Mune...Heading Towards the Finish Line

So Mune is simply a nonsensical word that I made up...May + June = Mune. I wanted to post a brief blog entry about what's been happening the last couple months before I head into the thick and busyness of thesis writing in July. 

This update won't be very long, but I'll provide some highlights from May and June in pictures. Who doesn't like pictures? I do...

In the middle of May, the MATUL commissioning was held in Manila. It was held in my first community, and also the community where my professor Dr.Viv began his work back in the 1970s and 80s. Leaders and directors of different MATUL sites around the world (Nigeria, India, and Brazil to name a few) came to discuss what has been happening at their MATUL sites. These leaders are pioneering indigenous MATUL sites; some of the sites have foreign students like myself there, while others just have local students. It was neat to be able to attend and hear about how God is using the MATUL program to address issues affecting slum communities all around the world. 

Our classmate, Doug, from the Kenya site came to Manila to present at the conference.
It was so nice to reunite with him after a year and a half : )

A discussion on pastoral care for MATUL students

A year has come and gone since I've been living in my community in Payatas. I moved into my current homestay in May of last year and my host sister Trinity was born 2 weeks after. There was a baby dedication for her at the church on her birthday. I was asked to be a ninang (godmother) and I gladly accepted. : ) 

Kuya Arnold introducing the baby dedication service

Erika and I with Trinity; I'm holding her a little awkwardly...

Trinity & her cake 

For our Advocacy & Urban Environment course, Erika and I are interning with a church in Tres, a community in the Payatas barangay that is right beside a trash dump. The head pastor of the church has lived there for about 25 years and has done a lot of work, helping secure land rights for community members and seeking to make the community more beautiful despite its undesirable (and smelly) location. There are multiple feeding programs daily at the church as well as numerous outreach events in the community. 

A glimpse of Tres; the "hills" in the back are actually layers of garbage

Those are just a few of the highlights of what's been happening lately. I only have a short 4 weeks left of my summer semester and MATUL program. I can't believe it. I'm almost done with my interviews and a friend in my community has been helping me transcribe and translate them, which takes quite a long time. There is so much to do, but so little time. 

I hope that this isn't my last blog post before I leave the Philippines on August 8th, so I can write about the month of July and all of its silliness before re-entering the U.S. I know it'll be a difficult period of adjustment back to a life that I think should feel familiar, but likely won't as I experience reverse culture shock. 

I would love your prayers as I deal with the stress of completing my program. I've been doing my best to stay calm and to trust that the Lord will help me power through despite the challenging living conditions and time constraints of everything. I know that I shouldn't fear the future, for God is already there. 

That's all for now. : ) Talk to you soon. <3 

View from the front of the church

March & April: Silliness & Busyness

My apologies for this very delayed blog update. It was a very busy past semester (as usual) and I didn’t have much time to collect my thoughts. I’ll add a funny story to this March & April update to compensate. : )

A Silly Story
I haven't shared too many anecdotes from my time here, but a number of funny things do happen to me in the Philippines. This particular event happened at the end of March and I somehow ended up being an instant nanay ("mother" in Tagalog). It was Sunday evening, and I had to pull an all nighter in order to complete a proposal and application for my thesis project so that I could send it to an ethics board in the States for approval; receiving approval would allow me to begin my research (I have been approved since then! Praise the Lord). The previous week had been really crazy as Erika and I were working on our applications and running around, trying to get things translated, printed, scanned, and signed to include in the application by the deadline.

The awkward picture that resulted from that morning...
(Note the sagging boutonniere) 

I had already planned on going to the elementary school graduation for Andrea, one of the girls from my church/community, and was aware that it was on Monday morning at 7am (I don't know if you're thinking the same thing I was...What graduation starts at 7am?!). I had been working with Erika at her place, which is about an hour from where I live. So at 5:30am I leave Erika's place and am rushing to get back home so I can bathe and be on time for this graduation. I get to my house at about 6:45am and hurriedly take my bucket bath and get ready.

As soon as I walk up to the basketball court at 7am where the graduation is held, I don't see Andrea or her mother, and am not really sure what's happening. Normally Filipino events start late, but I'm surprised that I already see a line of students entering the court, one by one, and they each have a parent beside them as they enter. This one boy from my community who I've met a couple times isn't accompanied by a parent like all of the other kids are. I see my host dad's mom and she tells me Kawawa talaga, wala siyang kasama (How sad, he doesn't have a companion). She urges me to get in line beside him so that he'll have someone beside him as he walks in the ceremony. I'm hesitant to walk beside him in the line since (1) I'm dressed very casually, (2) I don't have a special "parent ribbon" like all the other parents in line do, (3) I don't know this boy very well, and most importantly (4) I don't what's happening. I'm so tired and not sure if this is the best decision, but I feel bad so I get in line beside him. 

