Spent the last hour or so reading through this entire blog - I stand amazed at God's faithfulness throughout the trip and at all the opportunities and experiences He provided for myself and my team. I can see that He was there through the times of happiness and joy, as well as in the frustrations and uncertainties, holding us all with His strong, comforting arms. He has opened my eyes to a world outside my own little South Bend, IN and Taylor University bubble - a world full of beautiful people and children with their own joys and hardships, most that much more extreme than my own trivial problems.I have been shown how to love without fear of heartbreak, to accept whatever life throws at you - even when it's completely different than what you were expecting, and to never go a day without laughing and seeing the joy that is always all around you. I still don't know what God has in store for me as far as returning to the Philippines, but whether or not I do, I will never forget this trip and all the friends that I made.
Thank you so much for following this blog, and for all your prayers, thoughts, and financial support. None of this would have been possible without you! I am so blessed to have so many people in my life who care so much about me! I would really appreciate continued prayers for myself and my team as we continue to adjust ourselves to the U.S. and try to figure out where all our new incites and experiences fit into our lives here. Pray that God will continue to guide us as we process it all, and for strength as we head back into the normal class schedule. Also pray that the work we started and the lives we touched in the Philippines will continue to spread across that country and that the Filipino people will come to know Christ's love more fully. Thanks again for everything - I love you all so much! Hope I get to see you all soon and show you pictures!
Salamat (goodbye),
Lindsey :)
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Final Days in the Philippines
**Thought I was going to be able to post this at the Detroit airport, but couldn't do so - I am actually posting this from home in good ol' South Bend.
1/23/11
Well, we are officially on our way back to the states! I realized I hadn’t blogged about the last day of school or Saturday yet, so even though I’ll be seeing some of you really soon, I thought this would help pass the last few hours of this 12 hour flight more quickly…..I actually started this first part on Saturday and never finished it (so don’t be confused when I say “yesterday” talking about Friday).
Yesterday was one of the hardest days ever. Yet I saw God in so many ways and experienced so many joy-filled moments at the same time. I brought my camera to school for the last day, so my kids had a blast taking hundreds (literally) of goofy pictures of themselves and with me. It was definitely strange sitting in the “last classes” all day long – I am certainly going to miss my little chair in the corner of the “classroom” from which I watched those kids. I did really good as far as not being emotional all morning, but then after lunch in Bible class Teacher Kim had all the students come up one by one to give me a “personal message”. Some of the students did it in English, but a lot of them couldn’t say what they wanted without speaking in Tagalog, so Teacher Kim translated for me. Having each one of them sitting in front of me – even the shy ones and even the naughty ones – and be so sincere in thanking me and saying that they would miss me was super special….I couldn’t hold back the tears any longer. I also gave my little speech in Tagalog – it was pretty rough, but they all clapped anyways. They absolutely loved the cards I made for them – especially the verses that I picked for each one individually. Hug after hug and kiss after kiss came, and there were lots of “I love you”s and “I will miss you”s. I had brought some gifts for a few of the teachers, so it was fun to give those out. Our professors had also purchased (through a Taylor fund) huge sets Expo dry erase markers (eraser and board cleaner included) for each of the teachers, and Teacher Winnie was thrilled! The end of the school day was really hard though – final goodbyes to the students did not include tears for me, but there were a few from some of the girls. I wasn’t sure if they would ever let me go….but I’m sure I really wanted them to.
The teachers at Cuatro surprised all the student teachers with a little “party” after school – all the teachers stood up and spoke to us as a group and to their specific Taylor person, and then they had each of us say a few words as well. Once again, there were lots of tears – both for the Cuatro teachers and us. We have sort of become a family – especially since they all rotated and got to know more of us than if we all would have just been with one teacher. After the “cry-fest” (haha), they pulled out a huge pot of a noodle dish and a tray of rice cake desserts. The noodles were phenomenal…the desserts were interesting. The one I got was Ube – a really popular sweet-potato flavor here (they have “ube-flavored” everything!). It’s purple and doesn’t taste like sweet potatoes at all. The stuff I ate was a very thick, gummy-like substance….let’s just say I wasn’t able to finish it (haha). The finale was a teacher-group picture, followed by lots of hugs from the teachers and promises to “keep in touch on Facebook”.
