It's been a few days since I've been blogged. Two reasons...sick and busy when not sick. I've been on an unwanted weight loss program since Tuesday afternoon and now it's Friday night. We go home tomorrow morning and this is one thing I would like to leave here. I blame it all on Chris. Tuesday we went to TGI Friday for lunch and I ordered a cheeseburger and fries. The cheeseburger came with everything on it, just the way I like it. But, because we had been, earlier in the week, advised not to eat lettuce, I began to take mine off. Chris joked with me about it and said he was leaving his on. I felt bad, so I left all the veggies on it and within and hour I was sick. I missed church Tuesday night and Wednesday morning but thought I was feeling better so I hopped on a bus with Chris, 3 people from Bible Baptist Church Cebu (BBC), and a pastor and his wife from Nepal. We went to the beach.
Their beach is not like any beach I’ve ever seen. The sand is imported and just poured on top of the hard, dirt ground. There isn’t enough to squish between your toes or build a sandcastle. The sandy beach doesn’t go down into the water. There are steps required for that. It is still beautiful and the water is clear. I didn’t see any fish in the main part of the ocean. However, the resort had 2 captured sharks in some stale, murky water. They were maybe 3 or 4 feet long but big enough that I didn’t want to get in the water with them. Pastor Sharma, from Nepal, rented a jet ski for him and his wife. Since they live in the mountains they had never seen a large body of water, much less been to the ocean. She quickly panicked so Pastor Sharma convinced Chris to gout with him to drive. Pastor Sharma held on for dear life and only lasted about 10 minutes before he asked to go ashore. He told Chris to go back out and finish the time. Chris happily agreed. At that resort an employee has to ride with you at all times so off they went. Chris played his usual dare-devil tricks and it would seem as if the employee had a lot of fun with it. Chris swam a while and saw a couple more fish and then we took pictures before heading back. I didn’t get to enjoy all the beach had to offer because my problem revisited.
On the way back to the hotel one of the ladies from the church, Ivey, gave me some medicine. After a little rest in our room, I thought the medicine was working. I decided to ride the bus to church.
Church didn’t even get started before I realized it was a bad idea. I found Chris and asked him to help me flag a cab for me. Chris instructed the driver to take me to Crown Regency Jones. That began the scariest 10 minutes of my life. The cab driver started by locking the doors. None before had done that. Then, he pulled away from the church and turned the opposite direction of the normal route. We drove down roads I had never seen. I started counting turns; one left, one right, two rights. I was freaking out. The even scarier part was we were on roads that were so narrow he had to roll down his window to pull in his mirror. On top of that fact, we were the only cab, no, the only car on any of these streets. There were some tricycles and some people, but no road-side stands. Eventually, I spotted the Chua Hung Hospital which is just blocks from our hotel and I could finally breathe normal again. My heart slowed and my muscles loosened.
I slept well with minimal problems and went to breakfast with Chris Thursday morning. I decided to try to go to the meeting again. But, before services started I knew I needed to get some help. I found our buddy, JP and told him I needed some “good drugs”. He found me a nurse who brought me some Gatorade and put me in touch with Ma’am Judy Lumagbas. She is the Assistant Pastor’s wife and the Head Nurse in the church. I guess since they have an elementary, high school, and Bible college they have nursing staff. Anyway, she was home sick with the same thing. Ma’am Judy called me on the phone, and after interviewing me, said she would call the doctor for me. The doctor, another member of the church, came to the church office just for me. (She was on her way to take some guests to the airport.) She asked all of the same questions and some new ones and then wrote me a “prescription” on some paper she found in the office. I asked JP to take me to the pharmacy but he just took the prescription instead and had someone else go get the medicine for me. They returned with medicine in just a short time. I quickly took it and then JP helped me get another cab back to the hotel. I had a little energy so I ventured out with Chris to a different mall for lunch, where we ate an Italian lunch followed by some Italian ice cream, with some friends. We went back to the hotel and rested for a few moments and then headed to the Cebu Convention Center which is the same place where the first meeting was held.
Church was excellent. The speakers were entertaining and challenging but most of all Biblical. After church we stayed around to take several group photos and then tried to make our way across the street to eat dinner. It was like paparazzi everywhere. Filipinos would follow you and ask to have their picture taken with you or they wanted just your picture. They love Americans and other Internationals. They were so thrilled to have their picture taken with someone of a different color. We finally got some food and back to the hotel around 10:30. We tried to watch a little bit of a movie but fell asleep in the middle of it. Guess that’s how tired we were.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
What a Monday!
If you know me, you know I’m a planner. I wanted Chris to make all our tour plans before we even left the States. That didn’t happen. All Sunday night after church I was stressing over what we were going to do on today. Chris just told me to be flexible and live in the moment. That is so hard for me to do. We woke up this morning and showered and went to breakfast. Still no plans. Then, we went to find some Mission Office cohorts. We couldn’t find them. We ran into the gentleman taking care of the music for the week at the meeting, Harold Payne. He was going to try to convince the group of BBC guys to take a Jeep-Me to the real markets…two experiences at one time. We ran into our Mission Office cohorts and told them of the plan. They were on board. We went downstairs to talk to the people of Bible Baptist Church Cebu. They decided we should have a guide, one of their own. J.P. volunteered to go with us. They instructed us to get rid of wallets, cell phones, any and all jewelry. They told us to only carry enough money to purchase the Jeep-Me ride there and back and a little for shopping and all money was to be carried in your front pocket. J.P. helped us get on the first Jeep-Me. The group was so large we had to take two. After we got off the Jeep-Me there was a short distance to walk. He called a friend to meet up with us because he was worried about keeping track of the whole group. Mark happily joined our group. We stopped at their “mall” which was totally different than the tourist attraction malls we had previously been taken to. It was one huge store, but on each level was a different thing. The first floor was accessories like sunglasses, belts, backpacks, etc. The second floor was department store items like small appliances and bath linens or curtains. The third floor was all men’s clothing. The fourth floor was all women’s clothing. You get the idea. It was six floors high.
After we left the mall we headed to Carbon Market. We separated into two groups going in opposite directions in a circle around the market meeting back at the exact spot we had parted ways. We were given even more instructions to hold tight to cameras, place backpacks in the front and hold your hand over the zipper, stay close in the group, and check your pockets often to make sure you still have what you came with. We headed in to the market. Each section is divided just like a grocery store. In one section there are vendors who are all selling flowers, the next section, all vendors are selling noodles or vegetables.
