Kadie was right. We had a super exciting day yesterday that we all wanted to write about but no one had the energy. She gave you a great start, but I get to share some of the really exciting parts with you.
First, that conversation she spoke of in the missionaries home here at Rainbow was completely off schedule for us. We were supposed to be shopping for souvenirs in town, but what happened in that kitchen was far more glorious than shopping could ever be. . . Kelly Sankner accepted Christ! It was certainly a journey that Kelly set out to explore through this experience, and I know that many of you back home have been praying for her. Praise God for he answers prayers and has designed a new creation in her this week! Kelly's heart has really been leading to this, in subtle ways over the past couple months as she prepared for this trip, and then in many experiences this past week at Rainbow including the Agape girls sharing testimonies with her, seeing her prayers for our team and this ministry answered, and the powerful messages that became very personal to her at church here this week. I'm sure you'd all like to hear from Kelly, but said it was okay if I shared the good news with all of you. I think she's still working on some of the words to say to describe the change in her heart this week. She's getting great practice as she tells the Agape girls and they are eager to celebrate with her!
Following that, we shared a relaxing day with the girls. Some of them did art projects that they really enjoyed and wanted to do more of. Others just hung out and swapped sketch books to write rememberances to each other. For a special treat in the evening, we took all the girls and a few of the missionary staff to town for pizza. I got to ride on a motor (small motorcycle that is extremely common here) all the way to town. Huge adventure for me! Aren't you proud of me James? I loved it! It's a totally new view of Dumaguete from the back of a Motor. Aaron, the 18 yr old son of the missionary family here, took each of our team members for a ride on it today.
And if that wasn't enough adventure. . . we all headed to the Boulevard after pizza to try some belut. For those of you that are not familiar, belut is a Filipino specialty that was actually featured on FEAR Factor! It's a fertilized egg (that means baby chick) that is then boiled in a uniquely flavored vinegar. The vendors sell it each evening on the Boulevard and you order it by day. That means 16-day or 18-day since fertilization. The most developed is a 21 day. It looks just disgusting as the body is beginning to form and the smell doesn't add much to tempting you either. But it was a challenge and our Agape Art team proved to be up to it. With the Agape girls and missionaries behind us as our cheering section, all three of us actually tried it! Kadie and I actually chewed and gulped the whole thing! This is kinda a first for me:) After visting 4 times, this was certainly a first to actually eat the whole thing! It was not the most pleasant taste and I couldn't chew fast enough to get that texture out of my mouth, but by golly I was proud of my feat! Here's a picture to help you all understand.
Sadly, we say our good-byes at Rainbow this afternoon and then head to Manila to spend the night. We will begin our long 24-hour journey home as we board a plane from Manila tomorrow morning.
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