November 26th

Note from La Ne'- AKA “The Blogger”

It is almost midnight, and everyone else has headed to bed after an exhausting but fulfilling last day of medical work. We headed to another seaside town today, to a little church that was packed to the gills with people. Several of the Sankey kids that came with us today are from this little town. Knowing their histories of abuse and neglect, it is amazing how willing they are to serve and to love people, even from the place that bears hard memories.

The numbers are still coming in, but there were more than 150 families seen today at the clinic, most families with several kiddos in tow. We shut the gates to new patients at 1:30 PM, and still had over 100 patients to see.

The entire team of kids, staff, and our little group from the US was definitely worn out today- you could see it was a great effort to smile at each patient and to gracefully handle the hundreds of wild hooligan munchkins that were running and screaming around the church. But we did it! We took time to love on every patient, to listen to their needs, pray for each one, and help where we could. The Sankey kids played a big role in translating for Jeff and running each station. They are getting to be quite the medical professionals!

And the Sankey staff- I wish I could express in words how we treasure each one of them! They overflow with love and compassion and serve with their whole hearts every day. They did such an incredible job setting up each medical mission and coordinating all of the details required for a day to run smoothly. And all this while still handling their duties at home as house parents, social workers, teachers, directors, and support staff. What an example and an inspiration they are- and what an encouragement us.

We spent tonight celebrating with the kids and staff with a great feast. We shared a video from February's team (Thanks to the Montanans for putting it together), a slide show of all of our adventures this week, and a silly skit that I am sure will make it viral on the internet. We ended the night with rousing games of hide-n-go seek, sardines, and dodge ball. What an endless supply of energy these kids have!

The power just went out, so I'd best sign off before the computer runs out of juice. We are headed to Rizal (a sports camp and resort) with all of the kids and staff tomorrow for a day of rest, games, and fun. We won't have internet access there- so we will be signing off until our travels home on Sunday.

Please pray for us as we say good-bye to all of our precious ones here and as we travel home. We love you and miss you all!

Much love to you from the Philippines Team.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

We spent our day today at a home for the age-ed (a much more respectful name than “old folks home”). There is only one such home here in the entire province of Quezon. The home is up in the mountains (about 1,500 ft above sea level), in an area that is lush and green from the daily rain.

The home was started by a nurse and her husband who were caring for an older gentleman they rescued from his little island in the middle of the river, where he was squatting. The lovely home has grown and now houses many beautiful elderly folks. The rooms are clean and fresh, the gardens are lush, and the each resident is cared for with dignity. We had great fun chatting with them and learning their stories while Jeff did checkups. We also tried to bargain off Ryan to all the single ladies, who thought he was quite the catch. We sent Kurt, Ryan, and Alan out to get little Christmas treats for all the residents. They braved the torrential downpour to get the treats, and got much love and sympathy from the residents when they returned wet and bearing gifts!

Kelly and La Ne' sat at a table with several incredible women- Isabel, Felisa, Theodora, and Corazon. Corazon Rey made us write down her name and repeat it over and over so that we would not forget her. She understood many of our English words, and kept us in giggles. She knew phrases like “rain, rain, go away, and come again another day” (an apt phrase for their rainy climate). After holding her hand and getting to know her, her name is now truly written on our hearts!

After our visit to the home, we had a chance to share lunch with many of the staff at the floating restaurant. The food was fantastic and the laughter was loud. We were serenaded by the Filipino version of a mariachi band- and even got Kuya Toto (Sankey's director) to sing a few lines with them.

On this Thanksgiving Day, we want to express our thanks to our great and might God who has been with us every moment of this trip and again to all of the folks at home who are praying and supporting us. The gifts you sent with us have been a true blessing to the kids and staff at Sankey- as well as the surrounding communities! THANK YOU!