As we start walking towards the court, some vendors are really pushy and trying to sell orchid boutonnieres for 20 pesos (about 45 cents). We're a minute or two from entering the basketball court, but I see that almost everyone else has a flower on their gown, so I buy one for the boy. We're almost to the front of the procession at the entrance of the court, and I'm hurriedly trying to pin this boutonnière on the boy's graduation gown as we're walking. I recall that I couldn't even do this at my own prom in high school and had to ask my mom to pin it onto my date's tux. I'm sleep deprived and trying to stick the needle through the boutonniere as we're walking. I'm doing my best not to stab the boy. Hand-eye coordination isn't so great when you're running on zero hours of sleep. I don't succeed and the flower is pinned on his gown, but not well, so it turns upside down and sags. : ( 

We end up getting to the entrance of the court, where there's a man with a camera taking pictures of the student and parent duos. We both feel super awkward, but can't prevent the picture-taking from happening. I end up sitting with the other parents and the boy, Ivan, ends up sitting in a different area with his classmates. The graduation lasts about 2.5 hours (complete with Filipino songs, speeches from some local politicians, and award ceremonies) and it gets pretty hot halfway through. I never found Andrea's mom (the parents of boys sat on one side and parents of girls sat on the other), but was able to see Andrea when she walked on stage to get her certificate. Turns out that there wasn't any space inside the court aside from the one parent allowed, so everyone else had to watch from outside the fence. They looked like prisoners as people peeked from between the metal wires : ( I'm grateful I had a seat. Standing in the hot sun for 2.5 hours is rough.

The end. : )

Spring Semester School Things 
So I’ve just completed the first week of my sixth and FINAL semester of the MATUL program. I can’t believe it. I am always so surprised when I reach the end of a semester, and I can only attribute each semester’s completion to the grace of God. To recap this past Spring Semester: 

For our Entrepreneurship project, Erika and I ended up working with Banaba House Ministries again (as opposed to working with the rice business that I mentioned a few months ago). We helped develop a funding proposal for a small business (a piggery) that the BHM youth would run. It would help provide some supplementary funds for the ministry, as well as develop leadership skills and responsibility among the youth. Pork is big in the Philippines and one of the youth used to run his own piggery so he has the expertise to lead the business. Our proposal for the piggery even got funded by a donor connected with the ministry! : ) In the course we expanded more on the theology of entrepreneurship and this course added on our theology of economics course that we took last year. Our God is a God of creativity, innovation, and resourcefulness, and it was neat to see how this fits in the urban poor context. 

Teacher Kim (in purple), Catie, and I, with the ALS students after a class

Our Education internship was also under Banaba House Ministries, and we assisted and shadowed with the ministry’s Alternative Learning System program. Erika and I attended classes on different days and throughout the semester, I interned with the English class on Thursday afternoons. It was interesting to learn more about the challenges of this non-formal education program in the Philippines. For most ALS site,s there is no tuition fee for the students, but this means that there is less accountability; student retention is a big challenge that this ALS site faces. In addition to teaching a few classes, I really enjoyed being able to get to know the students and hearing their stories. In this education course, we explored public & private schools, vocational schooling, and faith & non-faith based schooling. Education is an important thing in ending cycles of poverty, but accessibility is a tricky thing for the poor. Many students in the Philippines drop out early due to family issues or the need to work to help out their families. 

For my thesis project, I ended up deciding to research Environmental Stewardship among urban poor Filipinos. Issues of creation care and a connection with the land are very near and dear to my heart. I feel that nowadays we're more disconnected with our natural environment as our living spaces become increasingly urban. I'm still not sure what creation care looks like in the urban poor context, and so I wanted to explore it further. I believe that it's important to honor the Lord by caring for the Earth, but am aware that for the urban poor, they are more concerned with survival than sustainability. A part of me is very insecure about my topic as it seems like other students' topics on sex trafficked women, refugees, education, and grassroots pastors training are more important. But I know that environmental justice is a part of the Kingdom too; it not only involves reconciliation with us and God, but with others, and with the land. 

Other Happenings...
In April, My host sister, Hadassah, turned 7! There was a simple birthday celebration at the church and a whole bunch of kids from the community came for the food. There weren't any activities or presents, but it was still a joyous and blessed time to celebrate her day of birth. 

