Homeward bound

So it's time to leave The Philippines. We've had a magnificent time here doing all manner of amazing things. The day started early for Lara and myself. We headed out for a quick trip to 7/11 before making our way via trike to the Ligao market. I had promised the two 16 year old boys at the Ligao jail that I would get them a cap each. They showed a strong interest in my special red cap. So, to make good on my promise we hunted through the market until we found some.

We headed back to the Hometel again (via trike) in time for breaky. We love breaky at the Hometel. Neil and his staff have really looked after us. Sister Alma has also organised a toaster, fresh bread and coffee for us each morning.

After breaky, we gathered at the Church for a little time of reflection. Alma was feeling quite unwell this morning. Gracie Parker was still struggling after a bad night. There is a bit of fatigue settling in. We had a very powerful time of sharing and reflecting. Each of us had an opportunity to share what had impacted us the most. Pastor Choi played his guitar and reminded each of us of God's goodness and explained what it meant to part of God's family. He's a very special man.

Biggs then presented his University thesis - He's got big ideas for the Ligao church. He topped his class with his thesis. He surveyed the local population and designed a "church" which is actually a community centre based around the needs of the community. The three greatest needs that he identified were malnutrition, unemployment and poverty. It's a stunning proposal and very advanced and technical in both design and construction. This little church is doing amazing things and has big ideas for the future.



Once everyone was packed up, we headed for the airport. We had lunch at the Airport cafe (as is the tradition). It was hard to say goodbye to Pastor Choi and Sister Alma. They are such wonderful people and they have taught us so many incredible lessons. Their hospitality is amazing and they practice sacrificial acts of service as a normal and natural part of everything that they do. We will miss them.

 We had an uneventful trip back to Manila. Emma Russell was fortunate to win the highly coveted Cebu Air multiple choice competition. The answer was Hong Kong. I can't remember the question.
It was in Terminal 3 that we bid farewell to the Starrs and the Russells. They are both very cashed and had clearly learnt nothing from the previous 9 days of service amongst the poor. While the rest of us took home the stark lessons of poverty, the aforementioned families stayed on to indulge in 5 star luxury.

The remaining families decided that we probably had 30 mins to browse Terminal 3 before making our way to Terminal 2. This turned out to be a bit stressful. After various fast food experiences, we eventually made our way to the bus to start our trip to Terminal 2. We should know better by now. We always find this stressful and we always promise that we won't do this again. Will we ever learn? We arrived at Terminal 2 with 15 mins to spare. Probably a little tight for an international flight.

We arrived home in Melbourne at 5.30 am on Wednesday 10 July. It was an incredible time away. We are so grateful to God for the amazing memories, the sensational people that we met and the lessons that we learnt. It is was such a wonderful time with an amazing group of people. To the Parkers, the Starrs, the Russells, the Millars and the Jacobs - I salute you. Everyone on the trip showed good grace, the ability to compromise, a desire to try new things and an amazing ability to live outside their comfort zone. To my own family, I thank-you for being who you are. This trip is one of the great highlights of my year. To my darling Lara, you worked so hard to plan, collect, enthuse, organise and encourage. We couldn't have done it without you.

I trust that everyone has enjoyed this little blog. It's purpose is simply to record (in a chronological order) the highs and lows and the daily activities of our time in The Philippines. I trust that you've found something in it that either inspires you or makes you smile. Until our next adventure.

Sunday in Ligao and a trip to Victoria Bay

Sunday in Ligao is always a great day. We had breaky at the Hometel before heading over to Church for the 9.00 am service.

 Rusty got the gig this year to preach. As usual, the little building was jam-packed.

 It was a great celebration and they had quite literally killed the fatted pig. Pastor Melvin got up around 3.00 am to start preparing the spit. It was roasted Filipino style behind the church. They look after us so well and there was plenty for everyone. 




Rusty did a great job and spoke on being ORDINARY, AVAILABLE and WILLING TO TAKE RISKS. He encouraged each of us to look at what we had in our hand. He used the story of Rahab, Moses and David to demonstrate that they simply used what they already held in their hands to achieve mighty things for God. It was brilliant and lost nothing in translation. Pastor Choi's translation into Tagalog is always very animated and watching this is half the fun.

