Going Home!

Traveling in Hong Kong was so smooth. The last morning I got in a taxi which took me to the Airport Shuttle. This was on Hong Kong Island, but I was able to check my bags to the US. I boarded the Airport Shuttle with my backpack and headed to the airport. I went smoothly through customs and found my gate. I didn't have my normal coffee this morning, as I only had a few hours of sleep and I was hoping to fall asleep quickly on the plane. That didn't happen. I had a quick layover in Narita, Japan, and flew off to Seattle. I didn't sleep on that plane either. Maybe I was just too excited to be home again!



My parents picked me up with my niece, Jane in tow. It was 9:30 AM and I hadn't slept in quite a while. My mom informed me that we were making jam with my sister-in-law, Cailyn. First stop prior to getting home? You guessed it! Starbucks! Making jam was a little foggy, as by the time I went to sleep, I had been up for 38 hours.



Philippines was awesome as always, I love my ministry there. I love my friends. I love to watch the Lord do more amazing things year after year.



Hong Kong was spectacular and exciting! It was the big city and I love exploring!



China... maybe I'll see you in another 20 years? I'm glad I went, as I would have regretted not trying to go, but maybe it's not the safest place to go alone ;-)



If you are reading this, thank you! Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for your support. Thank you for listening to my heart. Thank you for listening to my stories. Thank you for caring. THANK YOU!

China to Hong Kong

I slept well last night in China, considering the bed was super hard. I slept in, knowing I'd have all day to explore with not much of an agenda. My three goals today: go to the Friendship Store, find the Starbucks, take pictures of the hotel. I decided to go to the Friendship Store first, as it was across the street, and I could leave my backpack at the hotel, to retrieve later.

I headed downstairs and out the front of the hotel. The Friendship Store was directly across the street. In China though, you can't walk "just" across the street. I had to walk down the street, over the overpass and back down the street to the store. It was the same as 20 years ago, and memories came back riding my pink and purple 10-speed bike down the overpass ramps. The Friendship Store was China's version of a Fred Meyer without the produce. You could buy anything Chinese there: housewares, candy, Chinese souvenirs, clothes, school supplies and anything cheap! I wanted to see the store, but also wanted to buy a "rice patty" bag that China is famous for. If you travel in Asia, you see these red, white and blue striped bags and tarps from China, that are very cheap but can hold a lot of stuff. I wanted to buy one to check for the way home. 20 years ago the Friendship Store had them. I walked up to the Friendship Store with my mouth gaping. I saw the old sign, written in English and Chinese. But under that sign I saw Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Valentino and other high-end brands that I didn't even recognize. I enter the store and there are 5 women lined up on either side of me to welcome me into the store. There are glass cases that hold purses, jewelry and makeup. This was NOT the store I knew of 20 years ago! I was thoroughly disappointed! I continued up the escalator in this air-conditioned store, thinking 20 years ago they had neither. I walked around amazed at the things they had. There was a NIKE section that I wandered into, thinking items could be a lot cheaper since there was a NIKE factory just down the street. I was wrong, items were similarly priced. I wandered up to the Chinese souvenir section. I remembered 20 years ago buying a silk screen at the Friendship Store. On the silk screen was a grey kitten playing with a pink ball of yarn. I still have that silk screen, tucked away in a box some where. I remember paying about $10 for it, thinking it was expensive and I would get in trouble for spending that much of my babysitting money on one thing. I found a similar silk screen today... $435!!!! I wandered outside of the store, hoping to find a small store that would carry the cheap rice patty bags, but I was unsuccessful. I did find another Kentucky Friend Chicken and Starbucks though! It's amazing how Americanized this city has become!

I walked back over the overpass and from the top of it, admired The Garden Hotel to my left. I looked right, right across the street from The Garden Hotel and spotted another Starbucks! This one was huge, two stories! I ventured inside since I hadn't eaten anything yet today. And after my questionable dinner last night, I was famished! Starbucks would be a sure thing! AND I was able to buy my city mug! I ordered my typical white chocolate americano, breakfast and a mug. I sat down upstairs and planned out the rest of my day. It was 11am, and I had to be at the train station at 5pm.