On the far left, you will see hot dogs & marshmallows on sticks, a favorite of the kids

Our friend from the previous cohort, Jake, along with two girls from the Delhi, India MATUL site, Valerie and Emily, came to visit at the end of April! We had the privilege of showing the girls our communities and giving them a taste of our lives in the Philippines. It was such a sweet reunion to see Val & Em since I hadn't seen them since our semester in Los Angeles at the end of 2013 before going into the field. Even though our countries' contexts are very different, there's a special bond between MATUL students; we have similar hearts for justice, the gospel, and the poor, and we also understand how hard it is to do school while living in an urban poor community.

A birthday lunch to celebrate Jake's 25th at his former home stay

Some boats at sunset at El Nido, Palawan

During the one-week semester break, we went to Palawan, an island in the Philippines that is a common place for foreigners to visit when they come to the country. Erika and I went with Jake, the Delhi girls, and Stephanie, our fellow Manila classmate from the new cohort. It wasn’t a very pricey or fancy trip, but we were just glad for the opportunity to get some fresh air and to get out of the city.

Las Cabanas, a beach that was a 10 minute tricycle ride from where we stayed

Unfortunately, none of us were done with our assignments for the semester and were trapped in the hotel room for the majority of the week as we struggled to finish up our late projects. It was definitely challenging to keep working throughout this brief semester break, especially since I knew that another semester of work was waiting around the corner for me. We were all exhausted, but were very grateful to be together as we suffered and pushed on. On the final day, we all made it out to the beach before heading back to the city. I would definitely love to go back to Palawan some day (without the school assignments of course).

As I embark upon my last semester of MATUL, I'm nervous about a number of things. I still have no idea what I'm doing when I finish the program in August. I'm exhausted. I have no idea how I'm going to complete my thesis (i.e. make appointments to set up the interviews, complete a couple dozen interviews in Tagalog, synthesize and analyze research, etc.). I need to set up and start an internship for this semester's Advocacy and Land Rights course. I'm afraid of how busy this semester will get and how stressed out I'll become. But I know that the Lord is good and gracious and somehow everything will get done. May He be glorified in all that I am and all that I do.

As always, thank you for all of your prayers, love, and support. <3

Februrary: School things, stress, and singleness

February has come and gone oh so quickly. It scares me to think that I only have five more months in the Philippines, as it reminds me of how much schoolwork I still have for this semester and that I need to decide soon what I want to do with my life (or what next step I want to take post MATUL). 

At a Filipino restaurant for a language teacher's birthday at the end of January. No utensils!

This semester for my Education course, I’m interning with a branch of the Alternative Learning System (ALS). The ALS program is only in the Philippines and caters to out of school urban poor youth. Each "school year" lasts 10 months and there is an exam at the end of each year and passing this is similar to the equivalent of getting your GED (high school equivalency) in the States. The classes are three hours each and are five days a week (each day has a different subject), but I’ve mainly been helping out with the English class on Thursdays. I taught a class on pronouns this past week and it went a lot better than I expected : ). The youth are really enjoyable to chat with and they’re a fun bunch to be around. ALS is under the Philippines’ Department of Education, but each branch can be run by different organizations; this branch is run by Banaba House Ministries, a ministry in the community where Erika lives. Banaba House Ministries hopes to encourage the youth in their education as the teachers believe that education is a powerful tool in stopping the cycle of poverty, but they also hope to mentor and disciple the students.

With my host sister Trinity Grace at a neighbor's house

For the Entrepreneurship class, Erika and I are working with Simpleng Bigasan, which is a rice business that is run through a local church. We're just at the beginning of the process of this partnership, but we hope to help them develop a business plan to help the business become more profitable and run more effectively. Mmm Thesis class is a whole different story. I originally wanted to write on something environmentally-related, but my professor said that my ideas were too broad and since it's already so late in the semester I should just move in a different direction and seek a local organization that I could help contribute to. I want my thesis to be this big, wonderful thing, but I also need to remember that this thesis project doesn't determine the rest of my life. I'm currently looking into working with a local faith-based organization that mentors and develops urban poor youth and leaders through educational programs. 

I can share a little bit about singleness, since it’s been a big part of my MATUL journey and I was strongly reminded of it this month because of Valentine’s Day, which is pretty popular here in the Philippines. In short, I have never felt my singleness so strongly. Before MATUL, it never bothered me very much that I was still single and that I had friends who were dating, but I think the loneliness that I experience while in field makes me much more aware of how I don’t have a significant other. During the really difficult times when I crave comfort and solace, I imagine how nice it would be to have a significant other. But I know that in the loneliness I need to seek the Lord, for He is the only one who can give me the peace that I need; having a boyfriend/husband won’t solve all my problems and make my life complete, despite what popular culture seems to insinuate. It’s also very common here in the Philippines for people to ask you if you’re single upon first meeting you. In the States, this question comes off as very forward and intrusive since it’s a personal matter, but I think that the relational nature of Filipino culture makes it seem like a topic of casual conversation.

