There are so many, many things to tell you about my time in the Philippines...and i fear that if i don't get them down now, i'll forget to update... but i'm side-stepping the meaty topics for the random ones:

Things i will NOT miss about PI:
1) the BUGs and mosquito bites! at least i've been faithfully taking my malaria pills...
2) the frightening Catholic idol statues everywhere

this HUGE Mary had to have been at least 4-5 stories tall. and in the malls, there are gold statues of Jesus and it's common to see hoards of people touch the image and pray. so sad!

3) being asked these 3 questions ALL the time:

• "What's your name?"
• "How old are you?"
• "Are you dating?"

without exception, everytime i've met a new filipino, whether young or old, i get this same drill. and because i'm so old, they immediately want to set me up with men they know. don't they realize that i'm a full head taller than 95% of the population in this country?? hmm...at least i've enlisted a few more people to pray for me regarding this topic. heehee =)

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4) the fattening food. everything is prepared to give maximum nutritional benefit to the tiny people here... and the result? my one-size-fits-all underwear that i bought in china last summer is not so one-size-fits-all anymore. oops! (and who said i'll lose weight on missions??)

5) the incessent rain!

i guess it's my fault for comin' during rainy season...by my, how it rains a lot! i'm definitely not gonna miss the mid-calf-high flooding on the roads...

6) the poverty

don't let the lush trees override the fact that these "houses" are built alongside a sewage dump/river. and due to urbanization, a LOT of people live in such conditions. no running water, flooding, and 10+ people squeezed into one room "units" - so many of the girls come from such squatter villages

Things i AM going to miss:

1) seeing strange animals in the most unexpected places:

yup...those are live roosters being carted to a boat in baskets. their intermittent crowing was the best part. and while driving on the road, we saw turkeys, carabaos, goats, etc.

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2) the AMAZING fruit... i've eaten a ton of mangos!

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3) learning new human tricks. i seriously thought that smushing 13 high schoolers into a Ford taurus was impressive...but filipinos can get just as many into one of these:

after jeeneys (mentioned in my previous post), these tricycles are the next most popular mode of transport. i have been extremely fascinated by them and realized the other day why. it resembles something Batman had and i always wanted to be his sidekick. step aside, Robin!

3) my PI family: the Scott's!

all dolled up for a wedding. God definitely provided abundantly...they've made me feel so loved & welcomed! and provided me with some very rich insight into life here.

4) the girls at ABP1!

a pic w/ 4 Michel(l)e's... i can say volumes about how all the girls have encouraged me in my own faith. and i probably will later... you guys are gonna have a tough time shutting me up!

5) how the simplest things bring a ton of JOY:
celebrating July bdays: $20 spent on cake and ice cream = a roomful of screaming, laughing, hyper girls.

and in the 2nd pic, we're eating 23-cent McD's ice cream cones. look at the HUGE shining smile on her face!

6) the BEAUTIFUL scenery

this is sunrise at the Hundred Islands Nat'l Park...

7) the $17 90-minute Swedish massage. let me repeat that again: i got a 90-minute Swedish massage for $17!!

8) but there was something even more enjoyable than that this week, and i'll bet you'll never guess (What can beat a $17 90-minute massage??). i stayed at another missionary's place one night and got to have my first HOT shower in 3 weeks. let me tell you that it felt SOOOO good that i thought i must've been sinning! =)

dang it, this is the longest post ever... and i'm still missing a million things - like the fact that i get to learn something new and fascinating here everyday. it's been amazing.

to conclude...one last picture:

don't you think someone should staple this to my forehead?? =)