Back at the hotel, I walked up to the General Manager's desk. The previous night, I had learned that the garden AND the pool are both closed for maintenance. I was bummed but still wanted to get close enough to get pictures for my family to see. I explained that I had lived here, in the American School 20 years ago, and came all the way from America to see the hotel that I had lived in. Access granted!!! Well, I was escorted close enough to both to get good enough pictures. I was able to walk near our old school, where I also lived. It is now a personal business. The big toy that was once outside our school backdoor was gone. The pool had undergone a major remodel and looked great! The health club was amazing! They had a huge workout center, with many elliptical and treadmill machines and weights. There was a yoga room. I was thoroughly impressed. I walked around the hotel and took pictures of things that stayed the same and those that had changed. All the restaurants that were there before were either remodeled, in a different location or no longer there.

I grabbed my backpack, now heavier from the Starbucks city mugs, and asked the concierge where to buy a rice patty bag. They wrote in Chinese a typical market so that I could show a taxi, who could drive me. I jumped in a taxi and rode to the famous Xuexiu Park and Five-ram Statue. It was a place that I remember going to whenever people would come visit us. The Five-ram Statue is the scenic icon of Guangzhou, just as the Space Needle is for Seattle. It's actually the picture on the Starbucks city mug too ;-) I walked around, with my backpack on, and it was scorching hot!!! I ran out of my Nalgene water fast as I was sweating through my clothes. It was disgusting! When I arrived at the Five-ram Statue, I took off my backpack and took some pictures. This was when I realized I could ring out the back of my tank top, it was so wet!!! Not only was it hot, it was SO humid, hence the sweating. At the end of the day I looked at my salmon colored tank top and saw salt deposits from the sweat, on my tank. There has only been two times in my life that I've experienced salt deposits on my shirt from sweat: 1-when I ran my full marathon and 2-when I ran my 1/2 marathon. And now I'm in China, walking around. I leave the park and pass by the China Hotel, another hotel that many friends lived in 20 years ago. It too has a Starbucks, but this one is inside the hotel. There is a McDonald's just outside the hotel. I continue walking on, as the market I'm looking for should just be a few blocks away. I forgot that a "few blocks" away in China really means miles. Thinking I've arrived, I show the Chinese characters of the market to a security guard at a clothing mall where he points me in the direction I need to go. The other security guard points in the opposite direction. Luckily, a Chinese woman who speaks English walks by. She asks what I want to buy but they tell me to go to another market. They direct me to a taxi and tell the taxi where I want to go. I was SO thankful to be sitting down, backpack off, and in the air conditioning for just a few minutes... though I had NO idea where I was going! I tried to follow where the driver was taking me with my map, but I got lost and eventually gave up. I had my map, I knew my next destination, and I could just point to my map to another driver if I needed to. I will be alright.

The driver stops, says something in Chinese, I pay and hop out, feeling refreshed from sitting down a while. I look around. There is nothing but watch shops... for blocks and blocks. How many people come here to buy a watch? It was crazy!!! I walk around, trying to find anything but a watch shop and eventually find a few shops that have luggage. I finally find a store that has a rice patty bag. I hand her the 5 RMB she wants. I went on this goose hunt for a bag that I paid less than a dollar for!

I jump in another taxi to head to a newer part of town. It's supposed to have newer hotels, business and shopping. I had heard of a restaurant that had great dim sum that I wanted to try. I end up on a street, not sure of where I was as I couldn't find any street signs. I keep walking, thinking I'll find a street sign and figure out where I am in order to find the restaurant. I just happen to look on the side of a building and see a sign for the restaurant. I found it! It was SO delicious! The menu was a little on the odd side, and since I had already experienced an unknown meat the day before, I decided to stick with the typical beef and carrot, similar to beef and broccoli dish. Of course dim sum was also ordered! After not eating well, or consistently for the past two days, this meal tasted SO good! I headed back out into the heat and humidity, with 2 hours before needing to be at the train station. There was a mall just a few blocks away. 45 minutes later, I arrive at the mall and it's another Friendship Store! I'm done. I was spent, I was tired. I had seen Guangzhou. I just needed to sit. I got in a taxi and drove off to the train station. The driver wanted to talk to me, but I didn't remember my Mandarin after not using it for 20 years. He asked me about Obama and I was able to respond. He asked me about Bush and I was able to respond. I had remembered how to say "not good" as "bu hao" and "very good" as "hen hao" in Mandarin... I let you decided which adjectives I matched up with which president. He thought it was funny, as he started to talk to me and then realized that all I remember how to say.

