Pictures!

Wow, where to begin. I'm not sure if I should write about what's been going on, or if I should just skip ahead to putting up pictures and writing little captions for each. Let me give a quick update, and then I'll get to the photos.

I wrote in my last blog of feeling kind of useless and bored. I am happy to say that things have been a lot better lately. Two things happened to change that - one is that we've actually been busier with things to do (VBS, hanging out with other folks from IT, visiting the Payatas dump site). The other thing was a comment Sandi left on my last blog - how God is more concerned with the being than the doing. I've thought about that statement a lot, and lately I've been trying to pray "Okay, Lord, help me to be." It's not very easy. When you spend a lot of time in one place so far from home, you can't help feeling that you're supposed to be busy, that you have to be doing something. I guess it's finally hitting me that God might be using this time for Him to work on me, as opposed to me working with others. It's easier said than done, but isn't everything? Anyway, I won't go on, because I know you're all wanting to see pictures.

Last Friday, we went to the Payatas dump site for a feeding - Becky will write about that. This week, from Tuesday through Saturday (tomorrow), GK (Gising Kabataan) is having a morning VBS program for the kids in the squatter village in Mandaluyong. Like all VBSes, it's loud and filled with children who won't sit still. And really really hot, at that. I'm in the 7-9 age group, which had almost 60 the first day, but by now it's dwindled down to around 40. I don't really do any teaching, I leave that to my fellow leaders, because I can't speak Tagalog, and the kids don't know much English, but I do help out with the songs (I can now sing "I'm in the Lord's Army" in Tagalog - isn't that special?), which is fun.

Some interesting questions I've been asked by the kids so far:
1) "Why are your eyes green?"
2) "Are you pregnant?" Ouch.
3) "Where is your husband?"

There's also this daily conversation between me and some of the boys in our group - a conversation that takes place many many times every morning:

Them: Yes money, yes halo halo?
Me: No money, no halo halo.

Halo-halo is a dessert they have here that is sold in carts that go around the neighborhood. I was targeted the first day as the white girl with money to buy the whole class snacks - as if I'm that stupid.

Okay, I'll shut up now.

This is me with Jhomer, Rea, and Jovelyn, three of my co-leaders for our VBS group. They really like sunglasses here, I've noticed. And yes, I did get a haircut.

Well, I just realized that all the VBS pics I was planning to put up are on another computer. So, those will have to wait. Don't worry, I have others!

I don't think either Becky or I ever mentioned that Pastor Val and his wife made us the godmothers of their newly adopted baby girl, Shekaina. This is a big deal, so we're told, because usually that title goes to much older and wiser women who the family has knows for a long time. So this is our little goddaughter :) She's about three months old. On the left is Dabie and on the right is Arlene.

This is us with some of the dancers and singers in GK.

Drick, Jossie, and me. Drick is the worship leader of GK, and Jossie is one of the dancers.

To say we got a little camera-happy last night would be the understatement of the year. Literally hundreds of photos were taken.

I have a little more to say, but we're being kicked out of the IT office, so I'll have to save it for another day! Enjoy the pictures everybody! Hope they were worth the wait! I'll put more on another day if I find the time!

-Kendra

Now that we're halfway through the Philippines...

I know, there’s no need to say it – it has been far too long. We’re sorry! I won’t try to come up with any excuse, I’ll just get right down to how life has been going for us lately.

Well, I guess a special mention should go to the RefMin meetings and ILF, when our parents (and Ellie) were able to come visit for 10 days!! It was so, so good to see them again – I think Becky was spot on when she said that God knew we’d need our parents right now. It was great to stay with them in the hotel, go shopping, play with Ellie, and show them where we live and have them meet the people we work with. The ten days passed all too quickly, and it was hard to say goodbye, but I am so, so glad they got to come.

I realize we haven’t really talked much about the church we are with, besides describing their worship services (which are still just as charismatic as they ever were, but I am far more used to it now, and I think they they are content to let us stand in the back and clap). Like Becky said before, most of the church is made up of youth, mostly around 15-22 years old. I always want to refer to them as “kids”, but that’s weird, because I’m the same age as they are. “Youth” sounds so mature, and “students” is not accurate because it’s summer, and it’s not school, it’s a church, haha. Anyway, getting off topic.

This church, apart from being a church, is also a singing and dancing group called Gising Kabataan, which in English means “Youth Awakening”. Gising Kabataan puts on a big concert/revival about once or twice a year, and this year it was on May 1st. We came in the middle of April, so right up until May 1st, basically all we saw was constant practice and preparation for the big event (“May One”, I can’t tell you how many times we’ve heard those words). Dances, songs, props, rehearsals, just hours and hours of it. Becky and I mostly watched them practice, and hung out with them in between. We eventually got involved in some flag ceremony that was held at the end of the event – I held the American flag (despite my efforts to convince them that I don’t really consider myself fully American), and Becky held the Indonesian flag, since there was no Greek flag around, hehe.

Pictures, you ask? No. You will never see pictures of us from that day. Let’s just say the costumes we had to wear would make fantastic blackmail material, and leave it at that.

