October Break - and TEAM Celebration on Cebu

Our first quarter of teaching at Faith Academy ended on October 13. Faith's one week October Break started on the 14th.

TEAM took the opportunity afforded by Faith's October break to have all of the TEAM missionaries in the Philippines get together for our annual conference. So, on the 15th, Laura and I (and three other missionary families) flew out of Manila to the island of Cebu, right in the middle of the Philippines. In Cebu, we met up with two other missionary families with TEAM. Then, after driving for a couple of hours north of the city, we arrived at our destination: a small resort on the north coast of the island of Cebu.

The scenery was beautiful, and we got a chance to relax and unwind, after a very hectic end of the first quarter. We definitely needed the time off from grading and planning and teaching for a little while. It wasn't purely fun and games.We spent part of each day in worship, learning, sharing about our various ministries, and other TEAM Philippines dialogue. However, there remained plenty of time for both fun and games, of various kinds.

Below are some pictures from the resort. Hope you enjoy them!

Oh, and as a side note, another benefit of this trip was that we were not in Manila when Typhoon Megi (aka Juan) hit the north edge of the Philippines. There wasn't much damage in Manila, but we were still happy to have not been here when it passed over.

The beach by our resort. It was about 200 feet from our cabana.

The same beach as above, except during the sunset. So beautiful!

This was a nice little wading pool. It was kinda cold, which was nice at times.

These were the more expensive rooms. One of the families stayed in this part of the resort, but we did not.

We stayed in one of these cabanas. It was nice, mostly, if you ignored all the ants that found their way in.

One of the evenings, we all played a game of Catch Phrase. Lots of fun!
Also good bonding time-- you learn a surprising amount about the other players during a game like that.

Dave and Kathy North, and Grace and Keith McCune.
Both couples are long-time TEAM missionaries.

We also played a few other games during the weekend, such as Settlers of Cataan.
The Persons (in the back) were playing Canasta.

And after it was all over, we gathered for some final prayer, and some praise for our time together.

Intramuros

Two weekends ago, we spent Saturday with the McCunes, fellow TEAM missionaries here in Manila. They are very cool people, and we are thrilled to be their neighbors! 

On this day, the four of us went to Intramuros, the old walled city that used to be the whole of Manila. It is an important historical site, though most of what you can SEE of the history has been rebuilt. The whole area was leveled during the liberation of Manila from Japanese occupation at the end of World War II. (Yes, you read that right; it was the liberation that was most devastating to the buildings.) However, much has been rebuilt, and it was a fascinating area to visit. We visited Fort Santiago, Casa Manila (a home recreated to show life as a wealthy Manila aristocrat), and 2 churches. We finished the day in Rizal Park, very near Manila Bay, but our camera had run out of batteries by then, so we have no pictures.

The rebuilt walls and defenses of Fort Santiago. This looks over the ocean- the main enemy at that time was pirates.

Chatting on a bridge over the moat, with many water lilies. Evidently Manila is named for these flowers. Unfortunately, none were blooming while we visited.

The recreated, decorated gate into the fort.

A pretty Manila flower I found, that had fallen off its tree. The umbrella is for the sun. I have used my umbrella more often here as sun protection than rain protection, and that seems to be common, even during rainy season. Grace and I had our umbrellas up a lot that day.

A statue of Jose Rizal, a vastly important Filipino hero and liberation symbol. This area of the fort is where he was imprisoned before being executed by the Spanish. Just in front of the gate, you can see the bronze footprints that mark his last steps.

Costumes in Fort Santiago of wealthy dress from several centuries ago.

The McCunes at the Casa Manila

The only building left standing after the liberation, the church of San Agustin. It used to have two towers, but an earthquake took one. We visited the church and the accompanying museum of Filipino religious history. Interesting stuff.

A Picture-less Tale

from Laura

So today was Back-To-School Day at Faith. Known under various names around the world, this day is the same thing at every school I've taught in. Parents come, the principal talks, the teachers wave, everybody spends 10 minutes or so with each class period, and parents feel like new students in the building as they try desperately to find their child's next classroom before the bell rings! Oh, and the parents meet the teachers meet the parents. :) For me, this Back-to-School day also included a reminder lesson on perspective, pride, and appearance. 

I am always far more nervous about talking to parents than to students, so every year I over-prepare for this day, especially at a new school. This morning I got up and spent a record length time choosing my outfit. (It needed to be comfortable enough to work in during the open times throughout the day, but also professional enough to impress even the most formal of parents.) Eventually I chose one... And then changed my mind... You get the idea. I did manage to get dressed, was ready on time, and was feeling quite satisfied with myself. 

As we got close to the school, one eye started to really itch. By the time we arrived, I could hardly wait to get to my classroom and remove my contacts. Both eyes itched fiercely for a while and began to feel puffy, but with my contacts out, at least I could function. Which I did, walking around the campus, making copies, and getting organized. I was also getting strange looks, and I knew I was in trouble. Sure enough, a look in the bathroom mirror showed me that my eyes were completely puffy and red underneath, an allergic reaction to who knows what. I looked truly awful! There was nothing I could do, so I just went on with my morning, dreading the arrival of the parents.

As the morning went on, I continued to work, and to explain myself to concerned colleagues, and to get concerned looks from those who don't yet know me well enough to start a conversation with "What's wrong with your face?" The itchiness went away, and the puffiness slowly receded. It was replaced by a deep-red bruised look underneath both eyes. I stopped looking like I had been sobbing and instead looked like I had lost a fight. I mentally threw up my hands and planned my opening line of explanation for each parent group.

By the time the middle school parents arrived and we had our opening meeting, much of the red had also disappeared. At that point I merely looked like I had lost a fight a while ago, like maybe last week sometime. In that general opening session, the principal had all the teachers come up front. We were in a scraggly semi-circle, squished onto a too-small stage mostly in one line, trying to let everyone fit. Somehow, I ended up dead center, pushed forward out of the line about half a step, with everyone packed too tightly to try to move back or go anywhere. And, of course, as the principal introduced each teacher down the line, there was no opportunity to step forward with "Oh, and I just want you to know that I don't normally look like this!"

When parents came, I didn't bother with my opening explanation. Eight hours later, I still look extra-tired from the residual puffiness and red, but no worse than that. I'm sure most of the parents had no idea that I don't normally look like this. Not exactly my best face forward, but c'est la vie.

Which, of course, is the point. God laughed this morning when I couldn't pick an outfit and was so worried about the impression my clothes would give. I'm so often concerned with my appearance, my self-presentation, my hair, my clothes. None of which is ultimately important or lasting or, really, mine at all. In a new place, with so many first impressions to make recently (and still to come), I guess I needed a reminder of how I should be defining myself and my value, and of what I should be concerned with as others begin to know me. I will not be a better teacher because of my clothes. I will not reflect Jesus better on a good hair day. And maybe if I learn this now, God won't have to send an allergy attack next time I'm getting ready for an important meeting... :)