Thank you to all the kids who sent cards

O.K  we are going to start today on a note of big thanks.  To all of you who sent cards you made a big, big thank you.  We didn't get to go to all the places that the cards went because many went up into the high mountain villages. But I can tell you the report we got from one of the pastors who has a number of mountain churches that they were so blessed and they are trying to find a way to make you  all cards to send back to you in thank you.  What an awesome heart and idea you had. This is something that they have never seen and never knew anyone even cared about them.  Thank you, thank you, thank you to each and every one of. you.  You are absolutely amazing .  👍💗

This is a hard one .....

This is a real hard one for us.  We found this 13 year old girl wondering the streets, she wouldn't look at us.  So I asked my interpreter to ask her where she was going and she said she didn't really know.  She had walked for miles and we found her around the corner from our apt..  Her hands were clinched tight and I managed to open them and the palms of her hands were callused with puncture holes, some old and some relatively new.  Her fingernails look like some one who has worked in the dirt for years, they are so ingrained with dirt and split and callused.  I asked my interpreter what happened to the palms of her hands and she said that "certain people" do that to make the girls bodies not feel the pain so they can do what they do to them.   We told her where we lived and that if she ever wanted to get help we would help her.  We have not seen her since but again these are the kind we want to rescue and teach and heal so they can have a real life instead of getting older and taking care of themselves by the only way they have been treated.  

Here is a cutie ;)

This little girl wonders the open market,  I know nothing about her parents but she seems to get things to eat from some of the market sellers.   My interpreter came to me and said "we need clothes and shoes for a little girl". So she picked out some clothes for this cutie and took them back to dress her. Someone sent the shoes and socks and tops and everything. She really felt like she was something else in them.  Gold shoes,  and when I saw them in the box I wondered who the Lord wanted to have those shoes.  Well now we know.  And she loved the socks .  Look at that pose.  She is feeling really special.  Isn't that what it is all about ?  These children just steal your heart. 

We talk about the abuse of the children but along with that there are multitudes of women who suffer the same abuse.  When I saw this woman she was huddled in a corner and I tried to get her to come out of the corner wall but she wouldn't.  She doesn't talk or anything.  After 3 visits to that mountain place I finally got her to come to me.  I talked softly to her and said I  was sorry for what she had been through. People say she is crazy because she just huddles and doesn't talk.  She has been so abused her relative told me.  Finally when we were leaving I went to her and told her that I loved her and I would be back with some nice clothes for her and some necessities.  (Thank you to all of you that send things like that and the nice soaps and everything. So I have some things for her and someone send jewelry and I have a bracelet for her to wear so that overtime she looks at it she will remember she is loved.  When I went to walk out the door I said to her I love you and I will see you soon and she tried so hard to smile but it was enough to show me that she wanted to be loved and understood.  

I said I wouldn't cry..

I said I wouldn't cry when I posted this one but it just breaks my heart. This little girl you can tell by her face the abuse she has suffered. She wouldn't let me hold her or touch her and for my husband to try would have caused her more pain.   Oh how I wanted to love her and tell her it would be alright but how do you say that when they have to go back into the same "physical" abuse.  Somedays it is so hard to see them and  leave them.  Please forgive me but it just hurts so bad.  

It is ones like this that get to our heart

There are so many of these babies and women who live in just a tiny space.  The 1st picture shows the entire,  I don't know what to call it, it is like a hole in the wall,  no lights , no water , nothing just a floor and walls.  This woman's husband left her and she had no clothes for her baby.  Our interpreter came and asked if we had some clothes for this naked baby.  Thank you to all of you who send baby clothes and other clothes and things.  We were able to fit the baby and give the momma so clothes for it and  some baby formula .  She has 2 other sons that I will post pictures of that had no real clothes.   The picture is below.

These 2 boys

These two boys break my heart.  They live in a small little place  with their mama and their new brother. Above is a picture of it.  They were so dirty and had no clothes that are fit to wear that were clean.  The little boy with the shaved head had lice so someone shaved his head.  Lice is a big problem here and even in churches or places you will see people, children picking lice out of each others hair and squeezing the lice and throwing them on the floor.  With all the hugging we do I am surprised that we have not gotten lice. Anyway they now have some clothes instead of the one set they had.  Also thank you to all who send the things and they got some flip flops too.  They did't have an thing to put on their little feet. 

