joanna in the philippines

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years Everyone! I really hope everyone had a great time with friends and family this past week! Also bringing in the New Years tonight. :) Well, I have had a wonderful time here in Aritao with my family... Sarah and her family, and also the Epps. With the Rosviks, we had a nice meal on Christmas Eve and opened the gifts and just had a nice evening. Then last night (the 30th) we had another big meal with the Epps and did our gifts then... it was so nice! SO yeah, other than those Christmas celebrations, we have been kept busy with different activities here at the center. There was a list of all the things going on, and it was so fun to take part in it! We hiked up a mountain one day, had a soup bar, went Christmas caroling and handing out presents in the bario, had Christmas carolers come sing to us, had a ladies movie night, a ladies spa/korean food night, a bonfire, a Christmas potluck meal, singing Christmas songs together, and on and on. So, we were very busy. But it was so fun, and there were a lot of people here on the base, so that was also nice! It was a special time... even though a few times I was wishing I could be at home with my parents and other sisters. But, I wouldnt trade my time with Sarah for anything!

Well, I will be leaving the Philippines in a week and 2 days... I cannot believe the past 4 months has flown by so quickly!!! It has been awesome though! But we are leaving in 2 days to head south to a coconut farm for the NTM conference here. Should be fun! My aunt and uncle are coming over from Califonia with a group of people to run the older kids programs, so it will be fun to see them! Also, I will be leading/teaching the toddlers class... ages 2-3, so pray for me with that! Should be fun... maybe a challenge, but fun none the less! Well, conference is only 4 days, and from there we head to Manila for 2 days, and then I will go to the airport either late at night or early early in the morning (depending on how you look at it) and begin the LONG day of traveling home! It's amazing that its almost time to come home, but its not over yet!!! Well, I should go... have lots to do! We're having company for supper, then the center is having a New Years Eve thing... fireworks, snacks, and games... and I have to pack my bags for when I leave by tonight.... I am sending my luggage down to Manila tomorrow morning. Alright, God Bless everyone! Happy New Years!

Well, we are finally once again in Aritao... this time will be the last time I will come to Aritao. We left Manila on Monday, 3 days after Zane was born. We took our time though going up, not in a rush, but as it got dark, and since it was a bit rainy, we realized it might be a difficult trip. We were driving a van up for another missionary family, and the windshield wipers didn't work too great, and the defrost wasnt working quite well either, so as it got dark, and kept on raining, it got harder and harder to see. It is kinda dangerous to drive here in the night anyways, since 1) the way people drive is nuts, passing all over (but u gotta do it too :)) and 2) some people believe that driving without lights saves gas, so there are tricycles and cars that you gotta watch for extra careful. So... it was a bit tense ride when it got dark, just because we were all super on the lookout for any signs of movement in the dark... and then were blinded when cars were coming from the other direction (since we couldnt see through the windshield properly). Well, there was a time we almost pulled over and stopped, but we were all so ready to get to aritao... well, also, we hit fog halfway up the mountain that stayed with us until halfway down, so that was another reason to stay on the edge of our seats, but it worked out great, and God kept us safe (I was praying!). Don did a great job driving though. Zane proved to be a good traveler... and Thea and Koi were good too, they slept on my lap a lot of the way. So, it was a nice trip, but just knowing we were going to be able to settle down and relax once we got to Aritao made it all the better!

Things here have been good... just getting back into the swing of things. Spending time with Sarah and Markus, playing with all the kids each morning... etc... I had two good friends from Bible School here... Matt and Erin Castagna. They both lived/grew up here, so they were coming home, and I was just chilling in their home! :) But we had such a fun time seeing each other and catching up! Kind of cool running into them in the Philippines of all places! But thats just how an exciting God works I guess! So that was fun seeing them. They left today to go back down south. But with Christmas fast approaching, this place is going to be coming alive! I am excited, hearing about all the activities that go on during the holidays! Lots of Caroling, and dinner parties, and fellowship times. It should go fast and be super fun! I am already excited! Well, things here are great, and I am already beginning to think about packing up my bags and making sure I have enough pounds to bring all my stuff back! :) It always seems to be that way! Ha! Well, I'll keep updating with whats happening here, and I hope you all have a great holiday as well... and really, I have been encouraged about remembering the reason for all this stuff that goes on during the holidays: the traditions, the presents, the parties, the fun and family... and it all comes to the gift of Jesus, and remembering even what His birth into this world means for us now. It is so easy to get carried away with the trees and lights and the "feeling the holidays gives us," but it is nothing compared to knowing Christ and having a relationship with Him. I hope I don't lose sight of that this holiday season... it seems it is getting harder and harder to see in the way the world celebrates Christmas anymore! Well, goodnight everyone! God bless!

