Wait, I've been here how long?!

My reaction today when I looked at the calendar and realized it is September....

Hello friends,

My wonderful front porch. 

This time I am writing from Santiago City. My New home for the foreseeable future! I have a wonderful house on the compound of the Diocesan Office here in Santiago.I have friendly neighbors who all have young children that like to hang out in my hammock. I attend Sunday Services and am now a member of the St. Marks Cathedral.

I spent about 2 weeks in Manila before heading to Santiago. I got to meet some incredible people and learn about the organization I'll be serving this year. I am working with the Episcopal Care foundation, an Asset Based Development Program focused on helping communities become self sustaining. For a week while I was in Manila I worked with Jenny Ong who runs the E-shop at the National Office of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines. The E-shop sells organic locally grown fruits and vegetables, locally processed snacks, and other goods. I worked for a few days in the store learning about the products and where they come from. I also attended a four day conference for the E-Care foundation. We talked about the Asset Based Community Development Program run by Episcopal Relief & Development as well as some workshops on how to monitor and evaluate the programs that are being set into place in the communities here.

At the end of the conference myself and four others rode together to Santiago, I think I enjoyed the scenery and the people too much to even realize we'd been in the truck for about 12 hours by the time we reached our destination. One of the stops we made along the way was for lunch at a little place we found called saGoat Kita Though I've had goat before, this was my first experience with goat intestine soup. I rather enjoyed it, and would probably eat it again.

St. Marks Cathedral EDS

My first week here in Santiago, I spent touring the offices of the Diocese (Christian education, Finance, Development etc...) and attending another conference for the Episcopal Diocese of Santiago. I had the opportunity to have some meeting and fellowship time with priests from around the diocese as well as other diocesan employees who are working towards implementing Asset Based Development Programs in their own communities. I have visited one of the SRI Farms(System of Rice Intensification) near the Cathedral and I have started working in Dap-Ayan, the E-shop here in Santiago.

I also visited a neighboring Diocese (EDNL or Episcopal Diocese of Northern Luzon) I met with the Bishop there who is retiring as bishop of EDNL in October and will become the Prime Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of the Philippines.  

Tomorrow is Sunday and the only thing on my schedule is mass and rest! Then more busy, wonderful, and exciting things to come.

Peace!

Feet on the Ground

Hello friends,

I am in the Philippines! I arrived safe, on time, and with all of my luggage, I count that as a victory.  
For the past few days I have been staying in Manila, the capital of the Philippines. It is a big city with traffic that would even frustrate a native New Yorker. The weather is mostly warm and/or rainy but that really isn't much different from when I left South Carolina.
I've had some time to explore and get a bit more acclimated to my new home. I visited one of the two malls that are very close to where I am staying here in Manila, It has a cinema and one of my favorite clothing stores. I even went to see Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles last night and let me just say the cinemas here have the right idea. First of all, the seats are actually super comfy living room reclines and each comes with pop corn and coke and you can bring in your own food without getting banned for life. Cinemas are just better in the Philippines.    

Quick update:
My placement has changed a bit from the Micro-finance program I was originally going to work with. I will now be working with Episcopal Relief & Development, specifically with their Episcopal Care Centers that are scattered across various parts of the Philippines.

Getting down to business:
For the next week I will be staying in Manila to attend a conference for the Episcopal Care Center, or E-Care. I will learn more about what the E-Care Center does and how it operates, as well as meeting people who work with different Centers across the Provinces.

After the conference I will make my way up to Santiago City, my new home for the next few months!

Peace,
Kayla    

#8537

Dear Friends,

After the discernment weekend is over, the MPO begins to place the young adults in various ministries around the world. Placing 27 or so young adults in those ministries based on their respective skill sets and hoping they correspond with the needs they may have, as the MPO puts it, "is an art not a science," and I must look rather abstract.

I'm a Certified Nursing Assistant with a lot of experience working in a Hospital, I have a Business degree, and experience working with youth and various different music ministries. So where do I end up? Where does that put me in the masterpiece that is YASC. In the Philippines of course!

8,537 miles from the upstate of South Carolina, lies Santiago City near Luzon which is on one of the 7,000 islands that make up the Philippines. The Philippines was a Spanish colony for more than three centuries until it was taken over by the US in the 20th century, and gained its own independence in 1946. The islands are spread over 115,831 sq miles and populated by about 96.5million people. Filipino and English are both official languages of the Philippines though their are 12 other languages that have official status on the regional level.

After having conversations with, what I've been calling "my handlers" at the MPO there are still some uncertainties with my placement. I will most likely be in Santiago City working with St. Mark's Episcopal church. They have various micro-finance projects that help locals get business loans to start their own businesses and help build a foundation for a stable and sustaining local economy. And I've heard from the YASCer who is there currently, they have a McDonald's that delivers. There is still a chance, however, that I end up in the southern Philippines working with some of the local farmers.

Wherever I end up, I have put it in God's hands, I'm trying to "let go and let God." I have prayed that wherever I may end up, it is his will, and I can serve God's people and see God's love in a new community.

Peace,
Kayla  

#YASC

Dear Friends,

As I hope many of you are considering embarking on this journey with me, I wanted to write a bit on what the Young Adult Service Corps is and how the whole process actually works.

The Young Adult Service Corps, or YASC, is a unique opportunity to be in relationship with people from a different culture in a different part of God's world.There are a variety of opportunities including; teaching, working in agricultural development, working with refugees and migrant workers, working in medical settings, and working in the provincial offices of the Anglican Communion.

I began the application back in December 2013 and attended a discernment retreat in February. During the discernment weekend, the applicants came together and talked about mission and the calling to serve God overseas. The weekend included one-on-one and group conversations with people from the Mission Personnel Office or MPO. They took the time to get to know all of us; what we like and don't like, what we're good at or not so good at etc. Then, after the discernment weekend the MPO works on placements based on your skills and what they learned about you during the weekend.

I found it very comforting that the MPO took time to get to know each of us individually before choosing a placement. I am looking forward to the opportunity to get to live and work in a different part of God's world.

Peace,
Kayla Massey