The Mountains, Compadres, and Precious Promises

Cultural Dictionary (Forgive me, I'm really not a expert and phonetic spelling but I tried!)

Ate - [pronounced Ah-tay] It means older sister, but as a sign of respect, you call anyone here who is older than you Ate (insert name) or just plain Ate is fine too. 

Kuya- [koo-yuh] the male version of ate (big brother) We call all the guards at the clinic Kuya, if they are older than us (they are all older than me).

Milo- a sort of energy drink/hot chocolate mix made by Nestle. It is pretty popular in most countries outside the US too. We give it to our patients when they are in labor and after they have had there baby. It is always mixed with milk powder and sugar. 

Jeepny - a jeepny is a unique form of public transportation. It is sort of like a cross between a bus and a very large truck bed. there is a roof, but no glass in the windows, and one bench seat on either side of the "bed" area. I will try to get a picture of a jeepny. It costs 6 pesos to ride one way and they have their own route, like a bus. You can tell where a jeepny goes by the name of the street or neighborhood painted on the side of it. For example, I live in Obrero, so I would take the Obrero jeepny to get home.

pancit- a sort of Filipino noodle dish, kind of like chow mein with really thin rice noodles. 

buntis- the Visayan word for a pregnant woman. 

Maayong gabii- [Mah-aye-yong Gah-be-ee] good evening in Visayan 

                  buntag - [Boon-tah g] morning

                  hapon- [ha-pone] 

Maayong gabii! I am sitting on the balcony of my house, which is one of my favorite places to be (it is probably the most quiet) drinking hot milo with powdered milk, and listening to the rain all around me in Davao CIty. Today all of the first year students got up at 5:30am to go have a fun day with the Filipino workers at the clinic; the midwives, gaurds, office staff, cleaning and laundry crew. My supervisor, Ate Jhobee, organized all the events for the day. The Filipina gals had a sleepover at the clinic the night before and stayed up cooking pancit, fried chicken, pork, seaweed salad, and of course an ice chest full of rice. It isn't a Filipino meal without rice. They took us all up into the mountains in the clinic ambulance and a Jeepny, where it was actually pretty cold! We saw some of the beautiful country parts of Mindanao on our 3 hour squished jeepny ride. Our final destination was a little mountain resort where some people went swimming in the very cold, but very beautiful springs. There were beautiful waterfalls and green all around (unfortunately I figured out my camera battery was dead on my way up there (Hopefully there will be some pictures tagged on Facebook). 

We the Filipinos had games planned and they definitely know how to party and have fun! We laughed, talked, ate, and swam, until it was time to drive down the mountain and back into Davao City. I may have fallen asleep on my classmates shoulder for a few moments on the jeepny ride home. It was actually really nice, the comfort of her shoulder reminded me of my mom. Salem is a mom with four young kids, and moved here with her husband and kids (from Texas) to do the school. She is so sweet and loving, and I always feel comfortable and relaxed around her. The trip was a fun adventure, but I was so excited to get back home to the warmth of Davao and relax with my hot milo and my compadre Annabelle. 

Talking with Annabelle about the struggles and challenges we are having, God's amazing grace on our lives, and His dreams and plans for our lives has been such an amazing breath of fresh air for me lately! I am in SUCH need for Jesus, and it is so wonderful to have a friend I can talk to and receive encouragement from who will pray with me! There are so many of the girls that are so amazing and special here. I love the hopes and dreams that the Lord has put in each of our hearts for our lives, but it is still challenging because we all come from such different backgrounds and communities. It can feel pretty lonely sometimes. I am really actually thankful for this loneliness though, because it draws me so much closer to Jesus. The joy of the Lord is truly my strength. As I walk into this season of challenge, possibly more challenge than I have ever dealt with before, I have the strength of Christ more than I have ever had before. I can always rest on His promises. That He has called me here for a time and a purpose and that He will never leave or forsake me. I know that He will give me the strength I need in my weakness, because He told me He would. I keep remembering the words that ran through my mind months ago when I felt the Lord was giving me a choice to come here. "It won't be easy, but I am worth it." I go over these words in my head again and again and I thank God for His nearness. I also remember with this, that He also promised me fun and adventure! So I will be looking forward to that as well!!!

Buko (aka young coconut water), the most amazing and healthy drink here in the Philippines. It can be used to treat dehydration and urinary tract infections. It is loaded with electrolytes and potassium. It has been used as an IV before in rural hospitals when IV fluids are unavailable (personally, I'd rather have the buko even if the IV fluids are available. Haha.

Beautiful view from the beach at Paradise Resort on Samal Island. They took us there for two days and one night for our orientation. It was amazing! We had air con AND hot showers for one glorious day! 

Public transportation in the Philippines! We call them tricycabs. or tricys. They are one of many ways to get around. Super fun though! It costs about 10 pesos (25 cents) to get from my house to the closest malls/restaurants etc.