Thomas Family Half Gap Year 20/21 & Additional Overseas Travels

Monday, June 23, 2008

Manila TYPHOON Frank!

We woke up Sunday morning at 4:30am to sounds of things crashing and being blown around outside. The power was down and the rain was the heaviest we've ever seen. But we're fine... no worries Typhoon Frank (signal 3 out of 4) couldn't get us! Can you see the cab driving towards us in the top photo...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7468493.stm

Please pray for our kids as we couldn't make it out to their squatter homes to see if their homes withstood the storm. Please also pray for the victims and family member of the 700 passenger ferry that sank during the storm.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Thank you all for donating!

I think Russell (left) thinks he's my boyfriend...

Sister Sonny in new donated pants

Playing in the mango tree that will have a tire swing soon!

The Boys and their new donated hats

Teacher Joy in her new donated dress

Isa pa (one more) update

Kids at squatter home (most are siblings... can you see the matching faces?)

Andy and Muy Muy

Muy Muy and his healed leg

Muy Muy is feeling better!

Thank You (Salamat Po) Cotton Creek Elementary School!

We’re back together in Manila. A place that has become home for a short time but will never replace our home home. We’re enjoying our time here, but truly looking forward to seeing your faces soon!

Our playground is moving right along. When we decided to take this leap this year, we had no idea international business practice would be one of our many lessons! We are purchasing our playground from a Chinese company as the playgrounds here are far too expensive. We’ve found that business between two Americans and a Chinese contact in the Philippines is rather difficult. Our American business experience and training plays no part in our current transactions here. For example, we thought if we ordered something for delivery, it would simply be delivered to the address included. In the Philippines, it is a common practice to hire a Port Broker. This is a hired person to handle the fees, customs transition, and to prevent (not ensure) your product from being kept (or held ransom) at the port. We’re also finding that emails or common practices like phone calls can be very different (especially considering the language gap). Keep praying for this playground, as it should leave the China shores today!

The children are getting more and more excited as they KNOW something is going on. It has been difficult to hide the bags and bags of gravel, sand, shovels and the tire for the tire swing. The word of the playground is spreading as local brothers and fathers of the students are volunteering to help in construction. This is and turning the playground into somewhat of a community project. I think one of my favorite things about the school is the diversity of the children there. On Fridays we’ll see kids with shoes, (or slippers as they call them here) fully clothed with a backpack and books next to another child wearing his or her one outfit This project is really bringing people of all different backgrounds together!

We’d like to especially thank Cotton Creek Elementary School for successfully raising $1,500 to donate to UTWCA playground! See attached photo of our kid’s thanks.

While I (Mary) was home I was overwhelmed with great financial donations as well as material donations for these special kids. This last week, we started to hand out the donated clothing and shoes. It’s nice that we’ve had the chance to develop relationships with the kids and their family to give us a fairly good idea of who is in the most need. It is so nice to put shoes on the feet of kids that never wear them. This adds far more than warm feet! The shoes will help their health as many kids extract worms through their feet. Rob and Annie sent me back with a suitcase full of baby clothing and some adult clothes. The first week we got back one of the families we are closest to had a baby. The mothers usually give birth in their squatter home and often cut their own umbilical chords. This family was THRILLED to have clothes for their new baby girl! We’ve included some pictures of our older students that love their new clothes.

One of our favorite little kids Muy Muy (pronounced Moy Moy) got a bug bite on his leg that swelled up to double the size of his calf. We’d been eyeing the bite for a few days until we realized we really needed to do something and took him to the hospital. Fortunately Muy Muy’s severely infected leg is doing much better with antibiotics and some lessons of hygiene. It’s interesting the injuries/illnesses that can be easily treated at home in North America are not the same here. The little 4 year old’s hands are never washed and when he scratches his bite, he doesn’t understand how he’s creating an infection. It’s also hard to prevent these issues with the lack of water the kids have at home. Today we take Muy Muy back for a check up. We’ll also take another baby of the neighborhood who has strange white lines all over his tongue.

As it’s easy to grow tired of the constant need with our children, their families, and frustration with our lack of understanding business here; we try to celebrate the positive steps we make. Mom received the best news we could have asked for last week. The doctors wanted the tumor to shrink 20% over four rounds of chemotherapy. After her scan last week, the results read that her tumor has already shrunk 25% after two rounds of Chemo! Pat, Kay, Erin and Aaron come to visit us next week and we can hardly wait to see family again! Happy Birthday Kelsi! Congratulations KK and Aaron!

We know God is good! Thanks for the prayers!

