I have returned from the Philippines and have been reunited with my family and friends. My last few weeks in Borongan were busy and fun. The Joliet Mission was completely amazing!! 51 volunteers from all around the world gathering in the Philippines to bring their time and love to the poorest of the poor. Simply amazing!!
Here are some of the highlights...
There was an awesome outreach team that I joined in going to a few barrios to do feeding programs in. I may have mentioned this before, but many people in the barrios in Eastern Samar only eat once a day. In going to the barrios to feed the people, we gave them not only sustenance, but also a sense of community and love, not to mention some fun with songs and games. The Joliet Mission Outreach Team was amazing!!
The Diocese of Joliet also had a dental mission. They were completely amazing!! I had the pleasure of being able to help out the dentists doing what Sister Clarissa is doing in one of the photos... sanitizing the instruments using a pressure cooker. Although there were many scared patients, the doctors and hygienist worked really hard to calm nerves and most people were very happy when their appointment was over. There was only one screamer that I can remember!! The big photo in the middle is one of my favorites... the barrio boys were curious about what the dentists were doing and spying in the window. Super cute!! The generosity and love of the dental team was easy to see... they would even pray with the patients before they began the work. It was an honor to work with them.
Every day during the mission, we began the day with mass at the hospital. Most of the missioners would join the sisters for mass before beginning their day. That was mostly the only time I had a connection with the medical and construction teams. I was grateful for the days we spent over the weekend where all the missioners were invited to join the sisters in serving the poor and having fun at the same time. Above we went to a barrio to the north of Borongan and brought food for lunch, food packs for the families and games with us. We sang songs with the people and we all had such a great day.
The pictures below are of the Sunday morning baseball game on Byby beach. It is one of the only times the Oikos kids play baseball all year long, they await the day with much anticipation and talk about it all year long!!
All in all... it was an amazing mission!! Thank you to the 51 wonderfully talented and generous missionaries who came to Borongan in 2016!!! Can't wait for next year!!! (hint)
To God be the Glory!!!!!
