Yesterday afternoon the power was off and it was VERY hot in my house. I was getting supper together and when I'd finished I decided to go next door and say hello to my neighbor. Zoila's husband works for a large plantation here and she and her boys are spending the summer here. Zoila is a beautiful Costa Rican woman and it's always fun to spend time with her. Anyway, I poured us each a glass of iced tea and walked next door. Imagine my surprise when I arrived and found her reading a book on prayer and praying as she read. Wow, a God-appointment! She is a catholic and explained to me that before she came to the Philippines and met some missionaries she didn't know that people actually read and study the Bible for themselves, like every day! I have no idea what the ending to this story will be, but I feel privileged to be a little part of it.

Jamie arrives tomorrow! We are so looking forward to seeing her and hearing how her time in Palawan was. I'm also planning to enjoy the coffee shop together, go shopping, and rope her into helping me teach school (I doubt that will be a hard job!).

Whenever you'd like you can order a soft drink and have it in a bag. Yes, a small plastic bag with a straw! It saves people walking off with bottles... anyway, that was just a small interesting cultural note:).

Elections are coming up here in just over a week. This has become a noisy town with constant campaigning via loudspeakers mounted on vehicles. It's not always the most peaceful time here, but we are praying that this election would be uneventful.

There was something else important I was going to post about today, but it's slipped my mind. That seems to happen a lot lately! At any rate, that having escaped me, here is a short list of things I love about living here: fresh coconut milk, great co-workers, having a cool basement in which to do school, my red wall in the living room, ordering meat to be packaged exactly how I want it (especially skinned, deboned chicken breasts for cheaper than buying the whole chicken!), the compound where we live, green trees and sunshine, and the constant flex in a flight program!