Pictures

A fellow missionary with one of the sick kids at the clinic

Chris and Elias's first taste of boiled goat meat

Kalulu and his healed hand

Standing among pulug, an edible root

At the start of our hike into the mountains

December 15, 2011

Hello to all our friends! We are in Brookes Point for 2 days to use internet and buy a few supplies. It's nice to see different scenery but the city is so noisy and hot. I think we prefer the sounds of the jungle lulling us to sleep instead of the blaring radio. We have been busy the past few months. We had our first experiences with inpatients and it was a challenge. It is a whole new level of responsibility when someone's life depends on the care that you give them. It is also challenging because we don't have many laboratory capabilities. We can check hemaglobin, blood sugar, and a basic urine dipstick. What a difference from Western medicine! One interesting medical story. Chris and I were eating breakfast when we heard a loud bang, kind of like a gunshot or firecracker. We didn't think much of it, but half an hour later we heard people shouting at the clinic. When we got there Kalulu, a witch doctor and powerful elder, was there with a towel around his hand. He had been making a bomb to kill a pig that was eating his farm when it exploded in his hand. He complained of problems seeing and also had a severly wounded hand. 4 of 5 fingers were damaged and the middle finger was barely attached at the top. The bone was exposed and Chris thought that he might have to amputate it. He decided that there might be enough blood flow on one side of the finger and sewed it back on. After 4 hours of suturing and over 100 stitches, we asked if he would allow us to pray for his hand. His family was also there which was unusuall because they don't like the missionaries and try to stay away. He agreed and allowed us to pray. We were doubtful that the middle finger would heal and told him that if it did get better, it was because God healed his finger. We saw him a few days ago and his finger looks healthy with no signs of infection. Praise God!
When we are not in the clinic we have been busy visiting and making friends. They like to have potluck and since missionaries have been here for so many years, they have been exposed to some american foods. They especially like peanut butter, nutella, and macaroni. The people are so generous that we can hardly give away more food than we receive. And relationships are of the utmost importance here. It is not unusual to go visit someone unanounced and talk for a few hours. We truly feel loved here.
While we are enjoying our time here, we have had a few struggles. Recently the church members went to the lowlands for 2 weeks to learn how to give bible studies and deal with spiritual warfare. While they were gone the devil was attacking those left in the mountains. Minor inconveniences added up. The water system broke leaving us without water. The generator broke (we use it for nebulizing treatments in the clinic), several very sick kids came in a row, staff members got sick, and one family experienced spiritual attacks at night. I was feeling discouraged after we ran out of propane during all of this and was praying to God. He brought to my mind Colossians 1:11 "We pray that you will be strenghtened with his glorious power that you may have all the patience and endurance that you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father." That has been my daily prayer and all the prior problems have been resolved. We are learning to depend on God for our daily needs. We thank you for your continued prayers and praise God for his many blessings.
Chris and Amy

New Letter From Amy

Nov. 4

Just after I sent the last letter I got to experience helping with a birth. Actually, the baby was born before we got there and the baby was just lying on the mat, still attached to the cord. During labor they have someone push down on the mother's belly to keep the baby from crawling up into the chest. All the babies so far have been born at home because that's how it has always been done here and I think they are a little scared of the clinic. We cut the cord, delivered the placenta and got the baby cleaned up and he's a healthy baby boy. I don't think they have named him yet. I also got to experience sleeping at a local's hut. Ali, Alanna and I hiked across the river to a village near Kensuli and stayed at Nini's house. We cooked spaghetti for them and they made rice and leaves. As soon as it was dark we laid out our sleeping mats on the bamboo floor and went to sleep. All the girls slept in one house and all the guys in a house next door. I had no problem sleeping on the hard floor, but I remember as a kid I preferred the floor to a bed, so maybe that's why. The nurse that was here when we arrived left last week to go home and we are very sad about that. The clinic is busy and Chris has his hands full since he is in charge. We are also teaching English classes at the high school. My students say that English is "inside out" with spelling and I have to agree. The Palawan language is nice in that everything is spelled as it sounds. The women here all make various baskets and crafts and my goal is to learn how to make some. A girl named Naklin taught me to make stars out of bamboo and another plant from the jungle. They also make a kind of basket that looks like a snake might pop out at any moment. When Chris hangs out with the men, they usually go blowgun hunting and he is getting pretty good. I am recovering from malaria and hope to never get it again. It's like getting a bad case of the flu. Please pray that we continue to learn the language and bond with the people here. We miss you all!