The meat market is within Carbon Market but it’s separated by a different roof and tile floors. The tile floors were only in the walkways, though. I guess that’s meant for cleanliness because as we were walking through several people were spraying the walkway with water and wiping it off with brooms. We got to see a guy take some sort of skin looking stuff out of this bag. It was long and see- through. He put it over the end of a nozzle. He then put this ground up meat stuff in the top and cranked the handle. As he did the meat came down and into the nozzle filling the skin. He was making some kind of sausage. The next row over in the meat market, you could see the workers taking those long strips of sausage and using string to make smaller pieces but it was still all attached. I’m not sure I’m describing it very well, but I’m doing the best I can with words. Anyway, no more sausage for me ;)
Further into the market we saw several guys standing around. We were again instructed to watch our pockets and hold tight to cameras. Each guy had a rooster. They were getting ready for a cock fight. I guess that’s pretty common in the market. One of the crazy things we found in the market was banana ketchup. I passed on trying it. We did stop and try something. I have no idea what it was called. It was a sticky, sweet rice with mashed peanuts on the inside. J.P. assured us it was clean and very good and it was. He wanted us to try these purple eggs that had been hardboiled in some kind of salty mixture. I, again, passed on that. We found this section and they were all selling coconuts. He had a lady (who had humongous arms) crack up this coconut for us. She then grabbed a straw for us and we drank the milk straight from the coconut. How cool was that? It tasted totally different than I expected. After we had all had our fill (mind you, sharing the same straw) we gave it back to her and she filled a plastic bag with the remaining milk. It was a lot more than I had anticipated because I thought we had drank a lot. She then cut open the rest of the coconut and scraped out all the meat for us. Again, it was totally different than I expected but not in a bad way. We gave the leftovers to J.P. and he was very excited about that. We went into a souvenir shop where I picked up a few things and J.P. helped bargain for a better price.
After that, we met up with the rest of the group and walked down to Magellan’s Cross. Chris and I stayed outside. It was a quite small gazebo thing in the center of town with a cross inside it. I think it symbolized where Magellan was killed. J.P. said it was his first time every actually going there because since he’s a Christian he doesn’t care about that kind of stuff.
We walked a little further and grabbed a Jeep-Me back to the hotel where we ate lunch. Lunch was at Mr. Grill upstairs in the hotel. We attempted to eat a cheeseburger. I barely choked down half and left the rest. Chris gobbled his up and made fun of me for not eating mine. I’m really trying to not be so picky, but there are some things I just can’t get past. Our burgers barely even filled the center 2 ½ inches of the bun. There was twice as much bun as burger. The fries were ok, but again not the same. I’ve been drinking lots of water to keep flushed of any bad stuff that might venture in and washing good all the time.
We showered and relaxed for about 30 minutes when we got a phone call to tell us to be out front of the hotel at 3:45 to go to the Convention Center. Chris doesn’t like when people have to wait on us so we were downstairs at 3:30 which gave me less than 10 minutes to finish getting ready. We got to the Convention Center, which was huge by the way, and I realized it was going to be a long night. Church didn’t start until 6 and was expected to run until 9 and I was going to get hungry. I asked a local if the area was safe. He assured me it was so I alone walked across the street to, yet another mall, find something to eat. I decided to try KFC. I got the original recipe chicken meal. It came with this nicely packaged thing that looked like a biscuit but I had already been warned that rice would await me beyond that paper. It was indeed rice. I headed back to the Convention Center and found a place to squat and eat. The chicken was great, just like home, and I ate about half the rice ball.
Church started promptly at 6. There were over 5,000 in attendance and not an empty seat in the house. There were many standing in the back or sitting on the floor. They had somewhat of an opening ceremony. It was cool. They had a guy sang a beautiful song about Calvary’s love and there was a group sitting in the corner wearing all black except white gloves. They had black lights on them and they made lots of different shapes and words with their gloves, so cool! Then, they exited the stage and had families in their church dress from many of the different countries around the world. As they introduced each country, the family paraded across stage and filled the aisles of the convention center. It was very well done and you could tell how much work was put into the program. I felt like I was in one of those big churches, well we kind of were. We sang congregationals and listened to a famous Japanese opera singer. She is a product of a missionary and so she sings for the glory of God, but she is also a professional singer in Japan. She is in traditional dress and very prim and proper every time I see her. She has a phenomenal voice. The first speaker was from Japan, Yoshida. His testimony was that of a Buddhist background from which he was saved. He still has several relatives that are from the Buddhist background and even a few uncles who are Buddhist priests. What an awesome testimony he has.
The last speaker was Dr. Jesalva, the Pastor here at Bible Baptist Church Cebu. He gave an excellent message on how to become a better servant of Jesus Christ. Wow! And, he and his church are living proof of what it means to be a servant. They have made runs back and forth to the airport for the last week and a half helping people get through immigration and customs. They have been in our hotel lobby exchanging currency. They have helped arrange tours for us and taxis. They have put so much work into making their church even more presentable to all the guests. They are feeding and housing hundreds of guests who could not otherwise afford to be here. They have been amazing and I am sure they will all collapse of exhaustion just a few short hours after the escort the last guest to the airport. The service ended and we were bused back to the hotel. I immediately washed and got into bed but checked my e-mail and did a little Blogging when my eyes were very heavy and I fell asleep. I woke up shaking I was so cold. I guess I woke Chris up, too. He got out of bed and turned the air up and then crawled back into bed and pulled me close to give me some body heat. I quickly fell back asleep and didn’t awake until the alarm went off at 6am.
After we left the mall we headed to Carbon Market. We separated into two groups going in opposite directions in a circle around the market meeting back at the exact spot we had parted ways. We were given even more instructions to hold tight to cameras, place backpacks in the front and hold your hand over the zipper, stay close in the group, and check your pockets often to make sure you still have what you came with. We headed in to the market. Each section is divided just like a grocery store. In one section there are vendors who are all selling flowers, the next section, all vendors are selling noodles or vegetables.
The meat market is within Carbon Market but it’s separated by a different roof and tile floors. The tile floors were only in the walkways, though. I guess that’s meant for cleanliness because as we were walking through several people were spraying the walkway with water and wiping it off with brooms. We got to see a guy take some sort of skin looking stuff out of this bag. It was long and see- through. He put it over the end of a nozzle. He then put this ground up meat stuff in the top and cranked the handle. As he did the meat came down and into the nozzle filling the skin. He was making some kind of sausage. The next row over in the meat market, you could see the workers taking those long strips of sausage and using string to make smaller pieces but it was still all attached. I’m not sure I’m describing it very well, but I’m doing the best I can with words. Anyway, no more sausage for me ;)
Further into the market we saw several guys standing around. We were again instructed to watch our pockets and hold tight to cameras. Each guy had a rooster. They were getting ready for a cock fight. I guess that’s pretty common in the market. One of the crazy things we found in the market was banana ketchup. I passed on trying it. We did stop and try something. I have no idea what it was called. It was a sticky, sweet rice with mashed peanuts on the inside. J.P. assured us it was clean and very good and it was. He wanted us to try these purple eggs that had been hardboiled in some kind of salty mixture. I, again, passed on that. We found this section and they were all selling coconuts. He had a lady (who had humongous arms) crack up this coconut for us. She then grabbed a straw for us and we drank the milk straight from the coconut. How cool was that? It tasted totally different than I expected. After we had all had our fill (mind you, sharing the same straw) we gave it back to her and she filled a plastic bag with the remaining milk. It was a lot more than I had anticipated because I thought we had drank a lot. She then cut open the rest of the coconut and scraped out all the meat for us. Again, it was totally different than I expected but not in a bad way. We gave the leftovers to J.P. and he was very excited about that. We went into a souvenir shop where I picked up a few things and J.P. helped bargain for a better price.
