So, it has been a week since I last wrote on here. It seems longer. I have to say one of the adjustments I have been needing to make has to do with their slow paced lives. I am used to fast paced everything. And everything is really laid back over here.

Since I last wrote God has done so much in my heart and in my life. this summer is going to show me so much of who God is and who I am. God changed my heart and attitude in so many ways this past week. The first week was really tough for me adjusting to being here and missing home. I still have moments where I get really homesick but I would not want to be anywhere else right now!!!

I will try and give a couple details about this past week but so much happens it will be almost impossible for you to get a full picture of what is going on over here in the Philippines. First of all, let me just say that the Philippines are absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!! They have huge mountains here but it has a tropical feel with beautiful palm trees (that make the ones in Florida look ridiculously small) and plants.

We have gotten a schedule made out for us and I am past the chaos of the first week. Thank goodness. Everything has become funny to me and I am convinced that in order to live in another culture you HAVE to laugh! I have learned to laugh a lot. Even at the things I hated when I first got here. So many times I will be told something rather vague like,"You will watch the line" And I will be left to figure out what the heck they mean when they say that and I have to figure out how to do it. It is kind of fun now.

The Filipino people are so kind to me. Without their generosity it would be much harder. They are very protective. Which is very nice. They want to make sure we are safe and well.

My schedule everyday goes something like this: I wake up at 4:20 and then I lay there for a little while why the kids get bathed and dressed. I get up while they are at breakfast and hop in the bath for about 20 minutes. When they come back all of them go off to school except for the five year old, MJ. I am left to take care of her by giving her a bath. That is very funny. I clothe her and brush her hair and make sure she has breakfast. She does not speak english except for two words: "No" and "Hey". I have learned to communicate with her though. It is pretty fascinating learning to communicate with people without any words. I am becoming better at it everyday. We have our routine now. She wouldn't talk to me the first couple days. But, slowly she has opened up. Every morning is a guessing game because I will pull out her clothes and try to put them on. She will always say,"No" and I will have to pull out clothes one by one until she finally grabs it from my hands. She is apparently really picky about what she wants to wear. The first morning she started talking to me I had to guess when to do things. Because she does not like doing things in a different order than she is used to doing them. So, I would try to get her to brush her teeth and she would say,"No." So, I would go through the list of things to do until finally she would do what I asked. haha. One morning at breakfast she refused to eat. She just sat there smiling at me. I was so confused. i finally got someone to speak to her in Cebuano (after having tried praying, getting her water, and a multitiude of other things). The problem was that she didn't have a spoon. haha. Once she got a spoon she started eating! IT was so funny. She taught me the alphabet in Cebuano last night. she would laugh as I said things wrong and then repeat them the right way. She is a smart little girl. ANd very strong. IF she comes to hit you, you better run!!! Lol. AFter that, I do laundry, help out in the kitchen and then the kids come back around 4:45 or so. We pray for an hour before dinner and then we eat dinner. After dinner they do their homework. I help out with that some. I helped a girl write a poem about a teenager this past week. It turned really hilarious. After that they pray for an hour and go to bed around 9.

This past week I got done eating breakfast and walked back to the house. Nanay was cleaning and so I asked if I could help her. She laughed and said yes and proceeded to pull out half of a coconut. She handed it to me and said,"You will scrub the floors?" Apparently you stand on top of half of the coconut and you use your leg power to scrub the floor. It takes a long time but it is kind of fun and a good work out. Nanay laughed at me the whole time and said,"You have the machines in America, don't you?" haha. I also tried helping out with laundry. They asked me to srub at first and I tried but they all started laughing at me and mocking me and said,"We will give you easy job" They then let me iron. haha.

This past week we also helped take the kids lunch at school. As a nanny they take them lunch everyday and hang out with the kids for an hour wiping them off with towels, powdering them down and making sure they are feeling ok. We take all the food up there. We did that for a couple days but had to stop. We aren't allowed to go back to the schools anymore.

I ask that you pray for our safety. Don't freak out. I know I kind of was worried at first but God has reassured me. Apparently when we were at the school there were rough looking men asking about us and asking if we were well off. Apparently a month ago there was an abduction from the school of a girl not from the Philippines. they didn't want that to happen to us so we are now confined to the orphanage unless in a large group with other Filipinos. Also, there was a girl getting a ride on a motorcycle in the area and she asked the guy to take her home. she told him where to turn but he told her he would take her somewhere else. Apparently he was driving her to a dark area and so she jumped off the motorcycle and broke her arm. She came to the Orphanage for assistance to the emergency room! I am hearing more stories like this that is taking place everyday around us. We are being extra careful.

