Happy 11th Birthday Emily!

There were familiar sounds in our house Saturday night-- Sounds of girls giggling instead of sleeping. Emily had 2 friends over to spend the night for her birthday. 3 girls who come from3 very different backgrounds--Jaina is an MK(missionary kid) who is the child of an MK and has spent most of her life living overseas in Paupa New Guinea and the Philippines. Keisha is the daughter of a Filipino businessman who has grown up in the PI and is a new student at Faith this year. Emily of course is a small town southern girl new to the Philippines. It is amazing that 3 girls from such diverse backgrounds can be such good friends. They have bonded well at school this year. It hasn't hurt that 2 of them were new to Faith.

On Sunday morning we got up early, attended church and then went ice skating. Emily has been looking forward to this since we moved here. She says she is the only girl in her class who has never been. She was supposed to go skating for Jaina's birthday in February, but that was the weekend of the big coup attempt and State of Emergency so they stayed closer to home, much to Emily's dismay. So what was Emily's first birthday in the tropics?? Ice Skating! Who would have guessed?

Emily wearing a sweatshirt and jeans for the first time in almost a year!

Taking the scenic route

Here is a picture of a truck we saw on our way home from church Sunday. Some time while we were at church, it got stuck under an overpass walkway. As of Tuesday afternoon when I went to pick up the kids from school, it was still there blocking two lanes of traffic on one of the most heavily congested roads in our area.

On a different note- summer has arrived! The temps inside the house are hitting about 91 everyday. It will be interesting to see if they get even higher towards the end of April. Enjoy those last winter days and the coming of Spring while we endure the dog days of summer! I think we are going to cool off in the new Faith pool this evening after dinner. Aaahh what a treat!

Star Gazing----again

One of the things I like to do here at night, is to step out on the balcony and look at the small twinkling lights of the city of Albang across Laguna de Bay and the star above. If I have alot of energy, I will even take the winding staicase up to the roof and see the whole expanse of the sky. Being so close to a mega metropolis we shouldn't be able to see many stars, but if you remember from my post about Orion, there is a hill that blocks the city of Manila from view so on a clear night, the stars fill the sky. (Ok it probably isn't like being on the prairie in Kansas, but it is as good as Greenwood, SC.) As I stepped out on the balcony last night, the sky was beautiful. I looked up trying to find my friend Orion. He wasn't there. I don't know if he is gone for a while or is just coming out at a different time. It was as I turned SW toward Alabang that I saw it for the first time---the Southern Cross. Thanks to the Crosby, Stills, and Nash song from my childhood. It is the only constellation I know that is in the S. hemisphere and can't be seen from the US. After the Orion post, our good friend Rob emailed us and asked if we could see the Southern Cross. Of course this meant I had to go online and research if we even had a possibility of seeing it. The answer was yes--it is visible anywhere below a latitude of 20. Since we are at about 13 degrees that includes us. So there it was--a cross in the sky. It was beautiful and bright sitting just above the trees. The main line from that song kept running through my mind-- "When you see the Southern Cross for the first time, you understand now why you came this way." It was such a good reminder to me that we are to be like that cross shining forth in the night sky; a beacon in the darkness of the Philippines to lead others to Christ. Sometimes it is so easy to get caught up in the frustration of learning Tagalog, the visible physical problems of our patients, and the dailyness of life that I forget our main goal and purpose in all of these things is Christ. While the medical work we do here is valid and fills a big need, it is only a temporary bandaid. Christ can heal those we come in contact with from the disease of sin that eats at the soul. So I guess I have a new friend in the sky, a visible reminder of why we have come this way. It would be so much easier to pack up and head "home", but Christ has called us to shine in the darkness, to guide those on the seas of life toward His port of salvation.















Here are some images I got off the internet of the Southern Cross

Spring Break!