After that, we met up with the rest of the group and walked down to Magellan’s Cross. Chris and I stayed outside. It was a quite small gazebo thing in the center of town with a cross inside it. I think it symbolized where Magellan was killed. J.P. said it was his first time every actually going there because since he’s a Christian he doesn’t care about that kind of stuff.
We walked a little further and grabbed a Jeep-Me back to the hotel where we ate lunch. Lunch was at Mr. Grill upstairs in the hotel. We attempted to eat a cheeseburger. I barely choked down half and left the rest. Chris gobbled his up and made fun of me for not eating mine. I’m really trying to not be so picky, but there are some things I just can’t get past. Our burgers barely even filled the center 2 ½ inches of the bun. There was twice as much bun as burger. The fries were ok, but again not the same. I’ve been drinking lots of water to keep flushed of any bad stuff that might venture in and washing good all the time.
We showered and relaxed for about 30 minutes when we got a phone call to tell us to be out front of the hotel at 3:45 to go to the Convention Center. Chris doesn’t like when people have to wait on us so we were downstairs at 3:30 which gave me less than 10 minutes to finish getting ready. We got to the Convention Center, which was huge by the way, and I realized it was going to be a long night. Church didn’t start until 6 and was expected to run until 9 and I was going to get hungry. I asked a local if the area was safe. He assured me it was so I alone walked across the street to, yet another mall, find something to eat. I decided to try KFC. I got the original recipe chicken meal. It came with this nicely packaged thing that looked like a biscuit but I had already been warned that rice would await me beyond that paper. It was indeed rice. I headed back to the Convention Center and found a place to squat and eat. The chicken was great, just like home, and I ate about half the rice ball.
Church started promptly at 6. There were over 5,000 in attendance and not an empty seat in the house. There were many standing in the back or sitting on the floor. They had somewhat of an opening ceremony. It was cool. They had a guy sang a beautiful song about Calvary’s love and there was a group sitting in the corner wearing all black except white gloves. They had black lights on them and they made lots of different shapes and words with their gloves, so cool! Then, they exited the stage and had families in their church dress from many of the different countries around the world. As they introduced each country, the family paraded across stage and filled the aisles of the convention center. It was very well done and you could tell how much work was put into the program. I felt like I was in one of those big churches, well we kind of were. We sang congregationals and listened to a famous Japanese opera singer. She is a product of a missionary and so she sings for the glory of God, but she is also a professional singer in Japan. She is in traditional dress and very prim and proper every time I see her. She has a phenomenal voice. The first speaker was from Japan, Yoshida. His testimony was that of a Buddhist background from which he was saved. He still has several relatives that are from the Buddhist background and even a few uncles who are Buddhist priests. What an awesome testimony he has.
The last speaker was Dr. Jesalva, the Pastor here at Bible Baptist Church Cebu. He gave an excellent message on how to become a better servant of Jesus Christ. Wow! And, he and his church are living proof of what it means to be a servant. They have made runs back and forth to the airport for the last week and a half helping people get through immigration and customs. They have been in our hotel lobby exchanging currency. They have helped arrange tours for us and taxis. They have put so much work into making their church even more presentable to all the guests. They are feeding and housing hundreds of guests who could not otherwise afford to be here. They have been amazing and I am sure they will all collapse of exhaustion just a few short hours after the escort the last guest to the airport. The service ended and we were bused back to the hotel. I immediately washed and got into bed but checked my e-mail and did a little Blogging when my eyes were very heavy and I fell asleep. I woke up shaking I was so cold. I guess I woke Chris up, too. He got out of bed and turned the air up and then crawled back into bed and pulled me close to give me some body heat. I quickly fell back asleep and didn’t awake until the alarm went off at 6am.
Church, Spa, Church
Got up early and ready for church. Church services were great. The choir sang and it was a packed choir. They had 2 special speakers, both Americans. Pastor Mark Hodges did an excellent job of incorporating mission history in the Philippines with his message.
We got out a little earlier than expected. As soon as we got out of the gates of the church there were several local vendors trying to sell french fries (which they were cooking on the spot), newspapers, fruit, and lots of other stuff. I don't know if they are there after every service or just spotted the 2 huge tourist buses sitting outside and tried to make a little extra cash. We passed them and got on the bus.
The bus took us to the local mall for lunch. Chris and I stopped at an Italian restaurant this time. He ordered some sort of tortellini with a white cream sauce. He wasn't sure what the meat stuff in it was but he said it was pretty good. My philosophy is if it tastes good, don't ask what's in it. It might ruin it for me. I ordered spaghetti pesto and it was absolutely delicious. I've decided if I get hungry from lack of eating normal food, I'll go back there or to TGI Friday's. It's just like in America.
We finished eating before 1 but the bus wasn't leaving until 2 from the mall so we caught a taxi back to the hotel. It cost 68 pesos which is about $1.25. I came to the room and called the hotel spa. They had an opening available and so I went upstairs to the spa. I had a body scrub, massage, and facial altogether lasting almost 3 hours. It cost a whopping $20 and that included a more than 10% tip.
I came back up to the room and showered, threw on some clothes and Chris and I headed downstairs to catch a cab back to church. The bus left 10 minutes prior and we didn't make it. Church services were again very good and it was packed full of people. There was a gentleman who was saved out of the religion of Islam 40+ years ago who now runs an institute in Colorado teaching people who to win the Muslim community. He was very interesting to listen to and incorporated some of the things currently going on in Cairo and other middle-eastern countries. The last speaker was the man who helped start Asia Baptist Clearinghouse which is a sending agency for Filipino missionaries. We got to meet several Filipino missionaries last night. That was a cool experience. They just might be the ones who are able to take the gospel into the middle-east since Americans have a harder time getting visas than they do.
After church the bus brought us back to the hotel. We walked down to the local supermarket that also has a few restaurants around it. We ate at Pizza Hut, real authentic, I know. They only had 2 kinds of pizza, cheese and bacon or ham and pineapple. I ate one of the ham and pineapple. Chris had cheese and bacon. They were pretty good, but still a little different.
Got into bed and slept good until about 6am when some guys were hollering down the hallway right outside our room. Oh, well! I guess it was time to wake up.
We got out a little earlier than expected. As soon as we got out of the gates of the church there were several local vendors trying to sell french fries (which they were cooking on the spot), newspapers, fruit, and lots of other stuff. I don't know if they are there after every service or just spotted the 2 huge tourist buses sitting outside and tried to make a little extra cash. We passed them and got on the bus.
The bus took us to the local mall for lunch. Chris and I stopped at an Italian restaurant this time. He ordered some sort of tortellini with a white cream sauce. He wasn't sure what the meat stuff in it was but he said it was pretty good. My philosophy is if it tastes good, don't ask what's in it. It might ruin it for me. I ordered spaghetti pesto and it was absolutely delicious. I've decided if I get hungry from lack of eating normal food, I'll go back there or to TGI Friday's. It's just like in America.
We finished eating before 1 but the bus wasn't leaving until 2 from the mall so we caught a taxi back to the hotel. It cost 68 pesos which is about $1.25. I came to the room and called the hotel spa. They had an opening available and so I went upstairs to the spa. I had a body scrub, massage, and facial altogether lasting almost 3 hours. It cost a whopping $20 and that included a more than 10% tip.