I arrive at the train station with a 2 hour wait. Guess what was there? A Starbucks! I'd have to say that I do love Starbucks, more than the average person, but I felt SO relieved and blessed to have a part of home, when I was so far away. There were many times that I was spent, and just needed to sit down and drink something and Starbucks was right there for me. I sat down in this Starbucks for 2 hours and read, waiting to go back to Hong Kong.

The trip back to Hong Kong was uneventful, showing off a gorgeous sunset beyond the Chinese countryside. I arrived back in Kowloon at 9pm, famished again and decided to splurge my last night in there. I went to the nearest McDonald's and walked to the Kowloon waterfront. I sat there amidst all the people who were there for the light show and ate McDonald's. It was a relaxing last dinner with beautiful scenery. I stepped onto the Starr Ferry for one last time and rode over to Hong Kong Island. I splurged again and got a taxi to head up to the house. It was late, I was tired and I had a lot of packing to do. I was leaving the next morning at 6am to head back to the states.

Hong Kong to China

Today I woke up excited, anticipating seeing the old sights and new sights of an old home. I had an appointment at the Chinese Embassy at noon, so I had time in the morning to relax, and try to find something to do in Guangzhou, as I wasn't able to find a lot online. I arrived at the embassy early, but was still able to pick up my passport and visa - I was off! I took the trolley to the subway, had to transfer 3 times, but then found the unmarked train station on the Kowloon side. I had arrived plenty early and realized I was hungry. I hadn't thought about packing a lunch. Surprisingly I found a McDonald's and Starbucks in the train station and ate a late breakfast. I have just been amazed at the number of Starbucks here. There were none 20 years ago, but now they are EVERYWHERE! It doesn't beat downtown Seattle, but there are a lot! Even though this train station seems more modern, with a McDonald's and Starbucks, AC and an openness, and painted walls, very different from 20 years ago, the plumbing has remained the same. It's the first time this trip I've encountered these types of toilets since I've been in Asia this go around. Chinese style = squat!

I took the 2-hour train ride into Guangzhou, sleeping and reading, and watching the sights - mostly country side. I knew we were getting close when I saw the big American and Japanese factories, one right after the other. Arriving in Guangzhou, I had to go through customs as China and Hong Kong are still considered two separate countries, under one government. As I walked through customs, I was greeted by a Chinese man asking if I needed a taxi. I responded and followed him outside to an unmarked van... should have been my first clue to turn around and leave. I forgot about the deceitfulness of the Chinese taxis that my father dealt with 20 years ago. Against my better judgement, I boarded the van with my backpack and asked how much it was going to cost. He answered, "480 RMB" which is close to $70. I was instantly outraged, in shock, whatever... the train station was 15 minutes away from my hotel! Because of my white skin, and because of staying in this 5-star hotel, he thought he could get away with charging me 10 times the price. I told him this and he proceeded to tell me that it was very far and needed to go on the expressway, that he was willing to pay the toll. 1-it was 15 minutes away, 2-the expressway did not have tolls. A big clue to that, was the map he was showing me, saying, "very far" had the expressway marked, but had the tolls spots hand-written... like I wouldn't notice. I told him it was too expensive and argued with him that it was more expensive than Hong Kong and American taxis put together. I told him that I wasn't paying more than 100 RMB about $12, and it was his turn to be shocked. He tried to barter me down, but I was not going to budge. When I told him that I'm not paying more than 100 RMB or I'm leaving, he proceeded to block my exit from the van and convince me otherwise. He wouldn't move. Knowing my strength, I grabbed my backpack, grabbed his arm and pushed him out of the way and got out of there. I walked furiously towards the station. The other man that was with him ran after me. He stopped me and again bartered with me, to pay 200 RMB. Sticking to my amount, I told him that I would pay 100 or I was leaving. Why didn't I just leave, to find a metered taxi? Oi! He said OK, and I walked back and boarded the van. It was stupid, but it ended up fine in the end. We used the expressway, and there were no tolls. We arrived at the hotel 12 minutes later. Grrr!

