So I'm sitting on my bed, in my room, in Quakertown, and I am feeling a little sad. The trip is over, and it really seemed to fly by. I feel like I blinked, and it was finished. God truly worked in amazing ways, not just in the Filipino people, but also in my own heart. I learned so many things that I never expected to learn! But I guess God doesn't always work just in the ways we expect Him to :)
Coming home to friends and family has been awesome, I feel very loved/prayed for and everything. I'm still split between the "glad to be home" feeling and the really sad/letdown feeling!
I'll send out a summary of the trip with some pictures to everyone in the next couple of days, but I just wanted to let everyone know I was home safely, and to thank each and every one of you who supported me, prayed for me, it meant the world to me!
I know this isn't the end. The trip doesn't just end when you get home, you still have the amazing "high" that you had when you were there. The question is, how is God going to use that high? I have a couple of ideas floating around in my head, we'll see what God does. I've never been so excited to see His plans, and to feel like even though one trip is ending, another VERY important one is just beginning.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
So Little....And Yet So Much
So this post is going to be a little bit more somber....just a forewarning. I really want to tell you guys what I've seen and try to communicate so that you can see it in your mind.
These people literally have NOTHING. You think our homes aren't the grandest mansions in the entire world, well to them, our houses are palaces. Most of them have houses built out of wood or bamboo. They usually don't have front doors, as those are considered a luxury. Their beds are built into the wall like shelves, and then they throw a blanket on top.
As far as clothes go, they really don't have too much. A typical child has their school uniform and a few other outfits. Most of the houses don't have running water, people drink/bathe/do laundry all in the local dirty creek or river. "Mansions" over here would be the equivalent of a mobile home. Most people don't have cars, in fact, cars are not often seen. The majority of people own a tricycle, which is a type of motorcycle attached to a cabin to carry people. If they can't afford a tricycle, they take the community buses everywhere.
Hopefully, you're starting to get the picture of what these people have. Or rather, what they don't have. Yet what strikes me is that you can be driving down the road, and you can randomly wave at a person, and they will smile and wave back. How many people would do that? How many children would be so polite and respectful to us when we visited schools? How many principals would willingly let us share the gospel openly in their school? These people have so little, and yet they give so much and communicate SO MUCH happiness and contentment.
Yesterday, at the school, the children grabbed my hand and touched it to their foreheads. They all started to do it, and I asked my Filipino pastor/translator why they were doing that. He responded "It is a sign of respect and honor." So today, I did it to one of the children. She stared up at me and then grabbed me in a hug. They worship the ground we walk on like we are better than them. I wish we could communicate to them that in so many ways, they are better than we are. They, not us, are the bigger person.
These people literally have NOTHING. You think our homes aren't the grandest mansions in the entire world, well to them, our houses are palaces. Most of them have houses built out of wood or bamboo. They usually don't have front doors, as those are considered a luxury. Their beds are built into the wall like shelves, and then they throw a blanket on top.
As far as clothes go, they really don't have too much. A typical child has their school uniform and a few other outfits. Most of the houses don't have running water, people drink/bathe/do laundry all in the local dirty creek or river. "Mansions" over here would be the equivalent of a mobile home. Most people don't have cars, in fact, cars are not often seen. The majority of people own a tricycle, which is a type of motorcycle attached to a cabin to carry people. If they can't afford a tricycle, they take the community buses everywhere.
Hopefully, you're starting to get the picture of what these people have. Or rather, what they don't have. Yet what strikes me is that you can be driving down the road, and you can randomly wave at a person, and they will smile and wave back. How many people would do that? How many children would be so polite and respectful to us when we visited schools? How many principals would willingly let us share the gospel openly in their school? These people have so little, and yet they give so much and communicate SO MUCH happiness and contentment.
