Philippines -Carpio Monday

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Monday
Well - Pap & I got more rest than previous nights but still at 2:30 we heard the rooster under our window ruffle his feathers and then let out a lusty crow - we got the giggles and John & Jackie said that they heard us laughing - as you can see we are becoming family and hence the dilemma that surfaced that we must face on Tuesday. Later Pap & I got up in the early morning and did some reading and talking - When the kids got up we breakfasted on Dunkin Donuts and fresh mango - also hot coffee
We packed up and cleaned up the house we are staying in and Art came to pick us up at 9 am but said that we could not go to Doans Rest until after 1 pm so we would go to Carpios. On the way we went to the open air markets for Jackie & I to by valuable items (junk) and we even got John in the mood to part with some pesos. Pap of course saw the racks of meat being carved off and desperately wanted to get a sandwich but Art intervened and said it is not safe so he promised Steve & John (who was STARVING) that food would be available soon! We stopped at a cafe that had wonderful Philippine food - Art says that they usually are uneasy as to how to feed Americans as they are picky and want American food but Pap assured him that if we planned to eat American food we would have stayed home! Of course Jackie is enjoying eating things that she is familar with and John is eating whatever we set before him - he has become addicted to pineapple juice! We then went back to Carpios as Art & Pap were going to go to speak at the Police training center to the officiers. It was a great opportunity for Art and Pap was asked to make a few comments.-
Jackie and I stayed at the house - it is laundry day - small, very small washer with only a tiny spin dryer - the workers were basically doing hand laundry for 7 people - they agitate some in the washer and totally hand wash much of it - wash boards and large metal bowls - then hang outside- in the afternoon there were the initial rain showers - so we all made a mad dash to gather the clothes and bring them into the garage to hang again - Jackie and I helped wring and rinse the hand washables - of course they said they did not want us to do work?? We also read in the Napa hut - it is like a thatched rectangular gazebo -beautiful and stays cool for them when it is hot. We then had a downpour though they do not understand as this is still the dry season -
Now for the dilemma - at 3pm Steve and Art came back and we went to Doans Rest - unfortunately it is quite a distance from Carpios and the house we had been at was within waking distance - at the house we were all together - having our rooms but enjoying sharing the common spaces - at Doans -the guys are in one apartment and we girls in another and they are not close together and there is no phone or anything for communication. We realize that Art and Mely thought that we wanted to stay at Doans Rest and made the arrangements for us as we had emailed them about it - it is a very nice place but we feel so far from being a "family" and causing way too much hassle for Art - AND the house is empty and we were going to have to go back Saturday night anyway as Doans was filled them - so Steve and I are going to talk to the manager here at Doans and express that though this is a beautiful place - we feel that we can better accomplish our objectives if we move "home" to the house - We do not want to involve Art as there are times that this is a need for him to use Doans but not this time - the kids also seemed to enjoy "our House" Silly - huh -
At 6pm Art came back to get us for Bible Study - it is now proved to be a very rainy day - lots of mud puddles now to walk through to the study - packed little house of a faithful member of Arts church - I got to hold a little girl about 2 or 3 for much of the service - the kids are warming to the "white Americans" Again the music was joyful and encouraging ( we want to can it and bring it home) Steve spoke from Jeremiah about the emptiness of wisdom, strength and riches. He was informed again last night that he will be speaking again on Tuesday night at bible study - he is struggling as he did not bring studies that he has at home that would have helped him prepare but I believe that God is using him and the people seem to relate to him because they know that he spent much of his life earning a living doing manual labor - he repeatedly tells them "I am not a preacher, I am only a teacher" but I believe that God is using his gift of teaching - No wonder I love Steve! Then Jackie played several hymns on her flute - I am only now realizing the extent of her ability to play anything that she knows the tune - it is wonderful because they would call out a favorite and most of the time she could play it and play it well!!! Art has John pray in the services and I must say that I am one proud Grandma Lane of our borrowed children.( It makes me think back on the wonderful time that we had in Paraguay with Ruthie and what a special part she has in our hearts. I encourage all the Calvary people to continue to invest in our youth - they are our future and they have soooo much to offer.) The family at the home served fruit salad in condensed milk - I had to eat around the watermelon because it is one of the few things I don't like but of course Pap finished it off - it was very tasty.
We had eaten peanut butter(it is much sweeter than ours) sandwiches at Doans before the service so we stopped for the kids at Jobees on the way back to Doans. The kids got to talk to the kids at CCA and we were able to say Hi to Jake. At the room Jackie and I were able to the internet functioning long enough to update facebook and then to skype to Steph - good to SEE her and talk to her. Bed around 10 but as you may be able to tell I have been

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