After school was pretty hard. We had a “wrap-up” meeting with all the education majors and our leaders to reflect our time and share both frustrations and blessings that we experienced and saw. For some reason, the devil was really attacking me during that time – as I listened to others thoughts I kept getting more and more discouraged, thinking “I didn’t have that same experience, I should have done more in my classroom, I should have built closer relationships with my teachers or with the others on the this trip, I should have done more.” All that on top of leaving my Grade 4 students, and the devil had me focused on so much of the negatives of being here that I couldn’t remember all the wonderful ways God DID use me! After the meeting I grabbed T-bird – my PA from the floor last year and a good friend. We went up to the roof of the library to just talk, cry, and pray for awhile. She was a real encouragement and she was able to speak and pray truth for me to remind me that God used each one of us while we were here in different ways, and we all have had totally different experiences and have learned and will take away totally different things from all of this. After awhile, she left and I stayed on the roof to spend some time alone with Jesus, crying a little more, praying, and beginning the processing that I know will continue for much longer after we leave this place. As it grew darker, it started to rain a bit, bringing coolness and peace to wash away the tears and discouragement. Knowing what to do with all the experiences and lessons learned will be a challenge, but I know God will reveal in His timing. I spent the rest of the evening at the guesthouse – a group went out to a nearby market – and felt a lot better by the time I went up to the Children’s Home for devotions at night.
The time at the Home was just what I needed. Listening to devotions and singing songs with the kids brought so much joy – their smiles and laughter are contagious! I played Go-Fish with 2 of the girls, and then watched a movie with the older kids who didn’t have to go to bed yet. Was tired after an emotional day, so went to bed soon after returning home.
Today (Saturday) has been really fun so far. Our leaders left today open so we’ve been able to do what we want. Went with 6 other Taylor people to take a group of the Children’s Home kids swimming at the condo pools up the road. We split up the kids into younger kids and older kids – I went with the younger group in the morning before lunch, and the older group went this afternoon. Expelled a lot of energy keeping up with the 12 kids, all under 7! A little girl named Pauleen was my little buddy, who wanted me to catch her jumping off the side, throw her into the air, and just help her jump up and down in the water – soooooo fun!
Pauleen
After lunch I went with T-bird and Molly to just walk around a bit in the squatter community – bought mango candy at one of the little street shops. We were just about to go back to the house when we met the gym teacher from Cuatro, Teacher Arol, who greeted us and proceeded to invite us to come see his home! Molly worked at Valley view so just T-bird and I went with him. He lives in the squatter camp, although his income from teaching allow him to maintain a little better shelter. As he led us through the alleyways between the makeshift houses, he kept saying “get ready for the smell”……we weren’t sure what he meant until we reached his home and saw some of the BiGGEST pigs I have ever seen in my life! His family raises and sells pigs in the local market – they all live right next to each other, so everyone helps with it. His bachelor home was actually pretty nice compared to the surrounding homes– two floors, with tile in a few of the tiny rooms and actual wood ceilings instead of cardboard or metal. He took us next door to meet his mother; this house was not as nice as his, but it was much nicer than I expected from the outside appearance! While the roof was made out of cardboard and metal sheets, there was flooring, a sink for water, and several pretty decorations hung on the walls. His mother was very kind but spoke little English, so we didn’t stay long. The Teacher Arol had some shopping to finish, so he walked with us back to the guesthouse. After he left, T-bird turned to me and said, “You know the funny thing is, he NEVER talked to me the whole time we were working at the school!” I was thinking the same thing! – I just assumed she had gotten to know him really well! We had a good laugh, but were very grateful for his hospitality and for the opportunity to actually go inside a home like the ones we have been surrounded by our whole time here. It was neat to see how these people are able to live on so little, and still be so perfectly content and eager to welcome you in. If I hadn’t yet realized how blessed I am and how blessed America is and how often I complain about the littlest things, this experienced certainly confirmed it again.