Yesterday, at the school, the children grabbed my hand and touched it to their foreheads. They all started to do it, and I asked my Filipino pastor/translator why they were doing that. He responded "It is a sign of respect and honor." So today, I did it to one of the children. She stared up at me and then grabbed me in a hug. They worship the ground we walk on like we are better than them. I wish we could communicate to them that in so many ways, they are better than we are. They, not us, are the bigger person.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
A Down Day
SLEEP! That's pretty much what I did all day today. Last night at dinner I got sick, and so I stayed back today from the schools. I slept most of the day! You really don't realize how tired you actually are until you just let yourself sleep whenever you want. As much as I hated staying back today, I really needed that extra rest. I think me getting sick was a combination of being tired and eating something that didn't agree with me. At any rate, I'm feeling a lot better and well rested, ready to head out again tomorrow :)
Since I wasn't out today, there isn't much to update, just wanted to let you all know that I'm still alive :P
Hope everything's well back home!!
Hannah <3
Since I wasn't out today, there isn't much to update, just wanted to let you all know that I'm still alive :P
Hope everything's well back home!!
Hannah <3
Monday, July 4, 2011
Straight From My Heart
What a day!! This has probably been one of the best days so far in the Philippines, and definitely in Quezon. My day in the schools was incredible, and the Filipino pastors I was with had a huge part to play in that.
My first school this morning, I was with a Filipino pastor named Randy. He was going to translate for me as I spoke to about 500 elementary school students. I had expressed yesterday evening that I felt a little bit like I was falling into a pattern with my gospel presentations, like I was more "following the same outline" for every school that I spoke at. Randy told me before I spoke that I should just speak from my heart. So before I went on, I prayed that God would help me to speak from my heart and to just say the words He wanted me to say. After that presentation, I can honestly say I've never felt as wonderful as I felt afterwards. I really feel like God just spoke through me, rather than me trying to speak for Him. The rest of the day was wonderful, because I finally felt like I had found the way I was supposed to share.
My third school of the day was a high school, and I had to speak to a crowd of about 2,500 high school students. I felt SO intimidated, walking up onto that platform, because for some reason, the crowd just seemed really big. I was feeling some pressure from the principal, because she hadn't been the most welcoming, and my heart was just feeling very nervous and stressed. God works wonders, because I simply had to ask him to calm my heart and He did.
When we try to "speak for God", I don't think we even realize that we're doing it. It's more of a conscious thing, something we do without even realizing what our actions are implicating. It's such a humbling experience to really let God speak THROUGH you for the first time, because it's such a powerful feeling. He has a perfect plan, and for the first time today, I think it really hit me that there's a difference between a permissible plan, and a PERFECT plan. He has plans that are permissible, and that usually come about when we insist on having something that He wasn't going to give us. Then there are His perfect plans. If we're willing to sit and wait for His timing, and allow Him to speak through us, we will get to LIVE His perfect plan. I don't know about you, but I'm not willing to settle for a permissible plan. I'm not willing to settle for a "permissible" gospel presentation, I want to let God speak through me and have a perfect presentation. Even if it's something as simple as waiting for the right person to marry, it can make such a huge difference. I'm sure that sometimes, God has the perfect person in mind for us, but in our selfishness and impatience, we push for the person we want, and sometimes, I think God says "okay, you can have the second-best option, and I'll keep the best one!"
The simple lessons in life that we can pull out of experiences are amazing. They are never ceasing to amaze me every day that I spend here. The littlest things are teaching me the biggest lessons. Why is it that our eyes only seem to be open to these lessons when we are on a mission’s trip, or at church camp, or at church itself? Why is it that we don't seem to truly have our eyes open for these moments every minute of every day? That's something I'm bringing home: God wants us to always have our eyes and ears open, because the lessons he's trying to teach us are important! When we speak from the heart, when we let him have complete control, that's when the perfection in His plans come out. So how about you? Do you want to settle for God's permissible plan, or do you want to wait and suffer a little bit to live His PERFECT plan?
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Quezon!
Hey guys!
