They're Home!!

Thank you so much for your continued prayers during our teams time in the Philippines. We invite you to join us during our service on Sunday, March 28th, to hear personal testimony from our team, and updates about the ongoing ministry at Sankey. We'll see you at 10am on March 28th!!

Preparing for the Trip Home...

It will take us two days to get back to Manila, so we are doing a 1/2 day drive to Rizal (a Christian camp), for a bit of down time, rest, and relaxation, before heading the rest of the way home. We will spend some time alone and time with the team to help us recuperate before heading home.

For Tuesday: We have another long drive ahead of us. We will end the day with a bit of time at the Mall of Asia (this is really to kill time waiting for our 10:30 PM flight). Then it is 13 hours on the plane and then home! See you all soon. Peace be with you all.

The Final Weekend in the Philippines

Friday: We ended the day with a fun dinner at a floating restaurant with some of the staff (see picture!) We ate delicacies including green mango shakes, fresh fish, and si sig (otherwise known as pig brains, ears and all the rest). Our whole team tried it- and admitted it was the yummiest dish on the table!

(Note from Jeff) Saturday, March 6th 2010, a day to remember. It started like any other, hot and humid, in need of a shower 5 minutes after you just got done with the last one. I wear deodorant and antiperspirant, not because it actually helps, but probably more out of habit. The jeepneys were ready and loaded by 7:30 AM and we were on our way to our first mission site.

The first destination was approx 15 minutes by car and then another 15 minutes by foot, to an indigenous tribe called the Aita people, composed of about 60 family groups. We crossed a suspended bamboo bridge, many rice fields ready to harvest, and up and down some steep hills to get to the place we were going to do the feeding and medical exams. It was a one room school house about the size of my living room. The people here were once a tribe of hunters, but with the increased population most of the animal life has already been eaten.

The people are very poor, most are illiterate, and many came to our clinic with medical needs. The clinic was open and ready by 8 am, but unlike the other clinics we have run this week (where people are waiting in line for hours before we show up), no one was there when we opened shop. I (Jeff) was concerned that all this work would have been for nothing, but within the next 10 minutes the people came, and came, and came, and came. We drained abscesses, cleaned skin wounds, removed ear wax, and listened to many lungs. Vitamins were given to every patient, food was given to every family, and by the end of four hours, every one of the ~150 patients had been treated.

(Note from La Ne') In addition to our team of 7 and the staff from Sankey, 10 student teachers and their professor joined us for the clinic and feeding program. One of the teachers, Barbara, is a house mom here at Sankey. After seeing the needs of her students and their families at this site, she helped set up and organize the clinic.

And what an amazing site it was to see how quickly we were able to pack all of our supplies in to the school house and set up the clinic. The team worked like a well oiled machine- and amid all the crazy business, we were able to laugh and take time with each and every patient.

Our wound team earned their brownie points this morning- they cleaned terrible sores and burns and even lanced a thumb wound that would have made any experienced ER team shudder. But they took it in stride and loved on every hurting patient.

(Note from Jeff) Saturday PM:
2:00 PM came awfully fast after our crazy morning. Right after we finished at the first site, we went to the pharmacy for more medications and large syringes to aspirate abscess (a symptom we were seeing many more patients than last year), before we made it back to Sankey for lunch. A quick bite to eat and then once again a pointless shower, and we were back in the busses on our way to a local church that has not yet been used for a church service. The new building was recently built by the Australian team just 1 month before we arrived. The finishing touches are still being done.

The new building was christened with medical mission, prayer, 7 americans, and a volunteer dentist. God has continued to do great things through us, his humble servants, and use the resources that you gave generously. All your prayers were answered and over 200 patients were seen in approximately 5 hrs. Records were broken! The team averaged 40 patients per hour. A miraculous feat, especially when considering my average in the clinic at home is only 2-3/hr. Abscesses were drained, rat bites were treated, and ears were scrubbed clean. We worked until dark, when the church folks strung open wired lights across the ceiling in order to allow us to continue to see patients in to the night.

