Teaching

This past 4 weeks i was given an opportunity to teach kids again. I was assigned to teach 7-8 years old in our children outreach ministry. I love the experience and I'm so glad that I was able to be around children again after a year of not working as teacher. I do really love children and it really gives me so much joy just being around them, learning and doing fun stuff with them.

The 4 weeks of teaching made me want to reminisce my past 4 years of teaching... In the 4 years i have lots of nice memories of being a teacher. The best memories will be meeting different children and getting to know how special they are. As a teacher i spend a lot of time thinking about each of my pupils and try to observed and understand their temperaments and pray for each of them. And in the 4 years of teaching here are some of the experiences and children that i will always remember:

-my pupils greeting me "Good morning, Ms. Nacion!" in a peculiar intonation.

-the boy who just after i told the class that i will not entertain non-math related question, will frantically raise his hand in the middle of problem solving and ask "Ms. Nacion can we sing the "with Christ in my vessel" song".

-times when you decided to sports new hairstyle or just wear a new shade of lipstick, student will instantly comment on it as you enter the classroom. Sometime i will feel like i'm in this celebrity show that either praise or ridicule celebreties for their appearance, or a contestant of "America's Next Top Model" being scrutinized by more than 10 judges. And hear comments like, "teacher i don't like your lipstick", the other one will say "no, it's nice", the funniest one was a group of girls debating whether i am still pretty or not for cutting my hair short.


-Christian: a cute little boy who is very smart but very hyperlexic. He likes all subject, gets excited about singing time and will just burst out something in the middle of the class. There was a time when we are studying math and while im explain he pranctically raise his hand and when i called him he stood

-Justin: a boy who comes from a very messed up family, and has attitude issue, will always find away to irritate me and openly say that he hates me. Only to find out that he just wants attention. I was given a chance to tutor him after class and during the time i spent with him I was able to understand him and why he has this kind of attitude. I was glad that i was able to talk about Jesus and how He loves him a lot. I found a soft spot in his heart and im glad to be able to minister to him even for awhile before he was expelled from the school.

-Samuel: one of the student in my advisory class. He is a smart boy, he loves English and speaks very fluently with it. He likes to read books and tell stories. But i don't with the other boys in the class, he is always being bullied but rarely that i see him retaliate toward the other boys treatment to him. I tried to comfort him though by showing interest in what he does and listen to his stories. One day his mom wrote me a letter and it was so sweet she mentioned that one of the reasons Samuel wants to go to school was because of me. That was really a nice encouragement to me to continue being a caring teacher.

These are just some of the memories I have and I will always remember how wonderful it is to be a teacher.

Our anniversary

One Funny morning...

the last couple of months before joshua left... we often had a rather amusing morning.

I'm having hard time sleeping at night so my sweet husband will let me stay in bed a little longer but sometimes i extend sleep a little longer than his grace period so josh job is to wake me up and he can really so be creative in how to wake me... so my morning can go from waking up with kisses to waking up to a bed shaking or someone jumping on bed...

but one morning was different... no kisses, no pulling, no bright lights, no shaking and jumping... i wake up by my self and when i opened my eyes here is what greeted me that morning...


little bears looking at me... (joshua wasn't in the room that time) so i was a bit surprised how did the bears get there. Of course no one will do that except my husband... i was laughing so hard that morning.

a little background about the tebby bear joke... one day i was with josh on bed. Josh is working and I'm trying to put a new SIM card on my cellphone, it took me awhile to figure out how to open the phone so i placed the SIM card just beside but when i was about to put it on the phone the SIM was no where to be found. We look all over the room and couldn't find it. It was only the two of us and teddy on the bed. Josh didn't get it because he's busy working so we conclude that it was the teddy who got it. Until now we haven't found the SIM card, it's really a mistery to us. So our joke is that all the bears in the house are schemers and plotting to overtake us and that they move when we are not looking.

Some happenings in naga.

last week was a very busy week for the catholic community here in Naga. It's the festival of their patron. This festival is the biggest marian festival in the Philippines so this is really being taken seriously by the people of Naga. But of course to some it is a source of annoyance.

Some People really don't get the point of their own festival(aside from the more obvious points missed in the Bible). So during the festival that supposed to honor their patron saint, there are street parties with people making so much noise, music that is not edifying and has nothing to do with what they are celebrating, and dj shouting "hey people in the house, make some more nosie" as if the heart pounding noise that they are making is not yet enough and fire some firecrackers at 2:30 in the morning!. And then there are overflowing of achoholic drinks and of course some people just drink in gusto and get drunk (so some go to masses the next day with hang over from last night drinking sessions), then there are all these street vendors that blocks the traffic and people littering all around. By the way, our place is in with in the main celebrating area so we are witness to these perrenial activity.

