THE MARKET

Yesterday morning at 4:30 a.m., Roselyn and I climbed in the "truck" with the house moms to go to the market for this weeks groceries. The vendors bring their produce down from the mountain on Saturday morning. It was very crowded, smelly and dirty, but I loved it! Other than one man selling papaya soap, I was the only non-Filipino. There were a lot of stared and some questions about who I was. The market was crawling with people. We made our first stop at the fish vendor. There were many, many different kinds of fish...and many, many people selling. The entire market was huge...maybe a city block or two? It was hard to tell, but we walked around and around for a long time. Anyway, the meat (fish, chicken and beef) was all raw or dried and just sitting out. They would cut off the scales, etc and put it in a basket and put them in a basket.. You would never see this in the US! The vegetables and fruits were beautiful and there were so many kinds! Bananas by the bunch, mangos, and something called jack fruit. You can look it up if you want! :)...but it was all so interesting to me! Anyway, it was a highlight to see Filipino culture up close and personal. Hope I can do it again some day!

ROMELYN

Yesterday was an incredible day. Roselyn and I went to meet her older sister and children. We had just missed seeing her when we were here to pick up the kids so it was especially sweet to finally see her-especially for Roselyn. Romalyn is very beautiful - much like her siblings. We think she looks like Romeo! We met with them at the CSC office for about an hour and then brought them back to their home, which is the same neighborhood of our children. Before meeting with them we stopped at a grocery store to pick up some food. It was a very positive experience. When we got back to the neighborhood, people started recognizing Roselyn and we kind of gathered a crowd. They were so happy to see her and the pictures of the boys. They were all talking a mile a minute asking Roselyn so many questions about her new life. It is so interesting to me that they showed no resentment about her situation. They were also very kind to me. Roselyn handled it very graciously and like a pro. I was very proud of her.

I cannot begin to imagine what this must have been like for my daughter, but I am so thankful that we had the chance to make this visit. Tonight Roselyn and I will stay at the shelter and go to the market (at 4 a.m.) with the house moms to shop for the freshest produce. I'm excited about this adventure!

CEBU

Things are feeling a bit more settled. I just tried to download some pictures, but it was taking so long that maybe I will try again later. Yesterday was a good day. We took the city tour. Marlys drove us around Cebu City looking at neighborhood, downtown and through a cemetary. It is helpful for me to revisit these place. It is also interesting to watch other people see some of the sights for the first time. We spent a few hours shopping (mostly for fabrice) for a few projects that need to be completed at the shelter.

We ate at a traditional Filipino restaurant last night. Lots of different and interesting foods. I loved it! And then... believe it or not, we girls (plus Marlys and another staff person) went to get massages. It was very interesting. Seems like the wrong thing to do while we are here, but we were just trying to go with the flow. Roselyn and Megan spent some time helping at the school and hanging out with kids. The children are so happy to see Roselyn. I brought one picture of me and my kids and they love to look at it. Lots of comments about how handsome Romeo is!!

Today we will have a meeting with Roselyn's older sister. Not sure what to expect! I will definitely take a few picture. She has two little children which we will meet as well. The staff is wonderful in trying to help us make those connections. It is almost surreal. Sorry about the pictures, but I just don't have a lot of time. I'll keep tryihg. Tonight we will finish out the day with tacos at Teacher Amy's house.

CEBU

It is 5 a.m. and I can't sleep. I have been awake for about an hour just trying to get back to sleep... I think I give up. My sister is sitting across the room on her computer as well. Seems like a good time to blog!

Well, our trip so far has been good. Other than a REALLY long journey, we are all hear in one piece. All of the flights went well and were pretty uneventful except for the Minneapolis-Tokyo leg. A couple of hours into the flight, we had pretty sever turbulence! The pilot even said that in his 30 years of flying, he had never experienced such an unexpected rough ride. Thankfully, after the 20 -30 minutes of roller coaster riding, things settled down. We checked about 19 pieces of luggage between the 9 of us.

We are all trying to get used to the heat and the time change. It is very, very hot!. Yesterday, we ate lunch at the shelter and took a general tour. The best part for me was to see Roselyn reconnect with the kids that are still here! They were very excited to see her! Many things have changed but they had so many things to talk about... They had lots of questions about Romeo and Rodrigo as well.

Last night we went to Mitch's house for pizza with a bunch of the staff. Today we will take a city tour and start on a few projects for the shelter. We will go out to eat this evening so it will be another long and busy day. Of course, I can't find my camera cord, so I won't post any pictures now. I'm sure it will show up!

On Thursday, Roselyn will be meeting with one or two of her relatives. I am excited but anxious about what that will look like. It makes me happy to see Roselyn so happy. She is definitely in her element.

I miss Steph, Rigo and Romeo so much, but am thankful for texts and phones which make communicating not so difficult. Thanks for praying for all of us. I would say that the biggest concern for us is to accclimate to the climate. (Annie, it reminds me of Ukraine!) For now, that's all! Thanks for reading!

CEBU, HERE WE COME!

Roselyn and I are leaving for the Philippines later today. There are so many things to do before leaving on a big trip like this, but I think we are almost ready to go. We are going with another mother and daughter that are friends and my sister is also joining us. Please pray for us as we travel and experience CSC with new eyes. I will try to post some pictures and blog a bit, but it will depend on how tired I am... Thanks to all of you who have sent your well-wishes and offers to help while we are gone. We are looking forward to reconnecting with some people back there and are looking forward to introducing CSC to some new people! Next stop - Cebu City, Philippines.

MILESTONES

Last week we celebrated Allen's parent's 50th wedding anniversary. We spent a few days together just remembering, celebrating and catching up. His family is located mostly in Minnesota, but also in Arizona and California so it was a real treat to have us all together. We met up at the Twin's game on Wednesday and had a family dinner and celebration on Thursday. Grandma Mork pulled out her wedding dress after 50 years and we enjoyed a little fashion show by some of the granddaughters. Very fun! Time flies and things change, but its the shared memories of the past that give us roots. I wish we could get together more often, but I guess that is why an event like this is so special.

Allen and I celebrated OUR 27th anniversary on Friday and Lindsay and Bjork celebrated their 1st anniversary earlier in the week! Lots to celebrate and so exciting to see three generations of healthy marriages. I'm looking forward to many more years of adventure with Allen and the rest of our family. Who knows what is waiting for us around the next bend??

EIGHTY-EIGHT!

What is it like to be eighty-eight years old?? How does it feel and what does it look like?

We celebrated my dad's 88th birthday last week. I feel so blessed to have had a mom and a dad for almost 50 years! It is such a gift. I love that they are so social. I love that they love doing things for and helping other people. I love that they love their grandchildren! People often come up to me (it just happened again last Sunday) and tell me how much they enjoy my mom and dad. It has given me a new appreciation of what wonderful people they are.

We had a little birthday celebration at our house for my dad. Rigo, of course, loves birthdays, parties and celebrations. My dad picks him up after school every Wednesday and they sort of... hang out for an hour or so. I love that they have the Wednesday "connection". Rigo is 8 and my dad is 88 and they are buds! I think it's pretty cool and it makes me smile.

My dad also loves the ladies! He was in seventh heaven as three of his granddaughters gave him kisses all at once. There are some really great things about being 88!