In all we treated 274 patients last saturday, about 50 students at the school on Tuesday, and 325-350 patients on Saturday, for a grand total of over 650 patients. YESSSSSSS! God is good.

(Note from La Ne') You should have heard the cheer from the team when we finished treating the last patient! The team was exhausted- but excited and silly with laughter. What inexpressible joy to know what God can do through his people, if they are willing.

Sunday 3-07-10 (Note from Jeff)
I preached a wicked awesome sermon. Not bad for the first time! Unlike Steve, they let me have the mic for as long as I wanted:) I reminded them all about the miracles that God has done with patients, vitamins that never ended, packing our bags with everything that we needed, and of the abundant and overflowing love that you all sent with us. Your letters and your prayers were well received. The church, the staff and the children have been greatly encouraged by your love and your generosity. Thank you church, you ROCK!

(Note from La Ne') What my crazy, silly, and amazing husband really meant to say is that God spoke through him mightily today. He and Kuya David tag teamed the sermon and translation like old pros (which I guess they are after treating so many patients together these last two years!) Pastor Bernard and his little church, The Lord of the Harvest, got to hear how their incredible service to their community as inspired us, half way around the world, to join them in their efforts of touching lives and hearts. We are all one body working together and holding one another up in prayer.

(Note from Jeff) In the afternoon, we had halo halo, played frisbee, and prepared for a feast. During the great farewell party, we laughed, ate, and as a team we performed two impromptu special numbers. Rich played the drums, Randy played the bass, Joyce played the electric guitar, Jeff, La Ne', and Kurt played the tambourine and did interpretive dance, and Colemen played his famous "wooga wooga" horn. Needless to say, we were a great hit!

(Note from La Ne') We also had a wonderful surprise from the staff- they finished the mural and had it hung for the banquet! There is a map of the states, with San Jose and Kalispell marked with stars!

We also said our hard good byes to the kids and the staff tonight. Our hearts were overflowing with love for these amazing, wonderful people. Please pray for our team as we leave this place- we have all been changed, and healed, and broken again these past two weeks. We want to take our love and our experiences back to our families and friends back home- but please be patient with us! What has happened here is so hard to express in words.

Remember too that you all helped make this trip possible. It was your prayers and support that carried us through and allowed us all to love abundantly and exuberantly.

Update from LaNe- 3/4

Well, we made it through Thursday! The mural is for the gym is designed and ready to paint (they will do this after we leave). The bathroom is coming along and ready for tiling to start today. We played hide and seek with the kids last night all over the compound- and in the dark! There was lots of screaming and laughing- and some kids who hid so well that we couldn't find them! Mac Mac (one of the high school boys) hid under the wheel well of the bus through an entire game of hide and seek and a game of red light green light- he had hidden himself so well that we had all stopped looking! The kids also ended up in the trees and on the roof and up the water tower- they are crazy climbers!

We are finishing up the week with our last work day on the bathrooms. The guys are sifting sand and laying tile, and the gals are varnishing the chess table.

We are looking forward to an evening out with the staff tonight. We are bringing along all of the sweet letters that you wrote, along with all the cards from the kids. We so want to honor all of these beautiful and hard working staff members for the work they do daily for the kids, the school, and the community.

Tomorrow we are doing two medical outreach and feeding programs. Please pray for each person that comes through for help- and pray for endurance and strength for the staff and the team. Jeff taught the staff how to clean ears and do more types of exams and we are very excited to see what God has in store for us.

This will also give us a chance to practice our Tagalong. The kids have been teaching the team anatomy and questions like, "How long have you had pain in your toe?" The kids and staff have been very patient with us- and are having great fun being our teachers.

Thank you for all your prayers! We miss and love you all.

The team

Gifts Abound- Wednesday March 3rd

Hello everyone!

We wrapped up Wednesday with an afternoon of chess (we are painting two new chessboards in the shade structure for the summer camp) and shifting more sand for the plaster on the bathroom walls. The afternoon was HOT HOT HOT- so our guys and the workers here took things nice and slow.

