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
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Finally, We Arrive :)
Hey Guys!
To be completely honest, I have no idea where to start with this post. SO much has happened since my last update from Japan. When we arrived in Manila and got all our luggage and team members to the local mission, it was already 1 AM. I had been under the impression that we were going to be able to sleep overnight there before leaving, but I was wrong. We separated into our teams immediately, loaded our luggage into the vans and off we all headed. My team was faced with an 8 hour drive, and we were told that we were going to arrive at the hotel at 9 AM and have an hour to change/shower before heading out to immediately begin our sharing in the schools. We had a few speed bumps in this plan however....
We started out with 2 vans, both holding about half the luggage, and the team members split between the two. We were about an hour into the trip when the van behind my van burst out in smoke and they stopped. We stopped too, to see what the problem was. It turns out that the other van had a flat tire, which resulted in a fire, filling the van with smoke. We immediately unloaded all the people and luggage out of that van, and we ended up spending 3 and a half hours on the side of the road, trying to figure out where to get another van and figuring out what to do. We didn't get back on the road again until 6 AM this morning, with another seven hours to go. We just arrived at our hotel this afternoon, and as a result we are only going to attempt one school today, for which we are leaving in about an hour.
The Philippines is amazing. I can't even try to describe in words the beauty of this place. But with it's beauty there are other things as well. My heart broke today as we were driving and I saw a sign outside a home saying "Baby boy for sale. Inquire within." Some of the things we see are heart wrenching, others beautiful. The culture is definitely different, just as I expected however. For example, over here, the white dashed lines that are supposed to mark road lanes...they're really just for decoration. Driving with our Filipino drivers today, we basically kept seeing our lives flash before our eyes. People will cross double yellow lines to go infront of other cars, even if a truck is coming right at them. It's just normal driving here. It's also perfectly normal and even expected to see motorcycles cut lines at red lights and just drive right around you to get in front.
In addition, there are a TON of stray dogs sitting by the roadsides. Many of them get hit by cars and we even saw several dead on the side of the road. We were informed by our pastors/translators that within half an hour someone will pick them up and make stew with them. I found this horrific, but it's all part of the culture. I have wi-fi constantly, at least for this week, so I'll try to keep you guys consistently updated with what we're doing. I'll try to put some pictures up tonight for you too, so you have a bit of a visual :) Thanks so much for all your prayers, everything's going fantastic!
In Christ,
Hannah
To be completely honest, I have no idea where to start with this post. SO much has happened since my last update from Japan. When we arrived in Manila and got all our luggage and team members to the local mission, it was already 1 AM. I had been under the impression that we were going to be able to sleep overnight there before leaving, but I was wrong. We separated into our teams immediately, loaded our luggage into the vans and off we all headed. My team was faced with an 8 hour drive, and we were told that we were going to arrive at the hotel at 9 AM and have an hour to change/shower before heading out to immediately begin our sharing in the schools. We had a few speed bumps in this plan however....
We started out with 2 vans, both holding about half the luggage, and the team members split between the two. We were about an hour into the trip when the van behind my van burst out in smoke and they stopped. We stopped too, to see what the problem was. It turns out that the other van had a flat tire, which resulted in a fire, filling the van with smoke. We immediately unloaded all the people and luggage out of that van, and we ended up spending 3 and a half hours on the side of the road, trying to figure out where to get another van and figuring out what to do. We didn't get back on the road again until 6 AM this morning, with another seven hours to go. We just arrived at our hotel this afternoon, and as a result we are only going to attempt one school today, for which we are leaving in about an hour.
The Philippines is amazing. I can't even try to describe in words the beauty of this place. But with it's beauty there are other things as well. My heart broke today as we were driving and I saw a sign outside a home saying "Baby boy for sale. Inquire within." Some of the things we see are heart wrenching, others beautiful. The culture is definitely different, just as I expected however. For example, over here, the white dashed lines that are supposed to mark road lanes...they're really just for decoration. Driving with our Filipino drivers today, we basically kept seeing our lives flash before our eyes. People will cross double yellow lines to go infront of other cars, even if a truck is coming right at them. It's just normal driving here. It's also perfectly normal and even expected to see motorcycles cut lines at red lights and just drive right around you to get in front.