Like most kids in the US, many of the kids at Faith Academy long to go to the beach for Spring Break. Fortunately, we are surrounded by beaches here in the Philippines. We have been on Spring Break for the last week (In actual fact it is summer from now until the end of May) and we took our first trip to a Filipino beach. We decided on Puerto Galera on the Island of Mindoro. This is a popular place with a lot of the missionaries who live near us because it is 1.somewhat close and easy to get to and 2.relatively inexpensive. We left home at 5 am last Tuesday to drive to Batangas. In Batangas we caught a banka(boat) to Talipanan Beach in Puerto Galera. Talipanan Beach is quiet cove with a few "hotels" and 3 restaurants. These are not high rises or condos, but each has 10 or so rooms. We stayed at the Bamboo House. A very tropical looking place. We enjoyed eating on the porch and swinging in the hammock. Our room was nothing spectacular. Definitely not a 4 star place- I'm not sure it was even 1 star. Probably not the accommodations we would take our parents to. We had 2 small beds and a bathroom with cold water. The shower was a shower head that wet the whole bathroom and with the sink next to it, it was the water source for both shower and sink. Since we didn't spend much time in our room I guess this was OK especially since the price was only $10 a night.
Outside was a gorgeous beach filled with smooth rocks and blue green waters similar to the beaches off Destin, FL. Behind us the land was lush and green and became mountainous. With just a few hotels, we felt very isolated in our own little paradise. This meant we had to eat all our meals at the 3 restaurants and we were tired of their fare by weeks end, but we did enjoy pizza at the authentic Italian place run by an real Italian--Luka.
The ocean water was clear and not too rough so the kids enjoyed frolicking in the surf. This is the South China Sea and surprisingly a little nippy. Just off shore, there were a couple of rocks home to some tropical fish. We made our first ventures into snorkeling there. On Wednesday, we went with another family by small banka to snorkel on a large coral reef. It was like swimming with the cast of "Finding Nemo". We saw clown fish, blue tangs, striped angel fish, Moorish idol fish, butterfly fish, and many others that we don't know the names of, plus anemones and coral. Some of the highlights were: a baby octopus, an eel, a snake, a couple of different starfish including a blue starfish. We decided we love snorkeling. I knew Em would like it, but the snorkeling award goes to Will who took to snorkeling like a duck takes to water. He caught on to breathing through the snorkel quickly and we had to watch him like a hawk as he showed no fear in following wherever the fish led--even out to the deep sea.
There were many other families from Faith there so the kids enjoyed having friends to swim and play with. Emily's teacher was also there and Em enjoyed talking and swimming with him outside of school. We returned home Saturday very tired and not too pink. We learned the first day that our regular plan for sun protection would have to be stepped up a notch. At 13 degrees above the equator, the sun is much more brutal than in Georgia. We learned quickly to reapply sunscreen often to our pasty white bodies. Still everyone has a patch of burn in strange places that were overlooked or rubbed off on day 1. After the first day we also took to staying inside or in the shade from 11:00 until 2:00 or 3:00. All in all it was a great trip. If you would like to see more pictures, you can check them out on our website at http://www.philippinemission.com/SpringBreak2006.html
Ginger

The crisis has passed!

I know you have all been concerned about us in light of our recent post. You will be comforted in knowing that the terrible situation in which we have found ourselves for the last 6 weeks has been rectified. I am not referring to the current political mess, which is still simmering just below the surface, but the current milk crisis I refered to in my recent post about shopping. This crisis now seems to be passed. Yesterday, at the Santa Lucia grocery store, after at least a 6 week deficiency, there was a whole section of Harvey Fresh skim milk. The kids were so thrilled! I bought 10 - 1 litre boxes just in case a shortage should arise again any time soon. You can do that with milk that just sits on a shelf and has an expiration date somewhere in the next decade. In case you are wondering Harvey Fresh is imported from Australia where they also process and sell fresh milk. No milk cows here means no fresh milk in the PI. While this is not tragic for me, Allan and the kids long for a glass of "real" milk. This milk is ok in cereal and baking, but no one in our family just fixes themself a glass to go with their chocolate chip cookies or cake.

