The Traveling Backpack--Cebu City--Day 3

I had computer problems while in the Philippines, so I had to wait until I was home to finish up the entries. Sorry, for any trouble that this caused!!!!









Friday, February 22, 2008--Cebu City, Philippines



Today we decided to take the day to tour the island. There is much to see in Cebu City, but it takes a lot of time to get to each one!!!



First place we visited was Magellan's Cross. Supposedly on the very spot where Megellan planted his cross to claim the island. The cross is encased in wood to keep it from deteriorating. Also, local belief holds that the cross has healing powers.

The roof of the shrine to Magellan's cross.
Candles lighted during prayers outside the Church of Santo Nino.
The Church


We also visited an old Spanish Fort, which was beautiful inside. They have kept the gardens beautifully! You could walk all the way around the fort and see the city from all sides.

Colon is the oldest street in Cebu! It is very crowded and well used even today!

On the top of a mountain above Cebu City there is a Taoist Chinese Temple. It is beautiful!!!! The designs on the buildings was unreal!!!!! We thought that we were back in China. Almost 2 years ago we were in China picking up our precious Kensli!

A view of the city and ocean from the top of the mountain!

As I said before there are some beautiful sights to see here! We went down to the ocean and it was lovely. We didn't stay long because Toby's stomach was bothering him. Also, unless you stay at the resorts they really don't want you there. Found this out the hard way!

Church tonight was AWESOME!!! Bro. Mallory preached an illustrated sermon on being a unified church.

Illustrating how to bake a cake. Unless the parts are mixed up and become unified they will not make a sweet cake.


Bro. Mallory offering the separate ingredients to the General Superintendent of the Philippines.


Also, he had us all sing the song "If We All Pull Together."
Here I am doing my part in pulling together!!!!

The Traveling Backpack--Cebu City, Philippines

Exhaustion has been my only problem since getting to the Philippines! The heat, trying to get anywhere, the activity of the people, eating, and jet lag has made this trip exhausting! Sleep has been evading me and has made my brain muddled! Hopefully I will sleep tonight!







February 21, 2008--Thursday, Cebu City, Philippines

I did not sleep over 3 hrs. last night and today I stayed close to the room! Slept about an hour was all today, so maybe I will sleep tonight!!!!!

Today was the start of conference, and Bro. Gordon Mallory is the night speaker! I didn't attend any of the services today because I was trying to sleep (We forgot to bring anything that I can take to make me sleep! Toby went to try to buy me something and the girl tried to sell him some sort of mushroom supplement!). Toby went and said it was great!

I went to the evening service, and Bro. Mallory did an awesome job!!! I was so tired that my eyes would cross if I didn't concentrate really hard! Toby brought me back to the hotel as soon as the preaching was over!



The building was crowded but I froze! They must have had the A/C on at full speed! Thank God, for my trusty blue jean jacket! Maybe the A/C is what kept me awake during church tonight!

There was a huge choir tonight made up of saints from the different provinces! They sang beautifully!!!!!!!!!
Another bad picture, but thought that I would add it so you can see that I am being spiritual!

The power and presence of the Lord is the same everywhere you go! There must have been close to 4,000 people in this auditorium! They were here for one purpose, to worship God!

We are going on a tour of the island tomorrow!

Until then....................

The Traveling Backpack--Cebu City, Philippines

Before you see the beauty of this place, you must understand the reality! Poverty is reality for a lot of people living in the Philippines! I have seen people living in such conditions before, but every time it is like the first time to witness such poverty all over again. I will never be comfortable with the sights I saw today, nor should I ever be!!!!!!!






Wednesday, February 20, 2008--Cebu City, Philippines

The food is good at this hotel, so I am eating as much as I can! There is lots of fresh juice that is very refreshing when you are hot and thirsty! This morning for breakfast they brought me some fresh squeezed pineapple juice! YUMMY!!!!!! The coffee is really good here, too! It is very unusual for me to enjoy coffee away from home, but I am drinking 1 to 2 cups in the mornings! The cream they put on the table is hot when you add it to your cup!

After breakfast, we hired a car and driver to take us to the local UPC church in Cebu City. Up and down these winding streets we went, stopping and asking where the church was located. The driver even got lost for a little while! OK, guess you could say we were lost in the Philippines! Where in the world was Kayla today? I still do not know!

Here are some of the sights we saw on our adventure!

Making and selling brooms! They had very colorful dyed straw on the ends.
Traffic on the streets of Cebu City.
More brooms! A lot of floors are dirt, so I guess they sweep the dirt!

This lady is washing laundry! Thank the Lord for my GE washing machine!

A boy on the street!

The local neighborhood!

We finally found the church after a lot of searching! The church is open air with a tin roof and some of the national pastors and their families are staying there! They are sleeping on the benches and ground! Conference really cost them a lot to to get here, so the money that the church in Laurel, MS sent, went to feed them for the week. $150 will feed around 100 people here for the week!

The Church
National Pastors

Sleeping Arangements
Bro. Mallory with two of the national pastors.Source of water for the church.
Housing in Cebu City! Hope this is not considered prime location!
These colorful jeepneys are local transportation.

Toby did a little shopping at the local Shoe Mart today! He bought several traditional shirts to wear because they are much cooler and comfortable.

Tonight was Songfest, so we all went! The singing was very good, but I started getting a headache and couldn't enjoy it like I wanted! I think it is more fatigue than anything! Even though my head was hurting, I did manage to clap a little and take a bad picture!

LOOK, Bro. Jep is the only one posing!

One of the choirs tonight!
This little girl reminded me so much of Kensli in attitude! She stuck her tongue out at Bro. Mallory along with several other things. What a cutie!
This little guy could really play the keyboard!
Three little kids that loved looking at us strange Americans. After Toby took their picture he showed it to them and they giggled and giggled. After seeing these three, I really miss my kids!!

It is raining tonight! They had a party with a live band out by the pool, but now you can only hear the rain.

Until tomorrow......................

(Please forgive me for any errors in the daily entries. I have jetlag and after just a little typing all the letters start to run together! Thank you! )