{Bicol}

"Oh the places we'll go!"  These are the words that pretty much sum up my time here so far :)  We've been hither and yon across the island, Andrew and I just got back from Taiwan (pictures to come soon!!), and all in all it's been a pretty packed few weeks :D  We had the opportunity to travel to the south of the island (Bicol - pronounced 'be-cool' ;P) to do some home visits with two of the Filipino students, so six Americans and three Filipinos squeezed into a car that really should only seat seven and headed out into the great 'unknown'.  Twelve hours of potholes and road construction later, we arrived :)  It was an awesome week, and really neat to see another part of the island!

We stayed with missionaries who lived way out in the middle of a coconut grove (the ones who gave us our darling pup :D).  They were incredibly hospitable, and I so enjoyed getting to know their family!

The first night we were there, one of the little orphan boys shimmied up a palm tree to throw down fresh buko (coconuts) for all to enjoy :)

This is Izzy's mother, and the poor dog was desperate for coconut :D

Sam, the little cutie who climbed the palm tree :)

The next morning I got up early and went outside just as the sun was rising.  Honestly, the peace and tranquility that I experienced can't be put into words....with a light mist resting over the rice paddies, faint monkey calls echoing in the distance, and warm sunlight filtering through the palm leaves, I feel as though I got just a small glimpse into what the Garden of Eden must have been like.  Just imagine the serenity of being able to walk and talk with God while the dew sparkled in the early morning glow!   

But my favorite part of the trip was yet to come :)  Anna, one of the Filipino girls who came with us, was raised by her grandmother until she was about seven.  She was then sent to live with her father, and never saw her grandmother again.  Then twelve years later, through a series of events only God could have orchestrated, Anna was able to locate her grandmother, and found that she lived in Bicol (thus the trip :D).  When they were first reunited, Anna's grandma didn't even recognize her, but once she realized who was standing in front of her the joy on her face was incredible to see :)

We spent the next few days in the area, visiting with the missionaries there and finding all sorts of exciting little creatures :)

I've never gotten to see a real rhinoceros beetle before - my experience with them has been limited to seeing them impaled on a spike and hung in a frame ;)  Yes, I held it and yes I freaked my mom out when I showed her the picture :D  

On the last day, we had the chance to visit this gorgeous beach (the above picture was taken at low tide - when we got there, the water came all the way up to the tree in the foreground).  We all had a blast....from cliff jumping, to snorkeling, to sunbathing (more like 'sunburning' :P), to finding some amazing seashells, it was a wonderful day rejoicing in God's magnificent creation :)

One of the Filipinos found this puffer fish....once again, I've only ever seen pictures of them, and boy are they amazing in real life!!  This poor little guy was upside down when I snapped the picture, but he still looked pretty cool :)

All in all, it was an amazing experience :D  From the Christmas music in the car, to the worst road I've ever seen, to the worst sunburn I've ever had, to a wonderful time spend with friends, the trip was one that I will never forget!!

Lots more pictures coming soon :D

Bex <3

PS  In case you didn't notice, my blog is undergoing a facelift :)  Let me know your thoughts on the new layout - I'd love to get some feedback!!