That's my mom doing the scripture reading in church this morning.

 Merry christmas everybody!

It's been awhile since we hiked to the top of Kokohead (the place where I proposed to Lynnette), so we decide to go up there to get some exercise. It's also some training if we end up going back to Nepal in May.

 Here is a view from the bottom, and 45min later, from the top.

I think these are the only pictures of me actually surfing so I had to post them up.
The first pic is my first experience paddle board surfing. Featured is my bro (far left) and Tim and Tara Hiura. Of course there were no waves, but that is the only reason all of us are standing up and not flailing in the water.

We arrived back in Manila and had a delicious dinner (more filipino food!) with my Uncle and Aunty. They had put up their real Christmas tree while we were gone, and the smell of pine really made it feel like the holidays. We took a picture with my Uncle, Aunty, my cousin Shelly, her husband Mitch and their daughter Isabel.

 Final Thoughts:
It was an eventful trip for Lynnette and I, and just as we expected, it turned out to serve many purposes. It was a missions trip - with the opportunity to minister to and be blessed by our sponsor child and his family. It was a scouting trip - to see if the Philippines was a place we could see ourselves spending more time in. It was a work trip - a chance for me to touch base with the Entheos team in the Philippines. And finally it was a vacation - to relax, eat good, and spend time with friends and family.

 We know that we'll be back again next year. Both Lynnette and I sense that God has drawn us here for a reason - and we know that we need to continue to explore what God might have for us here. We know we need to make ourselves available to be used in whatever we can in order to be a blessing in this place.

 We'll be flying out Tuesday afternoon and we'll arrive on Tuesday morning, please continue to pray for a safe a trip home - and that we'll get an entire row of seats to ourselves!

 Finally, thank you, to all of you, for joining us in this short journey. We are grateful for all the prayers that were prayed each day, and for all the comments that reminded us of the great support of friends and family that we have.

 Maraming Salamat Po!

Today, Dean and his mom took us to their farms where you can find all kinds of fruits, vegetables and livestock. This is where a lot of the food comes from when we eat meals at their house - fresh, organic, and delicious! Check out the giant goose that Lynnette was freaked out by.
 
Afterwards on the way back to the city, we ate lunch at an amazing outdoor restaurant by the sea. Check out the pictures of all the great food. I literally ate about 80% of all the food that was placed on the table. Notice the before and after photos and see if you can tell which was my plate.
 
Dean and his mom dropped us off at Body and Soul spa, where Lynnette and I got full body massages which costs us 250 pesos! That equals $5!!!!! The spa was located in the heart of the city and since we were about a half a mile from where we were staying, we decided to be adventurous and take our chances by walking back.

We did some window shopping as we walked and when it was getting dark we made are way home - Lynnette was getting scared, mainly because I didn't know where I was going and everything looked like a "dark" back alley street. It also didn't help that everyone was staring at her, and they don't believe in street lights out here. So I had Lynnette ask directions from about 5 different people, (because guys just don't do that kind of thing) but they weren't much help and eventually we found a young girl who pointed us in the right direction - all the while it was getting darker and darker. Finally after 30 MINUTES of walking we made it home safely, thank God - but after all that anxiety, I think Lynnette needs to go back to get another massage.

Tomorrow (but by the time you read this it will be today), we are flying back to Manila. We'll spend time with my Aunty and Uncle and then head back to Hawaii the following day. Please pray for safety in our travels!

Today we met some friends over here who took us to a waterfall not too far from Dumaguete city. It was an awesome secluded little pool and nobody was there. I swam around and got some aqua massage by sitting behind the waterfall, look for the picture of me drowning. That night we crashed an Alumni party event at the college that my friend helps to run and we ate Lechon (roasted pig) like crazy.

Today we started the morning with "dangitt", delicious small fried fish!

 I then spent some time in the morning working with the Entheos Philippines gang - they are great bunch of people!
Then Lynnette and I were fortunate to finally visit two orphanages today. We weren't sure if we'd be able to because we could not get a hold of the directors to schedule the visit. Thanks for your prayers that opened the doors for us to go!

 The first orphanage that we visited was for children under the age of 6. We came in right at the end of their nap time, and there were 3 boys who were just waking up. They were so young and it was heartbreaking to think that they had been abandoned or left alone with no one to care for them. Many of these kids here had been abandoned by their parents, or their parents had died with no relatives to care for them. A couple of them were temporarily left there until their parents are able to take care of them.

 Before we left Hawaii, my mom had bought boxes of chocolate for us to give away. Also a friend and his wife gave us money to give to an orphanage. We ended up blessing the orphanage with a donation, and the kids with a box of chocolate. If you look closely at one of the pictures a little kid has chocolate all over his mouth. That boy was very hesitant to take the chocolate because he has never seen or tasted real chocolate before. Lynnette had to take the chocolate and put it in his mouth, but after that first taste, he gobbled it down... as you can see in the picture.

 We then proceeded to the next orphanage, which was for girls only over the age of 6 through college. We were blessed by a song and a dance performance by them. We were also able to bless them with a box of chocolate and a donation that was given by my brother and his wife.

Today after breakfast, I dropped off Lynnette to an elementary school across the street. She spent some time in a couple classrooms in an elementary school here in Dumaguete. The school is part of the larger Foundation University campus, which my friend Dean operates over here. She was greeted by the superintendant and the head school master who graciously escorted her to the classrooms. While she was doing that, I spent time with the Philippines branch of our web company Entheos and I also tried to get a little work done over there as well. Their office is also on the campus, and they're the guys who do all the hard work.
 
Since Lynnette is terrified of crossing the street by herself, I went and picked her up from the school. Otherwise she would have asked a random student to hold her hand to escort her across the street. Crossing the streets safely is something we both have to get used to here.
 
Tomorrow we are hoping to go to the orphanage. Dean's mother is having a hard time getting hold of the priest there to schedule a visit. Pray that she will get through.

We made it safely to Dumaguete, which is a smaller city on the next island over, after a 3 hour drive and a ferry boat ride.
This is where the Garces family roots are from (specifically my grandfather).
 
In reflecting on the Compassion International visit, I can't stress enough not only the importance and impact of sponsoring a child, which is a mere $32/month, but also connecting with them through the letter writing. The letters are like gold to these kids, and you really open their eyes and the eyes of the entire family to another world. You can literally break a whole paradigm of thinking that prevents them from seeing or having hope in something beyond their circumstances and conditions. Of course it is not about exposing them to american culture (which can be destructive in some ways), but simply exposing them to see that their world, their potential is bigger than the circumstances they may see themselves in. Our letters provide hope and encouragement, letting them know that there is someone thousands of miles away who knows them by name, who cares for them and is cheering them on, and is an advocate for them in prayer.
 
The $32 bucks is great, but 5 year old Frans doesn't understand the concept of how that money translates to his benefits, however a letter and photo addressed to him - now that right there can have a profound affect that we may never fully understand this side of heaven.
 
My wife and I are guilty of not writing to our sponsor children as much as we should, but now I see the impact of just a letter - even an email through the compassion site - and how it can speak so much joy and life into a child.

Today was our last day in Cebu... We decided to head out to Dumaguete a day early in order to possibly spend more time at the school and the orphanage. So tomorrow we'll be taking the 3 hour drive plus the 45 min ferry ride to get us there. We appreciate the prayers for our travels to our next stop!

Today we also got a chance to eat my favorite filipino dessert halo halo, that I craved all day! So far the best place for halo halo that I can find is at "Chowking", with shave ice, ube ice cream, custard/flan, coconut, beans, some gel like fruit stuff, some crunchy things, milk and so on and so on, simply incredible.