God is teach me so much about the importance of prayer. He is teaching me how to really rely and trust on him. He has been providing so much and answering prayers so quickly. In fact, there is an australian missionary here that has opened her home to us every Monday on our free day. WE are provided free internet and she is making sure we get where we need to go safely!!! That is such a big answer to prayer. God has really helped me to adjust a lot.

On Saturday the routine is quite different than any other day. We are awakened at 3:30 AM to pray for an hour. I was not too excited about that. I had a horrible headache when I woke up too. We went outside and stood in a circle singing and praising God. We also give testminoies. I was not expecting this but the director asked if the three of us had a testimony to share. Sarah, being really mean looked at me and said,"You do it!" I of course have plenty to thank God for, but at four in the morning my brain isn't functioning. So, I said,"YOU DO IT!" haha. We all stared for a litle while and finally SArah went. haha. It made me laugh. We finally got back into bed around 5:00 AM.

Church is very different. It is an all day affair. It is strictly a church for children and they have grown from 30 to 400. they have so many kids that come. The LTCF children (my kids) are in charge of the whole thing. They lead music and give testimonies. It is so much fun. Even though I can't understand what they are saying!

IT is so funny because a lot of the times you will hear your name here but the rest is in Cebuano. So you have no idea what is being said about you!!! IT makes me laugh. I love being called Ate Jessica though! Lol.

Everywhere you go here you feel like a celebrity. They always yell at you and make a big fuss. A lot of times they will say,"You are so beautiful. I love you" haha. You get hit on all the time. I still get startled by it some times though.

We went to the market the other day here. There are beggars on the street here all the time. That is how they make their living. They will come ask you for money (especially when they see you are an American) and they will not leave you alone. They will follow you for miles and they will have their body right up against you! I am still getting used to that too. It makes me uncomfortable.

OH...everyone would be proud of me. I have gotten used to bugs. They don't even make me flinch anymore. I have killed several cockroaches. They are MONSTER cockroaches here too. I am getting used to being eaten alive by ants while I try to fall asleep though it still stings and hurts.

I never feel clean here though. That is for sure. I have gotten used to the icy cold water in teh shower. The water will randomly turn off for a while too. One morning I was taking a bath and was in the middle of it when the water turned of completely. I had to wait about five minutes and finally it started running again. I smell nasty. My clothes never smell clean. haha. I got a shirt I hadn't worn yet out of my bag the other day and took a big whiff of it. I was like,"AHH....HOME" Don't be surprised if I smell ABSOLUTELY horrible when I am picked up at the airport. lol.

The staff here are very sweet. they took us out to get some Halo Halo the other night in town. It was so nice of them. They are fun to hang out with! We laugh a lot together and share stories from our own cultures. Sometimes they will tell jokes though and all the FIlipinos will be laughing and us americans will just be like,"What?" haha. IT is cute! Halo Halo is a desssert here with Ube' (ice cream made from root), ice, beans, fruits, etc...you mix it all together. It was actually pretty good. i have surprised myself with what I have eaten here! I have tried Sardines (when you eat them you eat them bones and all. You can feel the bones crunching...it is disturbing) and many other things you guys would be shocked at. I have only eaten one thing so far I didn't like. Maybe I am just really hungry though? I have already lost a lost a lot of weight. I can tell.

We are excited to get some real food today on our day off. Next week we will be going to a beach resort here! I am excited about that!!!

I have had a really bad headache the past two days. Also, I got ingured pretty bad the other day. I was helping clean out the church yard before church started and got a stick jammed up my foot. It hurt so bad and it was bleeding pretty bad. The wound was really deep. Jeffrey was so nice though. He went and got some water and washed it for me. My feet are so dirty here so I felt really bad about that!!!

Everyday is a new and exciting experience for me! It is always full of laughs and awkward situations. Last week Sarah and Cameron were asked to bathe the 12 year old boys! HAHA!

I am picking up on lots of Cebuano phrases. I can now say: hello, thank you, yes, take a shower, get dressed, quiet. Some basic commands. I am getting better at everything.

I appreciate your prayers though as everyday is a challenge. I am loving it and I am praying everyday God teaches me how to better love the children the way he wants me to love them. I am learning so much and God is teaching me so much about Himself! We serve a mighty God! And, He is amazing me here in this new culture everyday! God is teaching me a lot about being my Father. My earthly father is not here. And, I sometimes feel unprotected or vulnerable. But, God has been so amazing and shown me that He is the best protector. He loves me and He will provide everything I need and will keep me safe. It blows my mind all that God has taught me in the past year I can see was preparation for my experience here in the Philippines. Crazy!

I already love the kids SO MUCH! They are so beautiful! It is going to be so hard to leave them. They teach me so much as well. Everytime we take a picture together they say,"My family!" IT breaks my heart knowing they consider me family because they don't really have one.