It's a Boy!

There is one person who is invaluable to our life here--our Filipina nurse, Ling Ling. She keeps the clinic running, taking care of the day to day details. She also deals with the business/ legal/governmental side of the clinic(often a big headache). She is often a translator for Allan, but one of the most important things she does is give us insight into the Filipino culture. She has an understanding of the mindset of our patients and we love her dearly. Saturday morning, she gave birth to her 3rd child--a boy. Mom and baby are doing well! Kuya (a term of respect for a big brother) Dan Joseph is thrilled to no longer be the baby.






Finally got this picture to upload. Here is the newest addition to the Quisquino family. Hopefully I can let you know the baby's name later when Mom and Dad make their final decision.

Life changing events in the Philippines

Two important life changing events took place this weekend in the Philippines. If you have watched the news this weekend, perhaps you have seen the report of the stampede that took place outside of a Manila stadium Saturday morning. Over 70 people were crushed to death as they waited with over 30,000 others for a gameshow. The gameshow was having its anniversary celebration show. The contestants were to be chosen from the audience; ending with a raffle for a jackpot worth 1,000,000 pesos-- just over $20,000 US. The politicians and media have been reporting that this incident was caused by poverty. That these poor impoverished people were there waiting for a chance to change their lives. While poverty is a huge, horrific problem here, I don't think it is the only reason people showed up--just look at the turn out in the US for American Idol auditions. We all want a chance to get something more, something for nothing. If only these people had known that in a stadium across town, a life changing opportunity was being given for free to everyone who entered the stadium. Franklin Graham is here this weekend for the Franklin Graham Metro Manila Festival. Hope is being offered to this city crushed by poverty --"We want to encourage Filipinos that there is hope, and that hope is in Jesus Christ. It starts with your family and your work, and spreads to the government and then to the nation."(Billy Graham Evangelistic Association)

Happy Cinese New Year!

Did you know last week end was Chinese New Year? I can't say I ever really knew when Chinese New Year came in the states, but we now live in Asia where there are pockets of Chinese everywhere. As soon as the Christmas decorations came down, Chinese lanterns and red and gold decorations came out. Ok so the decorations were not nearly as many as Christmas, but enough that we knew what was coming. Also since our own New Years, we have been made aware by TV and people adn our own kids that this is the year of the dog! IN the US the only time I know what the Chinese year was is when I read it on the placemat at the local chinese restaurant. In case you aren't aware, Chinese New Year is a big deal in Asia.
Yesterday at our clinic lunch we had a Chinese New Year dessert called tikoy. I am not sure if this is traditional in China or just here in the Philippines, but it is a dessert made from sticky rice that looks like a pie made from tofu. Just before eating it is into thin slices, dipped in egg, and seep fried. I thought it was ok, Allan didn't like it. We prefer some of the Filipino sticky rice better--Al's favorite is bico.

Here I am to Worship

Last week, I had the opportunity to teach 6 year olds at a conference for homeschooling families living in Asia. So, I left Allan and the kids behind and traveled with 5 other ladies from Manila to Chiang Mai, Thailand. We had the weekend before the conference started to get prepared and do a little sightseeing. Chiang Mai is beautiful and there are wonderful things to see and do there.
For those of you who are not familiar with Thailand and the Thai people, they have been a kingdom since the 13th century and are proud of the fact that they have never been ruled by a western power. Chiang Mai itself is a 700 year old city complete with a moat around the old city with portions of the old city wall still intact. The architecture is ornate and the temples are golden. To be Thai is to be Buddhist and there has been great resistance to the gospel. Only 1.62% of the population is Christian. In a country of 65 million that is less than 1 million Christians. Often those who chose to follow Christ risk rejection, abandonment and ridicule from their families.
The Sunday we were in Chiang Mai, we had the privilege of worshipping at a Christian orphanage. The purpose of this orphanage is not to adopt out the kids, but...... "to provide spiritual development based on the Bible, basic education, primary health care and the utmost moral guidance as they grow. We believe the Lord has called us to raise up an army for His Kingdom in Thailand, and to be a beacon for the Lord wherever we are. We are committed to establish the careers of these children by creating jobs and micro enterprises and to train them into "tentmakers" and full-time servants for the ministry." This orphanage houses nearly 100 kids, many of whom have accepted Jesus as their Savior. We had a wonderful time of praise as we joined in the singing of many familiar choruses. It was very cool to be singing in English along with the children and teenagers singing in Thai.

