Giving Thanks and Other Things

It has been a good month in the life of Christine.

There is so much to be thankful for this year and even this month!  As I already shared, I am close to 35% of startup costs raised.  We just filled another box of supplies to send to the Lucas Children's Shelter.  God has been blessing me all across the board lately.  And soon I will be learning how to drive a manual transmission vehicle, which is another bonus in preparation for heading overseas.

I am continuing to do well in my classes and I think I am finally finding the motivation to put some things to pen and paper.  Well, maybe more like fingers to keyboard 😉  I have had many ideas floating around and debating between a couple of textbooks, but I am 80% sure what textbooks I am going to use.  I just need to get my hands on the samples I signed up for from Pearson and Longman at the Michigan TESOL conference.

Hopefully, you received my newsletter and now know that I have a couple of items I am specifically looking for.  These include the Oxford Picture Dictionary (OPD), sight word flash cards, and second language learner friendly English dictionaries.  Soon I will start an Amazon wish list under the e-mail address for the program.  Once I do this, I will share that list so supporters can know what the needs are for supplies.

I hope all went really well for people this week in preparation for Thanksgiving and spending time with family.  It is a chance for us to be sure to focus on all the blessing God has poured out on us and share with others.  We here in the United States do a lot to prepare for Thanksgiving Day and even Black Friday.  Some even participate in Cyber Monday deals!

I want to leave you with one little challenge... think about participating in Giving Tuesday.  Even if you only give $5, it is worth participating as a way to remember this time of year is about giving and not receiving.  Giving Tuesday is a relatively new idea compared to Thanksgiving and even Black Friday.  The idea is to balance out the commercialism of the holiday season and give to non-profit agencies.  Every dollar counts in the non-profit world so even a little can go a long way.  Although I would hope to be considered as your organization of choice this year, just consider giving something expecting nothing in return this Tuesday as we enter this season of gift exchanges.

You can donate three ways:

1. Online through my bio page: www.cten.org/christinedavenport
2. mail a check with a note indicating it is for Christine Davenport: Commission To Every Nation P.O. Box 291307 Kerrville, TX 78029-1307
3. call CTEN and tell them you want to make a donation to Christine Davenport: 1-800-872-5404 (Mon-Fri, 8am-5pm CST)

Milestones

The last month has been filled with wonderful things.  We were able to host a garage sale that earned about $200 towards the ministry.  We hosted a Premier Designs jewelry party that also earned some money towards the ministry.  We have started to collect some items to do a silent auction (watch for details on this to come soon).  The second box of supplies was sent off and should be well on its way to arriving and Juagdan.  I also started up with fall graduate classes which means I'm 6 months and 11 credits away from graduation!

My Friend Amanda helping set up the garage sale in her driveway.

The garage sale in full swing as people were browsing through the many donations.

With donations so far I'm at 30% of my startup costs being covered, two boxes of supplies sent, and 12% of my monthly costs covered.  We still have a long way to go but I'm excited and grateful for everything God has done for the ministry through you my supporters.

And in the next month I have three major goals that are also prayer requests:
1. Keeping up with graduate classes while serving 40 hours a week or more with teaching parents of elementary school kids.
2. Getting the first two units of the language program in writing.
3. Collecting the last bits of supplies to send the Christmas Box to Juagdan.

New Teaching Position

It has been a great week and it's only Tuesday!  During my week on campus for my graduate classes I reconnected with a former AmeriCorps friends and she was talking about how things went this past year in their program.  Between talking with her and being around all the language practice I had to investigate my options.  So a little over a week I made the trip down to my old office and had a chat with my old supervisor.  It turns out they still needed a few more ELL instructors.

I made the decision to leave my food service job and go back in to a teaching position!  Although the term is from August to August they are willing to work with me.  As long as I have my hours completed I only need to stay through the end of the school year.  That means over the next 10 months I will be actually teaching English while planning the curriculum for the Philippines :)

This also means that I can say the goal is to depart for the Philippines in July!  That goal can only be reached with your help :)  In the last month I have received a fair number of donations, but what is important is to have the monthly budget at least 75% covered with pledges and as of right now I'm only at 12%.  Ten months is a gracious amount of time and the Lord can work wonderful thing so I am hopeful.

On another note, there have been so many things donated for the box to ship to the Philippines that it is overflowing!

