Week 1

Ok, enough with the pictures...

A summary of the past week:

Thursday, 3/24 night: Landed in Manila

Friday 3/25: Visited a Christian school, filled out an application, had an initial interview, and got scheduled for demo teaching and a battery of tests for the next week, told the position I'd be trying for is the 4th grade English teacher; singles' Bible study in the evening

Saturday 3/26: RBIPT graduation; unpacking

Monday 3/28: Visit another school but nobody there due to graduation

Tuesday 3/29: Visit the school again, fill out an application, told I would hear back about demo teaching and interview next week, position applying for is middle school English teacher (Gr. 4-7) or ESL teacher

Wednesday 3/30: Demo teach at first school

Thursday 3/31: Battery of tests -- IQ, situational/judgment, patterns, personality/preferences

and then Monday, April 4th is scheduled for a panel interview with the first school.

God is opening doors and answering prayers daily. :)

For Laura

Since you like colors, this post is for you. :) And hopefully THIS time the pictures stay visible!

For Laura, since you like colors... hopefully the pictures work this time! :)

[Insert creative title here]

The following pictures are out of order because Blogger is not conducive to uploading lots of pictures.

Ah yes, beautiful weather! Actually it's not really super hot here yet. Last night was hotter than the past few nights.

RBIPT students past and present. (At RBIPT graduation)

This dog is so wild. He has never had a depressed day in his life and his chief delight is to bring his toys (which he destroys very quickly) to anyone he thinks will play with him.

Guinea pigs currently named Lucky and Lucy (not my idea). They are currently accepting name change suggestions.

Garbage trucks aren't as high-tech here.

I didn't know UPS operated here too!

Star apple.. good fruit!

Cultural dress...

Sunset

I love sunsets. Love, love, LOVE them. Sunsets always come before darkness -- a beautiful reminder that God is present and we need not fear even the darkness, for He changes the darkness into light. I can't imagine what life would be like without sunsets, but in Heaven there will be no sunsets. But in Heaven, we don't need any more reminders about God's presence to calm us before the darkness, because we will be enjoying God's presence fully in the land of fadeless day. Come quickly, Lord Jesus.

Getting there...

My passport DID come in before my departure date -- a wonderful answer to prayer! So now I have a lovely mug shot... Andy just looked at it and said, "Wow.. smile much?" So dumb that you're not allowed to smile for passport pictures. (Although Andy claims he smiles in his.)

Another thing I'd like to point out is: Random acts of kindness go a long way. A trip to NYC by bus (including parking at the mall) is $17. When I first went in for my passport, it hadn't arrived and I wasted $17, which was a bummer. Last night I received $20 and a thoughtful card as a goodbye present from a high school sophomore. It was such a thoughtful, kind gesture totally unexpected but a timely blessing. It just reminded me of how many lives we have the ability to touch and encourage and how little I personally do it. Thanks to a high school sophomore, I was reminded again why we are put here on earth -- to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, and part of that is by serving and loving one another.

Oh, Africa...

This picture popped up in Picasa today. What a beautiful land. I have so many images of places that I try to hold in my mind forever and the pictures are so different from each other but almost all equally loved.

Flooding

Korean Dinner

Last night I had dinner with a dear Korean family from Trinity. Their little almost 3-year-old son was quite the ham. Just like any good Asian, he already loves the camera.

Just some of the lots of good food that they cooked for us! Yummy!

SAVING THE WORLD FROM COUNTERFEIT MONEY!

As a goodbye present from one of the customers at the bank, I was introduced to my first counterfeit bill. Too bad I didn't know it was counterfeit until the head teller caught it when he audited me. I had to take a difference, BUT, I STOPPED THE BILL FROM CIRCULATION!!! Woohoo! That was my kindness to society, at cost to myself. I feel like a martyr.

PS -- thankfully it was a $10 and not a $100. Also, next time you see an oddly colored bill, don't just assume someone spilled Kool-Aid all over it (like one bill I got) -- it just might be counterfeit.

Pictures

Life is busy, so I'll post some pictures in no particular order.

Gmail themes has become my latest source of amusement.

I hung out with Elena on Saturday.

Iain turned 14 at the end of February and I stuffed his locker with balloons.

We had a girls' night with Pakistani food.