KIM's Library

This is the library we raised money for running in the race. It is wonderful! I foresee the kids at CCS enjoying this library very much!
little nooks to sit in and read...
The computer lab has now been moved to the library...
The outside of the library...

The Race

Kids International Ministries put on a race the other day to raise money for their library and ministry. The kids from Cuatro Christian School were sponsored to run in the race and Rylee's P.E. class participated in the race. Plus many other families from Faith. It was a lot of fun! We really have a lot of great friends here in the PI.
Uncle Jeff...
We were really sweaty!The 2 girls by me were my students last year.The finish line...
We were all really really sweaty!

Bitter Sweet Moments

Today a very special boy at the children's home met his Dad, Mom, and brother for the first time. Michael, 8 years old, was the first boy at the children's home 5 years ago. Chris had the privilege to be at the children's home when Michael arrived.

Michael is moving to North Carolina with his family. And today as we sent him off, he was a happy little boy!While Michael's parents talked to the social workers and signed papers,
Chris and I had enjoyed watching Michael play basketball with his older brother who also has the name Michael.
The pic below is kind of funny. There were so many different cameras, we were all looking in different places.
The two Filipina woman in the middle in the picture are caregivers at the Home. They take care of the boys. They were so happy for Michael, but it was hard for them to say goodbye.
Michael's dad said to Michael, "Are you ready to go?" and Michael said, "Yes!" He went in the house, got his bag and ran out the door and through all the boys standing around him to say good bye.

Last night, Jeff and his family had a special dinner at the children's home and he told Michael's story. He also talked about God's love for all of the children there and the children will never be fatherless because God is their Father. It was a very special time and then we all gathered around Michael and Chris prayed for him.It is so hard to explain the emotions wrapped up in Michael leaving. What a wonderful moment it was to see Michael with his family. I was overwhelmed with joy for Michael, but on the other hand we will miss him very much, especially Chris who has watched Michael grow up over the past 5 years.

Fall Candy!!

The other day, we found a great little grocery store close to one of the schools Rylee played Volley Ball at. It was full of American items. I was in heaven! They had miniature chocolate candy bars with Fall wrappers! I only wish the store wasn't so hard to get to.

New Rules

Now that we are a family of 3, all of our lifestyles have changed. So, to make things easier on Rylee and the rest of us, we have decided to make a list of new rules for Rylee. With this, she will know exactly what is expected of her. As of now, she has one new rule and each week we will add another rule. We decided to have fun with it and make a cool rule chart.

October Break...aka Fall Break

Rylee is on October break. So we have about 9 days total to relax from school. We decided to get out of town for 3 days! Four other families made plans to go to Rizal Re-Creation. And we tagged along. It was wonderful! There was grass everywhere, it was safe for Rylee and the other kids to run and play and be on their own. We saw Rylee mainly at breakfast, lunch and dinner. It was so much fun for her! And one of the best parts of all...we could drink the water right from the tap. I think it is spring water right from the mountain.

Of course we put bug spray on before we did anything :) Our cabin is behind us.

They had an awesome bridge over one of the swimming pools...

Another cool bridge...
A great obstacle course!
We played a little bit of soccer...A cool tree house...

Chris taught Rylee and some of the other kids how to play "Settlers of Catan."

Believe it or not, I learned how to play rugby. It was a lot of fun! I only got a few bruises :). The main rules...throw the ball sideways or backwards and if you get the ball and you're not the "dummy" starting the play, you get the ball and make a run for it to the goal.
There was a swimming pool filled with the same mountain spring water. So no chlorine. The water slide was a lot of fun. The only draw back, the water was cold! But we didn't care. I even went swimming! And those of you who know me well...well that doesn't usually happen.
And last but not least, Chris and I played Frisbee golf with another dad and his son before we left Rizal Re-Creation to drive home. It was a lot of fun! I haven't even ever heard of that before. Basically, two palm trees were marked as the tee off that we stood between and we threw our frisbee to try and hit another palm tree in front of us. Chris got a 57, but I got an 84. Ha ha, I didn't do so well :)

Over all, we had a great weekend and look forward to going back to Rizal Re-Creation again with such great friends!