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When you see the pictures from my winter vacation, I hope you are pleasantly surprised.  No winter scenes – like snow!  I only had beaches, palm trees, coconuts – you get the idea.  One of the other foreign English teachers here this year with the Ministry of Education,  Betty Magnus who is from Canada, told me she would like to go to the Philippines as well.  So, we made plans, and headed out on Friday, January 25.

Betty came on a morning train so she could see where I live and teach.  After showing Betty around NanAo in the morning and walking to the beach, we had lunch with my pastor, his wife, and his mom and dad.  They took us to visit a place where the man loves cars – an old Cadillac, a fancy old car, and two Hummers.  He also had a garden with a fountain in the back of his house, lots of dogs, and a dog house with two big turtles in it.  All that here in NanAo, and I had never seen that before! 

   

 

Our flight to the Philippines left Taipei around 11 p.m., arriving at around 1 a.m.  We rode to the airport with a taxi driver that knew how to get his vehicle between small spaces at a high rate of speed.  Quite an experience.  So, we flew from Taipei to Cebu.  Our connecting flight left at around 1 p.m.  We managed to sleep on one of the benches in the airport – we arrived tired. 

Cathy and Terry Wedel were waiting for us outside the gate at the little airport in Cagayan de Oro.  They took us out to eat, and then went shopping for a little bit – but we were pretty worn out from the trip.  We eventually arrived at the home of Ed and LouAnn Shackleford, the team directors for the Wedels.  Here is a picture of Terry and Cathy, Lou and Ed, and Betty and me at their home.

 

Sunday, Terry left for church early in the van.  Cathy, Betty and I took some public transportation a little later.  The first vehicle was a bicycle (bicicleta) with a seat – the poor man really had to work with us three ladies in it!  Then we got in a jeepney and rode the rest of the way to church.  That Sunday was a very significant day for the church – they were asking questions of a man who had been recommended to be their pastor.  He is a teacher at the LRF, Life Resource Foundation, where Terry teaches.  They were still asking questions of him when we arrived.  Terry preached that morning, and then the church wanted to vote then.  They were also voting on two men to be elders – and both votes were 100% in favor of!!

   

   

We ate dinner in town at a great restaurant, stopped at the grocery store, and then headed to Ilegan where the Wedels live.  The road was along the beach for a great part of it – beautiful scenery. 

  

 In the evening after supper, we went for a walk that is about 4 kilometers long.  We had lots of people greeting us – very friendly folks.  Here is a picture of Terry and Cathy at their house, and pictures from their front porch.

       

On Monday, we headed to a beach that the Wedels had taken their children to many times.  Terry had picked up some lunch on the way – rice, chicken prepared a special Philippino way.  We girls walked up and down the beach, enjoying the water and the beauty.  We met a man from England, Dave, who is a professional photographer.  He could have talked with us all afternoon – he had so many stories to tell, and we think he missed having someone he could speak English with. 

 

When we got home, us girls went to a neighbor’s house who did manicures and pedicures.  That was the first time Betty had ever had one done, and it was my second one.  Then, after supper (lasagna and a salad), we were each given a massage by another neighbor. 

 

On Tuesday, Terry had to go to the LRF for some final exams.  Betty and I got up very early and went to the market with Cathy.headed to do some shopping for the week.  It was so interesting to see the way people responded to her.  Then, we went sightseeing at some waterfalls in town.  We stopped at the Maria Christina Falls which supplied power to an electric plant.  Not only were the falls beautiful, but the drive back to see them was like driving through a tunnel of trees.  After stopping there, we went to see Tinago Falls.  To get there, we had to drive for quite a ways, and then we had to climb down about 450 steps.  The beauty was almost unbelievable – all around there were little falls to big falls all landing in a pool of aqua blue water.  I took lots of pictures there.  We ran into Dave, the photographer we met at the beach, and he took some pictures for us, too.  Then, we had to climb back up those same steps – stopping along the way to rest. 

