Maligayang Pasko! (Merry Christmas!)

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas last week! We had a great time, spending Christmas Eve in Pensacola, and Christmas Day in Alabama. We also went to Atlanta to celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary (has it already been 3 years?!), and we met up with my brother Will at the brand new Georgia Aquarium. Really cool. Hope to get some pictures up soon!

Hanging out on the lake with Ellen's sister, Anne, and her beau, Cory.

(We like Cory...even though he graduated from the University of Alabama.)

No Place Like Home for the Holidays

After 31 hours of traveling, we finally arrived in Alabama for our Christmas break! Our parents gave us an early gift by flying us back to the States for a couple of weeks, and we happily agreed. Since we are here for such a short time, we only have time to see family, do some celebrating (two major holidays, two birthdays, and one anniversary), and rest. Here are the answers to some of the most common questions that have been asked of us since we have arrived:

How's the jet-lag affecting you?
The day before we left Manila, we had a crazy idea that we could fight jet-lag by getting ourselves on "Alabama time" before our departure. That meant we were sleeping in the afternoon, staying up all night, and eating lunch at 2am. Everyone thought that we were crazy, but it actually has paid off! Since arriving, we haven't had urges to sleep at weird times in the day, and we haven't woken up in the middle of the night wanting tacos.

Where are you traveling while you are here?
After close consultation with our travel agent, we have decided on the Birmingham - Alex City - Pensacola - Alex City - Atlanta - Pensacola - Alex City - Birmingham route.

Where are you going for your anniversary?
We have plans to go back to the Westin hotel in Atlanta, where we stayed during the first night of our honeymoon.

When do you leave?
Despite the negative implications that such a question brings, we'll be leaving the first week in January.

When will you be back next time?
(Note: This question is a "quick save" for those who realize the error of their last question.) Our only plans for returning right now will be August '07. Of course, you are welcome to come visit us before then!

My Past is Catching Up to Me

Recently, I've had to publicly recite things that I memorized over a decade ago. I guess my past is really catching up to me here in the Philippines.

Last week, I attended an Eagle Court of Honor for a Boy Scout at Faith Academy. I've been thinking about somehow getting involved with the troop, and this ceremony seemed like a good way to get to know how they do things. Partway through the ceremony, they asked all current Eagle Scouts to come up on stage and recite the Scout Oath.

Gulp.

Like riding a bike, it just came back to me, and seemed to mean a lot more to me now than it did when I was a kid. As I and several other men stepped off the stage, someone leaned over to me and said, "I had no idea that you were an Eagle Scout!" I'm not sure if that's a compliment or not...

A couple of days ago, Faith Academy's high school choir was performing selections from Handel's Messiah, and Ellen and I went to watch our niece, Melissa, perform. Halfway through, the conductor approached the microphone and said, "Our last piece will be the Hallelujah Chorus; if any of you in the audience have ever sung this before, we would like to welcome you onstage to sing it along with the choir." Ellen nudges me in the ribs.

Double gulp.

Despite the fact that I hadn't sung it since my youth choir days in Pensacola, I went up anyway. Again--like riding a bike, it just came back to me. I got a little lost on one of the lines, but I found if you just keep repeating "Hallelujah" over and over, nobody really notices.

"Uncle Dan, I didn't know you could sing!"

Uhh...that's debatable.

Dan's Trip to Pineapple Country

I got a chance last week to visit some of our translators who are working in the southern part of the Philippines. To get there, I flew a standard commercial airline to a small airport, where I was picked up by one of SIL's pilots. I was fortunate to be able to sit up front with him and ask him some questions as we approached the grass airstrip. He told me a little bit of his history as a pilot, while also pointing out some major landmarks, like the pineapple plantations owned by Del Monte.

After we landed, we unloaded our gear and got in an old pick-up truck for the final leg of the trip. As we bounced along on the dirt roads, we passed through some banana orchards that were maintained by Chiquita, and I asked the pilot (who had now become our driver) about the small pointy bushes that we were passing by.

"What are those?" I asked, pointing off to my right.

"Pineapple plants."

It was at this moment that I had one of those epiphanic, slap-in-the-face realizations: Pineapples don't grow on trees.

I don't know why I had ever thought this, but there they were--real pineapples, just like you would buy in the store, except that they were attached to a plant. (And the Del Monte sticker had not yet been affixed to them.)

So, even though I knew that I would be risking ridicual from the my co-workers (specifically J.C.), I let my igorance be known.

"Huh?! Pineapples don't grow on trees?!"

Then the pilot stopped the truck. He said that it was so that I could get a closer look, but I think it was so that he could stop laughing.

After getting to the center, I was able to unwind from the day of travelling, and began preparing my presentation to the translators. I was actually talking to them about the possibilities of involving interns with their language projects, something that would be greatly beneficial for them, and for the intern. It went well. Actually, it was one of the first times that I delivered a presentation without being totally freaked out. (If you've seen me speak in church, then you know what I'm getting at.)

The trip finished up well. I was actually able to meet up with some old friends that Ellen and I got to know at Training Camp last year. We had a great time catching up, and comparing notes on life in the Philippines. They were even cool enough to mention me on their blog: http://jessicanatebecker.blogspot.com/2005/11/highlight-to-busy-day.html. Thanks Nate and Jessica!

Swimming at Faith!

Faith Academy has had the dream of having a pool for a long time. Recently, the money was donated from a church in Korea, specifically to not just fund a pool, but an aquatics facility. It has been a desire that has been on the hearts of many people here at Faith and has now become a reality. It is an amazing place that God has supplied for Faith Academy and the surrounding community.


The entire school came out for the dedication. Here a Faith Academy graduate, who now serves at Faith Academy, is sharing about when God supplied the well for Faith Academy to have water. This was a miracle that occured about 30 years ago! That well filled the pool with 250,000 gallons of water!


All the students were so patient as the ceremony lasted an hour and a half! Here my class and many others sit on the new bleachers in the facility!


It was also really fun as representatives from each school (elementary, middle and high school) cut ribbons and had the first official swims! Here the high schooler is cutting the diving board ribbon! The rest of us now can't wait for our first swim! (Remember: we can swim year round!)