$3.99 Canadian is 176 Filippino pesos

Sometimes I have a flashback and I'm hanging onto the back of a motorbike, roaring up the mountain with the smoke of a hundred little fires in the air, and the smell of broiling fish rushing past me. Or I close my eyes, and I am holding a tiny baby who has just been born, and suddenly he cries for the very first time, and I am there to hear it. Or I'm in the storage room at the office, and I can smell the dim, sweet, juicy smell of Bahandi bags. And then I open my eyes. And I'm far far away, in Canada. It's cold... I'm wearing a jacket and socks. I'm in a minivan, it smells like halls and air freshener, and there is no baby. But I'm holding my pink Bahandi bag on my lap, the one made with orange juice packs. It wasn't a dream....it really happened.

Where have the past two weeks gone? I really am safely back in Canada now, enjoying large quantities of dairy products and walking long distances without anyone asking me what my name is or even telling me how very tall I am. I saw Amberly yesterday...she's just the same as ever, working hard at her greenhouse, and she even finished Moby Dick (which she started on the plane home.) I'm super proud of her. It was so weird and awesome being together again here; the last time we met up in Canada we were friends, but we didn't know each other that well at all. Now, we know practically everything there is to know about each other. We met in Value Village actually, and it was nice to have Amberly there at my first real Canadian shopping experience since I've been back. I was deliberating buying a book for $3.99. That's 176 pesos. That's fare, and meals two days. Maybe even a mango. "It's ok Anna, you can buy that. This is Canada, so actually, that's super cheap." I did buy it. I'm over it now. =)
At 7, we met Ate Rhonda at Starbucks. Wow, it is SO crazy that we were all together in the Philippines, and now we could be all together here in Canada. We talked for two hours straight and still had SO much more to talk about! I just was so happy to see Ate safe and sound, and alive. She's doing well too, and it was so great to just toss Cebuano carelessly into the conversation and be understood. And they understand other things too. Like the whole in my heart the size of the Philippines. They get that. Because they have that too.

God is good folks. Really good. Cause He was with me everyday in the Philippines. And you know what, He's been with me every single day in Canada. He's the same God, here, there, anywhere. And that is the most incredible thing I have learned from this trip, and I'm never, ever going to forget it.

Well friends, this is it....or at least it should be. For those of you who are reading this blog because you feel you aught, I thank you, and I release you from your task. But for the rest of you, I have a feeling we're not quite done yet. I have one more blog to write. Maybe two. We'll see. I have so many more memories I didn't have time to write about. But for now, Salamat kaayo; thank you. We are honored you read our blog, and we hope you have enjoyed it. Thank you for caring, and thank you most of all for your prayers. If you want to contact us, or tell us what you thought, you can email us at annakhankins@gmail.com.

Salamat friends. God bless you all!

Foul Shot

I caught the ball from the referee and dribbled it twice. I looked up at the net and dribbled again, trying to stall time. The crowd was chanting my number and my teammates behind me were cheering me. I grovelled inwardly. In the warm-up before this game I hadn't got one single shot in, in fact, I hadn't even been close to the net. I took a deep breath and took my first foul shot. It hit the backboard and the ref caught it and tossed it back to me. The crowd started roaring. The score was tied. And I couldn't shoot straight to save my life. "Oh dear God," I prayed..."I really really can't get this ball in, but I know you can....would you please do me a favor and get this foul shot for me? Thanks..." The crowd was deafening, but for a minute all there was in the world was that ball, me, and that net. I shot and the ball went cleanly through the hoop.

I don't know how they got me into this, but somehow while Jonah and I were visiting her island last weekend, we got involved in the first ever woman's basketball tournament. They found me some old running shoes, and we donned our pastel pink uniforms. I felt a bit foolish and told them over and I over I was just tall, and that was as far as my assistance to them could reach. They said not to worry, as if that was possible.
It was pitch dark by the time the tournament started, because it's far too hot to play during the day time. There was a huge crowd, around the lit-up court, and I felt utterly terrified as I tiptoed out with the rest of my team. The crowd cheered and clapped and I wondered what on EARTH I'd just got myself into.

Game One: Us: one basket. Them: two baskets. That's it. Our team trooped back to Jonah's house tired to death and rather discouraged, but laughing at the fun we'd had. Then somebody told us we had another game in half an hour. Good grief, I could hardly walk anymore! And the team we were playing hadn't played anybody yet, so so they were quite fresh. We all piled into Jonah's house and sat around trying to catch our breaths. "I think we need to pray about this," Jonah said, panting. After we prayed, we talked about strategy, and by the time we went back, we were ready to give it a try.

From the second the next game started, all of us were way more on our toes. Yes, we were more tired than the other team, but now we had a strategy.

We each picked an opposing player to guard, and boy did we guard them. "Bantay, Bantay!" we shouted to each other, and by the end of the first period, we were tied 9-9. It was kind of hilarious because every time I subbed off, people would generously pour out tips and advice to me, mostly in English, and mostly to the effect of stay under the net. I tried it and got a rebound in to my utter astonishment and amusement.

Well, In the end, we won 17 to 13. The next day we could hardly walk, and muscles I didn't know I had were aching. But we'd had the time of our lives. And I thanked God a lot that he even cares about basketball games.

Week 3- it never rains...

Still yawning, at 6:30 in the morning, I walked into the clinic and just about walked back out thinking I was in the wrong place. The sleepy, quiet clinic had become a zoo overnight. There were babies EVERYWHERE! All three exam beds downstairs were had new mothers with their babies in them, upstairs all the postpartum beds were full, in the delivery room, a mother had just given birth, one was pushing, and there were two more labors downstairs. "It's because it's the first week of the month," a nurse told me later, "it always happens like this." "It's cause it's a full moon," somebody else explained. Full moon, first of the month, whatever the reason, for a few days we had babies coming out our ears. Sometimes a woman would be laboring all through my shift and but still be in labor by the end. There's nothing worse than going all the way through labor with someone, and then missing the birth, so I usually stayed on into the next shift. Some days got awfully long, once I had a 23 hour and 45 minute shift. But it was worth it. The more babies that were born, the better I got at helping. And it never got old. The only time I didn't cry was when it was 3:00 in the morning, because I was way too tired too see straight let alone feel all emotional. I enjoyed getting to know the women, too. The births I enjoy most are ones where I've been there for the labor. By the end, you feel like you've known the lady for ever, and you can't wait to meet their baby. By the end of the week, my list of Babies I've Seen born had risen by 6 or 7, and I felt as if life couldn't get any better.

Week 2- making progress.

For one whole week there hadn't been a single birth, and I was beginning to wonder if I would ever see another one. Then one morning I got a text there were two labors, and would I like to come? Would I like to come. I raced to the clinic and saw the first or several more births that week. I cried all over again, and marveled again at the mystery and wonderment of birth. Last week seemed like a dream, and everything started making more sense. I was ecstatic, and slowly things got easier, as I adjusted to the language, the people and the routines. I continued learning how to do vital signs, with the nurses' supervision, and kept practicing the language. One day, all the nurses were busy trying to put in an IV, but there was a mother and baby who needed vitals taken. "I can do it," I told them, and they gratefully accepted. I felt dreadfully nervous as I entered the room and did temp and pulse, and the rest. Things seemed to be going well until I saw the space that said "input and output." Oh dear I had no idea how to ask that. I pretended I had to get something in another room and went back to the nurses to find out how to ask if the baby had peed or pood since last time. After a few minutes of careful practicing in the hallway, I went back in, cleared my throat, and made my speech. They seemed a little suprised I'd made a separate trip back just to ask that, but they understood what I meant, and I nodded knowledgeably at their answer and spent some time writing "no, and once" on the chart. Then I skipped out of the room, humming a happy tune, and burst into the nurses room cheering "I did it all by myself!" They were kind enough to congratulate me. After that, I really began to start feeling useful, and I truly felt there was no other place I would rather be than right there at Glory Reborn.

Delivery in the Dark

"Oh Jesus, Salamat Lord Jesus", the woman breathed as yet another contraction subsided. I rubbed her back and listened to the booming thunder and pounding rain outside. Every few minutes blinding lightening flashed across the black night sky. Within a minute, the panting woman broke into another fervent, mumbled prayer as the next contraction engulfed her. They were getting a lot more intense very fast. I examined the baby's heart-rate graph and wondered absent-mindedly what they would do if there ever was a labor and the power went out. No sooner had the thought left my mind than the lights flickered and went out.