Hey everyone! Well, yesterday, Dec. 8th, at around 12:58 pm Zane Tiras Epp was born. (see pics below). He was about 8 pounds, 1 ounce, and about 53 centimeters (unlike the 13 inches i had told earlier, to anyone who heard. No, he's NOT a midget (dad)). It has been a LONG two days... let me catch up...

Well, just so you know, since I have last written, other than whats happening with the baby,absolutely nothing extremely exciting has gone on. Just some more mall walking, eating, and trying to keep the kids occupied and happy. But we were getting more and more anxious for the baby to come, there are only so many things to do for kids in this city :)

So, I was sharing a room with the Epps when Char and Don went to the hospital... the kids and I were invited to go on an outing with a bunch of language students here and their "Grandma Liz", a dear lady who lives in Aritao, and her and her husband Rocky are the grandparents to many kids here in the Philippines. Well, she was heading the trip up and invited us to go, and we thought that we should try to have the kids go, just for a fun day away from the Guest House, and also so D and C could have some time... they were going to a resort type tourist thing a couple hours away... and we were a bit worried about how Koi would do going with me and not having his mom or dad there, so I spent much of the night before praying! I was so nervous about it. Well, we were going to leave at 6am, so we would get the kids up around 5 to get them awake and pumped up for the day!! Well, at about 4:20, I heard D and C quietly packing bags and whispering, which I assumed they were packing the kids bags and all (i must have thought they were really anxious to get us off on the road) but Char came and told me it was "time" and that meant one thing. So, off they went to get a taxi to go to the hospital, and I was SO happy, but at the same time realizing that I would have to wake the kids up on my own, explain to them what was happening, why their parents were gone, and that we would go to a random place a few hours away with a bunch of random people. Well, I will admit, I was nervous and scared, but I kept praying about it... asking God to help!

Well, all I can say is WOW! I have never seen such good kids in my life! I woke them up, and after just a few explanations about where their mom and dad were, they were alright, and excited about the day! I was SO relieved. So, we got dressed, and all packed up for the long drive and the full day ahead, while their mom and dad were going to make the baby pop out. (epp talk). The ride there was great. We were in a big van with 10 other people, and Koi, Thea and I sat in the very back, and the two of them sat there the whole time quietly, looking out the window, commenting on a few things here and there, and sleeping. What good kids! Koi was attached at my hip that day, but I didn't mind one bit... he was such a good two year old! When we got there, we played in a park while the big people went into a museum, and then we took a caribou-drawn trolley ride to the actual resort where we swam for an hour in their pools. The kids loved it, and I must admit, I had fun too! Then we ate lunch in the water. Well, sorta. It was cool, they had a man-made waterfall, and it ran down and was about a foot thick of water that ran along the ground, where they had picnic tables... its hard to explain. But you went to the buffet table and got your really yummy Filipino food, and then walked through the foot deep water to your picnic table and ate with water rushing at your feet. If you cant get a good vision of this, ask me to email you a pic, and I will most certainly do that :) Well, we ate, which was so good, and then saw a coconut demonstration, where a man climbed a tree and cut down coconuts, then we got to drink fresh coconut juice, and they made coconut milk, and we drank that, and then I got to try coconut heart... So that was cool... but we saw it in the tribe, and I must say that was pretty cool. After this, we went to a cultural dance type show thing, and sat there for almost an hour and a half. Koi sat on my lap, eventually falling asleep, and Thea sat in the front row with her friend Katie, and sat there the whole time commenting on which girls were their favorite and who wore the prettiest costume. It was really cool... they were really talented. So then we finally headed out... into the traffic. Crazy day, but super fun as well.

