Here Comes the Bride, and Another, and Another...

Back in May, right before our trip to the USA for my brother's wedding, we were so blessed to be able to participate and sponsor the baptisms of nine of the children from our neighborhood ranging from 3 months old to 13 years old.  It was such a joy to get to know these families, but so sad to hear the reason why they had not been able to baptize their children---they simply could not afford it.  The couldn't afford the Church fee, the white gown, or the party that they thought they had to throw afterwards.

After convincing them that they didn't need the fancy gown or the big celebration afterwards, we began to collect all the necessary paperwork.  While doing this, we found that the majority of the parents had never been married, not civilly nor in the Church, for the same reason---they simply could not afford it.  Tradition here is that once you move in together and begin having children, you are considered husband and wife.  And while that seems to satisfy most government requirements, it did not satisfy these couples.  These women dreamed, as most of us girls do, of having nice, big  church wedding. I knew right then what God was calling us to do---sponsor a mass wedding.

Those of us married know how tough marriage can be.  It is even tougher when you don't have the graces that come with the Sacrament of Marriage.  I knew that God was asking us to not only sponsor this wedding, but to mentor these couples, to help them put God first in their marriages, to help them lead each other to Heaven.  And that's exactly what our parish priest asked us to do.  We will do a marriage prep seminar before the wedding ceremony and then have some follow up sessions afterwards.  And eventually try to get a couples' bible study going at the parish.

As of today, we have 11 couples seeking to be officially married in the Church on July 5, 2014.  That's right 11 brides and less than a month of planning---paperwork, licenses, dresses, flowers, reception, and cake!  Thankfully, a mass wedding like this was done here last year in a neighboring village, and I have the help of some seasoned missionaries! But we need your help too!

We need prayer partners for the couples as well as financial sponsors for each one.  The entire celebration will only cost about $150 per couple!  That includes renting a beautiful gown, buying each bride a bouquet, and having one large reception with individual wedding cakes for each couple.  Not a bad deal, huh?

If you'd like to sponsor a couple, please visit our FMC donation page and make a one time donation of $150 with "Philippine Wedding" typed in the comment box.  Be sure to include your email address.  We will send you the name of your sponsored couple so that you can begin to pray for them.  We will also send you a picture of the couple on their wedding day.

If you are unable to fully sponsor a couple, you can still make a donation online.  As with any wedding, there will be "surprise" costs that pop up as we get closer to the wedding, therefore, any amount will be a great blessing to these couples. 

Meet the couples here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.716524638389875.1073741862.532149780160696&type=1

My Teacher Heart Breaks

I know that it's hard for all of our USA friends to think about Back to School---tuition, book fees, technology fees, school supplies, and uniforms!  But that is what we are knee deep in right now here in the Philippines since their school year runs from June to mid-March.

I know that back to school time is dreaded by parents---the school fees and the cost of school supplies, uniforms, shoes, etc. causes much anxiety.  It's the same here.  The only difference is that, here, some parents have to decide how many children they can afford to send to school this year.  Yes, you read that correctly!  It's not about what brand or how many pairs of something you can afford.  It's how many of your kids can you afford to enroll this year.

Often times the older kids have to drop out so that the younger ones coming up can begin school or in order to get a job to help support the family.  Many of the kids in the poor villages only get to finish elementary school (6th grade) if they even get to attend at all.  It is a great privilege for the poor to get to attend high school and an even greater accomplishment to actually graduate high school.  And for most of these kids, college is only a far off dream.

What makes this even worse is that the all the kids WANT to go to school.  They WANT to learn.  They WANT an education.  They WANT a better life for their family.  This is heartbreaking to me, a teacher, to see how hungry these kids are for an education and know that some will never have the funds available to go.  It also pains me to know just how many American students are throwing away the education opportunities that so many here would give anything for. 

The past two weeks God has sent so many people to our gate asking for help.  Some needed help paying last year’s fees in order to enroll their kids this year. Some needed help paying this year's fees.  Most needed help purchasing school supplies and uniforms.  They came asking for help and offering their services to us in return---washing our clothes, working at our work projects, cleaning our house or yard.  Most of the ones that come to our gate aren’t looking for a handout; they just want a little piece of hope for their children’s future.

I feel that this is one of the many reasons God sent our family to this particular mission post---to help break that cycle of poverty by helping to educate the poor.  I felt a little jealous of the single missionaries that were sent to Camguin, another island in the Philippines, when I found out they were going to be teaching at the local Catholic high school.  I miss teaching. Not the paperwork nonsense, but the actual teaching and making a difference part.  But God had other plans for the "teacher" in me.

