Yesterday we had to say goodbye to our friends in Davao City. Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church was becoming much like home to us. Right now we are in Butuan City on the island of Mindinao in the Philippines. We are staying at Faith Lutheran Church where we worshiped with the congregation this morning. We arrived last night after a 6 hour bus ride from Davao and were welcomed by many of the youth and other members of the congregation. They had a big banner saying "Welcome New Dawn!" and made an amazing meal for us. Today we lead a workshop on worship and did a program tonight. After the program we went swimming with some of the youth at a pool outside at a nearby school. The lights were not working so we got to swim under the stars, in the moonlight. It was so beautiful to float on my back, with my ears underwater, looking up at the stars and hearing nothing but my own breathing. I also saw a shooting star!
It is 2:30 in the morning here now, and I just finished talking with my sister, dad, Grandma Tonkin, and Grandpa and Grandma Wollum (Gommer and Papa) on Skype. That thing works pretty well! It was fun to hear about what's going on back at home and good to hear familiar voices on the other end. Now it's finally time for bed!
Monday, January 28, 2008
Friday, January 25, 2008
Eating Python and riding motorcycles!
During our time in Banga they prepared Python for us to eat! We got to see it and touch it after Ernie caught it.
Then a few hours later we came outside to watch him and Pastor Sonny skin it!
Then at dinner we got to eat it! It was spicy and tasted a lot like buffalo chicken wings! yum! There were a lot of little rib bones to eat around, but it was very good! That is definitely the most exotic food I have eaten!
In Banga we did a program at the municipal gym. Here's a picture of the pastors we have been working with.
I made some new friends up in the mountains in a place called San Roque. Erica and Jaka played with me a lot during our time there and they were always smiling and giggling. They would run up to me and grab my hands and want me to hold them. The only communication we had was "Acosi Carly" which means "My name is carly"
All is well! That's it for now, gotta run!
Then a few hours later we came outside to watch him and Pastor Sonny skin it!
Then at dinner we got to eat it! It was spicy and tasted a lot like buffalo chicken wings! yum! There were a lot of little rib bones to eat around, but it was very good! That is definitely the most exotic food I have eaten!
In Banga we did a program at the municipal gym. Here's a picture of the pastors we have been working with.
I made some new friends up in the mountains in a place called San Roque. Erica and Jaka played with me a lot during our time there and they were always smiling and giggling. They would run up to me and grab my hands and want me to hold them. The only communication we had was "Acosi Carly" which means "My name is carly"
All is well! That's it for now, gotta run!
Monday, January 21, 2008
Davao City
written 1/20/08 evening
To view all of my teammates personal blogs and our team journal all in one place go to:
www.vandercar.net and click on New Dawn Blogs in the upper right hand corner of the page.
We are now in Davao City, on the island of Mindinau in the Philippines. Coming here from Manila, this seems so much calmer and laid back. There isn’t loud music playing late into the night and not so many Jeepneys crowding the streets. We are staying with Pastor Sonny Mercado and his wife, Chai. They live in the Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church compound along with a couple other families. We all have our own beds and it is very comfortable here. It has been a blessing getting to know the Mercados.
It has been very hot here, especially compared to what the weather is like at home in Minnesota right now! It has been around 83 degrees Fahrenheit when I have fallen asleep and also when I wake up and much warmer during the day. It is also very humid. I’m not used to falling asleep sweating and waking up sweating. Early on Saturday morning I woke up with my sleeping bag pulled over me and I wasn’t sweating! I must have gotten cold and pulled it over me in the middle of the night. I haven’t used it otherwise at all here in the Philippines, so that was refreshing. I have slept very well the last couple nights.
The other day I had my first bucket shower. I never thought I would enjoy a cold shower so much, but it was soooo refreshing! I also did all of my laundry by hand today, another first.
