A Lizard in the Fridge - and Zach turns 5!

We have hundreds of small lizards all over our house. They climb all over the walls and the ceilings and sometimes startle you when you open a closet or drawer. We actually don't mind at all because they are harmless, and they eat all the bugs. Actually, the kids love to catch them and play with them (which is normally fine, but the other day they accidentally dropped one on my foot, and the scared thing went running - right up my leg! I was not too thrilled... On my walls is one thing, up my leg is another). Anyway, I recently opened the fridge and was shocked to see a lizard IN the fridge - no joke. I have no idea how he got in there, but he was not allowed to stay. Needless to say, he was a little sluggish when we pulled him out.

But on to more important things - Zach turned 5 years old! To celebrate, we went to a great little swimming pool near Mt. Mayon, "our" volcano with our friends, the Allens.

We had a cake made at the local bakery with a spiderman web on it. It didn't turn out as well as I had hoped (they changed the colors on us), but I also made a box with a city around the sides and suspended Spider Man over the cake. Zach loved the cake and promptly proclaimed this his best birthday ever.

These 5 kids are virtually the only caucasians in Bicol. We are so thankful for the Allens who live about 1 1/2 hours away, and we get together with them as often as we can.

Grandma and Grandpa Hagen sent a cool card for Zach that Mikayla read to all the kids.

Zach got some cool presents, but he really liked this super hero t-shirt from his buddy, Caleb. Some others were a spiderman thermos, 2 spiderman puzzles, some spiderman school supplies...are you sensing a theme here? He also got the game Clue Jr. from us and his grandparents.

We had a blast hanging out as a family and swimming in the pool. A torrential downpour actually started in the afternoon, but we still had a good time - the kids playing in a little hut and the adults visiting. Nothing like a cookout in the rain! :)

No, this is not a picture of a drowning child. I asked Steve to take a pic of Zach swimming (he has become a little fish in the last 6 months), but I forgot that he swims entirely underwater now. So here is the pic anyway... :)

As I glance by over our blog, it occurs to me it that it looks like all we do over here is play. :) Believe it or not, that is not actually the case - it's just that the pics of curriculum development are not as exciting as fun swim days. :) Actually, last week we did go as a family and visit a couple of Agta villages, and we had a blast. I would have loved to have taken some pics, but I didn't want to seem like a tourist with ulterior motives on our 1st visit. I will try to get some of those another time.

Please pray with us today and tomorrow (May 29 & 30) as we are very busy with the medical clinic. Today is prep day (we are feeding 500 people tomorrow in addition to the medical clinic!), and tomorrow is the big day. Please pray that all the planned details come together and that we are able to make some good relationships with the Agta through this clinic. Please also pray as there is a volunteer team from the States working with the Filipino medical team. They are here to share the Gospel, and their goal is 11,000 decisions for faith in 10 days. While this is a noble goal, it doesn't take into account several facets of the Filipino culture. And since it is a high goal, Steve observed some of them being rather aggressive, even pushy, in their style as they share the Good News. The Agta are already suspicious of outsiders and easily "turned off". Please pray with us that they don't "scare off" the Agta tomorrow; we are hoping to start some relationships through the clinic tomorrow that will grow into an opportunity to really teach them the Word. Please pray that we get an opportunity to share our hearts with the volunteers before the clinic in the morning in a way that will communicate clearly but not create tension. We truly appreciate them coming all the way over here to help the Filipino people; we would just like to help them communicate in a way that will be less offensive in this culture. We covet your prayers!!!