These are a few of my favorite things....

We are on vacation now in Puerto Galera, Mindoro! Nehemiah Teams allows each team to go on a 3-day vacation to rest and recharge. Working at the orphanage has been probably the best experience of my life, but you do need a break sometimes and it came at the perfect time for me. We are over halfway through with our summer which is hard to believe. When we get back to the orphanage we will only have 15 more days to be with them. I love these children so much. Each day we spend together causes me to grow more and more in love with them as I learn more about their lives, their stories, and their habits whether good or bad. Leaving the orphanage for our vacation was hard to do, even though I knew we would be back in 3 days. It gave me a small glimpse into the future as to how hard it will be to leave them at the end of the summer knowing I may never see them again or see the fruit of our labor in their lives as they grow up. That is so hard. I can only hope that one day I will see the fruit in heaven and see their smiling faces.
In the meantime I will enjoy the time I have here on the beach to rest in the Lord and ponder over the things that have happened this past month. Here are a few of my cherished memories:
1. Walking around the 4km lake in San Pablo only 2 days after arriving. This trip midday definitely got us used to the heat quickly
2. The church's anniversary service and baptisms
3. Riding a jeepney and tricycle
4. Going to the American supermarket and getting excited when we heard "I'm Yours" playing over the intercom and finding American snacks
5. Going back to the lake with the youth and trying street food (also called dirty food) which included chicken intestines and chicken feet. I didn't try balot but I happy just to watch Brea and Levi eat it.
6. Washing clothes, hanging them out to dry, and praying that it will not rain. Then having to run up the 5 flights of stairs to get the clothes down because it starts to rain.
7. Hearing what we call the demon cat ourside our window cry at odd hours of the night.
8. Hearing rats in the floor as we sleep
10. Growing accustomed to spiders and roaches and hearing rats to the point of it not bothering me anymore
11. Running into an American mormon at a store in the city
12. Finding a coffee hangout place with delicious desserts
13. Bathing screaming children for school
14. Going to a birthday party
15. Playing with the children everyday
16. Eating chicken adobo (YUM), lumpia, palabo, ensaimada, chicken curry, fried bananas, mangoes, pineapple, watermelon, maja, santol, rambutan, milk fish, and many others
17. Walking into the classroom and hearing the children say in unison, "Good morning Ma'am Grace"
18. Hearing the children call me "Ate Grace." I love it
19. Sunsets over the beautiful city and mountains of San Pablo
20. Countless Tagalog lessons
21. hugs (or yakap)
22. WABAAM!
23. Laying on the court and staring at the stars God made for us while singing songs with the children
24. Having a tea party on the rooftop with the teenage orphanage girls.
25. Videoke with the girls
26. Learning our way around the city on our own
27. Having people look at us everywhere we go.
28. Having people speak to me in tagalog and ask me if I am Philipino
29. Getting split up in a crowded market place and having people direct us to the other americanos because they know we are with them. You can't hide in the philippines...
30. Making secret handshakes
31. Going to the church's mission points
32. Singing new songs
33. Spending more time with God than ever before in my life and having Him change me from the inside out.

These are only a few of the wonderful memories I have made, but my favorite memories are when the children get excited to see you. They look at you, scream your name (Ate Grace), run towards you, and give you a huge yakap! Then, the greatest is hearing them say mahal kita (I love you). These are a few of my favorite things...