Birthday Week

      With so much happening and not being able to keep up with the blog as often as I would like, I will be changing it up a little. I will be reporting a little bit more of the weekly events of our mission life. This past week was very busy with finalizing a good schedule, setting up our first home visit, and birthdays to finish the week.

      The beginning of the week was awesome as far as feeling like we are starting to “settle in”. Our family sat down and put together a schedule that already seems to be a solid one. Arriving here in March, we were having a hard time knowing what to do besides being ready for a call from Fr. Joe at any minute to say “I'm going to pick you up so that I can introduce you to (_such_and_such) group”. There was no way to know when this would be over and get back to a routine similar to the one at Big Woods. We went through page after page of re-doing schedule after schedule. At least it made for a nice starter for the burn pile of leaves that we have every day (and night).

      Our little rosary group that we started with the neighborhood children was one thing we were glad to say that stayed consistent. We also have seen an increase of the size of those attending increase little by little. Maybe this is because of the summer starting and school ending. Either way, it is good to see that children, even some as young as 5 years old, are skipping their “hang-out” time on the street and spending it with us and Our Lady. These kids literally play on the street at night because most of the homes here do not have a living room. Fr. Joe calls the main road their “sala”, also Spanish for living room, because they gather wherever there is a streetlight to play. Makes me think of our living room back home that we took for granted.

      One little surprise that happened last week was a special meeting called to talk about the use of bad language around our yard. We don't know for sure if it was cuss words that were being said or not-so-nice words that we could do without. Stacie and I overheard our kids saying that “so and so said this is a bad word”. Regardless, we thought we'd better take immediate action before it got worse. Of course, I, being the authority figure, had to tell them and I did not feel good about it. After a short prayer, I quickly felt like it was the right thing to do. To my surprise, they were all very respectful and apologized for any wrong done. I was glad that it was over but even more glad that everyone was on the same page.

      The downside of the week was the news that the mayor of Sagay had passed away the week before and plans were being made for his funeral on Thursday. Fr. Joe knew him well and our family had been with him a few times to pray at his bedside before he died. Father talked highly of him and what he had done for this town. It was also a reminder to me that our time here on Earth is unknown. We pray for the repose of the soul of the Mayor.

      We paid the mayor's daughter, who is also a registered nurse, a visit for Stacie's rash on her leg. It was finally determined that it was an allergic reaction and Stacie was given a cream to rub on it. She was also told to avoid fish, eggs, and wheat. Not so easy to do here. Nevertheless, all is well and it is almost completely gone.

      This week also was a major step for the seniors of Holy Rosary High. The school celebrated its 60th Commencement Exercises with about 40 graduates. Don't let the small number fool you. With a mass and other festivities, the class of 2011 held a 5 hour ceremony! Maddie and Meredith were excited when a few of the schoolgirls came the day before to ask them if they would perform in a dance before the Mass. With only one day of practice, the girls represented FMC well as they were placed at the very front of the pack! Not the first choices of spots on stage for ANY Alvarez but still an honor and a joy to see our little girls do a ballet type dance for us on Stacie's birthday.

      Stacie celebrated her 35th, er, I mean, her thirtysomething birthday on Friday. The parishioners got together and sang the Filipino version of Las Mananitas on our porch. Fr. Joe called me the night before and said, ”Is it ok if we do this for her? Ok, good, we'll be over there before the Stations of the Cross.” Click. Uhhhh....Stations is every Friday of Lent at 430....AM! Yes, they showed up at 345am all dressed up and with very clear voices sang Happy Birthday and other songs beautifully. Then, they came right in and offered us “suman” which is a sweet treat made of sticky rice and magically wrapped in banana leaves. It would take me years just to know HOW they are wrapped so tightly and perfectly.

      So, guess what happened two days later on my birthday? Yup, but this time we got to sleep in 30 minutes and I was sung to at 415AM since first Mass wasn't until 630AM. Of course, everyone still performed awesomely while I tried to squeeze out a smile and an audible “Salamat!” thanking them for their visit. This time they brought a sweet rice treat flavored with chocolate and in the shape of a rice cake. I have forgotten the name of it but I will call it “Choco-flavored rice cake”. The Bisayan name is WAYYY shorter than that! Oh and the kids were only able to use their sense of taste at both times. All other functions caught up about 2hrs later :)

      Another praise report has to do with what we have been praying for since we arrived. We have been praying for ways to get more involved in the town with home visits. Sometimes when one prays to God for a door to open, he'd better watch out. God might open a flood gate! “You asked for it!” is one of Fr. Joe's most memorable quotes. Already lined up is a regular Saturday home visit with a widow named Ring-Ring, preparing and taking lunch to the volunteer workers at our new home, and participating in a new food distribution program for the poor. Programs of this kind are rare here and I was asked to give any advice that I could share with the chapel leaders of the community. Well, I am a rookie missionary and I, too, have little experience in this sort of thing. However, thanks to the short-term trip that we took to Mexico in November 2010, I was able to share how home visits were handled there. With some minor adjustments, Fr. Joe accepted to begin immediately on the project—and I mean immediately! Right after the meeting with the chapel leaders, Maddie and Meredith helped me stuff sacks of noodles for the 50+ families that we will pray with and visit---this week! Already this week is off with a bang! Salamat sa Dios!

      Living on this island for a month now, I still cannot get over how beautiful it is. The palm trees, coconuts, volcanoes, waterfalls, coconuts, the ocean, and even more coconuts were all created with one spoken word! After a long day of Mass, meetings, and noodle sorting, I took a dip in God's swimming pool with the boys. Thank you, God! A perfect birthday gift on a perfect Sun-day.

John 4:34 “Jesus said to them,”My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work.”