Back in His house

How good it is to be back in my mission home! This afternoon found me praying in the church, thanking Jesus for having brought me back to this place and these people who have captured my heart. After a while my silence was happily disturbed by four little girls who had come bearing flowers to offer to Mama Mary.

"Ate Rebecca!" I have a terrible memory for names, especially with so many children in town, but I recognized the girls from last year and was glad to see them again. I watched as they placed their freshly-picked flowers around the Nativity creche with such care and intention. They weren't escorted by parents -- this was no forced devotion. They had come freely, in their love for Jesus and His Mother.

They ambled around the sanctuary for a few minutes, stopping to pray beneath the crucifix and a moment later giggling as they took turns standing behind the pulpit. I marveled at how much God's house is a home to them, and how they could at once display both reverence and the total comfort and relaxed joy that you would expect of children playing in their parents' home. It reminded me of when the child Jesus is lost in the temple; He responds to the Blessed Mother's queries: "How is it that you sought Me? Did you not know that I must be in My Father's house?" (Luke 2:49)

As I finished my prayer time, kneeling and raising my hands in praise of Him Who made me, I heard the tittering of quiet laughter. The girls had settled into the pew behind me. I opened my eyes to see the sun casting shadows on the stone floor in front of me -- my own large shadow and on either side matching smaller ones. Two of the girls were imitating me with their hands raised in the air, and they evidently found it funny. I laughed a little along with them. Sometimes the job of a missionary is so simple. Do you love Jesus? Are you not ashamed to let it show to everyone around you? Then you, too, can be a missionary.

2014 - A year of service and grace

This year has been filled to the brim with blessings and miracles as we have seen the hand of GOD at work in our mission! We were able to minister to the physical and spiritual needs of countless Filipinos. With the help of many generous donors, we gave over $28,000 in medical funding, academic scholarships, housing and school renovations, food, and other material needs.

Medical needs - over $12,800
We provided everything from bandages and blood tests to surgeries and hospital stays for 40 people! Some of the more involved cases included:
Jezreel - high school boy with a fractured arm
Ana - teenage girl who attempted suicide
Jane - nine-year-old with a fractured skull
Jeffrey - two-year-old hospitalized for dehydration
Patti - new mom who needed a c-section
Biwan - young mother with late-stage cancer
Pelita - young mother with tuberculosis and arthritis
Samuel - middle-aged man with lung cancer
Kristine - middle-aged woman with weekly dialysis treatments

Jeffrey and his mom Jona during his stay in the hospital.

Education - $3,440
Provided partial and full scholarships for 14 college students and 13 high schoolers.
Taught three subjects in Holy Rosary H.S.
Tutored 15 high school students in English or religion subjects.

Romero and his family - we sponsor his older daughter and son's tuition.

Housing - $3,500
Built two new houses.
Repaired two houses.
Provided one cement floor and one nipa roof.

A beautiful new house for a family in great need.

School renovation - $8,600
Provided new flooring, paint, and ceiling fans to improve Holy Rosary H.S.
Sponsored partial salaries and uniforms for teachers.

Food - ??
Finally, we have no estimate of how much funding we used to feed the hungry people of Sagay. Multiple cups of rice given daily to beggars at the door, countless meals shared with children at our table, and many bags of food given away to whole families.

Aside from all this material support, we tried to fulfill our most important work of preaching the Gospel and bringing Christ to all people! We led Bible studies, organized retreats, and mentored young people to help them grow in their Catholic Faith. Many of our students learned for the first time how to read a Bible, and others began to develop a personal relationship with God through daily prayer. How good is the Lord, to use us as His hands and feet!

Having a home

Tonight I watched The Hobbit for the first time. In one scene, Bilbo has mysteriously disappeared, and his companions assume that he has run away and returned to his town of Bag End to escape potential dangers and hardships. To everyone's surprise, he soon appears again and explains:

"I often think of Bag End. I miss my books and my armchair and my garden. See, that's where I belong. That's home. And that's why I came back... 'cause you don't have one. A home."

Hearing this, I felt a lump begin to rise in my throat and tears fill my eyes. I've been in the U.S. for just two short weeks, and the days have flown by. I've never been more grateful for little comforts and simple joys -- the familiarity of home.

Every once in a while I remember that my time here is limited; in less than one month I return to the Philippines for another year on mission serving on the island of Camiguin. And there is some part of me that fears this reality because it means leaving once again my beloved home.

But when I heard Bilbo's words, they reminded me of why I do want to return. For those who have no real "home" due to a broken family, who were abandoned by one or both parents at an early age and have had to grow up alone. For those whose homes are empty structures because they cannot afford bedding or a proper bathroom. For those whose homes are lacking the joy of the Gospel, the pure delight that it is to know Christ.

Because in the end, we are not missionaries to build an earthly kingdom, but a heavenly one. We are pilgrims on a journey, traveling toward our heavenly home. Like St. Paul explains, "We know that if our earthly dwelling, a tent, should be destroyed, we have a building from God, a dwelling not made with hands, eternal in heaven." (2 Cor 5:1)

Jesus, help me to be ready to leave everything behind at the moment You call. May I be filled with a holy indifference that will allow me to surrender my home and my family so that I can serve those who have no place to call home.

Prayers of the poor

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus heals a blind man. In our mind’s eye, the scene is picturesque - the man and Jesus meet and have an unexplainable encounter that is both human and divine. We are touched by Jesus’ care and concern for this man’s suffering and great need.

