The Bailey family adjusting to and diving into their mission

Here are some things we have been up to since arriving in Malaybalay.

Here is our neighborhood chapel where we attend Sunday Mass.

San Roque Chapel

 we do a weekly bible study with the Isla Bonita community.

Here are some children at the weekly Bible Study

We start with praise and worship songs.

We visited a Deaf School that we would really like to work with and help find sponsors so more children can go to school there.

 (It is only $10 to sponsor a child!)

 Right now there are only about 6 students.

Here we are visiting the jungle to have Desert Day (time to read scripture and pray quietly in nature),

and the girls got to go swimming in a mountain spring pool.

It was freezing!

Grace has been searching for the biggest leaf.

I think she found it!

The moms and girls have been making house visits in Isla Bonita.

Here we are visiting a woman who just had a baby.

All the local kids came in to say hello!

The dads have been doing work projects like building roofs and walls and putting in cement floors.

Here you can see Donovan through the house because they are putting up new walls.

We visited a Mall in Cagayan de Oro and I finally found some Mexican food (my hugest pregnancy craving)!

The girls play “water play” with our laundry tubs when it gets hot.

We also visit the City Jail where we sing, pray and give testimonies and talks.

Arriving

Here Catherine and Mr. Ed are looking at the monkeys

 Here we are waiting for the inmates in the meeting room.

Introducing our family

Then of course there is getting used to life in Malaybalay

 our new house

our new car (a Filipino family has generously let us borrow)

our new way of doing laundry

and cooking and eating Filipino food.

Felicity has been enjoying fresh mango! 

Everyone in the family likes Filipino mangoes (which taste different to us then ones we have eaten in the U.S. And Mexico)

And finally this is the spider Donovan chased around the girls room.

It is a “small” one of its type (Giant Huntsman Spider: has the largest leg span of any spider in the world with a foot diameter from leg to leg) and I hope the biggest and LAST that we find in our house!

Maricel and her Family

There is a family who lives in Isla Bonita (a community in Malaybalay) that we have been helping. We hired Maricel to work in our home three days a week and she is very sweet and hard working. Mondo and Maricel have four children, two girls and two boys. Their youngest boy David who is five years old has bowed legs from malnutrition. This past week he was bitten by a dog on the hand and is now receiving 4 rabies shots. His little sister Rachel was just diagnosed with pneumonia and asthma and was in the hospital for three days this week. Like many family's in Isla Bonita they can't always afford to buy food or even rice. We visited their house recently and I was face-to-face with their needs.

The roof has a large gap and many other small openings that lets in the rain and insects.

It is our hope to replace the leaves with tin panels.

 As I looked around I realized that not only was the roof falling apart but the walls were barley there.

 This is a large hole in the wall near their wood burning stove. Notice the walls are made of bamboo strips woven together.

They have sheets up in place where the walls used to be.

This sheet is on the edge of the family bed which on the other side drops down a hill to a small stream. L to R David (barely visible), Long-Long and Rebekah (not pictured is her oldest daughter Jonahcel). 

They have no bathroom but must go outside. Their small one room house has one bed for all 6 family members. The bed is made of bamboo slats with no mattress. They have no electricity and no running water. They must go to a family's house to fill their water jugs for cleaning, drinking and washing clothes.

 Another gap in their wall.

 Here Maricel stands in the doorway (where they prop a door up at night).

 To get to their house there is a very steep hill that gets muddy and slippery. They often fall trying to climb down to their house and it is especially hard for little David. We hope to put in cement steps and a handrail.

 We have been praying for this family and thinking about them a lot. We believe that God has given us this opportunity to help them. Recently I was thinking about Lent and making sacrifices. I don't know what you have decided to give up this Lent, but may I make a suggestion? Would you consider giving up a material comfort for this family and donating the money you would have spent to help rebuild their house?

Perhaps you give up Starbucks once a week = $20 a month

or everyday = $150 a month.

your family could give up eating out once a week = $80 a month

give up going to the movies = $10

Whatever you decide please consider praying about it and praying for this family. Whatever sacrifice you make this lent makes your prayers that much more powerful.

A few things our family has given up as missionaries in the Philippines (maybe it will help you think of something you could give up this Lent):

• hot showers
• bath tubs
• air conditioning
• many dairy products (fresh cheese, sour cream, fresh milk)
• many types of meat (hamburgers, steaks, pork chops, ribs, bacon, you get the picture)
• a television (& cable)
• access to perpetual internet (give up internet except 2 hours a week)

If you would like to help this family donations can be made by clicking HERE. Make sure to put Maricel Home Project in the memo line. Everyday we are made more aware of how much we have been blessed with materially in the United States compared to so many other countries. As you think about all you have and have been blessed with remember that God has given you these things so that you can share them with others. A little goes a long way here and God will bless you for your generosity!

