My boss, Dawn, and her husband, Nate, were sooo great and picked me up at the horrible time of my flight's arrival.

I don't have an apartment set up yet. (I will go apartment hunting next week. There's already a list started of places to check out thanks to my colleagues!) So, for now I'm staying at the guesthouse of one of Wycliffe's major partner organizations in the country.

Nate and Dawn brought me to my new home. I was so thankful ... Nate brought all my heavy boxes up to me room for me.

It was just a little before 5 when they left. I hadn't intended on unpacking my boxes, but my boxes were wet and I was worried things would get all wet and stinky in there. So, I stayed up and unpacked. I've basically been in my room the whole day today... sleeping, skyping with family, sleeping, blogging. It's a nice and comfy place -- thankfully with AC!!

'
My room (#2)

This is the built-in wardrobe. I unpacked my boxes and stored everyhing in here. The door to the right is the door to the bathroom. I am also thankful that I have a private bathroom. There is a shared bathroom right outside my door. For those of you wondering -- the bathroom is typical of bathrooms in the States -- standard, flushing toilet and shower ... yes, with hot water and great water pressure!


This was waiting for me upon my arrival. A gift basket from my co-workers was such a sweet surprise! Inside is a bunch of bananas, mangoes, SkyFlakes crakers and a bottle of water. It was such a thoughtful gift.

Yes, I've finally arrived in the Philippines. It feels good to not be traveling anymore!

I left my parent's house at 8:30 AM (Philly time) on Thursday, January 29th and arrived at my temporary housing at around 4:30 AM (Manila time) on Saturday, January 31st. Even with the 12 hour time difference, it was a very long trip.

I am so thankful that even with the delay after delay after delay, the trip was a good one. No problems with my baggage, customs, immigration or anything!

I have no idea what time it is now. But I feel like it's time to sleep.
So... that's all for right now.
Be back soon with more updates!!!!

THANKS FOR PRAYING FOR SAFE TRAVEL!!!!

When my parents asked me where I wanted to go for my going-away dinner, my reply was immediate.

"CHICK-FIL-A."

I think they were thrown off a little by my answer.
Are you sure? Don't you want to go somewhere else?

Yes, there are lots of places I enjoy eating... but not much that I will really miss while I'm in the Philippines. EXCEPT FOR CHICK-FIL-A.

As far as I know my favorite fast food place hasn't made it over here... YET (I can hope right??)

So, since it was yucky out my dad brought home my favorite meal for my dinner...

CHICK-FIL-A... NUMBER 5... VALUE-SIZED...WITH SWEET TEA. And this time... I splurged and got a 12... yes, a 12 pack.

Ah... it's not that difficult to make me a happy girl.

And yes, you see rice on the table. My mom and dad supplemented their Chick-Fil-A with rice and egg rolls. :)

I hate last-minute packing. I tried to get most of it done last week so that it wouldn't be too difficult to finish up and zip up my bags this week.

Unfortunately, the task was much more difficult than I had anticipated.

I had my stuff sorted into three piles - Box 1, Box 2 (both of which would go with me on the plane) and Box 3 (this will be sent to me through Door-to-Door service). I thought I was just going to re-packing what I had already done last week and typing out my packing list (yes, I have a very detailed packing list typed up and printed out). I had already done an initial packing and weighing. It should've been a quick and simple task, right? WRONG.

Somehow over the weekend I must have thrown a few things randomly into my airplane boxes. After inventorying, packing and weighing... they were both well over 50 pounds. STINK! Why did they have to change the weight limit from 75 pounds?!

So, it made for a very frustrating, temper-filled day. It wore on my patience and irritated me A LOT. But finally my boxes were both right at 50 (okay, one might be a LITTLE over). And I'm packed and ready to go!

I apologize for my long period of silence. It's been a busy time. And honestly, when I've had some time, I've just been lazy to update. But, I decided that it was time to break the silence. So much has happened. So much is going to happen. How can I not get you all up-to-date!

Here is a quick update on the last month...

THE HOLIDAYS
I enjoyed a great Christmas and New Year's with my family here in PA. The holidays were a good time for me to just relax and spend time with my mom, dad, and sister. We watched a lot of movies, took a trip to NYC and my sister helped me make a t-shirt quilt.

It was a very quiet holiday season for our family. After the year that we had, we welcomed the calm pace.

It really was a season of hope, love, joy and peace...celebrating God with us.

DALLAS MEETINGS
Right after the holidays I took a trip to Dallas, TX. I had the chance to participate in meetings of the Wycliffe International communications team. After working with this virtual team for the last couple of months it was fun to meet face-to-face with this group. Working with this team was a temporary assignment that I was able to do during my time at home. Since I'm now able to make my move to Manila, this temporary assignment has come to an end. I'm thankful that I had the opportunity to work with this group during this time.

FAMILY FUN TIME
I had made plans to stay in Dallas for a few days following the meetings so that I could spend time with family. I was incredibly grateful for this time to spend with my family before leaving for the Philippines.

I got to stay with my cousin, Leilani and her husband, Jeff. It was so good to see them as they are expecting their first child this June! The next time I see her, she'll be a Mommy!

My aunt and uncle, Tita Myrna and Tito Ray, hosted a family gathering at their house so I could see as much family as I could while in town.






My days in Dallas were filled with fun, rest and lots of good food.

I got to have my last Papa John's pizza before leaving. (I don't THINK there's Papa John's in the Philippines), had some great Mexican food and indulged with some Italian gelato.

I enjoyed a lot of movie-watching, getting sucked into reading the Twilight series (yes, I think I am a bit over the target demographic!), and catching up with loved ones. It was great time!






THE BIG NEWS THIS MONTH!!
On the last day of the meetings in Dallas I got word that a FedEx package was on its way to my house in PA. The package contained my passport and approved VISA to stay in the Philippines for the next year!

So, I quickly made a call and booked my tickets to Manila!
I will board a Northwest Airlines flight on THURSDAY, JANUARY 29th to make the big move.

I returned from Dallas on the 13th and immediately shifted gears. Moving mode. I've been doing paperwork, sorting through things, packing, buying things I might need and taking care of a bunch of other miscellaneous tasks. It seems like the list of To-Do's is never ending!

I can't really believe that it's finally time. I've been preparing for this for years and now that it's here... I can't even really describe all that I'm thinking and feeling. But mostly, I've been constantly doing. I was telling a friend the other day that I've not really taken time to really sit and process all that's happening. And I am a processor. I need to take time to think, think, process, read, write, think... over and over and over again. Thoughts and emotions kind of pass through me but nothing has sunk in. But, more on all that later...

Sorry I've been quiet for so long. Hope to be better at blogging, especially in the days ahead as I began this new part of the journey!