God is good and adventure at every corner....literally.

Greetings again! Our internet has been in and out, so I apologize for the lack of e-mails, replies, updates and info...but it is working right now...so pray it'll last!

Well, Sunday, Tim had the runs....no he did not run a marathon...."runs" to the bathroom were frequent. Please continue to pray for his belly.....mine, too, as we are fighting a battle for our health right now.....
I have been singing "O Victory In Jesus"...you know...the OLD hymn. Seems to be working. (Thanks Uncle Bob and Sylvia for the e-mail reminder to war in the Spirit!)

We are so enjoying getting to know both the Filipino and the westerners working in the clinic. Last night we had a party at the Orange House (the dorms for the students) to say good-bye to the women who just graduated. A current student named Lois made a fantastic meal of East Indian food! It felt like Vancouver food! Yummy!

This morning, I got up early and went with my new friend Jen and Nini, her househelp, to the biggest market in Davao. Little shacks lined up and down the street reeked of ripe fruit, raw meat, and fresh rain. It was pretty awesome. I will take pictures next time....this time it was a little overwhelming. The market is much like a giant shanty town with makeshift roofs, rotting 2x4s holding up ratty tarps and covering both merchants and beggars. The food is crawling with ants, but it is super cheap and can be washed. It is the best way to give out to the poor here, too, as we have been advised NEVER to give out money, but provide a means for them to make money. The people are so beautiful and though they stare and giggle at my every move, you know that they are dear people with BIG hearts. I just love them. This place is really beginning to feel like home. God is good.

Then today I got a wonderful tour of the maternity clinic that I will be serving in this week! At this point, I have no idea when I will be working, but it will be sometime this week....it amazes me how organized and yet how primitive the clinic is. They are always in need of medical donations such a blue pads, syringes, pitocin and the like, so if you have that available to you and want to donate to a great cause, please let me know. They are sooo blessed when the Lord provides for such needs.

Tim spent most of the day resting as his belly is feeling oooky, but he managed to go to the bank to check out what it would cost to cash Canadian cheques and came home with a really bad report. We are still trying to sort out the money issue and our shipping stuff. Despite the current frustrations, we are falling in love with this city....falling in love with the people and praying that the Lord opens up doors beyond serving in the clinic to bless and share His love with the people here.

I came home from the market and Tim was still feeling poopy and wanted cookies.....so I made some millet chocolate cookies! (They were so good) I made them in our gas oven that would go out every couple of minutes so I would have to re-light again and again.....but hey...at the end of it all, we had COOKIES!

Because everything attracts ants, we have to be uber careful when we cook, put away groceries or store fruit....even the slightest piece of grain, rice or salt attracts THOUSANDS of ants.....they do get into everything.

We also have noticed that the men who work in the warehouse below us, LOVE to pee on our big metal door and allow their nasty (and I mean HIDEOUS) dog to pee and crap all over our door and front step....so the first thing to greet you when leaving home is the intoxicating scent of feces and pee. Ahhhh....the diesel fumes come as a sweet change in comparison! :)

All in all, we sure love our new home and Gos has placed a wall of protection around us with great directors, wonderful and helpful new friends, and a love for this amazing country, its culture, and its people. They do everything to maintain peace wherever they go and that also means that they do not confront....EVER. While my background fights this way of life, I understand how, in this culture, it is a blessing and a strength to forgive, forget, and keep the peace. However, they serve each other with love and grace that it is hard to come up with a reason to confront. What a nice change.

Here are just a few pictures from our just-about-finished house. It just of the guest bathroom and finished guest lounge...the rest of the pictures are having trouble being loaded on to blogger right now. Our internet connection is pretty bad today. Sorry. We are still waiting to get our cargo shipped that we desperately need ASAP....it has all my medical supplies in it!!!! PRAY I GET IT SOON OR I CAN'T WORK IN THE CLINIC!!!! Have a wonderful day and be blessed!

PS. For those of you who are coming to visit soon...(mum, dad, Heidi, Kate?, U.Bob, Syl?) YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE SOOOOOO MUCH FUN! THIS PLACE ROCKS! And we have just about finished your room, bathroom and 'quiet' lounge! See you soon!