O.K. I can't help but .....

I can't help but smile when I see this picture.  When I saw this on her up in one of the mountain villages I knew it was perfect for her. And she was so happy with it.  I had to take a picture of her. O.K.  I admit I took 3 or 4 pictures of her.  She loved this and isn't she adorable.  Thank you to all of you who help us out by sending the childrens and the babies and all the clothes for the people and also the supplies and medical supplies.  It is so needed here.  This island is not like the main islands of the Philippines,  it is so badly poverty and abuse.  So thank you more than you will ever know.  

O.K. I admit it ;)

I admit it,  this little girl stole my heart.  She just kept looking at me and wouldn't take her eyes off of me. I wanted to take her home with me.  She is in a high mountain village..  Every time I look at this picture I tear up.  I wanted to take her with me but alas we still don't have the orphanage we want.

What a cutie

Someone sent some "onesies" baby clothes and can you tell this made this little boy so happy.  He seemed to know that he looked good ;). Thank you to who ever sent them all.  They are so needed because so very many of these babies have hardly any clothes if any at all.  

So adorable

This little guy was a heart strealer. He has his new shirt and is looking in to see what else is there.  He is thinking “hummm maybe some rice”. It is so hard to leave these children there and not be able to take them all home with us.

I Want To Brag A Little

I just have to share a little and brag a lot. This is not a good picture and when I get time I will replace this one with a better picture but.... these awesome woman make home made dresses and pants and then others send toys for the children and teddy bears and clothes in all sizes for the men and boys and women and children and the new babies here. I tell you when the children and the teens and mothers and boys and men get these clothes that these people send and make they are so overjoyed. Thank You to those who send clothes also.The need is great and for some reason we are having a baby boom lately. The baby clothes have been awesome and so needed. We have given most of them away.

I just want to take time to thank you all for everything you send. The clothes, all sizes,  the toys, the medical aids  and the tooth brushes and tooth paste and the hair supplies and soap which the teenage girls go crazy over and the blankets and the utensils and containers to keep food in and everything. You all are amazing and thank you is just not big enough.  All of us on our little team of 7 counting us LOL are usually so busy with speaking and handing out clothes and making sure everyone gets something and that the children get a toy so it is really hard to get pictures. But I will try to do better. 

A big thank you to you all who help us supply things for the children and emergency food and supplies when they do not have any. This is a poverty island and poverty here is like nothing we have ever seen before.Squatters who have no place to go but live in a lean to with poles and a canvas and a bamboo mat for the whole family. I could go on but this was supposed to be short LOL 

I just had to say thank you and someone who had been on the field in Guatemala blessed us with pillows and a medical book and more. So I am for the first time in 2 years sleeping through the night and my husband is waking up without his neck hurting. Having been on the assignment we are on they knew what to send. Thank you so much 

A special Thank You to Patty and Loretta and all who help them and for helping them to cover the cost of sending to our people and children here.  Yes, we have fallen in love with them. They are so beautiful and I dare you to come here and not fall in love with these children and teens. There is so many more I want to thank but this is too long now. So please know that we thank you and honor you for your hearts and help. I will post a thank you to the others when I can.

  

This little girl was at a meeting we had and she loved her new dress.  

I met this woman at a mountain village church. She was huddled in the corner against the stone wall.  I motioned to her and asked her if  I could pray for her. With my interpreter we prayed and the little tiny woman would not look up.  I gave her a hug and the Lord let me feel some of the pain this little woman has experienced. It was more than I could handle and I and my interpreter cried and cried. After about 2 hours with her huddled in the corner like you see her now,  She gave me a small smile and I told her I would see her again and so with some of the clothes that have been sent to us to hand out I found some women's clothes that are small enough for her. I also found a sundress that someone made and sent that will fit her.   Thank you to all of you who send us clothes and toys and etc.  They  are so appreciated.   They say she has basically nothing and lives with some of her family but doesn't seem to ever talk or communicate. They told me about what her life had been like and that made me cry more.  I cry as I write this. I just want to see her and love her some more. 

