flippin islands!

hey everyone! things are pretty good here in the philippian islands. we are about to leave tomorrow, so we had to cram a couple of cultural things in before we went.

first things first, we just came back from being on a small island, in a "town" called Cawilan (which had electricity, amazingly enough!). it was awesome. we stayed with a couple (Arnel and his wife Dandan) and their 2 children (Davie and Daniel). we helped them with ministry times that they had, which included going to a neighboring town (on a different island) called Opong. here they are trying to reach out to the town as they do not have any biblical base. they actually have a lot in the area for a church eventually. they have been reaching to the Opong town for 2 years now, making significant progress. there is a lot of spritual warfare in the area, and this was probably the most challenging time spiritually so far.

the time in the islands was very challenging, but amazing to experience. the first day i was there i became rather sick, and i am almost back up to par now. there was no running water in the house, and also no fans. we were in the heat of the day, and the heat of the night. i slept on the ground (on my sleeping mat)... it was just really different then the other places we have been now. but, we were really able to become apart of the culture through the family experience as well as the food and such. it was really an amazing time.

anyways, back to our recent cultural experiences... i ate balut yesturday. if you don't know what balut is, i will try to explain without almost puking! it is a baby duck or chicken (duck in this case) which, in filipino culture, is cooked before hatched and eaten like this. i ate half of it... but i did it! it was so intense. that's about as far as i can go culturally man! we also had some halahala today which is some type of crushed ice with jellys and other fruit and vegetables and powdered milk... it's a filipino dessert, which is very different... but good to experience.

the time here was very good, but hard at the same time. it was spritually challenging and physically challenging, but very productive. thank-you all so much for your prayers.

missing you

hi everyone. i just wanted to say hi. i hope that you are all doing well. i miss you a lot. although things are going well out here, my heart still reaches across the oceans to all of you. especially the family. i hope that you're enjoying the strawberry milkshakes and long days on the fields... the pizza fridays and the numerous family gatherings. and for the friends... i hope that you're enjoying the concerts (no matter how awkward they may be), the new adventures, and the long summer days. miss you guys!

philippines!

the philippines are amazing! i absolutely love them! there was a little bit of culture shock from the beginning as this was the first third world country that i have been to. fiji was, but it didn't seem too bad out there. anyways, we landed in manila, on the main island of the philippines. we stayed there a night, and saw a lot of slums there. it was really quite sad as they are rummaging through the rubbish of the skyscraper buildings. there seems to be so much corruption here. it seems as though everyone wants more money, believing that this will in turn give them the satisfactions they have been longing for. it's just so sad to see.

we are like gods out here. and it's really sad 'cause the filipinos are amazing, but they just don't seem proud of their culture, and always wanting something more. wheter that be money or race change or something. everytime someone says "you're so beautiful." i try to say something like, "well at least i'm not alone! you are too!" (to the ladies of course... haha!)

what else? we've been hanging out with kids a lot, and i love that. i went to the market the other day, and i absolutely loved it! we saw the mayor of sarigao (where we are staying now). so, that was really cool. hopefully i can update this more later. no time right now!

bula (hello, in Fijian)

hello everyone. fiji is awesome! i love it. right after we got off the plane in Nadi airiport we were rushed off to Lautoka where they had already started training on the "Pacific Link Auckland" ship that we spent the whole week working on. we soon felt at home on the boat, tucking all our belongings in a small locker and sleeping in and 8 roomed bunk bed style living quarters.

the very next day we set sail for an island called Waya island. while we were there we met a lot of the village people of Natawa on the first couple of days. we were checking their eyes (the optometry team is the one that i was on), and giving out glasses the the people whom needed them. they were so greatfull. we also made 2 bridged for the local people, as well as put up 2 plastic water storing houses, to catch the rainwater from the 2 churches there. we also painted the church building and taught the children about brushing their teeth (giving them toothbrushes and toothpaste), and some of the mothers on the team (there were 2 other families on the team and then quite a bit of individuals on the boat as well) helped teach the parents about nutrition.

it was really encouraging when we would be asked over for meals at people's houses. we stayed at this one ladie's house for lunch after the church service on sunday.

we also went to 2 other towns in the same area. the one place was called Yalombi (silent Y) and Nambara. we did the optometry in that area as well... so if you ever ask yourself, "where do donated glasses go?", they go to people that are in need, and do not have the chance to go get their eyes checked or the means to do so.

Nambara was probably my favorite place, even though we were there for only 2 days. i say this because on of my fellow peirs and i were able to stay at one of the Nambara people's houses for the night. they were SO hospitable it is amazing. we ate there, and experienced their way of living. they have 6 children (ranging from age 6-19), and they all lived in the same house. all the children slept in the same room (Suzanne and i slept in the lounge area. and there was one other room that served as the master bedroom, dining room and kitchen. it was such a neat experience. suzanne and i got a little freaked out when we saw a spider bigger then the size of an adult male's fist (including the legs)... but other then that and the bed bug bites that we have now, we seem to be doing fine.

the ship was good overall, and i loved just being apart of a "crew".

anyways, we are in Lautoka right now, which is on the main island of Fiji. we will be staying here for a couple of days (until the 14th), and then we are off to Philippines! we do not have any set plans yet as to what we will be doing, but we'll find out sooner then later!

p.s. prayer points is just for energy, safe travels and constant Unity of the team. thank-you so much for your prayers already and i hope that this finds you all very well.