Monday, August 20, 2007

Back to School!

If summer is over... then the next event on the calendar must be SCHOOL!









David headed back to Manila and Faith Academy a couple weeks ago. Now an upperclassman, (Junior) he's excited about getting back in the swing of things at school. This week he's involved in tryouts for the volleyball team while getting used to new teachers and Chemistry, Advanced Math, Economics, Philippine/SE Asia history, Bible, English III, and... weight lifting! Sounds like a pretty tough schedule to mom... including the weight lifting!
Krysten & Betsy are experiencing a new situation this year... a first for our family since we've been in the Philippines. They are both attending Faith Academy here in Davao City. It has always been our choice to homeschool our kids during elementary... but due to our move to Davao City... Faith Academy became an option for us. Krysten is enjoying 7th grade while Betsy is one of 7 students in the 2nd grade class. When we first mentioned the idea to Betsy she promptly told us , "No!" she didn't want to go to Faith Academy but wanted to stay home with mom. After a little prying we found out she thought we were planning to send them to Manila with David! We assured her that we had no intention of doing that but they would go to school here in Davao and continue to live at home. She quickly agreed to that idea! Krysten is enjoying the activities offered... playing percussion in the middle school band, intramural soccer, journalism class, worship team member, as well as her regular subjects are keeping her busy!



Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Summer Highlights

The summer has passed so quickly! We had a great summer... getting to travel as a family on several trips while being involved in various ministries over the course of the summer. Here are just a few highlights from the summer:




David's week with Buhay Sports Ministry. One week, 3 different cities, LOTS of basketball! He had the opportunity to share his testimony twice during the halftime presentations. Thanks to all of you who supported him financially & with your prayers.




















Birthdays!! We celebrated 4 family birthdays over the past few weeks: Wendy's, Betsy's (7), David's (16) & Jess's . It was fun celebrating Betsy's & David's as they fell during our summer team's debrief time. So instead of just a family-sized cake... super-size cakes were needed to feed around 40 people!












We had some great family time as we traveled together for various meetings... worked with the medical clinic & Habitat for Humanity teams... took a couple day trips to the beach... even visiting with friends in Butuan during orientation & debrief. A highlight for David was being able to complete the classes & other requirements to get his SCUBA certification. Krysten & Betsy spent time at a local orphanage and we brought "Julian" home with us a couple times for a few days.