Sunday, Dec. 29
Today is our first Sunday in the Philippines, and we got to hear my brother-in-law preach the sermon at Grace Christian Church. My brother-in-law is a former pastor and currently is a professor at a seminary in the Manila area, so he's more than qualified to preach. We really enjoy his preaching style and feel blessed when we get a chance to hear him teach the Word. In fact, he is the one who officiated our wedding ceremony almost 10 years ago! He preached from Daniel 2, and reminded me that God is on the throne. It was a message I really needed to hear that morning, especially being out of my comfort zone and trying to manage 3 children and feeling very out of control myself!
 |
| After the service, our family posing in front of the pulpit. |
We put our kids in the children's Sunday School classes and even got the baby into the nursery. I thought it was very interesting, and a cultural difference that there were no shoes allowed in the nursery building, not even in the entry way outside the baby gate where parents drop-off. And, when we went to pick her up, the baby was running around with a lollipop in her hand! In addition to the lollipop, our 1 year old was given a goodie bag when she left, which contained various small toys that in America would be considered choking hazards. The workers were all very nice, & I wasn't really upset or worried about these things. I think they provided loving care for my kids. It's just another situation since we've been here that's made me realize how obsessed we Americans are with safety. I'm still wrestling with this one…
One cool thing that we got to see on our way out of church was Old Samson Road & the neighborhood that my husband lived in when he was 5-6 years old (according to his memory!). Their old house is still there, and it was fun to hear the brothers' comments on the place. (Mostly that they remember it being bigger!)
 |
| Cousin Group Hug |
 |
| A delicious Japanese lunch at Kimono Ken in the mall |
After church we went to another mall, SM North Edsa. I guess this mega-mall is the one that is closest to my relatives' home and the one that they often would go to for lunch & relaxing on Sunday afternoons. In case I haven't mentioned it before: the malls there are not just for shopping. A lot of families would like to go there because it's a safe place with free air-conditioning. They include many restaurants and snack shops, movie theaters, grocery stores, playground areas, rides and special exhibits or displays as well. Kind of a one-stop shop to do anything you might want to do for family recreation. They even had a craft area for kids to make crafts to take home.
During the holiday season this mall had a whole area set up with Hello Kitty and her friends. We actually had to wait in a line to get into this area and see all the Sanrio pals. My daughter was overjoyed!
 |
Did you know Hello Kitty is British??
Really! I learned all sorts of new things about her. |
 |
| Even our baby got in on the action |
Another thing that's been fun to see on this trip is that our older daughter has decided that she now likes merry-go-rounds. Prior to this trip she has been fearful of them and refused to get on. Suddenly she's so eager to go on them, and since there are lots of rides like this in the malls here, she has been SO happy to show off her new-found bravery!!!
 |
| Dinner at a new Korean restaurant, where most of the items were "unavailable" |
This Sunday night was the last night of Sa-Pe, Sa-Mm & Trinity's time in the Philippines. They flew back to the States the next day, so it was a bit of a "last supper" meal for them. We went to Z Mall, which is not a mega mall, but had a few restaurants and was very close to where we were staying. We decided to check out a new Korean restaurant during their "soft opening". We were disappointed, as many of the items that we ordered weren't available, but they didn't tell us this until after we had ordered & had been waiting a long time for the food to come out! It was good family fellowship, though, and we definitely will miss hanging out with Trinity & her parents!
Comments