June 28, 2009 - Ugh

I barely made it through church today. I'm just getting worse which has caused me to do ALOT of research. My doctor in the states wants to treat me through a series of injections which he sent here and they are just sitting there. I have heard so many negative things about the side effects that I'm just not sure if I have peace about it. They seem so unnatural, the things they do to your body and there is no guarentee that it will help. So, I decided to keep praying. I trust my Dr but want to research a bit more.

I came across several websites that tell of some success stories through diet. It is very drastic but I'm desperate. I hope that it works. Im going to try it for one month and see if I see any improvement. Even if I see only 10% improvement, I will take it! This is my last hope. If this doesnt work, I will either have to start the injections or possibly go back to the States to talk with my Dr about some more work ( possibly a hysterectomy) that will be very hard. But I cant go on this pain any more. I hope this diet works!!! fingers crossed!

June 26, 2009 - All my strays

I thought I would post a few pictures of how I spend my mornings here in Pangasinan. I wake up and go to the porch and feed all my strays... My strays include a large gathering of cats and a small 3 year old boy. They all wait for me to drop them their breakfast. I have never seen the little boy wear pants, even though I have given some to him. I fear his mother sold them ( she's the same lady who's baby died back in May)..let's just say this woman will NOT be getting any Mother of the Year Awards anytime soon. It is just pitiful!

June 25, 2009- feelin' low today

We had another typhoon pass through .Very strong winds and light rains, but only a Cat # 1 so that's nothin'. I laugh at Cat. #1's, 2's and 3's now...after surving a 5/6..I feel pretty calm during the small ones. (-: No power all day...rolled in my own sweat basically. Sean has severe diahrea and I'm having a BAD day health wise. I cried today really hard, missing my mom and feeling so alone with these health probs. Ferd and I are praying for wisdom about how to handle the next step...becuase I am deteriorating. I feel like about a third of the person I used to be. I just really wish my mom was here )-:

June 24, 2009 - Ihaw-ihaw

Tonight I have no voice left after laughing so hard. We had our monthly family Prayer night where a families in the church rotate and host the prayer meeting in their home at the end of each month. After the prayer and Bible study, the family will treat the other members to dinner and refreshments. This month was our turn. We decided to do an ihaw-ihaw ( Filipino cook out) and had a time of fellowship and games after the food. We played a popular game here sort of like a pinata except it is a clay pot that they have to hit and all the candy comes out. Instead of having the kids hit the pot, we made the adults do it and it was hilarious!

June 22 - Abelina

It is a miracle that I can post this picture of me and my friend Abelina. She is the sweetest little old lady you will ever meet. She has been part of our church for about 3 or 4 years now and she is the model of the lady I want to become. I have witnessed some bitter old ladies in my life. My mom and I often joke how we don't want to become an old grouchy woman when we age, as we have encountered quite a few. Abelina is humble, meak, tender and loves the Lord and she just gleams with love and joy. You'd just have to meet her.

Well, for 2 years she has been hiding the fact she is in severe pain. She never misses church so none of us knew until just a few weeks ago...BOOM! She was knocked down on her back and was literally on her death bed. I went in to visit her that night as they sent a message to us that she was in rough shape. I was shocked as she was just at church on Sunday. We helped her get to the doctor where they told us and the family that she had extremely advanced Ovarian Cancer. The tumor is so large, it is literally hanging out of her. She has felt it for a while but is very poor and would never go to the Dr. They didnt expect her to live long. We just prayed and prayed. The whole church prayed so hard for her and even took up several offerings to pay for her hospital bills.

I honestly thought she was going to die that night I saw her. She was screaming out in so much pain. But, you know what? She started to get stronger and was even at church this past Sunday. The Lord has prolonged her life and we are so thankful that we can enjoy our precious little Abelina a little bit longer!