Thanks from La Ne':

I am so thankful this day to be in our beloved Philippines once again. Each day as we read the notes of love and encouragement that you sent with the team, we remember how many people it took to send us on this adventure. We have used every medicine, given away every gift, and played every game that you sent with us. The books are already being integrated into their new library, the laptops are assigned to the high school students, the iPhones were a great surprise for Kuya Toto and his wife Babes, the unicycles have been ridden in preparation for the upcoming basketball outreach trip, the letters have all been shared with the kids, the flip-flops are already being broken in, and the search for new ovens and a giant mixer for the bakery has begun.

Thank you, LORD, for allowing us once again to serve you in the Philippines. Thank you for keeping our team safe, for allowing us to see every patient, for allowing us to play with the kids and encourage the staff, for giving us good sleep and delicious food. What an abundance you have given us this day!

Thanks from Kurt:

I thank God for the honor and privilege to be able to come back here to the Philippines twice in the same year! The kids, the staff and the people of the Philippines have forever changed me and I will never be able to give back what they have given me. My hope and prayer is that I can come back year after year and pour my life into this place. My love for the kids and the staff has humbled me and I feel like my family of three has increased by 30!! God is good!


Thanks from Kelly:

Thank you to my Heavenly Father for allowing me this amazing opportunity to be here in the Philippines. This trip has forever changed me and my desire is to come back over and over and over! The kids here at Sankey are beautiful and gifted and no words can express my love for them. The staff here is phenomenal and the love they lavish on the kids and us leaves me speechless. I came to impact people and yet, I leave impacted by them! A gift I will cherish forever. The kids and staff here have stolen my heart!

Thank you to all the people who made it possible for me to serve. Without you and your prayers, I would not be here. God will reward you for your obedience and sacrifice! We serve a BIG GOD and I am humbled by His Love and Mercy! Thank You Jesus! My family has just gotten bigger!!!

Noah, mommy and daddy are coming home soon!!!! Thanks to our “family” the Erps for loving on our son while we are here! We love you so much! We are forever indebted to you!

Thanks from Ryan:

I thank God for the opportunity to serve such amazing people in the Philippines. Everyone from the kids at the orphanage to the staff to the people we are serving in the community. It's a blessing to give back to those who are truly grateful for the work we are able to provide. I'm thankful for the blessings I've been given that allowed me to opportunity to come here and serve. I'm also thankful for such an great group of people to be a part of the trip. La Ne', Jeff, Kelly, Kurt and Melissa all are truly amazing individuals in their faith, talent and servant attitude. Faith in the Lord has helped us accomplish incredible things while we were here. Philippians 4:13.

Living here over the past week I'm also thankful for all the little things that we take for granted back home. Warm showers, running water 24/7, winter and fall seasons, regulated two-way traffic and stop signs. Experiencing the differences also made me appreciate the simple way of life. Things run much slower here and it has given me time to slow down and appreciate the little things.

I also want to send thanks to my family and friends who were so supportive of the trip. Their prayer and financial support has given us the opportunity to serve so many. Happy Thanksgiving to all who read this!

Thanks from Jeff:
I am thankful for my church. And I am thankful for the opportunity to sever and work for the universal church. It is a great joy and privilege to deliver the generous gifts of our church, friends and family. I am thankful for Kurt the champion of pus, Kelly the deliver of the breath of life (respiratory treatments), Melissa our secrete weapon and Filipina spy who has done a little of everything, Ryan the master of injections and simple math in the pharmacy, and of course my precious and beautiful wife who has been at my side for many years, who is a great encouragement and strength whenever I need it. Thank you God. Thank you for the church, friend, family, co-works, their lover and their gifts that we were able to bring to the Philippines.
Jeff

Thanks from Melissa:

Happy Thanksgiving everybody. I thank God for His Salvation. I thank God for all the blessings and for all He has done for me. For my family and friends. I thank God for giving me this opportunity to serve Him and serve the Filipinos in need. For all the family and friends who supported this Mission financially and through prayers. God's working in our lives is so amazing. We have helped so many family here and we have touched so many people's lives.

I thank the staff here at Sankey who work hard everyday to care for the wonderful kids. Thank you Bernal Church for bringing this Mission team here.