All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each ones need.         - Acts 2:44-45

Dominic Update

Surgery is over and all went well. Praise God! Thank you all for your prayers, we ask for continued prayers for his recovery and healing for the next few months.

Pray for Dominic

Please pray for our nephew Dominic who is in KC ,in  surgery at this moment (7:00 am March 10 and last all day). we just had a mass said for him as he was being prepared for surgery. please refer below for more info from Donovan's mother.

Please add Dominic Bailey to the prayer list for the next month or more.  He will have a 9 hour surgery on March 10 at the KU Medical Center in KC, KS to have two rods placed in his spine. 

His Duchene Muscular Dystrophy has destroyed his muscles so greatly that the curvature of his spine is causing health issues, he is unable to cough because his muscles are deteriorated, his intestines have shifted to one side due to the curvature, one lung will not expand properly and his heart (the most important muscle) is deteriorating as well.  He has suffered two bouts of pneumonia in the past year, the hope is to straighten his spine to allow his lung to expand better and give him a little more coughing ability.  Pray that the surgery will be successful, that God will steady the Dr’s hand during the long procedure.

Dominic is 13 years old and you may have seen him at church (St. Jude) at the 11:00 Mass or in the parish hall during Coffee and Rolls gathering.  He has been in a wheel chair permanently since he made his first communion at the age of 8.  His little brother, Christian now 4, also has DMD and will progress similarly as Dominic through the years.  We pray for a miracle every day, asking that if it be God’s will to please find a cure for this debilitating disease.  How wonderful it would be for Dominic to be able to walk again, to be able to hold something in his hands again (more than 5 lbs.), to hold his back up straight and not be in constant pain, to straighten his legs, to feed himself, to use the restroom alone, to raise his hand in class, and to know his brother won’t have to suffer in the same way he has. 

How many muscles does it take to help?  One, your heart!

Please pray that Mother Theresa of Calcutta, Mary our mother, Joseph (and all the saints) take our prayers to the Father, and bring his healing to Dominic and Christian and all other boys that suffer with DMD. 

Whatever God’s will, also pray that we will be able to accept it gracefully, as Jesus said, Your will, not mine.

 

Thank you for your prayers,

Linda Bailey

A celebration!

So we had a special little celebration the other day. Here is a picture of the cake:

Can you guess what we were celebrating? We just found out we are expecting a baby in October!

We all gathered at the Romero's house and ate chocolate cake to celebrate. Please pray for a healthy and safe pregnancy and delivery. It is a bit of a challenge to be nauseous and tired all the time and adjust to a new place to live at the same time. We are so excited with this new gift and blessing!

From the U.S. to Malaybalay

THE SHORT VERSION:

Here is a breakdown of our travels:

Monday, January 27th 7:30 pm -

leave Big Woods in a 4 hour car caravan to Houston Texas

January 28^th fly out of Houston - fly 10 hours to Moscow

layover for 2 hours in Moscow

fly for 12 hours to Singapore

6 hour layover in Singapore

fly 4 hours to Manila

stayed in a hotel in Manila

fly1 hour 20 minutes to Cagayan de Oro (our Island of Mindanao)

stayed in Cagayan Friday – Monday for rest and retreat

left Cagayan by bus and drove 3 hours to Malaybalay

took a 10 minute multicab trip to our neighborhood

took a 5 minute motorella trip up the bumpy dirt road to our housing addition

finally arrived HOME!!! by now it was Monday, February 3^rd at about 3 pm

(which was Sunday, Feb. 2^nd at 1 am Kansas time)

We traveled for over a week and spent over 35 hours flying/driving to get here. There are not many other places in the world that it takes that long to get to!

THE LONG VERSION:

We left Big Woods Monday evening January 27^th after diner. Our group of 3 families (Baileys, Seilhans & Romeros), the girls Camigiun team (Alex, Rebecca, Breana & Genevieve), Mr. Ed, and John (Lindsey Romeros brother who will be visiting Malaybalay for a few months) drove about 4 hours to Houston, TX where we stayed in a hotel for the night. In the morning we joined for community prayer and ate breakfast. We checked out of the hotel, grabbed Subway for lunch (our last meal in the U.S.!) and got to the airport early.

