Budding Botanists

In honor of our final outdoor expedition for botany, here are some photos of my young scientists.  It has been a true blessing to watch them learn and grow and get excited about the world we have the privilege of living in!

Time is Everything

(These boys let me join in their game of Roll the Hula Hoop)

(Talk about a tear-jerker.)

(According to S, the "man" in the middle is supposed to be me.)

Another Walk

(S insisted on walking with water in her boots, even though it kept sloshing her dress, which she didn't want.  Sometimes you just have to smile and say "okay, sure.")

(A pomelo tree! I love this citrus fruit, especially when grapefruit is impossible to get.)

(To quote J: "Miss Vivian! What are you doing!")

Breathing Fresh Air

 

(Honestly, I don't know what the words mean, or why they're written here.)

 

(S and J cooling off in the river after a walk, both sporting braids by yours truly.)

 

(The view downstream.)

Air Dried

We ended last week with an art lesson on Maria Martinez.  For those of you who may not know about Maria, she was a Native American artist, best known for her coil pottery.  Naturally, the girls then tried to make their own clay bowls using coils of clay just like Maria.  We used air dry clay because, let's face it, it isn't like I have clay mixed with volcanic ash just hanging out in the school room.  All was we. 

My personal experience with air dry clay is...nonexistent. So what? I figured that I have plenty of experience with normal clay. Why should air dry be any different?  And it says air dry! So that means we should have it dried up in no time!

Wrong.

It could be that it took forever to dry because we live in a perpetually damp climate.  Or a three day drying period might be the norm.  Either way, the girls were chomping at the bit to finally get their bowls out today.  J's completely fell apart.  S's stayed together... mostly.  I reminded them how I told them to really press the coils together, or the bowls would fall apart.  Now, we're using paint to glue the pieces together.

At the end of this elongated project, I can't help but see the lesson in this for me as well.  God is depicted as a Potter in the Bible at least once.  As He twists the coils of my life together, how often have I said, "No, God, this way!" only to blink away tears of disappointment when everything I've built falls apart?  Then I watch in amazement as He chooses to pick up each piece, paint it up, and build something even more precious than I could imagine.

It's the start of a new week that could hold a host of new hiccups and bumps.  I'm grateful, at the very least, for this reminder of God's loving patience.

And don't worry. I'll post pictures of the bowls once they dry.

The Lining Is Silver

Or the lining is golden.  Or orange.  Maybe it's pink.  In my personal experience, it depends on the sunset.  Or the sunrise.  One thing's for sure, the lining is almost always beautiful.

My plan for this update: culinary misadventures, God's goodness, some awkward encounters, and a request or two for prayer.  Those of you that want to bail now are hereby excused. (Except you, Mom.  You have to stay so I don't look like a loser.  It's your fault I'm writing anyway.)  Alright, hands and feet inside the vehicle?  Here we go...

Roasted garbanzo beans are a lie. I also might have made them incorrectly.  They did, however, start popping like popcorn in the oven without actually making anything fluffy and flavorful.  I ended up with chewy, kinda-sorta-salt-and-vinegar, traumatized chickpea pebbles, which I ate because waste is a sin.  Thankfully, I only made one serving, so they're gone now.  The remaining beans got falafel-ized in our new (to us) food processor!  Of course, I didn't have all the "real" ingredients to make falafel, so I made a recipe up that I fondly call Maybe Falafel.  It's going to go down as a secret family recipe, but I'll give you a hint, it let me use up some left over sweet potato.  I know my Jewish ancestors are rolling in their graves. (Is Dad crying over your shoulder, Mom?)  It tasted good, okay?  In recompense for my desecration of falafel, I also concocted a carrot-ginger hummus that totally redeems my aforementioned chickpea mistakes.

Apparently, God stretches us most when we are in His will.  We recently attended a regional conference, at which I was asked (read: told) to share my testimony.  One on one, I can share my testimony fairly coherently.  Throw me out in front of a bunch of missionaries who share God's word for a living and I'm about ready to have an anxiety attack.  I won't tell you my heart rate before I stood up, but it could have won the Kentucky Derby.  Despite my social anxiety and regrettable tears, I did share some of my journey with the group and no one fell asleep, so go team!

Coming back into the quiet village life, I've picked language study back up and Saturday hikes have resumed.  This Saturday, we accidentally tromped right through a neighboring village, only to realize we were going the wrong way, so we had to tromp right through again.  Ahh, have I mentioned social anxiety?  Thanks for growing me, God.  Thanks.

Now I come to the part where I don't want to share too much information, but I'm going to try to share what I can.  One of my little students has been having some health hiccups.  A couple visits to a lab and some discussions with the doctors let my host mom know that her little girl is going to keep "hiccuping" and there really isn't anything we can do except wait for her to grow out of it.  Of course, no parent or child wants to receive that news, so my prayer (and hopefully your prayer) is that the Lord would heal her.  If He won't heal, then that He would hold them closely through this trial.

TTFN

Ta-ta For Now!

You Can Take the Girl Out of the Country...

After a ten-day trip to Manila and blessings too numerous to count, I was more than ready to return to the quiet life in our village.  How could that be?  My theory is, no matter where I go or choose to live, I was born and bred in the middle of nowhere, so that is where I will always feel the most at ease.  City life, with all its convenience, is nothing short of exhausting.  There are always people around; the noise never sinks below a dull roar.  The hustle and bustle is fun for a while, then it's a relief when it's over.

Video chatting was definitely the biggest plus to our stay in Manila.  I got to see my Ohio family for the first time since October and my New York family for the first time since Christmas.  It felt wonderful to catch up on each others' lives, to hear one another laugh, to ramble on in comfortable (and comforting) conversation.

