Philippine Christmas 2008

Christmas Eve at Andrey and Jen's house. We had a great time together of opening some gifts, singing a few Christmas carols, listening to music, being part of the celebrations in their home.

Christmas Day we awoke early to travel to the church community party at a local school. Jen and Andrey, Lou and I had the fun task of taking pictures of family groupings. The people who came to participate in the celebrations do not own cameras. They were all excited to have their picture taken. Arrangements are being made to give the pictures to them. As seen in the pictures below, there was also ice cream served. Face painting and balloons were offered to the children. After that there was a worship service and lunch was served to all. True to most Filipino gatherings there were dramas, dancing and games played. Gifts were given to each person before they left. More than 800 people were in attendance.
It was a Christmas celebration we will always remember.

Christmas Scene in the Mall

People in the Philippines love Christmas and all the celebrations that happen along the way. These young women were happy to pose for my picture. Back to business about things, we find that our expectations and understandings about how things work do not always mesh with how the locals look at things. At this particular till we waited about fifteen minutes to receive the change for a larger bill. No problem.

Speaking of waiting...I still can't figure out how the lineups in the CRs(restrooms) work.

Merry Christmas

This is Glory Reborn Clinic where Jen volunteers a few shifts each week. Glory Reborn Clinic is situated in a poor neighborhood. It provides prenatal, childbirthing and newborn care to women in the neighborhood for free. Medicine and some equipment are charged at a nominal fee. However, these women would not be able to afford any care in the local hospitals. Concurrently, Jen is training to be a midwife through the program offered here.
The windows in the picture that are open are windows to the labor room. Marilyn had the experience of working alongside Jen for a day. She was able to witness two deliveries as well as assist minimally with prenatal visits. It was a a great day. The newly transformed Ayala Mall. This mall is beautiful with all the conveniences and comforts of our western world including two Starbucks shops. A stark contrast to so much poverty that we observe.

Glory Reborn Christmas Party--Jen and a few other midwives were acting as "game hosts".

Some enternainment at that same party--the two Mari-lyns were invited to participate in the dance.

Sights, sounds and smells of Cebu Street

We will only be able to show you the sights...sounds and smells may have to be imagined. The above picture is an intersection just before we turn into Andrey and Jen's little community.

Walking with some groceries down that same street.

A view from the grocery store we were in today.

Many jeepneys like this one provide inexpensive transportation in and around the city. It costs approximately 8 pesos to ride. Just to gain perspective on how much that is--there are 40 pesos for a Canadian dollar. There is some talk now about replacing jeepneys in the core of the city with rapid transit. There would be some advantages to this to do with less congestion and less pollution. However, many people would be at peril of losing their livelihood, and of course, the cost would likely be more to the citizens.

Another birthday celebration

On Saturday evening we celebrated Andrey and Marilyn's birthday by going out to a very good Italian restaurant. This should be the last of the birthday celebration for this year, but it was fun to do it together one more time.

From Nova Scotia to the Philippines

St. Nick a.k.a Lou has a special treat for Stella.

Lisa and Mike prepared a delicious fondue dinner in order to celebrate Marilyn's birthday. We had a grand evening.

Upon arrival to Cebu City Philippines, we came to Andrey and Jen's house. It has become the party house here for friends and colleagues of theirs. Just two days ago there were more than sixty people here for a catered dinner. Besides a delicious Asian dinner, cookies were served that Jen and helpers and I had baked. Five different kinds of cookies, in multiple batches. By the end of the evening all the food was gone.

Baking cookies in the kitchen.

It is interesting celebrating the Christmas season in a new setting for us. Philippinos love to celebrate. Malls are busy with shoppers, carollers. I find it amusing that they sing unabashedly about "Dashing through the snow" when it does not feel like snow at all. The weather is 34 degrees celsius.

Now we are immersed into the realities of our family's life in Cebu. It is a learning experience and we are trying to absorb as much as we can.

There are always interesting sights in a different culture from our own. Yesterday as we were driving to the mall we caught sight of this "boar swine for hire" being hauled in a motorcycle carrier.

A sign at a cashier counter in one of the stores that made Lou and me smile said "Please fall in line." I remembered a quote from Dr. Seuss: "From here to there, funny things are everywhere".

Advent

My favorite time of year is Advent. What I especially appreciate are the daily readings which we think about each day. Reminders to "keep awake", "keep alert" for the Lord's presence in our lives.

This Sunday will be the second Sunday of advent. It is also the day that we have planned to leave for Cebu, Philippines. Our plan is to visit our son, Andrey and his wife, Jenifer. We are also making arrangements to visit our sponsored child who lives in a part of the Philippines not too distant from Cebu. There may be opportunity to work as volunteers. We are looking forward to the adventures.

The past month has been full of readjusting to our Nova Scotian culture and beauty. Spending time with Lisa, our daughter and her husband, Michael. We have enjoyed meals together, walking with Stella, watching them surf, baking together, celebrating Advent and Christmas, birthday week. Yes, it is my birthday tomorrow. It has been our family habit to celebrate "birthday week" rather than just the day--an excuse to stretch out the celebration.

We have also enjoyed times spent with our friends--Elden and Joy; Bill and Glenda.

I was very excited one morning to discover cranberries growing on a low lying part of our property close to the lake. Within a few minutes I had picked a large yogurt container full of them.

Lisa and Lou one morning on a walk by Lawrencetown Beach--like eagles, don't you think?

An inviting place for a picnic at Porter's Lake Provincial Park. (about one and a half km. from our home)

Sunset also at Porter's Lake Park. The air was crisp and oh so fresh.
In Halifax at Point Pleasant Park with Mike and Lisa.