God is answering so many of our prayers!! I wish I had time to expound on the many examples, but for now here's just a brief summary of what we've been doing...
Last night, we attended an anniversary celebration for one of the Lighthouse Homes. It was an exciting time to get to know the boys at the home, hear their stories of coming to the home, and meet some of the 400 alumni whose lives have been changed because of the time they spent at the Home as a child.
Today, Dr. Foster led caregiver training for the home's staff. In the late-afternoon, we visited the girls' home. I was blessed to meet Girlie, a girl about 17, who was found abandoned in a cart approximately 10 years ago. After receiving loving care at the Home for about 6 months, she began talking. But she spoke another dialect so a translator had to be found to understand her. Ten years later, she's still a quiet and timid girl, but one of the most affectionate girls at the home. After an hour into my visit today, she slipped her arm around my waist, and smiled with the joy of simple presence. Eventually, I departed to the warm chorus of "good-bye Ate Audrey!" (meaning big sister) from the beautiful girls who, through the Lighthouse Homes, have restored hope.
There are MANY more details I could share, but to salvage my energy for tomorrow I'm going to call it a night and get to bed. Keep praying though! God is hearing your prayers and generously blessing our time with the Lighthouse Homes staff and children.
One lighthearted answer to prayer -- after our full day of exhausting travel and activities today, I simply wanted to eat dinner in a air-conditioned venue that wasn't noisy. An odd thing about Filipino culture is the high level of background noise in every public place. It makes conversing over a meal in a restaurant difficult, if not impossible. According to our team companion Sarah who is a former missionary, it's like that almost everywhere. But, lo and behold, tonight, God led us to a quiet AND air-conditioned Thai restaurant in one of the many Manila malls where we stopped to find some dinner. While enjoying our tasty plates of vegetables (another much appreciated blessing after eating only chicken and carbs for several meals) I felt happy and blessed that God would provide for us in such a simple, yet very appreciated, way.
Last night, we attended an anniversary celebration for one of the Lighthouse Homes. It was an exciting time to get to know the boys at the home, hear their stories of coming to the home, and meet some of the 400 alumni whose lives have been changed because of the time they spent at the Home as a child.
Today, Dr. Foster led caregiver training for the home's staff. In the late-afternoon, we visited the girls' home. I was blessed to meet Girlie, a girl about 17, who was found abandoned in a cart approximately 10 years ago. After receiving loving care at the Home for about 6 months, she began talking. But she spoke another dialect so a translator had to be found to understand her. Ten years later, she's still a quiet and timid girl, but one of the most affectionate girls at the home. After an hour into my visit today, she slipped her arm around my waist, and smiled with the joy of simple presence. Eventually, I departed to the warm chorus of "good-bye Ate Audrey!" (meaning big sister) from the beautiful girls who, through the Lighthouse Homes, have restored hope.
There are MANY more details I could share, but to salvage my energy for tomorrow I'm going to call it a night and get to bed. Keep praying though! God is hearing your prayers and generously blessing our time with the Lighthouse Homes staff and children.
One lighthearted answer to prayer -- after our full day of exhausting travel and activities today, I simply wanted to eat dinner in a air-conditioned venue that wasn't noisy. An odd thing about Filipino culture is the high level of background noise in every public place. It makes conversing over a meal in a restaurant difficult, if not impossible. According to our team companion Sarah who is a former missionary, it's like that almost everywhere. But, lo and behold, tonight, God led us to a quiet AND air-conditioned Thai restaurant in one of the many Manila malls where we stopped to find some dinner. While enjoying our tasty plates of vegetables (another much appreciated blessing after eating only chicken and carbs for several meals) I felt happy and blessed that God would provide for us in such a simple, yet very appreciated, way.
So very glad that your time is going well!! I'm sure it is so wonderful to see parts of your vision coming together in a real way and to be gaining knowledge for the future!!! Glad you got to eat some good food in a quiet place!
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