Sponsor a Stake?

Valerie, a LCF coordinator, and a traveling companion

Would anyone like to sponsor a stake in the Philippines with Mike and me?

If we all chipped in a regular amount every month, we could support all the malnourished kids in one Philippine Stake.

Since I'm volunteering as country supervisor for the Philippines, I can guarantee that all of the money is going directly to local coordinators and recipients.  And, I mean ALL the money.  I help to decide where the money is going, and I know the people in the Philippines who are running the program.  I collect the reports from the coordinators.

You would receive the pleasure of regular updates and pictures from the families in the stake.

Donations tax-deductible.

If you are interested, email me directly at imagine.inspire.inquire@gmail.com.

For more information, I would recommend the Liahona Children's Foundation website, an article from the Wall Street Journal called Smart Aid for the World's Poor, and an article from the Meridian Magazine by Bob Rees, who was one of my colleagues in the Philippines last May.

Here are some pictures that were recently sent to me by one of the coordinators in the Philippines.  She took a trip to a remote ward in her stake to find out if any of the children qualified for the program.

It has been a pleasure for me to receive email like this on a regular basis.

Sister,
I am sharing with you some pictures Sister Valerie shared with me today.  I can feel her joy to be able to reach those people in the island!
I am sharing with you smiles in my face as I am doing this .  Enjoy! 

Note from Valerie:

"There is a Boy named Iyanan, John Carl who caught may attention because he is very thin. His age is 32 months old. Until now he cannot stand or sit alone."

Mothers waiting at the church to have their children screened for malnutrition.

John Carl is quiet while being measured. 

I am no expert, but after spending a week in the Philippines measuring over a 1000 children, I can see some of the classic signs of malnutrition in this boy - the thin arms and legs, the patchy hair, and the flaky, scabby skin.

When measured, his height and weight are in less than the 3rd percentile for healthy children his age.

Kids like John Carl are often calm (or lethargic) and will hold still when measured.

In contrast, here are a few pictures of our Joycie, who is almost the same age as John Carl.

The Grocery Store That Changed My Life

Sage spotted these birds in our backyard last week, and Mike captured the moment by taking a picture.

My #1 goal for the week - clean out the girls' room.  Old toys and heaps of too-small clothes are making it difficult to keep clean.

Noah and Oak are going to Tonga on Thursday!  They will be back again the following Monday.

They will be staying with the parents of a friend from our ward (I hope, anyway.  Communication has been spotty....)

They are going to Tonga mainly to renew Noah's USA drivers' license.  A US citizen can drive on a USA license for 1 year after entering the country, so Noah has to re-enter NZ in order to keep using his USA license here.  Oak is going along to keep him company.

Danny is going to Wellington on a band trip, and also practicing for the concert the following weekend.

The grocery store that changed my life is called Countdown.  I have been shopping at Countdown all year, without realizing that they have a fantastic home delivery option.

On Thursday, I entered my loyalty card number on the computer, which immediately pulled up all the groceries I buy in any order I might want (frequency purchased, aisle, sales, etc.)  I clicked on the items that I wanted.  I gave personal instructions for picking out produce and was informed about all the sales.  I paid for almost $300-worth of groceries online, which were delivered to our kitchen table the next morning for $8.50NZD ($7.20USD)!  I couldn't believe it.

How to Celebrate Your 1-Year Anniversary in New Zealand

Oak and Mercy baked a cake from scratch.  Before eating the cake, we sang America's and New Zealand's National Anthems, accompanied by YouTube karaoke.  

Sage got her ears pierced on Friday, something she's been wanting for a few years.  

To celebrate Sage's bravery, girls and I each picked out something from the Bangles shop in the mall.
Joyce got a headband, something she's been wanting for a few weeks.

Mercy got a triple set of matching necklaces that said "Best" "Friends" "Forever" and gave one to each of her sisters.

It's interesting to me how I can be so pleased with Sage having the courage to go through with something she's been wanting for so long, but, at the same time, equally pleased with Mercy, who doesn't want to get her ears pierced.  I'm glad that, in this case, they know what they want.

Sweet-As

A bird flew in an open door while we were at church.

Sweet-As times with the family.  

The number of blocks and spikes matter as much as the score.

Wintertime in Taranaki  

Our house temperature is often in the 40's and 50's, but the scenery is beautiful.

Wintertime in Taranaki. 

 Lots of piano this week, as always.  

Oak played for a large audience at an Open House for the New Plymouth Boys' High School.

Oak on stage.  

Danny and Mercy had their first rehearsals with the Taranaki Symphony Orchestra.  
Mercy is playing Beethoven 1st  Concerto, 3rd mvmt.  Danny is playing Mendelssohn G Minor Concerto, 1st mvmt. 

The concert is August 31. 

Mercy grinned from ear-to-ear during all the tutti sections

Our kids get a lot of respect in New Plymouth simply because they perform by memory.

Noah accepts the Ice Challenge.

Chess Team  

I'm glad that Mercy is so eager to try new things, however, I must say that this chess team doesn't know what they are doing.  For example, as I drove the kids to a competition, I heard one boy asking what the "horse" was called, and later Mercy told me that her coach "isn't sure about all the rules."

 I also happened to overhear the other chess girl showing Mercy a rhyme to get her hand into the position of flipping someone off, and telling her "this is what to do when boys swear at you." Hmmmm....

Lots of laughs...

We had a house full of teenagers again on Saturday night.  Some of the mums visited with me in the kitchen while we monitored the gentle roar of the noise happening in the rest of the house.  

After the party, Noah asked, "What were you guys laughing about?"  Lots of funny stories and hearty laughter coming from the adult room.  

Besides all the funny stories, I also told the parents that 14-year-old Danny feels like "hardly any" of the kids his age are drinking or having sex.  On the other hand, Noah feels like "all" of the kids his age are drinking and having sex.  

I said that since our 14-year-olds are in a good place right now, I thought it was best to keep them there.  I suggested a regular Saturday night party, an open-house kind of party (which means, basically, that there aren't necessarily planned activities - just food and free time), where the following rules were kept:

1-parent in the house

2-no alcohol

3-no R-rated movies

4-no bedrooms

I volunteered to host the first 4 weeks, and then see what happens from there.

I was surprised at the warm response that I got from these parents.  I spoke with about 10 parents, and some of them I hardly knew at all.  After our little meeting, one mom pulled me to my feet and said, "I just have to give you a hug!"  

I got the sense that this was something that all these parents wanted for their kids, but they just didn't know how to go about it or if there was anyone else out there that wanted the same things.

These weren't random parents, but were the parents of outstanding kids that my own kids have come to respect.  I have high hopes.