I have wanted so badly to share all that is going on with my husband and older children on this trip to The Philippines! There has been awesome ministry, times of rest and relaxation, visits with family and friends and time with our sweet Ariel that all bear sharing. I want to tell you EVERYTHING, precious readers, but after suffering for 9 days with the flu, my creative genius appears to be on hiatus . . . I am having a hard time organizing my thoughts into words that might do this trip justice. So I've decided to share "A Trip in Pictures" with you instead.
Please note that due to the Hague regulations, I am not able to share ANY specifics online about the children the team was blessed to work with. I can't share their names or locations online. We have to honor the rules of the Hague for both the safety of the children and the integrity of the project. I know you understand!
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| Manila traffic is unbelievable, day and night, and deserves a mention! |
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| My family used the jeepney (above) and trike (below) as a way to get around town on this trip...inexpensive and efficient! |
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| A little "chill time" in the hotel was always welcome at the end of a long, hot day. |
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| Lunch with Sharon (back r), Ariel (orange shirt) and friends makes the trip so much fun! | | | | |
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| Ariel (Lem's bio brother) skyping with us from the family' hotel room. Brothers need to stay in touch. For both of them, a lot is at stake in this relationship. Blood ties are so important! | | | | |
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| These little cones are a family tradition! You get to pick five different flavors of mini cone. I don't know why someone in the US hasn't started a business like this! These are so good! |
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| Having his mini cones . . . |
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| This beautiful girl has visual impairment but can track light! She IS light . . . so lovely!!! |
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| This sweet boy is shy and cooperative . . .he has partial sight but such a severely crossed eye. And the surgery he needs is literally a 30 minutes out patient procedure here in the US. |
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| The spot on this gorgeous girl's eye will be evaluated by our trustworthy doctor. Please pray that it is benign and cosmetic. We want so much to be able to deliver good news to her wonderful children's home! |
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| This gorgeous angel is not visually impaired but hearing impaired. Her orphanage staff lovingly brought her to our team asking us to PLEASE find her some hearing aids. This is not the work we set out to do but who can say "no" to this beautiful girl? If any reader knows how to get some child-sized hearing aids, we're "all ears" . . . we want so much to help her!!! |
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| This 16 year old boy has cerebral palsy and visual impairment. He worked SO hard to impress our team with his shape sorting skills, never losing that big smile or that determination. This child is worth investing in. Yes, he's "older", yes, he's considerably disabled but YES, he is a precious human made in the image of God. He deserves to have someone cheering him on at even the smallest gain. |
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This trip only further ignites the fire in our family that we NEED to relocate as soon as possible!
Please pray for a speedy sale of our home and for the pieces to fall into place.
We are still in need of monthly donors to make this move possible. Won't you consider donating $25 per month so we can go? I'm not so good at "asking for stuff" but for these children and the many others who wait in their orphanages for someone to come alongside them, take up their cause and shine a spotlight into the darkness, I'm not afraid to ask. In fact, it's my honor.
For HIS Fame,
Nikki
The Bartimaeus Project
www.bartimaeusproject.org
