Christmas is Here!

Hello World!

It's been the Christmas season here in the Philippines since we've arrived. Complete with a countdown in one of the malls and everything. However, now the decorations have really exploded! I think most of the places I go, I hear Christmas music and see at least a couple of twinkling lights.

Normal sized Christmas tree.
This is in the coffee shop where we have
a lot of language lessons.

GIANT Christmas tree in one of the malls.
Also in the left of the photo, there's a Hello Kitty Christmas Village.

Need some decorations?!?

It's nice to see all the Christmas things around here but also reminds me that we should be praying for the Filipinos to understand why we celebrate Christmas--the birth of our Savior Jesus who came into the world, lived a perfect life and died in our place on the cross so that we can trust in His sacrifice and live in relationship with Him. Please pray with us!

Elizabeth

Pictures of Our Apartment

Our bedroom

Living and Dining Room

Kitchen, with banana chocolate chip muffins in the oven!

Exploring Our New City

Hello Everyone!

We just wanted to do a quick post and show you some pictures we took while exploring Davao! We take the jeepneys to the malls for grocery shopping, language training, and Krispy Kreme donuts! We also got to travel to a church last weekend and spend some time sharing and helping with some training. The training was to raise interest in missions among the youth at the church we visited. We had a great time and made some new friends there. Look for another post coming soon!

Joe and Elizabeth

View of the street from a pedestrian bridge, to the right is a mall
with all of the colorful jeepneys lined up ready to go!

The other side of the street, there's even a Pizza Hut!

Elizabeth and I sharing last weekend.

It's more fun in the Philippines!

It really IS fun in the Philippines!! Here's some reasons why:

Our Filipino friends!

Our snorkeling boat! We spent the day with new friends looking at
coral and fish, ate fish on the beach, and had fun!

We spent the day at Mati, what a beautiful country!

From the Philippines!

This is our first blog post from the Philippines!

We have done a lot so far! We've met lots of new people, been to lots of new places, tried new foods, have moved into our apartment, and started language training.

Here's some pictures to show you some of what we've done so far:

Plane ride from Manila to Davao City!

Bananas in the Market! This is where we'll get our fresh fruits and veggies, and hopefully practice our language skills! :)

This is a new fruit we've tried called Mangosteen!
It only grows in this part of the world and the
season is in August-September.

The inside is white and sweet, delicious!

This is one of the views from our apartment! We even get the privilege of hearing karaoke some nights... more pictures of our home to come in the near future!

We are excited to share everything with you all! We had our first language lesson today and already have a lot of words and phrases to practice. Please be praying for us to learn and acquire the language as quickly as possible. The people here are very friendly and so finding people to practice with should be easy.

We have been so blessed by those who are already here and have much knowledge to share about survival in Davao! Thank you for your prayers for us to transition well here, they have been answered :)

Email Newsletter Signup!

Hello everyone!

We would like to start a newsletter to keep you all informed on what is going on! We will continue to update our blog with pictures and stories throughout our time overseas.

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Joe and Elizabeth :)

New York, New York

Hello!

Thank you for your prayers for our trip to New York! We had a great experience in the city and got to experience many different cultures! We stayed at a hotel in Queens and rode the subway all week to wherever we needed to be.  At times we felt discouraged, but most of the times we were able to talk with many different people and share the Good News of Jesus Christ.  

We also met a woman on our first day in the city who seemed lonely and we were able to meet with her each day and spend time being with her and encouraging and praying for her. She was very interested in studying the Bible with us and we are working with church planters in NY to make sure she is cared for and has fellowship since we are gone. 

"Freedom Tower"

World Trade Center Memorial Fountain

We were also able to spend some time in Manhattan during the evening, we visited Times Square, the Empire State Building, and the 9/11 Memorial. It was the first time we had ever been to the 9/11 Memorial and we really enjoyed it.  As 9/11 approaches it was good to reflect together on where we were on that day and what it must have been like for the people in that area and on those who gave their lives to save others. As we go to the Nations it is good to remember our ultimate purpose, to share the love, grace, and forgiveness of Jesus Christ who "demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8).

Thank you all again for your love, prayers, and support!

Joe