Went up to see the kids at the Home later in the afternoon when the older kids got back from swimming. I had been promising many of the children when I would see them at school that I would do gymnastics with them one more time before we left. As soon as I walked in the gate, a few boys ran up calling “Tita Lindsey!! Back dive???”, wanting me to start off the afternoon by showing them a back handspring for the fiftieth time. Some kids who hadn’t learned some of the things we did last time wanted to try today, so once again I got to teach them the step-by-step instructions for cartwheels, round-offs, front-walkovers, and “back dives” – Dan Poe would be so proud of me…hehe!!!! Only stayed for a little over an hour because I had to get back before 5:30 so I could shower and then…….get my hair cut! Yes, another one of the services that Josie Long’s ladies do is hair cuts for only 150 pesos (about $3 – with my tip it ended up being $4). I didn’t do anything crazy – I was planning on getting it trimmed when I got back to the states anyways, and this way I could help the ladies out, they could get some practice, and I could get it done for very inexpensively! The two ladies who would be giving me the cut (one was more experienced so she was helping to show the other one how to do layers) led me to the salon across the street (which I didn’t even know existed before then!); it’s furnished with one washing station and one styling station. The three of us carried on a conversation for the next hour as they worked (they took their time making sure it was done just right) and I really enjoyed getting to know them a little bit - one of the ladies was actually the mom of one of my grade 4 students! They were very sweet, and they did a wonderful job with my hair.
Me and precious PJ
I walked back to the house for dinner and was greeted by 3 of the street boys who hang around the guesthouse that I’ve gotten to know a little bit (two of them actually attend Cuatro in the lower grades). The ran up to hug me, and immediately asked “Teacher Lindsey, why you have to leave tonight?” and “Teacher Lindsey can you please stay??......can I go with you???” Oh my goodness – the Lord knows how hard it was for me to answer those little boys, how much I wanted to tell them that yes they could come with me or no I actually had decided I wouldn’t leave after all…..but of course I couldn’t. As I stood in the evening darkness with them hanging on my arms and waist, resisting my attempts to undue their grips on me, I was glad they couldn’t see that I was close to tears. The funny thing is, I had never really felt like I had connected with these boys as much I had with other children, yet here they were, begging me (by name) not to go……God gave me a little glimpse in that moment of how He had been using me in these boys’ lives without me even knowing it. Although it was of course extremely hard and sad, in a way it was encouraging to realize that I may never know some of the ways lives were touched through actions of myself and the rest of our team. After many goodbye hugs and kisses, I managed to free myself and head inside – happy, but feeling a little guilty that I was leaving them to eat a hearty meal when they may or may not be eating anything tonight…..
Last night at the Children’s home.....of course it was bittersweet. But the Lord was faithful and there was only joy for me during the entire evening – no tears.T-bird, Catherine, and I did a little skit for them about forgiveness for devotions, and we sang songs – their 3 favorites – for the last time with them. Then we all settled onto the floor to watch Lady and the Tramp. At one point I turned from the movie to view the precious sight of 20-something kids distributed around the room on the laps of various Taylor students, and as I looked down at the two little boys sitting quietly in my lap (Christian and Joseph, who usually, I might add, do NOT get along with each other at all!) and the two special needs girls to my side, Marcelle snuggled up against me and Joy playing quietly on her lap, I couldn’t help but smile – and I think Jesus was probably doing the same. One of the most astounding thing of the whole night was little Christian…….