God began to send all these hungry kids to our gate not long after we arrived.  At first I thought they were all hungry for food.  But as I began to get to know each one of these kids, I've learned that they are hungry for so much more.  They were hungry for love and affection.  They were hungry for knowledge, from English and Math to Jesus and the Bible!  They asked for their own bible study when we couldn't fit all of them on the motorella to go to our Thursday night bible study in a neighboring barangay.  They would sit with me for hours drilling math facts and playing spelling games. 

During our "tutoring" time, they began to share their dreams with me---their dreams of going to college, getting a good job, and supporting their parents so they wouldn't have to work and suffer so much.  Some dream of going to the USA to make lots of money to send back to their families here.  Yes, a few wanted to get a good job and have nice things, but every one of them wants to be able to help their families (parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.) have a better life.  

We have talked to them about praying and asking God to help their families.  We talked about how God hears the prayers of children and how much He loves them.  They have responded by showing up for morning prayer at our house to pray for their families and showing up at our gate to join us for Mass on Sunday evenings.  The best part is that the kids are beginning to see changes in their own families.  They know God is listening.   Now, they are waiting for their prayer for a school sponsor to be answered.

The past two weeks have been so overwhelming.  They were probably the most exhausting weeks we've had so far here.  We were gone so much that our own kids forgot what we looked like.  But the look on this fourteen year old's face when he put on his new uniform and new shoes and went to school for the first time in 6 years, makes it all worth it.

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If you'd like to help kids like Joshua attend school, please email us at seilhanfly@gmail.com.  We have many others who are in need of a school sponsor.  Or make a donation to our school supply fund online at http://www.fmcmissions.com/portfolio/travis-and-melissa-seilhan/gallery/missionaries/. Just type Avinca/Isla School Supply Fund in the comment box. 

Back to Where It All Began

We left the Philippines about three weeks ago to fly home for my baby brother's wedding.  I was in high school when my mom found out that a God had sent our family a little surprise.  From the moment he was born, he became my baby.  He came everywhere with me---even on my dates!  So, I sat in the pew at the wedding prepared to have an emotional breakdown seeing my baby brother all grownup and married.  I was so proud of the man he was growing up to be. But I didn't breakdown into a blubbering blob of tears that night. 

Actually, it wasn't until I sat in that same church the following Sunday that the emotional meltdown happened.  It was Mother's Day and our 18th wedding anniversary.  The Mass had just begun when I realized that this was where it all began.

This was where I was baptized and made my First Communion.  That was the altar where Travis and I promised to love, honor, and cherish each other all the days of our lives.  That was the altar where our children were baptized and made their First Communions. Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church was where we had come each Sunday and many days in between for the "help" we needed to get through the week, the day, the moment...

As I began to think about the past 18 years, the good times and the bad times, the tears began to fill my eyes.  It had been a very long and hard 18 years.  We had had our share of bad times and worse times.  We had struggled at times to just stay afloat.  There were times when we thought we couldn't make it another day.  But we had persevered through it all because of the promise we had made to each other before God 18 years ago on that very altar.  And that was the altar that we had come to time and time again for the strength we needed to keep those promises.

And then it hit me... that altar is where our journey into mission life began 18 years ago when we dedicated our family to follow Christ.  It was the promise we made to accept and bring our children up in the faith.  It was the promise that we made to put Christ first in our marriage.  It was the promise we made to follow Him.  These promises that we made 18 years ago on that altar to each other and to God led us to where we are now---a Catholic missionary family living on the other side of the world.

And that's when it began---the emotional meltdown that I had been prepared for two nights before came full force.  There is no way that 18 years ago we would have ever agreed to such a life of ourselves much less our (future) children.  We probably wouldn't  have even agreed to "follow Him" back then had we known where He would take us.

But the amazing part of it all is that He knew this of us.  He knew that we weren't as "committed" to what we were promising as we imagined we were, but He still wanted us anyway.  He wanted us in our immaturity, our selfishness, our materialism, our stubbornness, and with our tiniest morsel of faith.

He would send us the trials we needed to grow more dependent on Him.  He sent us the good times that we needed to keep going beyond the bad times.  He spend 18 years molding us into who He needs us to be right now, and He will spend the next two years molding us into who we need to be beyond the mission field.  More importantly, He will use the rest of our Earthly lives molding us into who He meant us to be from the moment He created us.