It soon became obvious that the women I was with were taken with the worship of one 8 year old girl. She had her arms lifted in praise as she sang the words from her heart. We had the joy of hearing her share her testimony later in the service. Her mother had died when she was 4, her father, sick himself, left her with her grandmother before they too both died. She had come to the orphanage when she was 6. She was thankful that God had brought her here, for it was here that she learned of His love. When she finished her emotional story, there wasn't a dry eye among us. There are more Christians in this humble place than in a nearby city of 100,000. I Pray that these kids and teenagers will rise up and change Thailand for Christ. I know my relationship with the Lord was deepen that day through their honest, heartfelt worship.

Wish You Were Here!

Today was an almost perfect day in the Philippine Islands! There was a great breeze with temps in the upper 70s, and the sun sparkling all around. The air was so clear and free of pollution that we could see the mountains on the other side of Manila. It felt like a day in mid May in Georgia. We decided to spend the afternoon at the new pool at the kids school. A Korean businessman donated the money for the pool and it just opened up this week. I know we will enjoy it in the months to come! So while you are bundled up tight against winter's chill, we are enjoying the great outdoors. As wonderful as today was, summer is coming--well actually it's always here and it is just soon going to get worse. So, we won't want to hear about your weather come April and May--that is hot season.

A view of Metro Manila from the pool at Faith Academy.
These buildings can actually disappear some days due to smog.

Eating out

Sunday as we were leaving church, a woman handed Will a red envelope filled with McDonald's coupons. In case you are thinking this is a strange thing to be handing out in church let me explain that our church building is not what you would consider a "church". Being a city of over 12 million people who live close together, land in Manila is not abundant. Therefore many churches meet in non-traditional (at least non-American traditional) buildings. It is not uncommon for churches to meet in a movie theatre, an open air building, the atrium of a mall, or an unused floor in a building. The church we attend meets on the unused 4th floor of a kind of mall. It is actually a tiangge (pronounced chan-gay) which is a bunch of small cubicles that sell different types of things from clothes, shoes, pearls(a Filipino specialty) and jewelry, to home decor, toys, and well just stuff. It kind of reminds me of walking through booths at the homeschool convention I went to in Atlanta a few years back. So if you have been to a convention or a fair where there are different people set up selling things then you have the idea. Each Sunday we hike up to the 4th floor for services. There is one elevator, but there is always a line so we choose to walk(Allan makes us) . "It's good for us!" When church is over the tiangge is just opening up and so we leave through the mall. So now you see why Will got McDonald's coupons at church.
The purpose in telling you all of this is not about the mall and churches though that may be interesting, but to tell you about some of the restaurants we have here. We have many chains from the US that you would know, like Mickey d's, but we also have some restaurants that flopped in the US, but are thriving abroad. Remember Kenny Rodger's Roasters? We had one of those in Atlanta about 10 years ago. Also Shakey's Pizza is alive and well here too. We had one of those in Virginia when I was a kid growing up. We do have restaurants that you might find yourself eating at in your hometown: Wendy's (Will's favorite), Pizza Hut, KFC, and of course McDonald's. Also there is an Outback, a TGIFridays, and a Chili's. The fast food joints tend to be cheaper here than in the US, while the others are comparable in price--making them expensive here. If you think you will walk into Wendy's and order your favorite combo meal from the States, you would be right, but there are also more choices to appeal to the Filipino taste. Every restaurant offers rice. You can even get some combos with rice as opposed to fries. At most restaurants you can get your pizza or burger with a side of Spaghetti. Some of the things we have tried and liked are--Shrimp sandwiches at Wendys and the Grilled shrimp and mango salad at Pizza Hut--while the taste of this salad is great we have since eliminated this from our diet. Twice it has caused a little stomach upset we think due to the washing of the salad greens. We actually choose to rarely eat salads out for this reason.
One big adjustment for us has been the lack of free refills at most places. Some restaurants will allow you to pay an extra fee for a "bottomless" drink, but most do not. Below you can see a few of the coupons in Will's package and also the Pizza Hut ad for Spam pizza. By the way on a humorous note, the phone # for Pizza Hut is 911-11-11. Will thinks it is truly an emergency #. It saves him from having to eat rice!


Yummy Spam Pizza! Available with Chicken, and Spaghetti

















"Would you like some rice with that?"