We are officially in Quezon. To be more specific, we are in Lucena, in the province of Quezon. We left Camarinas Norte about 8:30 this morning, and arrived in Lucena at about 4. It was a long drive, in our jeeps with no windows. The drive really felt long when the rain came in through the sides and got us wet :) I'm convinced the roads in the Philippines are a deal between the country and chiropractors - The government saves money by not paving the roads, and the chiropractors make money because so many people have to come see them after traveling in the Philippines! Some of the roads are paved, but the ones that aren't really do a number on your body. Most of us are really bruised from bouncing around the jeepneys.
I didn't do too much interesting today, so this is a short post. Tomorrow we are going to the markets for the day, and I've already found that almost everything here is RIDICULOUSLY cheap. Movies here are only about 30 pesos, which is less than 1 dollar American. Clothes are insanely cheap, and pretty much everything else is too. I'm excited to go to the market and see what I can find!!
Hope you are all doing well, and I can't wait to share more stories as they happen!
Hannah
P.S. If you want to see a lot of pictures, I uploaded an album to my facebook.
We are officially in Quezon. To be more specific, we are in Lucena, in the province of Quezon. We left Camarinas Norte about 8:30 this morning, and arrived in Lucena at about 4. It was a long drive, in our jeeps with no windows. The drive really felt long when the rain came in through the sides and got us wet :) I'm convinced the roads in the Philippines are a deal between the country and chiropractors - The government saves money by not paving the roads, and the chiropractors make money because so many people have to come see them after traveling in the Philippines! Some of the roads are paved, but the ones that aren't really do a number on your body. Most of us are really bruised from bouncing around the jeepneys.
I didn't do too much interesting today, so this is a short post. Tomorrow we are going to the markets for the day, and I've already found that almost everything here is RIDICULOUSLY cheap. Movies here are only about 30 pesos, which is less than 1 dollar American. Clothes are insanely cheap, and pretty much everything else is too. I'm excited to go to the market and see what I can find!!
Hope you are all doing well, and I can't wait to share more stories as they happen!
Hannah
P.S. If you want to see a lot of pictures, I uploaded an album to my facebook.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Coconuts and Pineapples (:
So today was pretty much the most amazing day ever! I don’t even know how to describe the feeling I have after the day is over, so I’ll try to explain :)
One of my biggest dreams was realized today. *Drumroll* I drank out of a real coconut. I know you were expecting something huge and monumental, and you’re probably really disappointed right now, but it was really one of the most exciting things EVER! We had to walk about a mile into the woods to get to one of the schools today, and when we got there and after I spoke, the teacher asked if we wanted coconut juice. I said yes, figuring it was the kind you can get in cans at the restaurants here. I was shocked when the teacher picked up a bamboo pole and walked to the nearest tree. She stabbed up with the bamboo pole and three coconuts fell down. (It was exactly something like you’d see on Survivor :D ) She got the principal to get the machete, and he just whacked the coconut with the machete and handed it to me. I was pleasantly surprised that the milk from it was really good. I was just so thrilled and like a little kid at getting to drink out of a coconut! I have pictures, but I don’t have them on my computer yet.
After that school, we visited a school that was right next to a pineapple field. For a snack, they offered us fresh pineapple! I’m officially spoiled now and I can never eat a pineapple from America again. EVER. This thing was so amazing. But I’ll stop making you drool now and move on to more serious things :)
One of the schools I visited, the principal came up to me before I spoke. He asked me what the real reason for us coming here was. I explained to him that we came to share the gospel with people, and he shook his head at me, disagreeing. He said “You must have come for reasons other than to share those few words.” I said that to us they were very important words, and they needed to be shared. I had to go on to speak then, so I left him with that thought. After I spoke, he came up to me, and he had tears in his eyes. He looked at me and said “What you said about Jesus dying on the cross so we can have eternal life, I believe that.” I have never been so amazed at someone’s transformation as I was then. He was one of the hardest principals I had visited so far, because he was just so reluctant to let us speak, and once he heard it, just like that he believed it.
We were in the van on the way home, and the song “The Word Is Alive” by Casting Crowns came on the radio and it just really made me think. If we were in America, we wouldn’t even be allowed to speak in the schools let alone get any response. The “picking is ripe” here, people are just hungry for the gospel. I’m so excited to be here and see it with my own eyes.
