Philippines Missions Trip (Part 8)

Our final day in the Philippines was Friday. Our group was asked to put on mini-workshops about topics that might be of interest in order to draw people in.

Tim and Taylor did a class together about back care and chiropractic. They took turns giving a lot of good tips.

Then they got the class involved. Everyone was giving someone a shoulder rub.

Then came adjustments-Taylor worked on necks since that is all he could really do with a broken wrist.

Tim did the rest of the spine. He got a little over-heated, to say the least!

It was a great success.

In the mean time, Kelsey gave a class on make-up tips and the hair styles for particular face shapes.

She then did an up-do for one of the teens.

As soon as she was done, I spoke about organization and also demonstrated some crafts for the home that  the ladies could do at a later time.

I even had a couple of guys watch for a while.

Tyler gave some really good tips on taking great pictures and video

 

When we were done, we had most of the afternoon free. There is a very popular fast food restaurant in the Philippines called Jollibee’s and we headed there for lunch.

They mostly served hamburgers and French fries. It was almost American tasting, but not quite.

Then we were off to a store that dried their own fruit. We bought a bunch of it so we could have it for a long time to come. There is nothing like dried mangos from the Philippines.

Mt. Matutum is a dormant volcano that is on the island of Mindanao. It can be seen for mile around and is an amazing part of the landscape in this area. Here we saw it as we were driving to get the dried fruit.

In the evening, we said our good byes. Here is a picture of Andrew with Jabe and Elana Barker.

The women of Restore Ministries-Luz, Dahlia, Belen and Anita- with Kelsey, Me, Lauren and Elana Barker.

It is hard saying good-bye. She didn’t want Kelsey to go.

Final picture with the ministry team.

 

Early Saturday morning we flew back to Manila and had most of the afternoon free. There really aren’t many touristy places to see. Most Filipinos love to shop in their free time so shopping malls are every where. One of the biggest malls on the continent of Asia is the Mall of Asia. 200,000 people on average visit this mall daily.  We decided that is where we were going to spend our afternoon.

It was huge, but it was surprisingly American like in many ways.  Although it was wonderful experiencing all the unusual food over the past week and most of it was really good, we were all ready for American food. One of the first things we noticed was a Pizza Hut so we decided to give it a try. We devoured the pizza. It was delicious.

Later in the day, we were hungry again so we ate at McDonalds. McDonalds generally is not the first choice for most of us, but it was on this particular day. It tasted just like it does in America but they did have a few unusual things on their menu like rice and spaghetti.

We had one final night  (really it was part of a night as we left at 3AM) at the Kabayan hotel and then we were off to the airport for our final flight home.

We arrived in Kansas City 31 hours later. It was bitter-sweet to be home. We miss our friends in the Philippines, but there truly is “No place like home.”

THE END!!!

Philippines Missions Trip (Part 7)

Thursday morning we were up bright and early and treated to a delicious breakfast of mangoes, sausage, hard-boiled eggs and of course rice.

One of the more interesting items that none of us was familiar with was Banana Ketchup. It not only has bananas as the main ingredient but also vinegar, sugar and some spices (as well as red food coloring). It was made as a replacement for traditional ketchup during WWII, but has since become a staple in many Filipino homes.

After breakfast, we load into two vehicles to do some more touring. These vehicles were a little unusual by American standards. The best way to describe them would be a covered pick up truck with seats in the back. Nevertheless, they got us where we needed to be and allowed us to visit freely with each other as we traveled.

About 20 minutes into our drive, Luz, (the lady in the red shirt sitting next to Tim) got a very shocked expression on her face. She quickly handed a phone to, Jun, the driver and then everyone who spoke Filipino began talking frantically. We couldn’t understand a word of what was being said, but we could tell by their expressions that it was serious. After this event was over, we began talking among ourselves about what we thought had happened. We have very vivid imaginations.

Tim thought the other vehicle got in a wreck.

Lauren thought the other vehicle was kidnapped by rebels.

Tyler thought that rebels started a war.

I thought that something bad happened to one of Jun’s family members.

When we found out what it really was all about we couldn’t help but laugh. They forgot to pick someone up. That was it. And we got all worked up. We ended up turning around and driving back about 15 minutes to pick up our forgotten passenger. Meanwhile, the other vehicle got to stop by a Dole plantation and watch a little bit of a pineapple harvest. Did you know that pineapples don’t grow on trees but on plants on the ground? I know I didn’t.

We finally caught back up with everyone at a mission hospital that Felipe’s group helps with. I’m sure it is much needed in the area, but I am sure thankful for our hospitals in the US.

 

This is the emergency room. It is open to the outside and anyone can come and go and poke their head in. Keeping a sterile environment doesn’t seem too high on their priority list.

We traveled down the road a little further and were welcomed by the mayor of the town of T’boli. (He and his staff are in yellow.) They too, were excited that we would visit them and treated us like honored guests.

The town put on a Tboli cultural performance for us.

And dressed Lauren and Kelsey when they were done.

Against our better judgment, Tim and I let them dress us.

After lunch, we went to Kings College of Marbel. The boys put on another basketball clinic and interacted with the students.

It is such fun to see smiles on everyone’s faces.

Philippines Missions Trip (Part 6)

We said our good-byes to Mr. & Mrs. Barker and our new found friends in Isulan. We were off to Lake Sebu where the Barker’s had started another school years ago.  When Tim had been there in 1976, it took about 1/2 a day  to travel because there were no paved roads. Now it only takes around an hour. It is beautiful country side and slightly up the mountain. It has become a bit of a touristy spot in recent years.

Terraced rice farming

Lake Sebu is known for its tilapia. They section off areas in the lake (above) so people can raise their own tilapia and sell them.

The T’boli tribal people have inhabited the area for as long as anyone can remember and they still very much hold on to their ethnic background. When we arrived at the school, we were treated to a traditional T’boli dance, in complete T’boli costume.

We were given handmade beaded necklaces by several of the students.

The students had a fun time dressing Kelsey and Lauren in their special costume pieces.

We had a variety of rice cakes over the course of the week. This one was served on banana leaves. They looked just like green napkins.

 

Some of the group decided to hike a little further up the mountain to explore.

When they got a ways up they were surprised to see a remote village.

Taylor was intrigued by a new friend-someone’s pet monkey. The monkey wanted the water bottle. When Taylor got that back……..

the monkey crawled on his shoulder and down his back….

 

 

and grabbed the wallet. It took a little persuading, but he was finally able to get it back.

 

For lunch, Jabe took us to a lake side restaurant that served fresh tilapia. We ate in one of these covered deck areas, below.

After lunch, we detoured to a beautiful area called Seven Falls. This is just one of the waterfalls in the area. The best way to see some of the other falls isn’t by foot…

it is by zip line. I wasn’t too thrilled about the idea. In fact, I wanted desperately to back out, but my family wouldn’t let me. I hesitantly let them strap me in.

AND I LOVED IT!!! I think the initial fear was the worst part. Then it was pure enjoyment. We all took turns soaring over the valley with waterfalls surrounding us. The drop to the bottom is only 650 feet, (but I don’t want to think about that part.)

I would have loved to do it a second time, but we needed to meet up with Felipe and his ministry group for Wednesday night church services. First we were treated to a wonderful dinner at a local restaurant. We didn’t have the opportunity to clean up or change clothes because we were running on a tight schedule and we had to leave our luggage at the Barker’s since it wouldn’t fit in the vehicles.

Tim and I spoke at one church, Dale spoke at another, and Lauren,Tyler, Taylor & Kelsey spoke at a third. The single guys shared with the youth.

It was definitely one of the busier days. We all slept soundly that night.