Fafa Fruit Juice

Cambodia's Fafa Fruit Juice really rocked our world. It was SUPER sweet, so we had to assume that the sugar content of that drink is up in the clouds. This is the first of a series of videos that we made while under the influence of Fafa's sugar high.

Sunday Ministry in Kensvey, Cambodia - Lyqa

We had our long-awaited ministerial opportunity in Cambodia in Kensvey. Though we weren't really prepared with a lesson because we really didn't expect it, God made a way for us to be able to teach and have fun with the kids. These are some of the stuff that happened.

Khmer-translated Sunday School story

Since it was an impromptu thing, I had to pull out a lesson pretty quick. Because all of them were pretty small kids, I decided to go with David's story. Reaksmey was my translator and I could tell that he was telling the story better than me because he spoke with full emotion and may actions pa!

This is how it went.



David and Goliath skit starring Chara! :D

To make sure that they knew and understood the story well, we had a skit. The funny thing was that our volunteer was a girl, Chara. It became an almost all-girl skit because the only guy in it was Gio-liath. :)

The whole team joined the skit. It was good that they were all game about being in the video.







After the skit, we taught them the game Bahay-Baboy-Bagyo (House-Pig-Storm) or Pteah-Chooroo-Sharpshoo in Khmer. The kids had fun. We're just not sure about who enjoyed it the most, the Khmer or us.



Didi also taught the children the song, "My God Is So Big" which went well with the lesson. The kids did their best to try to learn the song in English.



Overall, it was such a great experience. Jesus really loves the little children, all the children of the world. :) The fact that their teacher was male was also a revelation. How Reaksmey "Kulit" handled the kids was something I enjoyed watching. He had the boys following him and trying to behave. I hope that more boys will consider teaching kids as their ministry.

Please pray...

• that the Kids Ministry in Kensvey and in other parts of Cambodia will continue to grow,
• that God will call more people to serve in the ministry,
• that the current teacher/s like Reaksmey will not grow tired of giving their time to these kids, and
  
• that the kids will continue to grow in the faith and be ready to commit their lives fully to God.
  

VLog 002: Ultimate Shopping Experience --Dee

Before leaving for this trip to Viet-Cam, I had absolutely NO CARE about how much pocket money I was gonna bring. Actually, I was even debating in my mind if I should ask for money from my dad or not. (I still did, though. Hehe.) But when it was time to go to the market on our second (or was it third?) day at Phnom Pehn, I was sooooo glad that I had a pretty good amount of spending power, since a lot of other people gave me dollahs as well. (THANK YOU SO MUCH! :D)

Fortunately for us--and all the other visitors who stay with Tita Elvie, for that matter--the mission house is just a stone's throw away from the Russian Market, which Lyqa said is the counterpart of our Divisoria. It's the ultimate spot for buying souvenirs and other local stuff. It's tourist-shopping heaven.

We were briefed by Tita Elvie about shopping. She said we had to go to 50% off right away, because usually sobrang taas daw talaga ng patong, especially for foreigners. The funny thing is, the locals can tell if the customer is Pinoy. How? It's kinda nakakahiya, but it is true, nonetheless: Mahilig daw kasi tumawad. What's worse, BARAT! But even then, they still like Filipinos.


Off we went, armed with lotsa dollahs to spend and bargaining powers to help us get far with our AMMOney. Tita Elvie didn't go with us at first so we had to find our way around the market, looking around for bags, shoes, shirts, and trinkets to bring back home to our loved ones.

I was just thinking about getting gifts for my family and some friends, especially those whom I know have prayed and are praying for me, and those who helped me pay for that trip. I bought wallets, key chains, fans, shirts, and some stuff for myself since I was kinda running out of clothes. For some of us, a lot of people back home asked them to buy stuff for them, so they really had to get those things. (You should see Ate Tess' shopping list for that! LOL.) Like, for Nicey, it was a silk placemat for her tita and a certain kind of shoe for her lola. What's hard also is that there's really a lot of people you want to give to, but we were all worrying about going over the baggage weight limit, so we had to pick who really was worth having the extra kilos for.

So we bargained with everything that we had. Here are some of the stuff we got.
MALETA: $17 (original price: $22)
SHIRTS: $1.25-1.50.
TRINKETS: $1 per package (keychains, bookmarks, etc).
FANS: $0.50-1.00 each. $1 is too expensive already for that.
"BRANDED" BACKPACKS: (small, heavy duty) $5 from $7 / (large, heavy duty) $9 from $12 / (regular school bag) $7 from $9
SQUARE PANTS: $3-4 each


Personally, I don't want to find out how much I actually spent that day. But a wise traveler keeps track of the money he has and the money he spends, right? Mahirap na ang mag-over budget. I recorded everything I bought on my notebook so that everything is accounted for. Also, never go around the market acting like you want everybody to know you're not from there. Chances are, if you're like that, they won't believe that you don't have enough money to buy stuff at their original price. because Cambodians think all foreigners, including Filipinos, are rich. :)) As for the bargaining, our technique was this:

1. Ask for the price.
2. Chop off 50% right away, within reason. NEVER get anything at their initial price.
3. If the vendor doesn't agree with your bargain, walk away. He'll come running and shouting, "OK! OK! I give you that! Best price!"
4. Buy it, give him a huge smile, and chit-chat. Then you'll be "fren-fren" (friend-friend).

