Thanksgiving in Davao

Originally I was going to only have a few days wrapping up my stuff in Davao, and getting things packed, etc. for Butuan, however I ended up not leaving until Saturday, which gave me the opportunity to not only get in a shift at Mercy--covering for another girl on BCG Clinic, but also to spend Thanksgiving with the Mercy group before heading off to Marbel again to join Jim Harris and Sylvette on their road trip up to Cagayan de Oro to help them settle in to their new home..

Boys wrestling and girls watching...just like in the US. ;) (these are 4 different families)

It was so much fun having real American food..probably one of the best, if not the best Thanksgiving meal I've ever had!!! Maybe partly too, because they had chicken instead of turkey...which I do a lot better on...

Dieneke in her Indian clothes (where her family is missionaries)

Rebecca's boys are so sweet!!

Jamie, Jane and I

 The dessert table.....one of the girls made all the doughnuts, and I have to say that besides Doughnut Holes, they beat all!!

 Our makeshift tables...the prenatal beds. ;)

It was a beautiful and memorable Thanksgiving dinner... I have SO much to be thankful for!!

1) My relationship with Jesus Christ, who without, I am nothing.

2) My amazing parents, who have supported me in all my endeavors, at home and abroad, and trained me up from a young age in the fear and admonition of the Lord.

3) My precious 8 siblings who have taken over the ranch and housework in the past 3 years so well, and who have lovingly encouraged, prayed for, and written me letters, and patiently endured all the time away from them which has been necessary in the last 2 years..and for so graciously accepting me as I am--growing in the Lord, even with all my many faults.

4) My grandparents..especially Oma, who is the self-initiated 'President of my Fan Club'..I love you so very much Oma!! Thank you for being a listening ear, and praying for me every step of the way and of my life, and being one of my role models!

5) My 2nd and 3rd families..the Gauls and Serisolas... I love you all so much!! God has so richly blessed me through you all..

6) My precious circle of friends...especially Selah, Jordan, Alyssa, and Sylvette... I love you girls!! Thank you for your Godly 'peer pressure' ;p, and encouragement to live for the Lord every moment of every day...

7) My church family, who have lifted me up in prayer and encouraged me in my endeavors these past few years.

8) All those here in the Philippines--Subait, Butuan, Marbel, Davao.....each one of you have had an impact to my life...some have been challenging, others have been just a sincere blessing....

9) The opportunity to live here in the Philippines for 9 months (total), and serve the Filipino people in such a variety of ways...

10) To see how God has provided each step of the way, and knowing and seeing that as I call on Him, He is faithful to answer me, lead me, and direct me in His paths.

There are SO many other things I am grateful for....the list is unending.. I am overwhelmed by the love I have felt by so many people, both here and at home, and for the support they have shown me in the last 2 years, during all my adventures, trials, etc.

God is faithful!!!

Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His Holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; Who healeth all thy diseases;

Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.

The LORD executeth righteousness and judgement for all that are oppressed. He made known His ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel. The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will He keep His anger for ever.

He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him.

As far as the East is from the West, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us. ... But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him, and His righteousness unto children's children; to such as keep His covenant, and to those that remember His commandments to do them.

Bless the LORD, ye His angels, that excel in strength, that do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His Word. Bless ye the LORD, all ye His hosts; ye ministers of His, that do His pleasure. Bless the LORD, all His works in all places of His dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul.

~ Psalms 103:1-12, 17-18, 20-22 ~

A Slice of Thumb

Once we got back to the church, we said our goodbyes to the Mercy girls and went home to relax as a 'family' before attending the evening service (I have officially adopted/been adopted by the Serisolas, as Sylvette's twin...which though was a joke between her and I last year, was realized this year, and I have 'taken her place' in a sense now that she is married..) :)

For a few days, I had told the Serisolas I would make a Guava Crisp for them, and finally got my chance tonight... Since guava have little seeds, it takes a while to cut them up, especially if you're cutting it with your newly diamond-sharpened Buck knife...

In all my years of working in the kitchen or with knives, I have never "cut" myself (not including a knick or scratch here or there)...nevertheless, the thought did run across my mind "Wouldn't that just be ludicrous if I just happened to cut myself this time...right before I am headed back for a full week of preparing to go to Butuan??" So, I was especially careful, and things were going well...