1 hour later: sweat trickled slowly and elusively down my back and dripped off my elbow and the end of my nose. I desperately wanted to wipe my face, but I knew I couldn't move from my position beside the midwife. I tried to hold the flashlight as steadily as I could while she sutured the woman's perineum. The power had already been out for ten minutes and the room was suffocatingly hot without the electric fans. It was the second time the power had gone out actually; miraculously, it had snapped on just long enough for the baby to be born; but now the most difficult part was before us, and we had nothing but a thin flashlight to work with. Outside the storm had moved on, and left an eerie calm. A dog barked somewhere, but the rest of the city seemed to be asleep.

All at once, without even a warning flicker, the flashlight died. We were silent for a moment, the midwife in mid-stich.
"Dear Lord Jesus, give me patience," she breathed. And that was our only flashlight.
I carefully put down the sterile gauze I was holding and fished around in the deep pocket of my scrubs for my cell phone. Retrieving it, I turned on the tiny light at the end, and grabbed an extra candle from behind me. Together they made just enough light to distinguish the thread and shiny curved needle. I wrapped one arm around the woman's leg and adjusted my position so the light was as close as possible.
"Is that okay?" I asked, as cheerfully as possible.
The midwife squinted, bit her lip, and went back to work.

Well, we finished the whole kaboodle with that skinny little candle and the light from my cellphone. Certainly not ideal working conditions, but it did add a little excitement to our night. Just as we were tying off, the lights popped back on. Go figure. The midwife inspected her work.
"Not bad", I told her, giving her a pat on the back. She would proceed to drive to seven different pharmacies that night, searching for a medication the baby needed to protect it from the Hep B virus the mother was carrying. I confess I spent the rest of the night sound asleep. I didn't feel too bad about that, though. I felt like I'd done a good night's work.

P.S. After that night, the guard went out and bought a very large and reliable heavy-duty flashlight.

love,
Amberkay

Here I am-week 1

March, 2010: Okay God. So, I know you have been asking me to stay in Cebu for a couple more months. I get that, but here's my problem; the girls and Rhonda are leaving, so I will be all by myself, and even if I had somewhere to stay, I really have nothing to do! I mean I was here to help Rhonda, so when she's gone, my mission will be finished also. Okay, how about this; if you tell me clear as a bell, 100% clearly, that you want me to work in a specific ministry, if you show me this ministry so clearly that there is no doubt in my mind...okay, I'll stay.

Only a few weeks after I started praying this prayer, Amber and I went to Glory Reborn for a baby party, ended up staying the entire day and saw two live births. After that day, I knew positively, so surely I didn't even have to think about it, that this is where God wanted me. I started my first shift the week I moved to my new home in Bulacao.

My first week was a bit overwhelming. There were no births when I was there, but I think in a way that was God's provision, letting me ease into it all! The shifts are 12 hours long, and I work about 2 days and 2 nights a week. I spent quite a bit of time memorizing lists of words for body parts and medical terms which Ate Anita kindly wrote out for me. Also things like normal body temperature, Blood Pressure, Pulse, (for adults and babies), Respiratory Rate (for babies), and the names of all the nurses and midwives at the clinic! All the vitals seemed to confusing and hard, would I ever get it!?

I also got frustrated by the language barrier. All these things would be so much easier in English! All the staff can speak English, but they only spoke it with me, so all I heard all day long was Cebuano. Sometimes I felt like I would do anything just to know what was going on!

I did enjoy helping with pre-testing for the expectant mothers. Finding and listening to a baby's heart rate for the first time was an amazing experience. The poor mothers had gel all over their stomachs by the time I found it, but I did! Finding the size of the fundus, or mum's belly, was so frusterating too, how are you supposed to know that's where the top (or bottom) of the baby is?

When there weren't too many patients, I went around and did blood pressure on anyone who would let me, and good thing I was practicing, if I'd been right in my measurements, they would all have died of hypertension post haste.

It's always hard to transition, and I knew things weren't going to be easy. But no matter the challenges, I had the security that I was where I was supposed to be, and that God was with me no matter what!

love,

Amberkay

Prayer

It was Wednesday night, and I went to the young adults' prayer meeting at CCAC. It was a quiet, warm evening, and the dozen of us sat in a circle on lawnchairs and benches outside in the courtyard of the church.

The first thing that really hit me was when we were praying for JP. JP is a friend of one of the youth, and we met him when he came on a day trip we did a couple weeks ago. This last week, his father, who lived on Mindinao, was beheaded in his sleep by the uncle of JP. It was because of some kind of land struggle. JP's siblings were sent away to safety, and since it is not safe for JP to go to Mindinao for fear of his life, he needs to stay in Cebu all alone. He's a tough guy, but this has broken his heart. Please take a moment to pray for him, and also that he will come to know the One who is the ultimate comforter.

The second thing that actually made me cry was when we prayed for the troubled youth of the city. Sometimes being so close to something makes it more real to you. Directly behind and surrounding CCAC is Camagayan, the Red Light district of Cebu. As we sat there praying in the dark, I trembled with the thought of how many young girls were selling their bodies within ear shot of me, perhaps. I was overwhelmed, but comforted to know God heard our prayers for these girls!

I'm grateful to God for reaching into my heart and telling me again, it's not about me, and that there is so much else that touches HIS heart. I also know that I don't need to be next door to a Red Light District to have my heart broken for the women there, that I don't need to know someone who's father was beheaded to feel pain for him. God is the same God anywhere we are, and He chooses when and how to reveal himself to us. All I know is he really is working in my heart, and He really is a great, big God!

Love,

Amberkay

God Sets the Lonely in Families

It's amazing how God provides. When everybody left for Canada, etc... I had several options of places to stay, so I prayed God would bring me to the specific home he wanted me in. Well, I truly believe he did. The night Amber left for Thailand, I went with BJ out of the city, past Glory Reborn, to the Barangay of Bulacao to live with her, Baby, and Ate Anita. I absolutely love it here, up in the mountains. One of the first things I noticed is how fresh the air is here! And the noises are entirely different, instead of street noises and horns and traffic, it's geckos, and roosters, and kids, and the ice cream man's tinkly bell. I mean I can't say the rooster's are my favourite noise in the world. I've named the one outside my window Ozbald just so I can whisper demeaning things to him under my breath when I'm especially frusterated at him at 6:30 am. But it means I get an early start to the day! As for our house, I just love it. We are high up on the mountain here, and from the upstairs window, you can catch a glimpse of the sea! The downstairs is one room, with couches, and a table and chairs, a kitchen, and a CR. Upstairs, there are two bedrooms, and they gave me one of them. Naturally I protested, but they insisted they never use them, they all sleep downstairs in the living room. They really do, and sometimes I join them, it's more cozy that way. It reminds me of camping. =) Washing dishes and bathing is a bit camping-ish too, since we only have running water for a few minutes 3 times a day. Somehow, it really doesn't matter though! As for geckos, we have an especially lovely one, she has lived in our house for quite a few years. She's about 8 inches long, wider than a large coin, and is exceptionally smart; she only "uses the CR"...in the CR. She was lacking a name actually, so I named her Elizabeth after my sister. =) And best of all, Ate Anita makes the most delicious food! Rice, (kanon), and our sud-an is usually fish, or pork, and utanon (vegetables). It's so nice to come home to a hot meal and a family who really wants to know about your day, and how you are! Ate Anita is full of information about culture, and customs, and history of the Philippines. I am learning so much from her. They also always speak Vesiak unless they are talking to me, and then sometimes they still do, so I'm learning soooo much more now. Ga higugma ko diri!!! I'm so grateful to God for his goodness.

My first morning here, I read this verse; "He sets the lonely in families." -Psalm 68:6. Thanks God!

Love,

Amberkay

Holy Week--Bantayan Island!

We stood on the belcony and watched as hundreds, maybe thousands of people shuffled slowly along the darkened streets. Some were barefoot. All held candles. Some carried little children in bright biblical clothing, or angel costumes. They had promised God if He healed their children they would carry them the 7km in the procession every Holy week...

