Beautiful Philippines

Highlights from the Philippines:

·         Safe arrival to Puerto Princesa, capital of Palawan after 50 hours of traveling

·         Two days spent in Puerto filled with shopping, eating, sleeping, and thrilling rides all over the place in trikes (motorcycle-powered tricycle type thingy)

·         Four-hour trip down bumpy roads to Brooke's Point, the closest motor-vehicle accessible town from our destination.

·         Three hour hike to Kemantian—our place of abode for 1.5 (ish) months.

·         Learning to hike through the mountains with Duralite sandals, which are as slippery as crocs (Duralite are what all of the natives wear). My posterior met the mud once so far.

·         Hanging my phone from a tree so I can get service while I talk.

·         Visiting surrounding villages to learn the language and having many awkward, confusing and hilarious moments.

·         Introducing the violin to the Pelawans, most of which didn't know what it was.

·         Getting good experience washing clothes by hand.

·         Introducing many new foods into my diet and learning creativity with old ones. In one week I have probably eaten more rice than any given one year of my life.

Most excited about:

·         Finally getting to Palawan after months of dreaming about it

·         Being in the kind of place that I have always wanted to go—thatch roof huts, hiking all over the place, beautiful mountains, awesome people, unique foods, and much more. 

·         Learning the Pelawan language. After being here a little over a week, I am getting where I can understand some and carry on simple conversations (my language book is very helpful).

·         Going to visit Emrang soon, where Allie & I will be going hopefully within the next 6 weeks to live for the rest of our stay in the Philippines. 

·         Hearing from YOU guys! Thanks so much to those who wrote me—it means a lot.

Greatest challenges so far:

·         Missing family and friends

·         Being so far away from dear friends who are going through especially difficult times.

·         Having a cockroach in my mosquito net. I had to simply remind myself that I am in the jungle and that it would be ok. :D:D hihi Needless to say, I quickly remedied the cockroach's  assumed place of entry.  

The humidity warmly welcomed us to the Philippines. Kind faces and friendly smiles were everywhere. Graciousness filled the air. When we arrived in Puerto it was already almost dark. Pastor George sent one of the teachers, Napthali, from their school in Kementian to meet us at the airport. We loaded our monstrous bags onto a little trike that is run by a tiny motorcycle and made our way to the hotel where we stayed a couple nights.

It took a day and a half to get all of the essential shopping done. Everything takes longer in the Philippines. I think the thing that surprised me the most about shopping was the amount of workers it takes to do one job. In the US, when you check out at a grocery store, there is one person who rings everything up and puts it in a bag. Here, there is one person who puts the items on the conveyer belt, one person who rings stuff up, and another person who puts everything in bags. It takes three people to clean the floor—one mopping up the dirt, one shining, and one with a piece of cardboard fanning the floor to make it dry faster. Those are just a couple of the instances where many people were doing what I am used to seeing one person do.

After two days in Puerto and a night in Brooke's Point, we finally made our hike to the mountains. We were thankful that all of our stuff was transferred via helicopter the same day. While in Kemantian, we are staying with three other missionary girls  in wonderful bamboo floor, thatch roof hut. At this point, we actually have running water and a bathroom with a hole in the ground and shower not too far away. The plan is to be here for about 6 weeks, in which time Allie & I are focusing on learning the language, observing in the classroom, and working in the clinic. In the mornings I am in either the classroom or clinic and about 4 hours of the afternoons are dedicated to language learning. Allie & I go visit any and every Pelawan around and try to communicate with them. It is a lot easier now than it was last week at this time.

Our goal is to learn the language, and systems of healthcare and education well in the next 1.5 months so we can go to Emrang  (approximately 2 hour hike from Kemantian) and be on our own running a small clinic and school.

I love it here. Every day awe fills my soul as I behold the mountains. I know that things won't always be peaches and cream. There are snakes, there are cockroaches, malaria, weird food, uncomfortable bathrooms, sickness, sadness, and a distinct spiritual warfare. This is where I have always wanted to be, though. And most importantly, I know that God led me to this place at this time and I am so excited to know that I am in God's will for my life. Whatever fears and hardships come my way, every day I can rest my life in the hands of my dear Friend, Jesus.

*I should get internet about once a month from now on. I will look forward to hearing from you. Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support. Wish I could write each of you back personally, but unfortunately have limited time on the internet.