From a Horse to a House

This is Doc.  Doc was our favorite horse.  He was the kindest, most gentle horse we had.  Even I, the "animal hater" as my kids call me, loved him.  He was the horse that was the hardest for us to part with when God called us to "sell everything and follow Him."  Many people came to see him and "test ride" him, but no one passed our approval.  Then one day this lady showed up to look at him and the horse trailer we had for sell.

Almost immediately, we felt at ease.  We knew deep down that this was the lady that was suppose to have Doc.  We were heartbroken when she left with the horse trailer, but not Doc.  For weeks, we kept trying to find the right buyer, but no one seemed to be a good fit for him.  We kept thinking and praying for the lady to come back and get him, but we knew that she had found a different horse and that this was one wish we'd have to give up on.  We were almost to the point of trying to figure out where we could keep him until we returned from missions when we received an early morning phone call.

It was her!  She explained to us that as she was sitting having her morning coffee looking out into her pasture, she knew that she had to buy Doc.  She was calling to see if we still had him and if he was still for sale.  She drove over and picked him an hour later.  It was hard to see him go, but we were so happy to know that God had heard our prayer and was continuing to take care of all of our worries.

Fast forward to the Philippines over a year later.  It was April 13th, and I noticed on my calendar that it was Doc's birthday.  I wondered how he was and thought about the family that had bought him.  I smiled as I thought about how we knew from the beginning that that family was suppose to have him and how great God was to work it all out.  Little did I know that God would soon reveal the rest of His plan and purpose for Doc.

Three days later, Wednesday of Holy Week, Travis and I realized that we were out of funds. We had had more people than usual coming for help those first two weeks of April and had unknowingly spent our entire monthly stipend in just two weeks.  We were discussing how we were going to pay our share of the next day's work project and the ct scan that one of our closest friends needed to have.  Plus, we still had lots of people depending on us for food for the rest of the month including our own four kids.  We were kind of in panic mode, when another good friend came over to ask for our help.

Her widowed aunt was being evicted from her home and only had four days to be out of her house.  Our friend told us the story of how the government destroyed her aunt's first home to build the highway.  They gave her a piece of land next to the city jail to build a new one, but being a widow with two children, she was afraid to live next to the jail.  So, she rented some land and build her home.  Now, she was being told that she had to be out by Easter Sunday, so the land owner could build a business.

The good news was that she had land to build a new house on.  The bad news was she had no money to build a new house and neither did we.  With our funds depleted, we told our friend the only thing we could, "We will pray about it and see what God wants us to do."  All evening we kept trying to figure out where we could get the money to build this lady a house, pay for the ct scan, pay for the work project, feed our family and all the other families in our neighborhood that count on us. Key word "we" were trying to figure it out!

We finally decided that the priority was the lady's house.  We knew we had extra in our FMC fund and could request additional money for our regular monthly needs.  And we planned to fundraise for the CT scan once home for the wedding.  So, I sat down at the computer to write a "beg letter" to send out to some of our mission partners (you!) but instead I found a message in my inbox from the lady who bought Doc.  She was writing to let us know that they had sold Doc to a very nice family and really felt like the money should be given to our family.  "Wait? What?"

As I continued to read, I knew that God had already taken care of everything!  Not only was it enough for to build the house, but for the CT scan, the work project, and food for the rest of the month!  The goosebumps began to cover my arms and the tears began to fill my eyes!  How awesome is our God!

And if that wasn't enough... I message her back immediately to tell her that we would be using some of the money to build a house for a widow lady that was just evicted.  She immediately answers me back telling me how she and her husband had tried several times to build a house for someone in need, but how it had never "worked out." They had finally just given it to God and told him to find the person they were to build the house for.  "Are you kidding me?"

Now the goosebumps covered my body and the tears covered my cheeks.  As we frantically emailed back and forth for the next few minutes, I was in total awe of how God works!  We purchased that horse in order to sell it to so that it could be sold to build a house in the Philippines!  We couldn't have come up with a better or more perfect plan! 

From a Horse


















   To a House.








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A home like this one only costs $500 (US dollars) to build.  There are many families here in need of a home.  If you or your group/organization would like to sponsor a home, you can visit our donation page to make an online donation.  Just type Build a Home Project in the comment box.  

Our newest project is Replace a Roof.  Many homes have grass roofs which are easily damaged by heavy rains and have to be replaced often.  We have begun to replace the grass roofs with tin roofs that will keep water out of the house and will last much longer.  This project costs around $200.  You can donate a roof by typing Replace a Roof in the comment box when donating online.

