I'd Like to Make Myself Believe...

1. I have heard a lot of Lady Gaga since being in the Philippines...and Jason Mraz.  But I think the most played song is Fireflies by Owl City.  Oh and Korean songs, especially the Wonder Girls.  Sometimes I forget where I am.
2. Today I found two ants floating in my cup of water.  I paused...looked at them...looked at them again...and then continued drinking my water.  This amused me greatly.  I suppose it's encouraging to know that I can adjust to bugs...  Next step:  sleep outside without a tent (So much scarier than ants in my water!  At least I know where the critters are!--in my water!)
3. Roosters crow (crow?  do they crow?) ALL times of day, NOT just in the morning!  Childhood stories lie!
4. Sounds I hear as I drift in and out of sleep every night:  roosters, dogs (EVERYBODY owns a dog!), motorcycles, car horns, people talking.  It's mostly quiet between the hours of 12-3AM...and then life starts again at 4AM.  The bakers drive around and honk their horns selling fresh Pandesal (yum!).
5. I had a meeting with the church elders and deacons yesterday.  It was extremely intimidating.  My host even asked me "were you scared?" after we left the meeting.  I said, "YES!" and she responded "ME TOO!"  And her husband is the pastor!  haha.  He even said later "they were behaving strangely yesterday."  Anyway, I'm thinking it was just an off day for them.  My host said that they may have been nervous because they've never had anyone study their church before.  Okay, I can understand that.
6. My research design has changed at least 5 times in one way or another each DAY.  I will now be looking at 6 barangays instead of 3 (ahh!)
7. I've been in Los Banos for 4 days and I've already been to two birthday parties.  They're super-parties!  Everybody is invited!  And there's a never ending supply of food!  Today I went to a pool party (which means:  wear a t-shirt and shorts to swim).  The pool was hot (because it's filled with water from the hot springs - heated by the volcanoes).  They also rented a karaoke machine (Filipinos like to sing.  It's been a great way for me to participate in their activities :D).
8. I keep forgetting to mention this--the language barrier!  Although English is one of the official languages, people generally speak in a mix of Tagalog and English (80% Tagalog and 20% English).  Many people are not confident enough in their English to speak to me...so many times I am left sitting there smiling at them when really I have no idea what's going on.  I just sit there, smile, talk to Jesus, and pick out the little Tagalog I know.  It's overwhelming and very lonely to be surrounded by well meaning people who won't talk to you because they're just as uncomfortable as you are.  It's okay...I'll be here until August!  I know it's an inconvenience for them too--to have to translate for me.  What a pain!
9. You can get anything and everything at 7-eleven.  Yup!

Prayer Requests

1. Continued adjustment to this heat...mixed with the smell of petroleum.
2. Pray for rain!
3. Pray for discernment and sensitivity in my interactions with the locals here (especially with the young people).  And growth in friendships with my brothers and sisters at LBCRC.
4. Courage to speak in Tagalog
5. For the ability to be flexible with my daily schedule and research plans
6. Creativity and wisdom in carrying out my research to fit the requests of my host
7. Pray for LBCRC and their outreach ministries--that God would continue to bless their hearts and efforts!  They have an amazing outreach program that mobilizes young and old in their church AND the efforts of the people in their communities to improve their own communities.
8. Pray that my heart and mind would be open to learning...for a teachable spirit.
9. Building relationships > my agenda and my grade in this internship class
10. Humility!  It's not about me.
11. Praise for the evidence of deepening relationships--though slow and often discouraging.
12. Praise that God prepared me with such a wonderful internship host/mentor.  She has been more help to me than I could have imagined and has been there not only to support me practically in my research but even emotionally as I wrestle with cultural differences.
13. Praise that I am finally getting more excited about my research :) ...even though it's the most frustrating thing in the world!!

With Love!