…a nativity set at the airport to greet us (kinda funny coming from China)
…the squad getting to hang out & relax for a couple of days to start the month (that has never happened)
…working with Kids International, an INCREDIBLE ministry that does everything you can imagine– from orphanages to birthing centers to churches to feeding programs to schools and anything in between
…partnering with another AIM team that has been here for two months already
…DELICIOUS food prepared for us every day
…yummy hot bread called monai for about a dime
…REAL coffee from a COFFEE MAKER!!!!!
…yummy bananas dipped in syrupy brown sugar or fried in yummy pastry-things
…ICE CUBES!!!!!!!!!!
…going to "see a birth" which turned into hanging out with the mom and trying to help her for 8 hours.. at which point she stopped contracting and when she was 9cm dilated and gave birth 3 days later.. complete craziness
…some sort of yummy dessert at the end of lunch and dinner! (SPOILED!)
…spending a week staying at the children's home while a team of 80 high schoolers from an international school in south korea came to serve
…working at a pregnancycenter
…learning how to figure out the position of a baby in the womb as well as how to find their heartbeat (and getting to find some on my own! SUCH a sweet sound!)
…feedings in tent city and befriending a young mom and her 6 kids
…overnight snuggle sessions with a sweet, sick 2.5 month old baby that we are taking turns staying with around the clock as we nurse him back to health
…birthday celebrations
…a pool, gym, and spa literally downstairs at our guesthouse
…a peppermint mocha frappe from starbucks!
…kareoke with friends
…trying to process through this entire year and prepare (as much as possible) for coming home
…falling in love with an older (10 & 13) set of brothers and being so broken hearted that they don't have a family
…eating balut (newly fertilized duck egg) — which was a challenge once on FEAR FACTOR!!!
…final debrief right on the ocean
…finding another country that i LOVE and want to be involved in for the rest of my life
…being voted "most likely to adopt the most kids internationally" and "most likely to live in a foreign country permanently" by my squadmates 🙂 🙂 🙂
…seeing filipinos more and more through the eyes of Christ