Blessings, Andy & Mary

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Me and the kids from Noah's Ark Orphanage

Grayzel and I

Batad Rice Terraces

Noah's Ark Orphanage

Last week our team led a group of 10 Filipino youth on a 5-day mission trip to an orphanage in Banaue, Philippines. Banaue is famous for its beautiful 2,000 year-old rice terraces. Banaue is located in the mountains of Northern Philippines, about a 10 hour drive North of Manila. We held a vacation bible school (VBS) program and a daily feeding for the children of the orphanage and surrounding towns, totaling 75 children in all. We held the VBS at one of the local churches of Banaue, which is located on top of a small rice terrace in the town, overlooking the beautiful valley of rice terraces. The VBS was the idea of Mary and she was the main force in organizing and promoting the event, traveling to countless churches in the Manila area to stir interest. Mary was able to get 10 Filipino youth and two team leaders inspired to make the commitment to each raise P2,500 ($65) and commit a week to the mission trip, no small task to say the least! Unfortunately Mary wasn’t able to make the trip as she is now home with her Mother for the month of May while her mother starts chemotherapy to treat lung cancer.

It was very inspiring to see the Filipino youth, none of whom had ever served on any sort of mission trip before, take charge of the daily lessons and activities and really pour their hearts into the children. I’m a firm believer that when a person does any sort of service work for someone else, it’s not just the person receiving the service who is affected. I think that the person doing the work grows and receives just as much, if not more, in return for the work done. Our goal going into the trip was that the lives of both the children and the youth would be changed as a result of the work done, and by hearing what the youth had to say at our debriefing each night, I think our goal was accomplished. After the VBS was completed we had a recreational day where we took a jeepney ride to Batad, the next town over, and hiked the rice terraces in that area.

It was so nice to experience a different area in the Philippines and it amazed me how different life is up there. First of all, it’s quite cold (that is, cold for the Philippines). The temperature was about 50 degrees and rainy/foggy. It was such a relief to have some cool weather for a change…it’s summer here right now and Manila has just been sweltering lately. Second, the language spoken in that region is Ifugao, not Tagalog. It’s crazy to drive only 10 hours North of Manila, still in the same country, and have people speak a different language. It was a bit of a challenge for out team because nobody on our team spoke Ifugao, and in fact more people there spoke English than Tagalog. Finally, it’s hard to believe that each rice terrace you see is man made, over 2,000 years ago.

Even with all these rice terraces, the area is still feeling the effects of the rice crisis, as the rice grown on the terraces isn’t enough to support rice needs of the towns. Rice import prices have increased by 50% over the last year and it’s becoming harder and harder for many to feed their families.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Boracay, Philippines

A few weeks ago we took a last minute trip to Boracay, Philippines, a tiny beach island about an hour flight south of Manila. We had a weekend where we weren’t doing much, so we decided to go on a little adventure and see some of the Philippines we know we’d not have the chance to see again. Boracay island is a popular beach destination for local Filipinos as well as other Southeast Asian tourists as it has various water sports available, white sandy beaches, and plentiful restaurants and nightlife. We went all out and spent the weekend kayaking along the beach, snorkeling in the clear reefs off the coast, and jet skiing. Our afternoons were spent laying on the beach before running for cover from the late afternoon thunderstorms that rolled in and absolutely drenched anyone unlucky enough to still be outside. Our pictures are limited because the first evening we were there we dropped the camera into a pool or rainwater and it broke…oops. Sorry, you’ll have to use your imagination…

It was a great getaway and we feel lucky to be able to have had the chance to make it down there.

Prayer Requests!

Most of you know that I (Mary) am in Colorado for the month of May. My mom was diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer in April and is currently receiving chemotherapy treatments. While visiting home has been nice to see friends and family we’ve missed and warm showers are a bonus, Andy and I are naturally needing prayers. Please pray for:

• Andy’s spirit, safety, and health in the Philippines.
• Andy’s success with quick progression in the purchase and construction of the playground.
• That I would serve Mom in the best way possible for her and our family.
• That I would embrace my time at home, honoring God and those around me.
• Andy's and my relationship as we miss each other terribly and communication is fairly difficult.
• That mom’s body would respond to the chemotherapy shrinking the size of the tumor to allow for surgery and full tumor removal in August!
• That mom’s symptoms during the chemotherapy would vanish. That she would have energy, without aches and nausea, and her spirit would remain positive and strong!

If you’d like to keep up on my mom’s progress, visit:
ellenbeatcancer.blogspot.com

Blessings, MT

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

welcome to the jungle...

Our concrete jungle... part of Manila

Carabou!

Kuya Andy and Kanawan kids

Esmeralda made it to the top of the mountain!

Ate Mary and Kanawan kiddies

welcome to the jungle...

Kanawan classroom

Kanawan girl carrying a stick to fetch fruit from trees

Rice drying and clothes hanging...

Kanawan kids praying... "Salamat po..."