Thankful to be out of that situation, but still kicking myself for getting into that, I was ready to leave China. I didn't want to be there anymore! I saw The Garden Hotel, the one that I had lived in for 2 years, 20 years ago, and it looked exactly the same! There are 2 towers to the hotel: the right tower was strictly for hotel guests, which is where I'd be staying that night; the left tower was for businesses and apartments, which was where a lot of our friends lived during our stay. We lived on the 4th floor, right outside the pool, between the two towers. The school was located on the 4th floor, and our apartment was actually inside the school, my brothers' room being the old music room, not even connected to the apartment. I was excited to see the old sights!

I received my room key and went up to my room, staying as a guest in the hotel for the first time. It was nice, though the beds were hard. I had a slight view of the pool, though it looked very different. I was thankful to take off my backpack and look through the magazine in the room, to figure out what to do. I decided to take the subway as close as I could get to the Pearl River, the 2nd largest river in China. I had heard that they built a river walk that was beautiful, especially at night with all the lights. I went downstairs and talked with the concierge about how to get there. I walked about a mile to get to the subway station, amazed to see a McDonald's, Pizza Hut, and Kentucky Fried Chicken, right across the street from my hotel. We were SO jipped as kids! There was NOTHING in Guangzhou when we lived there. We had to wait for our monthly trip to Hong Kong to get McDonald's ;-) I arrived at the subway station to find NOTHING written in English.... not even the directions of how to buy a ticket. I went up to the customer service counter, I assumed, and asked them for help. They didn't speak English either. They found someone who did, and who helped me. It was a frustrating experience, I'll spare you the details. I did arrive at the destination I had hoped, thankfully.

I proceeded to walk towards the river, running into a mall. I walked in, amazed at a six story shopping center complete with a Starbucks inside and a McDonald's outside. I should have stopped and looked around but I didn't recognize any stores and I wanted to get to the river. I arrived there, walked a bit taking pictures of the river and sights and realized that I was hungry. I had asked the concierge where to eat dinner near the river and set out to find the place. All I knew was the location and that it was a great seafood restaurant, famous in Guangzhou. I found it and asked for the menu. The woman I had asked waved her hand towards a room full of water tanks. I proceeded slowly, entering the room of maybe a hundred tanks full of live water animals. My first encounter was a baby alligator, tied up around the neck and mostly unconscious. It moved slightly, was bleeding, but not conscious enough to move around at the people walking by. It was sad. On the counter was alligator leg, head, or tail that I could choose from to eat. I continued walking and looked into tanks full of everything imaginable or not imaginable, eatable or not eatable. Crab, clams, maggots, eel, worms, snake, turtle, mussel, geoducks, sea urchin, and a lot of other stuff I didn't recognize yet still made my stomach uneasy. At this restaurant you can choose the meat, and then choose how you want it prepared. I could have ordered snake soup, but I've already eaten that, 20 years ago, so I decided to try something different at a different restaurant. I wanted to eat a local food, but wasn't that brave. I had seen another McDonald's a ways back, that was near a smaller mall looking building. I decided to see if there were any restaurants there. If anything I could eat McDonald's. I found a little hole in the wall restaurant that had a picture menu full of Chinese noodles. Perfect! I tried to ask what the meat was but again, no English speakers. I drew a picture of a cow, chicken, and a pig and they didn't serve any of those. I wanted the cashier to draw a picture of what the meat was but she didn't want to. By this time I was famished, knowing I had to eat soon. It was hot and humid, and I could tell that I needed water and food quickly. I picked a noodle with meatballs that looked decent. I somehow told them that I wanted the food to go, since the entire restaurant paused their eating to stare at me trying to communicate to the cashier. I grabbed my noodles and walked back to the waterfront where I proceeded to eat my meal. To this day I'm not sure what kind of meat I ate.... all I know is that this city is famous for serving dog and cat. I wouldn't be surprised if that's what it was. Maybe that's why she wouldn't draw a picture. There are a lot of articles on the web about this city and the abuse of dogs and cats, how they raise them in order to sell them for food. It's gross and sad to think about. The meat taste was OK, but the texture reminded me of trying to bite into a racquetball - CHEWY! I got through 2 meatballs and a lot of the noodles, but couldn't stand to eat another meatball, as I pictured eating a cat or dog. Noodles would have to do.

