Turning 23 in the Tropics

Although it was a couple of weeks ago, I'd love to share what my first birthday in the Philippines looked like. I'm used to attending class on this day while wearing warm clothing. This year proved to be very different!

Faith Academy has a week long October break each year. This allows students to spend time with their families, and is especially beneficial for the boarding students. Since we had this week off, 8 of my friends and I jumped on the opportunity to take a trip. We decided to visit another Filipino island down south called Palawan.

This island was absolutely beautiful! It is known for its beaches and scuba diving opportunities. We really enjoyed getting out of the busy city of Manila to enjoy the more quiet and peaceful city of Puerto Princesa. 

The Friday before break, my vice principal walked into our classroom with a platter of cupcakes and a birthday hat. It was a fun surprise for all of us and I really enjoyed getting to celebrate my birthday a little early with my kiddos! (Along with Crazy Hat Day!)

My birthday happened to fall on the Wednesday of our trip. The day started off with a Skype call to my wonderful mother. Let me tell you... it was definitely weird and a little saddening to not get to talk to all of my family on my birthday. But I am so thankful that I got to connect with my mom and tell her a little bit about what we had been doing on our trip! 

I then went back to our hotel room, where my roommates had decorated with balloons and a nice little pile of presents on our bed. They did an awesome job of making the day special! 

After getting ready, our group loaded up and we headed to Palawan's Underground River. This is known as Wonder of Nature. We were able to get in a little boat and travel down the river with our tour guide. Meg and I sat close to him in the back of the boat and really enjoyed his commentary on the cave's formations. :)

After the river, we ate at a nice little Filipino buffet and were offered the treat of eating woodworm. Five of us decided to take advantage of the opportunity... and the boys ended up enjoying the slimy creatures. 

We were able to go back to our hotel for a relaxing afternoon spent by the ocean shore. The Lord reminded me that He is a God worth enjoying! I had such a good time admiring His creation while on this trip. I loved enjoying the Lord. 

That night, we were able to go out on the town for dinner at a nice seafood restaurant and I was surprised with some blueberry cheesecake. Once we got back to our hotel, we partook in a dance party at my request. :) I LOVE to dance, and we had a great time in our little room with our beds pushed to the sides. 

Overall, it was an awesome birthday. Completely different than anything before... but awesome. Thank you for your continued prayers! 

Faithful, Faithful, Faithful

I would love to share an awesome God-moment with you all. :)

Being a new teacher can be a struggle. There is so much knowledge that comes with experience, and I often feel the effects of lacking said knowledge. A couple of weeks ago, one of these areas was my reading groups. This probably sounds silly, but a huge portion of Kindergarten is dedicated to reading and writing. I was feeling super lost on how to conduct my small groups in class and how to help my kids learn these life-skills best. I wasn't confident in what I was doing, and this uncertainty would just throw off the rest of my day.

One night I was on the internet, trying to find ideas and talking to my roommate about how I was having a hard time. As I'm talking to her about this, a friend named Rebecca, who I met at training back in the States, messaged me and asked how things were going.  Rebecca is also teaching overseas and was in Mali, Africa at the time. She reminded me that she had taught Kindergarten for 7 years and encouraged me to ask her for help on anything. I told her about my dilemma, and she ended up emailing me lots of pictures and ideas on things that she did with her kids. I felt incredibly blessed and I was so thankful for her help!

Well, a couple of weeks have gone by. I have been implementing Rebecca's ideas and our reading groups have been going great. But my favorite part of this story comes from 2 nights ago, when she emailed me to share her side of the story...

"You are welcome. I am glad that the ideas helped. Yes, it was totally God! That day...I was feeling a little low...(transitoning to the new culture, missing home,not working yet, bored, other missionaries were busy, I was on my own with not much to do, etc). I prayed that God would allow me to help someone and make an impact/difference that day. I asked Him to show me my purpose for that day. About 30 mins later I saw you were on FB and I felt God telling me to talk to you on FB. After I got done talking with you on FB, I realized that God was using me to help you. I was so thankful after that. It helped me to feel that I had a purpose that day. So, it was as much of a blessing for me as it was for you! That is how awesome our God is!!!!"