Isn't she the cutest little girl. She is 8 years old and lives on the street. When we came across her she had on flip flops that only covered the front of her feet and were worn so bad. The bottom of her feet were calloused.  Her clothes were old and worn and dirty.  Someone was nice enough to cut her hair.We fell in love with her and she was selling catholic candles to light the candles at the Catholic church for 1 peso each.  I only had 10 peso's with me so you know she got 10 peso's LOL.  My interpreter and I ran back to the apt and got her some flip flops and clothes for her. She loved the filp flops so we thank the person who gave them to us and she loved the dresses.  Someone sent some of the cutest homemade dresses and she loved them.  In the bottom of the sack we put a soft teddy bear that a friend of ours sent us to give out.  She feeds herself and lives by selling the candles so she can eat.  I so wanted to take her home with me.  We are praying for land so we can rescue some of these children.  How can you not love them ?  

This is a hard one for me.  We found this girl walking on the street, dirty, thin and looking like she was a zombie.  We stopped her (my interpreter and the girl who lives below us. )  She wouldn't look straight at us.  Her eyes were dull and lifeless and when we talked to her  she mumbled answers.  I saw her hands, which I wish I could have gotten a better picture. They looked like hands of someone who was old and had worked in the dirt for many, many years. there was cracks clear down her fingernails and  her hands were so rough and calloused dirt that was so far down that it could not be washed out.  I opened her hands and I didn't get to take a picture because she closed them as fast as she could but I got to see the palms of her hands and they were covered with old puncture wounds and then newer ones on top.  I thought at first she was doing it to herself and then when I asked the Lord I felt like it was done to her so that her body would learn not to respond to pain.  We told her that she could come to us anytime she needed help and how to find us.  But a man walked by as she was leaving and gave her a look that I knew and an ugly laugh, he watched her and I realized what his thoughts were.  I wish there were words to say that could express the feelings we all had when she walked away from us and we had to let her go back to what she lived with.  We  are praying that we can find her again.  We wanted to give her clean clothes and flip flops but knew she would get hurt if she came back with anything new.

More Baptisms

Sunday we went into the mountain to a small stone church that we love to go to. It is a long ways and the road is not good, washed out and very rough with big rocks and holes. After the service we went down to the river to baptize some of the people,  It was rainy and windy and cold but it was fun.  In the first picture you will see some of  the people who were baptized. The water was very cold and hard to stand in. But Mark and Rey did an awesome job.  It was a time of joy and laughter and changed lives.

the bottom picture is people  who had walked a long way to be baptized.  Amazing people and a wonderful day. 

Boulevard Ministry (Long)

There is so much to tell you about these children.  The boulevard was made over to look nice for when "important" people come in they are driven in on this street with shops that the normal people cannot afford to shop at. I is along the sea and you will see the ledge that holds the sea back in some of the pictures. The sea is dirty and horrible and words cannot convey the filth in the sea yet these children swim in it daily with no clothes.  We were  praying and singing along the sea edge an I sat down and a little 3 yr old boy came walking towards me totally no clothes and his sister came behind him and I motioned her to come and sit by me.  She did and before long there was a line of children sitting on both sides of me.  The girl with us had a guitar and she asked them what songs they knew. They only knew "not good" songs so she taught them songs about Jesus and put steps to them so the children would remember them.  These children were in dirty old clothes. They are from squatters familes that have absolutely nothing so Mark and one of our team members (Ford) went back to the apt and got clothes to give to them.  And we were able to get them flip flops because what they were wearing was either to big or too small and all worn out and hard for them to even keep on. And someone had sent us a big bag of hard candy and we put it into snack bags and stapled them shut because snack/sandwich bags here are poorly made. 

The top picture is of or team member Jen teaching them songs, the second is only part of the children that came to sit with me.  the 3rd is a picture of a little boy that picked out a pair of Bermuda shorts and a shirt and was so excited that he went behind a palm tree and changed his clothes but he had never had clothes like that so he put them on backwards. The other boys started to tease him and I said no.  So he went back and changed his clothes right. The last picture is of a little girl who had nothing and there she is with her dress and her bag of candy.  There is so much more to tell you and show you but I have to stop.  Thank you to women who send clothes and etc for the children. You are awesome and these children and women need them. We were able to give some of the mothers clothes too.