We also have a project called Floors for the Poor.  For just $75, you can help give a family a cement floor in their existing home.  We have already witnessed the benefit of a cement floor in one of the local communities.  The kids are overall healthier since they are not crawling around and playing in the dirt everyday.  Just type Floors for the Poor in the comment box when checking out if you'd like to sponsor a floor.

Visit the Seilhan Family Missions Donation Page to help with any of these projects.

Easter Sunday: American Style in the Philippines

After a very emotional Holy Thursday and Good Friday, we were very blessed to spend Easter Sunday with our friends and neighbors "American" style.  Well, as American as we could get here on the other side of the world!

God (and some of you) know how I enjoy hosting parties, gatherings, etc. for any occasion.  We had planned on having a big celebration in a park near our house on Easter Sunday with our entire neighborhood, but I battled a migraine for most of the week and some of the other missionaries battled sick kids all week.  I didn't think I'd be able to pull off a big celebration, so I planned just to have a quiet day at home with our little family.

But after the very blessed Holy Thursday and Good Friday, I knew that I needed to celebrate with those that had brought such joy to my life the last few months---the kids of Avinca Village.  Thankfully, the stores had reopened Saturday, and I was able to buy food to prepare for our celebration.  One of our missionary friends found plastic Easter eggs for me, and I found an actual pork roast to cook!

We got up early Sunday morning to a delicious smelling roast that I had put in a slow cooker the night before.  It smelled like home!  The kids even said that it smelled like my grandma's kitchen.  Then we cleaned up outside and set up the tables and chairs under our carport. Now it looked like home!  Then Isaac decided that we needed some Cajun music playing so he set up the iPod with the Backdoor Band playing.  Now it looked, smelled, and sounded just like home.

The neighborhood kids watched all morning through the gate as we cleaned and prepared for or celebration.  Some of them wanted to come in to help clean and sweep like they do on a regular day for me.  I told them today was a special day and that they could not work for us and that we were preparing a surprise for them.  Finally, we opened the gates and let them in. 

Isaac led us in an opening song.  Then Travis read Luke's gospel account of the Resurrection in English and the boys' friend Ian (who likes to stalk my blog looking for himself) read it in their language. 

Then we said the blessing and dug into the pork roast, rice and gravy, mashed potatoes, corn, and sweet peas!  I think they liked it!

After lunch Travis took all the kids outside of our gate onto the side street so that Emily could hide the Easter eggs.  When the moms realized what we were about to do, they excitedly got up to join Emily.  They may have had more fun hiding them than the kids had finding them! 

The kids kept asking Travis what they were going to do with the bags he gave them.  I think they thought I was going to make them pick up trash.  Some days I have them scour the neighborhood streets picking up all the candy wrappers that they throw on the ground.  We told them that they weren't picking up trash, so they decided to wear them as hats.

Finally all 72 eggs were hidden, and it was time to explain what we were doing!  They were so excited.  Some of them knew what Easter eggs were from TV or movies, but they had never had one much less "hunted" for them.  Travis opened the gates and let them in.  They ran around in circles at first not really knowing what to do, but when the first one spotted an egg----That was it!

It took them a few eggs before we made them understand the concept of the bag.  Many of them were carrying their eggs in one hand and the bag in the other.  Once they had a free hand, there was no stopping them until... someone realized that there was something in his egg!

 
 Travis had filled the eggs with candy that my mom had sent us from the U.S. but ran out before all the eggs were filled.  So, he copied good ole Aunt Judy, and started filling them with pesos!  The kids' faces were priceless when they discovered the treat inside.  And the race was really on to find the most eggs after that discovery!

We did have one who wasn't interested at all in finding the eggs or in the candy.  He was content with his cup of mashed potatoes!

After hiding eggs numerous times, the mess was all cleaned and the neighbors had all left.  Our family got ready for Easter Mass.  We had decided to fore-go the Easter Vigil on Saturday and attend the English Mass on Sunday evening.  I sat in the church surrounded by many of the neighborhood kids who had joined us in amazement at my first Easter away from home. 

From Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday, God had perfectly planned it all just for me.  He knew exactly what I would need to get through our first holiday away from home.  He humbled me when I needed humbling, but blessed me when He knew I would need a boost!

I can't imagine what my life or my kids' lives would be like if we had not said "Yes" when God called us to leave behind everything and move to the other side of the world.  Missions is truly the BEST life!