Also the bottom one proves there are normal combo meals


Click on them to see them larger

Another Christmas Story

I know Christmas is long past, but I wanted to share this picture over the holidays and just never did. On Thursday mornings at the clinic, our Filipina nurse, Ling Ling leads a ladies bible study. She leads and disciples ladies from the nearby squatter settlement. Ling can minister to these women in ways I can never understand. She understands their culture, values and needs in a way a white American can not. The distance from their lives to mine is too great. They have a sister group though. One of the supporters of our ministry has a similar ladies Bible Study in Springfield, Il.--Ok so it's not composed of women from the local housing project, just ladies. This Springfield Bible Study has "adopted" the clinic ladies group and at Christmas they sent money to help make Christmas for these familes. Ling used the money to give each of them Christmas dinner. Each lady recieved a ham and other "fixin's" for their family. These are just a few of "Ling's Ladies" and their kids as they came to Ling's on Christmas Eve to celebrate the season.

New Tribes Conference!

The Holidays are over and we have settled back into normal routine. The weather is great though. We are having very cool evenings and mornings and the temps are not too hot during the afternoons with a nice breeze all day.
Last week we enjoyed a nice conference with New Tribes Mission in the Philippines. Allan and I led the conference for the Elementary School kids. We enjoyed getting to know the kids and other missionaries. New Tribes Missionaries are on the front lines of missions. The vision of New Tribes Mission is to plant tribal churches to reach people who have never had a single opportunity to hear the Gospel. These missionaries go to the far reaches of the world to live among and minister to unreached groups of people. They live out among the tribes in very basic conditions often with sporadic power and water. 12 of our 17 kids at the conference live out among tribal people and are homeschooled. I don't know what I expected from kids who live in the far reaches of the Philippines, but surprisingly they seemed to be well adapted to their environments.
Allan got to do a little doctoring and trouble shooting for some of the missionaries and even removed an ingrown toenail, performing before a crowd of missionaries who wanted to watch. These missionaries often have to take on the role of doctor out in the tribe just by the presence of their white skin. Scott and Larry Holmes and now Allan provide a valuable resource to the missionaries who need medical help and advice through email, phone and even in person.
During the week we heard many stories of what life is like out in the tribes and what ministry is going on there. Some places are harder to reach than others. Some groups are unreceptive to the gospel and conditions are dangerous, often due to Muslim influence. But we heard many stories where the people are embracing the gospel and communities are being changed. One couple we met have lived in the northern region on the island of Mindanao for the last 22 years. They moved there in 1983 and their partners moved there in '81. This was the first entrance of a white man into this culture. The religion there was animistic requiring frequent sacrifices of animals and even young children. Unwanted babies or those with birth defects were often buried alive. These 2 families, and later a 3rd, moved into this area and began learning the language. Relationships developed and after a few years they began to share the message of hope that we have in Christ. The church in this area is now self sufficient. The original 2 couples remain to finish the translation of the Bible and developing some Bible teaching. They hope to completely move out of this area in the next few years. That is the goal of church planting missionaries--to work themselves out of a job. To see the Church become self reliant and begin to stand on it's own. Our week was encouraging and relaxing and we loved it. If you would like to see more pictures of the kids we spent the week with you can go to a new page in our website and click on the New Tribes conference picture. We hope to be adding even more pictures there in the next few weeks of our life here.
The photos are at http://www.philippinemission.com/FamilyFun.html

Happy New Year!

New Years Eve is probably the biggest night of the year in the Philippines. There is a party everywhere. Fireworks have been for sale for the last month and have gone off here and there with loud pops, but this left us unprepared for what the night would bring. They must add something to the fireworks here to make them 3 times as loud as in the States. We have often wondered if we were caught in the middle of a gun fight. We knew this would escalate as New Years Eve drew near. We had been told that the place to be New Year's Eve was the kid's school-Faith Academy. Faith is about 15 minutes from our house and also outside the metro Manila area. Metro Manila is a city of 14 million people in an area smaller than Los Angeles county. It is the most densely populated city in the world. It is shaped somewhat like a basin surrounded by hills and "mountains". We live outside of the Metro area, up in the first set of hills. Our house looks over Laguna de Bay and the city of Alabang, but Faith looks out over Metro Manila.
Our view upon arrival was of a beautiful city at night. The lights of the buildings shimmered in the distance and there was the occasional firework to light up the sky. By 10 o'clock the sky was aglow with fireworks big and small filling the air here and there. Some as close as the soccer field below us and 1/4 mile away, and some tiny pinpricks in the distance. As we moved closer to midnight, the number of fireworks grew and grew. Explosions lighting up the night sky. By 11:45 the lights of the city had disappeared due to the smoke and all we were left with was an amazing display. You can not imagine this scene. There can be nothing like this in the states. Mainly because what densely populated US city would let people shoot off that many fireworks. The final 10 minutes of 2005 and the first few minutes of 2006 were welcomed with bright colors exploding all around us. Being first timers, we were amazed, but sales of fireworks this year was down and our Filipino friends have told us this was nothing compared to years past. Disappointing it may have been for them, but we were thrilled. Words cannot adequately describe this event so we would love for you to come experience this with us next year.