We were taking Singapore Air, which is usually busy when the Romeros check-in. There was no one in line at all (what a blessing). A lady from the airline gathered all our passports and had everyone checked-in together. They put all of our luggage together in a crate for the trip.

Rounding up and tagging all the checked baggage

We couldn't take any liquids so they all had to be packed together in a box that we had to check. We were stopping over in Moscow, Russia and because of the Olympics and the special precautions there was absolutely no liquids allowed on board. That mean that our essential oils and cold medicine weren't with us on the flight (to help with nausea and stuffy noses). We breezed through security with no lines again and made it to our gate. Many flights where cancelled because of the weather but because of our route our flight was not. The airport felt almost empty which made our experience super easy.

We boarded our airplane and settled into our seats. It was a large airplane with 3 groups of 3 seats across each row. Our family sat together and the group was nearby.

The girls where very excited about flying because they each got their own tv to watch movies and play games on. They vegged most of the time flying the first 3 flights we took.

Flying over the U.S. above the clouds!

We were served dinner shortly after take-off. The girls got special kids meals and we all watched movies after dinner. I tried to sleep but had a hard time, maybe getting 3 hours here and there. The girls may have slept for an hour. We woke up, watched another movie and they served breakfast (even though to us it was about 3 in the morning)! The girls didn't want to sleep and spent most of the time watching movies and playing games. During the flight a man on board got sick and had to be quarantined. They moved our group (because of the children to the next group of seats closer to the front of the plane. We arrived in Moscow and it was very cold outside. There was snow on the ground and we were all wearing t-shirts and sandals. The Russian medical quarantine group had to board the plane and check on the man who was sick. Then they took him off the plane and we were then able to get off.

Family pic in Moscow airport!

We had to quickly go through security and take bathroom breaks. They cleaned and re-fueled the plane and we re boarded.

We had our original seats again and once again settled in and where served another meal.

Flying over Moscow.

For the first 3 flights each time we took off or landed the stewardess would bring hot towels. It was nice to clean your face and hands and it also provided some relief for Donovan's congestion. His ears were really hurting with the altitude changes. Hannah was having some ear pain as well, but not as bad.

Hot towel!

We watched more movies and I kept telling the girls to get some rest. They thought they weren't tired so they stayed awake. Felicity slept the most of the girls and was awake on and off. She got a little restless and wanted to walk up and down the aisles. Her she is NOT sleeping.

Enjoying the flight!

Considering we had been flying for almost 20 hours they did amazing and really had no problems (besides not wanting to sleep). We arrived in Singapore and had 4 hours to walk around and explore. It looked like a very nice mall with shopping, food and places for the kids. Their was a family area where the kids played on a jungle gym.

Time to play!

It was very clean and a great family-friendly airport. Their were beautiful gardens, a coi pond and places for the kids to do art.

There were also some unique bathroom options!

By this time I realized that my feet and legs had swollen up very badly. We hung out next to the M&M store, ate McDonald's for snack and I laid on the floor with my feet up. All the flying was really making my feet swell and nothing I did seemed to help. I tried to drink lots of water and encouraged the kids to do the same.

Watching M&M commercials while we wait.

We met back up with our group and boarded a new airplane headed for Manila. This flight also had personal TVs and we were again served food. By this time we had been mostly awake for 30 hours. About halfway through our 4 hour flight the girls started to pass out. By the time we were landing in Manila they where all asleep.

Passed out!

They slept through the landing and then we had to shake them awake (which was not easy). Catherine was so asleep that when she stood up to walk off the plane she was stumbling. I asked her 4 times to pick up her sweater, but she couldn't figure out where it was. She tried to walk into the cockpit instead of off the plane and then she tripped on the step down out of the plane. I had a hard time not laughing at her.

We had to go through customs which went very quickly (I handed the man a sheet of paper I had filled out on the plane). We went through security which was also quick and smooth for our family. We picked up the luggage for the entire group, loaded it onto luggage carts and made our way to the money exchange booths. We exchanged all the U.S. Dollars we had left into Filipino pesos. The exchange rate was 45.1 pesos to every dollar. We finally headed outside to find the bus shuttle to the hotel. We fit all the luggage and our whole group on the bus.

Passed out on the bus.

We stayed at the Remington Hotel (one of the nicest in the Philippines) and it was only about $59 a night. We waited in the lobby while Lindsey checked-in our group.

Passed out in the hotel lobby.

We had two rooms for our family so Donovan & I split up with the girls.

One of our rooms (Hannah still asleep).

One of our bathrooms.