Len Lyn and the village in the distance

We just got back from a 5 day trip to a small village about 5 hours north of Manila. We traveled there with a team of 7 Canadian students that we’re hosting for a few weeks and we organized a 4-day vacation bible school (VBS) for the children of the village and surrounding areas, totaling about 120 kids ranging from 3-12 years old (it’s summer hear so the kids are on summer break through May). It was definitely one of the coolest experiences we’ve had so far living out here…The village is about a mile hike into the jungle from the nearest road and located on the high point of a dense, lush valley. There’s about 30 families totaling maybe 150 people in the village and some of us stayed in the church while the others stayed in the pastor’s hut (Mary and I and a few other stayed in tents outside the church). We held a session in the morning and one in the afternoon, and we’d serve the kids lunch in between. We had the evenings free to hang out with the kids and people in the village. Very few people in the village spoke English, so it was a challenge to communicate but our Filipino teammates translated some and kids are pretty easy going as long as you have some cool new games to teach them. We arrived on Thursday around noon and while everyone was setting up and getting situated, one of our teammates pulled a few of us aside and showed us a 10-foot Philippine Cobra that a dog found and managed to kill (they weren’t sure if the dog was going to survive because that kind of cobra spits venom, but I think he made it)…The thing was probably three or four inches in diameter at it’s widest point and was easily over 10 feet long! So what do you do with a 10 foot snake in the jungle? You eat it!...they cooked it up and we had it the next day for lunch, it was pretty good actually…tastes like a dense chicken. We held the VBS on Thursday afternoon through Saturday and it went really well. We attended the village’s sunrise Easter service and later that day went on a hike to a small mountain near the village…wow, some of the most amazing natural scenery I’ve ever seen, and quite a contrast from the bustling city of Manila. When we said goodbye on Monday late morning, the Pastor’s wife prayed for us all (in Tagalog) and even though I couldn’t completely understand her, she kept thanking us for our work with their children and how much it meant to them that we came all the way out there. Some of the women cried and thanked us as we left the village. We’re hoping to go back again once more before we leave the Philippines.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Maganda Gabi (Good Night) Update #2

Hope all is well in the states. We’re thinking of you often… We’re adapting and making big strides (forward and backward) everyday. Last Thursday was filled with several lessons. We're really loving our squatter kids! We hate calling them that. They shouldn’t be called “squatter kids” defining them by the place they come from. I think an easy way to describe squatters are people living in attached shacks. Andy describes it as one step above living on the street. We’ve been so blessed to work with these kids on a somewhat of a consistent basis where we’re learning more about them, and them us. Last Thursday our team had the chance to take the kids on a field trip. The trip was overall a success – a messy success! Nearly the entire school attended which put us in charge of taking 60 kids out of their squatter area for probably the first time. The looks on their faces when we left the city, driving by mountains was priceless. However, there was a rather different part of the tip. Every time we would get back on the bus to travel to the next destination, about a quarter of the kids would start throwing up! Or if not throwing up, trying hard not to vomit, holding a barf bag over their face. The motion of the bus was something many for them had never felt before. Most kids walk everywhere, don’t travel far, and if they do they’re on a bicycles, or a trike. The air conditioned bouncing tour bus was something the kids could not handle! It's times like this where we can identify what we've culturally grown accustomed to.

Andy and I have decided that we want to devote a lot of our time here to fundraising, purchasing and building a playground for the school. This is something the facilitators, teachers and even students would never ask for but something they clearly need. The ‘backyard’ of the school in covered in rocks and not a well kept place for playing. We currently play red light green light and duck-duck-goose in the street in front of the school (moving to the sidewalks taking time outs every time a vehicle passes). We’ve been doing a lot of research and have thankfully found some contacts and are encouraged that this may be something we could see through during our stay.

We’re falling into our ministries nicely here. Andy is providing accounting services for the school and organizing their finances. We’re there as often as we can be and are planning feedings so the kids occasionally get healthy meals. I joined a women’s Bible study on Tuesday nights. We help with a youth emerging leader’s ministry whenever we can. We help with hosting teams and are researching playgrounds in our off time. By the end of the week, we’re rather tired – but feeling more and more that we’re making an impact and feeling in the right place.

We are slowly but surely learning the language here. It’s hard to devote enough time to the language as we get fairly spoiled as most Filipinos speak enough English. However, every time we want to go a bit deeper or begin to speak or ask feelings, we're unable to communicate and are reminded of the importance of learning Tagalog.

We have had the chance to take a few quick trips outside of the city while we’ve been here. We ventured to Tagaytay where you hike to the center of a volcano in an island. Then we helped lead at youth retreat in Rizel that was a weekend full of beautiful scenery, WARM WATER AND FRENCH TOAST (the owners were from Connecticut). We also took a trip to a large mountain and hiked through the jungle (and got lost) to see the top. And this Thursday we leave again to run a VBS for the Kanawan tribe for 5 days.

We welcome a team of 7 Canadian college students tomorrow and are preparing for our schedules to change as we’ll need to accustom these missionaries to the lifestyle we still growing accustomed to.

We’re thinking of you and praying for you often.