God's Beautiful World

When I was asked "What are your desires for the property?" My response was "I want the property, in and of itself, to be therapeutic." So, when one of the board members found this property, 6000 sq meters of land, on a hill, overlooking the ocean, with the most amazing view of the outlying islands, it was no contest. And to top it off, it was bank foreclosed property, so the price we paid for the land was literally 8$ per square meter (an amazing bargain in an archipelago that is constantly riddled with land disputes).

The other day, one of the girls was sitting outside on the porch, looking out at that beautiful view. When Miss Jacky, one of our staff, found her, she had tears streaming down her face. Miss Jacky asked her what was wrong and this was her response:

I just realized how beautiful this world is, and it reminded me of how much God loves me. Even though I've caused my parents pain because of some of the decisions I've made, God never left me.   It encourages me to work hard for my future. 

Help us pray that she is the first of many to find strength and healing in the safety of our home.

Filling Our Rooms

For weeks we've been contacting social workers across the province asking for referrals. Every day I have been asked by our staff at least once when they will start to arrive. And today, I finally was able to answer!

We received not one, or two, but three girls today! When it rains, it pours, and it is raining-- both figuratively and literally. As I look out the window and watch the rain come down, I couldn't be more thankful for the chance to do this work.

Photo Credit Bethany Williams

Photo Credit Bethany Williams

Moving In

Our House is starting to take shape as we move in and put in finishing touches. Here are a few pictures of our new home. Enjoy!

The porch outside with new grass and flowers given by some dear friends. 

The parking area

Front door of the house and storage area with more plants and flowers

The Guard house and front gate

More flowerboxes and grass

The dining room

Our living room and library

Office space

Kitchen

Living area and dining room. The house is so open and bright!

One of the bedrooms

Counseling Room

Inside staircase

Staircase and downstairs bathroom

Welcome Home!

The Neighbors

It's planting season!

Our House is Open!

Today, we celebrated the completion and opening of our new Refuge House!

We had to compete with Mother's Day, a typhoon, and a Manny Pacquio fight (which, when they play, always shut down the entire city, and gangs usually call truces so that the police can watch the fight).  But we still had a great turn out including most of our partner agencies, local government officials, and newly appointed Vice Governor of Cebu and Director of the Provincial Women's Commission, Agnes Magpale.

Everyone wearing yellow is a staff, volunteer or Board member of MRH.

Here a couple of pictures from the day. For more pictures check out: http://www.dropbox.com/gallery/16154995/1/2011-05-08%20Open%20House%202011?h=eb5c80

Family

I don't think I've ever talked about my family here, but you should know mine means the world to me.

I have four younger siblings... Kyle, Maralee, Karlee and Tyler. The age gap from me to Tyler, the youngest, is 14 years. Because of my often wandering ways, I've missed a good portion of the growing up of Maralee, Karlee and Tyler. I left the house almost 12 years ago, when Tyler was 3, Karlee was 6 and Maralee was 9. I went to Cambodia for 5 months, over to the Philippines for two years, then down to Texas for 5 years where I picked up a couple of degrees, and finally back to the Philippines were I am now.

I've missed many birthday parties, many sporting events, many choir concerts and plays, many memories, many life altering moments. And every time, I grieve a little.

Karlee is turning 18 in a few days. She's been the president of her choir for two years, and she having her final choir concert in the first week of June. She'll put on a weird hat and graduate from high school in the second week of June. And I won't to be there for any of it.

Karlee is one of the most amazing people I've ever met. She smart, witty, coordinated and athletic, so much fun to be around, and has amazing amounts of wisdom, truly beyond her years. She one of the hardest workers I know. She bought a car and has been working multiple jobs for the past two years in order to pay it off before college. She's been faced with challenges most people her age don't ever have to deal with, but she's strong and capable and  become more so with each challenge.

Last year, before I applied to MRH, I was talking to Karlee about what I should do next. I thought maybe I should get a job close to home so that I could be more actively part of my family's life. Her words to me were something along the lines of "We love you and of course we would love to have you close by again, but you should be where you can influence the most people, and right now, that's in the Philippines."

Karlee, I love you. I'll be celebrating with you from across the sea and counting down the days until August when we can celebrate in person.