joanna in the philippines

Hey all! Well, I am glad i have a chance to write in here again for a quick update on all thats going on. Things here are going so good! We made a cake this morning to celebrate my moms birthday... how fun! The Epps are such a cool family, SO, happy birthday mom! We'll eat some cake for you!!! :) They like to celebrate their families birthdays here, even when they're far away, so this should be fun... Well, things since our Thanksgiving dinner have gone so fun! We had a great time... the food was great and it was special! Our yahtzee tournament went well too, but once again I lost... although this time I came in second place! :) Sunday was SUCH a wonderful day! We listened to a sermon then spent the rest of the morning at the beach... so I was burnt, but now have a nice tan... I am ALMOST as tan as Char... don't know if I will ever be as dark as her! Ha! Then we just relaxed the rest of the day, it was so nice! We have so much fun here, being with the Epps is just so much fun! We laugh all the time, and they both have such a good sense of humor, so we can laugh at things from toilet problems to kids doing hilarious things to types of disasters... oh, its a great time here! The past three days have flown by! Char has been able to do language, which is so good for her, so I have been with Thea and Koi, mostly Thea since Koi runs around, and also some agta kids... they color and play with dolls on the front porch, so I camp out there and watch them. The agta kids are so cute! :) Yesterday we hiked to the Barip again, to that far group. So we went, and oh was it a blast! We brought a picnic lunch and were planning to eat on a big rock by the ocean, until it started raining hard when we got there! So, we huddled up by a big tree under a blanket... ha, we had cans of beans and were trying not to get wet, we were just laughing so hard. Finally the rain slowed and stopped and we finished out lunch and played some... well, we got to the far group and sat in their hut for a while while D and C did some language... it was fun to watch Koi... he just fits right in with the agta boys... ha... he was playing with them and there was about 3 little guys that stayed by his side. We came back and when we got to the ocean we ran into a bunch of Ilokano kids coming home from school. Here, there are Agta, and Ilokano... the Ilokano are more Filipino, while the Agta are looked down on and the tribal people. Well, I have come to find out, that the Agta might look at you every now and then (being a white person) but the Ilokano, well, they stare. And i mean STARE. On Monday, I took Koi and Thea to a river to swim, and this Ilokano boy was walking nearby, and he just stopped what he was doing and stared at us for 15 minutes. I dont understand how we can be that exciting to watch for so long (actually, i KNOW we're not) but they seem to love watching us. So yesterday it was bad. We had like 20 kids, all ages, walking right on our heels. When we walked, they walked. When we stopped, they stopped (if they didn't run into us). :) It was a bit annoying, and kinda frustrating, but I guess we just have to deal with it. I got my shoes stepped on a few times, and poor Thea did too... she kept losing her shoes. But finally they left, and I can only imagine what a hard job it would be to be someone famous, where there are people following and watching your EVERY move... oh well... a little culture thing I guess. :) Well, we finally got back and Char and I went out so she could give some meds to a lady who just delivered. Shes not doing well at all... pray for her. She's been sick since she gave birth, things have happened that aren't normal, and just pray that she won't get sicker and die. Another older man here has been coughing up blood... pray for him too. It could be TB or something, and oh, when I think of these people dying I just want to cry because they are SO close to hearing the gospel... SO close! It would be so hard to lose them and know they never heard of God and His sacrifice on the cross and they would spend an eternity in Hell... I've been thinking of Romans, and how it says that all men are without an excuse. These Agta have no excuse, and they are sinners. I am so lucky that I had a chance to hear about Christ and accept Him as my Savior, and they havent even had the chance to HEAR! Oh, pray for their health, and also for John, Don and Char as each day they are learning more and getting closer to sharing about Christ with them.
Well, I should go. Thanks again for praying. I miss everyone! I really do!