Thank you to my team: Jeff, La Ne', Kelly , Kurt, Ryan.

November 24th

Today we headed back to Pastor Bernard's church, Lord of Harvest. Dr. Argel joined us again today and helped us see 85 patients in 3 hours. He has been an amazing blessing- he took extra days off of work to volunteer his time. Each day Jeff has spent time with Argel talking over various diseases that we see here- and how it is best to treat them. Argel has been a great addition to the team- and has offered to help us organize more medical professional volunteers next time we come- in exchange for coming to his community and doing a medical outreach program next time we visit.

It was a “slow” day for us- we had time to enjoy a lunch break and took time to sing together (Dr. Argel sang and Jeff played drums while the kids helped lead worship). All of our nurses had a chance to play and practice their skills a bit and they practiced using all of Jeff's tools on each other. Them team was glad to be able to take it a bit slower today- and we all laughed a bit that we considered seeing 85 patients a “slow, easy day.” We also got to to see some of the same families that we served last year- and it was great to see how their kids have grown and meet all the new babies.

We were able to get back early enough to join the kids for PE- it was soccer day, so we hollered and cheered for both teams, and the guys even joined in the crazy game. The ball kept getting kicked into the rice field- so JR just left his shoes off so he could go fetch it from the mud if needed.

This afternoon we had a bit of down time to write letters to the kids and rest. Whenever we are back at the Mission House, all the staff kids come over to help write letters and play. Genesis, Mycah, and Luis have been little shadows the whole week- and they bring us all to giggles at every turn.

Hide-and-go-seek, volley ball, wall ball, and board games were the choice games for the evening. Several of the kids also went wild over the new embroidery floss we brought to make friendship bracelets.

Note from Jeff:

Today we had the pleasure of treating a fairly common skin infection. Purlent discharge (pus), puretic (itchy) mostly around the intertrigal areas (skin folds) like the groin, fingers and toes. There were also vesicles (blisters) often in linear tracts. With a trained eye and careful observation, a small little friend could be seen living within the the wounds. What we saw was multiple cases of scabies with a superficial bacterial infection. The whole team has been sympathetically scratching and itching since. Besides scabies other parasite infections are very common here. In the US we have pin worms in many of our children. In the Philippines they have ascaris. Which is a round worm that can get up to foot in length. A mother came in with her child who was only 1 year old. Her son was very sick last week and was unable to eat or drink. Because of the illness and inability to eat, the child's worms started to crawl out of his nose and mouth. The medicine that we have for treating worms is only indicated for children over 2 years old or if they are very xymptomatic, like loosing weight failing to thrive. It was decided that we would not treat the child today because he was doing well and there was only limited medications. The mother asked is there anything else we can do for the worms. I told her that she can go to the free clinic which is close by to get different medication and that she needs to have her child eat daily so that the worms do not come up. I told her, she should have her child eat every day no matter what, if for nothing else to keep the worms happy.

We diagnosed colon cancer, many urinary tract infections, and of course the common cold. Yesterday, we had a chance to use a Doppler to check the fetal heart tones of the pregnant mothers. To see the mothers smile when they heard their babies heart beat for the first time would light the entire room. The women all wanted to know the sex of their babies- but we couldn't hear with the monitor whether it was a boy or girl:) One woman who had chest pain for 3 months, was miraculously healed immediately during prayer. God is amazing and still now and always answers prayer. There was also a 70 year old man who had a stroke 5 years ago, he tells the story how his entire left side was numb and he was unable to speak clearly or move his left arm. He had the pastor pray for him, and he was healed immediately except for a little numbness to his face that has remained.

After the last story about the man with the stroke- I told the man that the little numbness that was left was a reminder to him of God's healing power. Just like Jacob in the Bible who had a limp after wrestling with God- to serve as a reminder of God's work in his life.
Again- our God is an AWESOME God.

November 23rd

Day 3 of Medical Mission.

What an amazing day!! First of all, its such a blessing to be a part of this Mission. I am grateful for God for this opportunity so serve Him.