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| Christian |
I don’t know if I’ve ever actually written about Christian, but he and I have had quite an interesting relationship these past few weeks. Christian is about 4 years old, and can be as stubborn as a bull with a temper to match. He knows how to be sweet and have fun, but he really does not like to be scolded or told no. I think he’s pretty new to the Home, but because of his personality, not very many of the other children like him – I’m pretty sure they call him name in Tagalog. I really like to play with Christian when I come to the home, and he never fails to run up to greet me every time he sees me. But Christian likes to see how much he can get away with me and I’m not afraid to get stern with him or show him that some forms of behavior are not acceptable; needless to say, he’s been pretty mad at me a few times and I’ve often found it hard to love him. We have shared a few sweet moments together, but tonight rocked my world. He was an ANGEL….no lie. He crawled into my lap for the movie, just hugging my neck and gave me a big kiss on the cheek! I was so surprised and pleased, I gave his little cheek and few fast little kisses; he thought that was so funny, and for the rest of the movie would randomly turn around, point to his cheek ,and say “Tita…again!”. He showed no signs of the usually orneriness – he even let, as I said before, Joseph crawl into my lap without the slightest objection, and he didn’t try to provoke Joseph in any way for the entire hour we sat there! I was absolutely amazed. At bedtime, he didn’t make any fuss at all – he just grabbed my hand and Bible-story book and pulled me towards his room. We climbed into his bed and to my surprise, he turned to the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection and said “Tita, this one.” He soaked it all in as I read about our Savior and His sacrifice of love for us all – even this naughty little boy I often got frustrated with and hurt by. After the story, he listened to my little recap about the significance of Jesus’ life and death, and while there was no prayer of salvation or anything, I knew that there was certainly hope for this little boy. As I hugged him goodnight, kissed his little cheek one last time, and whispered few last minute admonishes to be a good boy, obey the other Titas’, and be nice to his friends, he looked up at me and whispered “I love you, Tita”. It was absolutely beautiful; I realized that yes, I did love this little stinker…very very much.
Goodbyes to the other children were a little hard too – more for us than for them, since as sad as it is, they are used to people cycling in and out of their lives. No one cried for me, but I heard one of the younger boys was pretty upset for some of the others to leave him. I gave big hugs and kisses to Marcelle, Alex, Pauline, A.J., Marrifell, and of course Angel and Ayra, my two “first friends” from the home who have become very special to me. After the last goodbye was said, I wandered downstairs to talk with some of the other Taylor girls and Rona, one of the ladies on staff at the Home. Rona checked our heads for lice – she an expert – and only found ONE on me….don’t freak Mom. She thinks it must have just jumped on me and said I shouldn’t worry, just to get it checked again when I get home and if needed, wash with lice shampoo. Rona walked with T-bird and I back to the house; the two of them we going to try to buy ballut one last time, so I just said my goodbyes and went inside. I know I will never forget all those children from Faith Children’s Home – their faces, smiles, laughter, and all the things they taught me about living life. During my goodbye to her, Ate (ah-tay) Tita – one of the other staff ladies – said to me with a little smile “You’ll be back….I can tell.” I hope she’s right.
Since we had to leave the house at 2:30am this (Sunday) morning, a bunch of us decided just to stay up and pull an all-nighter of sorts. We played cards and ate waffles and just talked and had fun. We pulled away from the house right on time. I really wanted to stay awake for the first 4 hour flight to Japan so I would sleep on the long 12 hour one…wasn’t sure I would make it when we boarded, but caught a second wind watching a movie. By the time I boarded the second plane though, I was so ready to sleep. Actually slept a total of 6 hours – all during “night times” here at home – so hopefully the all-nighter and sleeping when I did will help me adjust better back to the time change. I am currently sitting in the Detroit airport about to board the last flight – an easy 1 hour – and soon I’ll see my family and the entire trip will over. I can’t believe it. I plan to post one more blog entry as a little reflection in the next few days, after I get over the jet lag I’m sure is coming. See you all soon!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Philippine Photos
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| Faith Children's Home |
Our Final Week.....Bitter-sweet
1/20/11
Sorry I haven’t been posting the past couple days – the internet at the guesthouse has been off and on…and even when it is on, it’s really slow because so many people are trying to use it at once. I’ve been avoiding the frustration…haha. This week has flown by! I can’t believe tomorrow is our last day in the classroom! But let me back up a bit…..
