospel and how obviously he delighted in God and in sharing Him. There’s not a lot more I think that I can say, but more than anyone else that I have met in the Philippines, Kuya Johnny has both convicted and encouraged me in my life in Christ. I would like to meet this man again.
Chris.

Aimee:

One more exciting thing that has happened in the time we have been here is the two days spent with Palangoy Christian Church and their youth group.
Some of the highlights for me were:

Izak finding it difficult to escape the mobs of 15 year old girls.
Sitting on a mountain top in the Philippines while some young people teach Tracy a new Brooke Fraser song.
Chris agreeing to preach two different sermons in two different services when he was only asked the day before.
Alice donating a guitar to the church’s outreach project. (the church had a guitar listed as a prayer request and their pastor was delighted)
Phil sharing his testimony (something he did not want to do but did on the spot willingly) with an older man who some of us visited and then praying in front of the whole church when they called out his name to do so without giving him any warning.
Zara taking up the challenged to read through the whole Bible and doing so diligently.

Our time with this church was challenging as the faith and actions of the young people was like nothing most of us had ever seen. And yet my own personal highlight was still hearing a song playing in Tagalog and realizing that I could translate it into English. For those of you who know me well, my Tagalog is extremely limited. A rough translation of the chorus would be, “Oh my, I’m only a transvestite.” I guess it is another case of not learning the most appropriate words in any given language first.