June 30 Travel date

A year or so ago Hannah and some mates from school (Emily & Jenny) did a clothes drive as part of a school project. They decided to put the call out for clothes that could be collected and distributed in The Philippines. We so loved our time here in 2015. The school embraced the idea of a clothes drive and it went a bit viral. The result being that I had so many boxes and bags of clothes stashed at my house that it really wasn't funny. My house looked like I'd ram raided the Box Hill Salvos. The only difference being that most of the clothes would still withstand the scrutiny of a post school Maccas run on Glenferrie Road. Lots of brands. The Filipinos would be looking like Snoop Dog in no time.

The girls were eager to see what the fuss was about and wanted to help hand out the clothes they had collected. So the idea of a mid-2017 trip started to take place. Our great mates (Pete, Liza & family)  also expressed an interest in coming too. Fast forward around 12 months and we're all here. Nicola was also recruited as mentor, friend, translator and all round legend. Having lived here, she's awesome to have on our little team.

We arrived in Manila at approximately 4.15 pm (local time) Friday 30 June. It was a bumpy but otherwise uneventful flight. We were met at the airport by three vehicles. This next phase was problematic. Being the chivalrous person that I am, I suggested that Liza, Tilly, Grace, Sam & Gracie should go in the first vehicle. Pete was very obliging and happily waived  them off. I assured him that it was only a 40 minute trip and that we'd be driving in convoy. Long story short, it was a disaster. It took us 5 hours to drive 30 km's. Lightening, thunder and the worst traffic I'd ever experienced. We could have walked faster. Anyhoo, we all turned up eventually, having all reached the destination via incredibly different routes.

Saturday was the children's home which was a massive highlight. Kids mucked around with the little kids. Also had a very competitive game of basketball. It was terrific fun. There are 58 kids at the home. Some we recognised from last time we were there.

Sunday was Church at CCF. It holds about 8000 people. The cafeteria has around 10-12 commercial fast food outlets. Imagine that in Blackburn. Lots of cashed-up and very white looking Filipinos. It was a very interesting service. The worship team had dance moves that were a hybrid ensemble of Hi-5 and Michael Jackson. It was truly entertaining. After leaving church we followed up with California Pizza and Dairy Queen. 

At this point I must eulogise Nicola for a moment or two. The girl is a rockstar. She drives like she was born here. She converses in Tagalog, knows all the short cuts and manages to park the massive Hiace in absolutely any spot. We'd be lost without her. 

The rest of the arvo was spent shopping at Greenhills market. We decked ourselves out in the best NBA gear we could find. Shoes, tops, shirts and caps. I may well get picked up in the draft next year. Pete, Sam & myself got some Yeezys. For the uninitiated, these are about as cool as you can get. Retail price of $900+ in Australia. Mine cost $41. Surely they're not replicas!? They will still provide me with some much needed credibility among Charlie & William's friends.

The boys got el cheapo Ultra Boosts and NMD's. So much fun. Spent the night cooling off in the pool and kicking back. Today we went out to Tent City. It is a feeding program in a very socially depressed area. We had the privilege of joining Pastor Doi Doi for a little bible study in a house in the community. It was very special. I opened in prayer and Pete closed in prayer. Neither of us were expecting it. Pastor Doi Doi suggested that Peter should consider being a Pastor! He must have appreciated his eloquent offerings to the Lord! Perhaps a change in direction for Pete going forward. Pretty confident that he hadn't given much consideration to this prior to now!

I embarrassed my kids by attempting to sing the only Filipino song we know. It got quite messy at the end. I think they appreciated our attempt. Shortly afterwards they broke into spontaneous singing too. Ah the land of Kareoke. I should have known I would find myself in a sing-off.

It was a great privilege to visit these little homes. We had some lovely conversations. The girls also got to hand out some of their clothes. The little kids got to hand out tooth brushes as well. An awesome morning. Quiet this arvo and another feeding at 4.00 pm.