School days

Hi Everyone, I hope you are all doing good.


I guess it’s time for me to update you all on my last week or so here. It’s been a week of up’s and downs but I now reflecting back I think I feel more settled now than I did at the start of the week which is all good.

This has been my first full week in school so i’ve been working in most people’s classes at some point doing general TA work. This has been really good because i’ve had the opportunity to see a range of people teach in a variety of styles right from year 1 to year 6. At the start of the week I was feeling a bit redundent because I would go to people’s classes at the time given on my timetable and they would not really have anything for me to do other than general classroom support. This is because they don’t really have many children in school with high educational needs as I would have back home, this is great for the teachers but leaves TA’s without much to do. I also think that back in the states they don’t really have TA’s in the same way that we do so some of the staff were slightly unsure what to do with me. I found this kind of hard, mainly because I’m used to being super busy at school and having alot of responsibility and I felt really useless, I was asking God why he had brought me here when there is very little for me to do. However as ever God is gracious and the day after I was having these feelings I was asked to cover 3 classes in middle school (which is year 7, 8 and 9) all good experience for the CV! I’ve also been asked to teach all the maths for the 3rd grade this week and start to run a lunch time computer club, I think my time will slowly get filled up and i’m willing to do anything that is needed where I can be useful. Interestingly I was asked to cover middle school again later in the week and Steve the primary head was not keen for me to do it as he feels once I start they will ask me all the time and i’m here for elementary. I am really grateful to God that he knows what I need and wants to use me here and give me plenty to do.

Outside of school i’ve been pretty busy. My room mate Meg and the other American guys living here in our condo’s are always doing something and they have been really great at inviting me along which is so kind of them. I’ve been bowling, had a game night where we played cluedo (which for some reason they call clue), been to the mall (the great american/Philippino pass time!) and watched MANY films, it seems to be a popular and free of spending an evening. This has all been really great but what is strange is that sometimes you can forget you are in the Philippines and it seems you are in the US.

Yesterday (Saturday) I went with Jen and Helena (OMF missionaries) to visit another squatter area called wealfareville. I really enjoyed this visit, the people are very poor, their homes are usually 1 room with 1 matress to share if they are lucky, we visited one lady who had no roof just tarpurlins which leak when it rains, and it is rainy season at the moment so this is not good for her. We also visited a pre school which is run by the church, attended a youth bible study and saw a livlihood project. Women in the local community make cards and they sell them abroad. Unfortunatelty they don’t seem to have many places where they sell them at the moment, check out the pictures and let me know if you want any, I think they’ll make great Christmas cards and the cause is amazing. You would also all be proud to know that I took my first Jeepney ride alone to get to Jen’s house, this is something i’ve been pretty nervous about for a while so when i’d done it I felt really proud of myself! Praise God he kept me safe.

Me, Helena and Jen with some of the girls from the squatter area

The squatter area welfareville

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Christmas cards made as a livlihood project

A family in their home making Christmas cards

I really feel that working at faith academy is a real contrast to visiting these squatter areas and i’ve been thinking alot about this contradiction. I find it hard to be here where 1/3 of people live in extreme povertry and spend my time going bowling and swimming in a pool. However I think I need to remind myself that i’m here working with the children of families who are working on the front line in some of these really poor communities, and while i’m not directly working with the poorest of the poor I hope my work at school is of some help. I am going to try and go with Helena again to some of the squatter areas but I can’t spend all my time there as I need to commit to being here at faith and working with the kids as well as having weekend time to relax! I would be really great if you could pray for me as I continue to think through this and get used to my role here. I want to see that my time here has been worthwhile and I have been the most useful I can be.

If you could also pray for further depth in friendships, I feel like I’m just scratching the surface but it takes time. I would really appreciate prayers for deep friendships with people who I can really talk to.  Lastly me and Meg have had trouble with our car this week the gears seem to be broken and getting into gear is really hard. Could you pray that is will be a simple fault that we can fix without too much trouble financial or otherwise.

Thank you so much for all your continued thoughts and prayers, I could not do this without them. Please feel free to email me or even send me some real post, It’s so encouraging to hear from friends. Alright think i’d better bounce, this has been way too long!! Catch ya later kids