Im not maligning or something, it's not only me that observes these umpleasant happening even the catholic bishop is againts all this. But this has become the tradition and this tradition degenerates... What is really the essence of this festival? Do all the people attending it knows what they are celebrating or they are just there for the fun and profit they can get out of the feista. Just like celebration of Christmas, most people are missing the point...


from the inside of our church, you need to excuse yourself going inside the gate because vendors are blocking the driveway.

The street becomes a market overnight. You can find all sorts of stuff on sale...

We are in the coner of the street going to the Basilica where the patron is.
The sides of our church was occupied by vendors (without even asking permission from the church)

Symbols

I've been spending a lot of time recently studying the covenants and sacraments... two aspects of Christian theology that seem rather connected and which I feel have layers of meaning that I've never really understood. I find it interesting that when God makes covenants with people and this relationship is intended to remain for future generations there is a sign, something tangible, physical, involving the senses and not just any sign... the sign is involved in the relationship. When the rain comes down and all creation sees the bow in the clouds it is a reminder of a promise to not flood the earth again, when Abraham is promised a great nation with a prosperous future, the anatomical element most involved in that process is marked. But the really interesting ones to me are the sabbath and the Lord's supper. The sabbath seems to be both the sign and the expected resolution. The Jews are to take part in a restful celebration which only the prosperous, at peace, and landed could really be expected to have. In an agricultural society you don't take days off during peak periods unless you already have more than you need. And the idea of taking a year off is totally absurd. Only a nation with incredible prosperity could allow everyone to take a year off. And so they take a day off to experience by faith a taste of what they are promised. The Lords supper is even more complex... complex because there are so many symbols at work in upper room meal that it is like a venn diagram of Hebrew theology. The night before the passover is when the people remember the blood of the lamb presented to the angel of death as a model of substitutionary atonement, Jesus then says that the cup is the new covenant in my blood, inaugurating the new covenant promised in Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel where a law written on people's hearts, the Holy Spirit indwelling, God dealing with the individual rather than the nation and personal forgiveness will be the relationship. But what does the symbol have to do with the relationship? The way that sacrifices worked in the Old Testament was commonly that of a shared meal between the individual, the community and God. In the same way, this is intended to place focus on the new community, a community of even more complete access and community with God through Jesus, the once for all sacrifice, and through that a community with people called out from every tongue and tribe and nation. Since the sacrifice of Christ ends the need for other sacrifices and inaugurates a new mode of relationship the symbol of a meal, the most communal point in both Ancient Near Eastern Custom as well as Greco-Roman culture (and in most other cultures in the world) so the symbol appropriately points to the nature of the covenant.

Year 1

Last August 25 is our 1 year anniversary. It was a bittersweet day because we are happy that we are now on our first year and bitter because Josh also went back to the US that day.

We didn't do much special that day. We start the day with breakfast then check out from the hotel and then go to an Ocean Park, then to a Zoo, went shopping and then eat dinner at fast food restaurant. After our quick dinner we head back to our hotel to pick up our luggage then went to the airport. We only spend less than 5 minutes to say goodbye. I don't like goodbyes and i know if I stay a bit longer i would burst into tears and won't let go of josh... I will tell more about it in my next blog and share pictures as well.

Over breakfast Joshua came up with a discussion question (josh has lots of discussion question over the past 2 years of relationship). The question is "What are the most special moments of our marriage over the past year?". That day i wasn't able to answer his question fully since recalling it will make me sad even more. So i will answer that question here.

Well, I want to say that all the moment i spent with Joshua is special, but i know to some it would be overrated but that's what i feel. Yeah, I'm a super in-love bride and i hope and pray that i'd stay the same for the rest of our married life. I'm not saying that everything about Joshua or in me or in our marriage per se are perfect. There are things that annoys me about Joshua but it is so little compared to how awesome he is, so it balances everything.

I will just share my top 5 special moments (not in particular order):

1. Being married and embracing being a housewife means embracing house chores. I really hate chores but that's the thing i need to do but my sweet husband makes things easier for me.
what so special about chores? Chores per se is not special not even fun but doing chores with Joshua is special. Why? Well my good husband will drop everything he is doing to help me squeeze off water from every single clothes that I'm washing and hang them in the clothesline because our washing machine doesn't have dryer? Once and a while he do dishes and does it spick-and-span. He cooks for me and clean his room. And after a long day of seemingly endless chores my consolation is an appreciative husband who gives me lots and lots of hugs and kisses even if I'm all sweaty and stinky.

