~VANESSA~

Last weekend my good friend Vanessa came to visit. She is Filipino-American, born and raised in the States. For the past 2 1/2 years her and her husband have been living in Taiwan. He works for Nike and she coaches/athletic trains at a Christian International school.

Last year during our Fareast basketball trip in Korea, Vanessa and I met and instantly clicked. Our love for sports and easy going personalities gave us a natural friendship. Her husband Alex took a job with Nike in Portland, Oregon where they are from, so in March they will be moving back there. Vanessa still has family in the Philippines so she decided to take a short trip to visit them and also spend some time with me. She came baring gifs of clothes, food, toothbrushes, and toothpaste for us to pass out for ministry.....and she also brought me a new pair of shoes! (Nike of course) They are sooooo awesome!

Friday Vanessa joined us in Tanza to see what our feeding program is like. It was great being able to share with her this part of my life and heart.


During our weekend I got to experience a little slice of the good life. Friday and Saturday night we stayed at the Renaissance Hotel. Other than the aircon, cable,full shower, and the fantastic fitness room (which yes I did use), my favorite part had to be the beds complete with down bedspread, bedding, and comforter. I'm still surprised I was able to peel myself away from it!


On Saturday, Vanessa and I went to the Manila Polo Club to have merienda (snack) with some of her family. They were sweet old ladies. It kind of reminded me of hanging out with my grandma at coffee breaks. Here's a picture of us by the huge Polo Club pool.....Vanessa wouldn't let me jump in with my clothes on...not sure why :-) Notice the white girl towering above the rest of them....I was even squatting down a little...which one of these is not like the other? :-)


The Renaissance was right across the street from a ginormous mall. So we spent most mealtimes there. Our favorite choices were Itallianni's and Bubba Gump's. Yummy. And of course I had to take her to quite possibly my favorite place in the Philippines.... Max Brenners: The Chocolate Bar. I got the Italian Milk Chocolatte and Crunchy Chocolaty Cheesecake, while Vanessa opted for the Swiss Chocolate Blend and Fried Bananas with chocolate drizzle. Both drinks came in a cute little hug mug. I paid for it later that night with a belly ache....but so totally worth it!


Vanessa is such a great friend whom I hope will get to spend more time with someday. But until then I'm going to miss her!

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

Well it's been a full month since I last posted something...and a few days ok give me a break val :-) and I'm feeling a little overwhelmed thinking about all the stuff I should put on here. Lets see I need to cover Christmas, New Years, etc, etc, etc. So I guess I have to start somewhere.

Dec 18 I hopped on a big 747 and spent about 14 hours in the air headed for the wonderful countryside of Nebraska. I was so excited to get to spend Christmas at home with my family this year. Last year I spent it in the Philippines, which is an experience I will remember forever. But it just doesn't seem like the holidays without family, ya know? It seemed like we celebrated Christmas for like 7 days straight! It was sooo wonderful. Going home is so refreshing to me. I love to walk in and be greeted with hugs from mom and dad. No one gives hugs and love like parents. And there's no love like the love of family.

A true example of the opposite life and culture of The Philippines compared to the states is: the day before I flew out I was laying out by the pool soaking up the sun. My first day at home I was wearing about three layers making a snowman!


A few days after Christmas I went to one of my best friends brothers wedding. It was a beautiful wedding and an awesome reception where I danced the night away and also caught the bouquet!!! Well, actually my friend Liz and I actually both caught it...but don't worry there were only a few punches, but no black eyes :-)


New Years eve was so much fun! I spent it in the small small small town of Bartley, Nebraska. A few of my closest friends were there and we decided the theme of the party would be "Ugly Christmas Sweater Party". Since my mom wouldn't let me borrow one of hers (just kidding mom) we did a little shopping at Good Will and came away with some real beauties. We sang a lot of kareoke, played cards, and ran around the house in the snow barefoot...don't ask :-)

I spent as much time as possible with my nieces and nephew. Stealing them every chance I got to go shopping, sledding, movies, and just hanging out.

One of the days we went to my brothers farm where we rode horses and shot blue rocks. I totally killed those clay pigeons!!! It was a wonderful day with Jocey, Jedrek, and Jaidyn. I love them and miss them so much!

My last few days I got to stay with my sister and best friend Misty in Omaha. Misty works at an inner city youth center called the Hope Center. Misty, our friend Kadi, and I challenged some of the boys to a few games of basketball. Although we lost a couple games, we proved us girls can run with the best of them. And after our victories we felt the need to treat ourselves to diner and a movie.


I said my goodbyes and flew the 16 hours back the the Philippines. It's been exciting since I've been back and seeing everything God has planned for the next few months. Things we only mentioned, He has set up. Ideas we've had, He has put in motion. Our feeding program is expanding to more days a week. As part of the feeding program, we will be having "classes" for kids who's parents aren't able to pay for them to go to school. Attendance will be required as well as lessons completed as a part of the program. Our next session with the womens pregnancy ministry is ready to start up again. I'm so excited to meet the women God is going to bring. The church we've been working with is also starting a youth group and a womens bible study that we're going to be able to be involved with. I also missed there girls here in the Philippines that I have gotten extremely close to. It's so fun, loving, and encouraging to be with them again. I will be thankful for and appreciate every single day I get with them these next few months.