Happy Easter
from the
Seilhans!

Holy Week: Filipino Style

Our family has been so blessed to be able to celebrate Holy Week here in the Philippines.  On Monday, each Catholic church sends out 12 apostles to bless all the homes, sari sari stores, businesses, etc. in their area.  I had heard about this, but it was very humbling on Monday when I was shopping in town at one of the local vegetable stands and witnessed a family's little stand be prayed over and blessed with Holy Water.  Later in the week, three men from our parish showed up at our house to bless our home and pray for our family.

On Thursday, Travis tried to go to the bank and to the bakery to buy bread for our Good Friday tuna fish sandwiches. NOTHING was open in town.  All the banks, bakeries, stores, vegetable stands, fruit stands, restaurants, etc.  The entire city had closed down.  Praise God! We would definitely be fasting the rest of the week! We were in awe of reverence the people here had for what was about to take place. I wanted to jump on Facebook and the phone to everyone back home to tell them how awesome it was and that everyone needed to jump on a plane to come celebrate Easter here!

But during Holy Thursday Mass, I was beginning to feel a little homesick as I watched Father Emmanuel wash the feet of the 12 apostles that had been scouring our neighborhood blessing homes and stores earlier in the week.  I wanted to be at home with my parish family where I actually understood the words of the liturgy and knew the people getting their feet washed.  I was just about to feel sorry for myself when the twelve men stood up and walked down the aisle to find their wives.  Each one bent down and tenderly washed the feet of their wives. 

My eyes filled up with tears as I realized that "love" was really the only language that needed to be understood.  The love in these couples' eyes revealed the love that Christ had as He washed the feet of His apostles that night.  And the love that He feels for us each time He washes away our sins when we fall.  I stopped feeling sorry for myself and concentrated on what really mattered, "God so loved the world that He sent His only Son to die for us."

Olivia bringing up the water for "Pilate" to wash his hands.

The next morning, the kids left for the church at 5:00 am.  They had been practicing with the youth group for weeks to present the Passion of Christ for the parish Good Friday morning.  Isaac was an apostle. Philip was Barabbas. Emily was Mary Magdalene.  And Olivia was one of the women of Jerusalem.  I was anxious to see their performance, but I was not ready for what I was about to actually witness.

Travis and I walked over to the church about 7 am for the "play" to find that there was standing room only.  People were standing outside the church all the way to the street.  We squeezed in towards the front and found a spot with the youth kids.  The Way of the Cross began and as it was read aloud, the youth began to dramatize the Gospel parts being read.  I thought, "Awe, how nice."


Until the soldiers actually began to whip Jesus right before my eyes.  No pretending.  Real lashes on his back.  The pain I felt in my heart intensified when the children watching began to laugh as the soldiers scourged and spit on the boy portraying

 Jesus.  "Jesus" was finally forced to pick up His cross, and the crowd followed as we left the church and began to walk.  I was so overwhelmed as I watched hundreds of people file out of the church to follow these teens.   And was more in awe as we walked through the crowds gathered on both sides of the street who joined us as we passed them by.

My heart began to sink as I walked along side of "Jesus" and the "soldiers" as they whipped him, mocked him, pushed him.  There were kids running alongside throwing paper rocks at him and laughing each time.  At first, I began to get mad as I wondered where their parents were and why no one was telling them that this was serious, that this really happened, and that it was not funny.  Then I realized, this is exactly how it happened. Whoa!

This was the "way to the cross".  There were people following Jesus weeping.  There were people following in disbelief.  There were people laughing.  There were people following just to see the show.  There were people following to help torture Him.  There were people in their homes and yards that didn't care about what was happening on the road in front of their house.  There were men sitting on the side of the road drunk from the night before.  Some were still drinking.  There were people chitchatting and laughing along the way as if it were a regular day.  There were people throwing real stones at Him, spitting on Him, kicking Him, mocking Him the entire way.

My heart broke as I began to think about the "realness" of this walk.  But soon, Satan crept into my thoughts.  I began to get a little prideful as I thought about how I would NOT have been one of the ones mocking Him, spitting on Him, throwing stones at Him, laughing at Him had I actually been there for the "real" way of the cross.  Then it hit me---I mock Him each day when I choose not to love those around me.  I spit on Him daily when unkind words spew from my mouth.  I throw stones at Him when I choose not do what He asks of me.  I mock Him each time I sin and refuse His love.