Guava Plant

We were all relaxing and talking around the table while I sliced the guava, and I had almost finished the 3rd one, when I guess I got distracted/the knife slipped on a seed? And I nicked my thumb..not too bad..it just bled a little bit..not a big deal. 

I finished the rest without any problems...but decided to slice one of them just a bit thinner.... And then it happened..... I wasn't distracted..the knife slipped I guess? I'm not sure..anyway,....I gashed my thumb (at the base) open, about 3/4" long and maybe 3-4mm deep. Unfortunately, there just happens to be 2 juicy veins and nerves right there...

One instant, everything was fine, the next, blood was all over the table and the floor... I instantly applied pressure, and laughing ran to the kitchen sink (which quickly turned red...). Then, within 2 minutes, it almost looked like nothing had happened...

You see, 3 of the Serisola boys are Marine Engineers, and part of their training is Emergency Response--at least the training of an EMR, with special attention to water emergencies. Earlier in the week, we had had fun discussing and acting out Emergency response techniques..so when this happened, they were right on top of it...

I was laughing the whole time, first of all, because the whole thing seemed absolutely Murphy's Law to me, Secondly, I am almost never the one who is on the 'receiving' end of medical help, Third, they knew exactly what to do, and it was all calm-like!!

Within 30 seconds, one of them had produced Molunggay (Moringa) leaves and cloth magically appeared from somewhere (cloth isn't readily available here at the house), and my thumb was wrapped tightly with pressure applied...

We also eat these in fish soup..namit! (delicious)

We then had dinner, and got ready for church.. (nothing like trying to shower, dress, and redo your long hair with one hand..).. For the first 15 minutes, I could still feel the blood coming, and found it needful to actually 'elevate' it above my heart, at which it would stop pulsing as bad...as it was, the cloth was pretty bloody..

Jim and Sylvette spent the night at our house, and Sylvette unwrapped and looked it over before bed. She recommended me having Ate´Suse look at it when I got to Mercy tomorrow, and discern if it would need stitches...because it was pretty deep, and was still bleeding.

Since I am actually writing this a month later (12/20/12), I will give you an quick update on the progress it made... This might not interest you all, but having never personally experienced this, it really fascinates me...

Ate´Suse looked it over, we cleaned it out well, applied antibiotic ointment, and tightly rewrapped it, with instructions to unwrap and clean it out in 3 days. We decided it wouldn't need stitches, as my body was already showing evidence of healing.. I had to keep it elevated for 4 days though, otherwise it would start bleeding again..sackit!!

A month later, I have a cool scar (with scar tissue!), as a remembrance of that wonderful night (as it really was...with SO many good memories....), and a bunch of raw nerve endings, which remind me every time I bump my thumb or apply much pressure....like putting my clothes on in the morning... Worth it? Haha...yep!! I learned so much, and as I say, I wouldn't trade any of it for what I learn and the experience/relatability I get through it. Praise God!!!

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.

~ Romans 8:28 ~

Ziplining at Lake Sebu

To top it all off, Sunday morning, the Serisola (including Jim and Sylvette) family took me, some cousins, and the whole bunch of Mercy girls to Seven Falls Zipline, tapos (then) Lake Sebu.. And...because Nanay works for the Government, she was even able to get a free pass for all of us and another van to fit everyone in, since we had to take 3 vehicles (even then, we sat Filipino style), to fit all of us.

Originally, they though by leaving at 8am, we would be able to get back in time for church at 10 (that was wishful thinking!)... We got done with the ziplines at 2, went by Lake Sebu, and didn't get back until past 4pm. Long, fun, full day!!!

On the way there (it was an hour+ drive), we drove through Surallah, which has some awesome native statues...

Halfway to T'Boli (which is the location of Seven Falls Ziplines), through the crazy, multiples ascents and descents in the mountains, we started experiencing car troubles...overheating... Thankfully we had brought along a bunch of water for that reason..but we still had to hike the last 1/2 mile there..that was fun!!! With some help from the guys in the other vehicle, they were able to get it up the rest of the way, and cool down.

Then we had breakfast..

 There are quite a few ziplines in the South Cotabato area, but I guess Seven Falls Zipline is especially loved because it is "the highest zipline in South East Asia", at over 180 meters high, passing over 4 magnificient waterfalls. The contrast of colors is spectacular...

