Closing in on Boracay pictures...

Well, it's been a month since we returned from Boracay, so I'm guessing that the statute of limitations for posting vacation pictures is about up. Trying to squeeze in a few more here to convince you that God might be calling you to serve Him on this beautiful island! :-)

Seth runs to jump on his skim board... he and Lance rented a couple from some local boys one afternoon for an hour and had a great time!

Gwen was forever trying to catch one of the elusive little fish that swam by the shore. One day Lucas actually got one for her, pictured here in her bucket. She's pretty pleased!

Snorkeling day, heading from one spot to the next~ Caleb, Scott, Rich and Sue

Lucas, Caleb, Lance and Seth do their daily workout on the boat.
Here's Gwen's version of snorkeling. With a life jacket and goggles, she managed to get her head under the water enough to get a pretty good glimpse of what was under the sea!
At one of the places we stopped to snorkel, this fellow on his teeny little boat was peddling coconuts from boat to boat.
Shell search
I guess that's all for now... can't promise I won't do another post, though! We got together with the Allens the other night to swap all our photos, so now I have even more to work with. :-)

Beach Boy

So Seth decided to go for a new look while we were in Boracay. Not sure what you'd call it... anyone have an idea what this lovely hair style should be named? Check below for a closer look.
Isn't it crazy? Seth didn't keep it in for too long, because it was pretty painful, the rubber bands were so tight. His buddy Lance, whose hair is a bit longer, had his blonde hair corn rowed. Together they were quite a sight!
Seth is modeling not only his crazy hair, but also a fresh mango shake. There were many, many little stands making fruit smoothie/shakes along the beach walk. Our hotel made wonderful mango shakes... they day we arrived we were all served a complimentary mango shake, which was a pretty smart marketing ploy, because it got us hooked! We enjoyed quite a few of these fresh fruit shakes during the week we stayed there.

Head in the Sand

Caleb, have you lost your head? Please pick it up and put it back on your shoulders where it belongs!

All the boys buried Gwen up to her neck one afternoon... fun to watch the struggle to get out of the sand!

At the Feeding Sites

During the time we were in Boracay, we went to six different feeding sites. These sites are located in the poorest communities on the island. Each one is visited only once per week. Local Filipino believers associated with the mission run the sites. They faithfully teach God's word to the children, feeding them a meal and taking care of basic first aid needs afterwards.
Our part was to sing some songs with the children and then just to interact with them, giving them some personal attention. We took 1600 pipe cleaners with us to Boracay, and used every one of them up! The kids had never seen them, and we had great fun making glasses, butterflies, spiders, etc. together. The pipe cleaner glasses were very popular, as you'll see in the pictures.
The children that attend the feeding sites regularly are all given the "Jesus Loves Boracay" red t-shirts. It was neat to see these t-shirts being worn all over the island- great advertising for the ministry.
Gwen loved being involved with the kids at the feeding sites. Above she's passing out cups of chicken soup. The children in the picture below are waiting in line for their meals.
Dishing up dinner for a crowd!

Caleb, Seth, Lucas and Lance found an eager group of boys at most of the sites to play ball with them. A couple of sites had makeshift basketball courts; at the site in the picture below the hoop is attached to a palm tree trunk.

I took a storybook with me to the sites about how much God loves us. At some of them, I would read the book and the local Filipino worker would translate in into Tagalong, the native language page by page. Many of the children understood basic English, but they are still learning.

Sue with a group waiting to be shown how to make magic with their pipe cleaners.
If you look closely, you'll see a chicken and a pig in the background of this photo! This group of children was so happy to play Ring Around the Rosie, Duck-Duck-Goose, and Looby Loo with me.
Rich is handing out vitamins... Gwen watching.
More pipe cleaner fun..
Working at the feeding sites was definitely a highlight for me. Scott graciously took on the role of photographer at the sites, consequently there are very few pictures of him, but when he wasn't taking pictures, he was also a popular pipe cleaner artist and did some first aid, too.

The last two days we were on the island, we took some time off and didn't go to feeding sites. We actually missed going... it was truly a gift to get to love on those children!

Riding the Trikes

These motorcycles with attached little cab were our main mode of transportation while we were in Boracay. We fit quite a few people in each one; we could get three in the front, if one of them was Gwen, one on the seat behind the driver, and four on the two little bench seats in back. Amazing!
The ride was slightly harrowing at first, but became more and more fun as we got used to it. The dust that was kicked up and the exhaust from all the trikes made the air quality a bit poor, but overall it was pretty cool to ride this way.

Seth took this video while we were on a trike one day. This is on the main road that runs the length of the island. You'll see when you watch it that he has sped it up just a tad... makes it more fun to watch!

At the Construction Site

While we were in Boracay, we worked at the construction site for the new ministry center (medical and dental clinics, Christian school, adult Bible classes) for four days. The couple of Filipino men who are in charge of the project took pity on the women and gave us the least strenuous job, cutting and twisting wire for tying re-bar joints. Here we are in action, and below are the guys using the wires we'd cut to secure the re-bar frames for cement pillars on the second level of the structure.
I mentioned in an earlier post that there was a group of students and faculty from a Christian school in Korea that were also working at the site. Our kids joined them in shoveling sand and gravel for concrete into buckets to haul up to the second level, where the cement for the new pillars was to be mixed and poured.