So when May 1 was over, we headed over to the hotel where ILF was held and where our parents were staying, and we had a great time with them for the next five days. They left on the 6th, and Becky and I headed back to Mandaluyong (the area of Manila we live in).

And ever since then, things have been….slow. Very, very slow. There really is not anything for us to do here, besides attend church services and bible studies. Most of our days consist of sitting around and waiting for meals and services in the evening – there’s no work to be done at all, so lately we’ve been feeling pretty useless. I keep asking God “Why am I here? What do you want me to be doing?” I wish I could say that I knew, but I don’t. Maybe I won’t know what my purpose in being here is until I leave. That’s obviously not the way I’d prefer it, but we’ll see.

All that aside, it’s been great getting to know some of the people in the church, hanging out with people our own age. They absolutely love having us here – why exactly, I don’t really know, since, like I said, I don’t feel like we’re doing much of anything. But they’re always excited to see and be with us, and they’re a pretty fun bunch. I promise that I’ll post pictures soon! There really have been quite a few pictures taken of us, just none with our own cameras, hehe.

Sorry for keeping you guys waiting so long, it really is difficult to post a nice long blog with so little internet access. Keep the comments coming!

-Kendra

PS. Becky wrote a new blog too, it’s right below mine, so don’t miss it!

the game plan

it's been a while, hasn't it? internet access is not regular, so i'll use that as an excuse.
so where do i even begin to update... life in the philippines.... we're definitely being stretched, definitely out of our comfort zone.. i don't want to sound complain-y but... let's put it this way: i'm realizing just how much of a luxury comfort is. also realizing that to learn a lesson, you sometimes have to be more intentional about it. doesn't always happen on it's own.
sorry if i'm being vague or not making sense, but there is so much to say and i don't even know where to begin. i have not intentionally been neglecting the blog, but i really don't get on the internet much.
ok, good, i'm off the hook: kendra is writing an update, so instead i will talk about our upcoming plans. my internet time is very limited so i'll have to be quick about it and try not to get distracted.

so during ILF (International Teams leadership conference) we had the pleasure of SEEING OUR PARENTS AGAIN!!!!! (and elle, kendra's baby sister!) it was just SOO nice to see them again, and we stayed with them in their hotel too, so got a little break from the heat and from our closet-sized room (i'll really have to post pictures soon...)
during this conference is also where we got to see some people from our past! people we had met from our visits to austria and to costa rica - SO great to see them again!! we also got to meet a bunch of new people as well - good times!
so, i know we had thought in the past that ILF would be a good place to meet new missionaries to make contact with after our time in the philippines, but really it seemed to happen so effortlessly, it is almost as if they happened over night. one day i don't know where i'll be in two weeks, and the next i'll have plans to visit 3 different countries!!! some exciting plans coming up. allow me to tell:

so here's how it goes: our visas allow us to stay here until june 10th. that gives us 3 more weeks here and then we will be on our way to visit the refmin (refugee ministry) in melbourne australia - never even thought of going to australia! we asked someone from sydney if they could use us there in there ministry and pretty much got a "....not really, check with melbourne" (it wasn't rude, but i'm trying to keep it short) so then louise (from melbourne) starts talking "so when you guys come to melbourne..." - the plans just kinda happened to us! i love it when that happens! SO we'll chill down under (cuz that's what all aussie's do...they chill) and be a part of their refugee ministry there for a few weeks. after that we'll hop over to sydney, start training for a few days with a team heading to zambia!!! it's really amazing how fast this zambia thing came up. i briefly met a lady from IT australia at ILF and the next day she comes up to me and says "I had this idea..." and a few days later plans are being made for kendra and i to fill the last two available spots on a 15-person team heading zambia for three weeks of a youth camp. i'll have to give more info on this trip to give you. i have it, but i don't have much time right now, so i'll save it. don't worry, you'll be hearing about it...
things are getting exciting, no??
so far: melbourne, sydney, zambia.
now...remember those plans to kenya in july that got canceled because of the civil war going on there? WELL, thanks to ILF we also had the opportunity to meet dotun and ami, an african man and his filipina wife who are the leaders of the team in nairobi. we got to talk to them and dotun basically said "if i thought it was unsafe there, i would not have left my team alone to come to this conference." you know what that means???? OUR PLANS FOR KENYA ARE STILL ON!!!!!

i am so excited to see how the next 2 and a half months play out. there is not a doubt in my mind that God had this planned all along, it all seems so sudden to me tho. i'm just still amazed at how it's all panned out so fast!

so, that's the planning, now we have kendra's dad talking to our travel agent, helping us with booking the flights, and that will be done..this week i'm assuming. it's not like these plans are so far into the future! so, the flights are being planned, now we just need the funds to back us up. we are trusting God to help us finish out the remainder of our trip. please pray about helping us finish off our vision trip. tax deductible donations can be sent to:

411 West River Road
Elgin, Illinois 60123

just specify that the gift is for Rebecca Sirinides or Kendra McCracken

thanks for your patience, dear readers, i hope that we will not keep you waiting for so long again for our next blogs
PLEASE BE PRAYING FOR US!!!! for our time left in the philippines as well as our up and coming plans