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!