After church and some basketball in the carpark we headed back to the Hometel for an hour or two before setting out for our adventure to Victoria Bay.

Victoria bay is a lovely beach setting around 90 minutes from Ligao. It was an incredible treat. The weather there was absolutely stunning and we lazed in the horizon pool and the ocean during the late afternoon.

Pastor Choi and Alma brought their incredible team of gracious helpers including Biggs, Hannah, Jona, Jona's Mum and Alma's sister. They were absolute legends and cooked up a storm for tea. They have an incredible commitment to serving others. It was hot and they had already worked very hard on Saturday and Sunday and here they were serving us in the most beautiful way.

      

     

After tea, we swam and (more importantly) had a night of Karaoke. Pastor Choi had organised a machine and it was a sensational time. We discovered some hidden talents. A number of those that lacked a little in the singing department (no names), more than made up for it with their choreography and general stage presence. It was heaps of fun. We were, of course, completely outshone by the Filipinos. They have been doing Karaoke since the moment they were born. It's in their DNA. We noted, however, that this doesn't always translate to talent. While the Filipinos in our group were ridiculously good, there were some in other parts of the resort that sounded as though they had gall stones. 

 

The sunset was beautiful and in the distance we witnessed a stunning lightening show.

It rained very heavily overnight before yet another stunning beach day on Monday. This stunning beach day was a real gift. We had so much fun swimming in the ocean and the pool. The kids sat around on the resort boat and generally mucked around in the water.

So relaxed was everyone, that very little thought was given to the application of sunscreen. This has turned out to be somewhat of a negative. I have never seen sunburn on the scale that Victoria Bay produced. I think the kids (and some adults) were just so excited to be at the beach, that they didn't even think about it. Or, if they did, they didn't think too hard. By late in the arvo on Monday and Monday night, there was a radiant heat every time a teenager walked into the room.

We left Victoria Bay at around 3.00 pm and headed in the direction of Ligao. On the way, we stopped at the training base of the Philippine National Police ("PNP.") It was a cracking excursion. We were met at the gate by a bloke sporting a machine gun and 800 rounds of ammo strapped to himself. We then met both the Captain of the base and the Commander of the region. It is a base that trains the Special Action Force which is the Filipino version of the SWAT team. Pastor Choi, Sister Alma along with others from their Church have established a life coaching program with the PNP. There is a huge amount of mutual respect operating here and we were overwhelmed by their attitude to us as visitors and also their respect for what Choi, Alma and others were doing to facilitating the Life Coaching.

 

Starry probably enjoyed this outing a bit too much. His early life on the farm has instilled in him a liking for high powered armoury. We couldn't wipe the smile off his face!

After a wonderful time at the base, we made our way back to Ligao before heading out on foot to one of our favourite restaurants "Kooyangs." It was an awesome feed of friend chicken (I think they've stumbled upon the Colonel's secret herbs and spices), noodles, spring roles (almost as good as Alma's) and veggies. We then walked home via 7/11 for some tasty treats. Everyone was full, but the kids still found things to buy with their leftover Pesos.  It was a brilliant evening, complete with a bit of teenage directed Zumba at the restaurant. Sadly, Grace Parker was looking very average. She had been struggling with her health for a day or two and she was beginning to crash. She was a real trooper and managed to participate in everything, but she was doing it tough. It's always hard when you get sick so far from home. We did pretty well with our health (despite the Sunburn which was self induced). For a group of 29, we actually came out of it quite well. At some stage or another, most of us were forced to urgently excuse ourselves from a conversation or a meal and make a hasty retreat to the closest dunny. But, all told, we did pretty well.

William received a bit sunburn first aid from Madi

    

Upon return to the Hometel after tea, most of us went to bed at a sensible time. There are rumours that some of the older kids  (Jess Starr and William Simpson) thought that staying up all night would be a sensible way to end the holiday. William was seen leaving 7/11 with a 2 litre easy-goer of Coke. No doubt, fuel for the evening ahead. Our last full day of action was fantastic. Tomorrow (Tuesday) we will be packing up and heading back to Manila.