This past Sunday some guys affiliated with the children's home took us to a shooting range. I have never shot a gun before, but I was the first one to fire. We shot a 9mm, 45mm, and a small automatic gun. With the 9mm, we had 4 metal targets. When you hit one, it would fall down. I was the only one to get all 4 of mine down! I was most proud of myself. Haha!
Monday's have a different connotation to the nannies. It's our free day, so we LOVE Mondays! This past Monday we were taken to a town north of us to go zip lining. On the way we stopped and gazed at an amazing waterfall. Gorgeous! The zip line consisted of 3 different lines. For the first 2, you were harnessed in and you rode the line sitting down. The 3rd, and longest line, you were put in a new harness, laid down on your stomach, and was connected to the line. So when you rode down the line, it was like you were really flying over the land. We got some good pictures!
After the zip line, we went to another town and went to a mall. It was HUGE! We all got a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses and some books for cheap!
Wednesday morning was a not so good day for me. I had overnight duty Tuesday night from 10pm-6am with my teammate, Joelle. I was up every hour with a 2 month old baby. So I didn't get much rest at all. After our shift, we ate some breakfast, and went back to the room to shower and rest. I remember getting in the shower, but the next thing I know I'm laying in a bed. Apparently, while I was in the shower, I collapsed and had a seizure. Another one of my teammates, Maicie, is a nursing major. So she has been taking care of me. While I was laying in the bed, Maicie was brushing my hair. After a while I turned my head and grabbed her arm and proceeded to have another seizure. Finally I came to and got ready, but I was still out of it. Our supervisor, Mark, came and picked us all up and brought us back to his house. I went upstairs to the guest bedroom and laid down. Apparently, I wasn't through shaking yet, because I fell off the bed and had another seizure on the floor. Three seizures in one day! I have NEVER had that happen before. Scary is an understatement.
My parents were informed and I'm very thankful that so many people called them. However, I'm sure it scared them even more hearing all this from people they didn't know. I was still too out of it to talk to them just yet.
Maicie and I spent the night at our supervisor's house. She's been on "Claire Duty". I'm feeling better after having rested for so long yesterday. But I am still very sore, bruised, and cut up in places. Of course my tongue is gnawed on both sides really bad. So it hurts to talk and eat most things. BUT, I'm making it!
We have our vacation this coming Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Then we'll have the rest of that week and 2 more weeks and we come home. It doesn't seem like I've been here that long, but I guess I have.
Continue to keep us in your prayers! Love and miss you all VERY much!

Humbling

First week is DONE! I think the first week of anything new is the hardest. This was no different.

I have realized that what I thought was necessity at home are really just comforts. So the first few days of not having those comforts at all were pretty hard. Each day is a struggle, but each day is a learning experience. God is molding, shaping, and humbling me.

We started our shift work Tuesday. There is always at least one of us in with the babies/toddlers all day. Two of us are partnered together twice a night to do an overnight shift which is from 10pm to 6am. They give us mattresses on the floor so we can sleep. I was expecting the worst, but it really wasn't that bad. The older kids are in school during the day. So one person will have a shift at 5am to wake the boys up and get them ready, eat breakfast, and get them off to school. The kids come back to the home for lunch, so one of us has a shift then to make sure they eat, do their chores, and get back on the bus. Then, of course, there is a shift for the same reasons at dinner.

I have absolutely loved getting to know the kids. I would much rather be spending time with the older kids, so I hate that they are at school all day. The majority of our time is spent with the babies/toddlers. It's hard to see that we are doing work for the Kingdom because we can't really disciple them. I've realized just how little faith I've had. I doubted for a while that I would raise enough money to make the trip. Well, God completely blew that out of the water! I know God doesn't waste time or make junk. I just have to trust that His light is shining through me daily and that someone is catching its' glimpse. If anything, I know God is growing in me, and that in itself is marvelous.

The children range in age from one month to 14 years old. There is one baby who has cerebal palsy and another child has a cleft lip. They all speak English. Of course, 4 Southern girls in the Philippines, they have a hard time understanding us sometimes. Yes, I've already picked out a kid who I'd take home with me if I could. He's absolutely precious, but then again, they all are!

My team is phenomenal. We aren't all together anymore because of our shift duties, and we are sad about that. However, on the weekends, no one has overnight duty, so we can catch up, chat, and just goof off then.

Our living conditions aren't terrible and I know that compared to some of the other teams, we are in luxury. We have showers, toilets, beds, and electricity. The water we bathe in is colder than the water we drink. So that definitely wakes us up in the morning! We do have to wash our clothes by hand. Thankfully, I brought some jump ropes for the kids, so we've used them to create a makeshift clothes line in our room. It's quite the sight and quite the obstacle to get from the door to our beds, especially at night.

Having Mondays to get online and call home is such a blessing. Being halfway around the world is hard, so being able to hear familiar voices is VERY comforting. Some amazing people got together and each wrote me an encouraging letter a week for the summer. You have no idea how precious mail is when you're so far from home. I've had to restrain myself from opening all those notes at once!

Please continue to pray for us. So far no one has gotten sick or gotten lice! (Knock on wood.) Which is a miracle in itself. Homesickness and just sheer tiredness can really affect you, if you let it. So pray that those things don't hinder our work here in Malaybalay.

Next Monday we are going to ride the longest zip line!! It's over 300 feet long and you ride it laying down like Superman. AHH!! So excited! (and completely terrified!)

I love you all and miss you all very much. Thank you for your prayers and support.

Worthy is the Lamb!

Malaybalay

Hello!!

I am officially in the Philippines. It is 4:20 pm Monday the 13th right now. It is about 13 hours difference.

We had orientation in Rainsville, AL. It was filled with A TON of information, team building, and security training. I got to know so many people so quickly, we all became such good friends in a short amount of time. My team is amazing. It's me and 3 other lovely ladies. We are truly turning into sisters now. :)

We left the States (wow, that's weird to say) on Tuesday and arrived in the Philippines on Thursday. We did not get to experience Wednesday; time change is so strange. After a very long 16 hour flight, we landed. Whew! We spent the night in Davao City with our supervisor, Lizzie. Then took a 5 hour bus ride north to Malaybalay.

Lately we have just been observing and getting to know the kids a little bit. We just got our schedules and the kids started school today, so hopefully a routine will start. There are 27 kids at New Faith Family Children's Home. They range from babies to 14 year olds. They are all so very precious in their own way. They try to say my name, but it comes out "clear". Apparently that is a type of shampoo here, so they relate me to that.

It's been different adjusting to the culture and climate here. I never realized how much I loved and depended on the comforts of home until they were taken away. I actually never realized how everyday things were "comforts". We see them as necessities.

This town is absolutely beautiful. We are surrounded by mountains. The home is about 3 miles from the town, so it is really peaceful.

We have rice with EVERY meal. So that's....fun. Ha. I've tried a lot of new Filipino foods and I'm learning some Cebuano phrases and words.

I'm sure I'm leaving out a lot of information, but I'm trying to write this quickly. We don't get a whole lot of time for communication purposes, especially since there are 4 of us that need to use the computers.

Side note: I passed my Praxis!! So I can officially teach...once I graduate in December!

If you have a chance, you should look at my teammates's blogs:

Joelle: www.ashleyjoelle.blogspot.com (She should have pictures/videos up!)

Maicie: www.maiciehammons.blogspot.com

To see what my other brothers and sisters are doing and updates on our team please visit www.nehemiahteams.blogspot.com.

I love you all so much and miss you all terribly! Please continue to lift us up in prayer.