CATCH UP! (Long post)

Greetings! Last post I shared that Tim had bought a bunny for our anniversary...for about $1.50, we were able to get a bunny and create a make-shift cage....that was on Monday. We noticed that the bunny we chose, while cute, was pretty lethargic (kinda like us...that's why we picked her!). We had no idea that she had a virus that by Saturday made her so sick that she couldn't keep her head straight. She died in my hands. It was pretty tough.

Even more on Tim as this was his very first pet EVER. He cried a bit. It was a pretty awful and tragic death. So Saturday night, Tim decided that we needed another bunny.....right NOW. And this time he said he wanted two, just in case.

So we traveled to SM Mall and found two female bunnies...one older than the other just a baby and for $5, came home with two bunnies and a water bottle....the water bottle cost more than the bunnies! Crazy! And then we built a new make-shift cage.....our pics give you an idea...we worked hard on it...so the buns are wedged between the file cabinet and the wall in the office area....suspended by bricks and chicken wire...comforted by my dish towels and cardboard boxes. We're pretty proud of our accomplishment! If you even need ideas on how to creatively build any animal cages out of stuff you can find in the third world...let us know! :) So here are the buns.....
Bun-Bun #1
Baby Bun #2

Then this passed Friday, we picked up the rest of the new single students entering Newlife School and Mercy Maternity for the Fall semester! Complete with all of their personals, Janelle, Sarah, Holly, Michelle, Stephanie, Serena, Jordan, and Jessica walked outta the airport all smiles and ready to face Filipino life. They are coming from all different walks of life to spend the next two years learning to be midwives while serving this amazing country. Please pray for us as the next two weeks are filled with orientation, classes, homework, and adjusting to our new schedules. It's busy already! But we are itching to get back into the clinic to work with the Filipinas again..... and by the way....my dear friend, Rezel, and baby Glen are doing fantastic and all is well. Thank you for all your prayers.


And last, but not least...the day we got the bunny that ended up dying, Tim took me to dinner for our anniversary! Seen here is the owner, Claude, who has lived here for 14 years and is originally from France! He speaks fluent English, Cebuano, Tagalog and French!


We had a lovely meal at his restaurant and because we were missionaries celebrating our anniversary, he gave us a great discount and blessed us so much.....you see, I have been aching for some cilantro....yes, it seems weird, but I LOVE cilantro and it is impossible to find it here. However, I noticed that Claude had put some cilantro in a salsa that we had with our bread and I just had to ask where he got it.

He said, "Oh you can't find it here....I have to grow it in my garden!" I told him that I was craving it and was so blessed to find it in my meal....he said, "Well, come by my house and I will give you some roots to grow your own!"

I was overwhelmed! What a gift! So the next day, Tim swung by the cafe to pick up my roots and Claude graciously packed three planters with three beautiful cilantro plants! Not just the roots, but the WHOLE plant....and THREE of them! They are growing great in their planters on our porch and I am so enjoying cilantro in our food. It's the little blessings that remind me that God is DAILY working! We had such a great time getting to know Claude and are praying that the Lord touches him in a very special way.

In other news, while I have been sludging through orientation, Tim is ministering in the Badjao village here in Davao. I will have him write next post and share with you pics and details of this completely different culture within the Filipino culture. Quite the story......

Be blessed and please comment, so we know who is reading! We love the encouragement and the news from the other side of the ocean!