Day 13, February 21st

San Jose, CA

We are home! We arrived safely last night- a bit worse for the wear with a flu bug that attacked the whole team and a nice skin parasite that made our first day home a bit itchy. But we are home!

We had a lovely time visiting with David and Naomi and their sweet baby girl. We also got to meet David's mom- Mommy Linda, who has been a missionary in the Philippines for 30+ years. It was a great reunion for Jeff and La Ne'- and provided some shopping time at the Mall of Asia for the rest of the team.

Thank you again to all of you who supported us in prayer and with gifts of letters, supplies, and money for the projects at and around Sankey. We were able to give and love generously because of your support! May our God keep you and bless you.

Signing off- The Philippines Team Fabulous Five

Day 12, February 19th

 Rizal Recreation Center

We wrapped up our trip with time at the Rizal sports camp with the kids and staff. We started the morning with a devotion on discipleship, led by Jeff, along with worship, lead by Junior, Heidi, La Ne' and some of the other talented Sankey girls. We followed this time of fellowship with playing, swimming, a water balloon fight, and more ice cream.

It was bittersweet saying good-bye to the kids and staff and sending them home in the jeepneys. We love them all so much! We are all praying that God allows us to return again next year to serve here with our Sankey Family again.

We have one more visit planned with our dear friends and missionaries David and Naomi tomorrow, and then we head off to the airport.

Please pray for traveling mercies and for all of the sick team members. Pastor Steve was able to say good bye to the kids and staff this afternoon, but was in bed again most of today. Please pray for strength!

Day 11, February 18th

 
Doc Arjel's Community

Today we traveled several hours over a mountain and over a river in canoes to serve in Doc Arjel's community. This was an answer to both his prayers and ours- after he served with the team a year and a half ago on his first medical mission. He had a deep desire to bring medical help and the gospel to his hometown.

We started the day with a time of incredible worship and prayer at his home church with the team of volunteers. Doc Arjel has a beautiful voice and a heart for worship, and our time together helped us start our day with the right heart and attitude.

To get to the community school where we were serving, we rode six people at a time in long canoes across a wide river. With all of our supplies, the canoes sat so low on the water that our hands resting on the side of the canoes touched the water. We all laughed and giggled as each person embarked into the wobbly canoes and there were many squeals from the staff ladies as they crossed the river with their eyes squeezed shut.

After a short hike into the school, we set up the clinic in a covered area outside. We had many volunteers from the church and local community to help us, so seeing the 200+ patients went smoothly. We even had an ophthalmologist there to fit folks for glasses.

It was a happy and sad day for our team. We were so grateful to be able to serve alongside Doc Arjel's friends and church family, but a bit sad to be wrapping up our last day of medical missions.

Thank you to all of you who have been praying for us on this adventure!

Please pray for Pastor Steve, as he has been very sick with the flu, and has not been able to join us the past few days on the medical trips. The rest of the team and the staff are all fighting colds and flu symptoms. Please pray for strength of body and hearts!

Day 10, February 17th

The Green Beach Church

It was good to be back at Pastor Lito's church serving the fishing community that surrounds his church. It was a slow and steady day,  and we were able to see all of the patients by early afternoon.

Our pus buster, Kurt, and his team of helpers assisted Doc Arjel in the third minor surgery of the trip. The team removed a strawberry sized cyst from a very brave young lady- who let 30+ people watch the procedure. The cyst from her knee was successfully removed and the patient was sent home with strong antibiotics to fight off any infection.

Several of the kids have come with us almost everyday of the medical mission. Mac Mac and Randy have been amazingly helpful and are assisting in everything from translation, to cleaning ears, to assisting in any surgical procedures. Both boys even came to the medical mission the morning after their all night senior prom. What dedication! We are so grateful for the incredible dedication and many hours that the kids and staff are putting in!

We ended the night by sending several of the high schoolers off to prom and then celebrating with a birthday party for all the kids with February birthdays. We ate in the rain, showed a sideshow of the trip, and had an ice cream party and card and dice games (as many of the kids memorized our church verse Jude 24-25). Super fun!

