and many more!

january 24 .. i was the happiest 28yr woman in manila! i glowed with delight &excitement. my community surprised me with a fabulous bday dinner at one of my favorite restuarants, an awesome thai-filipino place. the surprise didn't stop there! a few women from samaritana and my family (aunt,uncle & cousins) showed up, what a surprise! i felt like a celebrity. i didn't know they were up to this. jean, one of our friends at samaritana dropped by to give me this incredible treat; chocolate mousse dessert -- holy cow! happy birthday to me! this was the first birthday i've celebrated since i moved to US. it was pretty significant for me to be in my birthplace and celebrating another year of life. it's funny, all this happiness made me feel really young. this will definitely not be the last birthday i spend here!

Tagaytay

Each day is a gift. We are building more trust with the women and staff at Samaritana. The experiences I’m gaining here are irreplaceable, I really can not get this anywhere else. Since the first day I introduced myself to the women (and they to me), I didn’t know what to expect, honestly, I was a little timid, afraid. The newness of this kind of -relationship intimidated me a little. But now it is easy, natural for me to sit and chat with the women over lunch or practice my tagalog (while they giggle at me) as we walk to catch a jeepney. Watching these women build community with each other and with us is inspiring. As a foreigner & visitor, being accepted by them is pretty significant. I’ve often wondered about their past, wondering what they were like before coming to this new life at Samaritana. I am anxious to hear each of their stories.

This week on our outreach night, I partnered with one of the trainees at Samaritana and got to facilitate a focus discussion on STD’s for the first time! I was a little nervous since my partner was a little shy-shy and spoke only tagalog & very little english. I was excited to see three women I recognized & that remembered us from the last time we were there. I sensed that the Lord had brought them there again. There were a total of four women between the ages of 21 and 26 being the oldest. Pray for the Lord of justice to transform Batasan, to rid that area of evil and to set the men & women free!