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