Trip to Tagaytay

This weekend, I took the family out to see a truly remarkable island volcano called "Taal" in Tagaytay. I actually camped on there for a couple of days when I was in 7th grade. What makes it so cool is that it's an island volcano located within an island nation (the Philippines), AND inside the volcano crater is ANOTHER island--I've been there, too! Yes, it's an active volcano, but we didn't set foot on it as a family. Maybe when Jojo's older. :-) Here's a shot of the view we had (sorry, it was a bit foggy when I took this picture):


Taal's an island volcano, within the Philippine islands, that has an island inside its crater

Mostly it was a trip to get away once again. I really thanked God for this. It's no understatement to say ministering (and just living for that matter) in Metro Manila is a stressful job. I find that we need these kind of things after a few months of living in the city. Every now and then we need to hit the "reset button."

Tagaytay reminds us of the beauty of the Philippines and that we actually live on an island! And the air. Ahh, the air. I never thought I liked breathing clean air so much. I actually used to loathe camping trips back in the US (saying I loved the city, and as long as I had broadband and malls I would be OK). Now, I think I'm becoming a bit of a nature freak. Christine LOVES nature, and Jojo loves it too! He was running around and really having a blast. I think we shall be back in a few months.


Jojo and Mama having fun on the grass

On the "church" side of things, I was really excited to meet a seeker who had only been to an evangelical church twice in her life the other Sunday. We talked for a bit and then I invtied her to youth group. I prayed for her every night and guess what? She came! She even connected with one of our student leaders and wanted to meet for accountability with her once a week! Now I'm praying she would come to know the Lord. She seems really interested and always has an excited smile on her face. Her name is Dannie.

Well, we're back in town now and it's back to work for me. We have our langauge teacher again in the morning and I've got to get a couple syllabi finalized and submitted for the inspection of the government, too: Philosophy and Apologetics (for Messiah Colllege).