Island Hopping!

This was such a fun day! We brought a group of kids from the shelter, along with some new friends from MN and we went to a couple islands and snorkeling in the ocean for the day!
Don't I look like a pro! :) I definitely got me salt intake for the day. Took me awhile to get the hang of *not drinking the water.
A group of me and my Minnesota friends! We had a blast! Two of the girls work at the shelter's school and another one goes to Bethel's nursing program. Pretty much all the missionaries out here are from MN, which is really cool.

Me and Hanna! We've had fun experiencing parts of the Philippines for the first time together! She is going to Bethel right now and wants to become a nurse overseas. I am loving teaching music here! I think that I might just have to finish up school and head back over here! There is such a need for piano teachers! I loved snorkeling! It was amazing! Look at what I found! :) ha, I even got sung by a jellyfish. yeah, it hurt - almost as bad as the sunburn.
The water was really neat where it changes color. There are over 7,000 islands in the Philippines! Cebu is one of the bigger ones.

Maayo man ~

I have been busy teaching bible, music, and piano lessons to the students here. The kids can be quite a handful at times. There is a lot of sickness and the fever going around. Please pray that I don't get sick. I am taking reliv and trying to stay healthy! I am loving it here though. The people are so friendly and the children melt your heart! I've also began taking Cebuano lessons from a private teacher. They are coming along. :)
We were invited to the neighbors birthday party. This is a picture of the 3 special guests. I was a little taken aback at the main course, but being adventurous I did try some. (as it stared me in the face.) The skin is the best part - so they say. However, I think otherwise. I skipped out on the blood pudding. Mainly ate birthday cake and ice cream.
I have been trying a lot of new and neat foods. By the look on my face you can tell that I am telling myself: "this is delicious!" That was actually a really cool restaurant that the Guills and I went to. You basically choose what kind of noodles, veggies, meats, and sauces you want, and then all they do is cook it.

Here is the huge Cebu mall. It is very impressive and they have pretty much every store.

I went on a city tour with some parents from America adopting here in Cebu. I also visited the children shelter for the first time, and was touched by all the happy children. It made me want to adopt someday. The kids are all so precious and run up to you and give you hugs. There are several people from MN who are working there. It made me feel at home meeting other Minnesotans! One girl just arrived who is my age and is going to Bethel's Nursing program. I thought that was really cool because that's where Camille goes.

Everyday traffic in Cebu. I couldn't tell how many lanes there are. Driving here is insane. For those of you who know me, I wouldn't make it. :P

This picture does not speak fully of all the poverty here. The smell of sewage is everywhere. I think that I am *almost used to it; meaning that it doesn't bother me as much. Still, I am going to wash my clothes 5 times when I get home to get rid of the smell. This little boy reminded me of my brothers at home. He found a birds nest and was very proudly showing me his new pets.

Mountain Walk

As I was walking the streets, three girls came up to me and asked me to take their picture. Everyone here asks me to take their picture! They love pictures! I talked with them for awhile, then they became my tour guides and took me up the mountain. We had a lot of fun! It was so beautiful too!
Overlooking Cebu City - as far as the eye can see. You can even see the ocean in the distance.

At the top of the hill there was a cemetery with cool statues. I am the tall American looking person in my holister t-shirt and sunglasses. ha!

They have beautiful flowers here, which are very photogenic!

After our hike up the mountain, I took the girls out for a treat and we had cookies and mango drinks. They loved it! (as did I) Since they were so poor, they had never done anything like it before. So, I kinda adopted them as my little sisters for the day.

Simply breathtaking!

Full Day of Teaching

I taught bible lessons all morning to around 70 preschoolers, at the school. The little girls come up and surround you with hugs. It melts your heart! Then afterward I went farther out of town to a village and had a slight culture shock as I had a tour from some of the kids. It can not even be described in words. It was like walking into some missionary story, where all the huts were man-made with muddy roads where there was just enough room for one person to walk because everything was so close together. The smell of sewage was overwhelming.
The kids were super excited when I knew how to teach piano, thus, I taught a small group lesson. It was amazing! They had no musical background. Besides teaching the village kids, I also taught private lessons that night to a group of college students. I have found my calling. :)

This is a once in a lifetime experience!

This is the day I fell in love... with Cebu.

A Week Gone By...

Every Saturday the Guills host a Bible Club with some of the orphanage girls. Next week I start teaching around 200 students grades 1-6th music lessons. It will be a whole new amazing experience! Please pray that it goes well.

Me and Maggie went shopping in the Cebu mall. I also felt like I was in America, minus the smells and being the tallest person. I found several neat things and like bargaining with sellers. I am doing much better with the time change of 13 hours and almost fully recovered from jetlag.

