update #2

Hey Everyone!

Wow, how time just flies! I’ve almost been here 2 weeks! So I guess, here I am with another update from the Philippines.

So… I’ve been teaching math every afternoon from 2 until 3. It’s been a crazy experience... haha, I guess those 6 years of working at Kumon are coming into use now! Trying to use those skills to help the kids learn multiplication and division with decimals. They’re getting better at multiplication, so now we’re working on division. Let’s just say, sometimes I have to fight the urge to not want to yell at them for counting their fingers! Cause when you’re trying to divide 56 into groups of 8… you don’t have enough fingers for that!!! And by the time you make enough ticks, you could have solved the question! But God has totally been providing patience, and I haven’t been mean to the kids yet!

Hmm… oh, last weekend, we took the kids to the beach. Half on Saturday, and the other half on Sunday. On Saturday, it was mainly the pre-school kids, and a couple of older ones to help take care of them. That was really fun! The kids were so excited! They weren’t suppose to go swimming, but they all ended up in the water anyways! And here’s the best part: I got to hang out with some of the high school students that were around. Since they go to school elsewhere, I don’t really get a chance to talk to them or anything. Sooooo… isn’t it amazing how a guitar can break the ice in any country? (Praise team I miss you!) Haha… but yah, the kids had a guitar… and they were singing songs that we normally sing, so I just joined in. I tried to teach them Now that You’re Near… but I couldn’t remember the chords… but before the end of the trip, I will teach it to them! But yes, now the high school kids just laugh at me everytime they see me. Oh, and that night, one of them (Mary-Ann) asked me if I wanted to help her lead worship for the kids’ devotion time! It was awesome! Praise God! (So answered prayer right there!) Beach on Sunday was about the same as it was on Saturday, but just with a different bunch of kids.

This morning, we got to go to the market. If you’ve ever been to a market in HK, you’ll know what I mean. They’re just missing the live chickens… or I just didn’t see any.

I’m starting to get to know the kids better, so they’re not so shy around me anymore. So that’s really fun! I’m learning more Tagalog, so the language barrier isn’t as bad as before. I can kinda understand them sometimes. Or they’re really good about teaching me new words, or trying to explain something through actions. But most of the time, it’s still just smiling, and playing with them. Well, playing games that don’t require talking anyways. Haha :) Jade taught them how to play thumb war, so they love to play that game!

So really, other than teaching, and helping to set up for lunch and dinner, there really isn’t much else I do around the children’s home. Sometimes, we travel around a little bit. We went to see the Volcano last week, and where their ministry was originally, before they moved to where they are now. (Because of the eruption in 1991.) And now they’ve rebuilt a church ontop of where the original church stood.

There is just way too much to squeeze onto one email. I’ve got lots of cool pictures that I can’t wait to show you guys and more stories to share! But things are going well, and I’m really enjoying everything! Thanks for all your prayers and encouragements! Write me and let me know how you guys are, and how I can pray for you. (Even though I don’t check my email very often.)

So, to finish off. A couple of things to pray for: my health (my stomach hasn’t been feeling well, it might be cause I’m not used to the food, or cause I’m still not sleeping very well. So pray for rest and better digestion or something. Haha) Another thing is that, someone asked me to do a talk for next week’s Chapel time for the kids. They haven’t said anything else about it, but if they still had that in mind, pray that God will give me the words and that He’ll be able to use me even though there is a language barrier. Pray that God will continue to open doors for me and all the people I come in contact with, and that He continues to use me to touch the people around me. :)

Until next time,

Cel :)

i'm off!

byebye! i'm off to the philippines!

see you all in 2 months! :)

thanks for all your guys' prayers and encouragements! you're the best!