I came back up to the room and showered, threw on some clothes and Chris and I headed downstairs to catch a cab back to church. The bus left 10 minutes prior and we didn't make it. Church services were again very good and it was packed full of people. There was a gentleman who was saved out of the religion of Islam 40+ years ago who now runs an institute in Colorado teaching people who to win the Muslim community. He was very interesting to listen to and incorporated some of the things currently going on in Cairo and other middle-eastern countries. The last speaker was the man who helped start Asia Baptist Clearinghouse which is a sending agency for Filipino missionaries. We got to meet several Filipino missionaries last night. That was a cool experience. They just might be the ones who are able to take the gospel into the middle-east since Americans have a harder time getting visas than they do.
After church the bus brought us back to the hotel. We walked down to the local supermarket that also has a few restaurants around it. We ate at Pizza Hut, real authentic, I know. They only had 2 kinds of pizza, cheese and bacon or ham and pineapple. I ate one of the ham and pineapple. Chris had cheese and bacon. They were pretty good, but still a little different.
Got into bed and slept good until about 6am when some guys were hollering down the hallway right outside our room. Oh, well! I guess it was time to wake up.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
About Cebu and the Philippines
Some special things about the area where we are.
Everywhere building you go in there seem to be metal detectors. It's ok if they go off half the time, but they are there just in case they want to enforce the rules.
There are security officers everywhere, in most businesses or just standing around outside. This doesn't necessarily make me feel any safer, it's just a fact.
Any reputable business has uniformed employees. If they don't have uniforms, you have to wonder why.
Lots of stores and restaurants have signs telling people to "check their guns". In other words, you can't bring weapons inside. I guess that's common practice around here.
We complain in the USA about making minimum wage which is around $7.25 per hour. They do well to make 300 pesos per day which is less than $7. That's for the WHOLE DAY!!!
There is someone to clean up after you in every restaurant whether fast food or sit-down. If you clean up after yourself you just deprived them of the privilege of performing their job. Most of the time, you can't clean up after yourself, though. It's too hard to find a trash receptacle.
Filipinos for the most part, tend to be a hard-working people.
Whenever your car stops moving you will be bombarded with sales people. They are trying to sell sunglasses, watches, newspapers, fruit, you name it...they want you to buy it.
Jeepneys are everywhere. I had the experience of riding one. It is their public transportation like our city buses. They only take certain routes and each one only costs 7 pesos.
Road-side restaurant stands are everywhere. You can buy whole chickens, pigs, and real-live fish sticks :)
The weather is warm and humid but if the air is moving, it's not a big deal.
Our room key is the only way the electricity and air-conditioner work in our room. When you walk in the room you have to put your key card in this slot and then everything turns on. Without it, nothing works. Guess that's a good way for them to save on their electric bill. That means the water in your refrigerator is only cold in the morning from being chilled all night. During the day there isn't enough time int he room to keep it cold. It also means you can only charge phones and cameras when you are going to be in the room for an hour or two.
Most Filipino girls want to marry white men. It's not uncommon to see a white man and Filipino girl walking down the street together.
This is another list I'll be adding to as I have time and see more.
Everywhere building you go in there seem to be metal detectors. It's ok if they go off half the time, but they are there just in case they want to enforce the rules.
There are security officers everywhere, in most businesses or just standing around outside. This doesn't necessarily make me feel any safer, it's just a fact.
Any reputable business has uniformed employees. If they don't have uniforms, you have to wonder why.
Lots of stores and restaurants have signs telling people to "check their guns". In other words, you can't bring weapons inside. I guess that's common practice around here.
We complain in the USA about making minimum wage which is around $7.25 per hour. They do well to make 300 pesos per day which is less than $7. That's for the WHOLE DAY!!!
There is someone to clean up after you in every restaurant whether fast food or sit-down. If you clean up after yourself you just deprived them of the privilege of performing their job. Most of the time, you can't clean up after yourself, though. It's too hard to find a trash receptacle.
Filipinos for the most part, tend to be a hard-working people.
Whenever your car stops moving you will be bombarded with sales people. They are trying to sell sunglasses, watches, newspapers, fruit, you name it...they want you to buy it.
Jeepneys are everywhere. I had the experience of riding one. It is their public transportation like our city buses. They only take certain routes and each one only costs 7 pesos.
Road-side restaurant stands are everywhere. You can buy whole chickens, pigs, and real-live fish sticks :)
The weather is warm and humid but if the air is moving, it's not a big deal.
Our room key is the only way the electricity and air-conditioner work in our room. When you walk in the room you have to put your key card in this slot and then everything turns on. Without it, nothing works. Guess that's a good way for them to save on their electric bill. That means the water in your refrigerator is only cold in the morning from being chilled all night. During the day there isn't enough time int he room to keep it cold. It also means you can only charge phones and cameras when you are going to be in the room for an hour or two.
Most Filipino girls want to marry white men. It's not uncommon to see a white man and Filipino girl walking down the street together.
This is another list I'll be adding to as I have time and see more.
Everywhere
There are some things you just see everywhere you go no matter what part of the world. There is usually a slight difference than what you see in the USA, but it's still the same. Here's a few of what I've found so far.
McDonald's - here they serve rice with every meal, but rice is still an option. Drinks are not free refills and they are really small. Someone opens the door for you to enter and exit. They also clean off the tables and put the trash away. You don't. That's their job and they really want to do their job.
KFC - also comes with rice instead of mashed potatoes or a biscuit. The rest is the same as McDonald's.
Pizza Hut - only 2 options of pizza at the one we went to tonight, bacon and cheese or ham and pineapple. Pretty much tastes the same, though.
Toyota, Suzuki, Mitsubishi - They have different models of cars that I've never seen before. If it isn't a Japanese-made vehicle they probably don't drive it here.
Mormons, Church of Christ, Jehovah's Witness, Catholic, Nazarene, Assembly of God, Baptists, Pentecostal - Religion is not only popular in the United States. Every religion has made its way into other countries. We saw them all.
As I think of more, I'll add them. My eyes are fading.
McDonald's - here they serve rice with every meal, but rice is still an option. Drinks are not free refills and they are really small. Someone opens the door for you to enter and exit. They also clean off the tables and put the trash away. You don't. That's their job and they really want to do their job.
KFC - also comes with rice instead of mashed potatoes or a biscuit. The rest is the same as McDonald's.
Pizza Hut - only 2 options of pizza at the one we went to tonight, bacon and cheese or ham and pineapple. Pretty much tastes the same, though.
Toyota, Suzuki, Mitsubishi - They have different models of cars that I've never seen before. If it isn't a Japanese-made vehicle they probably don't drive it here.
Mormons, Church of Christ, Jehovah's Witness, Catholic, Nazarene, Assembly of God, Baptists, Pentecostal - Religion is not only popular in the United States. Every religion has made its way into other countries. We saw them all.
As I think of more, I'll add them. My eyes are fading.
Flopped Saturday Salvaged
I would love to tell you that Saturday's tour was just as good as the day before. I'd love to, but I can't. It was a miscommunication flop that was salvaged with a trip to a church and walking through the local market. Let me tell you about it!