I just love the way our God works. I knew that I had been blessed, but I never would have guessed that there was a whole other side to this story where the Lord was proving His faithfulness. God is constantly working, and I pray that you see His faithfulness... even in the little things. :)

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

Market Day!

My roommate, Kelsie, and I have been eager to learn more about the Filipino lifestyle and culture. So far we had only gone to grocery stores for food shopping each week, but had heard about the busy markets that many Filipinos frequent. We knew that our Ate, Nimfa, went each week and so we asked if we could tag along on a Saturday morning. She was excited that we wanted to join her!

One thing that we hadn't experienced yet was the public transportation of Manila. We took 4 jeepney rides total on our trip. The jeepney is lined with a bench on both sides where people sit closely together. You pay by passing money up to the driver (about 20 cents a ride). To get off, you either pull on a little cord or give two hard knocks on the roof. We had fun jumping on the jeepneys, and the other passengers found it interesting to see white girls as fellow passengers. :)

Nimfa leading us to the 2nd jeepney

Kelsie, Jacque and I enjoying the ride

Once we arrived, we went to a part of the market that sold clothes ranging in price from less than $1 to $5. It was fun to look at all they had! Some things were very similar to what you would see in America while other things were very Filipino. After venturing this market, we headed to the wet market, where meat, fruit, and veggies were sold. It was extremely crowded and had a strong, distinct smell. Nimfa told us that you don't see a lot of white people at the wet market and this resulted in a lot of stares from the nationals.

Jacque, Kelsie and I at the clothing market

Fruit sales

The meat at the wet market was extremely fresh. We would see freshly killed chickens being brought in, the butchering table, and then the vast assortment of chicken parts to buy. This was also true with the pigs. When the Filipinos noticed us taking pictures, they were eager to have us turn our camera their way and snap a picture of them with their merchandise. :) After browsing the chicken, pork, and fish sections, we moved on to the veggies and fruit. We entered an area with a very muddy floor that you couldn't help sliding in. Their was a stench in this area as well, and that was when I got to the point of being ready to head home. :)

Poor Wilbur!

A butcher posing with his pig head

All types of vegetables and spices

Kelsie and the pasta selection

I am so thankful for the morning I had with Kelsie, our friend Jacque, and Ate Nimfa. It was a fun adventure and I enjoyed being immersed in the Filipino culture. The Lord has blessed me with a lot of joy and happiness throughout the past few weeks and each day I feel so thankful to be serving Him here in the Philippines. Thank you for your continued prayers and for being a part of this ministry!

And this gospel of the Kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Matthew 24:14

Special People

Life in the Philippines has started to slow down a little and a routine is being established. I am so grateful for this!

In my Kindergarten class, my students and I have been learning about God's creation. The past couple of weeks put the focus on how God has made each of us special. My student's parents wrote letters to their children about what made them special and why they were loved, and yesterday I had the privilege of surprising my kiddos and reading them their letters. It was so fun to see my boys blush and hide their faces and my girls giggle and get embarrassed with their parents' compliments. :)

Another person who really benefited from this was myself. I have truly enjoyed getting to know my 13 little ones in the classroom. They are each different... different personalities, different struggles, different strengths, different hearts. The letters reminded me that each of these children are so precious and so loved by the ones who pick them up from school each day.

I gained a new appreciation for my kids and the role I get to play in their lives. I also gained a new respect for the parents who love them so much and raise them in Christ-centered homes. It was fun to hear about my students from the people who know them best!

So here we are, finishing up our 6th week of school with so much of the year still to come. I can't wait to see the ways the Lord is going to use these special 5 and 6 year olds to further his Kingdom! Praise the Lord, for he is good.

Miss Wilbur, Kindergarten Teacher

Well, we now have 8 days of school under our belts! And after tomorrow, our first full week of school will be completed. I am really loving this whole teaching thing. :) Every day presents a new joy and a new challenge, and my little ones always keep me on my toes.