Madelyn was pleased to get a chance to be part of the bucket brigade.The guys may have had the most fun on the demolition aspects at the construction site. A portion of an old building remained on the site that needed to be removed in order to complete the second level of the new structure. Sledge hammer, jack hammer... they were all over it! Pretty cool to get to try these things and see real demolition happen.

Gwen did amazingly well for all the hours we were at the site. She did try her hand at wire cutting, pictured here, but it was really pretty tough to do, especially for her. We used her services as a runner, to carry completed twists of wire up to those who needed it on the second level. Gwen makes friends wherever she goes, and she quickly had several of the high school students from the Korean school wrapped around her little finger. She also found some local kids who hung out around the site to be good playmates.
Ah, one more task. The guys worked together to coil this re-bar into a spring-like shape to create the framework for additional pillars.
It was pretty cool to work at this site and see that we really did help make progress. I loved that our boys got to do some pretty strenuous physical labor... that's got to be good for character development, I think! Before we left Boracay, we stopped back at the site to see the completed pillars with the frames removed. We'd love to help organize some teams from Concordia and our church to go to Boracay to help further the progress on this much-needed facility. Who knows, maybe our family will even get to go again. It was indeed a privilege.

Babies

We went to six feeding centers for impoverished children while we were in Boracay. At each one, Madelyn and Elise looked for babies to cuddle and care for while we were there. Sometimes the babies had been brought by older siblings, who were happy to have a break from caring for the little one so that they could play with the other children.
At this site, the girls actually got to feed this sweet little one. It was a big treat for them to do!

It was fun for Scott and I to watch Madelyn with the babies. In the past, although she loves her baby cousins and has occasionally fed them bottles or tickled them, she hasn't paid that much attention to babies. In recent months she's become more and more interested in them. Her Aunt Jenna is expecting our newest niece or nephew any day now, and Madelyn has been talking about how fun it will be to have a baby to care for when we're in the US this summer.

Seth and Water

Can you believe this Boracay water? It is such a beautiful, clear color! We couldn't get enough of it... probably why I have about 1200 pictures to sort through this week. :-)

Jewels

We've been in Boracay for five days now, and I'm posting here for the first time. Frankly, we've been too busy for me to sit down and do this, but I've also been struggling to process this whole experience.

Boracay is one of God's jewels, I think... an amazingly beautiful, tiny (1 mile by 7 miles) island in the Philippines. The water is a crystal clear vivid aqua color, the sky a deep blue, the sand on the beaches is pure white and powdery soft. The temperature is perfectly warm and not at all humid. The nearby islands are mountainous and green, creating a lovely, picturesque backdrop. The stars in the sky at night are countless. The natural beauty of Boracay is amazing.

And then there are the people. The people we've encountered here are the children of the poor and the poorest of the poor. We're working with a ministry here that has feeding sites located in the most impoverished areas of the island, providing meals to well over a thousand children each week. They come for a Bible story and songs, first aid, a vitamin, and a meal. We've been privileged to be a part of five feeding sites now, and our eyes have been opened to need like we've not ever seen first hand. Chickens, pigs, and mangy dogs roam around. Homes are literal huts. Garbage strewn everywhere. Little children with their teeth rotting in their mouths. Children with no shoes and even some with no pants. Children thrilled to get a sticker on their hand and a bowl of rice porridge. Children smiling and singing about Jesus inspite of their dire circumstances. A fifteen year old the size of an eight year old, probably from lack of nutrition, and unable to go to school because he must care for siblings. A little one I pulled onto my lap for a quick snuggle who stayed and stayed... we are told that many of these children's parents have no time or inclination to provide even basic care for their children. Children who are also God's jewels.

We are trying to process all of this that we've seen and experienced, rolling it all around in our heads and hearts, along with Jesus' words about "the least of these."

The feeding sites operate in the late afternoon. For a few hours each morning and early afternoon, we've been able to join with an international school group from Korea in working at a construction site where the ministry is building on a structure that will eventually house a medical and dental clinic, Christian school, and adult Bible training classes for the needy. The building has been in process since May 2007. They build as funds and workers are available. We've been shoveling sand and gravel for cement, cutting and twisting wire to secure re-bar, applying the wire to the re-bar joints, and even doing a bit of jackhammering. Tomorrow several cement pillars on the second level will be poured; we're all excited to help make that happen and know that it is due in some small part to our efforts.

In between construction and feeding sites, we've done a little swimming at the beach that is less than a hundred yards from the doors to our rooms in our spartan little hotel that faces the azure water. We've had long, relaxed dinners at restaurants with tables set up on the sand, under the starry sky.

Tomorrow we will go to the construction site again. We will go to yet another destitute area of this beautiful island and feed the children that gather there. And then for the next two days before we leave, we will not go. We might go on a snorkeling excursion to another island. We'll play at the beach. We'll eat in another restaurant. We might go sailing at sunset. But the children will still be hungry. They will lack options in their little lives. But because of the wonderful people here who have committed their lives to serving the least of these, they will hear about Jesus and experience His love.

And we will go home changed. And then what?