June 21, 2009- My Burfday

Well, another year older. Yep, today was my birthday. It started out as a total disaster..Some plans that Ferd and I had made had fell through and we couldn't do it...plus, I ran into some people that had really done us dirty in the past and you know how it goes, you have to just smile and move on even though your flesh wants to tell them where to get off. I guess that is part of being in my 30's now. I have learned so much and have spiritually matured in so many ways. I would never want to go back to my teenage years. They were a nightmare. I was an awkward follower, not the confident leader I am today. However, I do wish I had the energy of my teens, and the health of my 20's and the brains and life expereince of my 30's. That would be a perfect life! (-:

Anyway, Ferd ended up taking me to Manila where we just walked around and had a quiet day together while Sean stayed here in Pangasinan with a girl from church. Happy B-day to me

June 19, 2009 - PMS

In order to get my driver's license renewed, I had to have a medical and eye exam, pee in a cup...all that good stuff. But I LOVE the name of the place where they sent me to get it done...Pangasinan Medical Society, check out the abbreviation on the building...(-:

It always kills me about going to crowded organizations like the LTO ( the Filipino DMV). becuase being a foreigner, they ask you A MILLION questions...totally not related to anythng that they need to know on paper. They want to know where you are from, how you met your husband, do you have kids, why do you only have 1 kid? When will you have more? What is your job? How much money you make? etc, etc, etc. so, it takes even longer. but I enjoy it becuase they get to know me and once they know you , you can have strings pulled if ever you need them. Plus, when they hear that I can speak fluent Tagalog, they can not get over it. The one lady today said she had never met a foreigner like me who could speak so well. She said she has many foreigners ( mostly older retired men) come in and even though they have been here for 20 years, they cant speak the language. it made my day, especially as I seem to focus on all the mistakes I make. So, the Lord encouraged me today to keep pushing myself to learn more and more. I hope to eventually learn the Pangalatut dialect which the locals speak amongst themselves..
Anyway, I got my license renewed without any problem and Im good for 3 more years...yay!

June 17, 2009 - Awww, my peeps love me!

Tonight, at the Prayer meeting, they called me upstairs from the children's class that I was teaching and totally surprised me with an early birthday celebration. I was totally unprepared and felt so humbled as they showered me with food and gifts. I received beautiful hair bows, ornaments, cards and keepsakes. Plus, they spoiled me with my favorite Filipino food..they all know Im crazy over Palabok and they made a big bilao (platter) of it and I am wolfing it down...yummy!!!

June 12, 2009 - A visit to the mountains

Ferd's uncle and family live in New York and they visit here every year. We always look foward to their visit, especially Sean becuase Uncle Primo brings giant bags of M & M's!!! We visited up to the Mountain where they are staying with Ferd's family and had a nice visit. Our niece, Miya is such a hoot! She is so much fun . She just finished her first year at Pensacola Christian College and is such a sweet girl. She couldnt stop pinching Sean's cheeks and loving on him. Sean loved every minute of it!

June 3, 2009 -Happy Birthday Ferd

The peeps went all out to show love and support for Ferd. We roasted him, put him in the hot seat, ridiculed him through embarrassing pictures and gave him gag gifts...you know, all the usual things you do for your pastor (-:But, in the end, he felt so loved. Since our people do not have the means to give monetary gifts like they do in the states, we all decided to give Ferd food offerings. Each family brought a "sweet" plate with desserts, fruits, etc. At the end of the night, our entire kitchen was full of food. You would have to see it all to believe it.

June 6, 2009 Burgos

The older adults from our church took up their collections and raised enough money to take an fellowship outing to Burgos. It is known for it's sandy white beaches and clean waters. i was so excited to go, but couldnt )-: Yes, my Endo has robbed me of my life yet again. I was so happy to see the pics and how much fun they had. They killed a goat right there on the beach ( glad I missed that) and cooked it and ate on the shores. They were all so mad at me for not going. I will hear about how much I missed tomorrow at church

May 30, 2009 - Baby Dedication

Today was my really good friend Leah's special day. She dedicate her daughter to the Lord. Leah is such a blessing to our church and we have enjoyed having her here. She is from Florida where her and her husband have been praying for kids for more than 10 years. God never gave them a biological child, but led them to 2 little babies here in the Philippines that needed homes. Leah and Darren adopted them and are awaiting the finalizing of all the papers. One of the policies to adopt here in the Philippines is that the mother has to live here for 2 years in the Philippines full time as a resident. So, Leah has been here with us and Darren flies back and forth. they are such a sweet Christian couple and I love them!