2. When I'm terrified Joshua, my knight-in-shining-armor, will always be there to slay all the leeches, ants, mosquitoes, and all forms of crawling creatures that will come my way. He's just a squeal away...

3. I love traveling but I have never travel that much until i met Josh. Our first year i think we've been to Batangas, Tagaytay, Bohol(2X), Boracay(3X), Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand, Puerto Galera, Antipolo, Cebu. I've never traveled this much my whole life. And every travel is a nice one and lots of fun. The fisrt time i got to ride an airplane after 18 years (I got scared of height) was with Joshua, he was a very supportive person and he makes sure that i feel confident and tried to encouraged me.

4. I was used to doing ministry and i enjoyed it a lot. And doing it with Josh is a special moment for me. Every teaching he will have, he will talk about it with me first and ask my opinion about it. We prepare for it together, even if he's the only one teaching he makes me be involve by letting me do introduction and summing up of his teaching (when he teaches the young people). It is nice to know that my husband value my thoughts and is willing to involve me in what he is doing.

5. We are both naturally less talker people, but when we talk to each other we can just go on and on. When we talk it can be real silly or so serious. But whatever we talk about, even if it is about the ants in the kitchen or the book of Numbers we both enjoy conversing with each other. This made us more open to each other and understand each other. And I'm learning a lot from joshua, he's my walking dictionary, concordance and encyclopedia...

So these are some of the special moment i had with josh for the past year of our marriage.

P.S.


Over the past year Joshua have been feeding me well... i've never been so big like this.


OUR ANNIVERSARY PHOTO

Randomness Part 2

OK, so my wife tagged me a month and a half ago and now I'm finally finishing the post.

So, I need to describe random things about myself, which will be difficult because I am so normal. Yeah, OK I couldn't even keep a straight face with that and I'm sitting in a coffee shop with only strangers around and typing rather than talking... so here goes:

1. When I'm eating I'm almost always either watching a TV show, reading, or talking... and if I'm not doing any of those I will be focused and finish in under 10 min.

2. I'm the kind of person who is most often a social observer rather than an interactor. My grandfather was the same. When I lived with him we would often go days without saying more than 5 or 6 words to each other during the day. Not because we weren't close or having a good time; we would sit in side-by-side chairs watching TV in the evening. But we just didn't see the need to talk.

3. I had a significant hearing loss when I was young (70% in one ear, 30% in the other) which really affected my speech development... for a year or so pretty much just my older sister Heidi could understand what I was saying and she would act as my interpreter. I still have to be careful to adjust my speaking patterns for humans who can't read minds or have to hear with their ears rather than being connected to my jawbone as an amplifier.

4. At inconvenient times typically due to lack of sleep and significant stress I get massive migranes that move from headache to nausea to fever, and if I don't manage to get back home and asleep before it goes to the fever phase (that usually takes 8 hours) then it will take me approximately 14 hours of bedrest to recover.

5. Despite having been in a number of amusment parks I have never ridden a significant rollercoaster, but I have done a bunch of rock climbing as well as a variety of other heights related things (tree climbing, parasailing, jumping from the roofs of houses, climbing the ceiling of my old church, etc.)

My friend Glen

I have mentioned in my previous post my friend Glen. And now that i have remembered him I will tell you the rest of the story of summers with Glen.

Glen Irving, i called him GI. His the grandson of one of my grandfather's friend at church. They live just next door so i always go to their place. Glen was left to the care of his grandparents because his parents are both working. Glen is not a so bubbly baby and a bit shy. I tried to play with him while he is in hi crib and when i was to leave he was wailing and wanted to go with me so a carried him out the crib and and played with him. That time on every day i will go to their house and spend time with him. I basically became his nanny but i wasn't thinking of that because i love him. I spend my whole 3 months of vacation with him.

Couple of summer pass and i wasn't able to see him but i always remember him. Then when i was 14 I was able to have a chance to spend summer at my grandfather's again. When i visited their house i thought he had forgotten me already but i was wrong, he instant went to me and and sat on my lap. Glen was turning 3 this time. He was walking and talking already. So it was a bit more fun again. We will always hang out in the hammock and i will just sing silly song to him and answer all his silly questions. He is a happy toddler and very cute and funny. Had fun again that summer.

Then the next summer i have so much to do for church and school that i have no time to have vacation. His aunt visited us though after a few months. I was so excited to hear about him... im expecting a happy story but his aunt started to cry and told me... "Glen died two weeks ago. He was hit by a motorbike". Glen was so excited to see his parents across the street while playing in his grandfather's yard and run across the street and not seeing a fast moving motorbike coming... he was hit hard on the head, he didn't even made it to the hospital. I cried so much hearing that sad news...

