Diabetes Education

Joyce Arce is not only a VBS teacher, but also a registered nurse. She is a diabetes educator at her work. She follows up on her patients to see if they are taking their insulin, checking their blood sugar frequently, and maintaining a healthy life style.

In 2006, diabetes was the 7th leading cause of death in the Philippines. Most of the public have misconceptions about this disease. Awareness is low in the rural areas such as areas of Negros Occidential. The common belief among Filipinos is that only adults can have diabetes and it's acceptable for children to be fat as it is considered a sign of good health. Educating the public is necessary to help promote a healthy lifestyle for longevity and good health.

Here's a couple snaps of Joyce Arce teaching about diabetes at Dancalan 1st Baptist Church in Dancalan, Negros Occidental:

The stern look on Joyce's face shows she's serious about the complications of diabetes.

Blood sugar check - how high/low are you?

[Philippine diabetes awareness low via diabetes.co.uk]

BROWN OUT! pt 2

Here are a couple more brown out night pics from Bacolod City, Philippines.

The emergency lights have lit up to provide enough light for people to get around.

We were eating at a local home in the Bacolod City area when the power went out. We ate dinner via camp florescent lights.

We also had the power go out for about 9 hours on our last VBS day in Tabao Elementary School. We were not able to use the project, DVD player, or any of our multimedia tools. The kids still remembered the songs and the motions with no problem.

Tabao Elementary School pt. 2

VBS is done! Tabao Elementary School's VBS came to a close on June 13, 2010 with a large festival day.

Thank God for everything he's done for us in our 3 VBS missions we've done (I have yet to post the first VBS on this blog). It's been a blessing getting to work with people who love the Lord and sharing the word of God to kids.

Here's our numbers at Tabao Elementary School

• Attendance: 230
• Those who accepted Christ: 200
• Those who were baptized: 60

Tabao Elementary School was a great place to hold a VBS. Under the leadership of Principal Raquel we were able to pull off 3 days of VBS learning and fun for the kids. Thanks to all of the staff who volunteered and helped out!

Here's a continued photo recap:

Tita Joyce teaching leading arts and crafts

"Dirty" kitchen

Plenty of laughs and smiles from everyone

Class presentations on graduation day

Baptism at the beach

Festival time!

Tita Fe manages the prizes

Silent auction

The VBS Staff

What's next for the mission's team? Diabetes education.

Outrigger theme song - Tabao Elementary School

Here's a short clip of the worship rally that I took with my iPhone.

Tabao Elementary School

Mabuhay from Tabao Elementary School, our next and last location of our VBS missions trip for 2010.

It's currently Day 2 of the VBS and has it been a blessing!

Here's our current numbers:

Attendance:

• 230 students

230!!! That's the most we've had yet this trip!

We have a lot of help with these 230 kids. We have many volunteer teachers from the school, surrounding schools, and community volunteers that have come out to help. This is a huge community event!

Here's a small teaser of some of the things we've been doing the last couple of days.

The kids at the worship rally

The guys hanging out after recreation time

mMm Arroz Caldo

Working diligently during class

Later this afternoon the kids will be practicing for their graduation tomorrow. Tomorrow is also the water baptism at the beach (yes the beach) and the big festival day!

We'll see what God has in store for us tomorrow.