Bantayan, close to the tip of Cebu, is known for it's monumental celebrations of Holy Week. Thither we went, therefore, hosted by our lovely language teacher, Ate Anita, and her family, including Baby, Nami, and BJ (our room-mate!), and an unending supply of aunts and uncles and cousins. Their old family home is in a delightful little fishing villiage; there are no cars (at least that I could see), and the streets are clean and broad. Everywhere is close to the ocean, and we went on several occasions to swim or look for crabs or seashells. We ate a lot of seafood; crabs, fish, squid, even the very slimy and delicious insides of shells, which you suck on very hard to GET the squishy insides out. Every morning, Kuya Papaboy, Ate Anita's brother, went to the sea very early in the morning to collect all these things for us to eat. Every night there was a procession, and there were caros, (like floats in a parade) that told the story of the stations of the cross. Some of the caros had been handed down for generations. On the morning of Easter Sunday we got up before 4 (AM, just to add effect) and walked in the short procession which ended at the church where the caro of Jesus met the caro of Mary, and little angles standing in the arch sang songs and threw rose petals down. We heartily appreciated it, and then went back to bed to sleep. =)
On Easter Saturday, Kuya Papaboy taught us how to make flying birds out of palm leaves. It is quite an art and rediculously difficult. =) It's a kind of weaving/braiding process that leaves you cross-eyed and very proud of yourself, (if it works out). We also learned how to make balls, snakes (2 kinds), whistles, and just about anything else you can think of. It was great fun. That is the tradition they have, every year. It was cool to see the little kids learning how to do it too.
Ate Anita and her sister did all the cooking outside over a wood fire. Another brother plucked chickens and retrieved coconuts from the trees in their backyard. On Saturday, everyone fasted, but they do eat one thing, called bugnitgnit, (or something like that). It reminds me of hot halohalo, or porridege, or rice pudding, and has lots of coconut, bananas, squash, jackfruit, and some sort of small red ball things. Delicious! The water we hauled up from a well, and to shower, you don't, you "take a bath" and dump water over yourself and it's incredibly refreshing. =)
At night, Kuya Papaboy played choruses on his guitar and taught me how to tune one without a piano (thank GOODNESS). =)

We went home reluctantly, in a bit of a rainstorm. It was rather exciting getting home because there were so many people, it really was a rather good example of survival of the fittiest, just trying to get on a bus or boat. We made it though, happy and well, and very grateful for the warm hospitality of yet another wonderful Filippino family.

Love,

Amberkay

Branching Out, not Breaking Up.

Dear Friends!
It has been a long time since our last post, but I promise you we have good excuses for our lack of blogging. It has been a crazy, amazing three weeks, which will take more than a few blogs to share with you! So please bear with us as we do some retroactive blogging in the next week.

Well, it is the beginning of April. The Triple A Battery has been in the Philippines for exactly three months, and our mission trip has come to an end. But we are not finished yet! The Triple A Battery is branching out.

If nothing else, something the three of us have learned on this trip is that you don't have to be on a missions trip to do missions! We have discovered that missions is a lifestyle, not a break from life. No matter what happens next, we want to see it as a continuation of this experience, and one we never want to end!

So, here is what our lives are going to look like in the next couple months. We have parted ways, but we're still a unit, and that's why we want to continue to blog about our adventures together so you can keep on top of our various escapades.

On Monday, we bade an extravagant and very dramatic farewell to Amberly as she took off back to Canada. We are so proud of her for listening to God's voice and following his leading, and she will tell you she knows she is exactly where she is supposed to be. Pray for her as she adjusts to a North American lifestyle again, and readjust to the temperature, food, culture, etc....

Yesterday afternoon, with the same amount of grief etc....I said goodbye to Amber Rae as she flew to Thailand to meet up with her cousin, Megan. They will be traveling Asia together for the next three months, and will visit Laos, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, etc... Pray for Amber's health especially. She was recently diagnosed with Typhoid fever, caused by dirty food and water, and is still recovering from that. Pray for strength and direction as she and Megan seek God for direction each step of the way.

As for me, I'm still here! I have changed my flight home for May 24th, and will be staying on in Cebu! I am terrified and excited all at the same time. I also feel completely sure that I am exactly where God wants me to be. I am so excited to tell you that I will be volunteering at Glory Reborn for the next two months. My first shift is Tuesday, and I can't wait. Please pray that I will have wisdom as I adjust to a new home and new schedule, and kind of have to figure everything out all over again! Pray that I will learn to turn to God for all my needs, and seek him FIRST!

So, that is our story. Thank you for your prayers and your interest in our mission. Please continue to pray as the Triple A Battery branches out!

Love,

Amberkay

Two Miracles in One Night.

A few weeks ago, Amber Rae and I had one of the most amazing and INCREDIBLE experiences of our entire Philippines trip. You don't have to believe us if you don't want to, but in one night we got to see two babies being born!

It started out as a quick visit to Glory Reborn, the midwife clinic, for a baby party. But two women at the clinic were in labor that day, and the staff invited us to stay and observe the births. Of course, we have no training or experience of any sort, so we were so excited and blessed to have this opportunity! We got more and more excited as the hours went on and that night at 7 and 8 o'clock respectively, they gave birth. We cried both times. It was just so incredible.

Amber and I were just so incredibly blessed by this experience. We were overjoyed that these babies were delivered safely into the world, and we prayed they would grow up to be women who love the Lord. We were hoping we weren't in the way too much, but the staff invited us back, so I guess we weren't too much of a bother.

By the way, Mum Hankins and Koster, (and all you mums out there), we would just like to tell you we are kind of in awe of you now (not that we weren't before, of course.) But thanks for going through childbirth not once, but many times! You guys are awesome. =)

Love,

Amberkay

Gangsta for a day

Yo Yo Yo brother,..brotheren...bro? who's gangster!?? WE ARE! haha joke, we are wanna be gangsters. several weeks ago we were asked by Rhonda if we could make a Rap for the RAP program (Recycle Awareness Program) and we eagerly jumped at the opportunity to exhibit our rapping talents - don't worry we will share it with you shortly. Of course with every rap, you need a good beat- and to find the perfect beat you need to find a legit gangster/rapper - so we took advantage of the fact that we have a legit gangster friend in Lorega, who has actually been a member of one of the gangs here. So we asked him, Rap Rap (thats his name - for real), if he would help us beat box for our rap - being the nice guy he is, he agreed and though i am sure he probably wanted to laugh so hard and shake his head at our attempts at rapping and being all gangster, he was very encouraging. When that day came where we presented to the students about taking care of our Earth, we walked to the front, with our gold blingy hats and bandanas around our heads and rapped our hearts out with arm movements we derived from eminem ;) It was an epic moment that will never be forgotten. I would like to thank our parents for our gangster hearts, eminem for his moves, and Rap Rap for not laughing at us ;) and for beat boxing, we couldn't have gotten this far without y'all.

Here’s a little tale all about recycling

The streets where I’m from they call me the recycle king

The Lord above he created the earth

But his peeps below have been trashing it since birth

Were takin a stand, so get out of our way

Were goin green and were keeping it clean

KUNG GUSTO MO MOAPIL (say hey!) 2x

When you’re finished with your scraps do you put in the trash or do you throw it to the street?

Can you keep up with this beat?

When your finished with your coke you gotta take a look , throw them in the bins real simple to do

If this plastic keeps burnin, and we just ain’t learnin

Will our world keep turning? We’ll run out of air so we gotta take a care

We have a solution to the earth’s pollution

Metals - plastic - paper and glass

Pass it to the bins - biodegradable or not

Our world is ours to preserve and protect

Let’s reduce our waste that’s all we expect

Around the world we got the same problem

This thing is universal - so let’s get mental!

KUNG GUSTO MO MOAPIL (say hey!) 4x

REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE

Amber rae

INSPIRED

“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me.”

v. Inspired

1. affected, guided, or aroused by divine influence

2. filled with enlivening emotion

3. touched

I would say that Inspired is a perfect word for how i'm feeling. Last night we spent dinner with Hilary, the midwife who started Glory Reborn- and as a result i am inspired. Her stories of delivering babies in all sorts of situations and emergencies are crazy and awing but whats more is her heart for serving God. She started this clinic 10 years ago with a heart to serve God and give safe care to pregnant women, but had no idea of how to start one, but she relied on God and 10 years later the clinic is a blessing to many women. After dinner last night i was convinced that i would study midwifery in Cebu and when i got my diploma/certificate i would work in Glory Reborn and help serve in this ministry!! This morning i realized that i am truly inspired- BUT not necessarily to be a midwife here in Cebu (although i'm not counting that option out) but rather i'm 'aroused' by divine influence-being God (duh) to serve passionately for Him, and serve others and not worry about the paycheck at the end of the day but about the ones God called us to love. There are so many ministries around the world that i'm sure if i sat down for dinner with each missionary/director i would be convinced that, that was the one i needed to join- my point: I'm filled with respect for these who dedicate their lives to what God has inspired them to do and acknowledge that only through prayer they get through each day. I would like at the end of my life to say that I followed God's call and lived each day in prayer. At this moment in my life i have no idea what i will pursue but what i do know is that i want to do it with passion for God and i want my goal not to be "how can i get ahead?" but "how can i help others?"

so thank you Hilary for being an inspiration.

