Poverty

Poverty. 

pov.er.ty

noun

the state of being extremely poor. 

Growing up in the United States and living there all my life, I have never been exposed to much poverty. I have seen briefly what penury looks like in Mexico. I have seen what poverty looks like in Nashville, Atlanta, and Rhode Island; But never have I seen this ... 

-- Families living in a shack on the side of a busy road. The children not attending school because parents simply         can’t afford it, so the kids are left to play on the side of that busy road.

-- Frail old men and women begging for people to buy their stuff ... candy,fruit, cigarets.  

-- A CHILD sleeping on the steps of an overpass. A CHILD! 

 Homelessness in the USA don’t compare to the amount of impoverishment I have seen here in Cebu. 

For the last week Ronald and I walk to the Country Mall and get some bread to eat for breakfast, and everyday we see the same two children sleeping on the steps of that overpass. Hundreds of people must walk past these kids and yet NO ONE stops to give them even 1 peso (equivalent to 10 cents in the states). They say I will become numb to  seeing this, that I just simply have to turn away from it. But will I become numb? Will I be able to turn my head from this? Im not sure I have that capability. 

I have seen so much poverty. I am not used to this. 

However, the people here are STILL happy. They know nothing else. In whatever circumstance they find themselves, they are still genuine happy people. I have a lot to learn from them. 

Peace and Love. 

--Caidy  

Quick update

We arrived safely in Cebu, Philippines on Tuesday night at approximately 11:40 pm ... which in the States was Tuesday morning at about 10:40 am (EST). Our travel was uneventful, just how we like it! However, I did get a pretty intense case of motion-sickness, which didn’t subside until almost a full 36 hours after the fact!! Lesson learned, take a Dramamine before boarding the plane for the long 13 hour ride. 

The first few days have been a learning process, as I imagine most of the next few months will be. I have had a journal with me to take notes, here are a few ... 

• Beeping horns is a way of life around here. I am used to people beeping because they are upset, here its totally different ball game. Beeping could mean, “get out of my way, I’m coming through” or  “Hey, you want a ride?” . Its not a bad thing to beep. Everyone does it. 
• Music is so random here. We could hear Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, Michael Buble, Usher and Casting Crowns all in the same place within 30 minutes of one another. 
• Look up when showering ... you may fall victim to a HUGE spider falling on your head. 
• Realizing that I am living here, that this isn’t just a short term mission trip, has been hard to swallow. Learning a new culture, a new way of life ... its going to be a challenge. 
• God has brought us this far, He will not abandon us.  

Marvin and Josie Whitt drove us all over Cebu looking at homes, apartments and townhouses. The last one we looked at was the winner!!! We saw the townhouse on Thursday and moved in on Saturday. We were surely blessed to get it so fast and at a good price. God has awesome plans for us and this apartment! We are excited to see what He is going to do here. 

Over the next few months we will be getting settled into the new culture, our house, and preparing for work at CBC. We will update as much as we can, but we don't have regular internet yet ... so the post may be few and far between for a little while. 

 Thank you all for your prayers and support. Please continue to pray for us as we transition into life on the other side of the world. 

Love and peace.

--Caidy 

At the Chicago airport -- before getting on the plane headed for Korea 

Literally carrying our bed to the house ... the only piece of "furniture" we have so far. 

Our house number in Banilad Greens

After a long hot day we headed to Yellow Cab pizza and shared an AWESOME pizza and ice cream 

About to wash laundry by hand for the first time. 

Ronald was showing me the ropes. He is a pro at washing by hand. 

Success! -- It only took us a little over an hour to wash almost 2 weeks worth of clothing. 

Jesus Calling

Come to be for rest and refreshment. The journey has been too much for you, and you are bone-weary. Do not be ashamed of your exhaustion. Instead, see it as an opportunity for Me to take charge of your life.

Remember that I can fit everything into a pattern for good, including the things you wish were different. Start with where you are at this point in time and space, accepting that this is where I intend you to be. You will get through today one step, one moment at a time. Your main responsibility is to remain attentive to Me, letting Me guide you through the many choices along your pathway.

This sounds like an east assignment, but it is not. Your desire to live in My Presence goes against the grain of “the world, the flesh, and the devil.” Much of your weariness results from your constant battle against these opponents. However, you are on the path of My choosing, so do not give up! Hope in Me, for you will again praise Me for the help of My Presence. 

[Jesus Calling -- Feb 7 -- Romans 8:28, Psalm 42:11] 

I read this a few hours before boarding the plane to Seoul. I have read it every day since. Thank you, Debbie Oldach, for getting this book for us. 

KY trip. Philippines bound.

It is all happening so fast!

Lets start from the beginning.

After nearly seven long months of searching, God has blessed us with a GREAT church to partner with as we do work in the Pill-a-peens (as Roe would call it). Two days after we returned from Rhode Island we got back on a plane and headed for Lexington, KY, where we spent five days meeting with numerous people at our sponsoring church! We were welcomed with open arms; praying for us and giving enough encouragement to last a lifetime were among some of the many ways these strangers reached out to support us.

Side note: Epiphany-- Even as strangers, we share the common bond of Christ. Christ is what brought  us together.

The second night we were in KY we met with the missions committee.We had an exceptional night of mission focused conversation. Sharing our love for God's people and missions, we talked about our work in the Philippines, as they also shared with us their involvement in international missions.

It's reassuring to know just how mission-minded this congregation is.

Group picture outside of the restaurant. The nice man
 who took the picture decided not to steal the camera. I am forever grateful..

Ronald and I met the ministers and had a delicious meal with them. We loved getting to know these four, as they shared with us a little bit about themselves and the work they do at the church. They were eager to hear our plans for the Philippines, just as we were equally eager and excited to hear of the work going on in their community. We hope to meet with them again when we come for visits.                         

