A while back, I was invited by super mom Janice of , under her events company , to a mom bloggers’ tour of Faith Academy Philippines. Initially, I was kind of hesitant to go, but, as in most cases, I thank God that I was able to, along with my mom and the two kiddos (they were the only kids there! LOL!). At that time, we were deeply into discerning about whether or not to continue homeschooling. (We’re still praying about that, by the way. Will keep updating our homeschool blog about it.)
The trip to Faith Academy was an inspiring one for me. It was also a “test” of sorts, because I got to see how my kids would behave during such an event! (Thank God, socialization is, and never will be, an issue for us who are currently homeschooling!) I was also very happy to see Janice again, and other mom bloggers who I had previously only known from their blogs or on Facebook.
Anyway, we bloggers were treated to a “grand tour” of the school, which is nestled comfortably on a picturesque hillside overlooking Manila. The academy is actually an international Christian school with a K-12 curriculum, originally intended for children of foreign Christian missionaries in Asia. I actually originally heard of the school while researching on missionaries in the Philippines, having been a Catholic lay missionary myself for 10 years prior to my current job as a “media missionary.” You can read more about Faith Academy’s mission and vision here and the history of the school here.
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Photo from Pehpot.com. Sorry to be “borrowing” photos from other mom bloggers! 🙂 In my haste to get the kids ready for the tour, I forgot to bring my own camera! 🙂 |
The campus is impressive, to say the least. Going around it and peeking into the classrooms and different areas brought me back to my schooling days in Brunei, where some of my friends went to International School (I went to a Catholic “mission” school for my secondary education.) I was always envious of these friends of mine, mostly because their school seemed so “classy,” compared to ours, and also because they didn’t have to wear school uniforms.
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| This is a photo I grabbed from the . See the girl in glasses sitting in the bottom row? That’s what I kinda looked like waaay back in secondary school. LOL! 🙂 |
What I (and the kids!) liked most about the campus was their library! We could have stayed there for hours! 🙂 (Tim kept asking when we could go back to the library, especially when he was getting tired of walking around! LOL!)
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Photo from The 24 Hour Mommy (I was so happy to finally meet Mauie in person! 🙂 Thanks for the awesome photos!) |
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| This photo and the one below are from Hypermom. 🙂 |
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| Rysse and Tim wanted to sit here and read books but sadly, we had to move on to another section of the school. |
While going around, fellow mom blogger Teacher Julie, who used to homeschool her kids, would occasionally tease me, “Mommy Tina, maybe this is God’s answer to your prayers! (About where to send Tim to school, if we eventually decide not to homeschool). After all, they’re educating children of missionaries!” (Let’s see, Mommy Julie! 🙂 We can hardly afford a “national” school, what more an international school! 🙂 LOL!)
After the tour, we were treated to a great lunch of chili con carne (which only my mom and I enjoyed, ha, ha! The kids are not used to such fare! So we stuffed them with the sweet corn kernels that were served as toppings! I unabashedly went back and forth for the kids’ servings! Tee hee!) and a more in-depth orientation about Faith Academy. They have recently gotten Dep Ed approval to accept students who are not foreign passport holders, thus their desire to “spread the word” about their school, so to speak. This is good news for parents who wish to give their kids solid Christian education in an international school setting.
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| Some of the capable staff members of Faith Academy. Photo credit: The 24 Hour Mommy |
We also got to hear from some teacher-volunteers (yes! most of their teachers are volunteers who raise their own funds to be able to teach there! Missionaries in their own right!) and alumni. I was delighted to hear them share about Jesus in between their sharing about their experiences at the school. (Though this is a given, in my opinion, since the school is mostly for evangelical Christians – though they welcome students of all faiths, cultures and backgrounds).
What I liked most about the tour though, as a mom, was the mini-talk by Libby Stephens on “Third Culture Kids (TCKs).” TCKs are defined as such:
Third Culture Kids
“A third culture kid is a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside their parents’ culture. The TCK frequently builds relationships to all the cultures, while not having full ownership in any. Although elements from each culture may be assimilated into the TCK’s life experience, the sense of belonging is in relationship to others of similar background.”
-Pollock & Van Reken
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| Photo source here. |
While Libby was speaking, I whispered to my mom, “Wow! We’re third culture kids pala!” I found myself agreeing and nodding to most of what Libby said. I also came to realize (again!) how blessed and privileged my siblings and I are to have been able to spend our early years in Brunei with my parents (who were OFWs, not expats).
I realized, too, how blessed my husband and I are to have been able to raise the kids on mission in Timor Leste, even for just a short time. I fondly recall the times when Tim (Rysse was still a baby then) would play with the Timorese kids he’d meet during our mission trips to the districts of Timor, and how they could play together, even if they could not understand one another. Ah, the beauty and innocence of childhood! 🙂
It also made me think that raising Tim and Rysse to be TCKs now would be doubly-challenging, and whether or not homeschooling would help me/us do so. (I’m pretty sure it would, though! This blog post assures me somehow.) To be honest, I still have this desire to go on mission to a foreign country again as a family, someday.
In the meantime, though, I’ll just stick to doing my best, by God’s grace and despite my sinfulness and failures, to raise our children according to the culture of Christ, which is the BEST culture in the world (and the next!) by far, don’t you think?! 😉
P.S. For more photos of Faith Academy Philippines, you may also check out ).
P. P.S. Thank you again to Faith Academy Philippines and Creative Juice for inviting us (and being oh-so-patient with my kids! LOL!).