Amber Rae

How to Make Halo Halo

Since I know you've all been wondering, and I didn't want to keep you in suspense any longer....here you are!

First of all, you get a large coconut, hack the top off, and use this to dump all the ingredients in. Note: if you don’t have a coconut handy, that’s fine, you can use any other holding device and it will still be legit.

Here’s a list of suggested ingredients. Basically, if you’re missing something, don’t fret, just improvise with something else. I’d swear that’s how the recipe got to where it is today anyways.

Okay, what you need:

A bunch of crushed-up ice

Ube ice cream (it’s purple and kind of looks like play-dough)

Other flavors of ice cream. (try corn ice cream...it's....interesting)

Corn

Brightly colored cubes of jello

Cheese (chunks, or in strips)

Rice Krispies

Squash...uh yam maybe.....

Fruit (like the kind in fruit cocktale)

Fruit (like the real thing)…mango’s always a good choice.

Beans

Flann

Pressed rice (it looks like oatmeal.....which makes me think you could use oatmeal too)

Jam (well it sure looked like jam to me)

Syrup

Potato cubes (cooked, of course)

Small round colored ball things that look like fish eggs, but bigger

Peanuts

Maybe some sugar

Sweet potato

Marshmallows

Corn flakes (to sprinkle on top)

And make sure you scoop out the coconut from the coconut shell when you’re eating it.

Directions: in an orderly fashion, dump everything into the container you’re going to serve it in, the only specification being the ube ice cream starts on the top. Then serve it. It is up to the eater to “halo halo”…“Mix! Mix!”

I’ll bet you a halo halo you’ll come back for more!

Love,

Amberkay

A Lovely Lola

I would just like to say that this is one of the sweetest and cutest and prettiest grandmothers I have ever met. Her grand-daughter, (a Compassion child), introduced us to her when we were visiting her home in Lorega last week. This lady was actually reading an English book, and she spoke English quite well also. I was so impressed by how she had taken charge of her education, and even though she may have spent very few years of her life at school, she had taken the initiative to expand her mind and had become such an elegant, courteous, and lovely lady. I think I want to be like her when I'm in my 70's.

Love,

Amberkay

A Morning at the Market

It’s five oclock in the morning. (Literally. )We wipe the sleep from our eyes as we crawl into a jeepney headed for Carbon Market. Would you like to come along? All you need is yourself, maybe a few pesos, and a hearty tolerance for interesting smells.

After about 20 minutes we yell “lugar lang palihug,” the driver stops, and we get off at the Carbon flower market. The streets are lined with buckets and containers full of daisy’s and roses and many exotic flowers. It is very fragrant and colourful. Don’t worry about all these people trying to tell you to buy their flowers. Or all the people who want to know what your name is. Just smile. You get used to it.

We now take a short cut along a very narrow path through a covered section of the market. Coming back out into the sunlight, we are in the banana section. Fabulous. We’ll buy a big bunch of them. Oh, just watch your wallet; maybe stick it in your front pocket for now.

Next, we’ll hit up the pineapple place, and sort through some oranges. Apples are expensive, but we’re going to get some today for a treat. Of course, we’ll buy mangos; what would a trip to the market be without mangos?!! We have to snoop around a little to make sure we get the best deal. Now where on earth are the mango steins? We troop back and forth and get a bit lost for a while. This market just goes on and on, whichever direction you go. No matter how often we come, we still get lost just about every time. Finally, we see some mango-steins and barter down just a little for not too bad a price. You don’t get much fruit for your peso so to speak, but these things are delicious!

We’re all pretty hot and sweaty by this time; the sun feels like it’s burning our scalps off. So, we hurry through the vegetables and take a big breath before heading down the fish “aisle.” There are all manner of fish, fresh and dried, plus lots of crabs and eels and squids and things. Men scale and clean them for you if you want, then take your money and give you change without wasting any time to wash their hands off or anything. Uh….we decide we’ll pass on getting fish today. Finally we are at the egg place. That’s good, because soon after this we’ll find the best place in the market. We swing a right and a moment later are seated on a rickety picnic table-type bench and are being served sticky rice!! Each person gets a big scoopful on a plate, plus a cup of hot chocolate and free access to brown sugar. We’ll pour the hot chocolate and sugar on, and then savour the result.

After we’ve paid for our sticky rice, (and bought a few banana leaf packets of it for a snack for later), we hit up the oki oki. The meaning of oki oki is some sort of mix of “dig dig” and “shuffle shuffle“ and “sort sort;” the best way to illustrate is by making scooping and digging motions with your paws. Basically, it is second hand clothing, but because it’s mostly in piles, you kinda have to dig, shuffle, and sort to get to the good stuff. Which there is lots of, by the way. Old Navy anybody? American Eagle? The deal here is you ask for half of what they’re asking, and then be prepared to go half way up again. So, if it’s a P100 shirt, you ask for P50 and should end up paying P75. It’s kind of a fun little game, especially if you’re not in too big a hurry.

Next, we go past the shoes; well, mostly sandals actually. We’ve all had our hand at bargaining for mga tsinilas here. So far Amber has proved to be the most adept at this. Once, with vehement and animated exclamations, she bartered those poor chaps down from P180 to P80 without so much as batting an eyelid.

Now all that’s left on the list is the vegetables. Tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, calimansi (like small little limes), and some interesting leaf thingy’s we’re using for a soup. Nice work everybody. Wiggle your fingers and make sure you haven’t lost all circulation from the plastic bags digging into your skin. We’ll hop back on a 04C now; there’s so much more we could show you, but we'll save that for another day.

Thanks for coming!

Amberkay

A Blog About Bahol...

Yo. Amberlea here! It is amazing that I'm sitting here, because a couple weeks ago I was trapped in a cage with a man eating python and barely made it out with my life intact!! This happened when we took a day trip to the island of Bahol to see the sights there. But I'm going to write about all the other stuff that happened first to build the suspense until you reach the man eating python part.

Well, Bahol is well known to be a place to visit, especially if you are a tourist. Now we are NOT tourists, but it doesn't hurt to have a touristy day every once in a while. So at 6:00 in the morning, we boarded a boat bound for Bahol!

Upon arriving around 8, we were picked up by a man that somehow, through some people, I don't really know how, we are connected with. He was to be our tour guide for the day. All of us piled into this rickety old van that looked like it would fall apart at any moment and (literally) headed for the hills. The chocolate hills were very beautiful and we stayed for a while and took lots of pictures, then went back down the mountain to the river, where we were to eat lunch on a boat! However, halfway down, our lovely van named Sam, suddenly stopped working. Our driver managed to hail a passing motorcyclist, and head to the nearest gas station. While we waited we sat on the side of the road and talked and had a grand time! He managed to get the fuel and we got on the road again, but then the accelerator stopped working so we were inching along, hoping we would not miss our lunch boat. We made it in time though, and had a wonderful lunch aboard. It was an eat-all-you-can buffet, so we were very satisfied. It was even complete with live entertainment where one of the singers fell deep into a passionate love for Amber-Rae, and he stared at her the entire time while serenading her with love songs.

After that, we went to see the tarsiers! These tiny primates were probably the most adorable things we have even seen in our lives! They look at you with these gigantic eyes and you just want to take them home and cuddle them! I will post a picture so you can get a small grasp of why we felt this way.

Finally, the python. We went to a lovely area that had this gigantic snake in a cage. It was pretty cool and we were taking pictures of it when the worker there asked if we wanted to go in the cage and get a picture with it. Anna, Rachelle, Jared and I braved it and entered the cage. I will admit that the snake probably didn't even notice us there since she was so intent on sleeping, and we were quite unaware of her deadliness until we arrived back home and BJ informed us that the snake had been in the news and had EATEN it's previous owner. That was something they failed to mention before we entered the cage...