So we have begun a new year in a new country. Allan made the comment New Years Day that we will most likely not see the US during the year 2006. It was a depressing thought so we won't think about it. We will be leaving tomorrow to go to a conference for New Tribes Missionaries. Allan and I are leading the Elementary Children's program. We are excited for a few days away. We have spent everynight for the last 5 months in the same beds. I think that has to be a record for our family. It will be great to breathe some cleaner air.

Our Christmas!

Well Christmas Day has come and gone. It wasn't as bad as I had thought it was going to be. Allan and Emily tried to predict what time the tears would start for me, but they both lost because they never came. Our Christmas morning was interspersed with opening a few gifts then talking to family on the Vonage phone. We had great fun being silly with my nieces who were a little envious that Emily and Will were opening gifts. In Georgia it was still Christmas Eve and they wouldn't be opening gifts until after church the next day. It was a little weird that Christmas was over and our kids in bed before most of the US even awoke.
So if you celebrated Christmas in the Philippines what would your day have been like? Well, Christmas celebrations begin Christmas Eve. Families stay up until midnight and welcome in Christmas with a few fireworks and a feast. It is a time for family reunions. Families gather together for a midnight meal and stay up most of the night, returning home in the wee hours to sleep most of Christmas Day. ( **Spoiler Warning for those who read our blog to their young kids)For most Filipinos Santa is just a decoration like snowmen and elves. Santa does not visit most children in the Philippines. Kids are given a few small things from their lola and lolo(grandma & grandpa) and aunts and Uncles. Christmas is more about gathering with family and eating than gifts. (***end of spoiler) So if you were a Filipino what would you eat on this night? Of course no meal is complete without rice, but added to that are ham, and queso de bola which is literally a ball of edam cheese that comes in thick red wax. A special treat is fruit cocktail which seems strange with all the wonderful fresh fruit available here, but they use this for many treats including halo halo(described in an earlier blog). Another treat is to also have spaghetti. So did we Gilmers follow Filipino tradition?.... Well no, we mostly stuck to our own family's traditions. The kids opened one present on Christmas eve and after a supper of lasagna we gathered for a final time around the advent wreath to light the Christ candle, pray and sing some carols. It was very nice. The kids were then bundled off to bed with visions of Star Wars in Will's head. God gave us a wonderful gift as the temperature reached the lowest it has been since we've been here--68.4. On Christmas morning we lit the advent wreath candles again and ate the same breakfast casserole that I have eaten on Christmas morning since I was a kid. If you had been at our Christmas Dinner it might have strayed a little from tradition, but our family has never been locked into a specific meal on Christmas. We opted not to have the Filipino ham. It is not what my kids call "real ham" and I wasn't sure we would like the taste. Instead we had a crown pork roast. I remember my gourmet Aunt Lynn had that one year when Allan and I were first married and when I saw it in the supermarket I knew it would be a fun display! We also had macaroni and cheese for Will, twiced baked potatoes, some of our stash of greenbeans sent from the US, carrot souffle, and rolls. Of course for dessert we had some Christmas cookies and treats.
Will was thrilled with the Star Wars legos he received from the US. I wish our parents could have seen how excited he was with his Star Wars gifts. Perhaps this picture gives them a glimpse! Hope your Christmas was as Merry as ours was!






Dont forget Emily who was thrilled with things to "pamper" herself and a new 220V CD player to replace the 110V one we left at Mimi and Pop's!

Merry Christmas from the Gilmers!