I finished my meal with more energy, feeling a lot better. I walked along the river walk as the sun went down, anticipating this great show of lights that I had read about online. I guess this was the thing to do in Guangzhou at night, eat dinner along the waterfront and watch the lights on the boats go by. It was SO cheezy! I walked for a few miles, taking pity pictures, wanting to be done. My goal was to walk to the White Swan Hotel, where the American Consulate General was 20 years ago. A lot of our Consulate friends had lived there. It was another very nice, 5-star hotel. It took about 2 hours to walk there, and I was again feeling weak from the walk and heat. I stopped in at the 7-Eleven across the street from the hotel and bought a Gatorade and water. Electrolytes! I toured the White Swan Hotel lobby briefly, needing to get back to my hotel. I hopped in a taxi playing Micheal Jackson and arrived at the Garden Hotel 15 minutes later. Tuckered out, but starving at this point, I found the new Delicatessen that we, as kids, would frequent to eat French pastries. I found a chocolate croissant and PULPY! I used to drink Pulpy very often as a kid here. It's the complete opposite of pulp-free orange juice. All this drink is, is pulp pulp pulp! But it's intact pulp, so you almost have chew it. It's SO good! I settled in bed with my chocolate croissant and Pulpy, and watched Titanic until I went to sleep, wondering what I would do tomorrow.

Thursday, July 9th - Philippines to Hong Kong

It was a busy day yesterday, and then arriving home, I had to pack to leave. The team had one more day in the Philippines, as they were leaving Friday. I was leaving early, because of a miscommunication on my part. It was a bittersweet ending, as it was SO fruitful and amazing see the Lord work as He did, yet I was exhausted - we were busy! I love the Philippines, I love the Filipinos, I love the Deaf here and feel as if they are my "kindred spirit". I will miss them greatly, thinking about them everyday! Joshua drove me to the airport and I said good-bye to Bohol. I arrived in Manila, with a six hour lay over and then headed to Hong Kong.

I went back to the house of our friends where I was able to relax, and get ready for my five full days in Hong Kong. Jill Shull, the wife of our family friends, had left a letter where she had given several ideas of places to visit. I was prioritizing my week, and trying to figure out transportation at the same time. I hung out with the Schull's "helper" and then went to bed, I was tired.

Wednesday, July 8th - Tagbilaran Elementary & BDA

Today was my last full day here in the Philippines... a full day, but fun and reflective as well. We started our day by going to Tagbilaran Elementary. This is the only public school on the island that has a special education and deaf program. It's not funded by IDEA, but we still visit it and love the kids and teachers there. I always visit the high school students there, as some had transferred from BDA to this school. Usually it's because IDEA is a Christian organization, and the more fruit we've seen there, parents who are opposed to Christian principles, transfer their kids to this public school. The kids are so sad, and don't want to talk about it, as they know they will get in trouble. It's SO sad!

I also took a video of a new student that I met. She is the student on the left, in the picture. She was new, 3 weeks into school, as a preschooler. She knew her name, most of the time that I asked, but nothing else. I asked how old she was, I asked which grade she was in... she only copied my signs, indicating to me that she didn't know a language, sign language. I talked with a teacher who answered my questions. Her age? 42! At least she was in school now, but wow, I can't imagine what she has gone through in her 42 years of life!

After we left, we went to ICM, the mall for the last time. Last stop for souvenier shopping! My big purchase? I got the top of my ear pierced, for $1.50. I've always wanted to do it, but the sanitary level in the PHilippines was a little frightening, but so far it's been great! We continued from here to McDonald's. Pizza Hut last night, McDonald's tonight for dinner - yikes! I think it tastes pretty similar to American McDonald's but about a third of the price. My value meal: double cheeseburger, fries, light coke was $1.75.

We then traveled to BDA for their Bible study. It was our last time to visit with the Deaf. Again I interpreted the worship and the message from Emisan, and then we had time to chat with the Deaf. It was such an amazing, bittersweet time. I was able to give Jessa and Clarise, two girls who had accepted Christ just two weeks ago, Bibles that I had found. It was a sweet time of showing them how to use the Bible and one of my favorite verses, Jeremiah 29:11-13. They read it, as I helped them sign the English, and I was able to encourage them by explaining what it meant. I love these times, but am also very sad to say good-bye for another year. These friends are so dear to my heart.

Tuesday, July 7th - Beach Day!