       

After lunch at the house, we headed up into the mountains where Cathy has her Bible studies.  She took us to visit the ladies in their homes.  Most of the houses were made of wood, and built on stilts.  The floors were of bamboo – providing ventilation in the very hot months.  The weather was pretty cool there (that’s what they said).  There were many times I had sweat running down my back!  Cathy took us way back into the hills on a path that she says is sometimes up to her knees in mud.  She had prayed that it would be dry for us – and God still answers prayer!  We walked quite a ways back – visiting ladies all along the way. 

   

Because of the love Cathy has shown the ladies, there were two who were in tears only minutes after we got there.  They knew they could tell Cathy their hurts.  One of the other ladies made sure she came to her neighbor’s house because she didn’t want us to see her dirt floor.  Each home has a picture or two on the walls, but many of them we sat on the floor with the ladies.  In all of them, we took off our shoes before we went in. 

What a day – down and up to see the falls, and then walking back over the path which included rocks and rivers, up hills and across valleys.  My legs were sore for a few days – that’s for sure!  We headed home for a great supper of calico beans.  We went for a walk again after supper, too!  I was so thankful that both Betty and I could do all that walking.

Wednesday, we went to see the campus of the LRF – Life Resource Foundation – where Terry teaches.  We met many of the missionaries there.  We saw some of the students, and enjoyed the gardens around the buildings.  Cathy was having a discipleship time with four girls who are graduating, so we sat in on that for a little bit.  When they finished, the girls asked if I would play something on their little keyboard.  It took me a few attempts to figure out how to play it correctly, but then, they sang some songs while I played.  What an honor to play on top of a mountain way over in the Philippines. 

   

After lunch, we packed up and headed back to Cagayan de Oro because our flight was scheduled for ‘early’.  We had supper with the Shackleford’s again – then headed back to their house.  LouAnn had some interesting displays of woven things, such as the hats on the wall.

Thursday, we got up early to a breakfast already prepared for us by their house helper.  How sweet that was!  We headed to the airport – thankful for a great visit, and wanting to visit again because it was so short!  We made it back to Taiwan in the early afternoon – going through some serious turbulence due to the clouds, heavy rains, and strong winds.  What a change from the sunshine and very warm weather!  Betty and I had lunch, and then we each boarded a bus to go to our next destination.  Betty was going to visit some people she had met when she was here seven years ago.  I was going to head back to NanAo.  I arrived safely just before eight in the evening – tired, but ready to be back to my dorm room!  I headed for bed very quickly! 

 

I was so thankful to see Terry and Cathy where they live and work – to see the people they are able to work with, and be able to experience some of what they do every day.  In the midst of poverty, there was beauty.  In the midst of struggles, there was hope through God’s Word. 

Winter vacation is about to begin.  Having two New Year’s celebrations is great – if I forgot something on the first one, I can remember to write it down for this one – speaking of plans for the upcoming year!! 

School is half over for this year now.  The last three days of school were the semester finals.  And much like some of the students back home, there were some who studied.  Being in a different school system has shown me many things – and one of them is that people are pretty much the same the world over!  Imagine that!  

I had mentioned that a large percentage of my students are aboriginal.  A few weekends ago, I spent some time with one of the students and his family, who has a store that sells aboriginal art.  Here is a picture of my student and me wearing some vests his mom made.   

 Did you enjoy doing puzzles when you were younger?  It was a favorite Sunday afternoon pasttime for our family.  Well, I have been enjoying doing puzzles here – and have had help from a teacher and student as well.  I got to see some things I haven’t seen yet except as a picture.  Do you know where these are?  Have you been there? 

  

My Chinese class in Yilan has finished.  When I get back after winter vacation, I will begin taking Chinese lessons with my pastor here in NanAo.  At this point, I feel that my vocabulary is expanding, and I am starting to put sentences together!  The English Bible study is still going on – we will take a break during the vacation.  Here are a couple pictures from some times together. 

       

Just a quick update before I head off for vacation.  I think the Chinese New Year is very comparable with our Christmas season – families get together, and have special traditions they do every year.  I will tell you what all I learn, and share what I get to see and do. 

 Happy New Year - Simplified Chinese : 新年快乐 ;Traditional Chinese : 新年快樂 ; Pinyin : Xīnnián kuàilè