Right after the coconut demonstration deal, I got "the phone call" that I had been waiting for all day. Don had called and said that the baby had just been born a few minutes before, and his name was Zane Tiras, and all the good stuff... and Koi and Thea got to talk to him and they were SO excited! So that was fun news. I guess the labor went well. Char said it was the hardest of all three kids, but still it wasnt too bad... She had been in labor for awhile, but I guess the real painful pains had begun around 9 am or so, and he was born quickly once her water broke. So, it was good to hear that both the baby and mommy were healthy and safe (okay, daddy too) and everyone with us were glad to hear the news. Well, we made a plan to bring the kids to the hospital when we got back, but little did we know how bad the traffic would be... well, we knew it would be bad, but were hopinh it wouldnt be this once! We were in traffic from 3:30 until 7 or so when we took a bathroom break... Koi was with me and he was just a doll... Thea went with Liz in the other van. But there was still a long time until they returned, so Liz came with me and the kids, and we took a taxi from there and went to the hospital so the kids could see their parents. They were SO excited to see them, and it was such a help to have Liz with me and the taxi and all. An answer to prayer! We left and we got back to the GH around 10, and we all hit the hay pretty quick.

This morning I woke up to Koi right in my face and he said "Joanna! Baby! Baby! Joanna!" He was ready to go back to the hospital to his mom, dad, and new baby brother. Not too much longer Thea sat up in bed and said quickly "Where is the baby? Why's he not here with me??" This big sister was also very anxious to get to her little bro and begin playing with him... so we got ready and went to the taxi. Well, another answer to prayer... we ran into Ate Robbie, a lady missionary here from up north. She is Filipino, and I got to know her before we went into the tribe. Well, we talked for a few, then she asked if she could come and help us get a taxi and tell the driver where to take us! Praise the lord! Ha... It was such a relief to have someone help, and a Filipino no less! That was great... perfect timing. His timing. So we went and spent all day in the room... playing with Zane (or just looking) and trying to get them all out of the hospital. There was lots of policies that they had to wait for, time and time again. But finally we left, and then waited for a taxi another 45 minutes. Then, when the taxi came, sat in the car for an hour since traffic was SO bad... but its good to be back. Good to have Zane with us. And now we will head back to Aritao on Monday, so that is good as well! This is the time we have been waiting for, a reason why I came here as well! And it is fun that it has come! Well, I apologize that I have written a novel. Sorry! But I just wanted to tell about my days! Ha! Oh, there are a few pics below... of Zane and others.. enjoy!



p.s.- yeah, interesting thing: Don and Char had a hard time getting a room in the hospital on Friday... there were so many ladies giving birth. Char didnt even have her doctor in the room when Zane came! But it was so busy because of the date. December 8th is the day that Mary was believed to have conceived baby Jesus, and so everyone tries to plan their births on that day. Char said it was crazy, that her doctor had SO many babies to deliver that day... she had 7 planned C-sections... but I was shocked to hear that. I found it very interesting and wondered what they thought would be significant of giving birth on the same day Jesus was conceived. Well, if only they all knew and understood what Jesus's DEATH meant for their lives. Their forgiveness of sins if they'd have faith and believe. Well, let me know what you think about it!

 

after a few unsuccessful attempts of loading pics on this page, i decided to branch out and use another resource that is available on the world wide web... so if youre interested in seeing a few pics of the tribe and more, then you can visit this page and look under "photos"

www.my.opera.com/jfmeisel

that should work! hooray for pictures!

Well, things here are doing pretty good. Char was due last Wednesday, and so now we are holding our breath each day in hopes that it would be "THE DAY." Not much new from last time I wrote, not a lot of stuff happens in Manila... we are definitely ready to get out of this big city and go back up north where the wind blows and the birds chirp and the sun shines. The kids are SO ready to go roam free up in Aritao as well... and I know Levi is just waiting for his little friends to come back! Well, thats about all happening here! Each day we try to get out of the guest house, but theres not a whole lot to do except going to malls. So, we've done our share of mall walking... for the year i believe. But its been good... meeting other missionaries on the field is always a plus. Well, I should get going. Im watching the kids right now, and Thea has 2 girl friends over, and I should go see what kind of trouble they're getting into! ;) jk... these little girls are sweet. Thanks for praying... only a little more than a month left!!! Talk to you later....