Monday and Tuesday were filled with classes during the day, and planning for lessons and writing my last assignments for this class. I wanted to get everything done early in the week so I could spend the last few days of our time here at the Children’s Home and doing last minute outings in the evenings. I was asked to teacher two lessons this week – Science (magnetism) and Home Economics (topic was “working hard”), so preparing for them took from right after school on Monday until about 9 (with a break for dinner, obviously!). We had a 4 page paper due by today (Thursday), so lots of people were working on that as well. On Tuesday, my grade 4 students realized that I was leaving on Friday and they began giving me little goodbye notes already….one of the boys who I felt like I hadn’t really connected with as much wrote me the sweetest note – I started crying! Thankfully I read it when the students weren’t around! I had to keep reminding them that we still had a few more days and that we should just enjoy the time we have left and not worry about Friday....it’s been hard to follow my own advice though.
Wednesday was a very interesting day….the morning was pretty normal – kids a little crazy, but classes going as usually. About halfway through the morning, during library, I started feeling a little queasy, but I didn’t really think anything of it (the kids are obsessed with the Ripley’s Believe It or Not book and they had been showing me some pretty gross things in it, so I thought that was what was making me feel weird. I was supposed to teach my 2 lessons back-to-back (Science then Home Ec.) right after library. The science lesson when pretty well – I felt a little light-headed, but the students were a little less focused than normal so I figured I was just getting frustrated with them. But then during my Home Ec. lesson, I started feeling really nauseous and having abdominal pains. I tried to continue my lesson, thinking I could make it to lunch in 15 more minutes, but it got to be too much – my vision started blurring and I felt like I was going to faint! I sat down for a minute, apologizing to the teacher and students (I think I might have scared them a little…). I really just needed to make it to the C.R. (“Comfort Room” – bathroom) I was in the bathroom until class was over, but nothing happened. My teacher told me to go home and rest, so I was able to take the rest of the afternoon off. It ended up just being diarrhea, and after a 2 hour nap and Pepto Bismal I was able to make it through the rest of the evening without any abdominal pains – my body just felt really worn out and tired. BUT I woke up this morning feeling fine, so it must have just been a onetime thing – maybe something I ate. I am so thankful I wasn’t restricted for too long – although I missed time at the Children’s Home for the 3rd night in a row. I did get to spend time making cards for the kids in my class though – I’m excited to give them to them tomorrow!
This morning we didn’t go into our classrooms because we took a tour of Faith Academy – the huge Christian school up the road. Faith’s student body of about 700 (!!!!!!), K-12, is made up almost entirely of missionary kids. It is a huge campus – it reminded me of a college! – and it was completely different from what we have experienced every day at Cuatro. It is basically just like any American school, and most of the teachers are American. There are even dorms that house some of the high school students whose families live far away. We got to observe in a classroom for about an hour – I went to a 4th grade class. They were making Incan weavings to go along with their history unit, so we got to help measure yarn and untangle weavings….it was really fun and a breath of fresh air to be in a classroom that was colorful, controlled, and in English! Talked with the teacher a little bit - this is her first year out of college, so her insight and story of how she got to Faith was really great to hear. Afterwards, we got to talk with the principal and then he gave us the tour. Every part of the campus is beautiful – with a fairly pricey tuition and the blessing of a large philanthropic fund, they have been able to do so much, including a pool, 900 seat auditorium, and a 2-story elementary playground! As I walked around, I could definitely see myself teaching there….but in the back of my mind I wonder if that would just be too easy – it’s basically perfect and not outside my comfort zone at all. I still don’t know where God is leading me…..it would definitely be fun to teach somewhere like Faith, but I could also see myself in a public school, or maybe even in a different country. All in all, I’m glad we got to experience another atmosphere of teaching that has opened me even more to wherever God may choose to have me go.
Went back to Cuatro after lunch, and was greeted by a flood of grade 4 students, giving hugs and shouting “Teacher Lindsey!!! Are how are you feeling??? We missed you!!” It was so precious! In Bible class, the teacher brought in a tub of markers and purple paper. She started talking to the students in Tagalog, and there was lots of giggling and looking and me, and I heard my name a few times. After awhile, she started talking in English, telling the students that “this was a very important project” and they needed to work very hard because they would be graded on it. I kinda figured out that they were making things for me, but I pretended not to understand and “kept myself busy” by working on a little surprise of my own! At the end of the day I was presented with a stack of purple cards (my favorite color) they had decorated and written little notes inside. It was one of the best moments ever. Elisha Mae also presented me with another gift – a book of Tagalog words she had made out of cardboard and a picture of herself (“to remember me”). One more day with these wonderful children. Oh boy.
