Pitching Tents?

This still makes me laugh.

When Good Pandas Go Bad....

Read this.

The best part of the story is at the bottom of the page.

" A month earlier, a drunken Chinese tourist bit a panda at the Beijing Zoo after the animal attacked him when he jumped into the enclosure and tried to hug it."

How did I not hear about this?? That is awesome. Good job, panda.

The Marriage Proposal

Yes, it's the dead of night so therefore I am awake and bored as usual. I once thought that insomniacs were all liars. Now I understand. Jet lag is going to be the death of me.

Marriage proposals are usually rare for me. Especially in foreign countries. Maybe my uncomfortable moment can amuse you. So I will tell the story.

On Tuesday of my trip to the Philippines we had a Pastor's conference. I had just walked over to this when I was approached by this guy. He came over, introduced himself, shook my hand. His name is Moses. Interesting.

Before I go on, I need to explain a little about the Filipino culture. Men and women do not show any signs of public displays of affection. Even if they are married, they do not hold hands or touch in public. It would be equivalent to like making out in public or something. Also, they don't date. Girls will have one boyfriend who they met in high school and that's who they marry after college. No such thing as dating. They think Americans are kinda skanky for dating. Maybe we are.

Ok, so we were having a "rolling brown-out". This happens several times a day when the power goes out for sometimes a few minutes or about 8 hours. So the lights went out, no one even flinched because they are so used to it. And Moses and I are talking. He's telling me about all the instruments he can play. He can play so many different instruments that he can't even think of all of them. Uh, huh. So then the conversation turns down a bumpy road.

Moses: Have you left a husband or boyfriend in the United States?

Me: Oh, no.

Moses: Oh, I thought you were married. It looked like you had a ring on.

Me: Umm. No this ring is on my pinky finger and it's made of plastic. hahaha. (uncomfortable laughing)

Moses: Are you searching for a husband?

Me: What?? Searching?? ummm no

Moses: You don't want to get married?

Me: Maybe someday. I wouldn't use the word 'searching' maybe just 'waiting'?

Moses: Well, maybe, Melissa I could pray for you and you could pray for me.

Me: Um sure.

Moses: I think that you could pray that God might bring us together in marriage.

Me: Umm.

Moses: I am wanting you to be the mother of my children.

Me: No, no thanks.

Moses: I think you should pray about this. And ask God if we should marry.

Me: Nope. I don't think so. Sorry.

(Really uncomfortable silence.)

Me: Well, I need to go find my friends.

Moses: Maybe, we could just be friends and I could get your email or phone number.

Me: No, I'm not going to do that. Sorry. Goodbye.

Now I think I should mention some important things. Moses is not Filipino. He is African. Later I found out that he is an "African prince" and he proposes weekly to every girl he meets. Nice. Everyone else thought this story was hilarious. I just avoided all conversations with guys for the rest of the trip.

Jet Lag

So I'm experiencing major jet lag and I've been up all night. I congregated with all the drunks at Taco Bell around 2am. Since there's not much you can do at 4am, I might as well write more about my trip.

Monday through Friday our group was in charge of the convocations for the high school and college groups. 1 high school convocation in the morning and 2 college convocations each day. Up to 5,000 students attended each convocation at Rose Memorial Hall. Pictured above.

I also spoke to a college class about being single and my relationship with God. This is a picture from one of the windows. Central air is not something of the Philippines. We were lucky to have a fan in most places. Temps were in the 90s most days.

Looking out the back of the auditorium in Rose Hall. There was a prayer group from the different Christian organizations that prayed for us during the convocation. Right before I went on stage to speak to thousands of students, my new Filippino friend, Elaine, told me that her group was there to pray for me. God is amazing.

This is Elaine. She became one of my closest friends there. She is a part of a mission team that goes and does mission work with various tribes that live in the mountains. She also helped me with my Tagalog. Magandang hapon!

"What is a 'ya'll'?"

Magandang gabi!

I'm back in the USA finally. We travelled for 40+ hours each way. I am experiencing major jet lag. I made the mistake of taking a 7 hour "nap" when I arrived yesterday. So I just woke up and had "breakfast". It is 8AM to me even though the clock says 9pm.

Everything was amazing. I don't know where to begin. I'll tell you a little about the Filippinos. Not only are they the friendliest people in the world they are the most gracious and loving people. You are expected to greet every person you pass. I was either called "Ma'am Melissa" (teacher) by the students or "Ate Melissa" (older sister) by the college students. Their culture is all about respect. Filippinos will love you forever, but if you make them mad they will hate you forever. I can respect that.

On Sunday we went out to several different churches to assist in the morning services. I gave my testimony at Sambag Baptist Church. I also had my first 3rd world country experience with the C.R. or restroom. (It is called the C.R which is short for Comfort Room. I found no comfort here.)

Monday through Friday we were at Central Philippine University. The bus came to pick us up at 7am and we would return around 7 or 8 pm every night. During the day we were responsible for the college and high school convocations. We performed the special music, preaching, and testimonies. I spoke to 5,000 students one morning. "The joy of the Lord is my strength."

More to come....I've got to pack to get ready for my flight to VA Beach tomorrow.....