So that was our day in Bahol!! It was fun and we had a good, though very busy day!

Love, Amberlea

Lorega: a beautiful day.

Sometimes in life there are those moments were afterwards you look back and think, "did that really happen?" Yesterday I experienced one of those moments. We went to Lorega early in the morning, and as we were entering the outskirts, we stopped under some huge spreading trees to ask God to show us where he wanted us to go. As we were praying, some of our little friends ran over to us and we began to play with them. Amber played pogs with some of the little boys. Amberly and I played with Rea and Andrea some of our special little friends. As we began to play with the girls, we noticed that the ground was strewn with beautiful, pure white flowers that had fallen from the trees. Their smell is one of the most fragrant I have ever smelled, and it was so strange to be picking these stunning blossoms up from among the garbage and the graves. We spent a long time making little florrettes and bouquets from the blossoms. Then the kids started climbing the trees, so we went up with them too. In between the high buildings of the city, you can see beautiful green mountains from that high up. It was very calm and serene under the huge spreading branches with these beautiful children. I found myself marvelling at the beauty of God's creation; the view, the flowers, the children. And then I remembered I was in a cemetary in one of the busiest cities in the Philippines. It is a testament to God's goodness that he can bring such beauty to such a place as this.

We also went to visit Louis. Louis is 21, and is autistic. His parents are loving, but have to keep him in a cage so he doesn't wander off and get hurt. He sits in his cage on top of a tombstone all day by himself on a little couch, and yet whenever we go by, he is so smiley and happy to see us. When we went by him yesterday, we brought him a bouquet of flowers, and he was so happy with them. Then we asked his mother if we could visit him. He was absolutely thrilled to have mga basita (visitors)! He ushered us in to his little sanctuary and we chatted with him for a while. He can't actually talk, so I guess it was more us chatting, but he seemed to be happy with that. He showed us the picture of his Lola (grandmother), which he was quite proud of (I'm not sure if he was proud of the picture, or his grandmother). Kids clung to the chicken wire all around his cage while we visited him, and as we left, some came in to see him. How we wish they will keep visiting him, and realize what a great friend he is!

We went to visit Ate Glee and get halo halo again. I found one little girl, Nicole, who I had been worried about because she had not been to Compassion for a while. It was great to see her and let her know I had been thinking about her.

It is such a joy and a priveledge to be in this place with these wonderful people. We are so grateful to God for this opportunity and for these friends and so blessed to know this really is where we are supposed to be.

Love,

Amberkay

AGAIN! its been awhile...Us 3 have been battling sickness for the past few weeks. The nasty cold has spread through our house, I had a bacterial infection from bad food, ...we are experiencing bad food effects right now, and Amberly is suffering from a foot infection. sigh...

but i would like to quickly share an incredible Saturday: We went to Lorega for a few hours last Saturday, after promising a few children we would for sure be there. For me, the awesomeness that was on Saturday was just how real it became. I know that Amberly and Anna both enjoyed their time on saturday thoroughly, but i can really only write my personal involvement. we stopped by one of the Bahandi bags sewers, and her daughter and her were making a Philippine dessert, Halo Halo - they invited us to sit down and made some for us, and it was the first time i ACTUALLY liked it!!! It was delicious :)
There are two girls (13 & 14) that have really captured my heart and I desire so much to build a trusting relationship with them and for them to know God's love. AND this time around we visited both of the girls houses and met their family, which was huge (for me)!! I felt blessed to know more of their lives and that they would share it with me, and just talking and singing a couple songs on the karaokee machine made my day! And walking through Lorega, we stopped several times to talk with new friends and laugh!! oh it was great!
All 3 of us are building incredible relationships here, and are already sad at the thought of leaving them :(

peace out
Amber Rae

More animals found in our kitchen

Cat. =)

Animals I have Found in our Kitchen

1. Ants

2. Cochroahces

3. Mice

4. Rats

5. Geckos

6. Little black gross bugs we don't know the name of.

I really think I would not be exaggerating at all to say we have several MILLION ants in our kitchen.....they can pack more in because they're quite small; it's like a little stream of ants starting at their hole all the way across the ceiling, down the wall, and to wherever that little scrap of something is. Or maybe I should say a river of ants. It's kind of frusterating when it comes to cereal because as soon as the bag is opened somehow or other those ants find their way in. We are getting much more accustomed to them though. The other day I poured myself a bowl of cereal and then did a sort of sifting procedure to shake the ants out before pouring the milk on. I may not have got them ALL out, but you know; extra protein.

As for cochroaches, we have put the fear of them behind us. They biggest reaction I've heard recently is a low moan when one scurried across someone's foot. They do seem to have rather sinister personalities, but that could just be my imagination.

The rats really are a problem though. There is one HUGE one about a foot long that creeps around when he thinks nobody's looking. There are also about 6 little mice which have unfortunately developed a fascination for the upstairs and we now have a large quantity living in our bedroom. I guess it's good in a way as it gives us an incentive for keeping our clothes off the floor. As I was falling asleep the other night, I observed 3 sniffing out my jeans as a prospective nest.

Honestly, compared to cochroaches and rats, geckos are like a breath of fresh air. They are so cute and come in so many different sizes. Our first encounter with a gecko was really rather comical. We were at a church service and the pastor was in the middle of preaching and suddenly a sound like a kid's squeaky toy burst through the sanctuary. I wondered who on earth would let their child continuously squeak their squeaky toy during a church service like that, but finally it stopped and afterwards we went outside and found the culprit clinging to a window.

There is a small rat who is darting around the sala where I'm writing right now and hoping I won't notice him. I know I'm not fast enough to catch him, so I'm just being a kind friend and letting him think I don't know he's there.

Love,

Amberkay

Basketball, fireflies, motorbikes, and coconuts.

Can you fit five people on one motorcycle? Um, well, yes. After an hour long bus ride travelling South of Cagayan, we hopped on the back of some motorbikes and took off into the country. This island is very different from Cebu. Out in the country, there are many coconut farms, wide wet fields, and carabou....(this is not like Canadian caribou, you say cara-bow, and they are more like very muddy cows). This island is not so much of a tourist hot-spot, so 7 white people are like snow in July. At last we came to Christians' Haven, or CH for short, the companion orphanage to the Transition house we had visited in Cagayan. It is a beautiful spot, and I was overjoyed to have clean, fresh country air to breathe again, and no traffic sounds all the time. There are tall coconut palms scattered over the property, and one of the boys climbed one with a machete, and cut down 7 coconuts for us. We tried drinking the water inside....it was good, but was in rather overwhelming quantities. I didn't know coconuts were as big as soccer balls! We started playing a game of volleyball with some of the kids, and soon there was a full-fledged competition going on. Those boys were good! Then when a basketball showed up, we all raced over to the basketball court and enjoyed a rousing game. It was fabulous! We played until we couldn't see the ball anymore, and just then the fireflies came out....my first time seeing fireflies!!!! That night at "chapel" (a big circle of chairs out in front of the dorms), we sang songs together and the kids got to ask us questions. They were mostly interested in what the names of our mothers were, so we told them. =) They sang a song for us, and we (feeling slightly inadequate after that) sang "How Great is our God" for them. After a bible study, we spent a long time singing songs and just hanging out with the kids. They all play guitar and are so talented!

We all fell in love with CH. It is a restful haven, and it touched our hearts. Street kids, orphans, and abandoned, abused children are living together in this beautiful sanctuary, surrounded by mountains and palm trees, and are so happy and healthy and just plain fantastic! I was so blessed by what God is doing in this place.

Love,

AmberKay

Dreams Really Do Come True!!!

We 3 Amber's defied all cultural and gender taboos this weekend when we fulfilled a lifelong dream of ours(a lifelong dream that developed about a month ago...) and rode on the back of a jeepney! As Amber Rae had mentioned before, she attempted such a ride and was told to come inside, because it was 'not proper'. But no one in their right mind could think that any of us would give up that easily, so this weekend, as we were in a different city on a different island we decided to give it another shot.

We were on another island because Ate Rhonda has many friends and connections there, so she thought it would be fun to go visit for a few days. There is an orphanage there, as well as a 'Transition House', which is where the kids from the orphanage live after they graduate highschool and are attending university.