In addition, there are a TON of stray dogs sitting by the roadsides. Many of them get hit by cars and we even saw several dead on the side of the road. We were informed by our pastors/translators that within half an hour someone will pick them up and make stew with them. I found this horrific, but it's all part of the culture. I have wi-fi constantly, at least for this week, so I'll try to keep you guys consistently updated with what we're doing. I'll try to put some pictures up tonight for you too, so you have a bit of a visual :) Thanks so much for all your prayers, everything's going fantastic!
In Christ,
Hannah
Everything Is In Japanese.....
Hey Everyone!
Well it's been a really long trip already, and unfortunately, it's not over yet. I'm sitting at my gate in Nagoya International Airport, Japan, waiting for my third and final flight that will conclude the first part of my journey to the Philippines. Then we will be staying overnight in Manila, before my team leaves tomorrow morning for our location assignment.
It was no easy feat posting on here...everything on what I THOUGHT were American websites is in Japanese! So it took me about twenty minutes just to log into my Blogger account because pressing buttons was like playing Chess in the dark..I had to guess which button was which. But here I am.
I thought I had done hard things in my life, but getting on the plane by myself this morning was definitely way up there as one of the hardest. I was just about ready to turn and run back to the car out front because I really felt like I had no idea what I was doing or where I was going. It wasn't until this afternoon in Detroit Airport where I finally got my first glimpse. I met a girl at our gate who was on my flight and going to the Philippines. We weren't going to be on the same team, but we talked anyway! While we were talking, there was a Filipino lady sitting next to us waiting to go home. She started crying next to us, and we asked her what was wrong. She told us that her sister had died the night before and she was going home for the funeral. She asked why we were heading there, and we told her about our missions trip. She asked if we believed in God, and after we explained what we believed, she asked us to pray for her. I really wasn't expecting to have the chance to do that when I hadn't even arrived yet, but God still provided a really cool opportunity.
Once we boarded the flight, I realized that all the people I had just met were scattered all over a really large sized plane, and I was pretty much by myself again for the 14 hour flight. It really wasn't until about 2 AM today as I was flying somewhere over the Pacific Ocean that I had my moment where I really felt God calming my heart and I finally felt a peace and an excitement again. I had my emotions in such turmoil all day, and after feeling like I was leaving everything that was familiar and that I knew, it was almost like a gentle reminder from God that I hadn't left everything, I had Him every step of the way. On every plane, through every customs and security check, He is with me. That realization again was the best moment of the entire flight. Thanks for all your prayers for my trip, I'm almost there :)
Sayonara (Goodbye in Japanese!)
Well it's been a really long trip already, and unfortunately, it's not over yet. I'm sitting at my gate in Nagoya International Airport, Japan, waiting for my third and final flight that will conclude the first part of my journey to the Philippines. Then we will be staying overnight in Manila, before my team leaves tomorrow morning for our location assignment.
It was no easy feat posting on here...everything on what I THOUGHT were American websites is in Japanese! So it took me about twenty minutes just to log into my Blogger account because pressing buttons was like playing Chess in the dark..I had to guess which button was which. But here I am.
I thought I had done hard things in my life, but getting on the plane by myself this morning was definitely way up there as one of the hardest. I was just about ready to turn and run back to the car out front because I really felt like I had no idea what I was doing or where I was going. It wasn't until this afternoon in Detroit Airport where I finally got my first glimpse. I met a girl at our gate who was on my flight and going to the Philippines. We weren't going to be on the same team, but we talked anyway! While we were talking, there was a Filipino lady sitting next to us waiting to go home. She started crying next to us, and we asked her what was wrong. She told us that her sister had died the night before and she was going home for the funeral. She asked why we were heading there, and we told her about our missions trip. She asked if we believed in God, and after we explained what we believed, she asked us to pray for her. I really wasn't expecting to have the chance to do that when I hadn't even arrived yet, but God still provided a really cool opportunity.
