Christmastime in Manila: Top 10

This is our fourth Christmas in the Philippines and for the first time ever, I think I spent more time reflecting on what I will miss about Christmas here than I did reflecting on what I miss about Christmas in Canada. As a family, we’ve known life in the Philippines more than life in BC and while I still feel homesick this season, it feels I’ve suddenly switched to being sad about the day when we’ll have to say goodbye to this city, these people and this life here. In some ways it has been a very difficult season for us- one where the familiarity of our home culture might have eased many struggles- but in other ways, Manila has never felt more like home than it does this year. In no particular order, here’s a little list of the highlights of our Christmas season:

1. Meeting Tita Sam’s baby, Yashari. What a sweet little teeny-weeny-cutie-pie bundle of joy I got to hold. Teyah was nearly twice as big at birth so she seems SO tiny! We are so happy for our dear helper, Sam, and her family and it was lovely to spend an afternoon in her home snuggling her little one.

2. Cody’s preschool Christmas concert. I was nearly in tears over the sweetness of hearing his little voice recite lines and sing songs and then watching his little dance moves had me in stitches. Filipinos know how to DANCE! and cutesy Christmas carol actions are not enough :) Perhaps you've seen him break it down in the video I posted on Facebook. 

3. Christmas Eve service at Union Church of Manila. It is dubbed the Candles and Chaos service, due to the abundance of joyful chaos coming from all the kiddos. So we fit in nicely! The best part was singing the hallelujah chorus (Makai’s all time favourite song since he first heard it 2 years ago) and at that totally silent moment right before the finale Cody sings a passionate HALLELUJAH causing a stream of laughter and stares around us!

4. Christmas baking. The best part of baking this year was an outing with friends to a local bakery where we made gingerbread houses (well, sugar cookie houses) and didn’t have to clean up a thing! While the debate raged on whether to eat the house immediately or keep it as décor, the ant issue was the deciding factor….. if there’s one thing I will never miss about the Philippines, it’s the abundance of ants in our house!

5. PeaceChurch Christmas gathering. Still a highlight, despite nearly everyone cancelling due to the typhoon that swept through the island that night. But Ate Reg and her beau, Mel, came and only Cody and I were in on the surprise :) We decorated Christmas cookies with them and sang Christmas songs- so special! Part 2 of the party happened a few days later where we repeated much of the evening with some of those who had been stuck at home due to the typhoon (sadly I forgot to take photos at either event).

6. Summer! I tend to really miss wool sweaters, cozy blankets and warm coats but when I hear that Vancouver has had endless rain, I do feel quite thankful for the scene below- Christmas Eve day and Cody is enjoying a little game of soccer under the palm trees with our neighbour.

7. Street games. I will miss the joy of watching the kids play with the children in Bryan’s community. They gather weekly to play games and listen to Bible stories…. their Christmas party was a blast!

8. Getting a Christmas Tree. We had a family outing to a local Garden Centre in search for the perfect house plant/Christmas tree. Our lovely little tree for the last three years was literally a foot tall, so while this may be no noble fir, we are quite pleased with our Filipino version :)

9. Casa Santa Christmas museum. Every single Christmas décor you could think of under one roof! Obviously the room full of Christmas stuffed animals was the hit for our family. When we’re missing out on family gatherings at home, finding fun things to do in Manila is essential!

10. New Years Getaway. For two nights over New Years we took the kids to a church camp- it was like Camp Squeah but with Palm trees. And SO much fun…. Pools, bowling alley, trampoline, bouldering wall, beach volleyball court (AKA awesome sand box), obstacle course, tree house, New Years party for the kids, good food and lots of new friends. The downside was the rain for 2 days straight (felt like Vancouver in June!) and the crazy amount of fireworks that put our kiddos in fearful tears. Poor Teyah woke up at midnight in such a fright- it was like Armageddon out there.

We hope your Christmas season was also filled with family, friends and much joy!

With love,
The Barkmans

friends, we cannot love the enemy and pull the trigger too.

As I watched the clock turn to 11am on November 11th here in the Philippines, I stopped my work and spent some time in prayer. On Remembrance Day, and everyday, I pray for peace in our world and I work for peace in our world.

This morning I'm preparing for a Peace and Reconciliation Training day that Peace Church is hosting on Saturday. I plan to have participants discuss their position on the statement, "The use of violence is justified in order to bring about peace." While opinions always vary, I choose to strongly disagree with this, which means I can never condone the use of military actions. Jesus Christ calls us to love our enemies, and in the words of my wise 100 year old grandfather, "Friends, we cannot love the enemy and pull the trigger too." I am thankful for my Opa and his legacy of building peace.

Click here to read a Remembrance Day article I wrote for The Light Magazine this month, about our experience working in a war-zone.

And click here to hear my grandfather's message of peace.

And Why Did I Worry So Much??

Before we left for our recent 4-month stay in Canada, we packed up our whole apartment in Manila and put everything in storage (and dealt with a very unwelcomed case of bed bugs. Terrible!!). While we were home, countless people asked me where we’d be moving to when we returned to the Philippines. But we didn’t really know. And the closer the time came to leave our comfortable 4-month home in my sister’s basement suite, the more I worried. It felt like we were starting all over again, finding a home and figuring out our neighbourhood, just like we did 3 years ago, this time with one more kid. And while 3 years in the Philippines has brought us many friends, an understanding of the language, and other familiarities that made the return easier, we’re also now familiar with the difficulties of living here. We know that it often takes an hour to drive a few kilometers. We know that it’s very hard to find greenspace. And we know that when you’re told the internet will be hooked up within the week, it may very well mean 4 weeks. To say I dreaded returning to the polluted cement jungle I’m to call home is too harsh, but let’s just say I wasn’t looking forward to the transition. I was excited to see friends here and set up home again, but the fact that I couldn’t picture what that home would look like scared me a lot.

During our first week back in Manila, tired with jet lag (its hard to start the day at 4:30am for 5 days in a row!) Darnell and I set out to find a house. On the way to the first house, Darnell took a video of me, asking me what I wanted in this house. And after I listed a few things (like 4 bedrooms, a yard, semi-furnished, and a playground and pool within walking distance), I said that there’s no chance we’ll get all of it (within our budget), so now its just a matter of what things are the most important. But on the second day of searching- you guessed it- we found exactly what we wanted.

I could not be happier with the space we found. Out our front porch there’s a big patch of grass and tall trees, shared with the townhouses surrounding us. There’s a playground and pool within walking distance and because it’s a gated village, the kids can bike and it feels safe. We have 3 big rooms plus a great office for Darnell, a super spacious family room and kitchen and its all been recently renovated. The place is 2.5 times bigger than what we had (our apartment was TINY before!) and cheaper. The downside is there’s nothing much within walking distance, but I am figuring out how to get around with the kids using uber and I may even try driving here. The kids love it and all our guests so far have been in awe of this gem of a place we found. Our internet may not be set up yet and it took us nearly half an hour to get to the Starbucks just down the street, but our couches came ahead of schedule (total shocker!) and I see green out my kitchen window.

So, needless to say, we are very thankful. I am blown away by what God has provided for us. And I honestly don’t know why I ever worried so much.

The boys' room is so spacious and they love it! So does Teyah!

Our family room... needs some decor on the wall but in the meantime, movies!

Grass. Out our front door. Priceless.

The kitchen has so much cupboard space that most of them are empty!