May 18-22, 2009 - VBS

Ok, I am tired..hungry and you DO NOT want to smell me. My goodness! We were up at 5:30, preparing all the things for VBS. We started at 8 and had a million kids. All the different village kids came, some bringing their mothers!! What an awesome opportunity to plant the Seed of Christ in these young lives. I am drained..but I am blessed.. just 5 more days to go...Saturday is their graduation. Sean decided that he wanted to be a helper this year instead of a student (-:

Getting Ready for VBS

The past few weeks have been hectic! We are getting ready for our annual VBS next week, Monday-Saturday. Thanks to our friends at Mt Tabor Baptist in WV, we had a complete theme this year..Dinosaur Detectives: Digging for God's Truth. I spent the last couple of weeks translating all the lessons and worksheets and songs. We practiced all the songs today PTL, I have 15 workers signed up to help me..and I will need them all as we are expecting about 200 kids to come. We are picking up all the kids from the 6 villages we hold Bible Clubs in every Saturday. Tonight we decorated with the dinosaurs that one of our young men made out of old newspapers,..fortunately , pictures can't display the amount of sweat pouring from my body while we were decorating..not pretty.

May 16,2009 - Mystery Death

Today we had a lady show up at our door. She attends our services when there is food, and has never made a profession. She is one of the many people who view us as a means to get through another day. She is probably 23 or so, already has like 4 0r 5 kids and they are neglected, filthy and hungry. Her little boy, who is about 2 or 3 shows up at my porch everyday and we feed him much like Americans would do a stray dog or cat. It is pitiful. Well, today, we she was here asking to borrow our tent becuase overnight her baby died ( pictured). We were all in shock as she and all the kids were just at our Anniversary dinner. Ferd went to see the body and noticed that it had what appeared to be two small teeth marks on the foot, much like a snake bite. They sleep on dirt floors so that is possible. The mother also said the baby hadnt eaten in days. Yet, never took the baby to the doctor ( dont get me started on that...becuase we see her "husband" go to the canteena and buy beer every night). Anyway, it is just a tragedy. One of many that I have witnessed here.

the little sister came here and talked with Ferd and said that they bought milk for the baby to put in the coffin ( a custom here thinking that the baby will take it to the afterlife) however, they never gave real milk the whole time the baby was alive, only rice water. So, talk about priorities in the WRONG place.

May 10, 2009 - Happy Mother's Day

Today we invited the ladies from the other Bible studies in Lanas and Maasim to LBC and we recognized all the mothers. The teens made and decorated cute little mugs for each mother.

May 7-8, 2009, Typhoon Cat # 3

Thankfully, Sean's fever broke in time for the massive typhoon that hit here. Almost 1 year since the Super Typhoon nearly killed us last year...we got nailed with a slightly smaller one . It was scary and we lost power and all our banana trees again.. but thankfully it wasnt as bad as the other one and we still have our roof!!! Ferd managed to board up all the windows and doors this time which we didnt do last time.

May 3-5 - Sean's sick

Sean has been soooo sick, poor guy. Fevers up to 104 for 2-3 days now. If he doesnt clear up by tonight, we may have to run to Manila...praying

April 30-May 1 2009, Bangus Festival

You do not want to be here right now! It is pure madness. It is the Dagupan Annual Bangus Festival where the streets are closed down and filled with people from all over the Philippines and lots of foreigners ( Koreans, etc). It is loud, crowded and stinky. They set up grills for miles and miles and they cook Bangus ( Dagupan's speciality fish) and other local foods.

April 30, 2009 - Sean's Box

Today Sean was soooo excited as he received a special birthday box from the Open Door Church in Shady Spring, WV. He was so tickled that someone so far away would think of him (-: He LOVED IT!!

April 29, 2009- Mountain Bible Study

April 26- Church Anniversary

Today we celebrated the 2nd year anniversary at our first church plant, Lighthouse Baptist CHurch. It has been a long , hard road..literally full of blood, sweat and tears. We have nearly lost our lives ( all three of us have brushed up to death while being here), and have been hurt many times , threatened, etc..but the Lord's work here at Lighthouse has managed to go on for the glory of God in spite of our weaknesses and failures. What a blessing today was to see the 2nd year of our 6 year believers in an official church!

April 22, 2009- Patch Awards

I am so proud. Sean was the top achiever of the Wednesday Night Patch the Pirate class. This means that he memorized the most scriptures and had perfect attendance. We honored all the kids tonight, but Sean recieved the medal!!!

