I think I’ve mentioned this before but the Manila Embassy has a charity organization called the US Embassy Club (USEC). They sponsor 8 different welfare projects in the city and fundraise...
Volunteering
Wow, my spirits are still soaring after visiting the sensational children of Friendship Home today! It was a big day – the Halloween Party! There were 3 stations for the kids to rotate...
As I lay in bed writing this post, I can honestly say that after 5 hours with 35 eleven and twelve year olds, Nick and I are officially exhausted. But it’s a good exhaustion, one of those...
I was in charge of designing a holiday party for the Friendship Home kids. I was determined to make it highly memorable, introducing the kids to a few new holiday activities. It didn’t take...
I’m sure it won’t come as a shock when I say that I’ve been a bit down lately. The 6 month mark hit hard, compounded by the Christmas factor. Thank goodness for Rachel’s...
Just wrapped up part 2 of our two week Valentine’s Day celebration at Friendship Home. My Mom and Dad helped me kick it off last week when they were in town. Last week’s party was 1/2...
Today was a big day. It was the start of my pro-bono coaching work at Carewell, a local Cancer Resource and Wellness Community. If you remember back, I found Carewell in the midst of a personal...
Wow, it’s hard to believe, but I just crossed the 1 month mark at Carewell. In those four weeks I was able to hold seven different group coaching sessions not only for cancer patients, but...
On Saturday Nick and I had the pleasure of accompanying 25 kids from Friendship Home to a local water park (along with a few other adults thankfully!).  As I’ve mentioned before, these kind...
Minnesotagal’s Note: This is a big day! The first-ever Guest Blog post from my current visitor and dear friend, Sarah Lynn Jansen. I hope you enjoy the varied perspective. If you’re a...
It’s been a fun-filled 48 hours for Jenna in Manila. We didn’t waste any time jumping in, going directly from the airport to the American Women’s Club monthly shopper’s...
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. Â These kids derive so much joy from the simplest things in life and it is so amazingly heart-warming! Â I just love being with them. Â Screw...
Guess what arrived in the mail as my very first Birthday gift??? Â The biggest box of Retro ’80s candy I had ever seen!! Â Thanks to my oh-so-hip in-laws, I was the recipient of an assortment...
I have the most heart-warming story to share with you today! Â Back in April you’ll remember that Nick and I accompanied the Friendship Home kids to the Water Park (CLICK HERE to read that...
This morning I had the pleasure of joining my friend Barb (and 2 other lovely ladies) for a shopping adventure at Divisoria (which is like Greenhills, only more chaotic). Â Our mission: To spend $150...
It was an exciting day at Friendship Home. Â We did a fun science project exploring thermodynamics by making ice cream from scratch using only ice and zip lock bags. Â While the entire process was...
Hello blog readers- Sorry for the posting delay! Â I have a good excuse – I was busy getting myself to Minnesota! Â I’m getting settled in nicely now and enjoying spending time with my...
One of the many volunteer hats I wear is that of Worldwide Recruitment Specialist (my self-appointment title) for the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University (CSB/SJU) in Minnesota...
As is the tradition, we put on a big ole Halloween Party for the kiddos this week. Â Man was it fun! Â Their energy is especially infectious on ‘special days’ like these when we go all...
It was a joyful week here in Manila.  I had the privilege of hosting a recruiter from my Alma Mater, the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University.  She was only here for 5 days, so...
As many of you remember, last year was a VERYÂ tough Christmas for me. Â After those challenging few days, Nick and I made a pact that we would change things up for Christmas 2010 to ensure we...
WE DID IT! Presents for Pinoys is fully funded with over $1000 being generously given by this blogging community! Â All I can say is WOW – I am humbled and totally in awe of how you stepped up...
Well, it was a big day here in Manila… my elves and I wrapped nearly 100 presents in 4 hours time! Â If you’ve been reading my blog lately, you know that these presents are for the...
Today was our annual Holiday party with the kids from Friendship Home. Â Each year we take them out to do something ‘special’ during the holidays. Â In December of ’09, if you...
WAHOOOOOO! Â Presents for Pinoys was a SMASHING SUCCESS! Â I will have lots and lots more photos for you tomorrow morning, but bed is calling my name right now. Â More later… In the meantime...
The night I had been waiting for months to arrive was finally upon us! Â After all the fundraising, all the wrapping and all the transporting, it was finally time to give out the gifts… and...
In accepting this cancer work, I knew that facing loss was part of the deal . . . although part of me was hoping I wouldn’t have to deal with it so soon. Â Sadly, I lost my first cancer client...
Two weeks ago my dear client (and friend)Â Magne died of cancer. Â She was only in her early 50’s, so her death left many young children and grand-children behind. Â I knew it was important for...
24 years my senior, I never expected for Marisa and I to become so close. Â I originally met Marisa during my volunteer work at Carewell. Â She was a frequent attendee and ended up...
Yesterday I had the amazing good fortune of joining the Canadian International Society (Not just for Canadians!) for a morning of volunteering at Casa Hogar, a home for single mothers under the age...
Last week I had the good fortune of visiting the non-profit CIMA with the Canadian International Society, an expat group here that has supported this organization since it’s inception 25 years...
Today I had an interview for a volunteer Chaplain position. I wasn’t really sure what I was signing up for, nor did I know if I was qualified, but my intuition told me that I needed to pursue...
The excitement is building folks. I’m just 3 days away from my 8 hour Chaplain volunteer training at the hospital! Today I met up with a chaplain (paid, not volunteer) and CTI-trained Coach who...
Saturday was my long-awaited chaplaincy training at the hospital. It was an 8 hour affair and required some serious focus due to the massive amount of information that we received in that short time...
I started back up again at the hospital as a chaplain after taking the summer off to travel to MN. As I mentioned in an earlier post, back in May I wanted to quit because it felt too frustrating to...
This past Saturday, a group of 20 of us from the Embassy had the opportunity to do a volunteer project with a local non-profit. This was the first volunteer project I’d planned, so I was...
You should be impressed with me because on Saturday I helped build a house out of literally 2 things – mud and bricks. And in the 8 hours we worked on it, the house went from looking like...
Twas a week of firsts, dear readers! The highs continue to be very high and the lows, while less frequent, still feel very low at these early stages. I will prevail though, so don’t you worry...
Happy 2019, my dear readers! If your December was anything like mine, then it is only a hazy blur in the memory. And the weirdest part is I can’t even think of what we did that kept us so busy...
It’s my favorite time of year in Mumbai – Festival Season! For the next 3 months it’s non-stop festivals. This week is Janmashtami (Lord Krishna’s Birthday) & Dahi Handi...
I think what I love most about my new church is that it’s so vastly different than any church I’ve attended before. For starters, it doesn’t look anything like a church. You would never know it was a...