palawan

i absolutely loved it. everyone asked if i was coming back again and i said i didn't know. they said they would not say goodbye but only see you next time. it was very similar to where i lived in costa rica, very hot and humid, except it was at the ocean. the people are so amazingly warm and friendly. if God called me to go there long term i'd be on the next plane. i can hardly wait til next year to go back.

we would go to the market in quezon a few minutes ride away from the manna home and while walking around we would find one of the pastors or boys from the home right beside or behind us, watching over us to make sure we were ok. i felt so at home there i felt bad that the boys had to wait and watch while we shopped.

the food was incredible, fresh mangoes, pineapple, coconut, calamari, shrimps, prawns, fish almost every day.

we lived right on the edge of the jungle and within walking distance to the sea so the scenery was absolutely beautiful in any direction.

the kids learn english in school at the manna home so we could converse a little bit but candy, nail polish, skipping ropes and volleyballs broke any language barrier.

the national sport in costa rica is soccer. in the philippines it's cock fighting and they had an arena in one village we went to. i asked the pastors about it thinking they wouldn't condone it and was surprised to learn that they all do. not that i have any love for roosters, especially after they keep you awake all night but...

after checking out the 'facilities' in the villages we went to we would not drink all day and pray that we wouldn't have to use them.

the sea was every shade of blue and green you can imagine, incredibly beautiful, and so warm. it was jellyfish season when we were there and little ones came in and lined the shore every afternoon and were washed out with the tide during the night. the ones we saw out in the ocean were over a foot across.

the caving was so cool. our very first day there our pastor had a business meeting so a couple of pastors that had come for the bible conference took us out to some caves. going through the blackness of the caves and coming out into the bright sunshine was like seeing an undiscovered land for the first time, it was beautiful. a bunch of teenage boys that live there came with us because even though they live so close they had never had the opportunity to go to the caves and it was so fun watching them having so much fun. the local beach was all mud so they got to go swimming in crystal clear waters in soft white sand.