So we arrived in the city of Cagayan after an overnight boat trip. We spent the day just relaxing and meeting the people at the T-House. We got along with them very well, which became evident as a very intense game of 'spoons' broke out, a bet being made that if one of the 3 girls playing were to lose, she would have to eat something weird, but if one of the guys lost, he would have to have makeup put on him in a public location. It was extremely close, but one of the guys did end up losing.

The next morning we woke up early and headed out for white water rafting!! It was on the way to the river with the rafts that we had our jeepney ride! Since it was not a public jeepney, the driver said we could hang off the back! It was probably one of the most memorable half hours of my life. The scenery was gorgeous and we could just relax with the wind whipping through our hair.

We arrived at the river and separated into our groups. We had the adventurous groups and the not quite so adventurous groups. Naturally all 3 of us were in adventurous groups. There were the traditional rafts, as well as 4 tubes attached together. Anna and I were in a raft, but Amber Rae was in a tube.

Now this rafting company was a little different than most in that they actually allow you to purposely flip the rafts. They feel secure in the abilities of their guides and know that it's so much more fun this way! They also informed us that the record number of flips in one trip was 8, so we decided to go for the record. Unfortunately we only got 6, but that was okay anyways. Personally I fell out a grand total of 11 times, so that was good enough for me. All in all it was an EPIC adventure, definitely worth it! Ooh and on the way back we rode on top of the jeepney on top of the rafts that were up there. And then, of course, we did not forget about the card bet and the makeup and had a very swell time decorating Sherwin's face with bright red lipstick.

We really enjoyed our time in Cagayan, and hope to go back sometime!

Sorry about such a long post! There's so much more I could write about but don't want to bore you to death! Hope you read it anyways!!

So long,

Amberlea

Brother- sister- new friends

tsk tsk, us Ambers have been slacking on the whole blogging thing...but in all fairness its been a pretty busy week. Its Amber Rae here, and i'm totally pumped to let y'all know that my brother and sister are here!!! who would have thought, that all the way in southeast asia, on two seperate trips we would meet up!? Sitting across from them in a restaurant yesterday, it kinda hit me how strange it was and yet it felt completly normal and right :) Jared has dived right into helping add onto a home in Lorega, even though apparently the other builders just stare and him and don't speak to him...sigh :) And the kids in Compassion and Lorega love Rachelle and Jared, and vice versa. Last night was a very encouraging night for me - a couple weeks ago when we were in Lorega i met a couple girls about 13 years old who i realized i wanted to get to know better and focus my time with them - I usually choose to be with the younger children because well i love them, but I realized that as a 20 year old girl, i could be a good example for them...here's hoping ;) Anyways so last night Rachelle and I brought nail polish and rounded up some of the girls and went down the street under a street lamp and spent an hour painting nails! And it was alot of fun and encouraging to build relationships with these girls. I told them that this weekend we would be travelling to another island, and one of the girls said, "oh...than we shall not meet again"...and i was surprised and said, "of course you will! I will come to visit you next week!" and the way her face lit up warmed my heart. She thought i wasn't coming back. And i am just excited to see them again and know how their life is going!! Now that we have been here for a month, we are starting to actually build relationships with these lovely people and remember names and faces and have more of a reason to come back often. We pray that they will see God's fire in our eyes and that our love comes from Him. I just thought i would share quickly :)

Peace out
Amber Rae

Compassion

Imagine 50+ children in a large room, singing a praise song to the Lord in their native language. They aren't just mumbling the words, or humming the tune, they are singing with all their hearts with their beautiful, strong voices, so that the music echoes against the walls.

At YC Edmonton every year there is a table covered in hundreds of pictures of children from all over the world. We remember gazing at the smiling faces and wondering about the lives of these children; what are they really like? The table belonged to Compassion International, the sponsorship program which has a center here in Cebu, where we have experienced these children's singing and seen their glowing, smiling faces for ourselves.

We've been with these kids every Tuesday and Thursday for a couple weeks now; there are large group sessions, like we had tonight, and small groups where us Ambers split up. We feel our niche in this ministry is building relationships with the kids, and investing in their lives. We're working hard at memorizing all their names, AND which face goes with which name. We've enjoyed helping to teach songs, and interacting with the kids, and Amber Rae actually got to teach a class! She teaches 6-8 year olds and believes kids say the darndest things. Example: "Ate Amber Rae.....you are a tall nose!" Amberlea works with 9-13 year olds, a trying age, but she has the BEST personality to work with these kids!! Amberkay's group is age 10-12. These kids have taken it upon themselves to teach her EVERY word in the Cebuano language, which is very sweet of them, but a little overwhelming since her brain seems to shut down after about the tenth word.

Tonight there was a "birthday celebration," which meant lots of games and birthday wishes. We've learned that in the Philippines prayers and wishes for good health in the future are more important than gifts. We taught them several games, including one where they either had to quack like ducks or moo like cows, (with eyes closed) and find each other. Pretty hilarious!

After eating our rice with the kids, a group of about 10 of them walked us back to their homes in Lorega and introduced us to their families. In the dark cemetary, with cockroaches crawling over our feet (or flying into our faces, as the case may be), with stray dogs and cats brushing past our ankles, it might not seem like the loveliest, or safest place to be on a warm night; yet somehow we felt peace and protection. As we stood among the tombs about to say goodbye, Ghonro, a strong little Christian asked us if we would pray for them. We gathered in a circle, and held hands and prayed God's blessing over them. Somehow we felt like tonight was our open door into our ministry in Lorega.

We're thrilled to be able to see these kids on Tuesday at Compassion again. To be honest, these kids are blessing us far more than we are blessing them. Amber Rae thinks this sounds cheesy. (but she still believes it)

Love,

the Ambers. (We're a band now).

Glory Reborn

Two very long jeepney rides and a bit of a hop skip and a jump from our house, along a small, slanted street is a building called "Glory Reborn." It might look humble; from the outside you'd never guess that there's a good chance there is a baby being born inside, since an average of 50 babies are born there every month, and over 2,000 have been delivered in the past seven years. Inside, we are greeted by a beautiful lady, Hillary. She came to Cebu from Texas in 1999 for a missions trip. She came back in 2000 and has been here ever since; after completing her midwifery training, she started Glory Reborn seven years ago. Now she juggles gruelling 12 hours shifts at the clinic AND her first year medicine studies at one of the Universities here in Cebu. As she ushers us in, she apologizes for her appearance; she's been up the last 24 hours rushing all over Cebu to every health care facility and blood bank to find some blood for a patient; in all of Cebu, there is none of the type she needs. One blood bank was out of all blood whatsoever of any type. A blood bank. We tell her she doesn't need to apologize- she looks a lot better than we look after a good 10 hours of beauty sleep. We sit down on two of the three cots and she says usually at least one of them is full, but it's been a slow day. There were six births the night before. As we talk, and ask her questions about her ministry, our eyes get gradually wider, and we are simply fascinated with what she has to tell us. She sees a side of life which in Canada is usually joyous and exciting; in the Philippines, birth is not always what it should be.

A little while ago, Hillary delivered a woman's 15th baby. There were complications simply because her body was not in good shape. This is very common, Hillary tells us. These women don't take care of themselves and simply don't have time to recover fully in between births. I mean don't you think having one baby a year for 15 years would at least wear you down a little? Hillary is very excited because just this January, it became illegal in the Philippines to have home births. Again, very different scenario than in Canada. No competent midwife, caring husband, a warm bath, candles; nope, you're just squatting on the floor of your shanty, with all your relatives and most of your friends all around you and watching through the windows; the witch doctor will be the one to saw the umbilical cord--with a rusty knife. If you don't bleed to death at once, it's more likely than not you and your baby will die of infection.

Day before last, Hillary delivered a baby from a 15 year old. "What!" we cry in horror. Fifteen! Calmly, she tells us it was the girl's third. She had delivered her first when she was 12. My brain still can't process this. My sister is 12. The worst thing is, a 15 year old giving birth here is common. How on earth does this happen? we ask, baffled. She tells us many young mothers live in the Red Light district. We've heard of this place, it's downtown, some of the kids we know live near there. Hillary says she prays these girls will let their babies be sent to an orphanage; if they take them back to the brothel their masters take their babies and sell them to anyone who wants them-- for 1000p. That's something like 25 bucks. You can get a good Canadian steak meal for that much. And these are human beings, precious and loved by God. How do these girls get there in the first place? we wonder. Hillary says that brothel owners go out to the countryside and tell the parents of young girls they have a good job for them in the city, as a saleslady, or a waitress, and give the parents a few months wages in advance. Then they take these young girls to the big city, get them hopelessly addicted to drugs, and then they are stuck there. There is no way to leave, or get out. If they escape and are spotted, they can be shot. What about the police, we ask, aren't they doing anything about this? Hillary smiles. When she goes to visit the girls a couple times a week, she says there are cop cars lined up all along the street. They might even get free service. Due to the fact that Hillary sees quite a bit of darkness on a regular basis she replies sadly, "Welcome to the Philippines, it's so corrupt."

