Gamay lang..

Gamay lang bascially is translated "just small". Though the work I am doing here in Cebu isn't 'just small', its refers more to my language and cultural knowledge. Also just this week I started to learn to play guitar. We have one sitting in our house so I finally decided to learn. I taught myself a few chords, but sought the help of a young Filipina girl named Reizel who sleeps over at our house once a week when we have a Bible study on Tuesday nights. Since tuesday, I haven't been able to put it down!! I have found something I enjoy, its a way for me to de-stress. I even was able to learn a song "Through it all" well enough to play and sing in chapel just today!

These last few weeks have been great. Many blessings, many chances to learn new things. I'm really making some progress in my langauge study. I listen to the radio everyday and live with Cebuano speakers, so my understanding has gone way up. Like the other night, I was invited to missions fundraising party that we have to take motorbikes up a hill to. So the driver was asking me a bunch of questions in Cebuano, and I knew everything he was saying and I was even able to speak a little back to him in Cebuano. It feels like a little victory everytime I am able to do that. Which in that case resulted in him asking to marry me...so when that happens I usually don't answer or switch back to English!

Pastor Bong, who is the leader of my weekend ministry at Stepping Stones, and his wife have a 9 month old baby named Samuel who has become the love and joy of my life. He is the cutest baby alive and he loves my blonde hair. He always grabs for it with his little chubby baby hands and drools and chews it. It's quite precious really. The ministry is going really well. Pastor wants me to be training the youth in worship and also training others to teaching sunday school, so when I go they can continue. I'm looking forward to these seminars I will be able to lead. This weekend I will be sleeping over in the community of Didos, where a lot of the schloarship kids live.

At VAST this last week they were in the middle of celebrating their foundation day. On Monday, September 22, was the 16th anniversary of VAST and all the allumi were invited to come to the campus and play games, fellowship, with all the current students and staff. There were teams set up and I was invited to join in the celebration. I was able to sleep over in the dorms on Sunday night and stay all day monday where all the competitions took place. In the evening was a formal banquet. So I bought myself a dress and had a lot of fun with all the students and allumni.

Here's a picture of us at the banquet! I am with my ate Rose Marie who is one of my roomates, Jay an intern and Dennis, another intern. ---->>

Then tuesday was an intern day at our house which Rhonda hosted and led. All of the Bible school interns of VAST (and me, the intern from Canada) had a day together of fellowship, prayer, goal setting, sharing and games. It was great to meet them all and encouarge each other in our minstries. Just this morning I was back at VAST speaking at Chapel. It went really well. I spoke about stepping out of our comfort zones. And I demostrated that by stepping way out of my comfort and playing the guitar in front of people for the first time ever!
Then saturday and sunday I'm back at Stepping Stones, teaching the kids, teaching Sunday School and leading youth group.

This is a picture with me and some of the kids of Didos ---->>>

Praise:
I was able to find resources and time to get a big assignment done for my onSite requirements.
My lanugage study is going well.
That I am learning guitar quickly.

Pray:
For the ministries of Stepping Stones and Padala.
Amoungst all of the busyness, that I really find time to give myself a break from everything once a week.