In the morning we had a buffet breakfast that our whole family really enjoyed. They had “american” food as well as lots of Asian dishes.

Rested up at the hotel after 12 hours of sleep.

We packed up at the hotel and headed to the airport for our last flight that would take us to our island of Mindanao.

Arriving at the Manila airport for our last flight to Cagayan de Oro.

We waited a little while at the airport and boarded a smaller plane this time.

The flight only lasted an hour and 20 minutes. It was the bumpiest flight we took so far (it made me nervous, but I am afraid to fly).

Grace sitting next to Travis.

First glimpse of Mindanao (our island).

Here are a few videos of our landing in Cagayan de Oro (a coastal town on the island about 3 hours away from Malaybalay.

Some of the girls got to see the cockpit and meet the pilots.

We waited for a short time Kring & Ramon (Filipino missionaries who found our house & prepared it for us) and Fr. Jo (the priest on Camiguin island) plus some of their friends to arrive at the airport to welcome us and drive us to the Convento (diocese rectory where we would stay the weekend). They brought several vehicles to drive us and all the luggage for our group of 23.

Felicity & Rebecca waiting for a ride to the Convento.

Alex showing Maggie pictures of herself  = too cute!

Beautiful girls, beautiful flowers!
L to R: front row: Evie & Felicity
Back row: Grace, Olivia, Hannah & Catherine

Donovan had to bend down so Kring could reach.

Ramon & Kring are on the far left (matching t-shirts) and Fr. Jo is behind them by Mr. Ed

Camiguin Girls: left to right Genevieve, Alex (team leader), Rebecca, & Breana

Seilhans: left to right: Emily (12), Philip (13), Melissa, Isaac (13), Travis in the back and Olivia (10) in the front

We enjoyed the rest and hospitality we received while at the Convento. Several of Lindsey's friends came to help watch children and prepare meals for our group.

Where we ate all our meals at the Convento.

View from the Convento (look at all those palm trees!)

Our family's shared bedroom with bathroom & shower (cold water only).

Praying on the top floor of the convento.

We went to Mass Sunday and had community prayer each day. We traveled by taxi or motorella to the mall to do some shopping. Their was a McDonald's and a grocery store so we took the girls to lunch and bought some snacks for the bus ride we would take to our city of Malaybalay. At McDonald's you could order fried chicken, Filipino spaghetti and rice was one of the side options (rice is everywhere and everyone eats it all the time). They put sweet mayonnaise on the hamburgers (everything in the Philippines is sweet = mayo, spaghetti, bread, etc.). Hannah found a store named after her at the mall.

Welcome to Hannah's!

On Sunday after Mass at the Cathedral we traveled to the Divine Mercy Pilgrimage by Jeepnee.

Cute missionary!

Riding Filipino style (our whole group = 23 people!)
Donovan found some leg room.

A view from the inside!

The rays of grace and mercy, reminding us of the water and blood that flowed from the heart of Jesus, where actually stairs that you could climb right to the heart of Jesus. There was a tabernacle at the top and we were given 30 seconds to knell and pray. I offered up my sufferings and sacrifices for my nephew Dominic and his upcoming back surgery.

The view of the ocean (facing the statue).

 On Monday we said goodbye to the Camiguin girls group and went to the bus depot to board a charter bus to Malaybalay. As we walked through a market a couple little children about 6 or 7 years old were following us and begging for money. They were dirty and looked like they lived on the street. I gave the little girl some pesos and said God Bless You. We were hurrying through the market to the bus station so I didn't have much time to do anything else. Please pray for the children and the poor of the Philippines (they are much poorer than any of our poor in the U.S).

Before getting on the bus we grabbed lunch at Jolly Bee (like a Filipino McDonald's). The bus was air conditioned (a blessing) and it took about 3 hours to get to Malaybalay.

We sat in the very back row so Donovan could put his legs into the aisle.

We finally arrived in our city and then had to take a multi-cab to our neighborhood (about 10 minutes away).

Grace looking at the view sitting next to Ramon and Ram.

We're almost there!

Then we got off that and had to take a motorella up the bumpy dirt road to our housing subdivision.

Trying to figure out how we are all going to fit our family, the driver and Ramon & Ram.

Somehow we figured it out!

The bumpy dirt road leading to our housing subdivision.

We found out that our house is brand new and many of the houses on our street have not been completed yet. All day you can hear construction going on. After over a week we were finally in our new home. We were all thoroughly exhausted and took naps when we got home. Kring & Ramon had prepared our house so nicely for us and we felt very blessed.