After school, with no more homework to complete, I was able to just have fun in the community. It was gorgeously sunny but really hot today! But it has been cooler and rainy for the past 3 days, so it was nice to see the sun again! Catherine and I rode a jeepney to the fruit market to walk around – I really love the little shops and stands! As always, being American (and blonde) draws a lot of attention, and we got many hellos and even a few “I love you”s…..oh boy. We bought ice cream for 20 pesos (about 50 cents), and a few pieces of fruit: a mango, dalandan –which was about the size of a Clementine but was green – and a another clementine-like fruit that I can’t remember the name. They were very good! – the dalandan had a little sour tang to it, but the other fruit was very sweet (don’t worry Mom, you had to peel them..lol). We plan to eat the mango at breakfast tomorrow. Later we two walked up the road to the school she has been working at (Valley View) since I hadn’t had a chance to see it yet. It was about a 10 minute walk though the squatter community – we made several new friends on the way up! The kids are so friendly; they just run up to you to say hi and ask what your name is. When we got back to the house, there were several other Taylor girls playing outside with some of the street children, so we hung out with them until dinner. When to the Children’s home after dinner for devotions and bedtime; read a few bedtime stories and gave lots of goodnight hugs and kisses. Some of the girls I have gotten to know were asking me if we were really leaving on Saturday and why we had to go. It is the hardest thing in the world to tell them that we do have to go. Once again I gave out positive responses of “don’t worry, we still have 2 days” that not even I can truly accept, but it didn’t make me too sad….I think it just hasn’t really sunk in that we are leaving so soon. I do know that I will be wearing waterproof mascara to school tomorrow, just in case…..oh who am I kidding? That surprise I was talking about earlier? – I had one of the teachers help me translate into Tagalog a little “speech” I wrote for the kids that I’m going to say for them at the end of the day tomorrow. I think they will really enjoy it if I read it in their language, since they’ve all been trying so hard to teach it to me for the past 3 weeks. Even though my pronunciation will probably be off, I might not be able to keep from crying….we’ll see. Prayers for me and all the rest of us on our “last day of school” will be much appreciated. I’ll be sure to let you all know how it goes.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Remembering History and Relishing Beauty
1/16/11
We have had quite a full weekend her e in the Philippines, brushing up on both our history and shopping skills! Yesterday, we began our Saturday by traveling about 2 hours away to the Manila/American Cemetery and War Memorial. The memorial was two long structures of huge flat columns that listed (floor to ceiling!) names of Filipino and American individuals in the Navy and Air force who had died during World War II. The memorial area was so beautiful and peaceful. Surrounding the building were rows and rows of crosses that stretched for yards away, marking graves of the hundreds that were buried there at the site. It looked very similar to the Arlington National Cemetery in the U.S. – very beautiful. Maybe I just didn’t pay attention in history class in high school, but I had never realized the huge part that the Philippines played in that war and all that happened on this Philippine soil….but more on that when I talk about Sunday.
We spent the entire afternoon at a shopping area called Greenhills, which is known for being a big knock-off mall (they sell bags and other merchandise imitations from expensive brands like Coach and Prada for really, really cheap). They also had tons of other authentic, Filipino merchandise just set up at little stalls all over the buildings, and you barter for everything! It was really crowded and at first kind of intimidating – I’m pretty sure we got ripped off our first few purchases because we really didn’t know what we were doing with the whole bartering thing, but we got better as we went along! I bought a lot of souvenirs to bring back as gifts for people, and was really happy with my bargains! Once I did get separated from the group I was with, and was a bit nervous at first because the place was really big and people were everywhere, but I eventually found other Taylor people and stuck with them. Did not buy any purses….though it was very tempting! I told myself I could get one “fun” item as a souvenir for myself, and I found a really cute black sundress with little flowers embroidered on it – I love it! We left the mall at 5 pm and it was POURING outside! (p.s. We were told it NEVER rains here during January, and it’s rained about 3 nights that we’ve been here, plus this time during the day!) It’s always a fun rain, though, because it’s warm and it helps to cool things off of for awhile. After dinner, I typed a reflection paper about the lesson I taught on Friday.