We were instructed to be on the bus in front of the hotel at 9am. I had already heard Pastor Jun describe the tour and didn't want to go but was assured it was going to be a great tour and not really given an option. I obliged and got on the bus. We drove for an hour and a half or so and listen to a guy talk about the Mactan island. Some of it was interesting information, most of it could have been Googled or found on Wikepedia. He was a super nice guy, though. He had his degree in electrical engineering but I guess makes more money as a tour guide and has been doing that for over 20 years. Crazy, I know! Anyway, at 10:30am we arrived at this beach resort. He proceeds to tell us that we can go in, eat lunch, and swim for a few hours. Well, no one told me we were swimming on the tour so I was not prepared. Neither did anyone else who came on the same tour have any idea that's what we were doing on top of the fact that 10:30 in the morning is too early to eat lunch. Our mission director stepped in and called a local pastor.
Pastor Tangun came quickly and took us to his church where we were able to meet some of his people. He also has a school for children and a Bible Institute. These facilities were much nicer and they even had a few small air-conditioner window units installed in the main sanctuary. They also had a covered basketball court on the back side. Nothing was extravagant, just nice. I've never been a big fan of Manna feeding centers mostly just because I didn't know much about them. However, Pastor Tangun is a result of a Manna feeding center. I guess they're pretty important. Some of my favorite missionaries in Mexico say a lot "They'll never care what you know until they know you care". It's so true! People don't really care to know about the Gospel until their basic physical needs are met. We had a great time at his church.
We went back to the beach resort where we were fed a buffet lunch that included none other than rice and lots of Filipino authentic food. It was a beautiful view for our lunch. There weren't enough tables set up under the tent so the Mission Office crew ate in a cabana. Pastor Tangun then escorted us to their local mall which basically consisted of one huge department store in the dead center with a few kiosks around the outside.
Chris, Jason, Sally and I opted to stick together and walk the streets of the local markets. We were talked to, laughed at, and stared at. It was very interesting. It was an experience worth taking. We saw whole pieces of meat hanging from hooks, lots and lots of fish (whole), and many other things I can't even describe. People would holler at us and say "Take my picture Sir, take my picture Mum". Several of the kids wanted Chris to show them their picture on the digital screen after he took it. They were so much fun posing for pictures and smiling and following us. We were definitely the talk of that part of the town. We walked in a big square and then stopped for a snack at Julie's Bake-Shop. All the girls (at least 4) were in uniform serving many kinds of breads and rolls. We ordered cinnamon buns for all. They weren't like a cinnamon roll from back home, but definitely good. We then went back to the "mall" where Chris purchased a local shirt called a Barong. I bought wash cloths. Why? Because our hotel does not have them. I only brought a few to wrap breakable items in, so I purchased a few at the department store which I can leave behind when it's time. We then got back on the bus and drove 1 1/2 hours back to the hotel. Whew! Thank goodness.
We got back to the hotel in plenty of time to do some exploring and then headed out to dinner with Sally. We decided to try Jollibee. The locals say it's a lot like McDonald's but better and cheaper. It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience, mostly because I don't plan on repeating that experience. The burger definitely had something else mixed in with the meat. It was not American cheese or cheddar cheese or any kind of cheese I recognized. There was some funky sauce on there I ended up trying to wipe off with my napkin. I guess the taste was still stuck in my mouth because my french fries ended up not being so good either yet Sally and Chris both said they tasted fine. We then walked up to the rotary where there are actually signs posted that said "Please, No Public Urination". We walked across a bridge that went over the busy street but were in too close quarters with many young boys and felt uncomfortable. We made it around to McDonald's where I ordered an ice cream cone and then headed back.
On that little journey I saw several little kids lying on cardboard boxes some with parents, some without, some very young (like probably around the age of 2) and some maybe as old as 10. I saw adults who were using their jacket as a blanket and an umbrella to cover their face so people couldn't see them. It was sad! My heart aches for them.
We got back to the hotel and headed to bed promptly.
We were instructed to be on the bus in front of the hotel at 9am. I had already heard Pastor Jun describe the tour and didn't want to go but was assured it was going to be a great tour and not really given an option. I obliged and got on the bus. We drove for an hour and a half or so and listen to a guy talk about the Mactan island. Some of it was interesting information, most of it could have been Googled or found on Wikepedia. He was a super nice guy, though. He had his degree in electrical engineering but I guess makes more money as a tour guide and has been doing that for over 20 years. Crazy, I know! Anyway, at 10:30am we arrived at this beach resort. He proceeds to tell us that we can go in, eat lunch, and swim for a few hours. Well, no one told me we were swimming on the tour so I was not prepared. Neither did anyone else who came on the same tour have any idea that's what we were doing on top of the fact that 10:30 in the morning is too early to eat lunch. Our mission director stepped in and called a local pastor.
Pastor Tangun came quickly and took us to his church where we were able to meet some of his people. He also has a school for children and a Bible Institute. These facilities were much nicer and they even had a few small air-conditioner window units installed in the main sanctuary. They also had a covered basketball court on the back side. Nothing was extravagant, just nice. I've never been a big fan of Manna feeding centers mostly just because I didn't know much about them. However, Pastor Tangun is a result of a Manna feeding center. I guess they're pretty important. Some of my favorite missionaries in Mexico say a lot "They'll never care what you know until they know you care". It's so true! People don't really care to know about the Gospel until their basic physical needs are met. We had a great time at his church.
We went back to the beach resort where we were fed a buffet lunch that included none other than rice and lots of Filipino authentic food. It was a beautiful view for our lunch. There weren't enough tables set up under the tent so the Mission Office crew ate in a cabana. Pastor Tangun then escorted us to their local mall which basically consisted of one huge department store in the dead center with a few kiosks around the outside.
Chris, Jason, Sally and I opted to stick together and walk the streets of the local markets. We were talked to, laughed at, and stared at. It was very interesting. It was an experience worth taking. We saw whole pieces of meat hanging from hooks, lots and lots of fish (whole), and many other things I can't even describe. People would holler at us and say "Take my picture Sir, take my picture Mum". Several of the kids wanted Chris to show them their picture on the digital screen after he took it. They were so much fun posing for pictures and smiling and following us. We were definitely the talk of that part of the town. We walked in a big square and then stopped for a snack at Julie's Bake-Shop. All the girls (at least 4) were in uniform serving many kinds of breads and rolls. We ordered cinnamon buns for all. They weren't like a cinnamon roll from back home, but definitely good. We then went back to the "mall" where Chris purchased a local shirt called a Barong. I bought wash cloths. Why? Because our hotel does not have them. I only brought a few to wrap breakable items in, so I purchased a few at the department store which I can leave behind when it's time. We then got back on the bus and drove 1 1/2 hours back to the hotel. Whew! Thank goodness.
We got back to the hotel in plenty of time to do some exploring and then headed out to dinner with Sally. We decided to try Jollibee. The locals say it's a lot like McDonald's but better and cheaper. It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience, mostly because I don't plan on repeating that experience. The burger definitely had something else mixed in with the meat. It was not American cheese or cheddar cheese or any kind of cheese I recognized. There was some funky sauce on there I ended up trying to wipe off with my napkin. I guess the taste was still stuck in my mouth because my french fries ended up not being so good either yet Sally and Chris both said they tasted fine. We then walked up to the rotary where there are actually signs posted that said "Please, No Public Urination". We walked across a bridge that went over the busy street but were in too close quarters with many young boys and felt uncomfortable. We made it around to McDonald's where I ordered an ice cream cone and then headed back.