April 12, 2009 - Happy Anniverary/Easter

Today is Ferd and my 12th wedding anniversary. It was also our Church Easter Sunrise Service. Today, we woke up at 4am ( yawn) and it was hard to get started, but what a wonderful day it turned out to be!! We had an awesome sunrise service on the shores of the beach, waves splashing...it was VERY crowded ( hundreds and hundreds of people) and so Ferd took advantage to preach to everyone there. We set up the speakers and microphone and it was loud, let me tell you! Ferd shared the Gospel and many people stood and listened. He preached on what is the Resurrection ( as it is not celebrated here) and why it matters. It was awesome!Later, we had our baptism service where we had 6 new converts baptized. One elderly man, that Ferd led to the Lord and has been holding Bible Studies in his house each week. One young man, a young mother , 2 teens and one 11 year old girl. We then enjoyed a nice brunch before coming home. Isnt is so exciting to not only get to celebrate the Resurrection of our Savior, but the New Life that these Believers now have!!! (-:

April 6-10- Camp

Sean had a blast and so did Ferd and the teens! They are so revived from all the good preaching there and it was truly a blessing. I also am recovering from my UTI attack and on the mend now.

April 7, 2009 - Horrible Day..ugh

Ferd and Sean left for camp, but I decided not to go to camp where I could not clean myself properly. Well, about 3 hours after they left I started having sharp, extremely painful pains in my lower back, much sharper than my normal helath problems. Then i started feeling dizzy and extreme pressure in my lower abdomen. I was outside hanging laundry so I made it back upstairs to the house. Then, I felt like someone had stuck a hose in me and filled me up with water. I felt like I woudl burst. So I ran to pee, only a little came out and WOW it hurt like crazy. Severe pressure and burning.... Yep, I knew I had an UTI. This is not my first one...they started the same time my Endo did...
It was so intense and every 3-4 minutes I had to pee, only there was no more pee and only blood was coming out. I called Ferd and he was already at the camp, 3 hours away. I was in so much pain and feeling faint. I didnt know what to do... I had no one to turn to. None of our members have cars. and I was crying and bleeding so bad, i really didnt want them to see me like that. So, I practically drug myelf to our car and drove myself all the way to the hospital. I was borderline fainting, so it was just the grace of God that I made it. I had to check myself into that nasty place and try to keep going to the bathroom. Here I am in this filthy bathroom, with an inch of sewer water on the floor , my pants are soaked, Im trying to pee, but getting mostly blood... There is no toilet paper in this culture so Im trying to clean myslef with a small pail of water. Im so dizzy from the extreme pain and heat ( over 100 degrees here). Well, I sat there and and waited for the results of my urinalysis and just cried liike a baby. I missed my mom, I was so scared. I began praying and it was like a bolt of lightning came down and the Lord just picked me up and gave me an added strength that I didnt know I had in me. My report came back showing a severe bacterial infection . My PUS count, which should be 3-4 was over 50. She is worried about my kidneys, so wants me to come back on Saturday after I finish the antibiotics. Im doing some better now. The meds are kicking in and I dont have the extreme pain anymore, just pressure and weakness. I just couldnt beieve the timing...Ferd and Sean only go camping with the youth group once a year. Its the only time Im alone here and BOOM..this was a nightmare, let me tell you. Im just glad I speak the language, and that I had the Lord with me.

April 6, 2009 I cant go to camp )-:

Today Ferd left with the teens for Camp. I was supposed to go with them but wasnt feeling well. My Endo was really bad. I deal with this nearly daily. I can not really write about it often becuase it is so extremely personal ( that is whats so horribly depressing about this disease, you cant talk about it). Anyway, it's getting worse and worse. I have been passing clots the size of my hand..not exactly something you can deal with while cmaping in the jungles!! It is crippling some days, and no one understands. I hate that I cant help with camp. Sean went with Ferd and is so exicted about getting to camp in a tent with the teenagers.

April 2, 2009 - Bolosan Graduation

We had a young man graduate from high school from our church today. We always go and support our graduates, though at times I dread the heat, crowds, and loud music. Graduations here are not solemn and honoring like in the states. Here they scream, laugh, pump rock music and it is totally chaotic.

March 26-29, 2009- Family Vacation

YAY...our summer vacation was soooo fun!!. Here in the Philippines, our summer starts in late March until early June. It is also Sean's birthday so we headed out for Tagaytay to visit the Taal Volcano, which we always wanted to do. it was sooo much fun and even though my rear end hurts soooo bad from the horse ride, i didnt want to leave. We all fussed about coming home and wanted our vacation to last longer.