Will's new friend

Will is an animal lover. His 3 favorite animals have always been elephants, donkeys, and dogs. I remember as a little guy he used to tell us when he grew up he wanted to be a farmer and raise elephants. For as long as I can remember, he has been asking for one of these animals for a pet. Since we knew we would eventually be moving overseas, we have promised for years that he could get a dog when we got there. (notice we didn't just say pet because I really don't want a donkey and who can afford to feed an elephant) Well we have now been in the Philippines for 7 months, so it was time to make good on this promise. The Nelsen's dog Bonnie was pregnant and since Will loved her he had decided he would love to have one of her babies. Unfortunately, she did not carry them to term. So this weekend Will made a new friend that I hope will remain for the next 15 years or so. After waiting patiently for 9 long years, he is now the proud owner of a puppy! It is a 3 month old male that he has named....... WAG's Buddy. That stands for William Allan Gilmer's Buddy. We just call him WAGs. So far he seems to be a great dog and we are all in love. Will is beyond ecstatic!

WAGs

Will and WAGs romping in the yard!

More about shopping!

Ok I know I promised to tell you more about shopping, but instead of talking about it, I have been doing it. Last Friday I had to go on a mission for my Mom. Em's birthday is coming up and she wants my Mom to send her Bubble bath--"good bubble bath" Since bubble bath doesn't really fit well into a Global Priority Mail Envelope, I took up the task of seeing what I could find. This was easier said than done. After shopping at many places I finally found a small bottle at a store similar to Bath and Body works. The cost for 5 oz. bottle of rasberry scented bubbles--$12. OK so maybe not. The next place, where I found some, was a strange little store. It was about the size of your bathroom--OK so maybe not your Master bath, but the one in the hall that the kids use. There were shelves down each side with an asile only big enough for one. The outside wall of shelves had glass on one side so you could stand in the mall and browse. This store seemed to carry toiletry items imported from the US. But they only had one or 2 of each item like maybe they had bought some sort of odd lot. In the window of this store I saw 1 bottle of Mr. Incredible Bubble Bath--from the Disney movie a few years ago called The Incredibles. My guess is in the US they are currently selling Chicken Little or Narnia Bubble Bath. The price for this collectors item--$10. At least the price was going down and the bottle bigger. This bottle was probably about 24 oz. Finally at a store called Watson's I found what I was looking for-- 36 oz of Bubble bath for less than $2. Of course it may not be what Em calls "good bubble bath", but it will have to do. By the way, she thinks Mr. Bubbles produces the largest volume of bubbles; so if you ever come to visit and want to make her day just bring her a bottle or two of Mr. Bubbles bubble bath.

Sometimes we find the oddest things from the US in the stores. Last week at the Supermarket, I saw these beautiful hand painted bowls in the picture at the left. I really liked the bowls on display, but what really drew me was the box they came in said "Southern Living at Home". For those of you who aren't familiar with this, it is a home shopping party like Tupperware or Pampered Chef. They were so cute and less than a dollar for 2 bowls. The color was close enough to go in my kitchen that I couldn't resist. They also had a platter and serving bowl in the same pattern for less than $2. I knew if I left these there my sister-in-law would be appalled so I bought them too. We have beautiful cabinets in the kitchen with glass doors so my knew purchases look nice on display. I wonder why these few chosen items were on sale here. They said made in China so I am not thinking they were seconds. They are for sale in the current catalog so they aren't discontinued. I will probably never know why.

We often seem to have some strange items here. About the only salad dressing we can find is Kraft fat free. I know this is not because Filipinos are trying to cut back on fat in dressings. I am not sure the average Filipino even eats much salad. My guess is they weren't selling well in the US and they had a few too many. For a while, we also had Carb-well peanut butter on the shelf. The Atkins craze has not hit here, after all you would have to give up rice, so I am not sure why it is for sale here. During November, some stores started carrying a Sam's size box of a popular baking mix. Without naming names, it comes in a yellow box and youi use it to make bisqui... I mean biscuits. I of course purchased a box of this. After all I used it often at home for pancakes, waffles, and being a good southerner-biscuits. Obviously there was areason for the supply here. Someone must have accidently dropped the whole container of salt into the mix. I have tried a couple of different times to make something with it, but the taste is always too salty and terrible. I guess I my mom always says--I will just have to chalk that one up to experience.
So if you are ever wondering what becomes of today's hot new item that disappears from the selves a few months down the line--wonder no further. The extra stock has been shipped somewhere else so that 3rd wourld countries can enjoy it as well.