I met a new friend when we arrived here in Davao. Her name is Katarine and she is seven years old. When we were rehearsing the first day, she came and just listened to us. Afterward I went over to talk to her and she said “Your songs are very beautiful.” We have enjoyed playing ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors,’ ‘Hide-and-Seek,’ ‘Tag’ and ‘Frisbee’ with Katarine and three of the little boys, Saeed (Pastor Sonny’s son), Luther (Katarine’s little brother) and Kurt (Pastor Sonny’s nephew). They also sang for us! So cute!
Tomorrow we head to Banga, and Pastor Sonny will accompany us. I have been enjoying my time here and I am loving the new culture. The people we have met have been such a blessing to us. We have all stayed healthy and I am amazed with all the new, very different foods we have tried, that none of us have gotten sick. We pray for continued good health for our team. I hope all is well back home!
To view all of my teammates personal blogs and our team journal all in one place go to:
www.vandercar.net and click on New Dawn Blogs in the upper right hand corner of the page.
We are now in Davao City, on the island of Mindinau in the Philippines. Coming here from Manila, this seems so much calmer and laid back. There isn’t loud music playing late into the night and not so many Jeepneys crowding the streets. We are staying with Pastor Sonny Mercado and his wife, Chai. They live in the Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church compound along with a couple other families. We all have our own beds and it is very comfortable here. It has been a blessing getting to know the Mercados.
It has been very hot here, especially compared to what the weather is like at home in Minnesota right now! It has been around 83 degrees Fahrenheit when I have fallen asleep and also when I wake up and much warmer during the day. It is also very humid. I’m not used to falling asleep sweating and waking up sweating. Early on Saturday morning I woke up with my sleeping bag pulled over me and I wasn’t sweating! I must have gotten cold and pulled it over me in the middle of the night. I haven’t used it otherwise at all here in the Philippines, so that was refreshing. I have slept very well the last couple nights.
The other day I had my first bucket shower. I never thought I would enjoy a cold shower so much, but it was soooo refreshing! I also did all of my laundry by hand today, another first.
I met a new friend when we arrived here in Davao. Her name is Katarine and she is seven years old. When we were rehearsing the first day, she came and just listened to us. Afterward I went over to talk to her and she said “Your songs are very beautiful.” We have enjoyed playing ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors,’ ‘Hide-and-Seek,’ ‘Tag’ and ‘Frisbee’ with Katarine and three of the little boys, Saeed (Pastor Sonny’s son), Luther (Katarine’s little brother) and Kurt (Pastor Sonny’s nephew). They also sang for us! So cute!
Tomorrow we head to Banga, and Pastor Sonny will accompany us. I have been enjoying my time here and I am loving the new culture. The people we have met have been such a blessing to us. We have all stayed healthy and I am amazed with all the new, very different foods we have tried, that none of us have gotten sick. We pray for continued good health for our team. I hope all is well back home!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Manila, Philippines!
We are now in the Philippines. All of or flights have been pretty uneventful. Hong Kong was great. We were very bsy to it has been nice to have some time to rest here these last few days. Right now we are in an internet cafe about a block from Gloria Dei School, the compound where we are staying. We are staying in a bilding that sed to be an orphanage p ntil a few months ago. THey fixed it p nicely for s and I have enjoyed staying there. The keyboard is not the greatest and the "u" key sticks so this may be a little difficlt to read. :) It's very warm here. Im not sre of the temp right now bt when i went to bed last night arond 10 it was 84 degrees. When we first got here I think or team was a little overwhelmed by the heat, kinda wondering if we wold make it for 3 months. :) bt I think we are all getting sed to it now. The sonds of the night have been very fn to listen to: whistles of the traffic patrol, the different sonding horns of the Jeepneys (cheapest mode of transportation here - a long jeep-like vehicle that can fit many passengers.), Jeepney drivers yelling to try to get people to ride in their jeepney, msic from a worship with soe recognizable songs, althogh they were in Tagalog. Last night i heard the song "EVerlasting GOd." I also had my first experience with sleeping nder a mosqito net. :)
Tomorrow we fly to Mindinau, which is one of the sothern islands. I know my family is not too excited that we are going there, as there has been some violence there. We met the President of the Ltheran Chrch of the Philippines, Pastor James and he assred s that we are in good hands with the pastors there and most of all we are in God's hands. None of us are too worried abot it, bt we know that our families are. I am excited to get back into the swing of team, doing programs and having more interactions with people. That's all for now!
