Our Mission Family

I think I speak for everyone when I say, the end of ANY traveling adventure is filled with mixed emotions. 

You're sad that the adventure is over and you have to return to reality...but at the same time you're happy to get back to the routines of reality. 

However, when your travels are stretched over a couple months, your daily routines of reality take on a different meaning and soon your traveling adventures become your reality, and the people you surround yourself with during these travels, go from being "those cool people you met that one time you went to the Philippines" to your Family members that you aren't quite sure how you'll live without.

If you don't already know these people...you obviously haven't been reading my blog ;) But I would like to take this time to introduce the people who have made our mission trip such an amazing experience.

Wendy and Dwayne

Dwayne and Wendy Harris are the founders of the PAMAS project. They met in the mission field. He was a helicopter pilot and she was a Nurse. Long story short, they were married in April of 2008 and decided to join their ministries and work as missionaries here in the Philippines. They started their mission on the island of Palawan and then in 2010 decided to expand their mission and start a 2nd project in Santiago, Isabela, Philippines which is located in Northern Luzon.

We had the opportunity to visit the 2nd PAMAS project for 3 weeks during our trip. We stayed with Wendy and Dwayne had so much fun. (Well, except for the whole...malaria thing...that wasn't so fun :/ ) Wendy is a very inspirational person and every time I'm around her, I feel inspired to do more with my life.

Danny, Rovelyn (Ging), and Haddie

Back on the island of Palawan, we have the rest of our family. Danny is a good ol' southern boy, from Tennesee and Ging is a cute, little Filipina who grew up on the island of Mindanao. They met and were married in 2008 and then decided to return to Ging's homeland as missionaries. Along the way, they had little baby Haddie, who is a never-ending source of enjoyment! They now serve as Field Director for the Palawan project and are expecting their 2nd child in February of 2012.

I was kinda bummed that I wasn't able to spend as much time with them during this trip. Our paths never really crossed. But the times I did spend with them were a lot of fun. Haddie is seriously my joy, she is the perfect combination of cute, sassy, and sweet. If I ever have kids (doubtful, but in a hypothetical situation) I hope I have 5 just like Haddie. ;)

JoJo, Siena, Skye, and Ping-ping

During my last stay in the Philippines, Ging had asked her brother to come to the project to help as a handy-man. He didn't want to leave his wife behind with BOTH kids. So he brought Skye with him to Palawan. JoJo was such a hard worker and he did SOO much for our project. Skye spent most of the time being Haddie's punching bag, but since she was already an older sister, she was use to that and just embraced it. I spent the next 4 months trying to win Skye over, but never really did. She would never talk to me or let me take a picture of her without her crying hysterically. This time, when arriving in October, I was excited to see that their family was together again. Siena (pronounced Sheena) and Ping-ping had come to Palawan. They are now taking missionary training classes so that they can live as missionaries up in Calbunacan.

We fell in love with Siena the moment we met her. She was so kind and patient and always willing to help (she does alot of the translating for Tanya's Childrens Programs). She would always make extra food and then bring it over to the house to share with us. We always really appreciated that. During this trip, Skye finally warmed up to me! Though I never got a nice, posed picture of her, she no longer cries when I take pictures of her AND she would actually talk to us at times and "tickle" us when we would least expect it. Ping-ping started out being afraid of us. She wouldn't even come near us unless her mother was nearby. We vowed to change that by the end of our trip. Soon, she started coming near us, but would never speak or touch us...she would just stare. When we would leave on trips, her mother would tell us that she would run all over the house trying to find us, and would always question where we were. So, as far as we're concerned...We TOTALLY won her over ;) We loved that little family!

The Ukrainians

Andriy and Tanya along with their daughter, Anzhela (pronounced Angela) joined the PAMAS mission in 2009. I am constantly amazed when I think back on their commitment to this mission. Can you imagine, selling everything you have and quitting your job to become a missionary in the Philippines? To top it all off, you can't speak the native language there OR the language of the Missionaries that you'll be living with. Honestly, I don't know that I could have done it...but this family, in my opinion, really defied the odds. Together they worked hard and studied English and now speak it FLUENTLY. Anzhela went to a Filipino grade school and now speaks Tagalog. This adorable, 8-year old, girl speaks Russian, Ukrainian, English, and Tagalog FLUENTLY! (And apparently she really enjoys watching Dora the Explorer so now she is learning Spanish as well...Oy Vey!) Not only is the overcoming of their language barrier inspiring but their dedication to this mission is also very heart-warming.

Every moment spent with this family, I am so thankful that I know them. They are so kind and giving, even though at times, they have nothing to give. They are living proof that hard work and dedication pay off and that Home is where you make it. When I'm with these people, there is never a dull moment. That is what I love most about them and what I will miss most.

Roy, Shielah, Elaika Joy (EJ), and John Micheal (JM)

*Sigh* What could I possibly say about this amazing family that hasn't already been said?? Roy and Shielah have been missionaries their entire married lives. They worked for PFM for 10 years, spending 7 of those years on the island of Bancalaan. Then they moved to Cavite where they were field coordinators of PFM. They finally decided to leave PFM because they wanted to spend more time together as a family. Wendy invited them to join PAMAS and they accepted, and PRAISE THE LORD they did because this project would never be the same without them. Both Roy and Shielah have medical backgrounds (Roy Nurses Assitant and Shielah RN) they also are very good speakers and evangelists. 

Roy and Shielah were kind enough to open their home to us during our stay in Palawan. Honestly, I couldn't imagine it ANY other way. Everyday was such a blessing, even when we had nothing going on. Days when we would stay at the kitchen table, LONG after we were done eating, just talking to Shielah or sitting in bed playing computer games with EJ and JM or listening to Roy sing songs...just slightly off key ;), are some of our most treasured memories from this trip. This family, more or less, adopted us the last couple months and being apart of their family taught us SOO much and we are SOOO blessed to know them!

The people you meet during your travels can either make or break your trip. I think its safe to say, that the people we met during this adventure have MADE our trip. The time we spent with them over the last couple of months are memories that we will cherish for many years to come. 

As the sadness came over us on our shuttle ride to Puerto, we found ourselves questioning how this could happen. How can you fall in love with people you've know for 1/21 of your lifetime?? How can people make such an impression on you in such a short amount of time? How can you be on your way Home, back to your Family and Loved ones, while at the same time, feel like you've just left them behind?

So many questions, but in the end I remembered the heart-warming quote by Dr. Suess: "Don't cry because its over. Smile because it happened." It made me realize that I would much rather be feeling this pain for leaving them all, then to never have known them. 

"Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart."

~1 Peter 1:22