I shared at about 14 schools altogether today, and I am now completely exhausted. It’s a really good kind of tired though…the kind that you feel after knowing you’ve done something really important that’s going to make a huge difference. I feel so privileged that I am getting to experience this, and still somewhat in shock. I look out at the rice paddies and the sunrise in the mornings as we leave, and it just doesn’t hit me that I’m really in the Philippines. Thanks for everything, I miss you all!
Hannah
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
He Knows Their Name
So I haven't updated in a while, and I'll explain why towards the end of the blog because I'm trying to figure out how to write it with the emotions we were all feeling so that it's impacting. But as to the last few days...
My schedule is very long. We usually get up about 3 or 3:30 AM, and we have breakfast and are on the road by 4 or 4:30. We ride a few hours out in the jeeps, in pairs of two, each pair with two Filipino pastors who are our translators. Once we are a few hours out, we visit about 10-15 schools each day per pair, making our way back towards our hotel as we go along. It's very rewarding work, sharing the gospel with each school, but our schedule is definitely tiring. We don't return to the hotel until about 5:30 at night, and then we eat dinner, have our team devotions/nightly meeting and go to bed around 10.
So far, the largest group of children/teachers the I have shared the gospel with is about 2,000 children. It's funny, but when you're getting up with your translator to speak, you really don't even notice the difference between the groups of 500 and 2000. The energy of the kids, and the way they just can't stop smiling at you is so infectious. They treat us like we are celebrities. I've been asked for my autograph, they take pictures of me with their cellphones, and they run after the car as we are leaving. It's the cutest thing. I was driving home yesterday and I had my head out the jeep window just enjoying the air, and there was a group of kids walking home from school, and I didn't really remember them because I had done so many schools, but they recognized me and we're shouting "Hi sister Hannah!"
Here in the Philippines, things are a LOT different than the US. For example, you don't ask someone if they have a bathroom, you ask them if they have a CR. (CR meaning Comfort Room). There is no such thing as speed limits or tickets, in the words of Joel, one of my translators yesterday "The cops figure if you want to stay alive, you can drive slowly. If you want your life to end early, drive fast!" Whenever we go to a fast food restaurant, it's considered rude to wait for the food, you have to let them bring it to your table, and you NEVER clear your own food, they do it for you. The culture is very different, and it's really fun learning about all the differences.
I had the most amazing birthday ever. All the Filipino pastors sang Happy Birthday to me in Tagalong, the main language spoken here in the Philippines. My team got me a cake, and a card, and we just had a lot of fun celebrating. Even the kids at the schools were singing Happy Birthday to me, which really touched me :)
The reason that I didn't update yesterday was because of something that happened last night. The team went out for dinner to a pizza place in one of the local shopping centers. One of the girls on our team saw a little girl who we had seen standing out in the streets all day. She went out and brought the little girl in to eat dinner with us. She was 8 years old, and she sat and ate with us. As we ate, she informed us that she had no parents, and she didn't go to school. She was such a sweet little girl, so when our group leader pulled us aside and said he thought she was a slave, it was shocking. He said that we might have done damage to her by bringing her in because if her owner got upset with her, he could hurt her. We watched carefully the rest of dinner, and sure enough, a guy walked up to the door and signaled to the girl to come. She shook her head, and I saw a genuine look of fear on her face. We eventually decided to give her some money and a bible tract, hoping that if she took money back it would help. We had to leave her sitting on the curb, and as we were leaving, we saw the same man approach her as she was sitting on the curb. My heart broke watching her, because I just couldn't bear the thought of an eight year old girl being a slave. It was an emotional night when we got back because it was the reality that human trafficking exists, and that precious little girl probably lives a horrible life. I had heard about it in churches and at conferences, but I really never took it seriously until I saw it for myself. If you could pray for that little girl, her name is Rema.
We kept telling ourselves that Jesus knows every child in that situation, and he has a perfect plan for all of them. It didn't make it too much easier to see, and my heart still aches for that sweet little girl. I ask myself what she did to deserve the life she's living, and I don't have the answer to that. But I do know that God is in control, and he is watching out for Rema.