Tomorrow we fly to Mindinau, which is one of the sothern islands. I know my family is not too excited that we are going there, as there has been some violence there. We met the President of the Ltheran Chrch of the Philippines, Pastor James and he assred s that we are in good hands with the pastors there and most of all we are in God's hands. None of us are too worried abot it, bt we know that our families are. I am excited to get back into the swing of team, doing programs and having more interactions with people. That's all for now!
Saturday, January 12, 2008
We are in Hong Kong!
We are now in Hong Kong and have been having a great time with Pastor Andy, Lydia Fong, Lydia Lui, Esther, and Chim and Sibyl will be joining us later today. We got to visit the campsite that we will be doing 4 days of camp at this summer. It is right on the South China Sea! We went up to the peak which is the highest point in HK. You can see the harbor and all the huge buildings. Sometime when I have more time I will put up some pictures. I have already tried many new things like, pig tongue, pig skin, pig liver, cow tendon, sushi, fish eggs, and other things! Lots of fun. Gotta run thats all for now!
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Last Entry from the U.S.
It's 2:50 am and we are leaving for the airport in an hour! I can not believe that this day is here! In just a few hours we will be on a plane to Denver, then to San Francisco and then on to Hong Kong. We figured out that it's about a 17 hour flight to Hong Kong. We will spend 4 days in Hong Kong learning a little more about what we will be doing when we come back in the summer to help lead a camp. I am very excited that we get to see the 4 girls from Hong Kong that worked at Wapo two summers ago. They are going to be hosting us during our time there. One of the girls, Lydia Fong, told me when she left two summers ago, that I had to come to Hong Kong someday. I didn't really think it would happen but here we go! After the four days in Hong Kong we will head to the Philippines, where we will be spending the majority of our trip (about 3 months). Hopefully then we will spend a month in Taiwan if things get worked out with a new contact there.
I had a really great break for Christmas. I got to spend time with family and friends and it was just really good to be home. We also got to go to wapo for the staff reunion. It was good to see everyone and exciting to think about next summer. The break went fast but it was so good to be back together with our team when it was over. We had a busy prep week doing a lot of packing and getting some last minute things done. Once we had everything packed we strapped on all of our backpacks and bags and took a practice walk, walking laps around the inside of our prep church. I'm pretty sure that would have been really funny to watch. All together our team and luggage weigh 978 lbs. It's probably around 700 lbs in people...so that's not that much luggage. :)
I am very surprised that I have not been more nervous this week. I don't think it really hit me until tonight. I went through a little nervous phase but I 'm excited to head to the airport soon and get going!
I'm not sure how much internet access I will have but I will try to give updates whenever I get a chance. You can also look at our Youth Encounter online journal: New Dawn Journal
One of us will be writing an entry everyday and we will post them whenever we have internet access.
Next time I update you I will be in Asia!
I had a really great break for Christmas. I got to spend time with family and friends and it was just really good to be home. We also got to go to wapo for the staff reunion. It was good to see everyone and exciting to think about next summer. The break went fast but it was so good to be back together with our team when it was over. We had a busy prep week doing a lot of packing and getting some last minute things done. Once we had everything packed we strapped on all of our backpacks and bags and took a practice walk, walking laps around the inside of our prep church. I'm pretty sure that would have been really funny to watch. All together our team and luggage weigh 978 lbs. It's probably around 700 lbs in people...so that's not that much luggage. :)
I am very surprised that I have not been more nervous this week. I don't think it really hit me until tonight. I went through a little nervous phase but I 'm excited to head to the airport soon and get going!
I'm not sure how much internet access I will have but I will try to give updates whenever I get a chance. You can also look at our Youth Encounter online journal: New Dawn Journal
One of us will be writing an entry everyday and we will post them whenever we have internet access.
Next time I update you I will be in Asia!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