Home Fellowship! I promise that next time I take a
self-timer group picture that I will get EVERYONE in it! 

On Sunday we joined a home fellowship. We had a great time meeting this bunch! We were welcomed as if they had known us for 20 years. We also hope to visit with them again! 

Some bullets from our trip:

• Selfless/kind people took us in and cared of us the entire week. 
• Successful and productive in preparing for our move.
• Surprise of having to leave 30 days EARLIER than originally thought because of Ronald's visa. 
• Four awesome new books. One awesome new movie. 
• New friends that we already love. 

So after a VERY successful week, we are pleased to announce that we are Philippines bound in t-minus 8 days!!!! 

We are leaving February 7th .... at 5:50am. Watch out Philippines, here we come! 

We ask that you all would continue to pray for us. For safe travels and for the relationships we leave behind in the USA. We also ask for your prayers for our financial situation. God is the continual provider, submitting to that fact, we chug forward! We are extremely grateful for the way God has blessed us over these last seven months, providing for us every step of the way. 

If God has used you to bless us, THANK YOU! This work could not be possible without your help.

See you in the Philippines. 

Love and Peace. 

-Caidy 

 

We are blessed

Words alone can not simply state how incredibly blessed we are. 

On a recent trip to Rhode Island (to visit with family), we visited the Warwick church of Christ where they allowed Ronald the opportunity to present our mission. He shared our intentions for the Philippines with such confidence, never stumbling and knowing exactly how to answer the many questions thrown at him. I was a proud wife and, being encouraged by my husbands words, I found a new sense of excitement for this journey we are on together. Not only was I encouraged by my husband that wonderful Sunday morning, but I was also uplifted by the encouraging spirit of the church. 

It was during the pot luck lunch that I knew God had brought us to a special place. One person after another gave us their blessing, telling us how excited they are for the work that we plan to do. We have so much support! I’m not talking just monetary, I’m also talking spiritually. These people clearly took an interest in the work that God has charged us to be apart of. I can’t formulate a sentence strong enough to tell how excited and uplifted we feel about this. People that have never meet Ronald, people I have known for nearly 18 years, people we both have never meet, took an interest in the work that we want to pursue on the other side of the WORLD.  God is good. He blessed, encouraged and made His presence known to us this weekend. It is my prayer that even in the tough times, we will always remember the people that support and love us. It is those people who will encourage us to keep following the path of our wonderful merciful Savior. 

Other than visiting with the church in Warwick, we had a fabulous time with family. Here is our weekend in pictures: 

Transition and Preparations

So much to talk about! These last few weeks have been full of such great time with family... laughing, playing games, and good food are among some of the great moments shared in the Amaral household.

On New Years eve Dad thought it would be fun to try to go fishing. So we did. And we did exactly that, we fished for about 3 hours total. We caught NOTHING. It was very disappointing... but I am convinced that before we leave FL I am going to catch a BIG fish. For dinner that night Mom, Dad, Ronald and I went to the Olive Garden (which was extremely different from any OG I have ever been to before ... we sat in booths) had some GREAT food and

then preceded to go home where we ALL feel asleep before midnight. Yes, for the first time in 10 or 12 years, I didn't watch the ball drop ... and surprisingly I was WAY okay with it. Tradition is SO over rated. :)

To celebrate the first day of the year we helped Dad clean out the garage. Actually ... Dad helped Ronald and me go through all the stuff we brought from TN. We organized everything that needs to be sold, stored and shipped. It was a VERY productive first day.

Since then, Ronald has began crocheting a blanket ... its coming out GREAT. And, I have started to finish a few blankets that my grandmother started before she passed about 15 years ago. I have to say ... I am no Grandma 'A', but I do sew pretty well. :)

After 7 months of searching, God has answered our prayer and hope for a sponsoring church. We are blessed!! We will be traveling to KY in a few weeks to meet with the church in hopes to plan some details for our trip. Of course these last 7 months of searching have not been easy. Our faith, patience and perseverance have been tested beyond what I ever thought I (and we as a couple) could handle. Obviously, God knew better. He a different plan of action, that has been revealed to us at exactly the right time. And just so we are clear, His plan had nothing to do with what our plans were. After everything that has happened, we are excited to be going to the Philippines with a sponsor. :)

We are also going to RHODE ISLAND this weekend !!! They are predicting lots of SNOW! Woohoo!!! It will be nice to see a real snow again. We are happy to have this chance to spend time with our New England family. They are so welcoming and we always have such great visits.

Other than the above updates, we have been tying up loose ends and are closer and closer to finally leaving for the Philippines.

-I got my Florida drives license

- We paid some of my student loans

-And we have done lots of letter writing.

Each day that draws the Philippines closer, is another day that God gives me peace and contentment with the path He has set before us. I am confident that God will continue to guide me through this transition with flying colors! :)

SOoooo, I have told you what's going on in my/our life ... what's going on with you guys? How is God working in you this year?

If you don't want to leave a comment feel free to shoot us an email.

Love and Peace.

-Caidy

caidyandronald@gmail.com

A little help from my friends

Dear blogging friends,

I need your help. I'm not very blog savvy and I want to know how I can spicy this one up a little bit. It took me about an hour to post the pictures from my pervious post and they were not even arranged how I wanted them to be ... I am sure that there is a faster/more effective way to get that done! Also, I see other blogs with super awesome backgrounds and some even play music. How do I do that fun stuff??

I know, I know "the grass is always greener on the other side" ... but can you blame me? My grass is looking a little lame :/

Help is welcomed! Thanks friends.

-Caidy