Missionaries get breaks too!

Missionaries get breaks too! For a week our office was closed for the holidays. This means we got a vacation too. First we went to a beach resort called Paradise. We arrived there December 30th. Paradise is on an island called Samal which is just a 15 minute boat ride. Let me explain a little bit about the place so you are not confused by resort. It is a very nice place for the Philippines. We stayed in an air-conditioned (air-con) cottage. In it were 2 twin beds. Most Philippine rooms are twin beds that you can push together if you want. If they are not twin beds then there is one double bed and one twin bed. No two double beds. Also there is no hot water available in any rooms at Paradise. This is something that you have to ask about when going to hotels because is is not standard to have hot water. However, it is really good food and on the beach. We spent New Year's there. We watched fireworks and heard the ship horn blow at midnight.

Two days later, we headed up one side of Mindanao to Butuan. The roads were what some might call makeshift roads. We stayed at a resort for just one night so we could finish our journey to Camiguin another island to the north of Mindanao that was formed from volcanoes. We took a hour long ferry ride over to the island and stayed the first two nights at another beach resort. We were able to go snorkeling on a little sand island called White Island. We saw a snake and many fish and corral. Then our last night in Camiguin we stayed at a highland resort. It was beautiful. There was a beautiful view of Camiguin and the ocean. We went to a 60 foot waterfall and also a hot spring. It was a wonderful relaxing trip.

On the way back we took a trip back in time and stayed at a SIL (or in the states Wycliff) compound. You felt as though you were in the 50's at an old farm house. Then we traveled back to Davao. It was a wonderful trip but we were very ready to be home.