Day 9, February 16th

5^th Day of Medical Mission Sinag Kalinga (Home of the Aged)

Today was a much needed change of pace. We were extremely blessed to meet some precious orphans. The Home of the Aged is a home for the elderly who have no family and no money to take care of themselves.We heard the amazing story of Cindy whose heart was broken after meeting an elderly man who was homeless with no one to take care of him. As a result, she gave her life to taking care of the elderly that are orphaned. We spent time interacting with them while Dr. Jeff and Dr. Argel gave each one a check-up.  Because of Bernal’s generosity, we were able to give a monetary gift to the home as we left.

We then headed to the floating restaurant where we feasted on ox and pig face which included ground up brains, ears, and snout. For those who were a little less adventuress there was plenty of fish and chicken. After being serenaded by a Filipino mariachi band we headed home for several hours of siesta.

Our evening included Nanette sharing her testimony after making bead jewelry and free time in the gym. We also spent time listening to the kids recite Jude 24 & 25. Pastor Steve had challenged each child at Sankey to memorize this passage with an ice cream sundae party in our dorm for those that do. We ended the night with lots of hugs from the children and great expectations of what God will do tomorrow.

Day 8, February 15th

Third day of Medical Mission- Cotta with Pastor Lito

Today’s medical mission was outdoors in a little community near the railroad station. Most of the people that we treated today were squatters, and many of the children came on their own or towing their little brothers and sisters with them to see the doctors. A huge blessing today was that for the first time since we arrived, the rain held off until we returned home to Sankey in the evening. Rain would have made a muddy mess of the little clearing we were in and would have made it almost impossible to see the patients. We did have large tents to keep all of the patients and staff in the shade- and even a little room off to the side to do the prenatal exams and breathing treatments.

Most of the 166 patients seen today were small children and brand new babies. We saw many families with skin diseases and scabies, as well as many colds and some pneumonia. All the families received large portions of soup provided by the church during the feeding program- and there were many smiling kiddos after their bellies were filled! Many of these families are malnourished and we connected those who needed extra food or formula for their babies with Pastor Lito at the church, so that they can get the continued help that they need in the days to come.

Many of the kids from the community stayed and played with us today. All of us had gaggles of kids surrounding us most of the day- touching our very pink and freckly skin and wanting to know if we had Facebook accounts that they could write to us on later. It was great fun handing out stickers and Mentos and just laughing with these precious little ones.

Day 7, February 14th

Third day of Medical Mission- Lord of Harvest Church

Note from Nanette: Thank you so much for all your prayers and support! We really appreciate you sending us to serve God in this way. It’s been a great Valentine’s Day. We hope you had a terrific day also!

Note From La Né: Happy Valentine’s Day! We spent our Valentine’s Day at Lord of Harvest Church with Pastor Bernard and his congregation. The new remodeled sanctuary gave us lots of extra room to see patients and move them through quickly, and were able to see all the patients by 3 PM.

We had some really tough cases again today. One of our first patients was a lady that the docs diagnosed with breast cancer. The church ladies immediately took her into see an oncologist at the hospital, but the cost of long term treatment or surgery are astronomical for most of the folks here. Please pray for this sweet lady and her family- as well as for the church and Sankey who are trying to find the best ways to help these very sick patients. We also got an update on the little girl that was admitted to the hospital on Saturday for malnutrition. She is doing much better- and the staff at Sankey have been doing regular check-ins with the mom and providing the medicines and breathing treatments needed to help in her recovery. We are praying that she gets to come home in a few days!

Note From Kurt: Happy Valentine’s Day! Thank you for your prayers. Because of you we have been able to heal the sick. Love those who would otherwise be unlovable and touch those others would not touch.

Note from Pastor Steve: Greetings my church family!  What a blessing and encouragement to know you all have been praying for us.  I greatly look forward to sharing with you the many stories of what God has done!  Be encouraged and know that our great and mighty God is moving  because of your gifts and prayers. Continue to read God’s Word and as he reveals his truths to you please pray them over our team.  What a joy it is for me to shepherd a church that is so eager to send! 