At this point, I am about to burst out crying and throw myself on the street to beg for God's mercy, when two small boys from our neighborhood come up from behind calling my name.  "Tita MeeLeeza, we walk with you." And then one reaches out to hold my hand as we walk in silence the rest of the way back to the church for the "crucifixion."

The rest of the "Passion of Christ" was just as passionate as the beginning was.  I was in awe of the teens that had worked so hard these last few weeks to provide such a profound experience for the parish, for me in particular.

After it was over, so many wonderful people came up to thank me for allowing my kids to participate and to officially welcome us "foreigners" to the parish.  I looked around the church before we left and realized that I do know these people, they are my family.  They are my brothers and sisters in Christ. And our language is Love.

To see more pictures from the Passion of Christ, visit our family's Facebook page. (Link at the top of this page.)

Mystery Machine to Mission Machine

I'm sure most of you have seen or heard of Scooby Doo. Well, the mystery gang must have been here in the Philippines solving crimes and left behind their Mystery Machine just for us!  It has become the official "Mission Machine" of the Seilhan Family!

We have been praying and searching for a vehicle to use here in the Philippines.  Each time one was found, it was out of our price range or sold already.  We had kind of given up on the search thinking God was trying to tell us to just stick close to our neighborhood for our ministries or that He just wanted us to embrace the inconveniences that came with waiting for and riding on the motorella.

We finally just gave it to Him and said, "Ok, God if you want us to have a missionary vehicle, find us one.  If not, help us accept your will."  Of course, when you finally let go and let God, He can do some amazing things like send someone right to your gate with the perfect vehicle for you to purchase!

Yep, last week a neighbor who was selling a minivan showed up to ask if we were looking to buy a vehicle to use during our time here. "What? Really?" After seeing the Mexico seat covers, we knew that this was our new "Mission Machine" since Mexico is where we fell in love with missions.

After having our mechanic friend check it out, we made an offer of what we had been able to raise for a vehicle which was a lot less than they were asking.  And of course, since God had chosen it for us, they accepted our offer, and we are now the proud owners of the Scooby van!

It's bigger than it looks!  Not really!  LOL!
But we all fit and have room for extras!(Yes, that is the flat tire we woke to on the first morning.
Mission life gotta LOVE it!)

The best part is that our driver fits (well sort of)...

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO LISTENED TO GOD'S CALL TO HELP US PURCHASE THIS AWESOME VAN!  WE HAVE BEEN PRAYING FOR YOU!

The Kids that Stole My Heart

I've written about the awesome house that God provided for us here in the Philippines.  I've shared about how much I feel at home here in Malaybalay.  Well, here's a glimpse as to why He sent us to the big blue house on the corner in Avinca Village and why my heart is so full of JOY here...

From the day we arrived, there have been kids gathered at our fence from sun up (5 am) to way past sun down.  At first, they just gawked at us and made us feel a little uncomfortable.  They would yell things that we didn't understand through our open windows when we would go inside, but run away when we'd come out to try and talk to them.  We had to keep our curtains closed to get any privacy which really didn't help much since the windows had to be open to let in the cool air.  We could still hear them, and they could still hear us.

But one day, one little girl didn't run away when we came outside.  She stayed at the fence and smiled the most beautiful smile.  I walked to the fence and found out that her name was Jessica.  I offered her a banana that I had, and we became fast friends.  She was the window into our neighborhood.  She is now the first one to call our names in the morning from the gate to tell us "Good Morning."  And she's usually the last one at the gate at night to tell us "Good Night."  And she's not afraid to ask for her daily banana anymore either! 

Once Jessica made friends with us, the others slowly became less shy.  They still gather at our gate each morning, but not to stare at us.  Now they tell us "hello" on their way to school.  They stop back by on their way home for lunch to make sure we will be waiting to play with them after school.  If we aren't home when they get out of school, they wait for us to return always questioning where we have been.  After a few weeks, of answering them with "at a bible study" or "at our friend's house praying" or "at a prayer meeting," they finally said, "Hey, we want to go to a bible study.  Can you have one for us?"  And that was when they captured my heart!  And the moment when I knew exactly why God had sent us to Avinca Village.  Their first official children's bible study will be next week!  Please pray for us as we prepare and discern where God wants to begin.  (To help us purchase supplies for this new ministry, click here and type "Avinca Children's Ministry" in the comment box,)


Our afternoons, evenings, and weekends are usually spent playing with all the kids in the neighborhood---from the littlest ones to the teenagers.  Our house has become the neighborhood hang out.  We have learned to play many of their games and have taught them some of ours.  Everyone loves to play "Duck, duck, goose" which has become "Duke, Duke, Ghost" with their accents.  Even the "too cool" boys joined us for a game one afternoon!

















