That's one of the first things I said to myself with a sigh when I walked into the airport in Manila. I knew this country was going to be a lot for me to handle.
After a sad good bye to Thailand and a quick stop in Malaysia, we landed in Manila. We were greeted by our missionary host, Linda. This woman is incredible. But, I'll get their later.
Unfortunately, my first night in Manila I got INCREDIBLY ill. I had one of the highest fevers I've ever experienced in my life. It was clear that a flu was coming on. Luckily for me, our visa plans kept us in Manila for a few days so I could recover.
Manila is a terrifying, fast-paced city. We spent most of it cooped up in our hotel room resting. After our visas were sorted out, we began our journey to Banaue, a town in the province of Ifugao. Banaue is only 321km away from Manila, but it was a ten hour journey. As you can imagine, it was a winding road.
When we finally arrived at Noah's Ark, the children were all praying in their common area. We waited outside for them to finish and turned the corner. My eyes welled up with tears at the sight. All of them came towards me wanting hugs. Some of the most beautiful children I had ever seen stood before me, and they were in my care for the next few months. I swallowed back my tears and held as many as I could.
We spent the next day settling in and getting to know the area. I was amazed to awake to my backyard view.
Banaue has hand carved rice terraces that were once a World Heritage Site.
The next day we began our duties. At 8am, Monday to Friday, we teach a sort of preschool class, to a group of about 7-8 children. They are all around 3 years old. We help them go through some work books on English, Science and Math, and then we play with them until lunch time. Our first few days were total nightmares. The children got the "new teacher" attitude and acted out. It is difficult to get them to cooperate because their English is very lacking. We have developed some ways to communicate, but it will definitely take a lot of work. On Monday mornings, we will also be teaching VEP (Values Education Program) to elementary aged students at a school. This class is similar to a Christians ethics class. I teach sixth grade all by myself!
After preschool every day, we eat lunch with Linda. Our meals here consist of government issued rice, and usually some sort of local vegetable cooked. It was very hard to get used to at first, but it's starting to become very easy for me to eat. In the afternoons, we have some time to ourselves. The high school kids who live here go to school from 7am-5pm every day, and spend their evenings studying. The younger children nap in the afternoons. At about 2:30, I can usually find a job with the special needs children, the babies, or in the kitchen! I am SO thankful that God has given me a place to use my gifts in the kitchen. I was feeling DEPRIVED! I also have the chance to bake cookies for the children on Friday afternoons. God surely knows the desires of our hearts!!
At 5pm every day, we eat supper together, and then have devotion time. We start with some time of worship, where everyone loves to sing 10,000 Reasons, Happy Day, and Here I Am to Worship. Then we have a devotional and prayer time. I get to lead this once a week.
On Friday nights, we walk down the slippery, dark steps down the mountain to the Jesus Church, where the youth run "Young Peoples." I love the opportunity to hang out with the youth, so we go and share, sing a song with no music, or just encourage them as they run the program. Saturdays usually involve basketball (PRAISE GOD!), hiking around the mountains, jumping on the trampoline and chatting with the girls. I am so excited.
At the end of March, the kids who live at Noah's Ark will be going home to their families for the summer. Yes, most of them do have at least one parent. We will be helping host missions teams that are coming, and running a VBS and Youth Camp during this time. Looking at the timeline for the next few months, my head spins thinking about how quickly it will all go.
The busy lights of Manila.
My backyard view! Not bad.
My little basement room.
Preschool in action!
Taking a rest at a waterfall.
Sunday morning at Jesus Church.
Me and one of the girls on our Saturday hike. One of my favourite little guys, Jojo!
The rice terraces of Ifugao.
God is proving his faithfulness to me daily in spite of my doubts. I have been battling home sickness with some new extra time on my hands, but He is opening my eyes to the thrills around me. Noah's Ark is my home for the next two and a half months- He is the Potter, I am His clay!
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