It was a dark day and yet a very bright day of joy. The wind was so strong it was hard to hold the camera still 

Baptism in the middle of the storm

These girls wanted to be baptized and the strorm and the raging waves would not stop them.  It was hard to stand in the rushing waves but they did it and Mark and Lourdes who helped were amazing and our adopted daughter and the pastor of that church played worship music  The wind was horrible and then the rains started.  But what a wonderful day.

Update on the blind mother and daughter

Well this is a hard one for me.  If you have been following our adventure you know that we met this blind Mama and her daughter last year and have been trying to make sure they have food. At that time they lived by the road and were being raped and abused almost every night and so we asked a friend to build them a shelter. He did and we thought that would help. But when we take them food her family and others steal it all from them and the side of the hut has been kicked in and our friend built them a hole in the ground to go to the bathroom and put plywood around it but someone stole the plywood. The Lord told me one day that we needed to go see them.  We had given a man we trusted 50 kg of rice and plastic gallon bags to take rice to them once a week because he lived near them.  Well, it just didn't happen that way. The rice should have lasted up to 3 months for them. And every time we asked the man and his wife how the mother and her daughter were doing he would say they are good.  When the Lord told me we had to go see them we went the next day. It is quite a long ways and when we got there they had been eating leaves to stay alive and the mother was so weak she couldn't stand so we brought them back with us for a couple of days (we would have loved it to be permanent but they have trouble being around men and so it is a gradual process. ) We go get them every week for a couple of days and make sure they are fed and cleaned up and to give them a couple nights of sleep because the men are always trying to break into that hut at night.  I could go on but I thought they were born blind but it seems someone threw hot ashes in the Mama's eyes and she is bent over from abuse and we thought she was about 45-50 years old. She is only 35 and her life has been horrible , the little girl is blind because some one beat her so bad that it damaged her eyes.  We have let them to the Lord and broke off the idol dedication but we need to bring them to live with us.  The Mama wants a hut of her own and that is another reason we need some land.  She would have a place of their own but still we could care for them and watch over them.  We want to have them with us so we can put the girl in a school for the blind.   I am sorry I went on so long,  the Lord knew what He was doing when He sent us here.  These people are so beautiful and when they look at you with their big brown eyes  you just can't help but fall in love with them.  We have a lot of people to reach yet and I know that the Lord will make a way.  I better not write anymore or I will wear you out. But pray for our people here.  They tease us because they say we are not American because we have the same kising kising -heart they do LOL  We are Mama and Papa to so many here and giving up our home and everything to come here was so worth it and we would do it all again.

This is a little church we went to and when I say little it is an understatement, it is just rock and dirt floor  and open windows and a tree stalk every once in a while to hold up the tarp covering.  It is probably half the size of front rooms in the U.S . They managed to get over 40 people in there and some were standing outside looking through the slots in the wall.  We could not even move to get to the people especially the young people to pray very much. You see one of our little team members in the pink praying for a young girl and in the back of the picture one of our male team members praying for a young man.  I could not even move because the people were packed in so tight and I am about 5'1/2 to 5'2 and the tarp ceiling was just a little above my head.  Our team member in pink is shorter than I am so she was able to stand and pray.  It was an amazing time and we loved it.  The humidity on this island is about 85-90+ everyday and we were so thankful it was not a thunder/lightning heavy rain day LOL

This is one of the better village churches we go to. It has cement floors and we have just finished speaking about the Lord and were ministering to the people.  We love the Pastor's there and they have a heart for the Word of God and their people.

I should have put this with the other picture. Here he is with some sunglasses on. These little children are heart stealers.  We want the best for all of them and sometimes as we leave a village it takes days to recover from what we see and the diseased mouths and the ragged clothes they wear and no underpants or anything.  When you go to touch some of them they jerk away because they have been so abused both physically and sexually.  We are praying for some land so we can build an orphanage and also a home for girls who otherwise will end up in the sex trade and for older people who are just tossed aside because the families can't or won't take care of them anymore. Also a training center for those who accept Jesus and need to know more about Him and have a call to preach or minister .   