Our Charlie Brown Christmas Tree

Remember the old peanuts Christmas special and the sad little tree Charlie Brown buys for the Christmas play. This year we can relate a little to those disappointed kids. Christmas trees in the Philippines have come a long way in recent years so our tree is actually very nice looking. Artifical trees are the only option and we were told to buy early to get what we wanted. So back in September Allan and I bought our new Christmas tree. We of course needed new lights since we left our 110V lights back in the US. When we opened our packages of lights we discovered that the cheap lights sold at Wlamart are high quality compared to what we have available here. Some of our strings were so dim that they barely glowed. We had not purchased enough lights to cover the tree so Thanksgiving weekend we attempted to buy a couple more strands of clear lights. Unfortunately (or maybe not) all of the stores seemed to be out of clear lights until we came to one hardware store. They had a more expensive strand still available. We bought 2 and came home to finish decorating the tree. These lights were much better quality and brighter than the others. Everything was fine though until the last few days. It seems the cheap strands are dropping like flies. Every day another stand goes out. It looks like the bulbs are all burned. Tonight we are down to only the 2 more expensive strands. As portions of our tree have slowly gone dark, we can do nothing, but laugh about it. It seems somewhat typical of quality control here. This picture was taken before the bottom strands went dark. I guess the old saying is true --"you get what you pay for" and as my mom says we will have to just "chalk this up to experience". I guess next year we will have to invest in new lights and I can tell you which ones we wont buy. If only Snoopys dog house was here so we could take the lights from it! Merry Christmas!

Christmas Box

In the old days of missions, Missionaries left their homes, if not for a lifetime, at least for long years. Travel took months instead of a really long day and the lands they moved to were completely foreign with not much available from home. Churches in those days used to gather up new and used items from home and send a box or usually a "missionary barrel" out to the folks on the field. These days missionaries usually return home every 3-4 years and it is not unusual for them to jet set back and forth to their home country in between times. We have many American products imported. Even so, our family at home wanted to send the kids Christmas gifts. This actually worked out well since Will wants Star Wars legos and legos are not sold here. (shh-Don't tell him what he's getting) So last week, Santa came a little early. 7 weeks before, my parents had shipped out a box filled with gifts and the "cracks" were filled with things that we are missing from home and can't get here. Two such things were cans of green beans and cans of green chilis. Em loves canned green beans and they are not to be found in the stores or market. Allan and I love Mexican food and while we can find other products we requested some green chilis to make some special dishes we love. Other items of note that we recieved were: decaf coffee, pecans, ink for our printer, and the ingredients to make my Aunt Linda's Brunswick stew. We have had a great time with all the little surprise extras the family stuck in and the kids are anxiously awaiting Christmas morning. It has made our first Christmas away from home a little more enjoyable. We have also enjoyed getting Christmas cards from home and some surprises from my best friend Amy. For years Emily, Will and I have watched "White Christmas". Our copy was VHS though and we left it in the US since VHS tapes don't survive here. Em was particularly distressed by this and so one of the surprises sent by Amy was truly a blessing for Emily. We gathered close tonight and watched and sang along with the DVD version of "White Christmas". The wind was blowing and with the fan turned on it was almost cold. The kids snuggled under a blanket, but Will did have to take off his shirt to be comfortable.

A Box full of gifts from home!

A pantry full of green beans and green chilis!

Christmas DVD's sent from my friend Amy!

Christmas in the Philippines!

For those of you who like to drive around looking at Christmas lights, perhaps you should plan to look a little farther next year. Filipinos love Christmas and they really love lights. The traditional holiday decoration in the Philippines is a Parol. All through the Christmas season, star-shaped lanterns can be found hanging outside homes and along the streets of cities and small provincial towns, farms and fishing villages. Parols were traditionally made from simple materials like bamboo sticks, Japanese rice paper, crepe paper, and a candle or coconut oil-lamp for illumination. Modern parols can be made from paper or plastic with a single buld or strands of Christmas tree lights inside. Around Manila, we see many parols made of Capiz shell. The parol is a recognizable symbol to all Filipinos and represents the star of Bethlehem that guided the Three Wise Men to Jesus. The parol is a tradition from l0ng ago when the Philippines was controled by the Spanish. It was originally intended as an important part of the 9-day Misas de Aguinaldo or Gift Masses that happen early each morning until Christmas Eve. After coming home from Mass, instead of putting the lantern away in the house, Filipinos would proudly hang it outside the window. At night, they would illuminate their parols to display their art. They would then walk around and see each others' work. While celebrating Christmas here begins with the -ber months--meaning decorations and Christmas music begin showing up in September, the holidays are officially celebrated beginning the 16th of December. People all over the Philippines woke up at 4 am this morning to go to Mass and begin the 9 day Misas de Aguinaldo.