The older ones love to play "1, 2, 3 Red Light" and "Simon Says."  But the all time favorite game of  is "Oh No" aka "UNO"!  They are constantly calling through the gate, "Auntie Melissa, UNO now?"  The games are intense, and they love playing skip, reverse, and draw cards.  "Sorry po" (a respectful way to apologize to an adult) always accompanies a draw 2 or draw 4 card.  And "Bye, Bye, skip you" followed by much laughter can be heard as they play a skip or reverse card.  But my favorite is when they yell, "OH NO!" when they only have one card left!

One of the things that I love most is the simplicity of the kids and the games here.  The kids are happy to just roll an old bicycle tire down the street and chase it.  They don't need to have the newest sporting equipment.  They are happy to play street basketball on a very old basketball rim with a warped basketball.  They really love to play with "Big Baka."  (That would be "Big Cow" which is what they call Travis either because he makes "mooing" sounds out our window when they gather at our gate or because he's so much bigger than most men here. Either way they LOVE when he comes out to play with them!)

We don't have to have a big screen TV or surround sound.  They don't mind gathering around our little laptop to watch a bible cartoon on Saturday mornings which they can barely hear and understand.   They actually greet us very early on Saturday mornings to find out when they can come over to watch the next one!

 

We don't need to have expensive outdoor toys to play on.  They can spend hours playing with my bamboo clothesline "holder-upper stick". (Email me if you don't know what that is. lol)  They began with the limbo and then made up several new games to use the stick for and then decided it would make great monkey bars!

Last week while shopping, I debated about buying sidewalk chalk for them.  I picked up the box of chalk and put it back several times.  I'm not sure why I didn't spend the 60 pesos (a little over a dollar) except that God made me put it back so that He could teach me a lesson.  The next day I come out of the house to find them writing on our cement driveway----WITH STONES!  They didn't need fancy sidewalk chalk; they used what God had provided for them, the rocks in our yard.  

Yes, once again they stole my heart with the messages in their drawings which showed that they loved us just as much as we have grown to love them in these short two months.









This past Sunday evening about 20 of them showed up at our gate in the rain wearing their best outfits asking if they could come with us to Mass.  Again, my heart melted, so, 30+ of us marched down the flooded streets of our neighborhood to the church during a torrential downpour!

And after Mass, the only sounds that could be heard over the pouring rain was laughter and squeals of joy as we all ran splashing through the sometimes knee deep water on the dark streets of our neighborhood!  People kept looking out of their windows to see who was crazy enough to be out in the dark, flooded streets. Yep, it was those crazy Americanos and their herd of followers!

All I could think about that night as I went to bed was how much I've changed since I've been here.  Never would I have trampled in knee deep water with 30 kids in the dark by myself (Travis was helping rebuild a church on a different island).  I would not have laughed as my kids ran through the muddy water splashing and ruining their "good" Sunday church clothes and shoes.

Never would I have known what true happiness was if I hadn't moved to the other side of the world and met these precious kids who have taught me so much in just a short amount of time!  Here are some of the faces of the kids who stole my heart....

Home IS Where Your Heart Is

Two years ago, on Wednesday, January 25, 2012, our family walked into Our Lady of the Bayous Retreat Center for Family Missions Company's  Wednesday night "Mission Formation".  There were two reasons for our hour long trip to Abbeville:  

1. to check out the facilities for a youth retreat that our parish would be hosting soon
2. to find out why Family Missions Company was coming up so much in our recent lives 

When we walked through the doors, I immediately fell in love with the place and the people we met. I had no idea what God’s plans were for me or for our family, but I knew I was right where He wanted me to be at that moment.  I knew that He had indeed called us there for something more than to book a retreat center.  I knew that my heart felt at home there which was crazy because I have never liked new places or crowds especially crowds of new people!

 

That night at Mission Formation, FMC was sending off a family and two single girls to the Philippines.  I was in awe of this family of four, which included one toddler and one infant.  They were leaving behind their families, their friends, their jobs, their HOME---everything they knew and loved.  And in a small corner of my heart, I was jealous.