It's good to go shopping with a local or a friend who's been living in the area for a long time so that you can make sure if the price is right for the item, and also so they can show you where to get the best stuff for the best prices. Tita Elvie was the one who brought us to the shirt store where she always brings visitors. In Tagalog, suki na siya dun. So we were able to buy a lot from there.


After all the walking around the hot, noisy place, we were tired but happy. Nicey and I concluded the experience with this statement: "I've never shopped like this before!" (For me, that's because I've never really had enough money to shop for that much before. Hehe.)



So now, all I know is that I still have some dollahs left, a few kilos added to my 8-something kilo-luggage (the limit is 15 for check-in and 7 for carry-on), and I'm looking forward to those smiles when I hand over the gifts I bought from Cambodia. (I hope I was able to buy enough! *bites nails*)

One Short Day

Island Park was so beautiful that it was the perfect place to shoot One Short Day by Wicked. This place was across a bridge where 300 people died because of fear that the suspension bridge would fall during a pagoda parade. We prayed that the people would realize that their allegiance is to idols and find Jesus.

This is the video. Click here.

Music

Yup. We spent our money buying traditional musical instruments from Vietnam and Cambodia. We've been practicing since we got them. This is how far we've gotten. Enjoy!

Justin Beiber's Baby




Lady G's Pokerface

Day 5 – Angkor Whut?! Part 1 (Lyqa)

This is straight from my journal.

8.15 We left the hotel for Angkor Wat, but we had to buy tickets to Phnom Penh first.

12.45 Back at the hotel to check out

13.00 Lunch at the Neary Khmer Restaurant. Foreigner-price so it was kind of pricey. The restaurant was nice. The food was ok. The spring rolls were awesome. Neary Khmer has the best spring rolls. We also tried Fish Spa. Some of us already experienced this before, but that didn’t matter because all of us still laughed so hard like it was our first time.

15.15 Back at the hotel to wait for the bus. Gio bought us ice cream.

19.30 Got to Phnom Penh from Siem Reap. The 7-hour bus ride was an adventure all to itself because the bus’ airconditioning was broken. After a while, even the fan stopped working and the bus turned into a pressure cooker.

Day 4 – Crossing the Border and Travel to Siem Reap (Lyqa)

We crossed the border to Cambodia riding a SAPACO bus. It was a bit small, but it was ok. The bus got on a ferry to cross the river. Another vehicle was beside us. We barely recognized it because it was so overloaded. You literally cannot see the vehicle behind the luggage tied to it. The immigration process was fine. We got new names as the officer called Ate Mich Mishellah. I was named Anghelikyu, Eunice was E-U-Ya-Yunika.

After crossing, we had lunch at a stopover. The people there were so nice. Two of the managers (we know because they were dressed in civilian clothing instead of the orange uniform) were near our table the whole time waiting on us. They offered us light tea which we had to refuse because of two reasons:

1. Because we didn’t understand whether we had to pay for it

2. Because the missionaries told us to be careful not to drink the water, and even the ice, here.

When the waiter kept on offering drinks to us, the manager scolded him and sent him away while he continued apologizing to us. They were really nice. When Ate left her hat on the table, they went all Angry Birds on us. One of them said a word that sounded like “Boogawk” softly then they all said that louder and louder every time. All the other waiters came to the table and kept saying the same word. It was funny, but then I realized that they must feel the same way when we ask each other, “Babababa?” and elicit the response, “Bababa.”

We got to Phnom Penh and met Tita Elvie and Samnong for the first time. We also met a Filipino family who’s been living here for a long time. The father gave us his number and told us that if we had any problems, we can ask him for help since he is an officer of the Filipino organization here. After getting our baon, which came in the form of big slices of brownies, we went on a van which took us to our bus which took us to Siem Reap. This time, the bus ride was not so nice.

There was this French couple who sat in the row in front of Gio and me. They reclined their seats as far as it would go with no regard in crushing us in the process. The best thing about that trip was finding out the best potato chips in Vietnam… TAISUN POTATO CHIPS CHILLI FLAVOR (Yup. It’s spelled with two “L’s.”

When we got to the bus station, a tuktuk driver, Mr. Boret, came to pick us up. He was holding a sign that said “Tess Bantatug” so it took a bit before we realized that he came for us. He spoke good English and helped us find a hotel. The hotel was pretty cheap. They charged us 39 dollars for one night, two rooms for seven people. The room was so nice. We’ll upload pictures soon.

We went out for dinner at this place called Monoram where we had spring rolls, Khmer-style barbeque, deep-fried pork ribs, and roasted duck. The food was good, but the fellowship was even better. On our way back, we bought ice cream (which was no match for Fruitare strawberry pops) and slept soundly for a few hours dreaming of the next day’s Angkor Wat adventure.