Sorry for the depressing post, but I wanted to make sure that everyone was aware of what goes on, because I know I wasn't. Thanks for your prayers, the trip is amazing, and I'm loving every minute I spend here.
Hannah
My schedule is very long. We usually get up about 3 or 3:30 AM, and we have breakfast and are on the road by 4 or 4:30. We ride a few hours out in the jeeps, in pairs of two, each pair with two Filipino pastors who are our translators. Once we are a few hours out, we visit about 10-15 schools each day per pair, making our way back towards our hotel as we go along. It's very rewarding work, sharing the gospel with each school, but our schedule is definitely tiring. We don't return to the hotel until about 5:30 at night, and then we eat dinner, have our team devotions/nightly meeting and go to bed around 10.
So far, the largest group of children/teachers the I have shared the gospel with is about 2,000 children. It's funny, but when you're getting up with your translator to speak, you really don't even notice the difference between the groups of 500 and 2000. The energy of the kids, and the way they just can't stop smiling at you is so infectious. They treat us like we are celebrities. I've been asked for my autograph, they take pictures of me with their cellphones, and they run after the car as we are leaving. It's the cutest thing. I was driving home yesterday and I had my head out the jeep window just enjoying the air, and there was a group of kids walking home from school, and I didn't really remember them because I had done so many schools, but they recognized me and we're shouting "Hi sister Hannah!"
Here in the Philippines, things are a LOT different than the US. For example, you don't ask someone if they have a bathroom, you ask them if they have a CR. (CR meaning Comfort Room). There is no such thing as speed limits or tickets, in the words of Joel, one of my translators yesterday "The cops figure if you want to stay alive, you can drive slowly. If you want your life to end early, drive fast!" Whenever we go to a fast food restaurant, it's considered rude to wait for the food, you have to let them bring it to your table, and you NEVER clear your own food, they do it for you. The culture is very different, and it's really fun learning about all the differences.
I had the most amazing birthday ever. All the Filipino pastors sang Happy Birthday to me in Tagalong, the main language spoken here in the Philippines. My team got me a cake, and a card, and we just had a lot of fun celebrating. Even the kids at the schools were singing Happy Birthday to me, which really touched me :)
The reason that I didn't update yesterday was because of something that happened last night. The team went out for dinner to a pizza place in one of the local shopping centers. One of the girls on our team saw a little girl who we had seen standing out in the streets all day. She went out and brought the little girl in to eat dinner with us. She was 8 years old, and she sat and ate with us. As we ate, she informed us that she had no parents, and she didn't go to school. She was such a sweet little girl, so when our group leader pulled us aside and said he thought she was a slave, it was shocking. He said that we might have done damage to her by bringing her in because if her owner got upset with her, he could hurt her. We watched carefully the rest of dinner, and sure enough, a guy walked up to the door and signaled to the girl to come. She shook her head, and I saw a genuine look of fear on her face. We eventually decided to give her some money and a bible tract, hoping that if she took money back it would help. We had to leave her sitting on the curb, and as we were leaving, we saw the same man approach her as she was sitting on the curb. My heart broke watching her, because I just couldn't bear the thought of an eight year old girl being a slave. It was an emotional night when we got back because it was the reality that human trafficking exists, and that precious little girl probably lives a horrible life. I had heard about it in churches and at conferences, but I really never took it seriously until I saw it for myself. If you could pray for that little girl, her name is Rema.
We kept telling ourselves that Jesus knows every child in that situation, and he has a perfect plan for all of them. It didn't make it too much easier to see, and my heart still aches for that sweet little girl. I ask myself what she did to deserve the life she's living, and I don't have the answer to that. But I do know that God is in control, and he is watching out for Rema.
Sorry for the depressing post, but I wanted to make sure that everyone was aware of what goes on, because I know I wasn't. Thanks for your prayers, the trip is amazing, and I'm loving every minute I spend here.
Hannah
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