Today was our one day of rest, at Alona Beach Resort, one of my favorite places on Earth!

I splurged and got a one-hour massage, laying on the beach, and a foot scrub all for $8. It was heavenly! I also went snorkeling with Erica where we saw a bunch of fish, including big clown fish. You can swim out about 200 yards and you come to the cliff. The beach gradually gets deeper and deeper as you swim out, but at that 200 yard mark, it just drops off. You can't see the bottom, it's pitch black. That's where the best fish are - AMAZING! It was so nice to get a day to just relax, after 2 1/2 weeks of just pouring out of ourselves.

We ended the day buy going to BQ (Bohol Quality - a small mall downtown) to shop and go to Pizza Hut. These guys know us here, and it's always funny as we take up more than half the restaurant. We celebrated Dani's birthday today - Happy Birthday Dani! - with a stop at Bo's coffee and cake from the Garden Cafe. What a fun day!

Monday, July 6th - Road work & Loboc Elementary

The materials for the road were promised to arrive today, so our team set out to complete the second half of the road. We arrived and the middle section where we were to pour concrete, needed to be emptied of about 3 inches of clay and rock. We had a few shovels, and a few "spears" that we used to "rota till" the dirt to get it loosened enough to shovel. We finished the digging and sat down for a much needed break. It was very hot and muggy today, typical after the monsoon storm we had the previous night. The materials that we needed for the concrete never showed up. We were bummed as we were anticipating to finish the project today and see it to completion.

We went back to the house, got cleaned up and took off for the Loboc River. Loboc is a town near us, that is located along the exterior road of the island. The Loboc River is seen from our house and has boats that take tours down to the falls and back. In the past few years they have set up a tourist shopping area where we were able to shop for our last Bohol souvenirs. We then went to Loboc Elementary, our biggest group of about 300 kids. I was thankful for our large group of 30! We played games, played games and played games. We don't even attempt to do crafts... we have in the past and have learned not to. Our dramas were great and the staff at this school provided snacks when we were done. It's always a joy going to this school as we were blessed again this year to hear the Loboc Choir sing. They are a National Treasure and have traveled all over the world performing and winning contests. I saw them when they came to Seattle a few years ago, and they have even performed at the White House! We always make a point to hear them when we are in Bohol. They were wonderful!

After we left, Joshua surprised us with a dinner "float" on the Loboc River. We had wanted to float down the river and eat dinner, but we were too early for that, so we floated on the shore, eating dinner. We had the opportunity to eat several Filipino foods, most of which I've tried before, but didn't care to experience again. I stuck to the rice, pancit and chicken. It was a crazy past few days, and we were all looking forward to our rest day tomorrow, our first one!

Sunday, July 5th - Barrio retreat continues

After last night, all of us were excited to see the students again. Peter, one of the adult leaders, preached this morning for church, while Along (the barrio pastor) translated into Visayan, the Filipino language. We then took all students to the Nature Resort to play and swim. It was a hot, sunny day... perfect for the beach! The students had a blast! I had more conversation with Cheryl and Irene. Both of them I talked with quite a bit throughout the weekend, and they both accepted Christ the night before. Cheryl also sang in the talent show and won! She has an amazing voice. She knows English very well, and when she talks, she often brings herself down, and putting all others up. She is beautiful, has an amazing voice, and seems confident. Team members would often tell her how beautiful her voice is and she would adamantly argue. Well... through a lot of talking and convincing, she was finally able to admit that she was beautiful. Victory! We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves at the beach.

That evening, when we returned to the house, we took showers and instantly left for the barrio basketball court. We had provided dinner for the entire barrio to congregate and watch our dramas. The dinner was great, cooked by Marita our cook, and consisted of rice and chicken, and no utensils. This is when I'm very thankful for the invention of hand sanitizer. As the dramas concluded, thunder and lightening hit nearby. Then the monsoon started. It was POURING! We've never been caught out in a storm like that. It wasn't raining cats and dogs, but lions and bears! It was pitch black out and we huddled under the eaves of the preschool wondering how all 30 of us were going to get home in a pickup truck and a four wheeler. Well, Along handed me the keys of the pickup truck and we loaded it up with all the electronic equipment (for the dramas) in the cab. With all the equipment, and 6 other people in the cab... and maybe 15 in the back of the truck, I drove through the barrio praying every second. When it rains there, the roads half being paved, half still rock and clay, were very dangerous. That was not fun! We made it home safely, but all of us, especially those in the back, were drenched! We all looked like we had just gotten out of the shower, with our clothes on. We all arrived back at home safely though!