"Walang stock, Ma'am"

If there is one thing we have learned to count on here, it is not to count on stores having what you are looking for. Just because you bought vegetable shortening at a store before, doesn't mean they will have it today--even if you just bought it last week. That was one of my first experiences with this phenomenon. It took me months to find shortening after running out the first time. I think sometimes this occurs if it is an item which is imported and not commonly used by Filipinos. Many Filipinos do not have ovens or bake so why would they need shortening. Other times there must be a problem in production. There was a time when we could not find Coke Light (Diet) at any store. Those who know me well know of my addiction to diet coke. I had to switch to Pepsi Diet during this crisis. It wasn't too tragic as they both taste different from American Diet Coke. We finally discovered Pepsi Max as our favorite. Unfortunately it is now--"Walang stock"--out of stock.
In the 7 months we have lived here, I have developed some items of brand loyalty. I still buy Heintz ketchup which tastes the same as US heintz(this wasn't so in Kenya). I also always buy Best Foods Mayo. We like Hellmans in the US which is made by Best Foods and this is very similar in taste. I just have to make sure I pick up the "Real Mayonnaise" as opposed to the "Mayo Magic". The jars and coloring are exactly the same except the words. Believe me the taste is not the same.
We have taken to certain brands that are new to us. We like the Knorr seasoning--it is similar to say sauce, and any sauce by Lee Kum Kee. There are many items that I have not established a certain brand that I buy everytime. A lot of times this is because I either #1. didn't purchase this product in the US or #2. none of them taste like what we are used to. Milk falls into this #2 category. The milk we buy is all UHT or shelf milk imported from Australia. It can sit on a shelf in our pantry until opened. None of it is great. The kids like Harvey Fresh though so we have been buying that until...... you guessed it--"Walang stock Ma'am". We found 9 boxes about 3 weeks ago and bought them all. They are all gone now and still none to be seen at any of the stores where we shop. Last week I bought 3 different brands for everyone to try and give their opinion of. Cowshead was the new milk of choice. Yesterday when I went to the Supermarket, guess how many they had?--One! You just have to laugh about these things and accept it as just the way it is. I wanted to tell you more about shopping here, but I have gone on long enough. I want to tell you about products imported fromt the US. I guess I will tell you about that tomorrow.
Happy Shopping!

the winds of change

Allan and I recently discussed how we think the family is adjusting to living here in the Philippines. Everyone appears to be happy, but if during the current political uprising they were to throw us out, I am not sure there would be many tears. So I was a little surprised yesterday with a comment made by Will. I was trying to catch a few headlines on Fox News. The Fox News channel is a live feed from the US and often there are strange things on during our day (the US night). This was definitely true on Saturday afternoon. The guest of this news interview was the head of a group that would like to form a Christian nation in South Carolina. The words at the bottom of the screen read--"All Christians to move to South Carolina". I know that if Em had been here, she probably would have headed off to pack her suitcase. Thank goodness she was off swimming at a birthday party. During this story though, Will came into the room to chat and after a few minutes noticed these words on the TV. His response--"Awww, do we have to move back to South Carolina? I haven't spent enough time with Lawrence and my new friends yet." I was so surprised that I couldn't even answer him. This wasn't Idaho or Nebraska--places he's never been, but his former home state that he loves. I guess that tells us more than anything else that Will is adjusting to life here. I felt a little torn-- of course I was very happy that he is happy and content a world away from "home", but also a little sad that one day that will no longer be his "home". He will return to the US and long for a place that currently seems to us a little strange and different. I just didn't think it would begin to happen so soon.