A Parol made from Capiz shells













Plastic Parols for sale in Manila












If you would like more info about Parols or think it would be fun to make one for yourself (what a great homeschool project!) or would like some great coloring sheets of parols in the Philippines, you can find it at the following website: http://www.myparol.com/myparol/index.html

National Geographic

You may not know that Allan had the opportunity to work in Afghanistan last winter. He was chosen by the residency director along with friend and fellow resident Steven Durocher to work in Kabul. They saw some patients, but their main job was to help teach and train Afghan Doctors. One night while they were out eating a National Geographic photographer took their picture. He was there doing a story on NGO's (non-governmental organizations) doing relief work in a war torn region. We filed that away in the back of our mind and asked my parents who get Nat. Geo to keep an eye out. Well this morning we recieved a call from Rob, a friend in Greenwood, who had seen it while flipping through magazines at the store. We called and had mom look on page 36 and when she got there her expression was....."that's Allan!" She scanned and sent the page to us and here it is. I am sure it breaks all kind of copyright laws to post it on the blog. When discussing blogging it, Emily said, "Isn't that illegal?" Will's response..."Not in this country!" He has really begun to fit in well with Filipino society. Well illegal or not hope you enjoy seeing Al in the magazine.

Enjoying our new EKG

Scott and I are trying out some of our new equipment. Here Scott has our clinic's pastor hooked up for his first EKG. I had just completed one for Scott during our first trial test. Fortunately, the EKG can operate on 220 volt which will make using it easier. Implementing this in our clinic will save a patient about 1/2 to 1 days pay (which is their cost paid if we have to send them elsewhere to get an EKG).

New Equipment and supplies

Back on Nov 2, I mentioned a shipment of supplies that was being donated from a closed hospital in the U.S. The problem mentioned with part of the shipment has not been resolved yet. However, a large part of the equipment and supplies has arrived. This has been a great encouragement and we have enjoyed unpacking and sorting through the boxes. Among the new equipment: EKG, teaching microscope, new hematcrit centrifuge, surgical and orthopedic equipment, and lots of various medicines. Some of the equipment is planned for future expansion, possibly into surgical Obstetrics. Neither Scott nor I currently do surgical OB but another physician who may be joining us soon does C-sections. I know this would be a big improvement in care for the Nurse-midwives who run a birthing center just down the street from our clinic. In the meantime, I can't wait to incorporate the new EKG, microscope and other stuff into our daily practice.

"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.

From the October 20th PM News . . .

As I mentioned in the most recent PM News, the clinic faced a major hurdle in October. While applying for a renewal of the clinic’s business/medical license and my Philippine Medical license, we came under close governmental scrutiny. This kind of scrutiny is not a judgement of how well you treat patients or a measure of the quality of care given; rather, it is often whether one person finds you favorable (or willing to pay to be found favorable). Our "roadblock" person was one of the local medical officials (the equivalent of a County medical society). She had previously indicated that she was very concerned that we were “foreigners” treating Filipino patients who would be better served by Filipino doctors. She was particularly concerned about any surgical procedures and the amount of follow-up that occurs after procedures. After much prayer, that official finally visited our clinic and was favorably impressed. Of course, the fact that we had a mutual physician friend who spoke with her prior to her visit helped, also. Not only did she give her approval but she offered to build cooperation between her Filipino indigent care and our clinic. She is a plastic surgeon and offers to repair cleft palates for the cost of the hospital supplies/fees. The total for an adult cleft palate repair being around $150 - 200. I view this as a positive event since I had hoped to build some types of relationship within the Filipino medical community.
You can alway download current and past issues of "The PM News" at:
http://philippinemission.com/services.html

A Few Days of Fun!

