Currently in: Chiang Mai, Thailand
Three weeks have passed in the blink of an eye. Our team, Eklektos (which means “to be sent by Him”), had been partnered with Valenzuela Christian School in Manila. Our hosts are Ed and Ivy. They are Americans who uprooted their lives in the states two years ago to serve at this school that Ivy’s father started decades ago. They have three pretty awesome children, Josh (aka A-a-ron), Malla, and Ava who moved with them. The school has a beautiful, spacious campus in an industrial area of the city. There are kids from the nursery to 10th grade but they are transitioning to 12 grades after this year.
When I wasn’t doing things for logistics (more on this later), here was what a typical weekday looked like starting at 7am and ending usually around midnight or later:
Teacher devotion
Student opening ceremony
Breakfast at our hosts’ house
Paint chairs or help out in classrooms
Delicious Filipino lunch
Hang out with kids who stick around after school
Anything our hosts have planned for us (random things to see around the city, malls, markets, churches, etc)
It’s been a hectic month with a lot of long days but we have been SO BLESSED to spend so much time getting to know our hosts and what’s in their hearts. And with unlimited water to drink, showers, beds, a cook, drivers who took us around during the month, we had it made this month by World Race standards. Because of that, God’s taught me a lot about living intentionally. It’s not about where we are and what living conditions we are in but rather if we are truly being intentional in talking, hearing, and obeying Him wherever life takes us.
And here are some highlights from this past month:
Our living space for the month!
This is Angel. I met her at an orphanage in Rizal. She was in the middle of doing laundry, and I had the honor of helping her dry some clothes. I loved how loving and responsible these kids were. We spent a night there, and it was already so difficult to leave.
Anybody who knows me knows that I would drown after 4 minutes of attempting to swim. That didn’t stop me from jumping off a small cliff into that water. YOLO.
Jinky is one of the teachers at the school. I’ve had the privilege to observe and help her out in the classroom. She just graduated and started teaching a few months ago. I loved hearing her story, seeing her passion for the students, and the amount of trust she puts in the Lord.
Our entire team had the pleasure of spending time with Joshua. He’s the sweetest kid and wasn’t ever afraid to come up and speak with us. He gave me my first birthday present!
Team Eklektos at Valenzuela Christian School <3
Got my snorkeling shoes on. Jellyfish stings in the Pacific huuurts but so worth it! Constantly in awww of God’s beauty!
Couldn’t leave the Philippines until we tried balut–a baby duck fetus. Touched the beak and feathers and all before eating it :/
Update: We have been in Chiang Mai, Thailand for the past few days. We have debrief, which is a chance to relax and get to know the rest of our squad and coaches and staff who flew in to spent time with us. We move into our hostel and start ministry with Lighthouse in Action tomorrow morning. It’s all-squad month, so the 51 of us with 3 squad leaders will be here all month together! Our contact, Emmi, is a firecracker, and I’m so excited to get to know her and learn more about the work they do.