Top 10 things to do during a State of Emergency or coup attempt

10. Brush up on your small arms identification skills
9. Drive through roadblocks with a wave and a smile to the guards
8. Learn new Tagalog words for political instability
7. Review your favorite verses in the Bible about God being in control of everything
6. Setup your email to auto-respond with “Yes, we are OK”
5. Write a blog about fun things to do during a coup attempt
4. Make sure you have enough coffee in the house to outlast a coup attempt
3. Pray for your country because real lives and livelihoods are at stake
2. Minister to the poor of metro Manila as always

and the number one thing to do during a State of Emergency or coup attempt . . .
1. Send your kids off to their friends and enjoy a date with your wife

Why can't Tagalog be more like English?

Why can't Tagalog be more like English ? ! . . . Adapting as a missionary means, among other things, learning a new language. For the past few months, this has been our struggle. Learning, trying, misunderstanding, mis-speaking, and often provoking laughter at our expense. This is my first experience learning a new language. What I am learning is that language involves much more than the direct interpretation of the words said - - in my mind, I knew this to be true. I certainly have been told this in our preparation for missionary service. But now . . . now it is more than "in my mind". It is a daily part of life, trying to understand more than what words are being spoken but also what is meant by those words. In the few months of language study, I have gained some grammer skills, a moderate amount of vocabulary, and even some cultural viewpoints. Now, with a basic sentence, I can generally "reverse-engineer" the sentence into an English sentence. Whether that English sentence means the same as the Tagalog sentence is a completely different thing.

Scott tells the story of a fellow missionary who was studying Tagalog at the same time as him. This missionary's favorite quote was "Why can't Tagalog be more like English"? I am learning the answer: Because it simply is not English and sometimes you just can't state the same thought in English terms.
posted by Allan

Are the stars out tonight?

This time last year, the kids and I were studying astonomy during school; in particular stars and constellations. One thing I miss about homeschooling is teaching the Science and Social Studies. I think I always learned more than the kids. Before our space xploration, I could find the little and big dipper, but that was about it.
One cold night in February, we took a family outing to the planetarium at USC in Columbia. While the planetarium show was great, afterwards they opened up the obsevation tower and telescope. It was a clear cold South Carolina night and so we saw all kinds of planets and stars through the telescope. The professor then took us out on the observation deck and showed us how to find different constellations. It was then that I was introduced to a new friend--Orion. There he was in the sky, the mightly hunter. I enjoyed seeing him throughout the spring. Unfortunately, seasons change and Orion moved to his summer home while we moved to the Philippines.
The stars shine in the Philippines too, but with pollution and lights, the stars aren't very visible in Metro Manial. Thankfully we are outside of the city and we have a hill blocking most of the city lights from our house. Often the sky is deep and dark and the stars are bright and beautiful here. Some evenings I enjoy going out onto the balcony or the roof and looking at the stars. It was in late December that I saw my friend again. There in the night sky, bow raised in the hunt was Orion. Being in the northern hemisphere, I shouldn't have been surprised to see him, but I was. I was more than surprised, I was overcome. It made me feel closer to home to think that the same stars lighting up the sky here tonight will soon shine above my parents house in Pine Mountain, GA. So if you find yourself outside on one of these cold winter nights, look up. There is a friend of mine up there. When you see him, pray for us and remember we aren't too far away from you.
Ginger

Mudslides in the Philippines

The Philippines is plagued with natural disasters in many forms from typhoons to volcanoes to earthquakes, but none seem to be quite as tragic and deadly as the mudslides. Unfortunately in many ways they are a by-product of the other disasters. Yesterday a whole town slid down a mountain into a pile of mud, sludge, and rubble below. Almost all of a town of 2,000 is presumed dead, including all the young children at the local elementary school.

It seems in recent years the world has gone from one natural disaster to another. How many times can we watch destruction in a land far from our own and not become numb to those images? Unfortunately those images in the last 24 hours have been from a land far from the US, but one that has become our home. The faces of women and men being pulled from the mud look like the faces of our neighbors and friends. Although many islands South East of us, it could have just as easily been down the street. As the news moves from the town of Guinsaugon on Leyte island to other parts of the world, please remember to pray for the families who have lost loved ones.

