Thanksgiving and travel

  Many of you have asked about our travels so will try and put into words all that happened.  The end of April and May saw us very busy.  The end of April is our churches annual Thanksgiving celebration.  This is the anniversary of the church and a way to celebrate what has been accomplished over the past year.  The month of April is busy getting everything ready for the celebration.  Our family was very involved this year as all three of our kids had practice for there respective dance numbers and the girls where in charge of coming up with parlor games for the kids.  I (Jessica) was in charge of parlor games for the women and Jonah was part of the team that lead the basketball tournaments for the men.

A side note should include that Mark was not supposed to be part of the boys dance but he was at all of the practices and would practice with the boys so when it came time to dance they let him dance with him.

Mark dancing with the boys

Both girls danced during the Praise and worship and also where part of a group of girls that did a special number also.  The Thanksgiving celebration is an all day affair that is enjoyed by everyone.  The day starts with a service in the morning with a special guest speaker and several special numbers by the kids and youth of the church.  Service is followed by a potluck lunch for the whole church.  There are always lots of yummy foods and a couple of lechon (roasted) pigs to enjoy.  Following lunch is the parlor games for the various age groups.  This is a fun time to relax and enjoy the day and get to know others better.  After games everyone just relaxes and enjoys the rest of the afternoon talking and sharing fellowship till the evening service.  This service is usually a talent service with several special prepared numbers by the young people again. 

Meroy ready to chop the lechon

 Mark dancing with the boys

 Lunch time

After the Thanksgiving we had one day to rest before we left on our first trip in May.  May 1-5 we spent in Negros at the denominations national convention and youth/kids camp.  This is a few days set aside every year for the pastors and lay leaders to gather in one place for a time of learning and renewal.  It is also here that the business meetings and board meetings are held.  during the day there are divided sessions for the adults, youth and this year for the first time in about 25 years they had a kids camp again.  Jonah sits on the board so he is at the meetings and sits in most sessions and I spend time running around with Mark and Faith.  From Negros we came back to Bohol and had no more plans to travel.  We had been invited to Mindanao but did not have plans to go at first but thought more about it and decided to go anyways so When we arrived from Negros we where home for less than 48 hours before we left for Mindanao.  We had been invited because a good friend was hosting and conducting there 6th annual interchurch youth camp and wanted us to see it and also our my sister-in-law was one of the guest speakers.  I am glad that we did end up going because it was a great chance to observe and see what there camp is like.  This is a huge youth camp with anywhere from 300 plus registered every year. I learned a lot there and we are going to try and reproduce a camp similar here sometime but will take a lot of planning and the right people to make it happen.  For right now we are in the prayer stages of this happening here and waiting for God to make it his timing.  Sorry no good pictures from here all I have are pictures of signs and papers and such for my reference.  So where to from there.  After the camp we decided to go and visit one of Jonah's brothers for a couple of days and relax after all the travel to that point.

From Mindanao it was back to Bohol but only to spend one night at home before we went to another youth camp but this time it was only 30 minutes from home.  We camped out there in the tent and our main purpose was to be a support to the officers, mainly my nephew who is the chairman of the NEBEMA(North Eastern Bohol Evangelical Ministerial Association).  We spent three days there before returning home and trying to find a routine again.  All in all we spent more time away from home in May then we did at home.

It was a busy month but God truly blessed us is all our travels and we are thankful to be home for while as we await the day to celebrate Mark and Marah turning two.

Thanks for reading and May God bless you all!!!