Its my birthday today and what an amazing start. I was doing my quiet time between 430 and 530 am ( still jetlagged as well). At 545 am, I heard, voices singing outside by the lawn, it was the kids at Sankey and the staff singing Happy Birthday with Gilbert playing the guitar!! How sweet!!!, I was laughing out loud when I heard them. I have never been serenaded in my own country in all 39 years!, I looked at the window , its still dawn and there they were, some of them still have shower caps on, not wanting to miss singing for me. I walked outside to be with them with my pyjama on and I was all smiles and listened to them sing 3 songs, 2 of the songs were so heartwarming Tagalog Christian songs, that made me teary eyed, and 4 kids gave me flowers and card. Who wouldnt made that cry?

The mission today was held in city of Lucena, outside a barangay outpost where they set up tents for us. As usual, the first hour , we were swamped with patients, and getting started was a bit challenging, with the patient lining up in different direction until, Pastor William ( the local Pastor there) managed the crowd. And everybody was seen and treated and prayed for. Everybody in the team worked so hard today. We praise God for giving us the strength, perseverance, and love to do His work today.


Here's one of the patients we've seen, a guy with an infected wound. Kurt did the wound cleaning, took the scab in the middle, gently softening it first before yanking it out., The guy was so calm and didnt show any pain. Good job Kurt.


These are the folks waiting to be seen by the team. It was a small space but we made do with what we have and we have seen almost 200 folks for today.

We ended our day with playing with kids during the night. Its was so exciting we were all sweating at the end of it . We called it Philippine- American version of Capture the Flag! I am sure Im speaking in behalf of the team, that it felt so good to play and feel young and carefree again. Of course, we were all so exhausteded at the end of it.

Time to rest so we have energy again tomorrow. God bless you all. Thanks for all your prayers and support.
Melissa

November 22nd- Part 2

Note from Ryan: Today we drove to a church South of the orphanage to provide medical services to a different area of the province. When we arrived at the church two things stood out immediately. The first was the small, simply built church that would have given any general contractor an aneurysm seeing how many safety violations there were in building the church. The second was that the church sat on the sand with the most amazing view of the ocean people pay millions for in the United States.

We setup inside the church with a few people waiting outside for their checkups and within a few hours of opening the doors there were over a hundred and fifty people crammed into a building that was meant to hold half that many.

We saw around three hundred people over the course of 8 hours, an average of about one person every 1.5 minutes. It would be a short novel to write all the things that happened, but I’ll just elaborate on one of the lighter experiences and let the rest of the group share theirs. One of the missionaries in the group was working in the pharmacy and got a prescription to fill for an antibiotic shot. Never having given a shot before, they fumbled through getting the mix together and prepped the syringe.
Once complete, they were asked if he could actually give the shot. Again, never having given a shot before, they were given the instruction: “insert the needle fast, aspirate, inject fast”. Trying to keep up with the 1.5 minute patient rotation they went for it and successfully gave their first shot from a crash course in needles.

It was an amazing day. Caring for so many people physically and spiritually, experiencing how simply people live and seeing the endless smiles from the local kids who seem far happier with so much less than what people “need” in the United States. It really makes you forget about all your possessions back home because those “needs” just don’t seem that important anymore. There’s something to be said about living simply.

November 22nd

Day 2 of Medical Mission

We began our day with another rousing ride in the van and the jeepney. Each vehicle was packed to the roof with supplies and people. Ryan and Kelly had their first adventure in a Jeepney- and their first ride was a scenic one through the city of Lucena, past rice fields and crammed village streets, around trikes and pedicars (bicycles with side cars), and all at break-neck speed.

The final setting for today's adventure was a little concrete church by the sea. The large open widows looked out onto a beach lined with fishing boats, and beyond that stretched the ocean. We were thankful for the breeze that made its way through the windows into the crowded clinic. We had several hundred people packed into a very small, hot, and humid space from our start time of 8 AM to when we finally treated the last patient at 4 PM.

