"Where did you buy that? Walmart?"

Sundays we travel about 40 minutes into Metro Manila to go to church. Our church meets in the top floor of a building that is being renovated to become a shopping area. It is in the business district and there is a really nice 5 story mall across the street. Filipinos love malls! We often go there to look for things we can't find closer to home. This Sunday I decided the kids really needed a pitcher for water in their bathroom. I am tired of Emily tromping down the stairs each night when she should be in bed to "just get a drink of water". Since we can't drink what comes from the tap I decided they need a pitcher they can just keep filled from the filter in the kitchen. OK I ccould find this elsewhere, but I decided this was the time to do it. So Sunday Allan and Will went off to ACE Hardware while Emily and I went to the SM dept store to find some plate stands, taper candles, and some type of plastic pitcher for their bathroom. Being girls, Em and I wanted to find one that matched the color decor. We finally settled on the one you see in the picture. I checked underneath for the price and was pleased that it was just over a dollar. It was then I noticed the tag. Do you see it? It has a Walmart 87 cent sticker on it! We have gotten a big kick out of that. I should have known that a country who would have a whole store in the mall selling Dickies work pants that they sell at Kmart would sell a cheap Walmart pitcher in the equivalent of Macy's---ok so maybe JC Pennys. By the way the pitcher says Made in the USA. My guess is not.

A whole store devoted to Dickie work pants!

What's for dinner?

Do you ever get this question from your kids? or your husband??? I get this alot. I always have. For once my response usually has a common thread to it. "What's for dinner?" they ask----rice is my reply. Filipinos think it is not a meal if you do not eat rice. Bread is reserved for snacks not lunch time sandwiches or meals. You discover this when you see the kids meals at McDonalds are served with a side of rice. So while we forgo the rice for breakfast and lunch on most days, we do eat rice about 5 nights a week for dinner. We have eaten more rice in the 4 months we have lived here that we ate in the last 15 in the states. I used to buy a little small couple pound bag of rice that would last for months, maybe more. Here we buy it in 20 Kilo sacks. (There are roughly 2.2 lbs per kilo) We have been through almost 2 of them! Both kids were OK rice eaters in the states. While Emily has taken to rice like an Italian to Spagetti, Will groans when he sees it coming. He could never have rice again and be perfectly happy.




Here Emily is sitting on the Nelsen's 50 kilo bag of rice. I guess that we will soon move up to this size.















Tonight's dinner--Smoked Bangus,
rice, salad, and fresh pineapple.
A Filipino delight! Not for Emily and Will

Thanksgiving is Over, Christmas is upon us!

We hope you had a nice Thanksgiving with your families. We actually celebrated Thanksgiving two times. We decided to have a Thanksgiving lunch on Wednesday with the clinic staff. It was really special. Sometimes our classes are mainly foreigners and sometimes they are mainly Filipinos. This year there is one American in the bunch. As we came in to eat Allan explained the reason we celebrate Thanksgiving and that in our family we take time to pray for those things we are thankful for. We took some time to pray together and anyone who wanted to could give thanks to God. It was a really neat time as everyone prayed in English, Tagalog, and Ilongo(or Ilacano, I never can remember which one a couple of the girls speak). It was a beautiful glimpse of people from all nations gathering together before the throne of grace. I got a little choked up. It was not to be the last time I would get emotional over the holiday.
Thursday, we celebrated Thanksgiving again. All of the people we know had meals with their mission, so we just followed suit and had everyone in our mission that was here in Manila over. Since the Nelsen's have been in the states the last 2 weeks for their son's wedding it was a big crowd! It is not the first time it has been just the 4 of us. It was a nice day although very muggy so it didn't feel the least bit like Thanksgiving. The kids went to school, and Allan had fun with the students teaching suturing on pigs feet. I made a turkey, dressing, steamed broccoli, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, pickles, corn and pea salad, rolls, and in lieu of sweet potatoes---carrot souffle. People say that there are sweet potatoes here, but I never found them. Another missionary told me I would have been disappointed anyway. The carrot souffle was orange and the kids actually like it better. The big hit of the evening were the rolls and pickles. I do not think we have had rolls since we have been here and the kids couldn't get enough. We opted to skip rice for this meal and no one seemed to miss it. For dessert on Wednesday we had Pumpkin crunch since it fed more people than a pie, and then Thanksgiving Day we had pumpkin pie with whipped cream since there is no Cool Whip. It was a wonderful traditional feast! I did get a little emotional during the prayer time and supper, but I am sure that was to be expected. My family is all together at my brother's house and they called late that night after our kids were in bed. It was hard to be here alone and have them together on the other side of the world, but I did get to talk to them and that was nice.
This weekend we began decorating for Christmas and the kids are beyond thrilled. Time to get out the Christmas dishes!
The Nelsen's return late tonight and we will be glad. It is very quiet here in the evenings without them.

