I made it a goal to not pull out my camera this month and focus more on grabbing the opportunities around me while it was Manistry month. Not only that our ministry this month is very relational, even more so than La Carpio in Costa Rica so it made me even more on board for the idea of ‘being more’ and if wanting to capture a moment doing more writing than pointing.
With that said, today is the day I am spending Christmas on the Race. It was super hard to not do a video documentary of what all has happened, especially sense a shot of a crammed trike of gringo’s with a santa hat on in the crazy chaotic streets of Antipollo would have been to die for haha. So instead I will write about it in probably an over exaggerated bullet point blog, because Lord knows I can’t be short when writing 🙂
7:30~ Roll up off the bed/floor and open the blue sliding door of our room to help Joe and Drew start making breakfast for the kids who didn’t have or couldn’t go home to their relatives and families for Christmas. Joe already has Christmas tunes jamming, he’s a good man haha
8:00~ Boys are all up, all the guys from Team Macho Man Randy Savage are also, and we are grabbing hands to have Daryl (one of the CG boys) lead us in a prayer over breakfast.
8:01~ CG boys dive into their french toast breakfast and love it
8:40~ Derik and I do our short daily workout
9:00~ I throw on the white with multi colored flowered apron on to go into battle with the overflowing load of dishes. I enjoy doing them at home, it’s a very peaceful thing to do and especially with the tiny house, have developed a strategy towards how it can be done. This however is a whole other playing field when cleaning for 20 haha. Still all just as fun, especially when I turn on the Christmas tunes from back home my family sent me…First sense of true Christmas/home sick felt of the day.
9:30 Dishes done and get in touch with the McDougals who invited me to spend some of the Christmas day with them. I met their daughter in nursing school at UMHB and new they missioned here and was blessed when we were able to meet up earlier in the month, this however meant so much to me. To be invited into someones home and family on Christmas is a very deep and meaningful gesture to me and I absolutely love seeing how other people celebrate holidays.
10:15 We arrive at their house. I instantly feel SO at peace; 1) there is a HUGE tree out front of their yard with a hammock tied to it… I LOVE hammocks and for me they bring back great memories of adventures and friends.There was also a swing hanging from a limb on the other side of this tree and you know I tore that up later on 😎
10:40~ We dive into a Christmas brunch and am brought back home. Not only from the feelings that was had with the few families there enjoying the day together but also because of the small things. They had paper plate holders exactly like the ones I grew up with and one of the plates was full of homemade sausage balls! Haha, my family always makes these things during the holidays and I had no idea other people did them too!
11:05~ Small talk with everyone there about what we are all doing in the Phillippines, the WR, my tiny house, life and future dreams.
1:45~ Head out to go do an outreach the McDougal’s do with other teachers from Faith Academy (where they work). It’s in what seems like a beautiful neighborhood; big well built houses, nice roads, less trash on the roadside than normal and even a gold course! But when you walk a little ways back into the bush from the road you start to hear the gentle sound of a small river trickling over rocks, classic dancing music from a stereo and the yips and laughter, and crying of little children. There in the middle of everything is a small community of squatters. They say the city is doing as much as they can to kick them out seeing them as a trouble and trashy, I see their little community as beautiful! It had some a homey feel to it, open welcoming people, and of course how can you not enjoy a place when you join in on a group of moms having a dance party 🙂
2:00~ I find a group of boys and start a little basketball and am entertained with them for the next two hours while many other volunteers are handing out clothes donated from the states, bread rolls and simply having fun with them.
3:30~ Go tour their neighborhood wishing everyone a merry Christead. Hope in with the fungoing moms who are jam’n and dancing their hearts out. Meet a lady who makes beanies for a living and then chill by the river while memories of my favorite town Salida CO come to mind (thr atmosphere and set up is all the same)
4:30~ Finish up the outreach and am now back at CG. Mason, Drew Luke and Cody are back with half the boys from a beautiful waterfall and swimming hole and now I rest for a bit.
5:30~ Wake up from Joe and a couple guys from the gang come in the room back from the mall and tell me our Christmas blog is up. Enjoy!!
6:15~ Play some B-Ball with the CG boys
6:45~ Ate dinner with the boys
7:30~ Started a Christmas movie with the CG boys, (Polar Express)
9:30~ Doctoring up my eye. It’s started randomly hurting, swelling and acting like it’s a goop factory. Praying it’s not pink eye, especially because we head to the beach tomorrow for our day off!
10:00~ Work on Men’s Packing for the WR Blog with Joe
11:04~ ZZZZ