The kids are off from school for 13 days for fall break! While a lot of missionaries take this time to leave the smog and pollution of Metro Manila, we decided to stay home and do some things around here. Because the kids are used to being home for school I think they have actually enjoyed a few days of doing nothing but relaxing at home. Monday we went bowling. They love to bowl and we rarely did that in the states. Here it is very cheap--30 cents for shoe rental and about $1.05 per game. The alley was very nice and updated. We had a great time despite being in a fish bowl. We were the center of attention as many Filipinos sat at the tall tables behind us and watched the white people bowl. I am sure we provided a few laughs, especially me. I bowled the worst game of my adult life. Both kids beat me(of course they did have gutter guards and I did not). It was really pitiful and a little humiliating. I really just didn't want Will to feel he was the worst bowler in the family. At least that's my excuse and I am sticking to it. We rounded out our afternoon with lunch at Shakey's pizza. Remember that old chain? It is alive and well here in the Philippines along with Kenny Rodger's Roasters; another American flop.
Yesterday, we went to a "resort" near our home. There are many of these type places here. Developers build amenities to attract wealthy people to buy homes in their subdivisions. After a while they open these places up to the public to use for a daily fee. This resort, Club Manila East, actually has Cabanas and Cottages so you can stay over night. I am not really sure who wants to stay in TayTay Philippines, but maybe men on business. The kids had heard about this place when we were here last fall and have been wanting to go there since then. It was a lot of fun. They have 2 large pools, a big slide, a shallow pool with kidsplayground, and another larger pool with 1 person kayaks. One of the larger pools had a sun shade over it and that was a nice break from the sun for us pasty white people. The Filipinos like it too because they don't want to get darker. The kids had a blast. It was worth the wait. Emily invited Keisha, a Filipino girl friend from school, to go along with us. The only downside is somewhere along the way a few of us got a touch of food poisoning. Emily had it the worst. This is only the second incidence of this for us since we have been here as far as we know. Not too bad. Next time we will pack a picnic, although we could have gotten sick from our own dinner last night.
In case you are wondering about the above pictures, we seem to have a problem. We never remember to take our camera anywhere. The bowling picture is from Greenwood last January. We (except for Will)haven't really worn long sleeves and long pants here. The picture of Club Mania East was taken from their websight. I thought you might like to see what it looks like. The pools come together to form the shape of Laguna de Bay (a big lake near TayTay that we can see from our house) including Talim Island.
Ginger

It's beginning to look a lot like.....Christmas???

This afternoon I ran to the grocery store to pick up a few things. When I drove up, the store had been decked out for Christmas--It is a "ber" month after all and that is when you begin celebrating Christmas in the Philippines. Over that last month, we had already heard a Christmas song or two and seen some stores selling decorations, but even Wal-mart usually starts selling Christmas stuff just after they get rid of school supplies. This on the other hand is a whole other ball game. The outside of the store had big plastic decorations mounted on the building. Pink glittery ribbons with cute animals in Santa hats and big lime green stars. (OK so not your traditional Christmas colors) It looks like the whole thing will glow from the inside at night. The kids and I will have to go check it out. The grocery stores at home might put up a wreath or 2, but this is like the outside of a mall would be in the States.
I was greeted with a "Merry Christmas, M'am!" when I entered into a Christmas wonderland. Glowing 3 foot stars and the same cute critters hung from the ceiling about every 10 feet. Christmas displays of food and decorations abounded. Blaring over the store's PA system were classic American Christmas songs. I found myself humming and singing along to the 12 days of Christmas, Rudolph, and It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. I got into the spirit of things and returned my cashiers greeting of "Merry Christmas!" I walked from the cool airconditioned winter wonderland feeling the spirit of Christmas and into the 90 degree humidity of the Philippines. I stepped quickly back into the reality that it is only October and it feels like July! We are supposed to have cooler weather as we move towards the month of December, but Im not sure the low80s will feel much different. I guess if you live in Florida this is what Christmas feels like, not that it's much cooler in S. Carolina,Georgia or Alabama either. It will be fun to see all the decorations as the Philippines prepares for the biggest holiday of the year.
Ginger