But G.I. will always be in my heart and it always gives me smile everytime i remember him. He is one of the reason i come to love babies and little children. And I will never forget him.

Randomness

I was tagged for 7 randomness by Aimee. Which is perfect because i need to blog but i can't find some topic to talk about.

so here's a bits about me... (it is originally only 7 but i got so carried away so i came up with 12)

1. I love crayons and different coloring materials, as a child i can spend hours looking and arranging my crayons. I hate it when my crayon's get broken and get small. Right now i still have that fascination. Last Christmas of 2006 Joshua (still boyfriend then) gave me a Swiss watch with diamonds on it that was so beautiful but when I opened my sister's gift I dropped the watch (sorry darling) and got so into my sister's gift, my sister gave me a set of oil, watercolor, acrylic, pastel, pencil, markers. but though I love them i seldom use it.

2. I don't like wearing jewelry that much. My husband gave me a watch, bracelet and of course our engagement and wedding ring. I seldom wear them but I love looking at them but wearing it is too much for me to handle. I even almost lost my engagement ring hours before our wedding and made everyone go searching for it in the hotel room and the garden... but we found it again.

3. So Joshua learned, he didn't give me any jewelry as gift. He said it works for him well since he won't get bankrupt. But i think he's wrong, because it costs him a lot more to date and to have a relationship with me. Well, in the span of 2 years josh has been traveling half-way around the globe just to be with me... But he said I am worth all the cost and effort... ahhh... any girl will really fall for him. He said that his brother calls his trip "The flight for love number ___" I think he will be working on the 5th sequel if i still can't my visa.

4. US Visa eludes me.

5. I have screwed body clock... at night i am able to sleep at around 3 am because something keeps on making a weird noise and our room feels like you're in north pole at night. I don't know why?... josh do you know why? ;-)

6. I love to cook now because my husband is so amazing to feed... he likes to eat the food i make and I always get a kiss after every meal... ahhh We concluded that we have the same taste for food, what is delicious for me is also delicious for him.

7. I love the beach though i get rashes everytime i touch salt water (or whatever that is in the water) ... that's really a bummer!

8. I Love ICE CREAM... i can eat it every day but josh limits me to 1 ice cream a week.

9. I am fond of babies and little children, that's probably why i love reading my sister inlaws talk about their children.

10. When i was 11 i have friend i met while vacationing at my grandfather's place. We got close the first time we met. We are always together, play together, he will not eat without me, i will always tell him story and take naps together, where ever i go he wants to go with me. That summer was really a fun and memorable one, and when it was time for me to go back home he cried a lot and won't let me go. I will never forget him..... His name is Glean Irving, and he was 8 months old that time. I told you i like babies...

11. When I was little i don't have that much toys. I think im the only girl who doesn't have barbie doll then. well my mom was able to afford a plastic doll that adore (even if my classmates said it's cheap) and i even ask my grandmother to teach me operate the sewing machine to be able to make little clothes for my doll. But what i was really dreaming that time was a big teddy bear. On my birthday after going to church Ptr. Waters and his wife (our missionary) surprised me with a big pink teddy bear. I was so happy to have one atlast and cried a lot. I was crying for joy from the time i opened the gift until we are going home. I think my mom, told me to stop crying because people are looking at us already.

12. When i was a baby my mom named me Gennievieve, but my uncle who's still young that time teased me "Gennie PIG" because i was a bit chubby so my mom changed it to Kathyren Joy because they don't want me to be called names when i grow up... but i think it din't help that much because I have so many nick names from different group of people. At home: my dad calls me buljat, my mom calls me: duday, my big brother calls me: bedong, my big sister: sisterrette. Some of my aunts and uncles calls me "Padang", "Joyie", "Baby Joy". At church I am now called simply "Joy" but those people that i have known since childhood still calls me "Baby Joy" even if im so obviously not a baby anymore. At school, work and friends calls me Kathy, Kat, Katrina and Ligaya.

So that's some of the weird and funny bits about me... I have no one to tagged to keep this on... i think just joshy...

Our own Comic strip

Joshua and I were looking for something we can do together. Since he likes stories and I like drawing, an idea of making a comic strip came. So we sat down together and planned about it.

So here is what we came up with.

Comic Strip name: Barrio Tales



Setting: Barrio Makulit (tagalog for silly/fun)


Characters:

Bob
Fidget

Barrio Tales

Ancient Quotes That Seem Relevant

Relevant to corporate and church authority structures

“We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up in teams we would be reorganized. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing. And a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress whilst producing confusion, inefficiency and demoralization.”

