First Letter Home

Note: I’ve decided, for several reasons, to include some emails that I wrote during the trip rather than try to summarize all of the events according to my memory. The writing isn’t incredibly articulate, but it’s more honest and raw than what I get when I try to write from memory. So, there it is! My first update home from the Philippines (sent Thursday morning, 07/08/10):

Our awesome hotel

View from the hotel

Hi! This is the first I've gotten online here. Got here (to the hotel) yesterday...morning? or noon-ish. Something like that. Got settled, then they took us to the mall/grocery store. I realized I had no way to tell time -- I almost always rely on my cell phone, and I'm not carrying it with me here. My roommate was in the same boat. So we found $3 watches at the mall, which we are now wearing. :) Then yesterday evening we had free time but I couldn't get the internet to work on my computer. I was SO tired but I didn't want to go to sleep too early (it was only about 6 or 6:30 when we got back from the mall), so I made myself stay up - finally went to bed about 8:45 or 9.

MacArthur Park

We didn't have to meet in the morning until 9 but I woke up at 5 and couldn't go back to sleep, so I got up about 5:30. I wandered around with my roommate, explored the hotel, took pictures. Then we met at 9, had worship and ate breakfast then the conference people (same ones who took us to the mall - they've been really hospitable & kind) took us out for most of the day. We went to MacArthur park - very neat place. Took lots of pictures. Then we went to some downtown shops & browsed the local goods. Then went to lunch @ a downtown place. Had rice and a mushroom/veggie dish (very good), corn soup with vegetarian oyster sauce (what about oyster sauce is vegetarian? What is their definition of vegetarian? lol. The "vegetarian" soup at the hotel had some chicken in it, we're pretty sure. I think I've had more meat on this trip... but haven't gotten sick! so it's all good), and "halo halo" for dessert - it was purple and gross! Halo halo means "mix mix" and it's sort of like ice cream with tons of... stuff.. .mixed in. It comes all separated: ice, and globby stuff (jelly chunks and a cherry and fruit and cornflakes and beans) and you mix it all up into purple goop and eat it (if you have a strong stomach and taste for strange exotic things). After we ate, we went to Leyte park, which is a beautiful resort-type place on the coast. I think it ties with a place in South Africa and Bahia Salinas as the most beautiful places I've ever been in the entire world. It was like paradise. Some of us swam and a couple of the guys played soccer with the guys there. Took lots of pictures of that place - it was amazing.

Roommates! :)

Then back to the hotel, ate and had class (told us how to do some technical stuff and had us read through our first sermon to get familiar with it). Starting tomorrow, we'll preach 3 sermons in less than 24 hours. It's going to be intense, they say. Oh, and I was wrong - it's 19 sermons in 16 days, not 14 days.

Rambutan!

Today we meet with our team (pastor and translator) and go visit our site and do kind of a run-through - make sure sound works, projector works ,everything technical works, get familiar with the place and our team, and then tomorrow (gulp) we start preaching!!!

Halo Halo

Mmm...

So, yesterday we had an amazing, relaxing day of paradise (“Do you want coconut water?” “Here, try some rambutan.” “Here, let's take you to an amazing resort. Relax, enjoy...”) but today the real hard work starts. Yesterday, we kind of forgot we weren't on vacation! Today, from what we’ve heard, we'll forget we HAD a vacation!

Leyte Park

Love you all and miss you all and please pray!!! Looking forward to preaching tomorrow but I'm really nervous.

Love,

Heidi