Letter from Amy

The first few weeks here Chris and I have been adjusting to new food, new customs, and new ways of doing everyday tasks. The hike into the mountains was not as difficult as we were expecting, probably because the trail conditions were perfect, not too wet or too dry. It took our group 3 hours. We are living in a valley and to hike to any nearby villages requires hiking straight up and down. Everyone here either hikes barefoot or wears a rubber sandal called a Duralite. The other day I went to a village wearing the Duralites because the trail was fairly dry, but it started raining and my trip down was like skiing. I'm sure I look pretty funny to the Palawanos, slipping and falling while they calmly hike down, usually carrying a very heavy load. Most days we work in the clinic for the morning and then go to a nearby village to language learn for the afternoon. It's fun to explore the trails and find new people to talk to. Most villages are really 3-4 huts on the side of the mountain. Our hut is very nice with running water and a 2-burner propane stove. Most meals are rice with ista'an (the word for anything you eat with rice), usually some kind of curry. We have been trying many different kinds of vegetables. Kumbohang and pulu are roots that taste like potatoes and are the staple (along with rice) of the people here. There is syote, sweet potatoes, and various green leaves that taste similar to spinach. The first week we were here there were two weddings. One was located in the village of Kensuli, about 45 minutes away. Everyone traveled to Kensuli the night before and met in the schoolhouse. The elders and family spent a while discussing what would happen the next day and then they started cooking. We eventually went to sleep at a family's house. Chris woke up in the middle of the night and saw them skin and cut up 4 goats. The actual wedding took place at 7 the next morning. It was a very westernized ceremony with the bride wearing a white dress and a similar ceremony to most Christian weddings in the US. They took a few pictures and then the elders decided that they needed to do a traditional ceremony as well. This ceremony is basically the elders talking about the terms of the marriage and whatever else they feel like talking about. The husband must pay for his wife and also give a gift of tadyungs (tadjung) to the bride's family. A tadyung is a multipurpose cloth that can be used as a blanket, garment, or to carry anything. The elders can also charge for different offenses. For example, this groom went directly to his bride's father to ask for her hand in marriage. Traditionally, he should have gone to the elders of her village, so he was fined. He also was fined because the wedding occurred at a later date than what was originally set. They served rice, pansit, and goat meat after the wedding was finalized and the whole thing was done by 10 am. The 2nd wedding was much smaller with just the elders talking. The bride sat covering her face with a tadyung the whole time because she was shy. Most people here are very shy and couples don't show affection in public. For the most part, men and women are separated in any public gathering with men on one side and women on the other. The clinic is busy, especially on Sunday which is market day. There are 4 of us working in the clinic, but 1 nurse is leaving at the end of the month. All in all we are very happy here. Our biggest challenge right now is learning the language. Most people are friendly and willing to help us learn. They give lots of encouragement which is nice. There is no internet and we don't know if we will have any access while we are here, so Becca is putting this on our blog for us. (Thanks Becca!) We have our cell phone linked to our Facebook page, so if you send a message to our page (1-2 sentences at a time) it will come as a text to our phone. We can't initiate a message but we can reply. Well, thanks for your continued prayers. We will try to keep this blog updated every few months or so.

Sincerely,

Chris and Amy Kinney

No Internet

Amy and Chris do not have internet access in Palawan. Amy sent me a letter with information to post which will arrive in approximately a month. I will post the letter when it arrives.

Becca (Amy's sister)

Ready to leave

We are getting ready to leave for Palawan on Monday. We spent the past month at the AFM training facilities in Berrien Springs, MI.The training far exceeded our expectations (we really didn't know what to expect) and we both feel like the training would have been worth it even if we weren't going as missionaries. The staff taught us about worldview, skills on how to learn any language, and how to communicate effectively with people. It was easy to see that sharing experiences and investing in young people was a top priority for our teachers. After training, Chris and I drove back to California and have been visiting family. We did some backpacking and climbing around Idlywild and while it was fun to have some time off, we are both anxious to get to Palawan and finally see where we will be living. The plan is to fly to Seoul, South Korea and then on to Manila. From there we take a small plane to the island of Palawan and will spend a day or two getting supplies in the main city of Puerto Princessa. We take a bus to the southern part of the island and then repack our supplies by the kilo for transport into the mountains. We have been told that it takes between 4 to 6 hours to hike in, depending on our level of fitness. We appreciate your prayers as we are challenged to adapt to a new culture.

Moving

Thank you to everyone who has helped us reach our fundraising goal! God has blessed and we have received all our funds for the upcoming year. We are currently in the process of packing up our belongings and will be moving this Friday. We have mixed feelings about the move. We are sad to leave so many wonderful friends here in Lincoln but excited for this new adventure. We will be in training with AFM through the middle of August and then we will leave for Palawan a few weeks after that. Please continue to keep us in your prayers.

Beginnings

What an exciting time! Chris and I have accepted the call to go as student missionaries to the island of Palawan in the Philippines. We will be working with the Georges who have been in that area for 15 years. Leonda George started the medical clinic and we will be working to serve the native Palawans by providing free medical care. It is a fairly small clinic but can hold up to 4 inpatients at a time. From what we know, the village is very remote. There are no roads and we must hike 4-5 hours to reach the bamboo hut where we will be living. This will be a big change from living with electricity and running water but we are excited about this new experience.
It was not an easy decision to make, but both Chris and I feel that God is leading us to serve him in the Philippines. We had always talked about doing missionary work and had spoken with AFM on a few occasions, but didn't seriously consider it until we learned that there were 2 medical positions open in Palawan. We aren't ready to commit to a long term assignment right now, but 1 year seems like a good amount of time to see if this is something we might want to do longer in the future. This is also a perfect time to go as Chris is graduating and we don't have a house or much of anything holding us back. We appreciate your support and prayers as we embark on this new adventure!