If you’re still reading, I would really appreciate prayer for anxiety. Every semester is really busy and stressful, but these last couple of weeks Erika and I have been especially anxious about how much work there is to be done, especially as we embark upon the thesis planning and writing process. The stress can be so overwhelming that it’s hard to think straight or get anything done, which is no good. In addition, I would also love prayer for presence. I do my best to spend time with my host family, people in the community, and the youth at my internship when I can, but lately I've found it more difficult to do so when I just want to be alone when I'm overwhelmed (being an introvert is really hard for me here since being around people all the time makes me really tired). 

A lovely quote that I saw in my friend Lindsey's notebook; Lindsey is a MATUL alumna and is still in the PH as a missionary

Thank you for reading and journeying with me. I am grateful for you. : )

Start of Year Two

This post is a bit late…I was hopeful about writing an update when I was at home in California during the Christmas Break, but I think I needed more time to reflect and process about the past year in the Philippines. It’s also difficult for me to look back at each semester since I’m reminded of how stressful and challenging it was; this kind of scares me for future semesters, but it does remind me of how faithful God is. 

A few highlights from the last Fall semester…

For our Leadership of Urban Movements class, we had to lead a small group in the hopes that it would multiply. Erika and I decided to lead a weekly small group for the kids in my community. It was fun, but challenging due to our limited Tagalog. Our small groups involved a good number of videos of Bible stories, snacks, as well as a lot of games (which the kids loved). In the end, I'm glad that the kids had fun and were able to be exposed to stories from the Bible (if they weren't already familiar). Another plus was that I got to know many of the kids in my community better and they always greet me with a smile and a "Hello Ate Amanda" whenever they see me around. 

The Community Transformation class involved a project where we had to do a “seed project” (basically a small project in the community that benefits the residents and demonstrates Kingdom values). Erika and I helped organize a disaster preparedness workshop in her community. The community is very prone to bad floods during the rainy season and we thought it’d be good to get some community members together to discuss the issue. We were so grateful that our language teacher, Kuya Mark, agreed to help us lead it. The workshop was pretty simple, as it involved basic discussion of disasters as well as a mapping of the community to note important resources. 

I really enjoyed the Primary Healthcare class for last semester; I also like health-related things in general and so I enjoyed being able to learn more about health concerns and issues among the urban poor through readings, assignments, as well as the projects of my classmates in different countries.  I ended up doing my final project for the course on Childhood Development and it was interesting to see how the kids' backgrounds and upbringing have affected their educational and emotional/social development. The internship at the Gentle Hands orphanage was a bit challenging as it often felt like we were tutoring the kids and playing with them more than we were learning about Healthcare related issues, but I’m very grateful for the time that I was allowed to spend there Gentle Hands is a beautiful organization and the level of care that they give for the kids that they take in is amazing. It’s amazing how God has provided for the organization and how the love of Christ has transformed so many of the kids.  

In short, the Fall semester was exhausting with projects, classes, internship, and doing life in general, but I felt much better emotionally than the previous Summer semester. I’m glad that I did go home for the Christmas break (even though our program director preferred that we didn’t) since I really needed the rest and a conducive study environment to finish up late papers and projects. I really missed burritos and In N Out. And obviously all of my family and friends too : )

This semester, I’ll be taking three more classes:

1) Educational Center Development: A course analyzing schooling in the third world and how urban poor churches can be involved in developing and improving schools in their communities. This course also requires an internship where we’ll intern with a school that serves the urban poor population. 

2) Entrepreneurial and Organizational Leadership: This class is intended to develop entrepreneurial and organizational leadership skills (business-y things) needed for development movements among the urban poor. It’ll build on our Theology of Community Economics course that we took last year. 

3) Research Project/Thesis Part I: We’ll be designing our research proposal on a “missiologically significant issue on behalf of an urban church movement or community organization.” This class will continue next semester, during which we’ll be writing the bulk of our thesis. 

Two new MATUL students, Stephanie and Amanda (we’re not sure if we need nicknames to differentiate us haha), joined us earlier this month. I'm excited for their companionship, and it’s been refreshing to see them be excited about the Philippines & Filipino culture, like we were upon arriving last year. We went (or tried…) to see Pope Francis this past weekend, and it was really wet and crowded. We made an honest effort to see the pope with our own eyeballs, but there were way too many people so we could only see him via one of the screens that were along the road. Definitely a fun adventure though. 

Thanks for reading and I look forward to sharing more of what’s on my heart these final two semesters of MATUL. : )

The new Team Manila! Cohorts 4 & 5