I just finished sorting things out so the more pressing items get shipped first.  I will be connecting with the local guy who sends the packages out via Chicago in the next couple of days.  When I do that I will get another box and start filling it up!  That box will be their Christmas presents!  I know thinking about Christmas in August, but I'm doing it :)  Some of the things that we didn't get for this collection include:  volleyballs, basketballs, footballs, and children/adult over the counter medications (Tylenol, cough/cold, pain relief, allergy).  As it is also their Christmas gift it would be nice to collect a few games and toys for the kids.

Thanks for everything!

Moving Forward Despite the Conditions

The last few weeks have flown by and I don't know why.  Some moment feel like they last forever and others speed past in a blurry cloud of dust.

However, it seems to have been productive:

• We are nearing a full box to send off to our friends half a world away.
• I'm almost done with 5 more school credits. (Only 11 to go after that!)
• Curriculum development has started in written form instead of just ideas.
• Educational resources are starting to collect.
• I have a physical book for helping me learn Cebuano!
• 20% of my start up cost are covered!

On the other hand, if you received my newsletter you also know it just feels like the life of an average American.  I eat, sleep, and work.  I'm still excited about the future and how things are coming together for my departure and the language program, but some days it just feels unreal and I wonder if my departure from the US will ever happen.  Things come up such as unexpected expenses, education requirements, or insufficient long term provisions and I get discouraged.  Then other things come up such as a unexpected donation, knowledge that previous experience cuts education requirements, or visits with local friends and I am encouraged by the general forward motion.

I am still a long ways off and can't give an actual date for departure, but the plan still holds and is progressing forward.  Lord willing, spring will not only bring forth new plant life, but also the major move across the globe to my other family in Bohol!

Speaking of my family in Bohol... prayers are desperately needed!  In early July there was a 6.5 strength earthquake whose epicenter was the neighboring island.  That island supplied their power and the connections were severed.  They have been without consistent power since (barely a couple hours a day if that), but life goes on as normal.  The kids still have to go to school and the adults still have to go to work.  It gets dark around 5:30 pm so bedtime is quite early with out lights.  The two big concerns without power are: 1. no filtration for the water business = no income to support the orphanage and 2. no fans or air conditioning + hot + humid = miserable children who are exhausted just from the weather.

Their box won't arrive in time to help with power loss, so we will wait a little longer as there are still some things we want to add (will send the box in 1-2 weeks):

• volleyballs
• basketballs
• footballs
• adult and children's allergy
• adult and children's cough/cold
• adult and children's Tylenol
• ALSO NEEDED, cash to cover the cost to ship the box

Sending Love and Affection

It is time to send another box to Juagdan!  It may seem crazy and you may think, "Why not just send money so they can buy the things they need there?"

Well, I will admit some of the things we send they could get in the Philippines.  But what we need to be reminded of is that they don't have a Meijer or Wal-Mart just a short drive away.  It is at least 15-20 minutes to get into Ubay to do the general grocery shopping, but even that requires multiple stops to get the things they regularly need and either leaving someone behind with the kids or bringing 3-4 of them along.  For some things they need to wait until they are going to one of the bigger port cities that can be 1-3 hours away.  Other things they can't get on Bohol and need to wait until they can get to Cebu City to find them which ends up being an entire day and sometimes requires an overnight stay.  Sometimes even if they can find what we consider simple things like bandages and cotton swabs they are only available in small quantities and can be very expensive.

Ultimately, it is not just things we are sending in these boxes.  We are sending them lots of love and affection.  These boxes get delivered right to their front door.  No drive into the city.  No expensive import taxes.  No cost to them financially or time wise.  Right now their medical supplies are running low so I have offered to host a drive for donations.  There are a couple of ways to get involved.

FINANCIALLY:

1. If you really would rather just donate financially we welcome that and you can either donate directly to CTEN in either the Cajigas fund or mine.  That wouldn't go to this box, but it would help the ministries going on and help when I start purchasing English supplies and sending more boxes in early 2018.  This would be a tax deductible donation.

2. You can write a check or give cash directly to me and identify that is intended to help fill and ship the box(es), but this won't get a tax deduction.

THINGS to FILL the BOX(es):

1. If you have new and unopened medical supplies at home you aren't using, bring them by as a donation.

2. If you see sales on medical supplies or things on the list below, purchase it yourself and bring them by as a donation or tell me about it so I can purchase it.

3. If you know the Cajigas family or others in Juagdan personally and want to send letters, pictures, cards, or any other tokens of love, bring them by.

I am collecting the supplies at a local ministry, but there is not always someone here to receive them.  The two best days to come by are Thursdays and Saturdays, but either way call to make sure some will be here to greet you and receive the donations.  Call: 616-454-1812 and you can leave a message at HIS PLACE Ministries.  Call: 616-259-5040 and you can leave a message with me.

