Scenes from Samal - 1 -

The Philippines are gorgeous.

Words fail to describe the beauty of this place.

1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.

3 They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice[b] goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun....

Come visit!!!

Text Messages

"The Philippines is considered the "text capital of the world". In 2006, there were an estimated 35 million cell phone subscribers in the Philippines and about 350 to 400 million SMS (Short Message Service) or text messages are sent daily. This figure was more than the total daily text messages sent in the U.S. and Europe combined. However, China has overtaken the Philippines by sheer volume of users"
(http://www.philippinedomain.com/philippine-facts.htm)

Ben joined the Filipino penchant for cell phones today! He's been saving up for quite a few months and today bought himself a cell phone!!!!

Be At Rest

I have awoken with the song "Be At Rest" by Steve Green going through my head.
It is good to know that we can rest in our loving Father's hands no matter what storms are blowing around.

Psalm 62

1 Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.2 Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. 3 How long will you assault me? Would all of you throw me down-- this leaning wall, this tottering fence?4 Surely they intend to topple me from my lofty place; they take delight in lies.With their mouths they bless, but in their hearts they curse. 5 Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.6 Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.7 My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.8 Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.

Cooking Fish

One of the suppers we fixed while on Samal Island was bangus (milk fish). We cooked them like our Filipino friends do, ate them with rice and veggies and enjoyed a great meal!

A Full Boat


The care taker of the property we stayed at on Samal island makes charcoal and delivers it to the wharf in Davao - about a 7 - 10 minute boat ride across the bay. The day we got this picture there were 6 or 7 guys in the boat as well as 8 - 10 large bags of charcoal! It laid low in the water but they made it safely there and back!!!!