On paper, the plan looked good...and then you realize that all this travel entails towing five children, 6 check-ins and 11 carry-ons and you begin to question our sanity...at least I did. But I also knew that only God could open some of the doors that were opened, so with a step of faith, we moved forward in trust and strength. The plan was : 1) Friday September 25th fly to Manila and spend the night. 2) Saturday September 26th fly from Manila to Dumaguete and spend the next five days on a Young Life Expedition, going on a snorkeling adventure and serving in a village with ICM for two of the days. 3)Wednesday September 30th fly from Dumaguete to Manila to Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Thailand. For four days we would be spending time with our friends, the Gehrmann Family and spend that Friday at the zoo with a child we have been sponsoring through Compassion for the last 7 years. 4.)Leave for HK on a 6am flight.
On Friday, September 25th I picked the girls up early from school (elementary had an early release) and we trekked to the airport. We made it to the terminal and through the check-in and security in enough time to catch a bite to eat before we got on the plane. The flight was slightly delayed, but our kids just squatted on the floor and played games...being nice to each other...it was early on in our adventure:)
The flight was smooth. The kids were treated with business class (because Zuji had messed up our reservation) so they were entertained and fed, again. When we got to Manila, we were tired, but dealing with familiarity is helpful. We found all of our luggage and then headed for the shuttles. This was the "fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants" portion of our trip. We booked a hotel unseen via agoda and didn't call to reserve a shuttle. When we got to the shuttle pick-up area, we were told that we had just missed the shuttle to our hotel...then, of course, they were quick to arrange a taxi for us. I forget exactly how much they were going to charge, but we made it clear we were fine to wait the hour they told us it would be back. Funny thing, our shuttle came about five minutes later:)
We got to our hotel, checked into our two rooms, showered and went to bed. The next morning we ate a quick breakfast, checked out, and took the 15 minute shuttle ride back to the airport. All in all, a good stay. We found our way through the domestic airport pretty easily, and were at our gate in plenty of time. Our flight to Dumaguete was only an hour, and I knew the Dumaguete airport was VERY small, so I half expected a "puddle-jumper"and was pleasantly surprised by a bigger plane. That flight was pretty uneventful as well, and we arrived into Dumaguete with ease. We were met by Gerard, an ICM representative, who showed us where our van was located that was going to take us to our hotel. We did our normal count...5 kids, 6 check-ins, and 11 carry-ons...and were on our way.
 |
| The bustling Dumaguete airport |
We arrived at the Santa Monica Resort and were greeted by friends who were already there, some arriving the evening before, some that morning. Our group was 70+ students, kids and adults, so the entire resort was booked for us...you can do that much easier in the Philippines.
About 2 hours after we arrived, the majority of students and leaders arrived...in jeepneys...it was a great sight! We got them settled, ate dinner, and had our first YL club...it was a wonderful night and the kids loved it! Emma stayed for the talk, but Andy took the younger three back with him...it had been a long day. After club, I dropped Emma off at their room, and went to my room with the four high school girls that I was staying with...we were joined by three other high school girls (including Grace) and Lauren, another leader, who were staying in the adjacent room. We had our "cabin time" and then bedtime. It was a long, but good, first full day!
 |
| Welcome committee |
 |
| Students arriving in Jeepneys |
The next morning was beautiful...a bit windy, but the rain that we were worried about had not come. After a leader meeting, we ate breakfast and then it was off on our snorkeling adventure. We had three boats (large, medium and small) to take all of us to Apo Island. What was supposed to be a 45 minute boat ride turned into a 2 hour boat ride, but it was a great time to get to know students that we didn't know and spend time with the ones we did. The rest of my family was on another boat, which I felt a little bad about, but they were in good hands and with friends....although it was a smaller boat.
As we were coming up to Apo Island, the scene was picturesque. The water reminded us of blue kool aid...it was like a scene from a movie. After we finally made it to shore, we found out that because of the tide, we had to dock on the wrong side of the island. But it was only a 20 minute hike to the other side...over the mountain. We all were catching on to "Filipino timing" but were ready to hike. And yes, the hike, while most of it was cement stairs, were up and down a mountain...with an occasional goat to hurdle:) We made it to the other side in about an hour. The other side was gorgeous, but we quickly figured out that there would be no snorkeling because the surf was very rough. Luckily, we were also planning on eating lunch at a secluded restaurant that was delicious. So we ate, enjoyed the scenery, and hiked back to where we docked the boats. We were bummed because there were supposed to be sea turtles on the "lunch side" but after all was said and done, snorkeling on the side of the island our boats docked was fine. And Andy even took Abby, Josh and Emma snorkeling...they loved it and saw amazing coral and fish and starfish.
 |
| Gorgeous first morning in the Dumaguete |
 |
| Beautiful Apo Island |
Heading back was a little bit more risky...the water was churning and Andy's boat almost had an accident...but all was well and we all arrived back to the resort safe and sound. We got back in time to have Young Life club with 100 Young Life kids from Dumaguete...it was awesome and such a picture of heaven. We then ate dinner with them before they left...then we regrouped, our speaker, Mariah, revisited what was talked about before, then we went to our rooms for the night...such a full but wonderful Day 2!
 |
| Club |
 |
| Josh got to be a small part of program on the last day |
Day 3 started our service projects. This trip was co-sponsored by ICM (International Care Ministries) which is the larges GMO in the Philippines and headquartered in Hong Kong. It serves the ultra-poor...those making less than $1 a day. We were broken up into three groups...our group was all the ICS folks...so I got to serve with the high school girls and my family. We drove about 30 minutes away and went to a small village kindergarten where there were about 20 children and two teachers. Our group was then broken up into two groups...those who helped in the kindergarten, and those who did construction projects, which included a worm farm and a tippy tap:)
 |
| Meeting the locals |
 |
| Sarah and Abby and their new friend, Deseme |
We were there all day...ate lunch with them, took a little tour of the village including three house tours, before leaving mid-afternoon. It was a great day to see our team come together and serve this village. It was also wonderful to see our children befriend these students from the kindergarten...even Sarah was loved on by the teachers there and Abby got right in there and made friends. Josh helped the boys with construction, Andy made very good use of his engineering skills, and Grace and Emma helped out with the craft. Then it was back to the resort for dinner, club, cabin time....and a great dance party!!!!
 |
| Final step of the worm farm |
 |
| Sarah fits right in |
The next day was almost the same, except we were able to come back earlier in order to enjoy the pool and a little down time. The kids were tired...all of them...but I think they would all say that serving was the best part of the trip. That night we had yet another wonderful dinner, club, cabin time and more time in the pool. To me, it doesn't get much better than Young Life camp and a service camp combined. We had an amazing time and were SO grateful to be able to meet so many new friends, as well as serve our friends in Philippines. It was a time that will not be forgotton...and Lord willing, will be repeated in HK for years to come
 |
| The finished product! |
 |
| Last morning in Dumaguete |
Our family left on Wednesday September 30th ahead of the rest of the group...to start part 2 of our adventure...
No comments:
Post a Comment