WISH LIST Directly from the Children's Shelter:

Door knobs

Working gloves

Volleyballs

Footballs

Basketballs

First aid box

Boxes of gloves

Gauze

Medical tape

Adult allergy

Children't allergy

Adult cold/cough

Children's cold/cough

Triple antibiotic ointment

Tylenol children's and adult

Band-aids all sizes

Appreciation and Apologies

I procrastinated more... I wrote this four days ago.  I have no idea why it didn't post...

Okay, so in the last 4 hours I had two people remind me that I should update my blog. For weeks I have been meaning to get on here and share all the things that have been happening. You know how some people keep a to-do list just to keep from forget things? Well in the last week I finally succumbed and had to write one of those because I'm falling behind in all the little things. I even missed out on a few opportunities because I forgot to make note of them. I also found out that some people I thought I responded to I hadn't. So to all of you I apologize because these are all just excuses and not reasons. The blog is on the list but it wasn't at the top. Now some things are done and it's time.

March was full of events that included packing up my stuff and leaving Arizona to move back to Michigan. In that process I had a week of orientation in Texas. It was an excellent week of meeting the staff and several other missionaries from Commission to Every Nation. In case you don't know they are the non-profit organization I am connected with now and for short they are called CTEN.

My now 20 year old RAV4 made the journey easily from Tucson to San Antonio. The weather in Texas was amazing and so was the company. Hearing from so many people who are on the same Journey answering the call God has placed in their life was a huge blessing. It was also good to meet the couple that will be my pastoral care over the next several years to come. They are of similar age to my parents and have children my age which make them really easy to connect with.

The next leg of the journey included a stopover in Waco, Texas to see the Dr. Pepper museum. It is definitely my drink of choice and I will miss it when I go to the Philippines. The RAV also handled the rest of the ride back to Grand Rapids with relative ease. Upon arrival I was blessed by being given the opportunity to stay on site of the ministry here I have been working with for several years. At first I thought it would just be for a month or two, but the ministry director and I had a conversation and I was encouraged that there is no hurry to find another place. This is the first major provision that I am overflowing with appreciation for.

The next major task was to start looking for a job. It is a tricky situation to try and find a job that you know will be only short-term but you'd like good pay for doing. I was able to apply to several places and feel comfortable about not completely divulging that I'm hoping to only be here for less than a year. Three weeks passed and I heard nothing back from anybody. Thankfully a few people had some projects they were willing to pay me to do in the meantime. Then one day at women's group one of the ladies mentioned a position with a company that I am technically already connected to. I will officially be starting that job in three days. While it is only part time there will be opportunities to pick up more shifts and I am excited to start! This is the second major provision that I am overflowing with appreciation for.

In the process of all of this I was also composing my introductory letter. I hope that you have all received that by now and if not you should let me know because either I don't have your address or it is in the process of coming back to me because I messed up on your address. For some of you that letter is why you are now reading this post. For some of you action has already been taken and that is the third major provision for which I am overflowing with appreciation for. By that I mean prayers are being answered and support raising has officially begun!

In many ways the scariest part about this journey is having to ask for money. God has been showing me just how gracious the people around me are willing to be. Having mailed the letters just over a week ago I have already received support from four different states and every stage of my life. Support has come from places and people I never expected would be able to. As I reflect over each person in my support system I am brought to tears of joy in knowing I have such a great cloud of witnesses around me.

I have so much I could say but this seems to be more than enough for one morning. Transitions are always difficult but as this blog proves, God has been providing for me even when I couldn't see it coming. As I settle into a routine for the next several months I hope to be able to make time for anyone who would like to know more. Be sure to connect with me and we can work something out!

Have an excellent weekend and be sure to thank God for blessing you so you may be a blessing to others!

Overwhelmed!

Okay, so that title can be a little misleading.  I am not meaning it in the commonly assumed negative connotation.  But in that I am overwhelmed = overcome completely in mind and feeling.  As I am experiencing this feeling this week it is in a completely affirming and positive way.

As many of you know I have been planning for several years to go to the Philippines to teach English.  Along the way I have been open to the idea that God used that sense of calling as a way to motivate me back into school and the field of teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL), but not necessarily to the specific place I was imagining all those years ago back in 2010.  Since then I have completed my BS in Interdisciplinary Studies focusing on intercultural communications and TESOL and now I am halfway through an MA in TESOL.  I have also maintained contact with the friends I made on Bohol.