-- Gaius Petronius, AD 66

relevant to apologetic discussions especially in light of the new Atheists

Hence Sacred Scripture,
since it has no science above itself, can dispute with one who denies
its principles only if the opponent admits some at least of the truths
obtained through divine revelation; thus we can argue with heretics
from texts in Holy Writ, and against those who deny one article of
faith, we can argue from another. If our opponent believes nothing of
divine revelation, there is no longer any means of proving the
articles of faith by reasoning, but only of answering his
objections--if he has any--against faith. Since faith rests upon
infallible truth, and since the contrary of a truth can never be
demonstrated, it is clear that the arguments brought against faith
cannot be demonstrations, but are difficulties that can be answered.

-- Thomas Aquinas (Summa Theologica Eighth Article [I, Q. 1, Art. 8])


relevant to discussion boards and knock-down drag-out arguments especially through passive media (email, posting, etc.)

If the feeble mind of man did not presume to resist the clear evidence of truth, but yielded its infirmity to wholesome doctrines, as to a health-giving medicine, until it obtained from God, by its faith and piety, the grace needed to heal it, they who have just ideas, and express them in suitable language, would need to use no long discourse to refute the errors of empty conjecture. But this mental infirmity is now more prevalent and hurtful than ever, to such an extent that even after the truth has been as fully demonstrated as man can prove it to man, they hold for the very truth their own unreasonable fancies, either on account of their great blindness, which prevents them from seeing what is plainly set before them, or on account of their opinionative obstinacy, which prevents them from acknowledging the force of what they do see. There therefore frequently arises a necessity of speaking more fully on those points which are already clear, that we may, as it were, present them not to the eye, but even to the touch, so that they may be felt even by those who close their eyes against them. And yet to what end shall we ever bring our discussions, or what bounds can be set to our discourse, if we proceed on the principle that we must always reply to those who reply to us? For those who are either unable to understand our arguments, or are so hardened by the habit of contradiction, that though they understand they cannot yield to them, reply to us, and, as it is written, "speak hard things," and are incorrigibly vain. Now, if we were to propose to confute their objections as often as they with brazen face chose to disregard our arguments, and so often as they could by any means contradict our statements , you see how endless, and fruitless, and painful a task we should be undertaking. And therefore I do not wish my writings to be judged even by you, my son Marcellinus, nor by any of those others at whose service this work of mine is freely and in all Christian charity put, if at least you intend always to require a reply to every exception which you hear taken to what you read in it; for so you would become like those silly women of whom the apostle says that they are "always learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." 2 Timothy 3:7

-- Augustine (City of God, book 2 chapter 1)

I Baked my first batch of cookies!

I successfully baked my first cookies!

I'm a foodie person but I'm limited to just appreciating good food but not cooking. Now that i'm married i started to learn to cook. Well my husband so far is eating mostly all the food i cooked.

Now I'm trying baking. Momma Lori gave me some recipes last Christmas. Josh likes Oatmeal Raisin cookies so I tried making the Recipe Momma Crank gave me. It was really easy. After baking the first batch it was a big hit to josh and my brother.

Here are the cookies that Josh instantly devoured...

Philemon

A number of years ago a mentor, Bob Montgomery, mentioned something about that smallest of Paul's letters that stuck with me. What he said was that Philemon and the personal endings of the Paul are similar in type. They are the messy details of ministry, the stuff of personal relationships that is the actual work of ministry.

It is easy to skip past these bits of personal conversations long past, but as it turns out we keep on having these conversations... the exact names and details change but its pretty much the same conversations about the same issues. And the same issues of obedience that make up the majority of how we live.

The letter to Philemon is an appeal of a Christian leader imprisoned for his faith to a wealthy church leader to show mercy to a new Christian for the wrongs of his unbelieving life and free him up to ministry.

there are lots of big issues involved in this letter, slavery, the change in what it means to be human after salvation, leadership authority in the church. But instead of developing a deep and philosophical treatise on redeemed anthropology (like Romans 6-8) or referencing the convicting social messages of Micah, Paul steps into the details and the people's lives. Not as a theologian but as a pastor.

So Paul does what every pastor should and all are afraid to do. He asks people to do what is right and gives them the freedom to do what is right and loving, or not. Paul sends one person who is very helpful to him on a very unhelpful journey to seek reconciliation with someone who has all the power to make his life miserable, opportunity-less, and even short. And Paul has no power to make sure that things go right, he can only pray and exhort. He does this because the repairing of the church family is more important than the immediate opportunity for a visibly dynamic and exciting ministry.