Once we boarded the flight, I realized that all the people I had just met were scattered all over a really large sized plane, and I was pretty much by myself again for the 14 hour flight. It really wasn't until about 2 AM today as I was flying somewhere over the Pacific Ocean that I had my moment where I really felt God calming my heart and I finally felt a peace and an excitement again. I had my emotions in such turmoil all day, and after feeling like I was leaving everything that was familiar and that I knew, it was almost like a gentle reminder from God that I hadn't left everything, I had Him every step of the way. On every plane, through every customs and security check, He is with me. That realization again was the best moment of the entire flight. Thanks for all your prayers for my trip, I'm almost there :)
Sayonara (Goodbye in Japanese!)
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
T Minus 10 Days
Less than two weeks until I leave!! I really can't believe how close it's getting, and the excitement is definitely building. I got suitcases down from the attic yesterday to begin the large task known as packing, and it's an overwhelming job to be certain :) There are now bags laying open on my bedroom floor, filling up with things as I think of them. I'm planning to get to the job of organizing everything later!
I got my itinerary for my flights in the mail yesterday too. I'll post it down below so you can be praying for the specific times when I'm traveling. It's going to be an exhausting trip, and I'm hoping I can make it to the other side ready to do jump right in to our work there.
As of Monday, my deadline, I had raised all but $300 of my support. I was not only floored by what God had done with a seemingly impossible goal, but just in a serious reflection on what his purpose for me is this summer. I was at a point a few months ago where I was asking God why he had gotten me all excited for this trip and all set up if I wasn't even going to receive the support I needed. Turns out He had it all planned from the beginning, because here I am ten days away from departure. It's a lesson we seem to never learn, that God has things planned perfectly, we just have to wait and trust in Him.
I have to share in front of my church on Sunday about my trip, so if you could be praying that goes smoothly, I would really appreciate it! I want to share a verse with you that I found this morning, I think it really sums up what He's been trying to show me.
Proverbs 2:6-9 ” For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity. He guards the paths of the just and protects those who are faithful to him. Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go.” (NLT)
Something to think about for sure! Hope you all have a great rest of your week, and I'll update again when I'm in the airport to leave! Thanks for all your prayers and support :)
Hannah
P.S. When reading posts or my itinerary, don't forget that the Philippines is exactly 12 hours ahead of us :)
ITINERARY
Saturday, June 25th
Depart PHL at 9:20 AM and arrive in Detroit, MI (DTW) at 11:10 AM
Depart DTW at 3:50 PM and arrive in Nagoya, Japan at 5:55 PM (In Eastern time it would be 5:55 AM)
Depart Nagoya, Japan at 7:40 PM (7:40 AM) and arrive in Manila, Philippines at 10:35 PM
I got my itinerary for my flights in the mail yesterday too. I'll post it down below so you can be praying for the specific times when I'm traveling. It's going to be an exhausting trip, and I'm hoping I can make it to the other side ready to do jump right in to our work there.
As of Monday, my deadline, I had raised all but $300 of my support. I was not only floored by what God had done with a seemingly impossible goal, but just in a serious reflection on what his purpose for me is this summer. I was at a point a few months ago where I was asking God why he had gotten me all excited for this trip and all set up if I wasn't even going to receive the support I needed. Turns out He had it all planned from the beginning, because here I am ten days away from departure. It's a lesson we seem to never learn, that God has things planned perfectly, we just have to wait and trust in Him.
I have to share in front of my church on Sunday about my trip, so if you could be praying that goes smoothly, I would really appreciate it! I want to share a verse with you that I found this morning, I think it really sums up what He's been trying to show me.
Proverbs 2:6-9 ” For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity. He guards the paths of the just and protects those who are faithful to him. Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go.” (NLT)
Something to think about for sure! Hope you all have a great rest of your week, and I'll update again when I'm in the airport to leave! Thanks for all your prayers and support :)
Hannah
P.S. When reading posts or my itinerary, don't forget that the Philippines is exactly 12 hours ahead of us :)
ITINERARY
Saturday, June 25th
Depart PHL at 9:20 AM and arrive in Detroit, MI (DTW) at 11:10 AM
Depart DTW at 3:50 PM and arrive in Nagoya, Japan at 5:55 PM (In Eastern time it would be 5:55 AM)
Depart Nagoya, Japan at 7:40 PM (7:40 AM) and arrive in Manila, Philippines at 10:35 PM
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