On another note, Will has a new toy in the yard. Allan designed and Pastor Buddy from the clinic built Will and Emily a swing-set. We had promised Will we would have a swing for him here. Buddy had finished the swingset on Thursday and they got to swing and play on it. They love it. It isn't quite finished. Allan is designing Emily a trapeeze bar for the other side. We brought the swing with us from the states

What we did on Thanksgiving

Since Thanksgiving is not celebrated as a Filipino holiday, the kids had school and I taught our Community health class. Two of our students are leaving soon as missionaries in Thailand so we have been trying to compress as much material as possible to complete the course prior to their departure. Thursday is not our typical class day but the students voted to have 2 extra class days on Thursday. Today, we had the fun of learning basic surgical skills and simple suturing techniques.The students did well and no one complained about the stinky pig's feet.















Of course, later in the day, after the kids arrived home from school, we participated in some "traditional" Thanksgiving activities. We even found a turkey to cook. The only thing we were missing was some family and friends. Allan

Happy Thanksgiving!

We would like to wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving!

When Emily was 5 and Will 3, we began a tradition at Thanksgiving of writing down the things we are thankful for. The first year's list is written on the back of a table runner. I had grand plans to write them on there every year, but, well, the best laid plans.... I look on the back at the first year's list though and I chuckle when I read Will's list of every animal he knows begining with donkeys and elephants. This year I changed it up just a little and I thought we would share what we are thankful for with you. When you read Will's list you will see that the difference between 3 and 8 isn't a lot.

Things we are thankful for:

Allan: a house we could move straight into with out shuffeling from place to place, all the encouraging emails, Pizza Hut (though it's not quite the same), that we get along well with Scott, Cindy, and Ling our supporters who make it possible for us to be here

Ginger: Our new home and the now completed paint project, Vonage and the ability to talk to family and friends often without costing a fortune, The Nelsens- who have befriended us and made our transition easier

Emily: Faith Academy, Our pet Bunny-Swirl

Will: Bonnie- the Nelsen's dog, School, new friends

Things we miss from the US:

Allan: Driving on orderly and well maintained roads, fresh milk!, good steak and beef, the ability to talk to people where I don't sound like a 2 year old or need an interpreter

Ginger: Being with family for the holidays, or anyday!, the lake house, fall, and cool weather

Emily: Mimi, Pop, Nana, Gramps, Laura, Beth, Aunt Chris and Uncle Tray

"That's basically the only thing I miss...people"

Will: old friends, and the dress up clothes I had to leave in the US. (mom's note: which were to small anyway!)

Increasing Asian Poverty

With the recent journey of President Bush to Asia, many news stories have focused on the problems that affect this area of the world. South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun brought to light some of the issues during Bush’s visit. “By the numbers, Asia is home to 7 in 10 of humanity's poor—about 700 million people—who subsist on $1 a day or less. Even more people dangle one rung up the socioeconomic ladder, earning just $2 a day per capita. In all, about 1.9 billion Asians live at or below that global poverty line. Put another way, Asia's impoverished masses now exceed the region's total population at the end of World War II."

With the inability to maintain subsistence farming in rural areas, many Filipinos are moving toward the larger, more industrialized cities. This rural flight leads to another region-wide phenomenon linked to poverty: unchecked urbanization. Statistically, migrants out-earn their brethren in the fields. But first they must enter an urban milieu that can be openly hostile and filled with uncertainty. Many of those who move into the cities find themselves trapped in a cycle of occasional work and increasing drug and alcohol dependence. Many of our patients, especially men, are being treated for problems that are directly related to drugs and alcohol, compounded by miserable living conditions and a poor diet.

