General Update

Well, a lot has happened since the last time I wrote on here, and for that I’m sorry. I’ve been fighting a little bit of writer’s block, but I figured it’s time to push through it and give you all an update on what’s going on here in the Philippines.

            THE STORM: By now I’m sure all of you have heard all about it. First of all, we were safe during the storm. It was by far the loudest rain/wind I’ve ever heard in my life. It sounded like I was on the beach. I went out one time to see what the wind was like, and was literally blown back. I was amazed at the power of the storm. That said, there was only a little damage done here at Sankey. A few trees were knocked down, a gutter was broken, and a car covering crashed, but thankfully no one was hurt here. So we rode out the storm in safety. One amazing thing about this place is that it’s one of the few places in the Philippines that is usually protected from natural disasters. We are far enough inland, and the mountains that are around us protect us from these storms. The Philippines is the number one country in the world for natural disasters. They have Earthquakes, Typhoons, Mudslides, Volcanoes, and Flooding. You name it, it happens here. World Harvest is sending people and money directly to the places most in need and if you are interested in helping the donations address is World Harvest Ministries, PO Box 613, Manchester, MI 48158. Mark your check with a note saying you would like it to go towards relief and every cent will go where it can best be used.

           Teaching the elementary kids has been a lot of fun. I’m having them read all kinds of books, and I’ve even got my fifth graders hooked on Narnia. At the end of every day we have P.E., which the kids love after being in actual school all day. It’s also my favorite part of the school day because I usually join in and play with them. We’ve been playing indoor soccer because it’s been raining so much lately, but the kids seem to love it.

            I’m really enjoying hanging out and playing with the older boys. We play chess, ping-pong, and basketball just about everyday. We are going through the life of Moses in our Bible studies, and they seem to be very interested in what we talk about. After we finish I promised the guys we’d watch The Ten Commandments, and to my surprise I found out that none of them had ever seen it. Now to me this is unbelievable because I was raised on the great Charlton Heston. Ben-Hur, The Ten Commandments, and the original Planet of The Apes were constantly playing at our house. So I’m glad I get to show them something that I grew up watching. Speaking of which….

            Tonight we had the all the Guys and girls watch Jaws for the first time. It was hilarious to see their faces! They screaming and jumping and I had so much fun just watching and hearing their reactions to the scary parts. I just found out that Uncle Tom took my Mom and two of my Uncles to see Jaws for their first time. So I think it’s only fitting that I was a part of the first showing of Jaws to his kids.

            I remember the first time I ever saw the movie I was at my Grandparents house, and right before one of the scary parts my Dad told me to come sit in his lap so he could give me a backrub. Now I was about thirteen and I thought it was a little goofy for my to come sit on his lap, but I was not going to miss out on a backrub. So I went over and sat on his lap as he began to rub my back. I turned my attention back to the movie, and a few second later the dead man pops out of the boat underwater and I jumped in fright. My Dad just started laughing, and I saw that he had set me up, but he kept rubbing my back. I thought that was such a good analogy for our Heavenly Father. He knows what is coming up in our lives and even when they are scary and hard He is right there with us. Rubbing our back.

“In you, Lord my God,

I put my trust.” ~Psalm 25