Learning to Be Still and How to do School... PI pt One

So I was thinking...

preschoolers are exhausting. I've been in PI for nine full days and haven't had a chance to sit down and write because I couldn't keep my eyes open. KIM (Kids International Ministries) runs a Christian school that serves Kindergarten - Grade 9. They also run a pregnancy clinic that serves the local women with time in the word, vitamins and food to strengthen them during their 9 months. Last year, a group of us were talking with Jeff(the founder) about how was KIM serving the children in between ages 2-5. He challenged us to think of how to do this and we decided a preschool was needed to help the children and their parents in raising children in the Word and "breaking the cycle of poverty" through education. Jeff got started on his end and the building of the Early Learning Center began about a year ago. We arrived on June 12th and with the help of the director, a woman named Jenn, we started classes on the 15th. These classes bring together the community children and the children in the nursery of the Children's Home. The first two days were crazy, teaching the children routines and practically how to do school(sit in seats, line up, wait, share, etc.) It got better throughout the week and I'm excited to see how it grows over these next two weeks. Please pray for Eugene and Mary Cris, the PI teachers, that are on this adventure with us. 

Here is a video of the first few days

Our group also had the privilege of taking a group of PI teenagers from Journey of Hope to see HillSong United. It was such a fun experience to sing praise to Christ with 12,000 others. 

I've also been able to go to some local churches in downtown Manila the past few days and a community girls Bible Study. I've been very convicted to memorize more scripture and truly know God's Word in my heart. I'm working on being still and resting in the presence of the Lord in worship, in prayer, in preschool, in playing with the children at the Orphanage. I'll keep you posted:)

If you would like to join me in prayer, here is my current list:

- For God to open hearts to reveal His Powerful Love

- For the local people to rely truly on the sovereign Lord and not on idols

- For Baby Lexie, the newest child at the children's home(6 days old) to recover from pneumonia

- For the PI government to release the shipping container that holds tons of supplies

- For myself to be fully in the Word and memorizing scripture

- For safety for our team going down to Tacloban to build houses on Monday, that through their love for God people will God's Love

~R

NYC Landmarks

So I was thinking... that I am very blessed to live in the country that I do. On Friday we had our Veteran's Day program and we were all challenged to thank a Veteran and their family for the sacrifices they made. While in the Big City, we had the opportunity to visit the 9/11 memorial. It was a very memorable experience and and reminded me of the men and women who went off to war after this event to protect our country. My sister went to New York in December 2001 and saw the rubble of the 2 buildings; I went to NYC in February of 2007 and saw ground zero and the beginning of the construction, so seeing the almost finished product brought the whole experience full circle for us.

They are still working on the site, as it is an on-going process, but the progress was amazing. The Freedom Tower stands out against the NYC skyline just like the twin towers did and is a beautiful site to see. There are 2 pools marking the spots where the twin towers stood.

Each pool has names etched into the metal sides to honor those who lost their life in the towers, pentagon, and those on the airplanes, as well as the NYC firefighters and policemen who were first responders. Todd Beamer was on Flight 93 where a few men fought back against the attackers. His wife coined his last phrase "Let's Roll!"

After that moving experience we walked down to the edge of Manhattan and walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and boy was it a LONG walk! The middle is very cool with great views of the city and Statue of Liberty. We finally made it to the other side and were able to enjoy some great pizza while we let our feet rest. Needless to say, we took the subway back to Times Square, before heading back to the hotel to catch a cab to the airport. This trip was such a great time to spend with my mom and sister. We were able to do a lot of fun things and take in some great historical sights. I love this fun city, can't wait to plan a trip sometime soon to catch the fun new plays coming out!

Remember to thank a Veteran and their family this week, as well as every day. 

~Rachel 

N-Y-C

It is crazy to think that I was in New York just 2 weeks ago, 2 weeks before Sandy hit the big city. My thoughts and prayers are with the families affected up North in the tri-state area.

If you are a reader of this blog, you might remember last Christmas (here), my mom surprised my sister and I with a trip to see NEWSIES on Broadway! Well almost 11 months after my mom, sister, and I hopped on an airplane and finally made our trip a reality. To be honest, I thought it might not happen, we all did. However, it was such a fun weekend to get away from the 'real' world and visit the Big Apple.

We flew up early Saturday morning and started the day taking in the sights of Broadway and times square. Saturday night was also the MAIN EVENT: NEWSIES! Let me tell you, I have been a fan of Newsies for a LONG time, I had the soundtrack from the movie years before the Broadway family picked it up, so my expectations were pretty high! There is one word to describe the play: FANTASTIC! It was such a fun show, a little different than the movie line, but the performance was absolutely amazing! Definitely worth the 11 month wait!

We also took in some local sights on our 3 day trip.

 This was my 3rd time visiting NYC, but it was my first time making the trip to Grand Central Station. It was gorgeous and so large, it is crazy to think that it was built so many years ago in such grandeur. I am so glad we saw it at night, because the lights gave it an even more picturesque setting.

Our hotel was in a great location about half way between Central Park South and Times Square, so we spent our first afternoon visiting the park.

The fall leaves and weather made for great pictures and a nice day for walking. We saw the carousel but opted out of the ride. We found many, many tunnels and bridges and took in the sights of the locals on a Saturday afternoon at Central Park. Of course we had to see Lady Liberty, we were lucky that she/he was hanging out at the park that day with a silver robot!

On Sunday morning, we lucked into finding the 7th avenue market around times square. It is pretty much like China town but with pop-up tents and Broadway theaters surrounding you.

LB and I picked up some fun 'Tory Burch' purses, plenty of fun scarves and Mom was able to pick up some fun glass pendants for herself and for us to send to our kids we sponsor in the Philippines. Fun Fact: During the day Times Square is now filled with your favorite movie characters. People now dress up in costumes (Minnie & Mickey, Buzz Lightgear, Hello Kitty, Spider Man, Batman, & Ironman, etc) and walk around Times Square waiting for you to take your picture with them, but wait they CHARGE you for it! It was so crazy because people were actually paying to take pictures with the people ha. 

Before we left on Monday we took the Behind the Scenes NBC tour and LB got to make her television meteorologist debut. We walked out of 30 Rock only to see the great Tina Fey and Tracey Morgan filming!

We couldn't visit the big city without eating some great food. We stopped by Little Italy for some Italian, the Shake Shack for a good burger and delicious peanut butter & marshmellow shake, and we made it to Juniors for some great cheesecake. (Fun Fact: the last scene of Sex in the City the Movie was filmed there!)

We also got to walk the Brooklyn Bridge and visit the 9/11 memorial, check back in next week for a post about those events, they were breath-taking!

~Happy Saturday!
Rachel