Basketball, fireflies, motorbikes, and coconuts.

Can you fit five people on one motorcycle? Um, well, yes. After an hour long bus ride travelling South of Cagayan, we hopped on the back of some motorbikes and took off into the country. This island is very different from Cebu. Out in the country, there are many coconut farms, wide wet fields, and carabou....(this is not like Canadian caribou, you say cara-bow, and they are more like very muddy cows). This island is not so much of a tourist hot-spot, so 7 white people are like snow in July. At last we came to Christians' Haven, or CH for short, the companion orphanage to the Transition house we had visited in Cagayan. It is a beautiful spot, and I was overjoyed to have clean, fresh country air to breathe again, and no traffic sounds all the time. There are tall coconut palms scattered over the property, and one of the boys climbed one with a machete, and cut down 7 coconuts for us. We tried drinking the water inside....it was good, but was in rather overwhelming quantities. I didn't know coconuts were as big as soccer balls! We started playing a game of volleyball with some of the kids, and soon there was a full-fledged competition going on. Those boys were good! Then when a basketball showed up, we all raced over to the basketball court and enjoyed a rousing game. It was fabulous! We played until we couldn't see the ball anymore, and just then the fireflies came out....my first time seeing fireflies!!!! That night at "chapel" (a big circle of chairs out in front of the dorms), we sang songs together and the kids got to ask us questions. They were mostly interested in what the names of our mothers were, so we told them. =) They sang a song for us, and we (feeling slightly inadequate after that) sang "How Great is our God" for them. After a bible study, we spent a long time singing songs and just hanging out with the kids. They all play guitar and are so talented!

We all fell in love with CH. It is a restful haven, and it touched our hearts. Street kids, orphans, and abandoned, abused children are living together in this beautiful sanctuary, surrounded by mountains and palm trees, and are so happy and healthy and just plain fantastic! I was so blessed by what God is doing in this place.

Love,

AmberKay