Murrell Family Report
Cebu City, Philippines
Volume 5 - #23 – July 10, 2007
Howdy from Texas!
Since our last report, we have transferred to the other side of the planet and been faced with a number of challenging realizations, one after another!
First, we were reminded that the world really is very small. Our trip from the Philippines to Texas went smoothly and, best of all, our luggage arrived on the same plane we did! We landed in Houston at about 9:00 PM on June 8 and were surprised by a large group of well-wishers composed of family members and brethren from the Jersey Village church, our sponsor. (That was really special.) We all went to a nearby Taco Bell for a "formal Welcome Home” feast. (grin) The JV church graciously provided us with one of their vans to use as transportation and so after dropping by the church building to pick it up we drove home that night to College Station.
 The next realization that hit us was the fact that when you take a perfectly functioning body from one side of the planet to the other in a very short period of time, that body will say, “Hey! What’s going on?!”, and then goes on strike for a few days! (The older one gets, the longer the strike lasts!) “Jet-lag” does not even begin to accurately describe the experience! It would be better to describe it in terms of computer jargon. The first thing that happens is that your hard disk crashes, then you start getting all sorts of “out of memory” errors until you finally receive the dreaded “blue screen of death!”, at which point all you can do is sleep! Then, when things start to sort themselves out, you get this message in your head asking if you ought to report this incident to someone, and all the while, you are thinking, “If I could just reboot the system I an certain I would feel much better!” After a few days of this you start to feel normal again.
As we emerged from under the cloud of physiological reorientation, the next realization hit us; the speed at which things transpire on this side of the globe! Our system of measuring speed in the Philippines (as in most of Asia) is based upon kilometers per hour and so we are used to seeing speedometer readings of "40-50" when we drive in the city and "90-100" when we drive on highways. So after years of conditioning ones mind to evaluating these numbers as being “normal” when you get into a vehicle and drive, your subconscious takes over and the next thing you know you are flying down the highway in Texas wondering why everyone is going so slow! You JUST CANNOT DO THAT here in Texas! Fortunately, we adjusted quickly and avoided any problems.
 The biggest realization that hit us was adjustment of using money in the US. Just like the situation of driving, your mind becomes adjusted to spending certain AMOUNTS of money (amounts meaning a certain quantity of Pesos for this or for that) to the point that when you go out to eat somewhere in the US with the family and the bill comes to “30” your initial reaction is, “Wow! This is great! It only cost us 30!" - and your mind thinking PESOS! When you arrive home and start recording the days expenses you are suddenly hit with the realization that it was 30 DOLLARS and that the mean you had would cost 1,350.00 Pesos, and that this is roughly three time what you would spend taking the family out to eat in the Philippines! It gets worse the first time you go shopping at Wal-Mart or at a supermarket, where in the Philippines we are used to spending amounts of 2,000-3,000 Pesos per visit. Our first visit to Wal-Mart (our basic socks, underwear, and jeans run) did not seem so bad at $285.00 until we got home and figured it up in Pesos! (gulp) Added to this was the very high cost of gasoline right now. It is interesting to note that the price of the mid-range unleaded is almost exactly the same as the same type costs in the Philippines, where there are no domestic oil reserves to speak of and almost ALL oil must be imported. How can this be? The last two weeks of June we traveled around North Texas and Oklahoma visiting friends and supporters and spent close to $400.00 on fuel! Based upon our last furlough records, the same trip would have only cost us $275.00! One of the great challenges for mission families is stretching their usual finances to meet the increased expenses on furlough while in the US!
All of these things are part of what is known as “reverse culture shock” and can be devastating to morale if not handled in a positive way. It is just the reality of what happens when you stay away from your home country for two years at a time. We just take it in stride and smile as we try our best to cope.
 At present, we are in the Texas Hill Country, visiting my folks for the month of July. We plan to spend August with Shari’s folks in College Station before returning to Cebu in early September.
Fund raising is going pretty well. We sent letters out to all of our current supporters asking for a note about a possible future continuation in our work and have received word back from most. Assuming that all remain with us, we will be short about $500.00 a month. If some decide to stop this number will be higher. We also need to raise $6,000.00 in 1-time money. This is $5,000.00 for travel funds to use for the next furlough and $1,000.00 for additional construction we need to do at the Bible Study Center in Cebu. At present, we have raised $1,200.00 of this.
The kids are also raising funds and are somewhat behind us. Jon is looking to raise more funds this trip because he wants to get married! (big grin) He still has not heard from some of his supporters and lacks about $1,700 a month at this point. Rachael and Clint are in a similar situation in that they are uncertain about how much they still need to raise. Our third daughter, Sara, has just completed high school and “officially” decided to apprentice with us for the next two years and is looking for $200.00 a month for transportation and a personal allowance. She has opted to stay with us.
 As you can see, our team has a lot of fund raising to do before September. It is difficult standing back watching them struggle, just as we did in the early years. So much of fund raising for missions is about who you know instead of about the viability of your work and the desire of your heart. It is sad to see how difficult it often is to get funding for mission work and so please keep us in your prayers, and if you know of some brethren we might approach for help please send their contact information to us.
Back in Cebu, the work goes on. Classes for Session 4 are at the middle point and most of the students are still attending classes. Both the Uptown and Southside congregations are going on and doing well. The only real question mark at this point is the whereabouts of our brother, Renor Lim, who has seemingly disappeared! The brethren are looking for him, but no success thus far.
Please keep praying for us and the work in Cebu, that we might be safe in our travels, successful in our fund raising, and that the work in Cebu will continue on and progress in our absence.
 We are so thankful to all of you who are interested in the work we are involved in, who continue to support us financially, and who pray for all we do. May God continue to give us all the strength, wisdom, and opportunity to serve as we go onward through life!
To HIM be the glory!
Barry, Shari, Sara and Amy
PS – To see more details about our fund raising needs click here and follow the links at the bottom of the page.
|
