My missionary life is a gift from God; I realize how God blesses us here in spite of many challenges.  We started the school year with 71 students and as of this month we have only 49 students.  They dropped for different reasons.  Some of them dropped because they have to work with their parents.  Some students were dropped because they didn’t obey some of the rules and regulations of our school.

One of the rules we implemented is that students are not allowed to watch television.  It created one of the major challenges that caused them to drop.  The students were thinking that we are too strict and not giving them the right of doing this recreational activity.  Some of the parents, instead of helping us to discipline, were criticizing us that we were not giving their children whatever they wanted.  We tried to give them some punishments to persuade them not to watch television.  It was hard for them to understand the value of morality and the truth behind it. ...

The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Matthew 26:41

Have you experienced the reality of this verse? I have many times. Being a frontline missionary is so prone to challenges. There are many adventures along the way. In those adventures, thrills and excitements are always present. If you doubt, it means failure. If you believe, it means abundance of experiences with God and you are opening the door of joy and amazement.

In this work that God entrusted to us we need to expect the unexpected. Sometimes the work is very usual, but sometimes it is very unusual. Sometimes we are willing, sometimes we don’t have interest. Sometimes it is easy to give, but sometimes we never surrender. Sometimes we question, “Why am I doing this?” Also, sometimes we say, “That’s why God wants me to do this!” It is very clear that we are really nothing. I am so thankful that God is always there to do the intervention. Without His intervention we will fail. ...

There’s a woman here in our village that has been in “veggie-like” condition ever since she gave birth to her fourth child. We don’t know whether the sickness is post-partum depression or post-partum psychosis, but one thing we do know for sure, she needs our help and attention.

Até Mylene, the name of the woman, lives with her husband, parents-in-law, and brother-in-law. Kuya Jhun, her husband, is working the whole day for the baby’s milk and their food. The father-in-law is old and cannot help much, while the mother-in-law takes care of the baby and cooks food for the children who go to school. Até Mylene just lies there. She bathes very seldom. Her body is wearing away. She can’t talk, walk, or sit on her own. Will somebody care? ...

This month I’ve learned a very important lesson in teaching. Since last month I’ve been struggling in teaching vocabulary and word problems to my fourth graders. Understanding word problems is really a challenge for my students. They can hardly understand and figure out what the problem is really all about. Each day I began to be impatient until one day I lost control. My words became harsh and intimidating. My words put them down instead of building them up. I didn’t realize it at that moment. I walked out of my class, went inside my house, and I sat on a chair facing the wall. In my frustration I asked God, “Lord what am I going to do?” As I fixed my eyes on the wall of my house, I saw a quotation posted on it to which I’d not paid attention before. The quotation said, ...

One day, while I sat in front of our schoolroom, I looked happily at the beautiful flowers that we had planted. I thanked God for all His goodness, grace, and blessings that I’ve received. Afterward, I recalled the time when I was troubled in my former job and also about my husband’s jobless situation. During that time, I served as one of the Barangay workers. I was required to take part in every kind of occasion. At that time, pork was the cheapest of any kind of meat in the market. So, they bought it to cook for every occasion. Being one of them, I served people pork that was not good in the sight of the Lord. I also copied the penmanship of some people to fill out papers to process additional salary for all Barangay officials, including myself, as it was approved by the council of the board during their sessions.

My conscience bothered me continually and I wanted to give up my job, but my husband had no permanent job. I had no choice but to continue in a shameful way providing for my children to live and continue their studies. ...