Our Summer

Thank you everyone who is still checking our blog. We are so sorry that we have not posted sooner.

This summer we were able to visit our family and friends in the USA.  It was so great to see everyone. These are some of the things we did:

• Adriana and Alexie took the SAT and visited colleges.
• Alayna got her ears pierced.
• Enjoyed devouring the great quantity of books at the public library
• Spoke at several churches 
• Went out on the boat with Grammie and Papa
• Swam
• Blueberry picking with Sam and Grammie
• Went Salmon fishing on Lake Michigan with Uncle Neil
• Helped with and participated in two Vacation Bible Schools
• Went to the beach with the Youth group
• Had sleepovers at Grandma and Grandpa
• Watched the sunset with Uncle Ed
• Made baskets with Mrs. Emmereth
• Annalise started violin lessons.
• Took CPR
• Trained for a Five-K and ran the Logan’s Run
• Visited old friends and made new ones
• Went bowling, miniature golfing, and go carts with Aunt Rhonda, Jordan, Josiah, and  Stone
• Went to the zoo and fed giraffes with Grammie and Papa
• Danced and sang along at the World Pulse Festival with our friend Katie
• Watched fireworks and went miniature golfing with Grandma and Grandma and Uncle Ed
• Celebrated Annalise and Alayna’s  birthday with a splashing pool party
• Adriana got accepted into Bethel College’s REACH program which is online course allowing her to earn high school and college credits at the same time.  She started  August 30^th. 

Thank you everyone for the special time you spent with us. We all had a great summer.

The Dancing 4a’s

Adriana  Alexie  Alayna   Annalise

                

World War II Stories

Lately, I have been joining my parents at their weekly clinic. Adriana and I have just learned about World War II so we sent emails out to our great-grandparents to learn about their experiences in World War II. Then the following week when we were at clinic, Dad asked the people there about their experiences. I hurried to write notes but most of the people did not have any stories. One man did. He had many stories. His wife invited me to her houses to her more stories. After breakfast, he started telling stories. He was captured by the Japanese and a messenger for the Americans. My favorite story is of his time as a messenger:

“I was taken as a messenger for the American. They would put a message in a wax container like the ones tennis balls come in. Then they put it in my back pack covered it with grass, kamote, and then some more grass. I would hike to Betwagan via. Taluban. An American squad was always with me. There were many leeches on the path.  When I got there, they took my back pack, fed me, and clothed me. Then they let me rest the next day. They also gave me a field jacket that reached past my waist because it was too big. Then I walked back with my back pack and when we went home, they took my backpack again. It may have had a new message in it. I had to keep my journey a secret so I learned what secret and top secret meant from the military.  I was also given two triangles of cloth: one white and one red for when I went to Samoki. I would hide them in my g-string and tie them on sticks and use them as signals for the Americans. I would wave them three times. It is only now I know that the red meant danger and that the white meant forward.”

Still dancing,

Alexie

Poems and Thoughts by Alexie

I have written two poems lately that can really express what I felt and have learned lately. So here they are:

Friends

Friends come,

They fill my heart,

With abundant joy.

Friends go,

My heart bursts

With troubled grief.

That is why

I hope for no good-byes

Only hi’s and sunny skies

To fill my world of friends.

Words cannot express

The pain it bears

To say bye to a friend so dear

That I may never see again.

That is why

I hope for no good-byes

Only hi’s and sunny skies

To fill my world of friends.

I wrote that poem because we have a team here but they are leaving very soon. I will really miss them especially Ate Krista who has been a real encouragement and friend to me.

In My Mind

In my mind,

I try to work it out.

In my mind,

I try to make it fine.

In my mind,

I try to figure it out.

In my mind,

I try to make it all paradise.

In my mind,

I try to make it all right.

In my mind,

Sometimes I succeed.

In my mind,

Sometimes I fail.

Out of my mind,

Many times I fail.

Just because I am trying too hard

To do it on my own

Not leaving room

For any help

From Him.

I really like to plan and work out problems. However I have been learning a lot about trusting God for everything and so that is what I think that I should do. 

Alexie

Teaching Time

This week God has really taught me about prayer and how important it is. It all started with when we watched Letters to God. It is a really good movie about a little boy who has brain cancer and writes a letter to God every day. It is especially powerful because it is based on a true story.

This lesson was taught to me even more by reading the book Out of the Far Corners. It also talks about a true story of an orphaned Russian boy who felt that God as His best friend and it portrays the faithfulness of God. I learned that prayer is very important and is very powerful. God is always there even if no else is!!!!!!

Alexie

My Place

Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever find,

The groove that was supposed to be mine.

Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever get to,

The link in the chain that is supposed to be me.

Sometimes I wonder if I will ever locate

My piece in the puzzle.

Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever find,

My place in the play.

I wonder when I’ll find out whom to be.

I’ve tried to be like someone else.

But I have to come to understand,

That it is not really me.

So I guess the secret is

To find who I am.

Then I will figure out what is my groove.

I’ll reach my link in the chain.

