Well I am currently on my way to our ministry location for
the month. I keep on getting asked how I’m doing, since I felt so strongly
about staying in Manila, and to be
honest, I’m pretty much feeling the same. I am sad to be leaving, I’d go back
if I could, but regardless, I am here now, and I’m going to make the best of
it.
We woke up this morning pretty early and finished packing up
the rest of our stuff. By 730am we were on the road, bags and all of us packed
into three different vehicles. About two hours later we arrived at the port in Manila
where we were to board on the Negro Navigator, our home for the next twenty-one
hours. The available entertainment for the day is limited to water-watching,
boat wandering, blog writing, TV watching, or karaoke singing. Most of my time
was spent wandering around, watching Seinfeld on my laptop, hanging out on the
couch with fellow racers, and eating from pure boredom.
At about 9pm,
there was an announcement made over the loudspeakers that there was a tropical
storm up ahead and we would be seeking shelter in a nearby cove. They estimated
that we would remain in said shelter till about 2am
and then begin on our way again, setting us back 5 hours. So eventually around 11pm I became so bored that I decided to go to
bed. Upon waking up I went to check what the new estimated arrival time was. I
walked by the front desk and saw the new time: 4:00pm.
Great! Another two hours. Okay, well I guess I can live with that. So then I
spent most of today watching Seinfeld, laying in my bed, and snacking.
Eventually I was able to fall asleep, and I kept forcing myself to stay asleep
for a good 2 hours. At 2pm I got out
of bed and was excited that there were only 2 hours left. As I walked by the
front desk I checked the sign, and again there was a new time: 6:00pm. So I am happy to tell you that the time
never changed after that. At roughly 6:15pm
we were off the boat and spent another 15 minutes driving to the ICM base.
So tomorrow we resume our travels to our final destination.
As I said before, the ferry is just the first part of our travels. We still
have another bus ride ahead of us. We were originally told it would be a 5hr
bus ride, but someone on the ferry told us it would be 8hrs. And so I’m going
to assume it will be about 10. J So sometime tomorrow evening we will arrive in
Dumaguete where we will be for the next month.
Just for all those interested in details, I thought I would
clue you into what we will be doing for the next week or so:
Monday November 19: ferry ride all day
Tuesday November 20: ferry ride, arrive in Bacolod and spend
the night there
Wednesday November 21: leave for Dumaguete and arrive
in the evening
Thursday November 22: Shadow ICM ministry/ Evangelism
with local pastor
Friday November 23: Evangelism crusade with local
pastor
Saturday November 24: Visit local pastors/ Attend
Thanksgiving Celebration with local American missionaries
Sunday November 25: Day off
So that’s it for the next week. Mostly we’ll be getting
acquainted with the local people, building relationships, and connecting with
the local pastors. I’ll keep you posted on how it all goes. Oh, also, if I
haven’t mentioned it yet, this month we will be joining up with three members
from team Beloved One: Kari, Renee, and Jenn. We are excited to join up and do
ministry together. So keep team Beloved: eleven in your prayers! Thanks!