But, is there good news in all this sadness? Yes, there is. Through Glory Reborn, mothers are being given pre- and post-natal care, are being taught better health care, are being counselled by Christian counselors, and most of all are delivering their children safely. Praise God, even in such a place of spiritual death, the light of Christ still shines, and may it be that these children born in this little building will one day spread the good news to this needy nation of the Philippines!!

To GOD be the Glory.

AmberKay

Singing is not just for the shower.

Can i just say how much i love and appreciate that here nobody lets inhibitions stop them from singing. In a bookstore, we were looking for notebooks, and all of a sudden we heard someone singing along with the overhead music- we looked down the aisle and saw nobody and then we looked over to the cashier and she was just singing into her microphone at her register-nothing stopping her.

We went last week to visit our sewers, and as we entered one of their homes they right away put on the karaoke machine, and we spent an hour singing whatever songs we knew from the list- nobody hesitating to belt out the notes.

Yesterday at the beach, we all sang, mostly out of key and off pitch, but no one batted an eye, as we just enjoyed freeing ourselves through song.

I hear grown men here singing a high pitched song, putting their full effort into it as they are walking down the street.

just a comparison, i know some people back home who wouldn't be caught dead singing along to the radio or at any moment they feel, due to what they think others will think, or that they are not good enough to be singing out loud. NEWS FLASH!: Singing ain't just for the shower no more!!! Lets take notes from the Filipinos and just sing- no one cares!

Peace out

Amber Rae

Ocean, sunshine, friends, and God

Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Acts 2:38

"Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved" Mark 16:16

Yesterday, a sunny Sunday, we 3 Ambers got to witness a beautiful sight - In the waves of the ocean, 5 youth made the decision and commitment to follow and live for Christ and be baptized. We waded out into the ocean, hip deep, as the sun shone and waves gently rolled - we formed a circle around the 5. I wish I could tell you their names, but they escape me. The rest of us sang worship songs and rejoiced just as there was rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God (i'm sure), while the pastor prayed with and for each individual and lowered them into the water and brought them up again cleansed and forgiven. It was so exciting! I feel blessed to have been with this group yesterday and see their faith and them living it out.

The day started early, as we all met outside of Jollibee (fast food restaurant) and than took a rather long jeepney ride to the ocean :) As we all packed ourselves into one jeepney and started rolling, the driver put on his music and it blasted through the entire jeepney. I was extremely excited, as i love loud music, especially heard through awful speakers situated right under the seats ;) it was quite the experience, loved it! we spent the majority of the day in fellowship, as one of the youth, Joey ( i like to call him Fish or Chips) played the guitar and we all sang what ever worship songs we knew. We all waited patiently, secretly hiding our hunger pains, as the cooks grilled some of the best fish i have ever had. Filled our bellies and after had the baptism. After, we all swam and 'frolicked' in the sea and laughed - and after swimming of course we had more rice ;) When it was dark we ventured back to the busy road, found an empty jeepney and started home. I loved the moment as everyone settled in and closed their eyes, ready to nap after a tiring day, and once again the driver blasted music through the awful speakers. I cheered with delight and started dancing...as much as you can in cramped quarters, and embraced the comical moment :) And we unloaded as 3 sun burnt Canadians - the price we pay for a day in the sun.

Conclusion: Yesterday was a fantastic and successful day, full of God, full of friendship, sunshine, laughter, great memories and comical and memorable conversations. 5 stars and 2 enthusiastic thumbs up.

Peace Out

Amber Rae

Life Among Death

Hey, Amberlea here. I figured since the other girls were going post crazy, I'd better write one too. So I decided to write on a topic we have mentioned, but not yet really expanded on in this blog. That topic is Lorega.

Cebu City is divided into communities, one of them being Lorega. Only about a 5 minute walk from our house, this is one of the poorest places in the city. People can rent land here extremely cheap, or just squat. Their homes are just shacks, built out of stone or whatever they can find. What we would consider to be a small room is their entire abode. Sometimes for 10 people. They get their electricity by tapping onto other people's lines. Prostitution, gambling, and drugs run like water here. But in spite of all this unbelievable action, there is something perhaps even harder to believe. The entire community of Lorega is built on a cemetery. And not even like a nice Canadian clean cut cemetery with neatly rowed tombstones. No. The tombs here are above ground, some stacked upon each other, placed with no seeming order whatsoever. Sometimes the concrete may crack open, so a homeless person will sweep out the bones and use it for shelter from the rain. That is, until somebody else dies and they are placed in the disintegrated crypt and it is re-enclosed.

As appalling as this all sounds, words cannot even begin to describe it. Even pictures, which they say are worth a thousand words, don't convey the actuality of life in Lorega. My attempts to express what it feels like to see children living in this environment, a graveyard as their playground, cannot tell you wholly about this way of life.

However, in the midst of all this destitution, God is working in wondrous ways. An example being the story of Riezl, who has spent her whole life at Lorega, still having hope and faith. And now a 2nd year student in university training to become a travel agent. Or Davis, a former hit-man and drug addict, now holding Bible studies and leading people to the Lord. The sewers for Bahandi bags, now able to earn enough income to feed their families.

I so wish I could be able to make you understand about this place. Because you cannot experience it and come out unchanged in some way.

Please pray for the people in this community, and please pray for us as we weld relationships in this place, that we could do something that will last, not just be a small breeze stirring the dust only to let it settle immediately afterwards.

Peace be with you,

Amberlea

"I WILL DIE WITHOUT RICE!! EVERY MEAL!!"....this is what we hear from our dear friends here in the Philippines. We personally think its psychological- and we were told today that if they miss rice for 2 meals they will start to have unidentifyable sicknesses..oh boy...unidentifyable sickness, this sounds serious...."oh my toe aches!"...quick eat rice. "Oh my teeth hurt!" ...quick eat rice! "oh i have a headache"...quick eat rice! and no joke, they can eat so much bread and fruit and such to the point where we as North Americans would be stuffed to the rim, and they will still complain of being so terribly hungry...the only cure...you guessed it! Rice! i already LOVE the Philippines!
oh and us three Ambers were having a discussion with our new friends about the chicken fetuses, and they say they 'incubate' them sometimes up to 16 days...did you know thats when they are growing their little finger nails! and than they said that chicks will hatch at something like 28 days, so they will incubate till 24 days...and than eat them! now i'm not sure how accurate that is, but honestly i dont' think it really matters the exact days - Amber Kay wanted to know if they murder their other pets - they just looked at her in shock...sigh.

Peace out
AR

The way we move

Over here in the Philippines, gettin' there is half the fun of being there. On Monday we had several villages to visit and on the way we experienced FOUR types of Filipino transportation. First, Jeepneys. Let me explain. Jeepneys are recovered World War II vehicles, and very VERY roughly resemble small school buses. The ceilings are low and there is a bench on either side with just enough room to get by in the middle. The outsides are every color of the rainbow, each decorated in a completely different theme and design. Inside...well, it's squishy. You are sandwiched together, half on top of each other, and always wishing you hadn't had that extra serving of rice last time you ate. But at least it's cozy! Our record was 25 people....squishy squishy. I honestly thought that was the limit...until I experienced a 34-person squish. How is it done? Don't ask me. I guess it would help that there were 5 or 6 people hanging off the back. Boys, that is. Girls are strictly prohibited from riding the back of Jeepneys. We tried to find out from Rhonda why this is. She could only tell us it is a part of the culture, that men and women have very distinct roles here. Skeptical, Amber Rae decided to test this hypothesis. No sooner was she on the back of the Jeepney, the driver slowed down, turned around with a horrified expression on his face and cried out "no! iss not good! iss not proper!" So Amber Rae got back inside. And Rhonda just laughed at us. When you want the driver to stop, all you do is bang on the roof, or smack a coin against the rods you hang onto. The first thing I learned about jeepneys is if you want to do the banging method, make sure the roof isn't padded. =)

Next along our route, we took a tricycle. Let me clarify. A tricycle is actually a motorbike with a sort of covered cart on the side which ideally probably 2 people could sit in. Like Jeepneys, I discovered you can always fit more, and we piled in 9 of us, including the driver, and two behind him on the motorbike. There are also manual versions, and I have a great deal of respect/pity for the poor men struggling along the busy streets.