I’ll find my piece in the puzzle

And my place in the play

Because I will be

ME.

Alexie

Three Years...

On Saturday, May 28, 2011, we celebrated three years of living in the Philippines. We also went to Baguio, but that was not my choice, and because nobody likes to hear complaining, I am not going to talk about that. This post is about the three-year anniversary not Baguio as anyone can tell by the title. So anyways, as I am trying to focus, I think it would be a good idea for us to say three things we have learned from living in the Philippines.

I, Adriana, will go first:

1. Being with people is important. Before when I was in the U.S., I did not enjoy being with people because I felt so awkward. I’d rather sit and read a book. The awkwardness hasn’t completely disappeared. I still need alone time and will always love reading, but I now have a desire to spend time with people.

2. Courage. Face up to your fears. Before I came here, I was afraid of change and heights. I have grown more flexible.

3. The world is a big, amazing place with so many people who are not that different from me.

Alexie

1. I learned what a great thing it is to have sisters. When I first moved to the Philippines, I remember crying because I did not have any friends. But now I have 3 good friends that live with me. I know that I will know them for the rest of my life.

2.I have learned the reality of the spiritual realm.

3. I have learned the trouble with having customs that tie in to your beliefs.

Alayna

1. The value of generosity

2. The difference between friendliness and true friendship

3. Crocheting

Annalise

1. That if you eat a lot of candy and don’t brush your teeth, they rot

2. How coconuts and bananas grow

3. What a banana tree looks like

Our Perspective

An Easter Story

“My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken away from me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.” The stillness of the Mount of Olives was broken by the urgency of the Man, who was so much more than just a man, in prayer. What was this cup? A cup of betrayal and death for the son of God. Why? Was it because of love?

The Man continues to pray with urgency. Sweat like drops of blood from his brow fell staining his cloak. To add to his sorrow of the Man, He sees friends asleep. He wakes them. He urges them to pray.

Soon the clash of armor breaks the peace of the Mount. Judas Iscariot walks forward. The sorrowful man turns to him saying, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”

His friend betrays him. Why would God let that happen?

The Man turns to the crowd, “Who is it you want?”

“Jesus of Nazareth.”

“I am He.”

No one steps forward.

“Who is it you want?”

“Jesus of Nazareth.”

The Man says, “I told you that I am He.”

Peter struck off the ear of the servant of the high priest. The Man rebukes him and heals the servant.

The Man was bound and led to Pilate. Pilate finds him righteous. He sends him to Herod, who also finds him guiltless.

Those who praised Him as king just a week before, sentenced Him to death. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. Why could this happen? Was it for love?

The Man is led to Golgotha and is nailed to the cross. He is to die the most shameful death. Why? Was it for love?

“My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” The cry came from the lips of a Man, forsaken, scourged, jeered at, and betrayed.

He calls for wine. Yet turned away, refusing the pain relieving liquid.

He promises the thief on His left a place in paradise. Why? A thief in paradise? Did the Man love even a thief?

“Into Thy hands I commit my spirit!”

In the unusual darkness of the morning, the Man says, “It is finished.” The Man collapses, dead. The ground quakes and rocks split. People rush away. The curtain in the Holy of Holies is ripped from top to bottom. The Man is dead.

Joseph of Arimathea buries the Man. Then in three days women with spices come to the tomb. The tomb is empty. They spread the news. Two disciples confirm the discovery.

The Man is risen! He has conquered death; all for love.

Myth Busting

The Myth Busting Of the Common Theory That You Can Use Roosters as an Alarm Clock

Procedure: live in a country that has a lot of roosters

Results: After living in the Philippines for 3 years, I can now call my hypothesis a theory. Roosters in Samoki, Bontoc, Mountain Province can be heard crowing at all hours of both night and day.
If any of you have any arguments, I accept after you have visited for awhile.

Alexie

My First and Last 12th Birthday

For my birthday, I had a lot of new experiences.

• I made my own birthday cake. It was the first cake I made with minimal help.
• I was almost done with school for the year because in the Philippines the school year is June - March.
• I also enjoyed a Skype call,which gave me my favorite present that my grandparents and cousin [my best friend] are coming :)!
• It was my first birthday in a foreign country.

On my birthday, I enjoyed opening my presents and making mac &cheese. I had a lot of fun watching a movie, eating pizza, and drinking pop on Saturday after my birthday with some friends.

Alexie

Language Lessons

We have begun the long road of language learning. I must correct myself and say a more-fun-than-not, long road of language learning. I, myself, love learning the new sounds, words, and sentences. I also am encouraged to keep learning by the people that have said I have a good accent. The only part that is hard for me is the system we are using is sometimes hard for me. We pretend we are babies and so we have to keep hearing the word before we say it. My parents say I like to rush ahead so I don’t like to wait until I have heard it so many times that I can say it. I like to say it whenever I learn it.
Our language helper is Rengie, an SSM student. She does a great job being patient with us. We normally meet on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to do lessons. Tuesday and Thursday are supposed to be set aside for studying. ;o)

Still Dancing,
Alexie

Encouraging Words

People in just the past year have given me encouraging words. This month someone said that I had good accent. He had asked me what I knew in Ilokano and said that. What he said really encouraged me to keep on learning Ilokano and plus it is fun to learn a new language.