Day 6, February 13th

Second day of Medical Mission- Bethel Church

God was so very good to us on this second day of the medical mission. We went to a new location- at Bethel Church- where the gym we worked in was big enough and dry enough to protect the team and all 346 patients and their families from the pounding rain that poured throughout the day. The Sankey staff and folks from Bethel Church orchestrated a day so well organized that we were able to see and treat every patient waiting in line in less than 9 hours- as well as coordinate a feeding program for all of the patients and their families. The number of people that came through today made Saturday seem like a warm-up activity!

Pastor Steve manned the prayer station, often by himself and without a translator, loving on and praying for every patient as they came through. Kurt was in charge of the wound station, and worked on training more Sankey students to be his assistants at a station that can be pretty gory at times. Nan ran the breathing treatments area and did so with grace and a huge smile. La Né ran the pharmacy with an incredible amount of help from Ate Shee, Ate Babes, and Conner.  Our two medical providers, Jeff and Argel, worked tirelessly diagnosing and caring for each patient. They often had people and volunteers pressing in on them and asking for help, and both guys were extraordinarily patient and full of grace as they dealt with the pressures of the day.

We also had the blessing of getting a huge donation of medications from a local pharmacist first thing this morning. She and her family have many connections with other medical resources and teams that come through Lucena, including cleft palette repair and some corrective surgeries for maladies affecting the eyes. Each time we come, God provides more and more folks for us to partner with, and the overabundance of resources given to helping the Filipino people is both awe inspiring and incredibly humbling.

We wrapped up the day with a discipleship class for all the kids, led by Pastor Steve, as well as some well-earned play time in the gym playing basketball and freeze tag.

Thank you all for your prayers during this Filipino adventure!

Day 5, February 12th

 PS- the two other Americans in the lunch photo are Conner and Kaitlin- a brother and sister team who are here for 2 months working as Math and English tutors for the kids at Cugley Christian Academy

Day of Rest and Play

Today we had an incredible day worshiping with our brothers and sisters at Lord of Harvest church. They sing and praise Jesus with loud enthusiasm and great fervor! After worship, as he was getting ready to get up and to deliver the sermon, Pastor Bernard turned to Jeff and Steve and asked them if they would give their testimony and the sermon for him. The good news is that both guys had prepared sermons and stories to share before we went today (just in case Pastor Bernard was inspired to ask them to step in!) And after 30 seconds of quick preparation, Jeff shared his testimony and Pastor Steve preached a great sermon, with translation help from Blesie, one of the staff here at Sankey. It was wonderful to see all the familiar faces there at the church and to see all of their improvements and remodel to the church building that were in progress the last time we visited.

After church we headed to the mall for lunch, a bit of shopping, and access to the wireless network. A few folks got to speak or text their families, which was a super treat.

For our afternoon festivities, we taught the kids how to play bunco. What a riot! The kids and staff caught on super fast- and we had a great time rolling the dice, screaming with laughter, and competing for the coveted bunco. We took a great a little break for dinner and are now getting ready to head back to the gym for games with the kids and some craft time making Valentine's Day cards for the staff and teachers here at Sankey.

We are headed out for a full day of Medical Missions tomorrow. It looks to be a very busy day at one of the larger churches- so please pray for enough supplies, energy, and love for everyone we see tomorrow!

Day 4, February 11th

First day of Medical Mission- The Pink Church

After a stormy night of howling wind and pounding rain, we ended up with a breezy cool day for our first day of the medical mission. This was a blessing for all of the patients- as they did not have to wait in the heat to see one of the docs. The team was also very grateful- as we are still getting use to the heat and humidity!

We headed with a team of staff, kids, and church volunteers to the Lord Reigns Church (also known to past teams as the PINK church, as the inside is painted a lovely shade of pink). This was our third visit to this community church- and is usually one of our busiest stops.