Chuck and Maggie Guill - my host family. They have been a great help in teaching me the culture, along with keeping me healthy with Reliv smoothies and lots of water!

After church we went to a restaurant where they used banana leaves for plates. The food was pretty good. However, I did have to sit next to a pigs head (notice in the background.)
This is another corner fruit stand nearby where I bought fresh pineapple and bananas! They were so sweet and delicious!

A Walk Around Cebu

This is my third day being here. The children are so precious and love Americans. I am still getting used to the heat and time changes. I have been dead tired by 6pm every night. The heat is something else! After taking a shower I couldn't seem to get dry fully because of the humidity.
This is the Guills house that I stay at. My room has air conditioning, which I am very grateful for along with a flushing toilet! The meals have been eatable and tasty so far. :) Please pray that I don't get sick though. I drank some ice tea that I wasn't suppose to because the water wasn't purified. Usually people get really sick from doing that, so I am praying hard.
I went for a walk by myself down the streets, (after getting a map and being told it was safe.) It was an eye opener to all the 3rd world countries. There is poverty everywhere and the smells made me want to puke. It smelt like heated up garbage.
These are some of the children that we are teaching bible stories to. Ages range from preschool to 6th grade. I will begin teaching music lessons for all age categories coming up, along with private lessons for some of the college students. They have no music experience at all. Please pray for me in teaching. It will be a whole new adventure.

Umbrellas are quite popular in keeping cool from the sun!

I got a breeze of fresh pineapple as the sellers rode by me. They have these carts and bikes all over.
These are compared to the buses in Minneapolis. ;) As I was walking down the streets I was offered tons of taxi, bus, and bike rides. I think that I am the only American here other than the Guills. Everyone waves and says hi. I am not even that white, but I guess my height gives it away.
Ah, there is nothing like fresh coconut from the Philippines! They are so good! I have had several here already!
Ta-Da! In the midst of the busy streets, look what I found! A Starbucks of all places - with more of the hills in the background.

First Day in Cebu

"Now Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see..." Hebrews 11:1

After pulling an all-nighter packing with Jessica and Jessena, I left for the airport at 4:30am hauling 130lbs of luggage. Okay, so I pack like a girl - I am going to be gone for 2 months and needed everything!

I'm not a fan of goodbyes, so I didn't look back after going through security. The entire trip was about 32 hours from Minneapolis to Chicago to Korea to the Philippines. 20 hours on the plane! It was really weird though because I missed an entire nighttime! I sat next to the window on all my flights. For the long 14 hour flight from Chicago to Korea, I sat next to a guy in the army who was going over to train troops in Korea. He didn't appreciate though when I fell asleep on his shoulder and started drooling ;) jk! Then I also sat with this cute missionary woman from there as well. She was very helpful in figuring out where to go next in the airport. Another woman lectured me for flying by myself. She's like "Do your parents know where you are?" I decided that I hate airplane food. Very gross. Ended up getting something from Starbucks in Seoul. I also had my movie fill watching Push, 17 Again, Inkheart, 12 Rounds, and Lovin Dancing. Good thing for airplane movies. Food on the other hand...was crappy. I guess that it was at least something, but when you have the choice of rubber chicken or eel, what would you choose?

I made it to all of my flights on time and didn't get too lost. My passport was my life - along with my flight ticket. When I got to the Philippines, my bags were like the last ones off the rack. Some guy carried them for me and I went out to craziness. Some guy was trying to give me a taxi ride while I was trying to stay with the guy with my my luggage. Finally I saw the Guills (the missionary couple), and I knew that I had made it to Cebu safe and sound.
The heat was amazing, even at 11:30pm. Then smell was something else too. It stunk like garbage heated up. I look out in wonder to the poverty in the streets and all the families out there.

The Chuck and Maggie Guill live in a nice house village, where I have my own room with wireless and air conditioning. Praise the Lord! They even have a grand piano, which Maggie loves hearing people play. Maggie and Chuck are so sweet. They treat me like a daughter. My time schedule was so messed up when I got here. It's like a 13 hour difference ahead of what I am used to. I got a total of 5 hours of sleep in the last 3 days. Then I taught in the schools with Maggie the next day. Then children were around 4-6 years old. Most of them spoke English. I haven't tried any interesting foods yet. Although I have already had fresh coconut! :D Drinking a lot of water! (along with taking Reliv) My feet were very swollen from the long flight and dehydration, but they are looking better. I was out at 6pm and slept for 12 hours. I even fell asleep with my laptop on my lap, which wasn't wise because it crashed to the floor around midnight. oops.

Well, I am looking forward to what the next day holds. Still walking by faith. I a little nervous about coming, but I am excited to see what God has in plan. I just want to soak up as much as I can of the culture and people. Please keep me in your prayers so that I will continue to be strong. Love and miss you all!!!