April 10, 2008

Hey there family and prayers and friends who care: Greetings from the Philippines, yes, that's one of the countries in Asia where I've had in my heart for over 20 years to come to (S. E. Asia, that is).

Much to report but will just email as I can recall things of note, and for as much time as I can sqeeze in...just using internet cafe's here.

What a place...people everywhere, living in such small enclaves, and sqatters everywhere...amazing how they can live like that, esp. in the unbearable heat, which for us was in Manila and Dagupan...but now in Baguio City, 5000 ft. up in the mountains, tho hot, it's much more pleasant and so beautiful here.

I was very busy first week and a half here...esp. in Baguio. I've done some outdoor concerts at Ywam base here, have another tomorrow nite, and have sung/spoken at several Ywam events, and gave the adress to a high school grad class (of 150) and sang a song for them.

I sang/preached 2 services in a row last Sunday.

Last nite I was just going to bed and in my shower was a huge spider...biggest I ever saw...like a average hand with fingers outstretched....yikes!!! Got a photo...and was resigning myself to sharing the room with it, (too big to squash...like a mouse) upon hearing it wasn't poisonous, tho still might bite, but a German guy offered to kill it, so I let him.

I ate (unknowingly) half a chicken head Sun. nite. Frans, wanted to order some food from street vendor, so he thot they were sausages...I got into mine first, and half way thru, someone watching us sees the eyes and beak, and yells out, they're chicken heads...oh, great!! We bot 4...Frans never touched his after that...and I offered my other one to a local who was grateful...I didn't feel too bad about consuming what I did, til later I found out from this local's wife, that he said it was uncooked inside so he threw it out...or maybe threw it up. So a good swig of the nutrabionic tonic after that.

But I was fine.

It's mango season, and I do declare, have never eaten such lovely mangos...no string...dig them out with a spoon...and they're cheap...like 6 for 75 cents.

We ride the jeepneys alot...a World War 2 elongated version of the jeep...for public transport..and there's literally ten's of 1000's of them in every city. Again, it's a cheap ride...and they're old beasts that are made of stainless steel and fancied up something fierce.

It's funny going into any mall here, or cinema, or big store, like a grocery store, and you pass security checks, where you get patted down, and bags inspected, but just one pocket..never the other ones in your pack..(where we keep the guns and ammo).

No hot water here, so cold showers mostly..and in Dagupan, it was the barrel of water and a scoop, for showering...amazing the water you conserve that way. Few scoops and you're done.

God's so good...the concerts and really every event has been blessed and meaningful...people touched, stirred, and encouraged.

People generally very kind here...get called 'sir' way too much...about 500 times a day. Frans was buying some shoes last week and he had 4 staff waiting on him...3 of them lovely looking women... for about half an hour too...I'm sure he was milking it for all he could.

It's a different world here...and so thankful to be here...God has great things in store. Frans bought a $4500. camera and gear, and also a $3000 video cam just for this trip, so he's shooting lots of stuff and hoping to let you see some of it when I get back...

so far for now...love the sealion