We had the great privilege of having Doc Argel join us today to help see patients and provide his medical advice to patients and team members alike, as well as a whole team of folks there to run a feeding program for the patients while they waited. The team treated over 150+ patients, including a very sick little two-year-old who was so malnourished that she could barely move. Silent tears snuck out of her eyes while the docs took a look at her and while the pastors prayed for her. The generous support from you folks at home allowed the Sankey team to take this dear little one to the hospital, where she will remain for several days getting the care that she needs to strengthen her little body.

It was humbling to for all of us to see how fragile our bodies are- and also so humbling to see God’s healing hand at work in each child we hugged, each wound we washed, each baby’s heartbeat heard while still in their mommy’s tummy, each deep breath taken after a breathing treatment, each word heard after ears were cleaned.

Every patient that was seen today was prayed for and connected to a local pastor and church, so that if they need help, healing, or support anytime in the future, that they have a personal and real contact who is there to help them. We pray for all of the patients today that their healing is not only physical, but a healing of their hearts and hurts as well.

Day 3, February 10th

We’ve Arrived!

A Note from Nanette: When we arrived at the Manila airport, the most noticeable difference from home was the amount of people there. Even on its busiest day, SEA-TAC airport is never that full of people. There was barely any room to even walk. It was like leaving a stadium after the big game. Even outside of the airport, the sidewalks were packed with people and vehicles waiting for the arrival of friends and family.

The traffic getting through Manila was thrilling as we weaved in and out of cars, motorcycles, and people. It reminded me of downtown New York. Our car journey to the mission took about 2 ½ hours (which is record time and due to the completion of a new freeway out of Manila). As we traveled, it was interesting to see the quick changes from crowded towns, to elements of lush vegetation scattered in-between.

Arriving at Sankey, we met the Sankey Staff, had a tour of the grounds, and then were able to unload all of our supplies (which made it through customs with no issues). We were served a delicious lunch and then took a nap to rest up for an evening of medical instructions and a movie in the gym with the kids. What a blessing to have all of the staff support us so much and allow us to help them in their work. Praise the Lord for His great love for us. I am so thankful to be here sharing His love.

Day 2, February 9th

In the Air…

Thank you for all of your prayers for travel mercies! We made it to SFO in record time and had no troubles getting onto our flight with our ten heavy boxes and over stuffed carry-ons. We had an opportunity to share about our mission trip with many folks waiting in-line with us at the airport (we looked pretty conspicuous standing in line with boxes labeled “Sankey Orphanage” piled sky high on our carts!)

Our medical portion of the mission began a bit sooner than planned- starting with a call from the flight attendants asking for help from any medical professionals onboard the flight. To the attendants’ relief, Jeff ended up tending to 5 patients on the trans-Pacific flight. He didn’t get much sleep, but he was able to provide great care for some hurting people.

The team also made it through the 14+ hour flight without too much discomfort and even a bit of sleep for most of the team members. We did have a few hours added to our flight that included a brief layover in Guam- and we all gave a hearty wave to our Bernal friends Maribelle and Cyrus who live in Guam with their family.

Day 1, February 8th

NOTE: The internet has been down for over a week here at Sankey. We are apologize for the delay in posting the blog! We have tried many times and we were finally able to shoot a message through via broadband satellite connection. Please be patient with us as we work with the spotty internet connection!

And We’re Off!

Thank you to all of you who so diligently prayed and generously gave in order to send us on this trip! We have 10 boxes packed full of medical supplies, school supplies, sports equipment, sewing stuff and much more to bring to our dear friends in the Philippines! 
 
We are headed to SFO in a few minutes for a late night flight. Please pray, as we will be in the air for about 14 hours. Please pray for a few of our folks who get air sick! Then we are off for a Filipino driving adventure down to Sankey, which can be a 4+ hour drive from the airport. Again pray for those folks who get travelling sickness.
 
We will send another update as soon as we arrive. Many thanks again and God bless from the Fabulous Five Filipino Team.