a strange talisman

In most 3rd world countries with a history of tribal religions, often some of those old superstitions and beliefs remain in modern life. Each Wednesday Cindy Nelsen and I take turns having the clinic staff in for lunch at our houses. One Wednesday a few weeks back, we all giggled as our Filipino friends poked a little bit of fun at themselves by sharing some of what I guess we would call "old wives tales" that are still prevalent. One belief is that hurrying just after eating causes appendicitis. You should also never shower or get wet with cold water when you are hot or just after exercising or it will cause a Filipino word I think might best be translated as malaise. This is something to be avoided at all costs and also a little hard to do since it is always hot here. The rituals surrounding new borns and children are of course numerous. New mothers often squirt breast milk in their baby's eyes to prevent eye infections.
Well Friday at the clinic I was introduced to another strange superstition. While Scott was examining a 3 year old boy, Cindy and I were busy goo-gooing at his 4 month old brother. He was a strong baby and big for a Filipino baby his age. Pinned to his little yellow outfit was a little red pouch. Scott turned to me and said it was a talisman to ward off evil spirits. He then wanted me to feel the pouch and guess what was inside. I felt something smooth about the thickness of a AA battery with a point at one end. Surely they didn't have pinned to this baby what I thought I felt. I felt again and Scott asked what I thought it was. I was afraid to give my answer--"a bullet?". Unfortunately I was correct. Pinned to this little guy was a live 38 caliber bullet. I guess that is one way to ward off evil spirits. Scott then told me of another common practice that maybe I wish I had known when my own kids were little (OK so not really). People are really the same the world over and in the Philippines, just as in America, when you take your baby out in public, people, often strangers, will bend over your baby and touch his little face. I remember my sister-in-law, Chris and I discussing how we hated taking Emily and Laura out to Wal-mart for fear they were going to catch something from all the hands that touched them. A solution to that here in the Philippines is to use red lipstick or other such substance to draw a cross on the baby's forehead. This will keep the bad germs and evil spirits away when people touch him. As humorous as this sounds, it is also tragic that these beliefs are so common. It helps us to remember our main purpose in being here is not to heal the many illnesses that abound or to educate about some of these misconceptions, although we do these things. Our main purpose is to share with them the True One who can keep away all of the evil that abounds in this world. Our prayer is that they will see This One living in us as they come to the clinic and meet us in the community.
Ginger

We live in the Philippines!??!

When thinking of a typical missionary it is often not the sharing of the gospel that seems to hallmark them as such in my mind. Rather I think of the stereotypical living conditions that seem typical of those living in the rural third world--no electricity, phones, or technology, dirt roads, little running water, and beautiful vistas unspoiled by urban development. While we do experience these things on an occasion they are not an everyday occurence in the urban area bordering metro Manila. You will remember that we have had a couple power and phone outages. We have lost contact with the outside and inside worlds on 2 somewhat long occasions. Our backyard is a beautiful oasis in an otherwise concrete jungle, and daily I get to drive on a unpaved road filed with pot hole as I drive the kids to school. While these make me realize that I live in a place far different from the US they haven't made me think--"Oh you're finally a missionary!" Until now....
Unfortunately, we have woken up to the 4th day without water. There seems to be no apparent reason except that we live in the Philippines and that seems reason enough. If we are lucky it seems to come back in the evening though. I skipped a shower the first day because I had taken one the night before, but on day 2 I took my first bucket bath. There is nothing more refreshing than standing in the bathtub dumping a bucket of cold water over your head to rinse out shampoo. bbbuurrrr! Did I say I haven't been cold here?? Well here is the way to cool off! We have even had to teach the children how to do this. That was an experience.
Ginger

It's a small world after all! Part 2

Early on in our time here, I posted a blog about Will's teacher having gone to Auburn. The coincidences keep growing the more we get to know them. First off, She is from Birmingham and so is Allan. Secondly her husband Dan grew up in Pensacola and lived there at the same time we did. Ok so these aren't such odd things--just wait. At Auburn Dan and Ellen met through the ministry of the BSU(Baptist Student Union now called BCM- Baptist Campus Ministries) Same as Allan and myself. We all attended the same church, and Allan and Dan both went to a class led by the pastor on Thursday mornings for guys interested in full time ministry. Commonly refered to as the preacher boy class. Ok so all these things could very well be said of many students to pass through the hallowed gates of Auburn in the last 20 years. Here is where the similarites begin to get bizarre. It turns out that on a campus of 25,000 in which 80% live off campus mainly in some hundreds of apartment complexes that Ellen and I lived in the same complex. Not only did we live in the same complex, but the same unit, and....not only the same unit, but the same bedroom. Just 11 years apart(boy do I feel old) Kind of freaky huh that here we would meet on the other side of the world. We are enjoying having our WarEagle Club Mainla branch with the 3 AU familes. Friday night we got together to watch the AU Miss. State game. It takes a while for the games to arrive so we are seriously delayed. In fact the first game against GA Tech has been floating out there for over a month now and no sign of it arriving. My sister-in-law said the big loss is painful to watch and it may be for the best if it never arrives!
War Eagle! Ginger