Paul doesn't say to Philemon that slavery is wrong, he doesn't say that Onesimus can't be held responsible for his criminal behavior because he is a new Christian, what he says is that he hopes Philemon will continue to do what he does so well, refresh the hearts of the saints. Paul asks Philemon to refresh his heart by showing mercy and grace to this new brother despite this brother being undeserving. He prays that God would help Philemon to know (and by inference to act upon the knowledge) of everything that is in him for Christ's sake. To see this messiness as an opportunity to show love and grace not just a situation in which he was wronged.

It is this perspective that is the Christian perspective. The recognition that situations marred by simply bad choices can become a complex good. God's glory shown in its full power in our weakness like fiery torches in humble clay pots bursting with light and goodness when brokenness is embraced.

shopping with joshua

Last saturday we went to a mall to buy some work out clothes for joshua and some more clothes for me. We easily find some for him but for me i always have a hard time since i think my body proportion is too weird that it takes really good hunting before i can get one that really fits. Anyway, so we are on our quest to find one. we searched the whole department store and can't find one, then we finally got in this bargain section in the mall. As you can see im a bit picky when buying stuff so it really takes me a while to shop... I got excited to see a blouse that i really like the design but unfortunately they don't have my size. Then i found the right size, same style but different color, an apple green one. And a funny conversation follows..

Josh : "there you go!" [sounding very thrilled that i finally found one after a long search],
me: "but i don't like the color.." "i like the style but i hate the color.."
Josh: "but darling the shirt your wearing now is the exactly the same color."
me: "nooooo! it's not!" (me in disbelief) [get the shirt placed it beside the shirt i'm wearing] "look it's not the same" [an it was indeed the same color and shade]
Josh: "no, it is exactly the same darling"
me: "no it's different..." [place back the blouse and move on to another stall]

We never bought anything for me...

When we are back home and just chatting we recall that incident and went laughing so hard because of my silliness. Well i really don't like to buy the shirt that josh quite liked but i gave a very lame excuse...

Some Filipino moments

Here are a couple Filipino moments I (Joshua) have experienced:

Preaching after a typhoon:

A typhoon blew through Manila the night before I was scheduled to preach. Now a typhoon is essentially a hurricane that spins the opposite direction, this particular one was a signal three which roughly equals a category 1 hurricane (75 MPH winds). The morning after Joy and I talked to pastor Joey who was out of town preaching in Cavite and verified that church was indeed on. It takes more than a little hurricane to cancel church in the Philippines. So Joy and I got up and walked the long road out while it was quite heavily raining and stood with umbrellas getting slowly soaked as we waited for a taxi. This is a very inexact process as a free taxi willing to go to the next area over may show up in 5 minutes or 45 minutes. It took a while (I think 15-20 minutes) and when the taxi pulls over the next thing that happens is the discussion of where you are going and this is the point at which taxi drivers who think they have you at an advantage ask for more than the meter rate. Since we were standing out in the rain and the general public transportation traffic was pretty thin the taxi driver asked for a bit more than the typical fare which we complied with and finally got to church. At church the electricity was out and the congregation was mostly youth and people slowly arrived throughout the service, but the service went on as normal. I got up to preach, sans microphone, still damp. and when we were done, since most of the youth were there, we decided we would have youth service and sent one of the leaders (Jon Sabinano) out for Pancit (a Filipino pasta dish). We had a short Bible study and some longer discussion time (since I hadn't planned on having a youth time the Bible study was what I came up with and prepared in the 30 minutes between the end of service and the beginning of the youth meeting). All in all a good time was had and Joy and I headed home where the streets were somewhat flooded so that the taxi couldn't take us all the way back, we had to ride a jeepney the rest of the way (since they have higher clearance).

Shower fun:

I was sitting at the computer in our bedroom in Naga City and heard a squeal from the bathroom. I hesitate to call it a squeal but the sound was high and sharp with a certain amount of terror like a scream but not very drawn out and not yet in the ear-piercing range. So mildly concerned (I do hear these from time to time) I get up and poke my head in the bathroom where Joy is showering and I see her obviously avoiding an area of the shower. She points down and there is a big (3-4 inch) slimy leech hanging out partially under the shower curtain. So I grab a washcloth and toss the leech into the toilet and flush it away to leech heaven, or more likely to the sewer system where it will grow into a person sized monster and terrorize the bicol region for years to come... or something. After that little experience I am a bit more circumspect with the lights and looking around in the bathroom to see who else I am sharing it with at the moment.


