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Sunday 14 November 2010

Filipiniana Week

Hi everybody

I hope you have all had a great few weeks. Life here at Faith Academy has been really busy over the last week or so.

We had a special themed week at school last week called Filipiniana week. This is basically a week where the school goes off timetable and does a range of activities in where the children find out about and celebrate Filipino culture. This was an enjoyable but VERY tiring week.

We started the week with pot smashing. This is a Filipino tradition at children’s birthday parties. A clay pot filled with sweets is suspended by a rope and you have to try and smash the pot with a stick while you are blindfolded. (I’d say it’s a more hardcore version of a PiƱata!) All the new staff (including me) got to smash a pot. This was a lot of fun for the kids but hard work for the adults as the head teacher had control of the rope and kept moving the pot away!


Me pot smashing!

The pot; it was harder to break than it looks!

Wack, smash, scream!


Me being disorientated by Mr Taylor


Monday was also a ministry day. Local children from a Filipino school came up to Faith for the afternoon and the Faith kids shared their lunches with the Filipino’s. It was great to see the Faith kids sharing what they had. Some who did not have enough simply gave their lunches away without complaining. This was awesome and made me feel really proud of the Faith kids.



The Faith Kids sharing lunch with the Filipino kids


The kids from the Quatro Filipino school


Tuesday and Wednesday consisted of going on one of the most bizarre field trips ever. We visited 5 places in all during the day. This included a bird show at an Aviary, An eco centre which seemed to be more like a zoo/shell museum, a church, a market and a home for the disabled (locally know as the house without any steps). It was a strange mix of places to visit and the kids found it hard work, the weather was very hot and many of the kids didn’t bring a lot of water so got kind of de-hydrated. Needless to say by the end of Wednesday I was VERY tired, especially as I did the same thing 2 days in a row.


My field trip van

Friday was party day, the kids moved round a carousel of 6 activities including local Filipino games, a dunk tank (with water not gunge) and a food station. The kids had a really great time but I was very tired as I ran a tag game called paintentaira. Playing tag for 2 hours in 30 degrees and 80% humidity really takes it out for you! Needless to say by the end of the week I was exhausted but happy.


The dunk tank! The kids went crazy for this!

Refreshments: we had popcorn, cheese flavoured ice-cream, fish balls and babingk (sticky sweet rice)

Tinikling- a traditional Filipino dance game where the kids jump over moving bamboo poles

babingk


The entrance to school with a special Filipinina week banner!

Me playing paintentaira with grade 3

This week I’ve begun the last part of my work here at Faith. I’ll be supply teaching for most of the class teachers at some point over the next 4 weeks while they have time to do reading assessments and write reports. I’m really glad to be the classroom every day teaching; however I will be teaching a different class nearly everyday so I would really appreciate your prayers for grace and patience particularly with their behavior. It doesn’t matter how good I am; the kids are always going to be worse behaved for a supply teachers than their actual teacher.

Now I am well into November I only have 5 weeks left here. I’ve really enjoyed the last few weeks since break and have felt much more settled and content with day to day life. I have been thinking about coming home, and while I am looking forward to coming back I think that I’m going to find it hard to leave Faith, the children and especially all the great friends I have made. I would really value your prayers regarding my transition back into the UK, my home and my work. I think the nature of short term mission is that the transition part is tough. I found it difficult to adjust when I got here and now I think I’m going to find it hard to adjust back. Please pray that I will know God’s hand with me as I say goodbyes and hellos and that I will know him as my home when all around me I go through changes again.

Thanks again to everyone for all your support and prayers, you’re great! I can’t wait to see you all in the not to distant future.

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