Jenn's Journalings

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Flooded Streets

We’ve had two pretty heavy rains this past week…and actually it seems another one is starting as I write this.

The ceiling in my bedroom has been leaking a little during the extra heavy rain. It’s nothing serious yet, but we’ve alerted the landlord. Hopefully that will be able to be fixed soon.

I am thankful that my street doesn’t flood much when it rains. The other streets in my subdivision flood pretty badly. I have several friends who’ve been cleaning up after the floods that get into their homes. This can be very frustrating and time consuming for them, especially when it happens regularly. I know they would appreciate your prayers.

Below I’ve included two pictures of my street from this past week. This was after the second heavy rain. Just before I took the pictures someone was walking through the flood waters, and all of a sudden he started walking more quickly. I wondered why. I found out why pretty quickly – a vehicle was coming. Vehicles splash and also make the water slosh around more, so the man was trying to get out of the way.

FIA Staff Retreat

We just returned from a few days away at Eden Nature Park and Resort for our FIA staff retreat. Eden is one of my favorite places to go here in Davao, for two reasons: 1) it’s beautiful, and 2) it’s cooler since it’s up on a mountain.

We had a Sunday morning devotional time at the amphitheater, and I enjoyed the opportunity to worship the Lord in His creation.

Thank you for praying for us as we start the school year this Wednesday, August 2.

FIA Textbook Ordering – Days #1-5

Following up on the previous post, here are some pictures I’ve been taking as I open packages and track what I’ve received so far. I label the days as I receive/process the books, so it’s more than 5 days in duration since I don’t receive packages every day.

DAY 1

DAY 2

DAY 3

DAY 4

DAY 5

I am thankful for reliable mail services and internet; both of those things make this a much smoother process.

Musings on Re-entry Culture Shock & My First Week back in the US

Again…I know this is late (I returned to the US back in June), but I think it’s still worth sharing. 🙂
Here are some of my somewhat funny observations/experiences during my first week back in the US after four years in the Philippines.

Traveling in the Car #1: It’s so quiet – the engine, the turn signal, everything.

Traveling in the Car #2: It feels like you’re flying – it’s so smooth! (this is a combination of the car & the road conditions)

Traveling in the Car #3: You have to wear your seat belt – always – even if you’re crammed in the back seat with 2 other people.

Toilet Paper: I CAN flush it (as opposed to throwing it in the trash can) & I don’t need to provide my own when I’m out (mall, restaurant, etc.).

Potable Faucet Water: I start brushing my teeth, pause for a few seconds – Oh no! Is this water ok to use to brush my teeth with? … Yes, ok. – continue…

Using Words (as opposed to nonverbal communication): The day I returned my brother asked me a question and I responded with a yes. However, he was still looking at me, waiting for an answer. I realized that I had answered in the Filipino way (not with words). In the Philippines one way to say yes is to raise your eyebrows. I quickly explained that I said yes in that way; he understood (and is already used to me doing this).

Weather: I woke up my third morning back realizing that you need to check the weather here because it’s actually different each day. Now, this isn’t to say that things are always the same in the Philippines, but they are pretty much always hot. You don’t really need to question whether it’s ok to wear shorts or not.

Cold Water in the Faucet…always: I get goose bumps when I wash my hands! I’m used to lukewarm, room temperature water from the faucet.

A few weeks later…

Fast Food: I was out with friends from Indonesia about the 3rd week of June – When we sat down at Chick-fil-a we were discussing how we don’t throw our own trash away when at a fast food place in Indonesia or in the Philippines. Despite having just discussed it, I completely forgot when we finished eating. If it hadn’t been for my friend starting to clean up our trash I would have walked out and left it all on the table. Oops! 🙂

Now four months later…

While I’ve adjusted to being back in the US in some ways…it’s still very different. I still say yes with my eyebrows, point with my lips (sometimes), and will probably forever be adjusting to the colder weather. However, I am thankful for the time to visit with family, friends, and ministry partners here – even if I don’t quite fit in the US like I did four years ago.

Clouds & God’s Faithfulness

I went to Bukidnon for 4 days during this school break. I really enjoyed all of the scenery (mountains & clouds) while being out of the city.

As I looked at the clouds I was reminded of a song that I really like (“I Will Look Up” by Elevation Worship), and for the rest of the trip the clouds were reminding me of HIM.

The two lines that kept repeating in my mind were “I will look back and see that you are faithful / I look ahead believing you are able.” I hope you enjoy these pictures of God’s handiwork & can also be blessed by this small reminder of his faithfulness.

All the worries of this world
I will lay them at your feet
Surrender every anxious thought
For perfect peace
Your perfect peace

All the loved ones I hold dear
All my hopes and dreams and all my fears
I will choose to trust your name
In everything
With everything

I will look up for there is none above you
I will bow down to tell you that I need you
Jesus, Lord of all
Jesus, Lord of all

I will take you at your word
Jesus you have taken hold of me
All my life is in your hands
You’re my strength
You’re my strength

I will look up for there is none above you
I will bow down to tell you that I need you
Jesus, Lord of all
Jesus, Lord of all

I will look back and see that you are faithful
I look ahead believing you are able
Jesus, Lord of all
Jesus, Lord of All

Prince of Peace
Perfect Healer
All my life, all my cares on you
King of Kings
Mighty Savior
All my life, all my cares on you

Lizards

Seeing little lizards around the house is normal here in the Philippines.
(I’m not sure if they’re actually lizards or geckos or …, but I usually call them lizards.)

They scurry around on the wall, sometimes they fall out of the cupboard or climb out of a drawer when you open it, and sometimes they’re in your trash can. I remember back when I’d only been here for a couple months. I went down to the kitchen in the dark…and the trash can made noise. Our trash can is near a back window. I quickly figured out that it was just a little lizard in the trash.

Here’s a larger one that’s been hanging around our kitchen lately. (He’s probably 3/4 the length of my hand.) I caught him in the trash can the other night.

That same night I went up to my room and there was a little, tiny one on the floor. I took some pictures of it near my backpack as well. In this first picture you can hopefully see just how small he is. He’s to the right of the backpack strap.

I do think these little guys are cute…unless they fall on me. 🙂

I have some interesting lizard stories from school – one about my projector screen and one about my air con (air conditioning unit). Ask me about these when I’m home on furlough. 🙂

Summer Vacation – Beach Trip

Summer break started a couple weeks ago; I went to the beach for a few days with friends. I relaxed and enjoyed taking some scenery pictures. I thought I would share some.

There was this pretty purple orchid (or some kind of flower).

I don’t remember seeing this type of flower until this trip.

I liked this view from our porch.

Here are some beach pictures:

And some sunset pictures:

Christmas in Manila – Part 2

After that we went to see the Ayala Lights Show. It was neat; the lights changed with the music. I hope you enjoy the video and pictures!

: with dear friends, Becky and her mom

Christmas in Manila – Part 1

I spent a few days in Manila with friends before going to Indonesia. We were able to go to a free concert by the UP (Univ. of Philippines) Chorale; it was in a hotel lobby. They compete around the world. It was amazing!