Veronica Whitt's Archive

June 18, Cebu Bible College in cooperation with the Consolacion Church of Christ sponsored a medical mission in Consolacion. The event took place in the gymnasium of a local public school.

Medical Mission at Consolacion Central School Gymnasium

There were about 145 patients who were given medical attention which included: medical check-ups, tooth extractions, blood typing and testing. Doctors also gave out free reading glasses to patients who were 40 years of age and older.

CBC students praying with the patient

CBC students interviewed and prayed with the patients which gave them the opportunity to set up follow-up bible studies. As for us interns, it was our job to keep the kids busy while their parents/guardians were being treated. We had print outs for them to color, crafts for making bracelets, stories, songs, and anything else we could think of to keep them preoccupied.

reading the kids a story to keep them preoccupied

Ian got to assist the dentist in holding people’s heads while they got their teeth pulled, so he got to witness tooth extractions first hand (fun! haha! you’ll have to ask him about that).

Ian helping out with tooth extractions

The medical mission was a great success and all the patients were of course very thankful. It’s always a great experience being able to take part in helping people with their physical needs, but it’s always a greater blessing when God opens doors for these people to be spiritually healed.

the whole team

Another group of kids and ministry that we have been privileged to work with are the kindergarten kids at Lilia’s place. Missionaries from Texas, Doug and Lisa Simpson, who minister to orphans and homeless families (http://liliasplace.blogspot.com/) have just recently started this kindergarten and they have about ten students from the different families that they minister to.

Before classes started we helped them with setting up their classroom and getting everything ready for the kiddos. It was so exciting when we finally got to see the kids and their teachers in action. It was such a blessing to watch them learn and to be able to take part in it.

Lisa teaching the kids

Friday, June 17th was a very eventful day for all of us at Lilia’s place. Our day started at Faith homes (the apartment complex where the kindergarten is and where the street families are housed) where we fed the kids breakfast and got them ready for their fun day. While the kids were finishing up with breakfast, one of the mothers, who apparently was already in labor when we arrived, gave birth in the room next door! It all happened so fast and we were all caught by surprise. Luckily one of the assistant teachers (Irish) is also a nurse, so she knew exactly what to do while we waited for the midwife to arrive.

Nurse Irish..and baby Irish :)

While all of that was taking place, some of us went ahead and took the kids to Lucy’s where the main event was to be held…and from there it was all fun and games galore! Not even the rain stopped us from having a good time. There were two other groups of kids there from the Inayawan dump site and the pier. The event was sponsored by two other interns from Denmark and they did a great job preparing everything for all the kids to enjoy. It was an afternoon full of singing, dancing, laughing and kids just being kids…not to mention even adults reliving their childhood. By the end of the day, I had completely fallen in love with those kids. It’s hard not to because they are such a joy to be around.  When you actually get to see where these kids come from and their living conditions, their smiles become an even bigger inspiration. ..

Michelle and Reahlyn

During our time here in Cebu we’ve had a lot of opportunity to work with various groups of kids. One of the groups that we have invested quite a bit of time in is the high school group at our local congregation in Consolacion. Most of these kids have been with us for at least 3 years now and considering the sweet and loving kids that they are, it’s hard not to get attached to such a great group of kids.

Saturdays are typically when we get together with the kids and we usually start off by teaching them a few songs, followed by a short lesson (I say short because these kids have a very short attention span. Let’s keep in mind that high school kids here are typically 12-16 years old), then it’s game time!! Like any other group of kids, they always enjoy the games the most, although you’d be surprised at how much these kids love to sing and learn new songs.  :) Oh, and let’s not forget about the snacks…believe it or not, snacks work as a really good incentive for these kids. I can’t tell you how many times my mom got the kids to behave by threatening to not give them their share if they didn’t pay attention. Works like a charm! ;)

Occasionally we would take the group out on “special outings” as a reward for their perfect attendance for that month. So far we’ve taken them to the mall to see Kung Fu Panda 2, topped off with ice cream from Jollibee (local fast food chain). We also took them to the park for some fun games and hotdogs. We taught them how to “assemble” their own hotdog buns, which was a first for most if not all of them (pretty hard to fathom for the typical american wouldn’t you say?). But let me just say, they sure enjoyed it! Next week we’re looking forward to having them over here at the house for more food, fun, and fellowship! :)

with the Consolacion High School group at the park for their monthly outing

All of these kids have not been brought up in Christian homes. They come from very poor families and some of them don’t exactly have the best role models that they can look up to. Giving them something to look forward to once a week and being a positive influence to them lessens their chances of them getting involved with the wrong crowd and the wrong things. But most importantly, it means a lot to them just to know that someone cares about them. These kids just want to be loved, and what better way to share the love of God with them than to just be there to spend time with them. The kids of today will be the church of tomorrow…we plant the seeds, and we nurture them, but it is God who will make them grow.