Saturday, July 4th - Barrio retreat weekend

Happy 4th of July!!! I can't remember the last time I was in the US for the 4th.... maybe when I was in graduate school in Arizona?

This morning I woke up with a great anticipation for great things today. After our morning Bible study, Amy preached to the barrio students. It was amazing and again, the Lord spoke and the students were receptive. We then had an entire day full of activities for the students, very similar to the previous weekend with the Deaf. We had a scavenger hunt, played Romans & Christians, water balloon toss, tie-dye, friendship bracelets, pool time, and painting toenails. It was a fun time.

After dinner we had our yearly talent show. This year we had a lot of great talents, great singers! After the talent show our team performed our dramas with Joshua explaining each of them to the students. It was an AMAZING time and the Lord moved through those students! Joshua decided to share with the students, reiterating what Amy and I had preached about, really being blunt with the students. I looked behind me, outside, and saw our team praying together, asking the Lord to open the hearts of these students. In front of me Irene and Cheryl sat... I prayed and prayed that the Lord would soften their heart and they would feel the love of the Lord that Joshua was talking about. Well, they did because when Joshua asked who wanted to accept Christ, both of them raised their hands. At least ten others decided they wanted to make that decision as well - praise JESUS! It was amazing! We've never experienced or seen such fruit during a barrio weekend before. All of us were in awe, thanking the Lord for what He had done.

The evening concluded with a thunder and lightening show. It was SO powerful, lightening so frequent and near, the thunder following soon after. Kristie and I opened the blinds of our bedroom and watched it through the floor to ceiling windows. We didn't have fireworks on this Fourth of July, but we had the real thing.

Friday, July 3rd - Cross, Calunsansur Norte, & Barrio retreat

Today we anticipated the start of a few busy days. We had planned to continue the road work today, however, we ran out of materials and they were not replenished. Therefore, as we started our daily Bible study with worship, a jeepney pulled up to the house and we all jumped in. We were going to the cross!!! Across the jungle, on top of a hill west of the house, there is a 50 foot cross. During the morning sunrise, you can see the cross silhouette standing on top of the hill. We don't always get a chance to visit the cross, but since our morning plans fell through, we trekked (via jeepney) down the barrio, across the jungle, and up the hill to get to the cross. Once there, we worshipped, had quiet time, and Tyler Moran led us in our Bible study. It was a special time.

Back at the house, anticipating the arrival of road construction supplies, we were unsuccessful. However, since we were going to be having a busy weekend, we now had the time to get ready for that.

In the afternoon we traveled to Calunansan Norte, a barrio school near us. Once home again, we had just minutes prior to the barrio high school students arriving. In years past, we wanted all to hear about Jesus, therefore we allowed high school, almost high school, and post high school students to come to this weekend. Not only was it very costly to have 170 students for the weekend, but with the wide range of ages (typically the older kids), it brought a lot of "worldly distraction". This year we opened the retreat up to ONLY current high school students. This brought 80 kids to us, and there was such a different spiritual dimension this weekend, than in years past. I know the Lord has been showing us more fruit, but I was completely blown away this weekend. Kids were more open with us, just to have a normal conversation. Typically they are very guarded any shy, but there was more openness to talk about their religion or faith in Jesus. I had many conversations about school, family and faith which surprised me and excited me. Irene and Cheryl were two girls that I connected with. They were both in their first year of high school, and intially shy, they started opening up. It was SO fun to talk with them.

Friday night brought conversations and fun with basketball and volleyball. After dinner we had our "session" which consisted of worship and preaching. Tonight I preached the same message that I preached to the Deaf the previous weekend. It was kind of strange for me though, as usually when I preach I'm signing. Today I was preaching with my voice, trying not to use my hands as much as possible. I can say it was a little more difficult, which is odd. Nevertheless, the Lord still spoke and I believe the students were extremely receptive.

