The Road to Baguio

(It is 4:00 am on Sunday morning as I finish this blog post.  Ben was right in his FB post from yesterday, jet lag has set in, but for me it was at 2:30 am.  Here is a quick look at our day from yesterday)

Saturday, 7/5/2014

We had a great breakfast at the NTM Guest House in Manila.  Pastor Dave introduced me to a couple of people that he had met on his trip to the Philippines in Feb 2013 who were also staying there this weekend.

The view of Manila from our room on the 4th floor of the NTM Guest House in Manila.

We had a Team Meeting with Pastor Gerson who helped us out with some cultural differences here.  I really appreciated all he said, especially what he said about our non verbals when we communicate with others. 

(I also learned something that I take for granted in the USA...toilet paper.  It's not that there isn't TP here, but when we are out we need to take some.  I was reminded that TP is not an entitlement.  TP has a cost. I was reminded to be thankful of the generosity of all the public places back home that provide this.  I know, I know, one could debate who really pays for it in the USA...but what If this was just another reminder for me to be thankful?  To live a life of gratefulness? I am going to take the gratefulness path and not complain.  PS A big shout out to Kathy Geib for packing this for me!)

From the guest house we traveled by taxi to the bus station.  We needed to take 4 taxis on this trip.  All the taxis had Tagalog speakers with them except my taxi.  I was reassured when Pastor Gerson spoke clear directions to our taxi driver in Tagalog before we left and how Pastor Dave spoke in English to our driver the whole time.  I had lost track of where we were right away.  We started going down alleys and I lost any point of reference that I had thought I had.  At one point we were stuck in traffic in an alley and I was thinking that this might be a good place to get nervous, but then I thought about the fact that God knew exactly where we were and where we needed to be.  I could rest in the fact that God is a God who sees!  And He is a God who is personally interested in each of us.  I did not need to be nervous or to worry.  I could trust Him because He loves me and He is trustworthy.

We made it to the bus station and we did not see our team (our taxi was the last to leave the guest house).  Here was another place to simply trust God.  Slowly the other taxis carrying our team mates made it to the bus station and we boarded the bus to Baguio.  

A few of our team mates and most of our luggage and supplies had gone with Ben and Sarah in their two cars.  They left from the guest house, ran a few errands and planned to meet us at Doan Rest.  

From the bus station in Baguio we took more taxis (this time only 3 and each one had a Tagalog speaker).  We made it to Doan Rest.  We found our cottages, met some more people and I got to work organizing the food for our dinners in my cottage.  When Ben and Sarah arrived the team unpacked our bags from their cars. 

The team quicky separated our personal things from what we had brought for the Hortons, the team got moved in, got in a little free time fun, prepared dinner and spent time around the tables with everyone here at our evening meal.  I turned in early because I'm not on schedule yet and I wasn't feeling very well.  No worries, it's just the traveling and the time difference.  I am confident that I'll adjust in no time.  The rest of the team went to sleep later and I hope that they can sleep in.

Here are some photos that I took with my iphone of the trip.  Sorry there isn't a lot.  I was just really enjoying the ride.  I'll try to get some others from the team later.

Enjoy!

Pastor Dave said that it takes a while to leave Manila.  Here is a view from my window as we weaved through the Manila Saturday late morning traffic.

We got out of the city and the landscape changed to a wide open sky and a land full of farms.

We are starting up the mountain pass that will take us to Baguio.

I'll post more photos soon!

Prayer Request:  Please pray that we would continue to actively trust each other and care for each other.  Please pray that we would have wisdom to care for our bodies even with the simple things as rest, food and water so that we will be healthy and so that we can help our team to be healthy.  Please pray for our time with the Christ followers here in the Philippines, that we would be mutually encouraged.  

Praises: Please thank God with us for our safe and adventurous travels. Please also thank God with us as we are becoming more unified as a team.  Please rejoice with us as we have enjoyed getting to know the believers here with whom we have joined for these next couple of weeks.

We are praying for you too!  We miss you!  We love you!  Thank you for supporting us and being part of our team! 

~Love Beth

"So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others."

"for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain." (Philippians 2:1-4, 13-16 ESV)