One adjustment that I LOVE is working at a Christian school. I get to pray with my kids multiple times throughout the day, dedicate time during our day towards teaching the Bible, and just relate life and what's going on to our Lord. It is hard for me to get used to doing this in a classroom, but I am absolutely loving it! I also love the spiritual support I get from the staff here... like my principal coming into my classroom the night before school started to pray with me, or the random before-school prayer I got from our librarian. Please praise the Lord for these things! His provision is overwhelming. :)

Now for the cute Kindergarten stories...

Student A- "Will we get to color today?"
Me- "Yes, we actually will!"
Student B- "We EVEN get to COLOR here?!?" (with wide eyes and all excitement)
...Kindergarten is a dream come true!

Yesterday when we were sharing prayer requests, I shared a story about how I had hurt my foot. Five students insisted on praying for me. :) So sweet!

My little boy makes sure that we pray for the poor children every single day during our morning prayer. :)

The names I have been called include but are not limited to Miss... Wilbut, Wilburn, Wilburt, Milbur, Vilbur, and my personal favorite, mom. :)



Meet my 12 kiddos!

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. -James 4:8

Missing you all,

Nicole

Our Rock

Hello friends! So much has been going on and there are lots of blogging options. But one thing that I think the Lord has been wanting me to write about is change.

Tomorrow will mark my one-month anniversary of being in the Philippines! I am so thankful for this past month. Change is something that I have been praying about since I knew that I would be coming to the Philippines almost a year ago. My track record would show that I am very bad with change and have a hard time handling it. Thankfully, this transition has been going very smoothly and I have the Lord's faithfulness to give credit to for that.

With moving to a new home and culture, the changes in my life have included weather, new friends, new roommates, a new house, a new job and staff to work with, new students to love, new modes of transportation (not driving), increased dependency on others, new foods, a new currency, traffic, not going anywhere alone, less communication with friends and family back home, a new church, and the list could go on.

I know that change is hard for almost everyone. It can be so overwhelming and exhausting! Through reading the book of James the past few days, the Lord has reminded me of the truth that he will never change.

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." James 1:17

I just love that no matter what is going on in our lives, we can always count on the Lord's plan, his Truth, and his goodness. I can't imagine putting my hope into something or someone that changed from day to day! Jesus is our rock, and for that I am so grateful. :)

Getting Used to a New Home

Wow, how time flies! I can't believe that I have been here for 2 1/2 weeks already! Manila has proven to be a city of new things and fun times. I have been spending a lot of time at school during new staff orientation and also getting my classroom ready. It has been a lot of work and I have been extremely busy. Although it has been a lot to take on, I am loving the preparation I get to do and I can't wait to have my students in my classroom on Thursday for our first day of school! I find myself daydreaming about teaching and seeing little hearts come to know the Lord better. What an honor to be their teacher :)

Along with the work there has been plenty of play! My roommates and I are having a great time and there is a group of us "singles" that have been able to spend a lot of time together. I am already being blessed by this community. God is so good!

Manila's culture is more westernized than I was expecting, but that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of differences! Here are some things that I am getting used to in my new home:

1. Pulling out in front of oncoming traffic. Very normal here :)

2. Falling asleep with a fan on and no blankets.

3. Locals calling you "sir ma'am."

4. Not picking up your trash at any sort of restaurant... or even Starbucks!

5. A few stares from locals while out in public.

6. Pretty green mountains! Well to me they are mountains, but to others they might be large hills :)

7. Dr. Pepper is nowhere to be found.

8. Lots of rain and "flash flooding" along the streets. I personally enjoy it because it takes the temperature and humidity down quite a bit :)

9. Smiling and friendly workers! The Filipinos are so happy to serve you and will always offer a "good morning."

10. Lots of rooster crows in the wee hours of the morning.

11. Only talking to friends and family back home at night and in the mornings.

12. Using pesos instead of dollars.

13. Little lizards crawling on the walls. :)

14. Being a minority.

15. Seeing cows, chickens, goats, water buffalo, lots of dogs, and a ton of people on the sides of roads. :)

Well, that will be my list for now. Thank you for your continued prayers. :) They are so appreciated!!