Baguio City, Philippines

We have been in Baguio for four days now and it has been amazing! There are a lot of new things to soak in and we are excited to see how God will use us over the next few months.

First of all, the city itself is pretty incredible. Built high in the mountains, everywhere you go has breathtaking views of the city and surrounding mountains. The pictures just won't do it justice.

We are staying with Pastor Sam Arcano and his family. They are great people and we are thoroughly enjoying getting to know them and living together in community. The food has been great as well (though I have yet to try balut).

So far, we have been spending our time getting to know the family and some other friends, touring the city with Pastor Sam, and playing some basketball on the court near the house. We are starting to learn Tagalog, the most common language here (although English is widely used as well). So far, we have learned some basic greetings ("Magandang Umaga" means Good Morning) and we are excited to learn more. Today, we will be visiting a youth group as well as a prayer fellowship group, and we will be doing some worship leading tomorrow in church. We feel really blessed to be here.

Pastor Sam in front of his house, where we are staying

The view from near the house

More beauty

Charis reading Bible stories to Pastor Sam's grandkids: Tim and Zach

Pastor Sam showing us the city

Living in the clouds

A jeepney (public transit) in the fog

We went to a military centre and sat in an old tank

The streets of Baguio (check out the Space Jam theme on the jeepney)

Jonas, Ashley and I challenged 3 Pilipino teens to a game of 3-on-3. We lost.

Pray that we would be open and flexible to the plans God has in store for us and that we would be sensitive to the culture. Pray that God would strengthen our relationships with the Arcano family and that we would have opportunities to build relationships with the youth and other people we come into contact with. Thanks for reading.