Sticky Love

We've been in Manila for almost 1 week now. Today is our sabbath, so we are spending the day in the air conditioning bliss of a huge mall in the city. We are really starting to settle into life in the Botocan slum community, though not sure if the heat will ever become comfortable.

Three other girls and I are staying with a very nice family that is on the wealthier end of the neighborhood. They have a daughter that is about our age that speaks perfect English and is really nice. She is the leader for the youth group of one of the 2 churches in the neighborhood. The four of us are sharing a room - 1 on the bed and 3 on the floor. We've had a few unwanted visitors, but really not many. We are so grateful for the luxuries of our host family's home - a toilet seat and a shower head, which none of the other interns have.

We spent the last two days visiting with different families in the neighborhood in intern pairs. Kyle and I visited with a very large family, which includes parents, 10 grown kids, and several grandkids. Not all of the 10 grown kids live there, but LOTS of people live in this house. They have the second and third floors on this structure and looks and feels like a tree house. The floors and wooden and connected by very step wooden stairs. We chatted with a few of the sisters using our VERY limited Tagalog and their slightly less limited English. We also played LOTS of games - which drew in at least a dozen of the neighborhood kids, and we also ate lunch and dinner with the family on the floor of the tree house. At one point, I was legitimately afraid that the structure was going to collapse with the chaotic jumping of 15+ kids and adults!

We have felt very welcome in the Botocan community. We know several of the families and ALL of the kids! Everyone is super friendly and loving and they really make us feel like family. We are doing our best to learn the language! The neighborhood guys finally got our 6'5" intern Dan on the basketball court last night! Basketball is huge here and it was so fun to watch and cheer on the teams!

Please pray for energy to continue to engage with the community! Also... the heat is really crazy and I'm breaking out in all kinds of nasty rashes from the heat and constant touching and grabbing of all the kiddos. Thanks for your prayers and support! I feel so blessed to be here! :)

Manila Bound!

Hey friends!

My fellow interns and I are running around making the final preparations for our trip to Manila! We will be boarding the plane around 10:30 tonight (Tuesday) and arriving in Manila around 5am on Thursday morning! So much for Wednesday, eh? We'll be meeting up with the Servant Partners staff in Manila (Aaron, Emma, and Cora) and hanging out with them and their neighbors in a slum community called Botocan. The trip has been termed a "slum retreat". We won't have a specific work project, but we'll just be getting to know the slum community and experiencing what life is like for our friends there. We'll also have lots of time to pray, read, and reflect on our thoughts and experiences. We would really love your prayers as we fly out tonight. Please pray for safety, good health, team unity, and good time with the Lord. See you again soon!

We're being invaded!

Our bathroom is being overtaken by ants! They seem to have entered through small openings around the power outlet and have developed colonies inside the lid of the toilet tank! We've been fighting back with force... disassembling their colonies again each day and killing as many of their queens and infintry as we can! So far... their forces seem to be dwindling, but not yet defeated! The survivors seem confused and discouraged, but holding onto the mission at hand. Also - it seems that some of the survivors have relocated to the other bathroom and have set up camp inside the toilet lid! How do they do it? Their leadership and training must be exceptional to be able to conquer a second kingdom with similar tactics and strategy. We will continue to fight the good fight and keep our optimism strong. We leave for Manila tomorrow evening and hope to have them defeated by then! If we are unsuccessful, who knows what kind of scary reality we could come home to! Please pray for endurance and strength for the battle! Thanks. ;)

Introducing... South LA!

I'm sitting here in the USC library, doing some job searching (since our place doesn't have internet yet). I know you all are so anxious to hear about my new apartment and the neighborhood here in LA! I took a few pictures this morning that I will share with you so you can get an idea of what it's like here!

Our apartment is really great. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but it's actually really cute on the inside. It's a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment in a 4-unit building. I have my own room and my other 2 roommates are sharing a room, and then we have an extra room for guests, relaxing, doing art, praying, etc. So come on out for a visit, please! We have found a bunch of cheap/free furniture on craig's list and from some friends in the area. Our place is starting to come together and really feel like home!

Here's my room:

And here's some more of the place:

And here's the outside and our block:

I haven't had much of a chance to really do any exploring of the area. But we have gone to a couple different grocery stores, the hardware store, and walked around a bit. So far, it really just seems like a pretty regular neighborhood. It's usually pretty quiet, except for the occasional partying from the USC frat house 2-doors down. :) We've gotten to know a bunch of the neighbor kids and they are super fun and friendly. I look forward to getting more settled and meeting more people in the neighborhood!