The best part of my day was not the impressive memorial or the amazing bargains, or even the fun bonding time with friends. It was the hour that I sat with 2 orphans cuddled on my lap (first it was Angel and PJ, then Angel left and Christian crawled in), falling asleep to the murmur of SpongeBob on TV and the other sounds of Faith Children’s Home. As I stroked their little arms and hugged them tighter to myself, so many emotions rushed through me…the joy and love I had towards those children, the peacefulness of the quiet evening, the longing to just be a mother and do that with my own kids, the sadness in knowing my time here with them is quickly running out, and the desire to just pick them up right then and take them home with me. I was close to tears, simply overwhelmed by the moment. It seems I’ve given my heart away to these children, piece by piece, just like I knew I would….
Today was a long, exciting day as well – though very windy and much cooler than any of the other days we’ve been here. We left the house at 6am to drive to the port right outside Manila to take an hour-long ferry ride out to Corregidor – one of the thousands of other Philippine islands – the site of major WWII happenings. We took an open (safari-like) bus to different sites around the island, our tour guide narrating their significance and letting us get out and explore the ruins and huge guns at certain spots. We saw quite a few barracks and garrisons that were once used by Philippine, American, and Japanese military men as possession of the island changed hands throughout the war – apparently the Philippines were brought into the war only one day after the bombing of Pearl Harbor when the Japanese also bombed the Filipinos. Corregidor became a target of conquer for the Japanese – the feeling was that if Corregidor was captured, the rest of the Philippines would be easily acquired. The Filipinos did an incredible job holding the Japanese for several months, despite the fact that the promised American supply ships never arrived. The island eventually fell to the Japanese, but eventually the United States won it back for the Filipinos.
Besides seeing ruins, our tour included a “lights and sounds show” inside a huge tunnel that was built as a bomb shelter and actually housed the Philippine president for some time in order to protect him from the Japanese. We walked through the tunnel to different sections off to the side watched and listened to a very informational production that gave a good explanation of what all happened on the island during the war. We also received a very classy buffet lunch at the hotel on the island, our tables overlooking the beautiful bay. We all walked up into a lighthouse, also with breath-taking views. The end of our tour was a stop at the Pacific War Memorial, with its huge white dome and alter dedicated to those who died for the cause of Corregidor, the Philippines, and freedom. It was really neat to visit a historical site in a different country than the U.S. and to see the war from another view. Even though the Philippines and the U.S. were on the same side, I liked seeing a site that was important to this country.
Our ferry ride back to the main land was pretty exciting – the wind had really picked up and the waves were really big! Our boat was small enough for us to feel A LOT of rocking, and waves were crashing up on the sides of the boat!! We were really glad to reach solid ground….haha. We ended our day with a few hours at the Mall of Asia – the biggest mall in Asia and apparently in the entire world! We broke up into small groups, all given money for dinner. 5 other girls and I did a little bit of shopping for specific gifts we still wanted to get, and then spend most of our time sitting out on the balcony outside a café restaurant, eating dinner, talking, and watching the sunset to the sound of blasting party music. It was really fun - I zoomed out for a second and the fact that I was basically one my own out with friends at this semi-fancy restaurant was awesome but weird…Am I really growing up??? Haha..but I absolutely loved it! We got a little surprise from our waiters – they brought out a “green mango” dish for us to try on the house!! We’re not sure exactly why they did that – perhaps the fact that we were 6 young American females haha – but we got a kick out of it (although the dish was a bit strange tasting).
Had a great talk with Catherine on the bus ride back to the house – I love her! Will go to bed soon – last week of school begins tomorrow!! (Sorry I haven't been putting up pictures on these last few posts - I've taken a ton, but it takes really long to load them onto the computer and I really need to get to bed!) Please be in prayer for our team during this last week as we begin to prepare ourselves to leave - it's going to be very very hard for all of us.
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