We eat so much rice. Like literally I can’t even describe the amount of rice I have consumed in the seven days I have been here. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner all consist of rice (and other things). But actually the food cooked by Mama Jo is amazing. We get three hot meals a day, and we will never be hungry. It is extremely refreshing to have our meals cooked for us, after having to make all of our own meals in Albania.
So besides food, is my life here similar to what it was in Albania? Not at all. In Albania, we could jump on a bus and be in the middle of Tirana in about 25 minutes. Here, we are tucked up in the mountains, and haven’t yet figured out how to go into the city. In Albania, we had wifi, and could watch Netflix or contact home whenever. Here, we have to ride on the back of the pastor’s motorcycle and ride to a place with a few slow desktop computers to get internet. In Albania, we had about 10 coffee shops within 500 yards of our house. Not true here.
So, after all this, do I like it here? Absolutely. I wouldn’t trade where I am for anything. So far our ministry has been all manual labor. We are helping to move the “Snack Shack”, a business run by our hosts, to a new location. We have been taking a roof off, putting a new one on, moving gravel, and moving a bamboo gazebo of sorts. We work hard each day, and end the day tired. But for my team and I, this is exactly what we needed. Having come from a ministry place where we felt underused and bored, we are happy to dive in and work hard. It is great to be doing work that allows us to see the progress. I can’t wait to keep serving here in The Philippines, and see more of this beautiful country.
Thank you so much to everyone back home who supports me. This wouldn’t be possible without all of your financial and prayerful support. While I am fully funded, two of my teammates, Kaitlyn Crosby and Kaitlin Gonzalez, are still in need of some additional funding. They are doing amazing work here as well, and two of the hardest working girls I have ever met. Would you consider donating to them? Their profiles are accessible to the left of my blog post. Thank you so much for all of your support, and God bless you!
