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| Downtime in Moalboal |
Dear Friends, Family, Having
left the U.K. in August 2014 we are into our 6th year away!!! In many ways it feels that it has gone in a
blink and yet our boys are evidence of the passage of time. Samuel (15) towers above me (Jo), is shaving
and has the beginnings of chest hair!
Reuben, now a teenager, will be the same height as me in the next 6
months. What a journey they have had so
far with many ups and downs and challenges. Apparently they are called third
culture kids, living in a country which neither they nor their parents are
from, thus merging things to make their own third culture! They are also in a
strange cultural mix as we work with the very poor and yet most of their school
mates are very rich. One thing we know
for sure is that the challenges have knitted us closer together and we are so
grateful for that. Maybe one day Samuel
and Reuben will look back and see the benefits …
Two years in Cebu, Philippines....... CULTURE AND PEOPLE
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| Flamboyant Festivals |
The majority of Filipinos that we meet
are very friendly and open, willing to share, hug, laugh, cry, and everything
else in between. Music, singing and
dancing are very popular, it seems as though it’s in their blood! Being white
in the Philippines gets you a lot of attention!
We are often stared at, waved at and spoken to and they LOVE it when
they find out you can speak their language (Cebuano). Given that Filipino
history is riddled with foreign takeovers (Spanish, Japanese and American),
some Filipinos are a bit scared of ‘foreigners’ and often think themselves as
lower. Unfortunately, many white people, men particularly, still come to the Philippines
today and use that, plus the huge problem of poverty, to their own advantage. It
is revolting to see.
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| Sunrise Worship in Lorega |
THIS YEAR
MARCH / APRIL - A
VISIT FROM OUR MUMS!
This spring we were so excited to have both our mums
visit. We are so grateful for their love and support and for all the ‘treats’
we received including special meals out, a boat trip and a day at a resort! We
tried to show them all the sights of Cebu – the good, the bad and the ugly 😆
MAY - AN ANNIVERSARY …
This year the team who originally came from Hong Kong
celebrated their 20th anniversary of being here. Visitors from near
and far came back and shared stories over a week of celebration. God is good! 20
years later He is still showing his love and faithfulness to the people in our
community and further afield as they continue to serve others.
And then…..
On the last day of the week long events and celebrations,
just as everyone was anticipating a rest, one of our leaders came off
his motorbike and suffered a serious head injury. This threw everyone back into a flurry of
activity, providing round the clock care whilst he was in hospital and then
later after he was discharged. Medical care is very different to the U.K. There
is no NHS, no hospital food, no cafes and no free treatment. It took days to get the results of a scan
(during which time he could have died!) and then the doctor read the results
wrong saying that there was no bleeding on the brain when actually there was. Scary!
He was even discharged before he had the results of his second
scan. Thankfully he is recovering well.
At the same time a young woman in the church who had
not been well for some time and had had many tests found that she had an
aggressive form of leukemia and once again several of the team were by her
side, with her family, helping them through a very difficult and horrible
time. She sadly passed away about a week
after the celebrations even before she could start treatment. We really saw the
realities of life here for many and the unfairness of it all. Had she been in another country …
JULY – AN UNEXPECTED GUEST
In July we had an unexpected guest! A lovely little 18
month old boy. For confidentiality reasons we cannot post his picture but he is
one cute and cheeky baby. It was an emergency
placement which was supposed to last 2 weeks which turned into 2 months! Suddenly we were back to sleepless nights
whilst tag-teaming as we still had our other responsibilities. Samuel and Reuben were amazing big brothers
to him and had to make lots of sacrifices over the summer. As we’ve known the
baby since birth we were hoping that he would be placed with us officially as
we have been in the process of applying for a foster licence but sadly he was
placed with another family. It was heart breaking to hand him over to strangers
but we trust that God has the best for him. It was lovely, if exhausting,
having him around.
We hope to be licensed as a foster family soon. We’ve had to jump though a lot of hoops so
far but IF we get approved we will be the first white couple in Cebu to have a
foster licence. In many ways we are
pleased that the social services are being so strict particularly as we have
asked specifically for kids rescued from OSEC (Online Sexual Exploitation of
Children) which is prevalent in the Philippines. Many children with the help of International
Justice Mission, social services and the police are rescuing children, but most
of those kids will end up in an institution, especially if no other family
members will take them. We’re hoping and
praying to be part of the solution!
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| Lorega Listening Bible |
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| Kids Club Art |
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| Kids Club Worship |
Meanwhile,
Alec and I continue to help in the community houses. Sometimes we look at the Bible, sometimes we do art and games,
exercise or baking. It is never dull! As
well as that we do a kids club once a month for the local kids. Our age bracket
is 2-5 years. A lot of them really love Alec as he runs around with them, throws
them around and has lots of fun. In fact
last month when Alec was the first person ‘out’ in a game, they also wanted to
be ‘out’ so that they could sit with him! So cute! The mum's are also supposed
to come but often just send the little ones with an older sibling. We would love to make stronger connections
with the families and engage them as well but it will take time.
SAMUEL and
REUBEN
We
are so proud of both our boys (I’m sure we say that every time!) Obviously we have our moments and they often
drive us crazy with moaning, grumpiness and other adolescent behaviour but we
are trying to be their biggest cheerleaders. Samuel is off to Manila this Friday to take part in
the global round of World Scholars Cup. Apparently 1,500 students from 30
different countries will be there. They debate, write etc. Samuel’s worked really hard for it.
Hopefully
his computer-like brain will swing into action for the event. He’ll be doing i-GCSE’s this academic year.
Reuben is also doing really well. School is not his
favourite thing but he’s doing well and is turning out to be pretty good at
maths, a natural in fact. He’s decided
he wants to be an architect. His two favourite things at the moment are
watching bush-craft videos and fitness. He is very musical and loves playing
his ukulele at bedtime….when he’s supposed to be sleeping. Super cheeky but hilarious.
THANKS GIVING and PRAYER
- Amazing team of people here - Please pray for good relationships
- School fees for our boys which came at the perfect time.
- Our foster licence application is moving forward. Hallelujah! Please pray it comes through soon and for our next steps. Please also pray for good standing and relationships with Social Services (DSWD) and other agencies.
- We really felt that Mark (the leader of the guys house) was saved out of the jaws of death. Please pray that his recovery is complete
- It has been amazing to see how God has provided the right people at the right time for the guys and girls houses. Please pray with us for more long term helpers.
Thank you so much for our interest in what
we are doing. Please stay in touch (sorry we have not been great recently at
sending out updates)!
Loads of Love,
Alec, Jo, Samuel and Reuben