On that little journey I saw several little kids lying on cardboard boxes some with parents, some without, some very young (like probably around the age of 2) and some maybe as old as 10. I saw adults who were using their jacket as a blanket and an umbrella to cover their face so people couldn't see them. It was sad! My heart aches for them.
We got back to the hotel and headed to bed promptly.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Friday in the Philippines
We got up at 4:30am to shower and head downstairs by 5am. We took a bus to the ferry and the 2-hour ferry ride took us to the island of Bohol. We had free Wi-Fi on the ferry so we were able to call and check on the boys. We found out Dylan had been sent home from school with an upset stomach. We were briefly able to talk to him and excited to hear his voice. I'm really missing my boys. We haven't talked to Eli since LAX but I don't think he minds so much. They are doing well with their Aunt and sounds like they are having tons of fun with the beautiful weather. We met Pastor Richard Famadoro at the ferry to take us to Bohol. He has been at our church (Wilson Creek) before and we gave him money to help pay for church property. He was our tour guide. We started at McDonald's for breakfast where they serve rice with almost every meal you can order. It was super cheap, even cheaper than McDonald's in the states. I took pictures of McDonald's and the menu so everyone can see. Hopefully, I can get some pictures uploaded tonight.
We left there to go to Blood Point, at least I think that's what it was called. It had something to do with Magellan coming to the island and signing an agreement with them that was supposed to be a Peace Treaty but turned into the Spaniards turning the people of Bohol into slaves.
We moved from there to go to the oldest Catholic church on the island (400 years old). It was built by the people of Bohol under slave control. It was an old run down building but inside had all the fancy idols and things you would typically see in a Catholic church. They still hold mass there but they have a museum upstairs. It was interesting to say the least.
Our next stop was this place where we got to see what they think is the largest python in the Philippines. I don't know what the measurement is now, but in 2005 they said it was 23 feet long. I actually got in the cage and touched it. Chris even sat "Flat Dylan" on the python for a picture. If you don't know who "Flat Dylan" is you'll have to ask me later. It's a fun story.
We went from there to a different stop where they had Tarsier monkeys. They are the smallest monkey in the world and are going extinct. I think you can actually only find them on the island of Bohol. They are super cute. The place also had a couple other monkeys who were chained to fences and that had a small python which you could have wrapped around your shoulders and then a picture taken. I refrained this time. I was taking a picture of one of the other monkeys and it actually jumped at my camera. Good thing it was on a chain!
We then took a riverboat cruise that had a buffet on it. We got to eat all kinds of things that we didn't know what it was. A guy sang to us and we went down the river and saw some really short waterfalls and then back up the river. We stopped alongside at one time and this group of about 20 girls, women, boys, and men sang to us and danced and played all kinds of music. I took some pictures and video.
After that, we headed to this place called Chocolate Hills. It was these really neat hills that are supposedly made of coral. Of course, you can't see the coral because it's covered in grass. The funny thing is that all the valleys had palm trees and other trees, but there were no trees on these hills. The other funny thing, they didn't market very well. I couldn't even buy chocolate there unless it was milk or ice cream. We chose mango ice cream and it was absolutely delicious.
We drove through a man-made forest. I guess the area was completely undeveloped so they mandated boys to be in boy scouts and they had to plant trees. They created a forest along part of the road we traveled. It was pretty neat.
Our last touristy stop was the zip line. We went across the river that we had taken the riverboat cruise on earlier in the day. We got to go side by side going one way. Chris and I started at the same time, but he ended up passing me about halfway. On the way back it was only one at a time and I chose to go last so Chris could take my picture coming in. The last zip line was much faster but both were totally fun. We did them both Superman style!
After all the tourist stuff, the pastor took us to show us the property their church was in the process of purchasing and then we got to go to their current church which is quite a drive away. I will definitely have to show you pictures of this. I am so thankful for our church and the building we have. They run about 180 people, but meet in plastic lawn chairs under a tent. There aren't even enough chairs for everyone to sit down, yet their church continues to grow. There aren't any fans to move air and it was just plain old dirty. The back of the church had dorms for their Bible college students. I can't even put into words how sad my heart felt to see where they sleep, cook, eat, and do laundry. Their church also has a Christian school and lots of the kids were still there. They use old A.C.E. curriculum that churches in the states send them. They are happy with that and well known in their community for having an American style school. That is a good thing on their island. It's highly regarded. The pastor lives in part of the building and also has his office there. It's so small, but I know that's normal for them.
We then went to eat an authentic dinner at a local chicken place. We got to watch them cook our chicken on an open flame grill at the front of the restaurant. Then, they took it to the back and put it on plates and served it with none other than "rice" :) They eat rice with everything here just like most oriental countries. We headed back and waited on our ferry, got on the ferry and got back to the pier around 8:30pm. There was only 1 van there so our driver waited around for a while to make sure another van got there to pick up the rest of the group. We got back to our hotel around 9:00pm. We got cleaned up and crawled into bed. I responded to some e-mails and Chris informed me he wasn't tired. However, within about 3 minutes he was snoring so loud I had to wake him up to get him to roll over. Guess he was more tired than he thought. I turned off the lights about 10pm. This mattress is probably just as comfortable as the one back home :) Some of you will actually understand that joke!
We left there to go to Blood Point, at least I think that's what it was called. It had something to do with Magellan coming to the island and signing an agreement with them that was supposed to be a Peace Treaty but turned into the Spaniards turning the people of Bohol into slaves.
We moved from there to go to the oldest Catholic church on the island (400 years old). It was built by the people of Bohol under slave control. It was an old run down building but inside had all the fancy idols and things you would typically see in a Catholic church. They still hold mass there but they have a museum upstairs. It was interesting to say the least.
Our next stop was this place where we got to see what they think is the largest python in the Philippines. I don't know what the measurement is now, but in 2005 they said it was 23 feet long. I actually got in the cage and touched it. Chris even sat "Flat Dylan" on the python for a picture. If you don't know who "Flat Dylan" is you'll have to ask me later. It's a fun story.
We went from there to a different stop where they had Tarsier monkeys. They are the smallest monkey in the world and are going extinct. I think you can actually only find them on the island of Bohol. They are super cute. The place also had a couple other monkeys who were chained to fences and that had a small python which you could have wrapped around your shoulders and then a picture taken. I refrained this time. I was taking a picture of one of the other monkeys and it actually jumped at my camera. Good thing it was on a chain!
We then took a riverboat cruise that had a buffet on it. We got to eat all kinds of things that we didn't know what it was. A guy sang to us and we went down the river and saw some really short waterfalls and then back up the river. We stopped alongside at one time and this group of about 20 girls, women, boys, and men sang to us and danced and played all kinds of music. I took some pictures and video.
After that, we headed to this place called Chocolate Hills. It was these really neat hills that are supposedly made of coral. Of course, you can't see the coral because it's covered in grass. The funny thing is that all the valleys had palm trees and other trees, but there were no trees on these hills. The other funny thing, they didn't market very well. I couldn't even buy chocolate there unless it was milk or ice cream. We chose mango ice cream and it was absolutely delicious.