Two of our biggest blessings today came in the for of Dr. Argel Ramirez and Melissa. Having two more medical professionals on site to see patients and help answer the many questions from the non- medical volunteers helped us get through every patient who came through the door. We even had unexpected help from Dave- an Australian making a quick overnight visit to Sankey. He jumped right in an ran the asthma breathing treatment station- and had a great time entertaining the kids with his iPhone apps.

There were many patients whose stories broke and touched our hearts today-

Note from Kelly:

God is so good! My time here has been amazing and I feel this is what I was made for! The medical missions has been such a blessing to be a part of. The stories we have heard are heart wrenching. A mother came in with her little girl and thought this little girl was suffering from seizures. Doctor Jeff felt otherwise. After he began asking questions, we found out this woman was not her mother. She was a friend of the mother's and took this little girl after the mother tried to abort her late term. The seizures was actually cerebral palsy due to the attempted abortion. We cleaned her wounds and hugged her lots! She had the most beautiful smile! God has a purpose and plan for this little girl!


Puss Buster story of the day:

Kelly has renamed Kurt “Sir Lancer-lot.” Today she got to see Kurt apply his skills lancing an abscess. While yielding his mighty lace, he was able to strike with pinpoint accuracy. A 50 year old Gentleman with back pain, ear pain, knee pain, cough, and a special surprise under his arm that he wanted us to take a look at. We had he lay down, take off his shirt, and to Kurt's joy and surprise there was a mountain of raw and angry flesh, like a dormant volcano. A fresh flow of pus was waiting for its opportunity to erupt. Kurt's, with bravery, skill and courage, he was able to make an incision 2 cm wide and 2 centimeters deep. He then had to insert a probe deep into the mountain to finish breaking up the hard and impacted pus. With all his might, he squeezed at the base of the mountain until the lava flowed and covered the surrounding area with a thick mixture of foul blood and puss. It was amazing to wound.

Kurt's quote for the day: “We serve an amazing God!”

Day 3- November 21st

This morning started with a rousing worship service at Lord of Harvest Church. Their worship is loud and heartfealt! Brian, one of the missionaries at Sankey, gave a message from Hebrews 13 on contentment. What a challenge it was to our American team, who have so much, to hear about being content in all circumstances, as we sat amongst such a generous people who are content with so little.

At the end of the service, Jeff had a few minutes to pray and encourage the church. Mac Mac was called upon to translate once again. The congregation from Lord of Harvest will all be joining us for Wednesday's medical outreach.

We had a quick run to the mall to stock up on supplies and eat lunch a Pizza Hut. The favorite pizza toppings we tried today included fried pig skins and the sausage stuffed crust. Eating out on Sunday's gives the staff a chance to take a break from feeding us- and gives us a chance to pick up the supplies we need for the week ahead.

We also had a chance to play volleyball and do crafts with the kids tonight. We built wooden boats in preparation for a boat race down the canal later this week. The kids are so creative! We also bought some water guns to help the boats move a bit faster on race day.

One other highlight for today is the arrival of our final team member, Melissa! She and her family donated all new flip flops for the kids and staff. What a treat! She had also pre-memorized all the kids names from their pictures- and impressed us all by getting to know them so quickly.

We are signing off for tonight to get some good rest before our busy week! Good night and love to you all.

Saturday, November 20, 2010- Day 1 of Medical Missions

Today our team partnered with The Lord Reigns Covenant Community Church and the Quezon Medical Society. We had three other physicians and a whole team of church folks join us for the day. We estimate that we saw between 125-150 people. There were quite a few little kiddos and lots of babies this time- which kept our doctors very busy.

