Mission in The Philippines.

Dear friends and family,

Grace and peace to you brothers and sisters in Christ I want to start off by saying thanks to all of my benefactors for your support, both in prayers and funds, this past year while I was in missions in the Philippines.

The Lord really blessed my life while I was there and He also allowed me to experience a few surprises too. Our first mission post was in a city of Malaybalay called Bukidnon and our second outreach mission took place in Sagay Camigun. While in Malaybalay, we worked with Fr. Vir and Arch Bishop Pacana. We rented out a house in the middle of town from the Bonjola family about 2 blocks from San Isidro Cathedral. We conducted 3 different outreaches in Malaybalay. The first was a small out reach program that we coordinated with the students from San Isidro College and the seminarians of St. Pope John XXII Seminary. In a small bharangi north of town in a chapel called Viva Santa. Rosa; we helped with a building project that included adding on to the chapel to increase the space for people to gather and we also helped with the music ministry for the children there. We also did street ministry with the Bajao people in Malaybalay city; sharing the “Good News”. Most of the people in the city are Bajaos (beggars) and looked down upon. We would meet with 3 to 7 families at a time, and typically we would gather them in one big group to give rice to families to eat. This was a true blessing for me and I really learned a lot; especially how fortunate we are in the United States.

As we walked around the town we saw kids with holes in there close and no shoes on their feet and it appeared that they had not bathed in quite some time. One of the boys ran up to us and asked us for money, but we chose to buy him food instead. We also asked this kid where his family was and if we could go meet them. As soon as we asked him, he ran to the other kids and started talking to them. After a few seconds of them whispering to each other, four kids ran up to us and told us follow them. At this time it felt as if the whole town was looking at us and trying to figure out what we were doing with those kids. It felt kind of weird and a bit scary as people continue to stop and stare. There was a big sporting event going on and there were a lot more people in town than usual. As we were walking, I asked the kid who was leading us to meet his family what was his name. He looked at me and laughed and then he said, “ Abraham” and he had a huge smile on his face. We walked by an outdoor basketball court with over 200 people gathered there and I really started to ask myself are we crazy for following this kid and not knowing where we are going. But I felt inside that it was okay and right about then Abraham smiled and I felt that through his smile God was telling me that things were okay. I knew then that I was to be here for this kid and his family. As we reached the end of a road, that lead to an alley-way which was in between two houses with a river behind them, I stopped for a while to lsee where I was, and as I looked behind me I counted 12 more kids following. As we reached the river, I looked over to my right and saw Abraham and his friends running toward what appeared to be some sort of house. He went to get his parent so that we could meet them. Abraham’s father immediately came up to greet us and asked us to sit with him and his family. So, we sat down and he introduced himself by saying, “Hello, Ako si Abraham; Hello, My name is Abraham.” We told him our names and then he introduced us to the families that were there as well. After meeting every one, we asked them if it would be okay if we read scripture to them and talked to them about the readings. Initially, they all had puzzled looks on their faces but they eventually nodded yes. Abraham then told his son to go and put on a shirt for the scripture reading. This really blew me away, seeing that these people have nothing but the clothes on their backs and these make-to-do homes and to see the reverence that they showed for the Lord, in the form of the word was inspiring. I still want to cry when I think about it.

When we finished the readings, we tried talking with them but it was a little difficult because all they spoke was Bajao. Abraham knew a little Vasyan, so we had to leave it up to the Holy Spirit for us to communicate. As we finished, we gave each and every family a kilo of rice and this was the beginning of the kind of work that we did every day for next three months, while we lived in Malaybalay. Our last outreach in Bukidnon was in Lantapan; it’s about a 45min drive from Malaybalay. We gave 48 bibles to the national high school there for the students, because the majority of the people can’t afford bibles. So we gave the bibles to the school library.

After the three moths of living there we felt that God was calling us to move to another location in the Philippines to help spread His word. We talked with a priest by the name of Fr. Joe from of Our Lady of The Holy Rosary Parish in Bugong, Sagay, Camigun. He said that he could use our help and this became our second home while in the Philippines. We moved into a house that was in an old restaurant that was donated to the church. The house was about 50 yards from the sea and was 3km away from the church. We bought mountain bikes to use as our means for transportation. We would ride them ride into town to get food and to go to mass.

We immediately began meeting the various Church communities and sharing with them our plans for being in Sagay. We gave retreats to the Altar severs and hosted talks and discussion groups for the young adult groups at the church for two weeks and then God had other plans for us. The next week Fr. Joe asked us if we were interested in doing a big task for him at the parish high school. This task was for us to teach at the high school. I felt kind of weird because it wasn’t too long ago that I graduated from high school and now I was being asked to teach. So, we prayed and decided that we would take on this great task. We thought that it would only be for a few weeks and it ended up being 4 months. I was responsible for teaching basic computer skill and physical education. So, there I was, on the first day of high school standing in front of 250 to 300 students. While I was standing there, I immediately went to God in prayer, asking Him for forgiveness for all of the troubles that I caused my teachers in high-school. I could tell by the looks in their eyes that some of the students had something in store for me. But it turned out to be an awesome experience! I taught 2 computer classes along with my co-missionary, Colby, in Computer 3^rd and 4^th year. I taught P.E. 1^st to 4^th year by myself. It was a challenge at first because of the language barrier and there were 2 students that were my age and 3 that were older than I was. Fr. Joe also asked us to be sure that the students stayed on campus during recess; which made us voluntary guards at the gates as well. The Lord really taught me patience with this assignment and He also allowed me to understand how much I had in life and not to ever take anything for granted again. Because most of the students I taught didn’t have a lot of money, so they were always hungry and looking for something to eat. Their parents had to scrape us what they could to pay for their school and doing both was a big task. The students that were the same age or older then me, took the time to help me learn as much of the language that I could. I also spent my days off teaching them English. I still, to this day, and will never forget the school or these kids.

The last month that we were in Sagay was very hectic; we had to get the whole Church and the school ready for the arrival of the Papa Nuncio. So, all the staff, students and much of the community worked, donating their time to clean and fix the church. They worked night and day with the whole town working as a team to get things done. In the 3^rd week of the last month, we were able to see and meet the Papa Nuncio, Joseph E. Adams from Manila. We also made a sign with the logo of the Family Missions Company and presented it to the Nuncio at the mass. After the mass we walked to Fr. Joe’s house and meet the Nuncio and got a blessing. We, then proceeded to the Sagay gym to celebrate his Excellency’s birthday that same day and they planned a big fiesta for him. We also got the opportunity to sit and dine with him on stage.

As our time in the Philippines was nearing an end, I felt that it was time to start praying about where Bod was calling me to be. Although, I loved and wanted to return to the Philippines for my second year; I felt that God was calling me to serve in Saltillo, Mexico. Interesting enough, after our discernment retreat, I found out that I would be serving in Saltillo, Mexico with Jon, and John Paul in the parish of Ojo De Agua. So I ask you, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, to pleas pray to the Holy Spirit for my next mission. To serve the Lord in the way that He sees fit and for the funds to be there that will provide for me financially to live out this mission and this call. If you feel called to assist me financially you may send a one time donation of a monthly donation (with my name in the memo) to: Family Missions Company c/o Christopher Alexander, 12624 Everglade Road Abbeville, LA 70510. You can also visit the website at www.fmcmissions.com.

May the Grace of God and the peace of Christ be with you and your family.

Thank you very much.

Christopher Dalton Alexander

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