wow... 664 students later... and like 50 billion pictures... and crazy blisters on my feet... university is truly over! i have my degree, and i have walked the stage, and shook the hands of important people at the u of a. 5 years of undergrad are finally over... and to show for that is my bachelor of science degree in mathematics and mathematical sciences!
i can't believe 5 years have gone by already! in 5 years, i've probably changed my mind like 5 times as to what i want to study. studied in almost every building there is at the university, taken almost every 100 level course that anyone can think of... met like a tonne of new friends in class... and now it's done. no more studying at rutherford, or "studying" in SUB... no more going upstairs of CAB to find my math/stat profs... no more travelling the pedways of ETLC and NREF... those were some good memories.
thanks for some crazy memories of the past 5 years! all the wasted time of walking around trying to figure out where to study. the all nighters that were pulled... or just THE ONE.... haha. crazy nasty stat assignments that require us to be in GSB for hours and days on end. well... i think all the crazy stupid memories are from the last 3 years. but good they were, and i probably won't ever forget! thanks for making it all so memorable!
i still can't believe that it's come to an end. now that it's over, i kinda wish that it wasn't. haha.. no... i'm glad school is over... no more assignments.... no more EXAMS! haha... praise God! because without Him watching over me, i probably wouldn't have made it! :)

if you're happy and you know it...

CLAP YOUR HANDS! (of course)

i am so happy right now! why? because God is awesome, and because of Him, i feel completely loved! a year ago, i never would have thought that i could feel this happy or free! the dark cloud that used to hang over my head no longer hangs there. the baggage that i carried is no longer on my back. God has broken through the dark clouds with His warmth, and He's taken my baggage for me!
why do i need to be anxious when God is in charge of everything for me? i don't! but letting go is the hard part. God had to chase me around for years before i would listen and let go and let Him take over. to let Him take my hand and lead me to where He wanted me to be. God had to go to great lengths to bring me back to where He wanted me to be. i had to learn the biggest lesson of my life before i would realize just how much i needed to let go. i had to loose everything before i learned that God was all that i needed.
in a couple more days, i will be in the philippines. i don't know why He's decided to send me there, but i'm sure that whatever the reason He has, it will be perfect for me! i'm excited to see how He's going to use me there. in a country where i'm apparently a popular target for kidnap... EEK! that's ok, i know that He'll take good care of me overseas. i know with certainty that i am suppose to go on this missions. regardless of where He had sent me, i am suppose to be on missions, and that is all that is important at the moment. it doesn't matter why i'm going there, the important thing is that i'm doing God's work, and i'm following His will for my life. i know that i need to do this for God, and for myself. if not these past couple months, i would not have been able to see just how God takes care of ALL the little details.
thanks for telling me that you've seen a difference. that has been the biggest encouragement that anyone could have given in the last little while. to know that the choice i made a year ago was not in vain. that i did not go through all the pain and trials to find myself in the same place. to see that God is real, and that He really does answer prayers. i know now that because of everything i've come out stronger. i'm no longer bitter, and slowly i'm learning to take down the wall around my heart, and to let others in. i no longer demand God for revenge. it no longer matters. what does matter is that i'm happy now. what matters now is that i've followed God, and He's leading to the philippines!

one last week...

OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm leaving for the Philippines in ONE week! Ok so praise items of this past week:
~ i FINALLY got my visa... it's kinda a funny story (just ask if you want to know)
~ i got all my shots and meds (don't play ball after getting needles...)
~ my dad and grandma got here safe and sound!
Thank-you soooo much to everyone who was praying for me, and thanks for the encouragement! I seriously was starting to freak out about that visa thing! But... it's just the packing, and the travelling left now pretty much. Well... I guess I still have to convocate on tuesday too. Oh, and I still need prayer support and financial support still. (haha... can't have enough prayer, right?)
Everytime I turn around and see how far God has carried me, and how much He has been providing for me, I can't help by be in complete awe of just how amazing God is! If it wasn't for Him, none of this would have been possible! I would not be going to the Philippines. I think this past week, in the midst of DOING everything, I've forgotten the REASON, and my FOCUS for everything. So, as things wind down, and I start packing, I need to get back into the Word, and get back to praying. Because, that is the only way I will be prepared. I can always do without certain items if I forget to pack them, but I cannot do without God!

*side note* if i EVER get the stupid idea of reformatting my comp and putting linux on it ever again, please slap me in the head or something! after a week of stupidity... i've realized that windows is my friend. :P