This little guy is enjoying his little car.  We love being able to take the children toys and new clothes.  Some one sent us a box of Cheerio's and we divided the box into small snack bags and gave each child one and they had never seen Cheerio's and they were so happy. We love to take Tootsie Pops and watch the children smile so big when they figure out what it is.  Even the parents want one. We cannot get them here on this island but sometimes someone will mail us a bag.  Like I said before this is over a 50% poverty island and 80-90 % rape, sodomy, incest of children as young as 2-3 years old and up and teens. I could go on more about the conditions here but it is so sad.  We try to reach as many as we can with the message of hope and that there is someone who loves them and does not want this to happen to them.  Jesus is their hope and salvation.

Praying for little boy in a village

Isn't this little guy adorable. This was up in the mountain where it wasn't the safest for us to go being American but we were asked to go and we will be going back soon to take some clothes and necessities to these people.  Most of these people have been dedicated to idols and still practice that.  We told them about Jesus and two men got up and left because I believe if they stayed and their wives accepted Jesus that they would not be happy about it.  But all the rest stood and received Jesus and we prayed for each one of them and then they brought their children forward for us to pray for and break off the idol dedication that was put on each child.  We are anxious to go back and do follow up with them and teach them more about what Jesus did for them.

Street Minstry

We were doing street ministry and in the first picture we found a Mama with 3 small children living in a hut and 2 of our small team of 5 prayed with her and her children. 

The second picture is also of street ministry and this woman was having a hard time when 2 of our team came across her and prayed for her and told her about the Lord who would be with her and heal her heart and save her. 

This Man Just Wanted to Walk

We saw this man coming up the road dragging himself with a bamboo  pole.  How he made it we don't know. We asked him what he wanted and he said he had been prayed for a lot but never healed and he wanted to walk. So as you can see one of our team members (actually two prayed together for him but one is not in the picture, he is kneeling praying for the man. ) the man was instantly healed and he is crying because he has wanted to walk for so long.

Here you see the man dancing. He danced and danced and cried and danced. Then when we were praying for someone else he also came and prayed along with us.  He is the sweetest man. We are going back up to the mountain village soon and hope to see him there.  What a miracle and what a happy man.

She Just Wanted to Hear for the First Time

This sweet woman had been told that we were there at a Pastor's  home at a small mountain village and we saw her coming across the road. We don't know how far she had walked.  She was totally deaf and wanted to hear like everyone else. We prayed for her and the first time she could hear a little  bit. So we prayed again and then asked her if she could hear better and she said she could hear us whisper.  God is good. 

Teaching the young to pray

This woman was in extreme pain. From a # 1 being the lowest to #10 being the highest level of pain she had been in #10 amount of pain for a long time. We will probably never get up to this mountain village again so we were teaching the young people to pray for eachother and those who needed prayer and heaing.  This young man prayed for her and she was instantly healed. No pain at all. The young man had been having kidney pain for quite a while so we had another young person come up and pray for him and again the healing was instant.

Team Praying for a Young Lady

Our Team praying for a young girl from a mountain village who wanted prayer. 

They are so precious

These two were standing in the street. They are wearing a shirt and top that we gave to their village.  They wouldn't come to me  so I took out my trusty little camera and took a picture of them and then slowly moved close to them and turned the camera so they could see the picture of themselves. Slowly I moved towards them and then the curiosity got to them and they climbed over the rocks to come and see. As they looked I gently touched their shoulders and talked to them even though we speak a different language and then they allowed me to give them a hug.  They are so precious.

The Recent Flood January 2017

This is the latest flood, the picture at the bottom is of  Rey, our anok  lalaki (adopted son and his family , we consider him and his family as our family ) he is trying to get to his balay (home) which is off the picture to the right you cannot see it.  This is his 4th flood recently.The 2nd picture was early in the flood and they are trying to get to safe land. It got worse as the day and night went on.  There have been many instances of children drowning and people dying in their cars when they were trying to get to safety and the flood waters overflow their cars and they cannot get out.  These people are amazing! They just build and start life again.  They lose all food and the water is contaminated with garbage and human waste because many, many do not have toilets and running water and things like in the U.S.  We have grown to love these people and it breaks our hearts. The man who manages the apartment we are in was flooded and the people all around us. Churches flooded. One of our dear Pastor friends , his home and church were totally flooded as were many others and also business's and especially homes.

Mark at Jail

Mark was asked to speak at the jail, the response to his message was awesome.  He told them that this was serious and not to respond and stand  unless they were serious and as you can see they really want a better life and Mark told them what the key to it was.