At the end of the night, we laid hands on them and prayed over them.  We prayed not only for them, but for the people of Malaybalay that they were being sent to.  I had no idea where the Philippines was and couldn’t even repeat the word "Malaybalay" correctly if my life depended on it.  But I knew that my heart was somehow connected to both now, so I became a missionary stalker!

For months, I read everything these missionaries wrote on their blogs and stalked their Facebook pages too.  My heart grew more and more in love with the Philippines and the people of Malaybalay.  I laughed at all the stories of their mishaps wondering if I would actually be laughing if it were me on the other side.  I cried at all the stories of poverty they shared.  I rejoiced with them after reading all the conversion stories.   My heart yearned to be there in Malaybalay with these missionaries. Little did I know what God had planned for my family.

After almost two years of attending “Mission Formation” and going on two short term trips to Mexico , our family joined In-take 2013 and were commissioned as a full time missionary family in December.  Then on January 22, 2014, almost two years to the date from our first Mission Formation, I found myself in awe once again.  This time our family was one of the families standing in the middle of that room at Our Lady of the Bayou Retreat Center. We were the ones surrounded by family, friends, and strangers praying for our trip to the other side of the world, for our first mission in the Philippines, and for the people of Malaybalay that we were being sent to minister to. 

I can’t begin to describe the feelings I had seeing the place that I had read so much about.  Nor can I describe how I felt meeting all the people that I had already grown to know and love.  We've been here for almost two months now, and it feels like I lived here all my life.  It's odd to feel so at home in a place so far from "home" and in a culture so different from yours.  I have never liked being away from home and my family for any length of time.  And even though I do miss "home," I can't imagine living anywhere else at this moment than here in Avinca Village, Malaybalay, Philippines.

It is true what they say---Home is where your HEART is.  And mine has been here in Malaybalay for a long time!

Kids ARE the BEST Missionaries

From the first time we stepped foot into a Family Missions Company function, we've heard that phrase over and over.  I knew it was true when our kids jumped right in to mission life on our very first mission trip to Mexico while Travis and I were a little more cautious about EVERYTHING.

Here in the Philippines, our kids continue to amaze us each and every day.  I am so humbled by the way they just jump right in and serve without flinching, blinking, or thinking twice.

I have watched them as they picked up small toddlers that are bottomless (no diaper or shorts) without thinking twice when the child ran up to them with arms outstretched.  I have watched them sit next to hardened criminals at the jail and not flinch when they begin to ask them questions.  I have watched them continue to carry bags of gravel up and down steep hills after falling and getting hurt.  I watched as the shirt they were wearing was used as a Kleenex by a small child.  I watched as they gave away the snack that they just purchased for themselves.  I have watched them give away their clothes to others who needed it more.

But this week really made my heart melt and helped me to realize just how awesome raising your kids in missions is...

This week a group of nursing students came to Malaybalay for a short term medical mission trip.  While the other kids were running around and playing, I found Emily helping some of the missionaries as they shampooed all the kids from the community that were infected with lice.  I had wanted my girls to stay clear of that area for fear of them getting lice, but Emily had no fear.  She saw that help was needed and just jumped right in without being asked or without giving it a second thought.  After shampooing, she sat down with the little girl and picked out all the lice and eggs. I can't imagine any 12 year old girl that would chose to do this.  It was a task that I had tried to avoid, but after seeing Emily's example  I, too, jumped in to help.  She taught me the true meaning of service that day.

Here is Isaac and our friend's son, King.  King had been sick for two weeks, running fever off and on and having severe headaches.  After a visit to the doctor last week, he needed to be admitted to the hospital to have tests run.  When I sent a text to check on him, I found out that he was scared and wanted Isaac there to hold his hand while they put the IV in.  We were on a fun outing with the short term medical mission group, and Isaac was looking forward to the next stop which was showing them the native shops and letting them try some of the native foods followed by a game of dodge ball.

But when he heard that King wanted him there to hold his hand, he said, "Let's go."  He didn't even think twice about missing out on the fun.  We arrived at the hospital and found King and his mom outside the ER.  He had cried so much that she had decided to just take him home, but when he saw Isaac he got a little brave.  We went inside, and Isaac held his hand while several of us held him down so the nurse could start the IV.  After the IV was started, Isaac crawled into the bed with King and laid with him until he fell asleep. 

KIDS truly ARE the BEST MISSIONARIES and mine have taught me so much about serving the poor since we have been here.  I hope to one day be able to serve as they serve, see as they see, and love as they love.

“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,^* you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.  (Matthew 18:3)