Today (Wednesday May 20) we just checked out the mall and BBQ'd with most of the people/families we will be working with at the different projects. It was more of a rest and relax (aka shake jet-lag) day.
The mall is a very interesting place, very loud and lots of people.
All the people (Americans) we will be working with throughout this trip seem really cool. You can definitely see the Philippine influence in their lifestyles and mannerisms, they're so much more calm and laid back. It would be nice to see more people like that in Hays. Besides the humidity, we could easily get used to living here. One of the single guys we are working with says he can easily live for under 1000 a month!
We're excited for tomorrow, we get to start building a full scale basketball court. There are several college basketball players coming over to play (over 6 foot tall, one is 6’7”). We are playing at least a few Philippine college teams, 16 games in 7 days.
Our condo is nice…nicer than our apartments back home…just A LOT warmer. We have one air conditioner in the bedroom window that we can run at night, but other than that its 85 degrees at 90 percent humidity by 8 AM. Today being at the mall was interesting. We got to look at the complete difference in culture, especially the foods. Their cuisine is amazing. Some of it smells (and we're told tastes) horrible, but we still want to try it. Its interesting to see how much of an American influence there is on the market, especially in electronics.
Thursday May 21
The sun sets about 6 and rises about 5 every day of the year (were only 14 degrees north of the equator) so its hard to get used to that. We woke up about 7. We read, ate and wasted time till 9 when we headed out.
We “worked” today. We spent the entire day looking for supplies for our basketball court. We went to several different malls and shoppes all over the city trying to find a cheap but well built movable basketball goal but couldn't (the other one we were going to mount to the concrete wall). The best deal we found was 20,000 pesos for one movable basketball goal that was designed horribly, so we got to planing stuff out and came up with our own designs and rounded up materials. The final bill for two movable setups was 12,000 pesos and it will a great deal stronger. After we bought rims and hopefully renting some welders, chop saws, drills and wood saws tomorrow, we will get done for under 20,000 pesos for both basketball goals (saving the church about 400 dollars). But we didn't actually build anything today. We ate New York style buffalo wings and got starbucks (which is less than half price over here... I got a large carmel frappuccino for 100 pesos!) So the bulk of the day wasn't exactly a “cultural experience”.
However, after we took a look at the the church and building location, we took a tour of everyday Philippine living conditions. Poverty doesn't even begin to describe their way of life. Shacks built out of scrap wood, fragmented pieces of plastic and small chunks of tin make up the common construction materials. At best it provides a location to their name, a place they can call home; it doesn't provide privacy or shelter even from rain. The forest is so thick in many places, shade isn't a problem. Sewage runs openly down the dirt beaten path and infected, starving dogs crawl all over the place, drinking the inhabitants waste. Their well was only about 3 feet deep; I can only imagine how much sewage easily seeps into what they ingest. And thats only the beginning.
We ended the “work” at 3 PM. We got back to our condo, swam and decided to venture off on our own to really explore our environment in the inner city.
We're really looking forward to tomorrow...when the real work begins and we get to build, get dirty and play with power tools/welders.
Anyway, I think this blog is long enough...theres thousands of details I wish I had time to type, but I don't think you want to read a 2348932 page long blog.
Were keeping all of you in our prayers. Please pray for our mission leaders, and church pastors we are working with; that the work will go smooth and safely. Pray for all those we come into contact with, that they wouldn't see the effort we are putting into our work, but the effort God is putting into us and through us for these people. Pray that we can be tools for God to use, in whatever way he sees best to use us. That we sacrifice comfort and rest if it means doing the work of the lord.
Thank you, to each of you who through prayer made this trip possible. We wouldn't be here without you!
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