*cue Tomb Raider soundtrack*

It's Friday in Cambodia!

The title speaks for itself. Do you wanna know what happens in Cambodia during Fridays?

Click here

VLog 001: Age Does Matter --Dee

I don't really know how to describe this experience. As some of you might know, this is the second time I have ridden a plane and the first time I have EVER gone out of the country. To be honest, I feel like I'm dreaming, and we've been away for two days only!

But I don't really wanna talk about my feelings. I think a story will be more interesting. :)

So...we were in the immigration section at NAIA. There was a long line of passengers waiting for their turn to go to the window, hand over their departure card and passport, get it stamped, and then board the plane. We decided to come in groups of three and four since there are seven of us. I went with Ate Tess and Ate Mitch; Lyqa, Abby, Nicey, and Gio went together.

When it was our turn, the immigration officer took a while before stamping on our passports. He asked kung anong gagawin namin sa Vietnam, kung ano daw ba kami sa Messiah, etc. Tapos he went and consulted something with the chief immigration officer who was sitting near the entrance near the metal detector/x-ray chorva. After that, he let us in.

Ate Mitch handed our IT receipt to the CIO. He looked at our passports. Then he asked, "May DSWD clearance ba kayo?"

Ate Mitch was like, "Po?" with a confused look on her face, which I had, too.

"Sino bang kasama niyo?" he asked further.

"Sila po," we said, pointing to the other group. Ate Tess stayed behind to wait for them.

"E ano ka ba sa...ano toh, Messiah College?"

"Opo. Ah, staff po ako."

"Sinong kasama niya? Wala kayong magulang na kasama?" His tone was serious and...yung tipong mararamdaman mong may tinutumbok siya. Scary.

"Wala po. Kami lang po nung kapwa ko staff."

"Ah, e hindi pwede yan. Dapat may DSWD Clearance kayo!"

We were getting worried and really confused by that time.

"Bakit po? Para saan po ba yun?" Ate Mitch asked. Kamot-ulo na kami tapos tanaw nang tanaw kay Ate Tess.

"E siya," he said, pointing to me. "Wala siyang kasama e! Dapat may clearance ng DSWD na pwede siyang mag-travel na walang kasamang magulang."

And I was like, "Po?"

"E bakit, ilang taon ka na ba?"

"Twenty po."

The CIO broke out with this bellylaugh and said, "Ano! Akala ko 16 ka lang!"

Yes, Sir. I get that a lot. :))

Gonna Fly Now!

Who says missionaries can't have fun? Wanna see what reaching the top of the Independence Palace felt like?

Click here.

Vlog #3: Day 1 - Lyqa

Sorry for the weird train of thought and the blabbering. I'm just too tired and sleepy. *yawn*

Day 1: AM - Meeting Tita Eva and Vietnam by Day

To fully understand how hard it is to live in a foreign country, one MUST experience sitting next to people who are just about yelling in monosyllabic singsong.

It's just our first day here out in Vietnam and I'm already loving the country. Pero I love Tita Eva more. Super cool!!

Grabe siya!!! She met us at the airport, got us a ride for just 300,000 dong (Yup. That's cheap. We'll expain soon), and went to our hotel early in the morning to join us for breakfast. She interviewed all of us. It was just a short period of time, but I instantly loved her. :)



We went to the Independence Palace to take pictures. It was fun until the weight of my backpack weighed my mood down.

But it was fun nonetheless. Videos of some stuff we did will be posted soon.

My heart was heavy the whole time we were there. Prayer-walking in a foreign country is an altogether different experience. We prayed for the people in power in Vietnam. We also asked God to place Godly people in government positions to open the door completely to the Gospel of Christ. I hope that we keep praying even after we leave.

Other highlights for the day include:

1. Crossing the streets with all those motorcycles.
2. Trying to play one of their native instruments. (I'll be posting a vid about this soon.)
3. My swollen hands. Probably because of an allergic reaction to something.

Keep praying guys. :)

Vlog #2: Vietnam!!! - Lyqa

Hey pipols. So, this is our 2nd Vlog. :)
We are finally in Vietnam! (Actually, finally is an exaggeration since my flight to Cebu was longer pa nga. hehe)




Prayer Requests:

• Strength for us. We're pretty tired and we only have time for a few hours of sleep before all the walking later.
• Continued protection from God.
• Extra anointing for our ministerial tasks tomorrow. I, Lyqa, will be speaking and Abby and Dee will render a special song number. :)
• Peace for our family members back home. May they remember that, as the wise Tita Del Ebora says, "The safest place in the world is in God's hand."

Vlog #1: Before leaving the house - Lyqa

Leaving on a Jet Plane

I'm not an expert packer. I usually overpack and bring a luggage bag to a 3-day retreat. This time, for a 14-day 2-country trip, I had to fit everything inside a hiking backpack with 30 liters of space. I was too busy worrying about everything and I ended up forgetting to pack my Bible.

In everything, we ought to put God first. So I tried listing the real essentials to a successful trip:

• Blessings (God's provision and direction)
• Attitude of worship and service
• God's Word

This is a time lapse video of me packing.