Now picture this:

I am walking home, caught up in my thoughts, unaware even of the street beneath my feet. My mind is flooded with situations that must be tended to -- the physical, spiritual, emotional, and financial needs of all the people we serve. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Rosalinda approaching. She is only in her 50s, but poverty has run its course on her body, and she appears to be a much older woman. An outsider may rightly label her a beggar, for she repeatedly comes to our mission house to beg for her daily bread.

She looks like poverty - blackening teeth, unsteady feet, sunken eyes. She smells like poverty. She speaks her poverty.

“Ma’am, I’m hungry, ma’am. Give me the rice.”

How many times I have heard these same words from her. I try to offer a little smile, but she keeps on:

“Ma’am, I have no food. My house....no rice, ma’am. No coffee. My husband, no work.”

Was it any different for Jesus on the road to Jericho, confronted by a blind man?

“He shouted, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!’ The people walking in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent, but he kept calling out all the more, ‘Son of David, have pity on me!’”

Jesus, in His unending compassion, pauses and addresses him. “‘What do you want Me to do for you?’ He replied, ‘Lord, please let me see.’”

The requests of the poor are rarely extravagant or wrapped in palatable euphemisms or disguised in pretty paper. They are raw and brutally honest. Their need is real.

Rosalinda and I make our way together to the corner store. I hand her the bag of rice and offer to pray with her for her family. But as I begin the prayer, her words tumble out over mine, and I stop to listen.

“Lord, thank You, Lord. Please help my family. Help my children. Help my husband find a work. Thank You, Lord.”

Her words are real - there is no guile, no pretension in them as she humbles herself before me and before her God. I know now what prayer is meant to be.

Our friend, Lola Dory, in a chapel her grandparents built.

Just as with the blind man who, upon receiving his sight, gave glory to God, Rosalinda gives glory to her Father in heaven, to the One Who provides for all her needs. I, too, give glory to God, thanking Him for teaching me all of this through His littlest ones.

A baby on Alvarez Street

Ever since we arrived here in Sagay, our neighbors have shown us the greatest friendship and hospitality and helped us to feel at home. We love being able to bless them in return for their kindness.

Last month our friends Patty and Jun Jun were expecting their first baby but were nervous about potential birth complications. We invited them to join us in a nightly novena to St. Gerard, and on day 4 of the novena the baby arrived!

Patty and Jun Jun are such a loving couple and wonderful first-time parents. It's very common here for a couple to live together and even raise a family without ever getting married. Please pray that we can encourage Patty and Jun to get married sacramentally in the Church.

Patty delivered the baby by c-section on October 12. Everyone wanted to know, "What will you name the baby?" One neighbor insisted on "Alexa" as a tribute to my teammate Alex. Jun suggested "Maria Teresa." I was curious to find out the saint of the day and - to my great surprise - discovered that October 12 is the feast of Blessed Maria Teresa Fasce! Now if that's not the Holy Spirit...

Welcome to the world, Maria Teresa Alexa!

My team was able to sponsor the entire hospital stay, as well as provide trips back and forth to the hospital on the opposite side of the island. Last week, we helped both mom and baby return to the hospital for check-ups. They are doing well, although the baby is now taking medicine for bronchitis. Prayers please!

An awkward neighborhood family photo was of course required to commemorate the occasion.

It's wonderful how a new baby brings everyone together! We can't wait for Maria Teresa Alexa to be baptized when we return to Camiguin after Christmas.

Island fever

As you may have heard, I was admitted to the hospital recently with dengue fever, a mosquito-transmitted virus that is responsible for many deaths, particularly among small children, here in the Philippines. After I had been sick in bed for four days, Father Joe insisted on taking me to the hospital -- thank God for priests like him who truly live out their role as "father"! I was admitted for five additional days until my platelet count returned to normal.

Having best friends as your teammates makes a hospital stay more bearable!

It seems the mosquitoes have been making their rounds here in Sagay. Since I was released, there have been at least four more cases of dengue in our town. We sponsored medical expenses for two teenage brothers as well as a little boy who had contracted the virus - all three have since been discharged, praise God! Please pray for our friend Cha Cha's cousin, who is still fighting the virus and whose platelet count is dangerously low.

Just traditional hospital fare....rice, a fried fish, veggies with coconut milk, and tropical fruit cocktail.

God bless you and keep you always in His loving care!

Tough love

"My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor lose courage when you are punished by him. For the Lord disciplines him whom He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives. He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness. For the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant; later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." ~Hebrews 12:5-6, 10-11

Receiving a tearful hug from my students.

These are 36 of my favorite students - the entire "Our Lady of Fatima" 4th year class section - who came to our house escorted by their principal to beg forgiveness for having cheated on their exams. There is, as our priest Fr. Joe explains it, a "culture of cheating" here in the Philippines at every academic level, with which I am now very familiar after one year of teaching in a high school. (I do not say this to condemn or accuse, but rather from my and others' experiences.) Cheating is expected and oftentimes openly permitted by instructors.

In previous lessons on the Ten Commandments, I explained to my students that cheating is both stealing and lying (commandments #7 and 8). It would be far easier for me to simply adopt the cultural norm and permit their habit of cheating to continue, but the Lord disciplines him whom He loves, and I love my students too much to allow them to remain in sin. What a powerful experience it was for this class to voice their sincerest apologies, and how happy I was to have the chance to forgive them and affirm them for their desire to change.

I pray that even my small witness will have a long-lasting impact on these students and that the sometimes painful process of disciplining those whom I love might someday yield in them the peaceful fruit of righteousness.