Flip Flops:

I have never really worn flip-flops for long periods of time but in the Philippines about 75% of the people at any particular time are wearing flip-flops. I think at church it may be down to 50% but that is the only exception. So I figured I need to develop my flip flopping and started wearing flip flops around. We actually got the first pair because the sandals I brought with me got messed up in Puerto Galera and I needed some sort of footwear for the journey back to Manila. So Joy got me a cheap pair there. I wore those for a while and they built up interesting callouses and I learned that the typical scenario why flip flops are so loved (constant rain and wetness) also makes wearing them a little challenging since you feet need keep holding on to somewhat slippery footwear. So aside from the callouses I have been learning the additional skill of walking with slippery footwear. The final test of course is not just the callouses or the slipperyness but going out while raining and riding on the back of a motor cycle in a tricyle carrying 5 people with a bag in your hands, i.e. today. Actually it was not that challenging of a ride, and I passed with flying colors (no wobbling or footwear lost). My current most challenging tricycle ride has been the ride from the main town of Caramoan to the beach. The road back and forth is extremely bumpy and there is one ridiculous bump which is the transition from dirt to concrete (a little like jumping a curb) only the road at that point goes steeply up so the tricycle has to be moving relatively quickly. At one point I had to basically hold momma Nacion in the tricycle because it was bouncing her out of the backward facing seat. That was a bumpy ride.


So there are some of my Filipino moments.

Bohol and Cebu Vacation

I know this entry is long overdue so before I narrate the rest of the stories about our recent vacation, i want to let all of you know that we are now in Naga. We have a very relaxing time here and i may say that we are still in vacation mode... though Josh is working at daytime while watching "buffy the vampire slayer" on his i-pod. ... if buffy is a real girl i would really get jealous of her... Josh spend more hours watching her than me... anyway, i on the other hand am hooked with playing on the computer. My parents' computer has bunch of games like scrabble, chess and other word games. I compete with my mom and big brother as to who will use the computer, they are both scrabble junkies. Then we are also started going back to the gym working out and even joining some aerobic classes. We are not used to aerobics so we both move lousily thus looking really funny, i even almost kick the person in front of me. Then this coming august Josh and I will be teaching the young people of church. So that's the over view of our stay here in naga.

Ok, back to my topic, our cebu and bohol vacation....


We left Boracay july 4, our flight to cebu was canceled and the next flight was flying from Kalibo airport (the nearby town about 2 hours drive). We are not really in a hurry so we agreed to fly from there. For consolation for all the trouble the airline gave us travel voucher equivalent to one plane ticket for both of us, YAY free airfare!! Kalibo by that time was just recently devastated by a typhoon so there are lots broken road, knocked down trees and street covered with mud. The trip was an interesting one but we were late but the plane waited for us.

We arrived in Cebu safely but our baggage was lost and we spend a bit of time talking to people. Then we went to the condotel we are staying. We decided to stay in serviced aparment so that it would be cheaper and we could save from eating out. Our unit was nice, it has a small kitchen, nice furnitures and good internet connection. Also the location of the condo is very accessible from all the cool places in Cebu.
This is the front of the building we are staying

This is our room. Josh is working here.
The small kitchen.
Mr. Mantis

our constant visitor...


(i broke this vase and we pay P300 when all along the price tag on the bottom of the vase only says P79)

Here'a a brief background of the city of Cebu... cebu is the oldest city in the Philippines, in cebu there's Mactan Island, it is the isalnd that Ferdinand Magellan discovered while he is circumnavigating the world, but in a unfaithful event this is also where he was killed by a chieftain name Lapu-Lapu, our first national hero. Now a days cebu is one of the largest and most developed cities in the philippines, second to manila. I liked cebu because traffic is not that bad, taxi drivers are honest and the cost of living there is very cheap. Though most people there will only talk to you in their own dialect, so for us to understand we need to speak English or little in tagalog.

Unfortunately we didn't really toured cebu. Josh was working daytime and I toured Cebu once already. There is nothing much to see in the city proper, just historical sites which is main attraction are statues. Our activities are mainly trying out nice restaurant, we liked especially Kura Thai. It is so thai that we feel like we are in Thailand when we dined there.

Then we were able to have a chance to meet one of my friend from Naga that is now based there. She was married to a pastor in Cebu and they are not doing ministry in one of the nearby town in cebu. It was nice hanging out with her again, she has a 1 1/2 old baby that is so restless.

There are many beaches as well in cebu. We went to a resort named Costabella. It is a nice resort with swimmingpool and beachfront. The swimming pool is decent, it has a slide that josh loved but i never tried. I'm never a fan of extreme activities, yes i consider pool slide extreme!... it's really scary for me. The beachfront is not that nice, it doesn't look natural because of all the breakwaters they put and it's quite filthy. But we still enjoyed our short trip there. My apology for not putting picture here. We totally forgot about our camera when going around.

