Sunday, September 30, 2012
Day 5
We began, of course, with Morning Prayer, Mass and Adoration of the Sacrament. Luckily, being Saturday, the brothers all sleep in... so rising time was the very late hour of 6.15am!!!! Unfortunately, they forgot to ring the bell for us and we ran about 30 seconds late...
We had been told that today would be our first full days work. What we had already discovered is that in the Philippines, the term "full day" does not mean what it means in Australia... it's about two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon....
We began by loading the truck with bags of gravel and bags of cement which we took to the site. While the first group began working, the rest returned for more materials. Work involved digging trenches, fetching buckets of water from a nearby creek and filling bags with sand. After the trench was dug, gravel was spread as a base. That was about the morning's work... but, don't think that it was easy... it was very strenuous labour. All of them worked hard (I was the boss, Penny was my assistant supervisor, and Vanessa was the bag lady... she will explain that when she gets home).
We returned to the MOPs residence with about half an hour before lunch. Amazingly, the boys picked up their dirty clothes and headed over to the wash area to clean them (Mothers be impressed!)
Following lunch, we returned to the work site and began to mix the concrete... three bags of sand, three bags of gravel, and one bag of cement. The kids were phenomenal... team work, sharing duties, pitching in, working up a sweat.
Eventually, most of the girls had to retire from the physical labours. They set themselves up under a tree on a rock and were joined by three children. They began to teach the children some songs with actions. The children grew from three to about thirty over the course of the afternoon and those who were toiling in the sun were accompanied by the sound of song.
Those who were mixing concrete barely flagged until the end. I had to force a couple of the boys to stop and drink water. The most amazing worker was Caitlin, who did not miss one batch of concrete mixing... the brothers and the other kids are still talking about her efforts (its not a competition but Caitlin won).
As tired as they all were (and a bit war wounded), within half an hour of returning to base, most of them were on the soccer field for a highly spirited game of soccer. Our team won 2-0 (Yay!)
After a quick wash, we joined the Novices for evening prayer (they are the ones who gave up their residence for us). This was followed by Rosary at the grotto.
For the evening, the brothers had prepared a bbq. We shared the meal in the courtyard... each of us sitting with about 4 brothers. We shared our stories and learnt more about each other. Another high point.
The brothers had also prepared a games night (photos to come). It was great fun!!! Our cheeks are sore from laughing. Naturally, our team won....
We finished with night prayer, journaling, and sharing.
We had been told that today would be our first full days work. What we had already discovered is that in the Philippines, the term "full day" does not mean what it means in Australia... it's about two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon....
We began by loading the truck with bags of gravel and bags of cement which we took to the site. While the first group began working, the rest returned for more materials. Work involved digging trenches, fetching buckets of water from a nearby creek and filling bags with sand. After the trench was dug, gravel was spread as a base. That was about the morning's work... but, don't think that it was easy... it was very strenuous labour. All of them worked hard (I was the boss, Penny was my assistant supervisor, and Vanessa was the bag lady... she will explain that when she gets home).
We returned to the MOPs residence with about half an hour before lunch. Amazingly, the boys picked up their dirty clothes and headed over to the wash area to clean them (Mothers be impressed!)
Following lunch, we returned to the work site and began to mix the concrete... three bags of sand, three bags of gravel, and one bag of cement. The kids were phenomenal... team work, sharing duties, pitching in, working up a sweat.
Eventually, most of the girls had to retire from the physical labours. They set themselves up under a tree on a rock and were joined by three children. They began to teach the children some songs with actions. The children grew from three to about thirty over the course of the afternoon and those who were toiling in the sun were accompanied by the sound of song.
Those who were mixing concrete barely flagged until the end. I had to force a couple of the boys to stop and drink water. The most amazing worker was Caitlin, who did not miss one batch of concrete mixing... the brothers and the other kids are still talking about her efforts (its not a competition but Caitlin won).
As tired as they all were (and a bit war wounded), within half an hour of returning to base, most of them were on the soccer field for a highly spirited game of soccer. Our team won 2-0 (Yay!)
After a quick wash, we joined the Novices for evening prayer (they are the ones who gave up their residence for us). This was followed by Rosary at the grotto.
