Travel days are always crazy, always. Here’s just a taste of what to expect when boats, buses, and bad weather are all involved…
7:45 a.m. Departed from Jeff Long’s Kid’s International Orphanage in Manilla, Philippines.
10:15 a.m. Arrived at N.N. Shipyard cleared security and boarded “St. Joseph the Worker”.
11:15 a.m. Checked into cabin #25 aboard the ship and found it to be “under construction” – missing a doorknob and deadbolt and many other interesting things!
11:45 a.m. Met our new friends – Ricardo and Mary Mae – ship employees who came to our rescue with our construction projects and even taught us some Tagallo. [Salamate – Thank you, Como estaka – how are you, Fine – my booti]
12:01 p.m. Shipyard line dancing by the crew for the passengers – filmed by a tv crew.
1:00 p.m. “St. Joseph the Worker” pushes off – we think, we never really felt it.
1:15 p.m. Prayer and moment of silence. Life jacket safety demonstration – incase we titanic it.
4:30 p.m. Explored the ship – from the disco room to the treasure room!
9:00 p.m. Weather turns rough – ship ports for six hours while storm blows over.
11:30 p.m. Lights out – we all remind each other where the life jackets are at…just in case.
3:00 a.m. Ship leaves port and is back in route.
8:30 a.m. We all are woken up by a loud noise – did we hit something? Maybe just more rough waters – who knows?
10:30 a.m. Mary Mae, ship hostess, knocks on our door and escorts teammate Jenn down the hall to pray for a sick passenger.
11:30 a.m. Fall out of the top bunk – reach for the ladder, get pitched into the door – regain balance step into the hall and run right into the wall – brace myself and zigzag to the cafeteria.
11:31 a.m. In the cafeteria Karaoke is taking place and very interesting “talents” are being displayed.
1:30 p.m. Intercom tells us estimated time of arrival has been pushed back six hours – new ETA is 4 p.m.
4:00 p.m. Head to the third deck to see the sunset – where rows of bunk beds line the open outdoor level and third class passengers are subject to whatever weather comes their way.
4:05 Intercom again – another new ETA – 6 p.m.
6:00 p.m. “St. Joseph the Worker” docks at Bohol City, Philippines – World racers pile off in the rain to meet our new hosts.
9:30 p.m. Lights out.
2:30 a.m. Lights on. Head to bus station.
3:45 a.m. Board bus to Dumagette.
10:00 a.m. Wake up in Dumagette to confused World racers yelling, “Get off the bus!” Our new host ICM has waved down the bus and pulled us off – in what looks like the middle of nowhere.
10:05 a.m. Our new host “Lolo” greets me with a, “Where’s your racing suit?” comment – Home sweet home…finally.
…this month we are thrilled to be in Dumagette where we have the privilege of being involved with International Care Ministries through feeding programs, medical programs, construction programs, and church planting programs! It is going to be a hectic month as we spend time at the orphanage, the youth center, and the villages – who knows what God will do this time?!
Pray for our logistical planning and time management as we try to stretch ourselves across many ministry sites in many different locations (keeping in mind there are ten of us this month). Prayfor our personal growth and that we use God’s strength, not ours, to sustain us – finding time to “rest” in Christ. Also pray for our team’s health – Kari and I are just now getting over food related illnesses that had us beat for the past few days – praise God that we were in the middle of a medical ministry site and that he provided plenty of doctors to watch over us! And last request – its Typhoon season here in the Philippines so please be praying over our safety.