Unlike the zipline I rode in Davao, where there were many different position options, this one just had the 'batman' position--usual dual flight..though I have flown 'batman' before, this was my first time doing 'dual' anything..that was fun!!

The Zipline was comprised of 2 rides--the first was 740 meters long, and the second was 420 meters long. My partner was Gabriela-one of the girls at Mercy, who happens to be a year younger than me!

After we finished, we walked down to the falls.. The second falls called "Higong Bente" meaning 'immeasurable' in T'boli (the big one you see below, and that produced all the mist in the background of the second picture) is absolutely spectacular.... It drops more than 70 dramatic meters with the water crashing upon the boulders below, creating a thundering, spell-binding sound.. All you can do is stand there and be awestruck over God's amazing creation... How can anyone look at it and not believe that we serve an awesome and powerful God who lovingly created us??

From there, we trekked the 774 steps carved into the side of jungle, up to the top of the ridge...

Afterwards, we went to one of the resorts on the shores of Lake Sebu, and walked around there... Had fun remembering kayaking this summer on Cd'A Lake with my family.... Looking forward to doing that again!!

This was such a fun and memorable day...thanks Serisola family for the fun!!!!

Bastes Wedding Reception

As soon as we bridesmaids/groomsmen were finished with our part of the Pictorials, we were driven to to the Reception Venue (a 5+ minute drive) to help welcome the guests. To avoid stray people walking in and getting a bite of food, all the guests had a ticket that I had to give to enter the venue... I had fun joking the receivers with my 'invisible' one.. ;)

Jim's older brother did a classy job on the Newlywed car..

We had been there for maybe 1/2 an hour, welcoming and seating guests, when I was informed that my computer was needed for the slideshow...it was at home..about 15 minutes away. The only way to get it was to ride via motorcycle...thankfully Jojo had his motorcycle there, and was able to be my driver....
It was so funny to watch people's faces as we drove by...not only am I puti (white), but I was also wearing my bridesmaid dress behind this gwapo dressed guy...

Only to get back to the reception and find they didn't need it anymore.. (I had double-checked and clarified before we left....so it was pretty funny...but the ride was worth the 1/2 we were gone...or actually, I think it only took 20 minutes...... lol)
Thankfully, we got back right before the Bridal Couple's grand entrance.

 The Father-Daughter dance was precious...and even sweeter was how each of her 4 brothers got turns after that, before allowing her to dance for the first time with her husband!

The Money Tree is a really neat idea..especially for those here--giving monetary gifts instead of gifts, or as an additional present...

 We had so many people, we had to get at least 4 more long tables, and most of the bridal party ended up sitting in the back to give preference to the guests...which was fun anyway.

 The Boswell girls (Heather--one of the head midwives at Mercy) - Elianna and Justine sang a couple of songs during the reception which was really sweet. They're really precious girls..

Heather made and decorated the cakes..beautiful work.

Bouquet Toss....that was a lot of fun..a lot of girls were shy, so I was commissioned to go round them all up...then, once we were all up there, I was pushed to the front, and everyone started yelling for ME to catch the bouquet!!! Yi..... that wouldn't have been a good idea..haha

Anyway, ends up that Eva and I both caught it..but she ended up having it.. ;)

 The winners of the Bouquet and Garter Tosses..Eva and Ezra.. It was sooo funny, because the Garter Catcher then has to put the Garter on the Bouquet Catcher... ... ... It was hilarious!!!

 Then, all the sponsors, and other significant people shared words of wisdom, encouragement or prayer... And then another official prayer over the couple.

 Opening a couple presents, though the rest were opened here at home.. :)

Mercy Girls!!

Joy (a cousin) and I....love that girl!!! 

That was a fun picture!!! Ate´Suse, Zoey, Ate´Elsa, Me, Melissa, & Norms 

Cousins, me, Aunt Eleanor and her new Egyptian husband

My groomsman partner--Ezra and I.

Some very special people..

Once everyone left, then we still had to clean up...and goof off...and bring the presents/decor to the church/house...etc etc.. One thing that I really enjoyed (once the convinced me to do it) was to pop the balloons by sitting on them.... (And for those who knows me well, that has always scared the wits out of me... lol They got some good laughs, but by the end of the time, I was enjoying it!! :p)