Despite the first impression of the neighborhood, I have to remember that this isn't my old quiet Denver neighborhood that I would feel totally safe walking around by myself at any hour. This is a totally new and different place all together. Last night I got my first glimpse into the somewhat typical happenings in this neighborhood. I was woken up by loud and repetitive helicopter sounds. I finally got out of bed to see if I could see anything. A police helicopter seemed to be circling over a house just a few blocks south of us. They had their spotlight shining down on the house and continued to circle for about 20 minutes. I've never seen anything like it in my quiet Wash Park neighborhood. I half-expected to hear an officer come over the loud speaker... "Come out with your hands up!", just like you see in the movies. Thankfully, I didn't see anything besides the circling helicopter and was eventually able to get back to sleep after a bathroom break and some reading.

This is definitely a new experience. Please pray that I would be wise and aware of my surroundings as I make my home here in South LA. I'm not always the best at following a bunch of rules and curfews, etc. Please pray that I would submit to the rules and realize that they are all meant to keep me safe. Thanks so much for your love and prayers!

Farewell, Colorado!

I have arrived in Los Angeles! Thank you so much for your prayers! Please pray for my parents on their return journey tomorrow! I'm enjoying getting to know my new city, settling into our apartment, and getting to know my fellow housemates and interns. I'll update with more details soon!

My last couple weeks in Denver were so great! I spent countless lunches, dinners, dances, pedicures, etc with so many wonderful friends! I feel so blessed to have so many amazing people in my life! I will miss you all SOOO much! But we shall meet again soon! Here are some of my favorite pictures from the last couple weeks. Enjoy. :)

Update Letter - Sept 2010

Greetings!

I’m writing to you in my last week here in Denver! I can’t believe how fast the summer has passed and now I’m just days away from picking up and moving to Los Angeles! So many changes and unknowns loom in the distance which bring unpredictable bouts of excitement, sadness, thankfulness, anxiety, worry, and joy! There are so many emotions running through my body right now, but I need to remember to breathe and trust that God will take care of the future, one day at a time.

My last day of work was almost 2 weeks ago now, and I’ve spent my days since then moving out of my lovely studio apartment and spending lots of time with family and friends. My parents and I all moved down to my brother’s house during this season of transition and it’s been fun and interesting to all be in the same house again – with a few welcome additions of course! :) I was hoping this would be a time of rest and preparation, but it has proved to be very full, chaotic, and exhausting. Please pray that I would find time within the chaos to pursue the Lord and prepare my heart and mind for the season ahead.

There are so many updates and praises in regards to my upcoming internship with Servant Partners in L.A. since my last official letter. First, thanks to many wonderfully supportive friends, including my church here in Denver, I can joyfully report that I am fully funded for the 2-year internship costs with SP! What a blessing! Thanks to all of you! Also, my 2 roommates (Stephanie and Grace) and I have secured an apartment in L.A.! It’s a 3 bedroom place in a 4-unit apartment building right in the heart of our ministry neighborhood. We feel very blessed that the Lord provided this place for us and look forward to all the times ahead in the neighborhood. We have already run into a few hiccups as the first roommate has begun to move in. Please pray that all the details are worked out immediately and that this place would be a safe and fun home and a place of refuge for all 3 of us in this next season of life! Finally, I have not yet been able to secure a regular day job to cover my daily expenses. Please pray that I would be diligent in searching for a job and that the Lord would provide the right opportunity at the right time.

My schedule over the upcoming few weeks should be exciting and a bit crazy. I am planning to arrive in L.A. with my parents on September 10, then start official SP meetings and orientation on September 14, then jump on a plane to Manila on September 21 for our 3-week international introduction to slum ministry! I am really looking forward to all of these events and can’t wait to report back to you soon! Be sure to check my blog and look for another update letter sometime after my return from the Philippines.

I am utterly grateful for all of your love and support throughout this journey! I look forward to your continued partnership over the next 2 years of this internship. Please partner with me in prayer for the Servant Partners ministry in L.A. and around the world, for our new community in South L.A., and for my walk with the Lord and His calling on my life. Please visit my blog (address below) often and show your encouragement by commenting as much as possible! Love you!

MANY Blessings on your Life,
Ali Fraze

Blog: www.AliFraze.blogspot.com

Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Deuteronomy 8:2-3