Third, we took a ferry. We went to an island close by Cebu, and the ride was only about 20 minutes. In fact, there is a bridge connecting our two islands, but by sea is a little faster. It's about 25cents American per person. It was at night so we got to see all the lights of Cebu and the hill above the city on Lapu-Lapu. Beautiful!

Lastly, here is my very favorite mode of transportation...(please don't tell our mothers!)... Motorcycles! My first EVER experience of a motorbike was after we had climbed to the top of a mountain just outside Cebu city. We thought we had to walk all the way down so we were doubly excited to learn we could ride! Amberlea and I rode together behind the driver. For a few seconds we were completely horrified and terrified, and as we took off, I vaguely remember Amberlea screaming "we're going to diiieeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" However, we soon realized that if we did, we'd just go to heaven, so we might as well enjoy it. And we did. It really was breakneck speed, but the cool mountain air was blowing in our faces, and it was utterly thrilling. A bike in the city might be a little more nerve-wracking, as they skirt in and out amid the jeepney's and never have a lane to themselves. But that's another story. All I can say is Albertan traffic is going to seem pretty tame after this!

love,

Amberkay.

A day of Firsts

It was a horrifying yet mesmerizing experience...i saw my first...and possibly last cock fight! It was Sunday, which was the Sinulog Festival- a festival only in Cebu, with a massive intense parade, street vendors, pigs roasting on sticks, henna tattoos...and an excuse for a cock fight. We passed this large group of men shouting and men walking around holding their ROOSTERS. And i asked Rhonda if it was a cock fight and if we could watch, i was quite excited. so we joined the crowd of sweaty and smelly men as i stood on my tip toes to see the action. I watched as they were calling out bets and making the roosters extremely angry at each other. You should have seen the amount of money passing hands there....right on the outskirts of a cemetery where squatters live and children starve...but apparently those men thought seeing two roosters attack each other was more important than feeding their children. anyways at one point they opened the gate to let some men in and they were motioning to me to come in and get a better view, and i was confused at the chaos and thought, "hey, it would be nice to actually see whats going on" so i was stepping in, when all of a sudden a hand grabs the back of my shirt and yanks me back, and Rhonda says, "you will NOT be going any further than this"....i won't lie, i was scared for a moment when i realized that i would have been in the pit and could have been ATTACKED by angry roosters!! thank you Rhonda. Anyways, i squeezed in and got a view- so the roosters had an extra claw, it was a big claw tied and wrapped around the roosters leg... i froze as the cover was taken off and a sharp curved knife glinted in the sunlight. It was like in the movies and i was horrified. Another observer was keen in explaining the whole process to us 3 white girls, that the extra claw is used for extra advantage...huh NO KIDDING! 2 seconds later they held up the two enemies and let go - like i said i was horrified and mesmerized as i watched them attack each other, wings flailing and claws digging. It didn't last long, until the death of one. Lovely thought eh!
and than walking home, Jonah insisted that we experience a real Philippine delicacy... APPARENTLY eating chicken FETUSES is a treat! so Jonah bought the egg and opened it, took a bite and looked like she was in heaven than passed it to me...after a moments hesitation i took a large bite, figuring i might as well try and say i did. honestly it took all my might not to make a huge scene and barf it up there on the spot. The texture was like rubber! and for those of you who know me, when eating, textures are important. so that terrible texture along with the knowledge that i was devouring a chicken fetus, i gagged a couple times and swallowed it. Amber Lea and Amber Kay had a try also, and had the exact same warm fuzzy feelings i did.
peace out
Amber Rae

Stolen Heart

Its finally happened!! My heart has been stolen!!.....alright alright calm down everyone...His name is Marvin. He is a young boy here who was in a fire years ago, and he's got burns covering his legs, arms, a patch on his face, and a large spot on his head, where no hair grows now. He is so special, extremely affection and has a loving smile. Last night all three of us went to a feeding, put on by Operation Mobilization, for children who are living in poverty. Just in from a busy street, under cement covering, a large group of kids gathered to recite a bible verse and hear a bible story, and than of course eat. The kids wanted to hold our hands and sit in our laps as they listened to the bible story. And Marvin sat in my lap, and in doing so, stole my heart. He didn't want my arms to leave him, and he shifted to find the most comfortable position to try and sleep, being so tired. I looked at him and just loved him instantly. I looked over to Anna and she had a little girl sitting in her lap and Amberly had a very active boy sitting in her lap as well, and i know they were loving up on these kids as well. And my prayer as i am sure Anna and Amberly's is also (sorry girls for speaking for you ;) is that even though we may not be fluent in Cebuano language, we may speak to these children in the language of Love. God has poured out his love on each of us, and because of that we are able to show His love to these children. I pray that they will see God's love, and know that our arms are His, and our laps are His and they are fully protected.
peace out - Amber Rae

January 12th, The Comfort Room

When you hear "Comfort Room" what do you think of? I personally picture a cozy room, warm with a window that receives all the sunlight, a comfy couch with large throw pillows, painted in calming colors, and a t.v. and stereo for your choice of entertainment. and of course BOOKS! lots of them :) ...Here in the Philippines their comfort room consists of a toilet and shower :s hmm.. strange.
but i guess if you are able to relieve yourself and shower after a very hot and humid day...well that would provide comfort:) So i guess its not so weird after all!

Peace out - Amber Rae

Jan 8-sneezing and good friends

1 Kings 4:35b

"The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes."

In an attempt to be as biblical as possible....okay, we actually don't know why, but something in the Philippine air has subjected our poor dear Amberlea to a semi-permanent case of sneezing. However, it does appear to be getting better; the daily count has been steadily declining from 86 to 74 and is getting even better. And let's look on the bright side, you can't ever loose her, you can hear her from a mile away.
We are so grateful for Rhonda's foresight and fabulous ideas. She has paired each of us with a Filipina girl who can be our prayer partner and special friend who can teach us about all the little nuances of the Philippine culture that we would never be able to figure out on our own. In turn, we get to teach them all the silly things Canadians do. They are all close to our age and studying at the university in Cebu. Here, highschool only goes up to grade 10, so you can graduate from univerisy by the time you are 20 (our age). Here is a little bit about each of our partners:

Amberkay: my partner's name is Ocean. She is 19 and in her second year of university. She is the cutest thing I have ever seen, she comes to a little past my waste, and when I hug her I kneel down, and we're about the right height for hugging. She is so sweet. She is a little bit Chinese, as there are a lot of Chinese in the Philippines. She has a great story; she has had so many accidents, she says she has a cat with nine lives, and she has used up eight of them. She told us one story about how she fractured her neck, but God was gracious to her, and she is no longer paralyzed, and she is fine now! She loves acting, just like me, and was just in a play where she was the villain. So, we had a lot in common. =) I'm so excited to get to know her more.

Amberlea: Riezl is my partner. A 17 year old tourism student, and she is from Lorega. She lives there with her 7 siblings. She is turning 18 in a few weeks and that is a pretty big deal here, so we are having a party for her. She is writing a book about Lorega, and it looks really cool. I'm looking forward to it being published. She is very funny, and always teases us about things. She just texted me that she is putting together her first tour package for a client right now! I'm really excited to spend more time getting to know her and her life her.

Amber Rae: Jonah is the lovely and extremely humerous girl, who is also 20! perfect :) right from the taxi ride from the airport, she and i connected, joking with each other, throwing a bit of sarcasm around and showing some love. She already knows that one of my languages of love is physical touch and she gives the most amazing massages! haha even this morning she told me not to go to bed early, because she has to give me a massage! haha lucky me, now i look forward to getting to know her and finding her language of love so i can serve her. I already know i can and will learn so much from her, and i'm blessed to see her smiling face every morning. She is studying in the universtity for her business and marketing degree...something which i know not of, but maybe i might pick up a few things :) She is fabulous!!! Awesome sense of humour!!! and yaya, i have no other words :)