In an aside from the above tragedy, the island of Leyte played a famous role in American history. In 1944, the waters off Leyte island were the scene of the biggest naval battle in history. General Douglas MacArthur fulfilled his promise "I shall return" and defeated Japanese forces occupying the Philippines. You can see more about this at http://www.defenselink.mil/home/features/Leyte/

A whole new language--part 2

Scott reminded me last night that I left off the most obvious addition to our new expressions. I hate to tell you this, but we no longer use the bathroom. Here in the Philippines we go to the CR. In case you are wondering, that stands for comfort room. In a few years, we are going to have to go through some serious adjustments upon re-entry to the US. Can you imagine the looks I would get if I asked the local Greenwood Walmart stockboy where the CR is? Oh well hopefully the American terms will again flow from my mouth. As for now--"When in Rome...."

A whole new language

I find that we have a whole new language here in the Philippines. I am not referring to the obvious Tagalog, but the new English words and expressions we have picked up. Things that sounded strange and a little silly are beginning to come out of my mouth. I heard myself ask Emily this afternoon where my tsinellas were. Tsinellas (pronounced "chi" nillas) is the word for rubber flip flops. It is the shoe of choice for most Filipinos. It was also a word I thought I would never remember when we moved here. The kids and I keep a pair just inside each outside door. Being an Asia country, we almost always remove our shoes when we walk in the door so we keep a pair handy for those quick trips out into the yard or to the Nelsen's. Until recently I would have asked Em where my shoes or flip flops were. She is known to grab mine when hers are missing and she wants to run out--when did her feet get almost as big as mine??? Ok, so I freely admit I have also borrowed hers a time or too.

Besides tsinellas I also find my self referring to air conditioning as "the aircon". As in-- the "aircon" in our car really needs to be fixed before hot season arrives in full force. Hopefully that will be done next week.

The phrase that I have picked up that drives Allan crazy is calling the refrigerator "the ref". I really don't want to call it the ref, but I hear it so often that it just flys out of my mouth with out me having any say so over the matter. I am sure there are other things we have also picked up. There are a few mid-western phrases the Nelsen's use that I am sure to be saying before too long. Of course they may be "fixin' " to pick up a few of our southern-isms as well. Our accents seem to provide much entertainment and comments--not among the Filipinos, but among other missionaries.

Happy Valentines Day!

I hope you had a Happy Valentine's Day. One of the great things about living in the Philippines is that I get to spend a good portion of each day with Allan. After the last 3 years of residency, this is one of the biggest changes in our lives. In was not uncommon during residency to only see Allan for 30-40 minutes during dinner on the days he was on call. But, the very nature of that environment breeds close relationships among the other wives of residents. I still miss all of our friends at Self Regional, alot of whom are now scattered across the US. Most nights we eat dinner with just the 4 of us instead of eating at the hospital with the other families. There are times during the last 3 1/2 years that I thought residency would never end, but that life seems a lot longer ago than the 6 months we've been here.
Most days, I get to spend most of it with Allan. I enjoy helping him in the clinic and eating lunch together. While we dislike the work involved in studying Tagalog, it has bonded us together and created many inside jokes and sayings. So yesterday, we enjoyed a nice lunch with Scott and Cindy for Valentine's Day. It was great to get out and have a fun date at the authentic Filipino restaurant---TGIFridays. Ok so maybe it isn't exactly Filipino, but it was Yummy!
In case your interested in an update on our weather, it seems our "winter" is coming to an end. While the US has been experiencing record snow falls in parts of the Northeast, the temps have returned back to the high 80s with very little breeze. I guess it's time to dig back out the hanky I carry to the clinic to mop the sweat off my face. I have to say, it was hard for me to wrap my mind around summer all year and so I brought a few long sleeved items just in case. While the kids have worn theirs, I have only worn my 3/4 length lightweight cotton shirt once and no long sleeves. As I stuck my favorite pair of sweat pants in a shipping box last year, Allan said that he wanted to see the day I wore them. I guess that day will not be this year. Maybe my blood will thin and by next January I will freeze just a little. I do miss wearing sweats and my twin sweater sets. I still feel like it is August.

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.