China: Tiananmen Square

While Ellen and Mama G are hanging out in Manila, we worked it out so that I could cash in some SkyMiles and visit my brother in China. It's been almost two years since I have seen him, but while experiencing new things in China is cool, I am most excited about just getting to hang out with him!

After landing in Beijing, the two of us went to our hotel to unload our stuff before we went out to do some exploring. My first item of business was to give my brother a chocolate pecan pie that Ellen and Mama G had cooked just hours before my departure. Oh yeah, he loved it. Good job, ladies!

After resting for a few minutes, we walked down to Tiananmen Square--the enormity of that place is astounding. As you approach the square, the first thing you notice is the multitude of red flags that sit atop the surrounding buildings. The square itself is about 100 x 100 yards, and covered in gray brick. Standing in the middle of the square and looking to the north, you are met with a large parade viewing stand that holds a massive painting of Chairman Mao, a god-like figure in Chinese history, whose face is plastered everywhere. To the east and west are looming Communist government office buildings, and to the south an obelisk sits in the shadow of Chairman Mao's massive mausoleum, again giving honor to his suppossed claim to being a deity.

The square is littered with soldiers who stand at attention in their dark green uniforms--unlike the fuzzy-hat wearing sentries that stand guard in England, the Chinese soldiers' eyes will follow everyone who passes in front of their gaze. If that isn't enough scrutiny for you, then just a quick look up at the lightpoles will reveal an impressive collection of video cameras, some large and imposing, some a little more obscured.

At sundown, a 20' tall flag is lowered in impressive military style, and we squeezed into the crowd to watch the display. Afterward, we wandered around, practicing the language on vendors ("boo-yao, shishi nee!": "I don't want any, thank you!") and college students ("nee-how": "hi"). We met up with two students--and my brother started sharing with them about God, and gave them his Chinese Bible. Matter of factly, he told them that they needed to believe in God. They were very appreciative and we left them flipping through the pages as we walked off.

It was getting pretty late, so we tossed the Frisbee around and then grabbed some dinner at a local dive. Thankfully, my brother's command of Chinese is really good, and he quickly discovered that the English menu was four times the amount of the Chinese menu! We laughed about it with the waiter and enjoyed our meal.

That's me and Mao.


Hundreds of people gather to see the flag lowering ceremony.

Tomorrow: The Great Wall

Mom's in Manila!

Mom and I have been having such a wonderful time that we haven't even taken the time to write you all about what we have been up to! Here is a glimpse into our lives over the past few days!















Here Mommy is with granddog Scruffy. Scruffy absolutely loves getting even more attention than usual. Mom has really been a trouper by going to the vet with Scruffy. (one of her first big cultural experiences!!!)
















Saturday night we took one of my good friends and Mom out to the Westin on Manila Bay. They have an amazing buffet that we really enjoyed. Originally, we wanted to go there because of a cultural show they perform, but unfortunately it was rained out. It was of course a fantastic evening!
















Mom has been coming up to school and is a great help! We had a surprise on Monday. School was canceled because a national holiday was declared. Mom and I felt the holiday was just for us and we really enjoyed the extra day by going to a huge mall named Mega Mall!

Mom has arrived!!

Late last night my mommy arrived here in Manila!! She had a wonderful trip, met lots of people on the plane (of course!) and is now visiting us for a couple weeks!! Yippee!

This morning, it was very hard for me to go off to school, knowing that Mom is here! She has a date with Dan today to see where he works and get a tour of the SIL center. I can't wait to spend time with them later this afternoon!

Larry & Enol's Wedding

Remember Larry, the guy who used to be our next door neighbor? Well, a few years ago, he met a girl named Enol, and they continued to stay in touch with each other, even when Larry was living in the U.S.

Just a few weeks ago, they married in the town of Tugegarao. The locals said that it was one of the biggest weddings the town had ever seen.

During the wedding reception, a Philippine custom is to pin money onto the clothes of the bride and groom. Here, Ellen and I are pinning a few bills on Larry. We later learned that we were actually supposed to pin the pesos onto Enol, since we were guests of the groom!

Mummifying Chickens!

This quarter in Social Studies we are studying Ancient Egypt. As part of our study we have talked about different ways people and animals are mummified. Before a few weeks ago, I thought that mummies were only the kind I have heard of in Ancient Egypt. Now I know that a mummy is any human or an animal that after it has died still has its soft tissues (skin, muscle and/or organs!) Two ways this could happen are when a body is frozen quickly or dries out quickly.

In order to understand the process better we are mummifying chickens! This past week we cleaned out our chickens, killed any germs with rubbing alcohol and then covered them in salt to dry out. They will dry out for the next month before we continue our project! Hopefully they won't start to smell!! :)

Taiwanese Tour

Even though the busy summer is winding down, the SIL center in Manila is still getting quite a bit of visitors. Occassionally, I am asked to help give a tour of our facilities to showcase what the Lord is doing through us with the indigenous peoples of the Philippines. One of the highlights of the tour is the Magsaysay Award, which is the Asian equivelant of the Nobel Peace Prize, and was awarded to SIL Philippines in 1973.