Our amazing cooks and Naomi and David joined us for dinner. David (the principal of the school) gave his testimony. He and his new bride just found out they are expecting a new little one- so we celebrated their news with them. It is such a blessing to fellowship and pray and share with the staff here.

Besides giving money for the medical supplies and the building project, we were able to help purchase new t-shirts for everyone here at Sankey. The new World Harvest shirts for the kids and staff came in last night- so we had a big t-shirt party in the gym. All the shirts were in Filipino sizes- so we all ended up with L, XL, and XXL shirts! It was quite a hoot!

For the craft, the kids also made cards for the staff. We are taking the staff out to dinner on Friday night to their favorite restaurant- so we are saving the cards until then. We were also able to provide financial gifts for all the staff families here, allowing Toto to sending them on vacation for a few days to their favorite resort a few hours away. He told them yesterday about the vacation- and there were many smiles all around!

ing at ka! (take care!)

Update from LaNe

Things have been so busy around here that it has been tough to sneak in and write to you all! So here are some fun updates on what's been happening the last few days:

Sunday- After attending the wonderful church service, we had a chance to eat Filipino style Pizza Hut Pizza, and play ultimate frisbee with the kids. They are tremendous athletes, and all caught on with amazing agility. We played with about 20 people per team, which made for a wild and crazy game filled with lots of screaming and laughter. We wrapped up our time with the kids on Sunday night with one of Jeff's all time favorite movies- Pistol Pete. It is the story of the famous basketball player's childhood- and a must see for all basketball lovers like those at Sankey.

Monday- We started the building project for the summer camp bathroom. Each year, Sankey hosts kids from the community and church at Christian summer camps. We are building a bathroom and showers to help support this ministry. The walls are getting higher day-by-day! Our muscles are getting bigger and bigger!

We also were able to start vaccinating the kids- and we have a big praise here too. We were hoping to get the Hep B and Tetanus vaccines for all the kids and staff- and even though there is a national shortage, we were able to get the vaccines, and at a 20% discount. This means Sankey will have enough money left over to finish the Hep series after we leave. The staff actually administered the vaccinations- they were very brave and are becoming very proficient nurses!

Rich brought wood crafts for our Monday night time with the kids- they built bird houses, boats, airplanes, butterfly houses, and pine cars. They were a great hit! The gym rang with the sounds of many hammers and much laughter.

Coleman taught his first skit on the armor of God to our little drama queens, and they performed for the whole group at the end of the night to rousing applause. We will do this skit again for the outreaches on Saturday.

Tuesday- We started the morning back on the bathrooms- it is amazing to see how quickly the building is going up! The summer has begun here- and it is hot and muggy. Our team worked like champs though, and shoveled sand, moved bricks and cement, and laid mortar like pros.

After lunch, we went to the neighborhood school for a feeding program. The kids from Sankey sang songs and did skits as entertainment, and then all the school kids got a full bowl of soup and a dose of vitamins. We were also able to provide medical care to several kids who had boils, ear infections, asthma, and burns. The Sankey kids prayed with each of the kids before they left the clinic- what amazing hearts the Sankey kids have for ministry and for touching others' lives. We are also getting pretty good a setting up an effective medical clinic in minutes!

We vaccinated the rest of the staff and the girls Tuesday as well. They were a little more afraid- as word had gotten out that the tetanus shot does hurt!

We wrapped up the evening with basketball, uno, ping-pong, dice games, and unicycle riding. Jeff is getting pretty good- and can ride all around the gym!

Wednesday- Today we are in for another day of building and playing. We are also starting the design for the mural in the gym.

Please pray for continued endurance and team unity. Everyone has been working hard and doing such a beautiful job encouraging each other. Pray too for all the wives and kiddos still at home.

Please also pray for our upcoming events:
Play time with the kids each night
Time to encourage the staff
Dinner out with the staff on Friday
2 more medical out reach programs on Saturday- one will be up in the hills with the indigenous people here
Jeff is giving the sermon on Sunday

Much love to all!