By Alicia Clore

Alicia Clore, East Lansing, Michigan. A full time student and resent gradate of Michigan State University went to The Philippines for two months. She writes:

“We love you, Ate (big sister) Alicia!” Those five words will forever be printed on my heart—the five words that a choir of children yelled from their second-story classroom window as I walked past the nearby elementary school for the last time. I had only spent a short thirty minutes sharing in their classroom the week before, but every time I saw them after that, we always shared a greeting, a smile, and often a big hug. I was no longer the strange “Americana” walking down the street, I was their big sister.  The most amazing part of my time sharing for two months in the Philippines, was that this was completely normal! Every congregation and community I walked into—even if we shared for only a few moments, even if smiles were the only way to communicate—I was already part of the family and shown a love that can be found only within a family founded on the love of God.