For the evening, the brothers had prepared a bbq. We shared the meal in the courtyard... each of us sitting with about 4 brothers. We shared our stories and learnt more about each other. Another high point.
The brothers had also prepared a games night (photos to come). It was great fun!!! Our cheeks are sore from laughing. Naturally, our team won....
We finished with night prayer, journaling, and sharing.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Day 4 ... By Penny and Vanessa
We rose as normal at 5.30 to the sound of the rooster call and the ringing bells for 6.00 mass. After breakfast we headed to the Apostalate (the missionaries' care residence) to continue painting the orphange. We had been previously prepared by the brothers that a colour change had been decided on and therefore our previous work was completely changed. We spent several hours painting and we enjoyed the company of several residents as they assisted us. Music was playing throughout the day allowing us to have quite a sing a long.
The afternoon session saw our young missionaries join with the brothers in a game of soccer. Us mature experienced ladies took on the very important roles of team managers offering support and encouragement. We had previously been told by one of the brothers that having any girls on the team would be to our advantage as the young brothers would run away. This proved to be false comfort as the brothers were very competitive resulting in a nil all score result. A new game is planned for Saturday.
During the late afternoon, we visited Balatas (which is the rubbish dump site where communities of people live).
We were taken on a brief tour of the area where we observed terrible living conditions surrounded by rubbish. The people themselves were very guarded at first which was understandable considering the 'big white people' walking through their community. (We had had some children the other day giggling about how 'white' we were). After a short tour, we were guided into the chapel for mass. The chapel on this site was erected by the missionaries several years ago. Even though this is one of the poorest areas any of have ever attended mass, our group believes that it was probably one of the richest spiritual experiences we have had. Brother Laurence assisted Father Damian to translate during the mass. Father Damian was very honoured to preside over this mass and have the people in this community be so welcoming.
After mass the missionaries and our group distributed food to the community. This was both a rewarding and challenging experience combined.
The children have made us so proud with their compassion, their maturity and their resilience in such a variety of challenges. Each night our group reflections reveal the personal and spiritual growth each person is experiencing. The hospitality of our wonderful hosts has been very overwhelming. We have our own chef who spoils us daily with breakfast, morning snacks, lunch, afternoon snacks and dinner which are mostly freshly cooked meals. All children are devouring the wonderful variety and enjoying some traditional dishes.
Tonight we received our second prayer cards from our prayer partners. These were presented at a wonderful time in our journey and allowed us to connect to home.
All in all, we are having the experience of a life time.
The afternoon session saw our young missionaries join with the brothers in a game of soccer. Us mature experienced ladies took on the very important roles of team managers offering support and encouragement. We had previously been told by one of the brothers that having any girls on the team would be to our advantage as the young brothers would run away. This proved to be false comfort as the brothers were very competitive resulting in a nil all score result. A new game is planned for Saturday.
During the late afternoon, we visited Balatas (which is the rubbish dump site where communities of people live).
We were taken on a brief tour of the area where we observed terrible living conditions surrounded by rubbish. The people themselves were very guarded at first which was understandable considering the 'big white people' walking through their community. (We had had some children the other day giggling about how 'white' we were). After a short tour, we were guided into the chapel for mass. The chapel on this site was erected by the missionaries several years ago. Even though this is one of the poorest areas any of have ever attended mass, our group believes that it was probably one of the richest spiritual experiences we have had. Brother Laurence assisted Father Damian to translate during the mass. Father Damian was very honoured to preside over this mass and have the people in this community be so welcoming.
After mass the missionaries and our group distributed food to the community. This was both a rewarding and challenging experience combined.
The children have made us so proud with their compassion, their maturity and their resilience in such a variety of challenges. Each night our group reflections reveal the personal and spiritual growth each person is experiencing. The hospitality of our wonderful hosts has been very overwhelming. We have our own chef who spoils us daily with breakfast, morning snacks, lunch, afternoon snacks and dinner which are mostly freshly cooked meals. All children are devouring the wonderful variety and enjoying some traditional dishes.
Tonight we received our second prayer cards from our prayer partners. These were presented at a wonderful time in our journey and allowed us to connect to home.
All in all, we are having the experience of a life time.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Baking
The brothers bake all their own bread for themselves and their mercy mission. They often spend the entire day baking
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