Thursday, July 2 - Road Construction & Calunansan Sur

Service project day! Each year we commit to a service project in the barrio. This year we provided the funds and the labor to build a section of the road through the barrio. The road is a dirt, clay, rock, uneven mess. Over the years the people who live in the barrio have built sections of cement road where it was dangerous to drive. We were asked to build 2 sections of the road where they had previously constructed two cement tire "paths". This was temporary but also dangerous if cars or motorcycles didn't follow the paths correctly. We were asked to fill in the 3-foot area between the two paths. We walked down to this section of road as it was near our house. Our day consisted of shoveling rocks and sand into sacks and carrying them 100 feet to where the cement mixer was. I remember a few years ago we mixed cement by hand, shoveling the sand, rock, cement mix, and water with shovels on a flat section. This year we had a gas powered cement mixer. Barrio guys threw in the sand, rock, cement mix and water and when it was mixed, they'd pour it out on the ground. Our team would then shovel it to where it needed to go and smooth it out. It was a long process, dirty and hot, but the team worked very well together and the first section of the road was completed.

We went back to the house to clean off, eat lunch, and cool off in the pool. I think this was my first time in the pool since I had been there. It felt so good after the morning "workout" of shoveling and hauling rock. After lunch and a bit of a rest, we walked to Calunansan Sur, a hearing school down the road. These kids are so fun as they LOVE to have their picture taken. This picture is Marc Anthony, he and his sister, Jelly Mae are dear to us. Endi, the barrio pastor's wife, works at this school, so it's always fun to see her. She and her staff provided a typical Filipino snack: rice, coconut milk, sugar, banana all wrapped up in banana leaves and steamed. I LOVED IT!!! They also gave us fresh coconut milk, chilled with chunks of coconut!

Wednesday, July 1 - Loon and Iris!

Today is another favorite day of mine on this trip. I have been sponsoring Iris for 4 years, and it's such a blessing to see her, talk with her, see her improvement, and give her gifts, every year. In the picture to the right we are both signing, "Miss you!" We arrived at her school, my favorite school due to the peace and management of the kids, during a monsoon storm. Our bus got stuck several times in the field in front of their school. A few older, deaf students came running out to help by pushing our bus closer to the school. With our 30 Americans and their 60 Filipinos, we played inside games in a tiny room. We played "fruit basket," "elephant," "1,2,3,4"... it was so fun, but cramped. While the students ate lunch, we also ate. The teachers had prepared pancit, empadas, chicken sticks, and rice for us. It was SO yummy! We finished the usual routine of dramas and crafts and were very hesitant to say our goodbyes. This is a school where Joshua, the leader, will tell us many times to get on the bus. He's learned to give us about a half hour of saying goodbye.

We had the later afternoon available before going to BDA for their Bible Study. We drove into Tagbilarin to eat an early dinner at the Montana themed Garden Cafe. From there we headed to ICM (Island City Mall). This mall is about 3 years old and is a fun place to shop for souvenirs and load up on the much needed groceries for our group of 30. From here we continued onto BDA where we were able to see the new fly tying building. One business IDEA has set up is tying flies for fly fishing in Montana. This is one of the few IDEA businesses that only employ the Deaf. Therefore, as a Deaf student graduates, they are able to get a decent job that not only supports them financially, but gives them a strong vocational skill while continuing to live surrounded by their Deaf family. So often students graduate and are forced to move back home with their family, either because of finances or they are expected to help on the farm. At home they do not have communication with their families because their families do not sign. I have yet to meet a Filipino Deaf student who says their mom or dad signs. Therefore, they would go home to loneliness. Most students love to be at school, because they have found a Deaf "family" of friends and adults who can sign and encourage them. This new fly tying building gives IDEA workers more room to work and will allow the business to expand (hire more Deaf) as they are already back ordered and struggle to keep up with the demand. Two of the workers came with us on our tour and demonstrated how to tie a fly... it was amazing, as they are SO fast and the fly is TINY!

The Bible study went well, I sat in front and voice interpreted for our hearing group. We LOVE getting time with these students and I had a hard time prying them away from their friends... I guess I was one of them that had a hard time leaving too! With promises to see them next Wednesday, we bid them goodbye and loaded the extremely loud bus. It was loud because everyone was SO excited about the conversations that they just had with the Deaf... they shared all the way home and I was so thankful that this group was so passionate towards the Deaf. How encouraging it was to hear the stories!