We drove through a man-made forest. I guess the area was completely undeveloped so they mandated boys to be in boy scouts and they had to plant trees. They created a forest along part of the road we traveled. It was pretty neat.
Our last touristy stop was the zip line. We went across the river that we had taken the riverboat cruise on earlier in the day. We got to go side by side going one way. Chris and I started at the same time, but he ended up passing me about halfway. On the way back it was only one at a time and I chose to go last so Chris could take my picture coming in. The last zip line was much faster but both were totally fun. We did them both Superman style!
After all the tourist stuff, the pastor took us to show us the property their church was in the process of purchasing and then we got to go to their current church which is quite a drive away. I will definitely have to show you pictures of this. I am so thankful for our church and the building we have. They run about 180 people, but meet in plastic lawn chairs under a tent. There aren't even enough chairs for everyone to sit down, yet their church continues to grow. There aren't any fans to move air and it was just plain old dirty. The back of the church had dorms for their Bible college students. I can't even put into words how sad my heart felt to see where they sleep, cook, eat, and do laundry. Their church also has a Christian school and lots of the kids were still there. They use old A.C.E. curriculum that churches in the states send them. They are happy with that and well known in their community for having an American style school. That is a good thing on their island. It's highly regarded. The pastor lives in part of the building and also has his office there. It's so small, but I know that's normal for them.
We then went to eat an authentic dinner at a local chicken place. We got to watch them cook our chicken on an open flame grill at the front of the restaurant. Then, they took it to the back and put it on plates and served it with none other than "rice" :) They eat rice with everything here just like most oriental countries. We headed back and waited on our ferry, got on the ferry and got back to the pier around 8:30pm. There was only 1 van there so our driver waited around for a while to make sure another van got there to pick up the rest of the group. We got back to our hotel around 9:00pm. We got cleaned up and crawled into bed. I responded to some e-mails and Chris informed me he wasn't tired. However, within about 3 minutes he was snoring so loud I had to wake him up to get him to roll over. Guess he was more tired than he thought. I turned off the lights about 10pm. This mattress is probably just as comfortable as the one back home :) Some of you will actually understand that joke!
Philippines Trip Day 1 thru 3
We started our trip at the Springfield National Airport at 2:30pm where we met up with part of our group. There we about 25 or 30 in that group. We patiently waited for our first of 4 planes for the trip. We boarded and left for DFW with no troubles at all. We had a small layover in Dallas and picked up more in the group. We flew to LAX where we had another small layover and then our group grew even bigger. By this time, we probably had about 60-80 in our group.
We then boarded the 3rd plane for our long 15hr and 8 minute flight. It's been a long time since I've been on a plane overseas and I'm not sure I remember how long it actually took from back then. This was our very own time machine. We actually traveled, in the dark, 14 hours forward in time. So, basically, we lost half a day. I had an aisle seat on this trip and Chris sat across the aisle from me. I waited until they fed dinner about 1 1/2 hours into the trip and then took some Tylenol PM. For dinner, I had beef merlot with mashed potatoes and something else. I also had some delicious cheese cake and some other things that I have already forgotten. I dozed on and off but at one point I realized the guy sitting next to me was no longer there. He had stepped over me and disappeared. I didn't think I slept more than an hour but later in the flight I found out he had gone to the back to stand and talk and was gone 4 hours. I didn't see him leave and only awoke for a brief second to let his wife out and then again when they wanted to sit back down. Guess I slept longer than I thought. That was a good thing, though. I watched a couple movies between all that. Each person has their own individual screen with tons of movies and TV shows and also video games to play. You have a remote and gaming remote. It's great for such a long trip. You can also watch the map of the plane moving across the sky or you can watch out the camera that is located on the bottom of the plane. That turned out not to be so cool except during take-off and landing. The rest of the time you just saw black (the night sky). Chris's TV didn't work, or at least the remote didn't. So, every time he wanted to watch something he had to ask a flight attendant. Kind of funny, but made for a long trip for him. We ate breakfast at some point. You could order some clam cognee (which turned out to be a creamy soup) or you could have a ham frittata. That turned out to be an egg omelette with ham and veggies in it. It also came with "streaky bacon". I have no idea why they called it "streaky" but it was just flimsy bacon. It also came with some creamed spinach, red skinned potatoes, fruit bowl, yogurt, juice, and an apple loaf. The apple loaf was actually pretty good. I ate everything except the creamed spinach. It was kind of dry and, well, just not so great. We were served snacks at random during the flight where I found I enjoyed a small chocolate bar called Tim Tams. I'm going to have to get a few extra on the flight home to share with my boys. They'll love them. We landed in Hong Kong downstairs and then had to go through security to get upstairs which is where you have to be for all departing flights. We were able to connect to the Wi-Fi and use the soft-phone installed on my laptop and call Dylan on his 6th birthday. I think I was more emotional about that than actually leaving them the day before. He was excited to hear from us and know we were in China but couldn't hear very well. I know by the time we get back he will look like he's grown a foot. I miss my boys so much. We were in the Hong Kong airport a couple hours before we boarded our 4th and final plane to Cebu. I sat by the exact same people, Steve and Jenell Bender, but this time I had the window seat. That was the perfect time for a window seat. I got to watch the islands pop up in the middle of the ocean all the way from Hong Kong to Cebu. I saw Manila as we passed over it...so neat! We ate chicken and rice rolls on that flight. No, the rice and chicken wasn't in an egg roll. It was literally rice cake rolls with some chicken on top of it. Not too bad. It also came with some fruit and other stuff that I already forgot. Guess my memory isn't working too well.
We landed in Cebu and as we came down the tunnel we saw our first "welcome" sign. It was the BBFI Global Fellowship meeting sign. They were all over the airport. As soon as we got inside we were greeted by Chris's boss and ushered to a special line that was supposed to move quickly, but didn't move as quickly as anticipated. On the other side we were greeted by Pastor Jun and I'm not even going to try to spell his last name. He's the Associate Pastor at the church who is hosting the meeting. He helped get us through customs and then we were again greeted by even more people from Bible Baptist Church of Cebu. This time it was a group of ladies who, didn't put lays on us, but instead put a tag around us that symbolized we were there for the big convention. After we all got through security, customs, and got our luggage we were ushered outside to be again greeted by members of BBC Cebu. This time is was a group of young people singing and playing instruments. It was so cool! They had 1 large bus and a van to get us all to the hotel, Crown Regency. It was a short 30 minute drive but full of sights of poverty and uncleanliness. People, well mostly guys, just drop their drawers anywhere. We saw some mental cases, lots and lots of shacks if you can even call them that. We immediately saw the need for the gospel here and our hearts are so thankful there are missionaries and pastors hard at work in this city.
We all, obviously, got to the hotel at the same time and check-in was a mess. First of all, I have to tell you that we walked into the hotel and there was a metal detector but since they were overwhelmed with the number of guests arriving at the same time, they just let us all pass. That makes me feel safe, not! The hotel wasn't prepared for us and had assigned rooms to couples with 2 twin beds and rooms with singles in it got King beds. It was a mess. We finally got a room assignment in Tower 2. I have no idea where everyone else is. Funny thing is we have to take our elevator to floor 9 and then take a ramp and some steps over to floor 10 to actually get to our room. And, there are some in our group that have to take the elevator to floor 10 to go to a different ramp to get to their room on floor 9. It's crazy but we've got it figured out now.