As I was graduating, in 2015 I thought perhaps God was calling me to Romania instead as a very specific opportunity laid itself at my feet.  Over the course of several months God made it clear that was not where he wanted me.  Instead I took a position locally teaching English through AmeriCorps.  It was a great growth and learning opportunity, but also not where I was feeling led for the long term.  Then this past December/January I was able to revisit my friends on Bohol and talk about the plans.  Since that time I have been a bit dazed at the possibilities.  I won't bore you with anymore details, but things are no longer just thoughts and plans.  This is becoming a reality!

As of last week Friday I have been officially welcomed in the Commission to Every Nation (CTEN) family!  It has only been 4 days, but I have felt incredibly welcomed by this family.  They are the US based organization that will help me through the process of raising funds, preparing to depart, and mentoring along the way even after I'm overseas.  This does not mean I don't need my other families as well, they are just joining my crew :)  I will still need to lean on my biological and church families as well as the many friends who are standing with me in this process.

I am still in that state of being overwhelmed so my thoughts are not completely collected, but this means some really great things are going to be happening in the next couple of weeks.  We are working on setting things up, but if you have just been waiting for the tax-deductible convenience before donating to this ministry now is your chance!  You can give as easily as going to this site: http://cten.org/christinedavenport/  As of right now that is a way to give online if you are in the US.  In the near future there will also be a short blurb about the ministry on that same page.  If you are not keen on online giving, please keep your eyes on the left side of my blog in the coming weeks you will find a resource link titled "Funding the Mission."  It will include how to mail or call in donations as well as information if you are Canadian :)

And now for some more of the much anticipated photos of my recent visit.

 The Cajigas' balcony where the kids like to hang out and play or read books.

 The yard looking out from the balcony.  That is another house on the left and the church on the right.

 Just a common site everywhere we went.  It's a little blurry because I took it while we were driving down the road.

 Some of the kids receiving their Christmas gifts from donations that were shared.

 I wasn't so sure about the hats as it's not really that cold there, but I saw several of them wearing them even a couple of weeks later!  Thanks!

 Just hanging out on the front porch.  The light blue in the background is the children's shelter and the dark blue (barely noticeable on the far right) is the front of the Cajigas home where we were standing.

 This is one of the first friends I made way back in 2004!  She is now married and just had her baby the week before I arrived.  I am now a ninang (godmother) to this precious little one.

 One night Jonah just wanted to celebrate and so took many of us out to dinner at an outdoor place.  The locals call it 'Sky's the Limit,' because with out a roof you are dining under the stars.

 It is really where the buses park during the day.  But at night vendors come along and barbecue and grill all kinds of meat and serve soup.  You can bring your own rice or they have it available to purchase.

 Mark just being curious.  This was our tourist day :)  A couple of times we thought he might just jump right out!

 This was the team of youth who did the worship conference.  As a treat before the other conference we spent a day at this place enjoying the hot springs and swimming.

 Most of the kids tried to pretend they were shy and would hide their faces when they saw a camera.  Here James is cleaning wood for cooking.

 Faith getting ready to ligo (bath) at the water pump.  Laundry was also done at this pump.

 This is the remodeled orphanage.  I don't know how much came down from what I helped build in 2004, but they definitely reinforced the main floor with brick all the way up and added a second floor.

 Jonah's dad build a new bookshelf because we donated so many books!  Jess was already hoping one would happen, but I think our donations made it happen :)  Now there is a dedicated kids book shelf!

 Some of the men hanging out after church on a Sunday.  I think they might have been discussing something particular, but I don't remember why it was only guys.

 For those of you who might know... this is Alfredo.  He was the oldest of the first group of siblings to live at the orphanage after we built it in 2004.  He is now married and has kids of his own!

 The fearless Cajigas family!  They were such gracious hosts. :)

 I think I already posted this, but just in case.  This is the house parents and the children living at the shelter (two of them belong to the house parents).

The fearless Dupalco family!  I wish I had more time with them while I was there, but there is always next time :)

Finally!

I have been back in Arizona for 3 weeks now.  I am finally starting to feel a little like normal.  I still struggle to get up and start my day because no on is around all day long to motivate me into getting up, but I think I am finally jet lag free.  I have been struggling to keep up with my current class, but this past week was a "break" so we didn't have anything due.  That gave me the opportunity to get a little caught up in other areas.

Today I am going to the post office to mail 20 envelopes with pictures and cards.  I wish I had enough energy to do more, but over the course of the next couple of months I am hoping to design a newsletter and start sending them quarterly.  If you would like to receive these, please let me know.  I already have a list that I will send my initial newsletters to, but I would love to add more!