Each of our team members ran a station with the help of one of the Sankey staff and one of the kids. Kelly ran the breathing station and gave asthma treatments. There are lots of folks here with cronic asthma and every treatment helps. Kurt ran the wound station with Richard (one of the high school studetnts) and Mary Anne, one of the teachers. He was even brave enough to lance a very sick little baby's pussy sore. He is now known as the Puss Buster. Ryan ran the pharmacy with Malou (one of the Sankey's staff) and Christina Lyn, and did math all day without losing his patience once! La Ne' moved from station to station helping where need, and making sure Jeff had all his supplies and a steady stream of patients. Jeff did a great job taking time with each patient and interfacing the other physicians. Mac Mac- one of the high school students did a wonderful job translating for Jeff. We also had a triage station, an ear cleaning station, and an eye check station all run by the Sankey staff and kids. At the very last station, the pastors prayed for each patient before they headed out.

The church also sponsored a feeding program- and took special care of each patient while they waited. They even quickly moved them all inside when the sky dumped rain for a bit.

In the lulls between patients we laughed and played with all of the little muchkins that were running around the church building. They teased and tickled us and taught us Tagolog words for everything from body parts to colors to animals. We gave away thousands of stickers to the giggling, crazy kids.

Due to the efficiency of all of our helpers, we saw every patient and were able to clean up and share lunch together before the 2 PM end time. This gave us time to come home and shower, rest, and play with the kids. We taught them wiffle ball, played kick ball, and threw around a frisbee in the pouring rain. One of our favorite parts of playing with the kids is the screaming excitement at every home run, foul ball, or pretty much any play of any game. Kelly (who is not typically a screamer) lost her voice after hollering and playing her heart out.

We are having a movie night in the gym tonight- the kids are all movie lovers. They ooh and ahh and cheer for the good guys, and hiss and boo at the bad guys. It should be great fun, as long as the power stays on. We had a brown out for several hours today- hence the playing in the rain, instead of in the gym where it was to dark to see the flying balls!

We have a day of church and rest and play scheduled for tomorrow. Signing off and sending love- The Philippines Team.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Can you say kick ball? We had a great time playing (and screaming and laughing) with the kiddos tonight. The boys from our team played a rousing game of kickball in the gym and Kelly and La Ne' taught the kids how to play (a modified and silly version) of Phase 10. We also had a chance to just kick back and chat with the kids. What a blast they are!

They've Arrived Safely in the Philippines!

We have arrived! Many thanks to all of you who sent us on our way. All of the boxes you see in this picture were filled with supplies, medicines, sports equipment, crafts, unicycles, laptops, letters for the kids and staff, and much more from our friends and family at home! Every box went through customs without a hitch- thanks to help from Dodie, our in-country contact who helped us get right to the front of the lines. Not one box was opened or questioned. It was wonderful to walk outside the craziness of the Manila airport and spot Kuya Toto's friendly face in the crowd. We felt like we were coming home!

Our drive from Manila to Lucena was quite and adventure! We did a bit of detouring and off-roading to avoid an accident that was blocking the entire road. It was a great initiation for our two new team members- Ryan and Kelly- who have never experienced the excitement of driving and weaving through traffic in the Philippines. We zipped around tricycles (motor bikes with side cars) carrying 10+ people, jeepneys (the open buses), bicycles, and vehicles galore. We even drove up a road so narrow we were afraid of wedging the van in the alleyway. Jeff even jumped out to maneuver a boulder out of the way.

The great news is that we arrived a Sankey safely, just in time to shower and see the kids during their morning break. How wonderful to see all of our kids again! There were many questions and much laughter. Jeff is doing great with his tagalog- and the rest of us are listening and learning as we go.

Our plan for the rest of today is to prepare for the medical outreach programs that will begin tomorrow. We are hoping to get done with the sorting and training before dinner so that the rest of the evening can be spent with the kids and staff. Kuya Toto has organized the medical outreach days so that we will work from 8 AM-2 PM, so that we can maximize our time at Sankey playing and working. The kids and staff will be attending the medical missions with us- to act as nurses and translators at all of the stations. It also looks like several Filipino doctors will be joining us for some of the outreach programs.

Please pray for safe travel for our final team member Melissa, who will be arriving on Sunday. Please pray also for good sleep and strong bodies as we see and treat many sick people over the next few days. We love you all and will check in again soon!