Then we did a day trip to bohol. Bohol a province near cebu, its a 2-hours ferry ride from cebu.
Here's funny story before i go on. I was booking a ferry ticket by the phone:

Joy: Yes, i would like to book two tickets going to Bohol Please...
Operator: May I know whose calling?
Joy: This is Joy Crank
Operator: ah, ms joy frank.
Joy: No, Joy Crank (saying it slowly)
Operator: [after trying hard to decipher and still mumble a wrong surname] ma'am can you spell that for me.
Joy: it's J-O-Y C-R-A-N-K
Operator: Ah, Joy Crank. Ma'am who's the other passenger?
Joy: I'm travelling with my husband, Joshua.
Operator: your husband ma'am. What's his name?
Joy: Joshua.
Operator: Ma'am, may I know his surname.
Joy: Crank. [yeah. what else?]
Operator: can you spell it for me...
Joy: [trying to be patient for lack of common sense]

We got the ticket the next day. And when we looked at the ticket, Josh ticket says: Mr. Joshua Vrank. So the whole day I've been calling him Mr. Vrank.

Ok, back to our trip to Bohol. We were able to find a good tour guide. We are lucky because there are only the two of us that the tour guide has so we were able to have a good command of our time (we don't need to wait or be hurried by others).



We left Cebu very early so we can catch the earliest trip to bohol. We wanted to be there early so we can have more time there.
This is the kind of ferryboat we ride to but a little bigger. When i first ride a boat like this i was really scared. Well it was a school retreat that is going to be held in cebu, during that day a strong storm just pass by so it was a little wavy. When we are in the middle of our trip the wave suddenly became bigger and our boat is being splashed with waves in every direction and the there will be sudden rocking and swaying movement... it was really scary. I was sitting with my co-teacher and he has been used to travel by sea yet he was so scared already. To calm myself a bit i just sit still and humming one of my favorite Sunday school song "with Christ in my vessle"...


Our first stop is the chocolate hills. Bohol has aroun 1200 plus hills that are clustered in one area. Americans named it chocolate hill because it look like hershey's kisses, well when it summer time the grass dried and the hill turns brown.
We are on the top of one hill.

There are over 300 steps going up. I don't like going down, because the steps are so steep.

Then we passed by a man made forest. I think decades ago this forest was already denuded from all the irresponsible logging activities so the people there planted new trees. Then bohol is well known for its native Tarsier. I think it's only in bohol that this little creature can be found. It is considered the smallest primate in the world. This two tarsier in the picture are full grown adult already.


Joshy feeding a tarsier with a cricket.

On our way to lunch we stopped by a hanging bridge. It's made up of a bamboo, well not all but the stuff we are stepping at are bamboo and it looked like very old already so i didn't cross it. I can't stand being in a high place and the bridge is swinging because of all the people on it.
Josh on the other hand liked it. Look no hands!

This is Loboc river, they said that normally the water is clean and clear. But when we visited it just been raining so hard so the water is diluted with mud.
We had a lunch in one of the many floating restaurant. An acoustic singer serenade us as we cruise the river. The food is not that good but a relaxing cruise was nice.
The raft of the restaurant was just being pushed by a small motored boat.

Then ate the end of the cruise a group of ukulele players gave us an energetic song and dance number.

The kids are dancing.



A little further from our last stop are series of small waterfalls.

After lunch we visited a small zoo, which its main attraction is the longest and largest phython in captivity here in the Philippines. A local caught it 7 years ago and take cared of it so it grew this big. I forgot the exact figure but it's really huge!!!





Then we also stopped by an old church. The Baclayon Church


There was wedding going to be held that afternoon so aisle is decatated with flowers. The wedding color was bright pink and yellow. So looking at the wedding party looks so bright at high noon, or i think even at night.
The old convent.

Then we had a short stop at the shrine of Miguel Lopez de Legaszpi (a spanish explorer) and Datu Sikatuna (a chieftain in bohol). They said that they have their blood compact here for a good friendship between Filipinos and Spanish. Well that blood compact didn't go that well because for 300 years Philippines was oppressed by some cruel spanish leaders. But one good thing that Spanish has brought to the Philippines was Christianity, well most Filipinos are Roman Catholics and some traditions are still here but at least it made the country very open to evangelization.

We finished our tour at around 2:00 pm and our boat leaves at 6:00 PM so we decided to just go to a mall and watched a movie. So our tour guide dropped us to a new mall near the Pier. The tour was really fun and very cheap! When i made an arrangement with the tour agency what i understood was it will be P2200 per head. So when Im about to pay the tour guide he said that we need to pay P2200. I was surprised and even confirmed it by asking "2200 for the two of us? " It was really a good deal because in our hotel the same tour will cost 4000 per head. We were so happy that we gave the tour guide a big tip!


So that ends our Trip to Bohol.