We recently returned from a mission trip to the Philippines. I shared our adventures traveling there as well as where we stayed, what we did there and our experience on the mission trip in previous posts. Here’s more of our adventure aside from mission work. We went as a family with our two teens and it was a perfect addition to the high school geography and cultures we’ve been learning. We learned about U.S. geography last year and then traveled across the U.S. and back. What better finale to this year’s world geography and cultures, not only to be part of a mission and share the gospel, but to travel to another country and experience another culture!
Exploring the Philippines
Negros Island
Going to and from mission work and at the end of our trip, we got to see more of the island of Negros. Such a beautiful place! It’s lush and green and humid. Some of the places we went to put on our evangelical concerts were in town, but some were out in the jungle. It was fascinating to see how the people lived, and enjoy the beautiful scenery around us.
People drive like crazy in the Philippines! The road lines seem to just be suggestions as they drove in the opposite lanes and wove around other vehicles. Riding to and from each place felt like a roller coaster ride! But everyone is so friendly and with a “beep, beep” they announce they’re passing. Another “beep” to say thanks. I didn’t see anyone road raging or any accidents.
There are tons of motorcycles, many with side cars created to taxi people around. Some of the team got to ride in them.
So many beautiful views everywhere we went! Not so much in town, except the park in central San Jose (I think that’s where it was) was beautiful, but away from towns and at the beach were lovely. I tried to narrow it down to just a few photos.
Filipino Food
Our last day we were treated to a goodbye party with a traditionally roasted pig. My son was excited to eat it. My daughter, not as much. I thought it was delicious! The whole time we were there, we ate good food. We did get a little tired of white rice, they eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But every meal we had was good and our team made sure we had gluten free meals that were safe for my son and I and another team member who also needed to eat gluten free. We had a variety of chicken, pork, soups, I really loved the flavors in the soup! One evening they specially made fried chicken for us using corn starch instead of flour. It was really good! We were very blessed to have such a caring team!
The last evening at the base, we were treated to a Pinoy (Filipino) delicacy, Balut. It’s a fertilized duck egg that’s boiled at about 16 weeks. Not for the squeamish. We tried it! I’ll try almost anything at least once. I was surprised that my daughter ate it. I can’t say I’ll desire to ever eat it again, but it was a fun experience as we all tried it together.
Apo Island
The ground team leaders surprised us with a boat ride to Apo Island, a delicious fish and shrimp lunch, and snorkeling with sea turtles. It was awesome!
After returning from Apo Island, we spent our last night on Negros at a tiny hotel in Dumaguete. We walked to a mall for dinner and shopping. The mall was pretty similar to malls in the states, except there was a grocery store and hardware store, which I thought was kind of strange. We found good food there!
Manila, Luzon Island
Then we flew to Manila on the island of Luzon in the morning. It felt strange to be in a big, busy city! My daughter went swimming on the top floor, 37 floors up! The elevators were funky. One kidnapped her, it closed before anyone else could get on and took her to a lower floor without her pushing any buttons. Then she was held hostage! She got off the elevator, but couldn’t get a new one to come because the faulty one wouldn’t close all the way to leave. Luckily she had enough of a cell signal to call us to come get her via the stairs, get the elevator doors unstuck, and find our way back to the right floor.
We walked to a nearby mall in Manila for lunch and the teens all enjoyed an Escape Room there. Pastor Sam decided to serenade shoppers and no one seemed to mind him playing the grand piano in the middle of the mall. It was really beautiful to listen to him play and sing a hymn for all who passed by!
Later that evening some of us walked a few blocks to a restaurant called The Wholesome Table where they had a good selection of gluten free foods. Their gluten free pizza was amazing!
It was fun to see the city at night with all the bright lights. We went in a 7-11 just to see if was different. It was tiny and the isles were really narrow, but otherwise it was very similar to the 7-11’s we are used to in the U.S. The following morning we flew back to Taipei and then San Francisco where a friend picked all of us up, the whole team, in a big van with a trailer for our luggage for the drive home. We stopped to eat at ‘In-and-Out’ for some good ol’ American burgers.
Thoughts on our Adventures
It was a lot of fun exploring the jungle, towns, beaches, and even the cities in the Philippines. It was such a fantastic experience to be immersed in a culture and environment different than what we’re used to. The strangest thing for us was learning to use a bidet (pronounced “bid-ay”) or sometimes just a bucket of water with a scoop in the “CR” (comfort room as they call the bathroom). They don’t use toilet paper. We did bring our own, but it’s not okay to flush it and there’s not often a trash can near, so I got used to doing things their way. I think now I might prefer it!
It was such an awesome privilege we had of ministering to the people there, being part of changing lives and giving people hope. The people there are all so friendly and welcoming. Like one big family, that invites you right in to be part of theirs. And we were part of such a wonderful team. I wish we hadn’t gotten sick and could have had more time to get to know each of our team members better. Even so, I’m glad we had this opportunity. Especially that my kids could have this adventure together with us. I know they learned so much more than they even realize.
Salamat (thank you) for reading and joining us on our adventures!