Some of the information above was obtained from an online Newsweek article at:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10019829/site/newsweek/

Painting project

While we are busy here in ministry, it seems as if this blog mainly tells you about the everyday-ness of our life in the tropics. I hope it is fun and you are enjoying it. Allan often blogs about things going on in the clinic and our newsletter is usually ministry related, but here is where I get to tell you about how we live. Adjusting to a new culture is... well...for lack of a better word, an adjustment. Since we arrived one of the things I have wanted to do is get the inside of the house painted. They haven't been painted since the house was built and being white and having many children living here over the last few years plus the windows open at all times they looked a little dirty and dingy. This is also our new home and so I wanted it to reflect us and our style and taste. So we have embarked upon having some painting done. My first obstacle in this project is that we can't just go down to our local Home Depot and gather up all the paint samples we think we might like to choose from. The only place I have seen paint chips is at the ACE Hardware in the big mall by church. Those samples are bound together and bolted to the counter top so there is no taking them home to check them out or even see them in natural light. Being very indecisive in most things, paint colors included, I knew this would never work. In came my best friend, Amy to save the day. She went down to her local Lowe's and mailed me about 150 chips in the colors she knew I was interested in. Who knew there were so many choices in kaki's, golds, and yellows! The next step of the process involved finding a painter. We had a recommendation from another missionary and so we contacted a painter. He agreed to come work for us beginning the following week. But "that week" never really materialized as we were pushed off again and again. OK so far hiring a painter is not much different from hiring a contractor in the States----except he spoke English about as well as we speak Tagalog so having a conversation was a laborious process. Our next painter recommendation, never really panned out. Finally we had a recommendation for a Filipino pastor. Currently, he and 2 others are here painting the walls. The next obstacle was actually buying the paint. As I said ACE was the only place with paint chips and also the only place with color matched paints similar to the states. Unfortunately their prices reflect this and when painting a whole house we decided to go with a cheaper option...the local paint store. We have now been to this store 3 times getting colors mixed. It is always a very interesting experience. We have a great opportunity to use our Tagalog since there is very little English spoken in the paint industry. We also get to watch them take our paint chip and mix the paint by hand. He pours a little red, adds a little yellow, now a little black or green or whatever and then stir, stir, stir, muscles bulging. It is amazing how close he gets to the color. The problem with this method is, there is no going back for another gallon of that color - so get all you need now! We had them mix up 10 gallons of our main wall paint. They did it in the back in a big bathtub. Mixing all at once. It has been an experience watching the artistry of paint mixing. So far I love all the colors!

More International Week Photos!

This week's theme:
Go "GLOBAL" for Jesus
Gods love overcomes
boundaries and languages









Emily marching in the parade







Will by the Flags of Nations
in the Elementary School




Some of Will's 3rd grade friends from New Zealand the US and Australia

We enjoyed an international party in Will's class. Everyone brought a food from their home country. We enjoyed Australia's vegimite (I didn't like it), 3 dishes from Korea (2 of them I really liked. The other Kim Bop is a little like Sushi and I could live without it), something from India, and from America Ritz crackers and lots of desserts. The kids got to choose what they wanted to bring during class last week. Will's choice: As it says on the package "America's favorite cookie!" and he should know since it is also his----Oreos!

International Week

This week is the highlight of the elementary school year at Faith Academy. It is International Week. The kids have spent the last 2 weeks in school gearing up and preparing for this week. On Monday, the kids had to come to school dressed in the colors of the flag of their passport country. Kind of a strange way to word it I know, but some of these kids have lived more years overseas in the Philippines and else where than in their "home" country and some don't consider their home country "home". The kids began the day as they normally do by lining on by class on the elementary covered playground for announcements and the beginning of their day. They then called alphabetically each of the 14 countries represented by students in the Elementary school. The chosen flag bearer and citizens of each country marched around the playground to their national anthem. It was neat to see the countries like India, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Norway who only had one student from that country and the others with 2 to 6 and then to see South Korea and the US with many students from those countries. I felt choked up as the countries ended their procession one by one, lining up at the end of the covered basketball court. So many nationalities and cultures joining together in one common purpose--to reach the Philippines for Christ. It was then that they called the last nation in the alphabetical listing--the USA. It was the first time I have heard our national anthem since we left the states. I felt emotional as I saw the multitude of nationalities within our own country proudly walk single file behind our flag.
The rest of our week has been filled with fun filled non-uniform wearing school days. Each grade has been studying a different continent and today they had to dress like someone from their continent would. If you can't tell from the pictures-- Will studied Europe and is dressed like a medieval knight. Emily studies Asia and is wearing a Chinese outfit. Friday will be another parade and that time they can dress from any country they would like. Emily is going as a prairie girl and Will as an Auburn football player. (His other idea was an army guy, but I didn't know if that was the image he needed to project at school)




Emily's best friends at school
Keisha from the Philippines
and Jaina from the US











Brave Knight Will

This weeks Lunch!

