Day 2 @ Samaritans Place

(click the picture for photos)

 4/10

We woke up around 6AM for breakfast and church at 8. We were so excited that Samaritans Place had their own jeepney and we were able to ride in it to church with the kids! Several remembered us from the previous afternoon of playing hoops and table tennis. These could be the cutest kids ever and we hope they all are adopted by good parents (seriously, I can't express it enough). 

Papa Joe, one of Joshua's house parents, drove a van while another one of the house parents drove us in the jeepney. We were excited to ride in one of these cool "tricked out" Filipino vehicles to church. Talk about riding in style... with a bunch of sweet kids. 

Church was a cool experience and very similar to one of our modern style services, only it was in Tagalog. Praising God is something that has no language or culture and we could really feel it that day. We met the pastor after the service and headed out to Yellow Cab pizza in Taygaytay. Now a pizza place overlooking an active volcano is a cool thing... A real cool thing. The ride there and back was great too especially because Papa Joe was driving and we were not. The driving here is an art form. Many visitors probably close their eyes. Next we were off to the mall in Desmarinas. 

A mall is a mall no matter what country. I wanted out as soon as we went in... seriously.  We were able to get most things that we went for but still need to buy Joshua a few other things to wear. Hey, we are starting from square one. No clothes man and this kid needs some drawers, shirts, pants, kicks, you name it. After returning to SP we took a walk around the neighborhood with a few house parents and kids. After a dinner of some awesome fish sticks, veggies, rice, and onion rings we watched Narnia with the kids. It was a special night night where they were allowed to stay up. Did I mention how cute they are? Tomorrow is Joshua's going away/birthday party. He has been here for 10 years and it will be both happy and sad. 

For the latest music visit:

www.timkorry.com 

Meeting Day!

4/9

 I was awakened by sirens, constant barking dogs, whistles, and crazy traffic horns.  This is at 6:15 AM mind you...  ah Manila. We had quite the view of Manila bay but apparently there was some kind of running event across the street for The Day of Valor,  a new holiday to us Westerners. The jeepneys, motorbikes, taxis,  and even a few bikes were out in full force. This is the same place that was still boomin 4 hours ago in the dark right? This place is absolutely unreal. This seriously is a city that never sleeps. I'm looking forward to seeing more of it but probably won't catch much rest here. 

We grabbed breakfast at the Hotel Jen buffet  (not too bad btw) and checked out the hotel pool before Ramon picked us up for our big day. On the way to Samaritans Place Ramon told us about Th Day of Valor, some facts about Manila and the area of Silang, and facts about traditional Filipino life. 

We stopped at a Korean restaurant, yes we've been eating more Korean food than anything, before entering the gated community where SP is located. 

The gates were guarded by some serous looking security guards, and that's good. We pulled up between 2 large gated buildings and Ramon said,"We are here".  Liza and I were pretty nervous and I'm sure that Joshua was too. We met several members of the staff and they seemed very friendly and caring.  There were cameras out and people taking video of the big event as we walked into the area where Joshua and his "house parents" were.  There were hugs, tears, and lots of awkward excitement. It was a strange but wonderful thing to meet our 14 yr old son do the first time. We all knew that it would take time to get to know each other but we were finally together after almost 2 years! 

We spent the ext few hours in the play yard with Joshua, the other kids, and the rest of the staff. Everyone was playing volleyball, basketball, Ping pong, and anything else in sight. It was an amazing experience playing with all these cute kids that we wish we could take home as well. There are so many good kids at this place and the Samaritan's Place and staff are such an amazing blessing. I really can't say enough. They really are a family and take very good care of the children. I'm finding that I really love Filipino values, food, culture, and everything I've encountered. We  had Joshua's favorite "American" dinner of fried chicken, mashed potatoes & gravy, and fresh mixed veggies with a few staff members. We were so tired that we hit the sack around 9 in our specially prepared room. Joshua had his own bunk bed in the room. What a day. We were all exhausted.

Death, Goth, and Reality.

There has been a lot of death in my life lately. A band mate, feels like my youth sometimes, certain attitudes, and the freedom to do whatever I want whenever I want (that sounds horrible eh?) but that's OK. I gave up some freedom getting married but adopting and becoming an instant dad is a whole new thing. I'm really looking forward to this next adventure so don't misunderstand. It does seem like the death of my old self, what I am used to, but the thing about death is that there is life on the other side... A new life.

Liza and I are super excited to adopt our son. It's been a very long, expensive, and mentally taxing process. We are ready for that new life. I think of seeing all the old things that we have experienced through a new set of eyes. Things that we take for granted like God's natural creations of earth and sky, places we have been, family and people that we know etc... Everything will be new to him and I'm looking forward to seeing those things through his eyes and experiencing them in a brand new way.

Providing that we have a safe trip there and back, I'm looking forward to getting back to some of my musical roots and totally redeveloping my musical identity. Goth band? Blues? Guitar rock?  I'll save that for later posts. Right now I'm more concerned with flying into Seoul South Korea and on into Manila. Yeah, sounds like some of the safest places in the world at this point in time... Wars and rumors of wars... ? Anyway, keep us in your prayers if you're the praying type. Alright, I'm off to work on some new goth rock...  The good stuff like The Cure, Depeche Mode, The Mission, Sisters of Mercy etc... Tomorrow we are traveling to the other end of the world you know. This will be the biggest and most amazing adventure yet! Stay tuned to this blog/diary post for the latest from the Philippines.
 Much Luv, TPK