We were allowed ample time to shower and clean up and get things adjusted in our room, but were asked to meet at 5pm for further instructions. At that time we were told of our next few days plans and escorted to a bus where we went to the nearest mall. The mall was huge. Again, we had to walk through metal detectors, but this time they actually checked bags and were very careful about what got through. The mall was 4 flights up and 1 down in the basement. It was full of stores I've never heard of and lots of stores we have in our own mall. There are so many places to eat and shop. There are salons and mani/pedi places. We didn't want to think so we ate at TGI Friday's that night. It was hard to sit down because the thought of getting back up was painful. Every time we went in a store and stopped moving for a second my legs would get heavy. We decided to just keep moving. We were allowed to meet back at the van at 8pm (had to and then taken back to the hotel. There was no discussion about what to do when we got back. We brushed our teeth and crawled into bed. I don't even think it took 10 seconds for my eyes to close and be in deep sleep. We slept from 9:30 to 4:30 the next morning (our Friday) with no problem, or at least I did. More to come!
We then boarded the 3rd plane for our long 15hr and 8 minute flight. It's been a long time since I've been on a plane overseas and I'm not sure I remember how long it actually took from back then. This was our very own time machine. We actually traveled, in the dark, 14 hours forward in time. So, basically, we lost half a day. I had an aisle seat on this trip and Chris sat across the aisle from me. I waited until they fed dinner about 1 1/2 hours into the trip and then took some Tylenol PM. For dinner, I had beef merlot with mashed potatoes and something else. I also had some delicious cheese cake and some other things that I have already forgotten. I dozed on and off but at one point I realized the guy sitting next to me was no longer there. He had stepped over me and disappeared. I didn't think I slept more than an hour but later in the flight I found out he had gone to the back to stand and talk and was gone 4 hours. I didn't see him leave and only awoke for a brief second to let his wife out and then again when they wanted to sit back down. Guess I slept longer than I thought. That was a good thing, though. I watched a couple movies between all that. Each person has their own individual screen with tons of movies and TV shows and also video games to play. You have a remote and gaming remote. It's great for such a long trip. You can also watch the map of the plane moving across the sky or you can watch out the camera that is located on the bottom of the plane. That turned out not to be so cool except during take-off and landing. The rest of the time you just saw black (the night sky). Chris's TV didn't work, or at least the remote didn't. So, every time he wanted to watch something he had to ask a flight attendant. Kind of funny, but made for a long trip for him. We ate breakfast at some point. You could order some clam cognee (which turned out to be a creamy soup) or you could have a ham frittata. That turned out to be an egg omelette with ham and veggies in it. It also came with "streaky bacon". I have no idea why they called it "streaky" but it was just flimsy bacon. It also came with some creamed spinach, red skinned potatoes, fruit bowl, yogurt, juice, and an apple loaf. The apple loaf was actually pretty good. I ate everything except the creamed spinach. It was kind of dry and, well, just not so great. We were served snacks at random during the flight where I found I enjoyed a small chocolate bar called Tim Tams. I'm going to have to get a few extra on the flight home to share with my boys. They'll love them. We landed in Hong Kong downstairs and then had to go through security to get upstairs which is where you have to be for all departing flights. We were able to connect to the Wi-Fi and use the soft-phone installed on my laptop and call Dylan on his 6th birthday. I think I was more emotional about that than actually leaving them the day before. He was excited to hear from us and know we were in China but couldn't hear very well. I know by the time we get back he will look like he's grown a foot. I miss my boys so much. We were in the Hong Kong airport a couple hours before we boarded our 4th and final plane to Cebu. I sat by the exact same people, Steve and Jenell Bender, but this time I had the window seat. That was the perfect time for a window seat. I got to watch the islands pop up in the middle of the ocean all the way from Hong Kong to Cebu. I saw Manila as we passed over it...so neat! We ate chicken and rice rolls on that flight. No, the rice and chicken wasn't in an egg roll. It was literally rice cake rolls with some chicken on top of it. Not too bad. It also came with some fruit and other stuff that I already forgot. Guess my memory isn't working too well.
We landed in Cebu and as we came down the tunnel we saw our first "welcome" sign. It was the BBFI Global Fellowship meeting sign. They were all over the airport. As soon as we got inside we were greeted by Chris's boss and ushered to a special line that was supposed to move quickly, but didn't move as quickly as anticipated. On the other side we were greeted by Pastor Jun and I'm not even going to try to spell his last name. He's the Associate Pastor at the church who is hosting the meeting. He helped get us through customs and then we were again greeted by even more people from Bible Baptist Church of Cebu. This time it was a group of ladies who, didn't put lays on us, but instead put a tag around us that symbolized we were there for the big convention. After we all got through security, customs, and got our luggage we were ushered outside to be again greeted by members of BBC Cebu. This time is was a group of young people singing and playing instruments. It was so cool! They had 1 large bus and a van to get us all to the hotel, Crown Regency. It was a short 30 minute drive but full of sights of poverty and uncleanliness. People, well mostly guys, just drop their drawers anywhere. We saw some mental cases, lots and lots of shacks if you can even call them that. We immediately saw the need for the gospel here and our hearts are so thankful there are missionaries and pastors hard at work in this city.
We all, obviously, got to the hotel at the same time and check-in was a mess. First of all, I have to tell you that we walked into the hotel and there was a metal detector but since they were overwhelmed with the number of guests arriving at the same time, they just let us all pass. That makes me feel safe, not! The hotel wasn't prepared for us and had assigned rooms to couples with 2 twin beds and rooms with singles in it got King beds. It was a mess. We finally got a room assignment in Tower 2. I have no idea where everyone else is. Funny thing is we have to take our elevator to floor 9 and then take a ramp and some steps over to floor 10 to actually get to our room. And, there are some in our group that have to take the elevator to floor 10 to go to a different ramp to get to their room on floor 9. It's crazy but we've got it figured out now.
We were allowed ample time to shower and clean up and get things adjusted in our room, but were asked to meet at 5pm for further instructions. At that time we were told of our next few days plans and escorted to a bus where we went to the nearest mall. The mall was huge. Again, we had to walk through metal detectors, but this time they actually checked bags and were very careful about what got through. The mall was 4 flights up and 1 down in the basement. It was full of stores I've never heard of and lots of stores we have in our own mall. There are so many places to eat and shop. There are salons and mani/pedi places. We didn't want to think so we ate at TGI Friday's that night. It was hard to sit down because the thought of getting back up was painful. Every time we went in a store and stopped moving for a second my legs would get heavy. We decided to just keep moving. We were allowed to meet back at the van at 8pm (had to and then taken back to the hotel. There was no discussion about what to do when we got back. We brushed our teeth and crawled into bed. I don't even think it took 10 seconds for my eyes to close and be in deep sleep. We slept from 9:30 to 4:30 the next morning (our Friday) with no problem, or at least I did. More to come!
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