More than just lunch

Yesterday I took one of the little neighbor boys to lunch. 
He has been living here for the Summer and I promised him that before he had to go back to school we would go for lunch to his favorite place-McDonalds :)
We were sitting at our table eating when I noticed a couple looking around for a place to sit- Because it was busy there were no available tables so I offered for them to join us.
We began to chat and soon I found out that they were missionaries serving in China!  What a delight it was to find out they were my brother and sister in the Lord!!!!
We had a wonderful time sharing with eachother about the ministries we work with and how God called us to the mission field.   I was so encouraged by their testimony!
They had a flight to catch so they couldn't stay long but before they left I felt the Lord leading me to pray for their safety and for their ministry in China.  So there we sat in the middle of the noisy crowded McDonalds and prayed together.  It was such a cool experience!  
God is so good!

Praise report

I just wanted to share one story with you-  At one of the feeding sites I have worked at for the last eleven months there is one particular girl who caught my attention from the very first day.  She has dark curly hair and big brown eyes.  I always noticed that she never smiled or played or laughed like the other children.  I began to make a habit of going over to her every week and picking her up and loving on her.  Then she started coming to church with her older siblings.  Every single Sunday she comes and climbs on my lap and falls asleep in my arms.   I have fallen in love with this precious girl...But still she never smiled or even showed any emotion. She has a hard home life.  Anyways, I have just continued to pray for her and love on her every chance I get.  The other day she was sitting on my lap at the feeding and suddenly turned towards me and smiled the biggest smile and then began to laugh....It was the most glorious moment!  Her eyes lit up and her face crinkled up as she smiled up at me.  Since then I have seen her two more times and she is a different little girl!   She is happy and has begun to join in with the other children at the feeding site.  I know that God has called me here to love those ones that have been passed by and she is a perfect example of that.  I am blessed that God is using me here on Boracay.....Which is why I have made the decision to extend for another year!!!!!!!!
I want to say thank you so much to all of you for your love and support over the past year.  What a blessing you all have been to me!

Red Cross fun run

 Last week the Red Cross held a 5k run to raise money for the Chapter here on Boracay.
I'm not sure who's idea it was to start the race at 5:30am...yep..that's why the pictures are dark hahah :)  We had so much fun despite the early hour :)
L-R Shane, Me, Yosef, CJ and Tom

 Smiling even though I was very tired hahah :)

 I paced with one of our neighbor boys, Ninoy, here we are pictured in the far right corner after crossing the finish line...Poor Ninoy was beat.  He collapsed on the ground and didn't move for a good ten minutes  :)  He ran a good race!

 Resting after the race.

Shane and I.

school pictures

 My co-teacher, Praise, and I.  
Praise has been a huge encouragement to me.  She is such a blessing in my life.

 Xanana working on his math.  This little guy has such a special place in my heart :)

 Elizer joined our class mid school year.  He was really struggling with his English and writing...He has improved so much in the past few months!  I am so proud of him!

 Peter sharing a secret with me during play time :)

 Kylle is just as beautiful on the inside as she is on the out.  I love her sweet smile

 Xanana and Xinidi keep us guessing who is who every single day haha :) I still can't tell them apart.

I can't believe that school will be finishing up within two months!!!!
The past week has been so exciting for me-  The children finished up their testing and each child did so good!!! It was exciting to see that all of our hard work is paying off :)
Thank you for your prayers and your support!!! love you all!

Update on my health

I just wanted to write a quick update on my health and thank all of you for your prayers!!!
Most of you know I have been struggling with a serious infection for over a month.
Currently I am on my fourth round of antibiotics and I an finally improving!  Praise God!
I am so grateful for all of your prayers and support!
Please continue to pray for complete healing as I finish up the last of the antibiotics, and that it will not return!!!!

Update

Hello everybody :)
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Years!!!  I am so excited to see what the year 2013 holds :)
Most of you know I had the opportunity to travel to Australia for the holidays.  I had such a blessed time there!!!!  It was  fun to relax and get refreshed.
I met a lot of amazing people and made some great friends....And I got to pet a kangaroo...SCORE!  :)

School is back in session and we can see light at the end of the tunnel...only nine more weeks left!!! Wow! This year has flown by!

Construction on our school/ministry center is ongoing.  Here are a few pictures from this week.  There is always work for willing hands around here :)







   

We are working on building two more classrooms on the back of the school.  We hope to have them finished by the time the next school year begins.

Please continue to life all of us up in your prayers.  Pray for strength to continue the work God has called us to here on Boracay .  And also for wisdom- Many of us are facing some major decisions.
As always I send my love and thank you to everyone back home.  I miss each and every one of you!

Loving the children

Sometimes ministry is cuddling a child who needs some extra love

 Sometimes it's just a shoulder for them to rest on

I was leading songs at a feeding site a couple weeks ago and I noticed this little girl off to the side crying...I went over and picked her up and before I knew it she was fast asleep.  She slept through the entire feeding in my arms.  I love these children so much!!!

But Jesus said, "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matt. 19:14