Recently, one of the groups that came through was a group of Taiwanese college students. I enjoyed interacting with all of them, and they asked some great questions. (I hope the same will happen from all of you when you come to visit us!)

A Whole New World!

As of August 3rd I have 14 new children! They are students from many different nations, organizations and backgrounds. The one characteristic they all have in common is that they are missionaries to the Philippines. They are a bright, energetic group with tons of personality! I have already been really enjoying getting to know them. (of course!)

The hardest part of teaching 3rd grade so far has been caused by me. The fact is, I have taught kindergarten the past two years, so I am used to kindergarteners! It has been very growing and stretching to give more freedom and independance already to these kids. They don't need me to tie their shoes, or help them with everything we do. The fact is that they are midway through elementary school, and my job is to prepare them for upper elementary school and all the hard work that goes along with that. (thankfully, they still give hugs!)















Our opening flag ceremony was very moving. The entire school attended as the 5th grade paraded the flags of the nations from where the kids in the school are from. From South Africa, with one student to South Korea, with 142, to the USA with over 300, each was honored. Amazing how God is working in the Philippines!



















I couldn't resist showing you our precious Scruffy! He is now six pounds and almost 5 months old!

Bananas in Church

Since arriving in the Philippines, we've desired to attend a church that has a good mix of English and Tagalog. We felt that this would help us to learn some of the language. The problem, though, is that the large churches conduct their whole service in English and the small churches begin in Tagalog, see the two white faces in the crowd (us), and then continue in English. It's a nice gesture, but it doesn't help us learn the language!

So today, we visited a mid-sized church. We understood it was a Tagalog speaking service, so we were interested in just blending into the background and soaking in what we could. The music was upbeat and entirely in Tagalog. They even had a projector for the lyrics, which enabled us to read the words and hear the words at the same time. I was able to piece together a few phrases, and we both really enjoyed it.

Then we sat down for the sermon. A visiting Filipino minister was introduced. He scanned the crowd of 500 people, and his eyes rested on us.

"I see we have some Amerikano visitors with us! How much Tagalog do you know?"

Feeling just a tad uncomfortable, we quickly answered in unison "Konti lang!" ("Only a little!")

"Why don't you come down to the front and sit with my family, and they will translate my sermon for you!"

Feeling just a little more uncomfortable, we gathered our stuff and the whole crowd watched the two Amerikanos make their way to the front. As we turned at the stage, he asked what our names were and where we were from. When he said, "Pensacola, Florida? I used to live there!", my uneasiness turned to shock.

I was so shocked that I blurted, "Really? What part?" Of course, the crowd thought that this was pretty funny, because some white guy was about to carry on some howyadoin? conversation with the visiting minister while he stood on the stage with the microphone. I never did hear his response, but I got the hint from the crowd and followed Ellen to our designated seats.

He began his sermon, "Everybody here knows English, right? Let's just do this sermon in English!"

Ugg--so far, we weren't going to hear any Tagalog, and we definently weren't blending in. It actually wasn't that bad though...he gave a great testimony of how he had been a missionary to Saudi Arabia, and had been imprisoned for starting churches there. Now he travels the world, telling his story to people all over the planet.

I guess since we had become such good buddies during those few awkward moments in front of the stage, he decided to give me (note: ME, not Ellen) an Tagalog lesson about mid-way through the sermon. He was talking about how the bananas in heaven will taste better than the all of the bananas in the Philippines. So, he calls me up so that I can recite with him all of the varieties of bananas. Another big laugh for the audience. It was especially hilarious when he started giving me names of foods that had nothing to do with bananas, trying to convince me that they really were bananas.

So, I got my Tagalog lesson after all. All I remember is that there is a variety of banana called "Seniorita", but that's how you learn it, one word at a time.

2005 Discovery Wrap-up

Ellen and I did a debrief for the Discovery Team at a beach near Manila. They had spent the previous two months in the Philippines, being mentored by local translators.

We enjoyed talking with them about their varied experiences, but most of all, we enjoyed just getting to know them. Each has their own talents and gifts, but all have a heart for the Bibleless Peoples of the world.

Hover over each participant to find out more. Then click to see more pictures of them "in action" throughout the summer.

Off to third grade!

So, what have I been learning during orientation? I have been learning all about Faith Academy and how everything works at this huge school for missionary kids! Also I have had a lot of time to prepare my classroom for the 14 third graders that will be walking through my door tomorrow morning! Looking through all of my curriculum, I am learning that 3rd graders can do a lot and I am anticipating a really wonderful year with my new kids! I realize it is going to be a lot different then kindergarten (but hoping they are still young enough to give me hugs!)

Tonight, I am off to put some last touches on my plans and make sure my room is ready. So... off I go... our ministry is now growing to the 14 third graders and their families! Oh, yeah! One of my boys in my class has parents who graduated from Auburn! We'll now have people to listen to the games with that understand and appreciate the phrase War Eagle!!