I'd like to share a little more about the second half of my visit so here it goes.  The last update ended with us having returned to Bohol after an extended stay on neighboring island Negros.  We had arrived back to Juagdan very early in the morning on Friday (3:00 am).  Thankfully I didn't have any particular thing to do that day so I was able to sleep in a bit and got a decent 6 hours of sleep.  Some of the others on the other hand had to host a Christmas party for the local young people, they had a rough day.  Then Saturday there was a mix of parties and gatherings that happened at the church and it ended with a great fireworks presentation to bring in the New Year!  In the Philippines it is legal to set off the big shooting fireworks and at least 2 sets of them were purchased and a lot of people gathered to watch them.

The last three weeks sort of blend together because there were no specific events aside from my last three days.  Life just went on as usual.  There were two typhoons that caused a lot of rain and wind and school was off for a couple of days.  I did my laundry and often watched Mama Bebee cooking to see if I could figure it out.  The two guys who work the water business live in the house and so they each took a turn cooking.  Ogeke is still learning, so he didn't do much, but it was good.  Junrey can cook for me anytime because he makes great seafood!

I was able to meet with Mama Anging and talk about a lot of the plans.  She really likes where I am heading for the program and had a few suggestions to add.  They would like me to get involved with the young people's group as this covers from teenagers until you get married (and I'm not married).  They would also like me to preach occasionally.  On the first point I wholeheartedly agree.  I will get involved in the young peoples group because they will likely be my students and friends :)  On the second point I told her that is not how it works for Americans so it will take me a while to get used to the idea of preaching.  I told her I would need at least 6 months, maybe a year, before I would feel comfortable preaching, but I would work on it since that is how it works in the Philippines.

After proposing my ideas and getting questions answered with Mama Anging, she wanted me to meet  with the church leaders and tell them about it.  She said she shared some of the idea, but wanted me to tell them in my words and see if they had any questions.  I was a little nervous, because I only knew about half of the people.  But I knew most of them understand a fair amount of English so that was easier.  When I asked if there were any questions Kuya Romeo said, "No, it's clear."  They did end up asking a few questions and really seemed to like the idea and are anxious to get it started.  Their prayer is that I can come sooner, but I told them the soonest would be 1 year (Jan/Feb 2018).

I did a lot of observation of people and how things work for day to day life and feel pretty ready to make this work.  I also took note of prices on certain things when at the markets and shops to know what a budget will likely be.  I am nervous about the initial start up cost, and even a bit about the necessary monthly pledges.  However, I know it is all in God's timing and he will make happen what needs to happen.

My last three days were very eventful, but as this is already long I will wait and post that another time with a lot of pictures.  I'm still sorting through and making a detailed slide show.  Perhaps in another three weeks I will have that done and post it!

Thank you for your support!

Jet Lag

I know some of you are just dying to hear about how things went.  I have so much to share, but this jet lag thing is really getting to me!

My last two days I must have eaten something that my system didn't like because I was in CR constantly... then travelling.. then the transition to American food made me spend a lot of time in the bathroom again.  That is exhausting, but add jet lag on to it!  It has been exactly a week and I'm still fighting with my brain at 3 am.  At least I am able to get up by about 10 am, so I'm getting closer.

The biggest this is that my trip was all I expected and much more.  I was able to accomplish what I set out to do and came home with an official letter of invitation from the church.  They would love to have me come sooner, but I told them I have to finish my schooling and raise the money so the soonest would be January 2018.  The actual date is in God's hands as certain things must happen before I can even think about that specific of a plan.

I had to start my next class the last week in Juagdan and right now I am not feeling motivated to do the work.  It is keeping me from things like updating my blog, filling out my missions application, finding a job, searching for curriculum resources, and starting on learning the Visayan grammar.  All of these things will come with time.  Right now I need to focus on school and readjusting to life in the US.

I miss my friends dearly.  I love my parents, but living in a place where they are the only people I know can be difficult.  At the moment I am glad to be living with them and it feels like home, but I miss both of my other homes.  I love that fact that I have family in so many places across the globe, but it makes it impossible to live anywhere without missing someone.

 This is the family living at the children's shelter and most of the kids under their care.

 This is the family that will host me when I return for the long term.

This is the missionary family I stayed with that support the children's shelter.

This is the Davenport Clan from when we gathered at Thanksgiving :)

This is just a small part of my Michigan family and support system!