No More War???

I kept wondering where all the military checkpoints and tanks were. When we last traveled towards the Muslim area of Mindanao, the roads looked like this...

Peace talks are making progress and there have been no skirmishes reported in the past 6 months. In 2008, we went to "the field" to deliver relief goods to some of the hundreds of thousands of displaced people. This time, we came to visit old friends. And for that, we are thankful. 

Our first stop was to visit our friend Ustadz Abdulkadir Abubakar- a farmer, a University Arabic Professor, and a fellow peace worker. We met him at the Municipal Hall grounds in Pikit and as I got out of the van, I was shocked to realize that this was the hill where the shelling used to come from! While it's still not the safest place, the fear we once had while driving through this town was no longer there. Here we are with Ustadz...

Our next stop was to visit our dear friends Mei and Elwyn. But first, our faithful driver, Toto (he used to be my bodyguard!) stopped for prayer time. And because it is now Ramadan, Toto didn't join us for meals because Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. Instead of eating, he would find a nearby mosque to pray in. 

shoes don't belong in a mosque

We used to work with Mei and Elwyn at Peacebuilders Community and they are now with a different organization helping refugees from the conflict in 2008. It was so wonderful to visit with these lovely friends of ours and see the amazing work they're doing. They are getting married in September and we're so happy for them! Cody enjoyed the goat livelihood project...

It was also wonderful to be able to visit with the Baraguir family in Sultan Kudarat.  Datu Kharis Baraguir is a strategic advisor to Peacebuilders Community and a faithful Muslim and man of peace. We had a Ramadan fast-breaking meal with them after sunset and enjoyed spending time with their children and grandchildren. Again, Cody found playmates:) 

The 5-hour drive was bumpy but at least this time Cody didn't get sick! He didn't cry or whine at all the entire way there and back. And the bumpy road rocked Makai to sleep for most of the trip. Once again, we're so thankful for such great little boys!

We are also extremely thankful for the chance to reconnect with friends here in Mindanao and for the relative peace in a place of historical longstanding conflict- it's good not to see soldiers everywhere and bombing in the distance. We pray that the peace talks will continue and that the parties will chose the road to peace, not war. 

A little bit of Paradise

Paradise Island Resort: sun, sand and blue waters. That's what we read as the pump boat arrived at our destination and that's exactly what our family got to enjoy for three days.... not bad, hey? After a really busy month, some family beach time certainly hits the spot. Here's a few photos of our lovely little holiday...

this is the boat we took from Davao.... just a short ride to the Island of Samal

so much fun in the water!

loving the warm water!

our house :)

nap-time on the beach

pretty excited about fishy water wings

Darnell's t-shirt is an appropriate description!

boat ride back to Davao

The Old And The New

Its comforting to be in a place that's familiar, a place that feels like home. That's Davao for us. But a lot also changes in three and half years and with the old comes a lot of new. This week Peacebuilders Community was doing Peace and Reconciliation training in another province, Bukidnon, and we were able to tag along. It was wonderful to spend time with some of the "old" peacebuilders staff. What a blessing to catch up with our wonderful mentors, Dann and Joji, and our dear sister, Kriz. But we also got to meet the new staff.... an amazing group of young leaders who are building relationships in their designated areas across the Philippines and gathering and training Peace and Reconciliation Teams. Here's Cody eating breakfast with some of the staff...

And here's a picture of Cody with one of the new staff members, Jeffrey. In the last month since we've been here, not once has Cody let a "new" friend pick him up... and then Jeff came along and for some reason Cody was right aways attracted to him. Kriz, who has been trying SO hard to get Cody to go to her, was a little jealous :)

While we listened to the training, this time we were also watching two little boys.... what a difference! Luckily they are such fantastic kids... Makai either slept, fed or smiled and Cody played with his little motorcycle for hours (although he did have some decent meltdowns too!). 

Darnell was able to teach a section on team building and share some stories from our experiences working with Peacebuilders Community.... I was also going to share but of course, Makai was hungry at just the wrong time! 

Darnell also helped with ACAST (Armed Conflict Area Survival Training) where volunteers learn what to do if they're in the line of fire.

We attended a local church on Sunday and Dann shared his and Joji's story about how they returned to the Philippines to live out Jesus' call to love our enemies and be agents of peace. It was a familiar sharing but no matter how many times we've heard Dann's story, it's always exciting and encouraging.

A new experience for us was hearing Bishop Efraim Tendero speak. He is the Bishop of the Philippines Council of Evangelical Churches and this organization has adopted the Peace and Reconciliation ministry and is multiplying trained teams across the nation. The Bishop flew from Manila to commission the newly trained pastors and we were able to share a few meals with him and his lovely wife. 


During the five-hour drive there on a winding bumpy ride we enjoyed the familiar and very beautiful lush green mountain scenery but this time we also had to deal with a carsick little boy. I can't say I enjoyed cleaning up the mess and being on puke-watch for 3 hours! It might have been a little easier if Darnell wasn't also sick:( Thankfully when Cody wasn't throwing up he was perfectly happy and the way home was puke-free.


This week we are heading to our old getaway, Paradise Island Resort, for a couple days. We're looking forward to some relaxation after busy travels!

Cody's not the only charmer anymore...

At 3 months old today, Makai is full of smiles and cuteness. He has been such a great traveller and we are SO thankful for this sweet little guy. We thought we'd be coming here with one child but Makai wanted to join the adventure and we're so glad for it! I wanted to post a video of him giggling and cooing but it wouldn't work so a picture will have to do.

We have been in Davao since Saturday and it's been wonderful to reconnect with friends who we spent the year with back in 2008/2009. It's pretty special to be able to return to a place that was home and introduce our boys to dear friends here.

The flight here went super smoothly... I feel like we've become expert travellers with our kids. Whether its a bus, a taxi, a motorbike, a boat or a plane, we just strap on our kids, carry our bags and go! Here we are after checking in…

We are staying at the home of our dear friends here and they have a sweet little 3-year-old girl who Cody loves to play with.

The peacebuilders office and Coffee for Peace is in the same neighbourhood we're staying in so we can get around easily on a tricycle.... these little motorbikes with a side car are so fun! Check out Cody's excitement and wind-blown hair:)

We'll be staying here for almost a month and will be travelling with the staff, spending time with friends and reconnecting at our church. We'll also be visiting this fantastic coffee shop quite often:) The coffee is excellent, the mango smoothie always hits the spot and spending money here supports farmers, the environment and the peacebuilding work. So great!