We have gotten so many comments about the lunch on the lanaii post below that I thought I would share with you this week's menu. Cindy was in charge this week and Scott decided they should serve a fish that Allan and I hadn't tried yet. It's a small fish commonly referred to as "gg". It was a little disconcerting when after the prayer Scott said, "Ahh, I love the head! It's just like potato chips." and then proceeded to crunch right into it. The fish itself was good although there is very little meat and teeny tiny bones. I gave my head to Scott who I think appreciated it more than I ever could. I realize it is a psychological thing, but I just couldn't gear myself up to eat it. Maybe next time. Allan on the other hand had no such qualms and ate 2 whole fish.
Tonight we are having another Filipino dish recommended by our helper Dhel. We are having Siomai (pronounced Shou My). If you have ever had potstickers (one of our favorites) at a Chinese restaurant, I think these are very similar. They are steamed in the top of our rice cooker. I snuck one as Dhel took them out of the steamer a few minutes ago and they were fantastic! We are also having fresh pineapple. Pineapples, Mangos, and Bananas are amazing here. We may be spoiled for life for eating fruit in the US. Tonight the pineapple will be so sweet you would think we had sprinkled it with sugar. YUM!


Joey eating gg

Lunch on the Lanaii

Each Wednesday Cindy and I take turns hosting lunch on our lanaiis (screen porch) for those working at the clinic. We usually prepare lunch for 11 to 13 people. This meal is usually Filipino fare and I rely totally on Dhel, our Filipino helper to help me out. When it is our week to host I always ask for her recommendations for the menu. Today we had fish called Talapia that was fried and then wrapped in petchay leaves and cooked in coconut milk and of course a meal wouldn't be complete without rice. Dhel and the Nelsen's helper, Elena are responsible for doing the bulk of this cooking. I usually take care of the dessert which is never Filipino. Filipino desserts have not become one of Allan and my favorites. While we have tried many different sticky rice desserts, we have yet to try a Filipino specialty called "Halo-halo" meaning mix mix. It is basically a mixture of sweet preserved beans(red beans, chick peas), coconut meat, jackfruit, pounded dried rice, ube (a root crop like a sweet yam that is purple in color), cream flan, and banana, filled with crushed ice, milk (or coconut milk) and topped with ice cream. There are different variations to the filling. The halo-halo basically is sweet and creamy, but I can't seem to get excited about a dessert with beans. We keep promising the kids we will go try one at Chowking- a Filipino fast food restaurant that supposedly has a good halo-halo. The kids for some reason are not looking forward to this. For now those brownies we had for dinner filled our sweet tooth. Thanks for the recipe Laura Lawrence!
Ginger

Prayer Request

Recently, our clinic had a substantial amount of supplies and equipment donated from a hospital that was closing in the U.S. During a trip home, Scott (our partner here) arranged for some of those supplies to be shipped "door-to-door" from the States to the Philippines. (This was the same method we used to get our personal belongings here. This method is supposed to have customs and fees arranged prior to arrival.) The first 3 boxes of supplies were held up at the shipping company here in the Philippines. This company stated that our supplies were subject to customs charges, despite the fact that we were a Filipino non-profit organization. They have demanded thousands of U.S. dollars to retrieve our boxes. However, they will not give us the contact information to the Philippines customs in order to verify the charges. In the meantime, we have many more boxes that were shipped just prior to this problem, headed this way. Please pray that this needed equipment and supplies will be released without incurring a "fee" and that the future boxes will not be held up.

Araw ng mga Patay--All Saints Day

While American children were busy getting dressed up as their favorite character and going door to door "Trick or Treating" on the evening of October 31, we were waking up to one of the biggest Filipino holidays- All Saints Day. During the Araw ng mga Patay (literally- day of the many dead), Filipinos go to the cemetery to remember their dead, clean the graves, and decorate them with flowers, balloons, and candles. While the purpose is somber, the effect is a picnic or a tailgate atmosphere, full of merrymaking and laughter and so we've heard lots of alcohol. Crowds flock to the cemetery, and some even stay overnight. It is a party like atmosphere with family reunions among the tombs. This custom which in parts of the world is a Catholic holiday is actually thought to predate the Spanish introduction of Catholicism in the 16th century. Asian cultures are generally known for a great reverence, love and respect toward their ancestors. It is thought that Catholic missionaries encouraged them to move this day to November 1st or 2nd so it would coincide with the Roman Catholic feasts of All Saints Day and All Souls Day. It is not really a Christian holiday, but one steeped in tribal spiritism. It is also a day of large crowds. We opted to just stay home. There is a large cemetery just down the hill from us and we didn't want to get caught up in the traffic surrounding it. That road is crowded enough on a regular day. This is a picture of a cemetery here in Manila. You can see the tents set up in the background getting ready for the big event.