HELLO friends and family! I cannot believe that I am just now writing about the Philippines! I am currently sitting in Mongolia with a couple of days left in month 9 and I am just getting around to posting month 8’s blog. Sorry about that! Ha 🙂
Better late than never? 🙂
This blog will be all PHOTOS! Yay!
^our view in the mountains of the Philippines, we were about an hour northwest of Manila
^we took the street boys to the river to go swimming. And when I say street boys, I mean they actually live on the street. We went to visit them where they “lived” in downtown Manila. It’s basically in the parking lot of a Shell gas station. They just hang out there all day, getting high off of smelling solvents, stealing for food, etc. These boys have no future the way their life is going. The church we were with this month take them in twice a month, give them clean clothes, preach the gospel, feed them, LOVE on them. It was so fun to meet them and hear their stories. God loves these souls!
^we ran a week-long VBS for the local village kids
^my favorite neighbor. Isn’t she beautiful? I love her and miss her! Her mom Goni lived next door. One morning I went out for a run and when I was headed back to our home, I see JC (we thought her name was Daisy forever, but it’s JC!) running to me with her arms raised, wanting me to pick her up. It became a daily thing, sometimes 2, 3, 4 times a day. 🙂 I would go visit her and her mom. Eventually Goni invited me into her home, confided in me that her husband (JC’s dad) was in prison for possessing firearms and gambling, and that her mother died 2 weeks ago. Goni is raising 1 little girl and 7 boys all by herself. She is definitely on my prayer list!
^she would wave goodbye as if she was saying hello. Actually, it’s the way you call people in Asia. Instead of extending your arm with your hand facing the sky and curling your fingers up (that’s a sign of calling prostitutes, actually), you would extend your arm with your hand facing down and curl your fingers in. This is how she would wave goodbye and it’s the most precious thing!!!!!!!!! Mahal kita, JC! (I love you, JC in Tagalog, the language spoken in the Philippines)
^the farm we lived at, this is the chicken coop. We repaired all of the netting and bamboo you see as the boundary
^pretty sure this is the first time I’ve ever had dirt underneath my fingernails. Ph, and I’m bleeding. Living at the micro-farm, working hair repairing that bamboo chicken coop. I even used a machete, a bow saw, and some pliers!
^this is part of my team with the contact and his family. Wakka wakka!! (that means silly, silly, as in, let’s take a goofy picture!)
^y’all. Our last night in the Philippines, I made a bonfire. I repeat… I STARTED THE BONFIRE. With matches! And my own fingers! It was crazy fun! We had guys on our team throughout the month, so they were always the ones to make the fire. But they left. And they didn’t think we would (or could!) make a bonfire. Sooooo I wanted to prove them wrong (and me capable!). So I made a bonfire. There may have been cusswords… I definitely burnt my finger… I used way too many matches… And I even tried to re-light a match that had already been lit, much to the amusement of my team. Haha. It was super fun. 🙂 Did it!
The Philippines turned into my favorite month. I will write here what I wrote already on instagram (@whipavi), if you didn’t see it. April started in frustration. Living at a farm. All the bugs. No internet. This city girl was not happy! Four weeks later, I didn’t want to leave. Friendships deepened while disconnected to the outside. You can hear all the pigs and all the roosters amidst the silence. So many nights spent star gazing. Bonfires. Mountains. River swimming. It’s beautiful here. Many firsts. Many memorable moments. An open heart. A month of growth. Lord, give me more times like these.
And now I am here in outer Mongolia! My team is 12 miles from Russia. We leave on Sunday for Beijing, China. I will try to write SOON about MONTH 9 = MONGOLIA. And then shortly after MONTH 10 = CHINA.
Our flight is at noon:50 on Sunday from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia to Beijing, China. Pray for our safety.
THANKS for your continued prayers and for following my journey! God is so good and so faithful! You know those moments where you feel that you are exactly where you are supposed to be? I feel that way! I am exactly where I’m supposed to be right now! It feels so freaking good to be in the middle of God’s will. Loving life!
See all y’all soon! AMERICA BOUND July 25!!!!
Everyone asks: what do I miss most? My family and friends, of course. And my dogs. And my closet. And Chipotle. Not in that order….. 😉
Bayartai!!! (goodbye in Mongolian) 🙂