Also last year, Peter Helms did this: He was going to speak that night, but before he began he asked me to stand. He asked my name as he had not met me before. He continued to tell me, “I saw you at lunch today looking at a baby. I could only see your face, I saw light all around you, it was Jesus and His angels ministering to this little one through you. This is what He will do continually. You will lift up the downtrodden. You will look into their faces and see the Lord Jesus and as you see the Lord on them, the people will see the Lord. You will minister life, hope and faith to them.

The gift of creativity is big on you. Areas of dance and music are part of God's expression in your life. Flow with that because people around you will meet Jesus and His healing through your expression. The Spirit of the Lord is upon you. I see a great joy and light of God upon you."

I thank God for the blessing He has given me of encouraging words.

Alexie

We were tagged!

We have been tagged. So here it is:

Here are the rules:1. Link to the person or persons who tagged you. 2. Post the rules on your blog. 3. Write eight random things about yourself. 4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them. 5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.
I was tagged by apulseandapurpose.blogspot.com/ .

Annalise

1. I got shot in the head with an arrow.

2. Carrots are my favorite veggie.

3. I have flown half way around the world 3 times before I turned 6.

4. My favorite subject in school is handwriting.

5. I like to sweep the floors.

6. My favorite number is six.

7. When I grow up, I want to own a cat and a chick.

8. My favorite books are fairy tale books.

Alayna

1. I fell off a bridge headfirst fully dressed into a creek.
2. I have the same middle name as my mom.
   
3. My favorite book is ''Clementine''.
4. I wish I could have more freckles.
5. My favorite puncuation is !!!
   
6. I read the whole Bible before I was 9!!!!!!!!!!!!
7. I was in a parade before I could walk.
8. I have a doll that I always sleep with named Sugarplum.

Alexie

1. I really like books about Egypt.
2. I want to take a DTS with Jordan, my cousin and best friend, before I begin college.
3. I love to be with young children.
4. I always wanted to have brown skin and black hair.
5. I want to be a nurse.
6. Some day I want to write a song album.
7. Some day I want to be fluent in a different language.

8. I love cheese.

Adriana

1. I hate morning doves because they make me think of proud old ladies.
2. I want to become an author.
3. My favorite book is The Horse and His Boy.
4. I collect almost everything: rocks, coins, Indian beads, etc.
5. I love trying new foods.
6. I used to have an imaginary friend called Sashi Dotie
   
7. I want to go to Kenya, South Korea, and the Amazon Rainforest.
8. I have been on TV and in the newspaper.

Now we want to tag

• Glenice, finggayan.blogspot.com
  
• Dad and Mom, garden-of-grace.blogspot.com
  
• Emily,Lauren, Amy, lifefor5kids.blogspot.com
  
• Miss Valerie, valerieterpstra.blogspot.com
• Mikayla , sjhagen.blogspot.com
  

My 2 Little Special Friends in the Philippines

One of my friends is Jenny. She is 4 going on 5. I first meet her when she was 3. She lives in Naic at the Valley Cathedral. I had a lot of fun tutoring her and carrying her and carrying her. I was kind of surprised that people would tutor a 3 year old. She was good at shapes. Even though I was only with her 3 weeks and 2 days, we are friends. I love her.
The other one is Teah. Teah is 2 going on 3. She lives in Baguio, but since her grandparents are Ate Rufina and Cuya Patrick, she comes to Bontoc to visit. I have enjoyed holding her. Even though she has only visited twice, we are good friends. I love her.

Jenny

I love Valley Cathedral. The facilities are nice and the people are great. I had fun with everyone but Jenny was my special friend. I loved being with Jenny. Jenny was the 3 year old that I held, last year. She will turn 5 this year. I read to her as I did to some others there. I held her. She and I were almost always together. She called me, “Mama” before I left and she did not want to be put down. I really want to go again. I love the children there.

Alexie

Happy Fairy Birthday!

Fairy Annalise
Today, Annalise turned 6. She finally got her fairy wings. She’s been waiting 6 years for. Annalise has a new name Flower Fairy.

Love,
Alexie

Moving

I’ve never moved before. I will miss my family and friends. Two years is a long time. In two years, I will be 13 and most of all, I will be different. I am glad that we have a place to live in, in the Philippines. We are blessed to be able to live above a bakery. We think the smell will be great.

Love,
Alexie

Alexie

My name is Alexie. I am 11. I am in 5th grade. I play soccer and help coach Annalise's team. I play all positions except fullback. My favorite position is forward. I also play basketball. I am very tall. I love to be with little kids. I want to be a nurse when I grow up. I love to sing. Here is a song I wrote:

Remember

Remember, your love, it is in your heart
Bring it, bring it out
Show it to the world
They need Jesus's love
Show it,show it
The world's counting on you and I
Show His love to them
So they might believe----
Let them believe.

Love to you all,
Alexie