“Jesus loves the little children…All the children of the world…” I’m sure a lot of us know how the rest of that song goes. I grew up singing that song in Sunday school, VBS, and all that good stuff, but today was just one of those days where the words of that song filled the air!

“Jesus loves the little children, ALL the children of the world. Red and Yellow, Black and White, they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world!”

We went to visit the kids from our VBS and Sunday school in their homes. All of these kids live in a very poor neighborhood in what we typically call a “squatters area”. Some of the kids have houses the size of my bathroom (which is not very big) with about 6 or even 10 children in the family. They live a very very simple lifestyle and they don’t have much at all. But despite their living conditions, i’ve never seen happier children. The minute we drove up they came running to greet us with their laughter and big smiles. We went around the neighborhood to look for some of the older kids so we could tell them about an activity we were having for them this Saturday. Once we were done with that, we spent the rest of the time playing with the kids out on the street.

It didn’t take much at all to make them happy. Just having us there to spend time with them made them feel pretty special. But if you ask me, they made me feel special.

“Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”  Matt. 19:14

Today was a good reminder of just how much God has blessed me through the things I have been exposed to and the many experiences I’ve had over my lifetime. Hiking up and down the poor neighborhoods under the heat of the sun, blessing members of the church with prayers, fellowship and sharing the word of God, the in-between times and conversations, seeing the smiles and hearing the laughter of precious kids who just want to play with you and hold your hand…I was reminded today of the things that matter. God has a heart for these people and He loves His children. As I type this, I am sitting in a room that’s a lot bigger than many of those kids’ houses. Let me tell you, there’s nothing more humbling than coming face to face with people who hardly have anything yet still welcome you into their homes and greet you with a warm and cheerful smile. I grew up seeing these things on a daily basis, but even I still need to be reminded of just how blessed I am to have the things that I often take for granted.

Exactly one month from tomorrow, I will be in the DFW airport ready to embark on my journey across the pacific. If you’ve never been out of the country, that would seem like a pretty big deal, and it is. But if you’re like me, a missionary kid who grew up traveling back and forth across the pacific several times, I guess the only thing that would not be “the same old thing” is whatever they serve us to eat on the plane. But sometimes, even that is still the same (don’t get me wrong…I love plane food! breakfast especially…i’m just weird like that. haha! ). I hope this does not come across as a prideful “been there done that” thing because that is the least of my intentions. That’s just the reality of how it is in my case. To be honest though, sometimes I feel like I’m missing out on the thrill of going to a foreign land and being able to experience a different culture. I’ve gone through this phase of being all excited when I tell people that I’m going to be a missions intern with the WWW program this summer, but when they ask me where I’m going it’s like I’m almost ashamed to tell them that I’m going…well, home. It’s not that I am not excited about going home, because I really am and I can’t wait, especially since it’s almost been a whole year. I just felt like most people’s automatic assumption is that doing mission work at home doesn’t count, if I can put it that way. It’s like it ain’t (yes, I intentionally used “ain’t”) the real deal unless you go to a place you’ve never been, experience culture shock, battle the roller coaster of emotions that come with the anxiety of traveling that far away for the first time…and I could go on.  Maybe I’m over generalizing, but tell me I’m wrong. Tell me there’s no truth to what I’m saying. Even though I don’t agree with it, I let it get the most of me. Satan was playing the mind meddling game again. But then it hit me…”just going home”…”missing out on the thrill”…wait a second now…what am I really in this for? The adventure? being able to prove to people that i’m brave enough to take risks and step out of my comfort zone? is that what World Wide Witness is all about? I am not proud to admit that I have easily accommodated those thoughts. But as time went by…preparing for the trip, writing my fundraising letters, reading the assigned books for the class, listening to Gary and Larry (I’m always amused by how their names rhyme :]), practicing spiritual disciplines…after all of that, God has really spoken to my heart and convicted me of my true purpose in this. He changed it from “I’m just going home” (said in a shameful whisper) to “I’m going home!” (said with confidence and passion)…If I could pretend to be God, this is what I hear him saying to me:

“My child, I have planted a seed of compassion in you for your own people. Do you think that growing up in a missionary family in a foreign land has no purpose in your life? You know the language, you know the culture, you know Me. Use what I have blessed you with to bring them all home. Cebu may seem like home to you, but remember where your home really is – it’s here with me. Share the good news to these people that I have given you a heart for and just love them as I love you.”

This summer, I am going as servant of the Lord into a broken world – to a nation in need of the gospel…to people who hunger and thirst for the love of God. Adventure or no adventure…in or out of my comfort zone…here or there…it doesn’t matter. “Go and make disciples of all people in the world…” It’s not about me. Never has and never will be.

So let me try this again…

This summer…I’m going home.

Let’s bring them all home.