Oddly, the video chats might have been one of the more difficult parts at the same time.  It is one thing to live isolated from your loved ones with small, infrequent messages.  It is another experience entirely to visually and audibly interact with them without any means of physical expression of love or joy.  Try as we might, we cannot squeeze air with all the strength in our arms.  Our heads cannot rest on shoulders over 8,000 miles away.  Kissing air is the same as not kissing at all.  Loneliness that had been held at bay by distance, came crashing in.

Even in the midst of all these emotions, I could not say that I regret the decisions that brought me here.  I long to be home, but I dread the day I have to leave.  That's the trouble with giving your all wherever you go.  I have a sneaking suspicion it is all going to be worth it, though, and that gives me hope for whatever God has next.

Another top experience was FOOD.  Vegan or not, I've always been such a foodie.  As a vegan, I particularly enjoy food of the green persuasion.  Rest assured that I'm no longer grumbling in my heart, but God saw fit to give me some veggie-goodness anyway.  Believe me when I say I pounded that rabbit food.  I horked those suckers down till my stomach distended into a mound that resembled three months of pregnancy.  Spinach, corn, artichoke, roasted red peppers, cabbage, broccoli, snow peas, cauliflower, pineapple salsa, mushrooms... I went to town (literally and proverbially).  Not to mention other goodies like freshly roasted peanuts with salt and garlic.  Or kutsinta and kakanin, also known as some of the best varieties of sticky rice cakes ever created.  Food might have hijacked my Instagram for a couple days to say the least.

Other experiences were newer and took longer to process.  Over our time in Manila, we caught multiple jeepneys.  My favorite jeepney ride took place later one evening.  Shannon and I caught went to get some last minute supplies, namely frozen berries and soy milk. The guy at S&R packed up our spoils, but he put all of the soy milk in the flimsier of the two bags.  All was well until we went to get off the jeep and the handles of the bag came away in my hands, sending the soy milk straight to the pavement.  Thankfully, nothing broke and I was able to carry the handle-less bag back to our room on my shoulder.

One day, our taxi driver seemed unable to keep his opinions to himself.  Shannon told him we were Canadian, rather than explaining that I was an American.  THANK GOD!  This guy spent the next good chunk of our drive telling us how much he hated Americans, how America stole all of the Filipino silver and copper, and how much he loves the Filipino president and his choices.  Now, I have nothing against patriotism, and I felt he was entitled to his own opinion.  That being said, I have never been more stressed out during a conversation in my life.  Eventually, he got tired of speaking politics and turned his attention to religion.  While his questions may have been designed to give himself more speaking time, Shannon was still able to share the gospel with the guy.  All in all, I'd call that a win.

The entire trip could boil down to a muddle of malls, department stores, stalls, scents, and sights.  I'm thankful for the opportunity to meet other missionaries at the guest house.   The walking and shopping facilitated building stronger relationships between my host family and I.  Sure, we're all as exhausted as ever, but we're living with purpose and joy.  I, for one, would trade a good night's sleep for daily purpose any day of the week.

With all that said, I'll add some pictures next.  March out.  April, bring it on.

Art and Gardens

 

(J's most recent project, learning about Frank Phillip Stella.  S was sick this day.)

 

(Watching beans grow)

 

(The kids love catching Baka-Baka in and around the garden.)

 

(Overcast view from our most recent hike.)

Another One Bites the Dust

It's been another full week here in Northern Luzon.  A week full of sickness, that is.  S and J have been passing different head colds back and forth since Christmas, so it's no surprise that they are still hacking and coughing like champs.  In the village around us, chicken pox is still making its rounds.  Most recently, a charming little stomach virus has started blossoming in the pits of unfortunate stomachs. 

I fell victim to the stomach bug Tuesday evening.  Never before have I experienced an illness quite like it, so I naturally held the vomit back long enough to Google my symptoms.  About ten minutes before the diarrhea or vomit, my stomach would boil with a tangible heat.  It felt like a flesh eating slug was trolling the inside of my stomach.  Only when the heat became unbearable, my stomach would unleash a watery Armageddon.  Google, of course, told me that my stomach lining was being destroyed and, in any case, I was experiencing a severe allergic reaction.  Truth be told, unless I'm allergic to Filipino potatoes, it really was just a bug and I was fine by Wednesday night.

Whether it is due to sickness or prepubescent mood swings, S seems to love me one moment and hate me the next.  She has adopted a charming mute condition whenever I ask her questions about what she is working on.  Fortunately, she miraculously regains her power of speech whenever throwing her pencil does not properly communicate her frustration.  Of course, there are just as many moments when she is practically an angel.  Go figure.

J has a thousand questions lately.  Most recently, there have been lots of questions about "the good H" and "the bad H."  She also wants to know "Why do we call it saved?"  It has been an honor to be able to experience this part of her growth.  Her head cold has also made her slightly more emotional.  When she discovered that the multiple illnesses would prevent a "real party" for B's birthday, she burst into tears because "it isn't a real birthday without a party."

Which brings us to B turning four.  It seems like she has transformed over night.  Now all she wants to say is, "I CAN DO IT MYSELF!"

In the village, it is almost time to harvest corn again.  This is causes mild concern because the constant rain has prevented the previous harvest from being sold as of yet, so the price for that corn is dropping tremendously.  Prayer that both harvests will make it to town and be sold would be greatly appreciated! 

TTFN (Ta-ta for now!)

Teaching Pop Art

Just a quick photo update with a little blurb because I have some time AND internet this morning.

In honor of Valentine's Day, I taught a lesson on Jim Dine's heart art.  The girls got to experiment with pop art and repeating patterns.  We liked the results so much that we decided they needed to be shared!

 

(J's masterpiece and the artist at work) 

 

 

(S and her finished product)

 

(My example piece)