It's a Rough Life!

After the stress of getting settled, we took a day trip to the beach 1 1/2 hours away as a family. It was gorgeous, and we had a wonderfully relaxing time together.

All that fun wore us right out. Naptime on the beach in the bahay kubo (nipa hut) we rented for the day to be able to get out of the tropical sun on occasion. Yes, Puppy comes EVERYWHERE with us right now. I guess he'll bring it to college with him someday...

The second trip we took was to bring a volunteer who was visiting to the beach before she returned home - it's a rough ministry, but someone has to do it! We also invited a neighbor family to come with us for the day. Matt and Menchie and their 2 kids, Juan Miguel (Juami) and Gabby joined us. We had a great day of building friendships; please pray with us that this opens opportunities to share Christ with them.

We rented a banka (small boat) for the day, and it took us all around the islands, to different beaches and snorkeling sights. The coral was not the prettiest we have ever seen, but the tropical fish were amazing! They swarmed the boat by the hundreds when you fed them. Steve even tried feeding them while he was in the water - and succeeded in getting bit several times by a large parrot fish. Unfortunately, the one place we stopped ended up having a troop (?) of tiny jellyfish passing through. You can't see them, but you can certainly feel their sting. It doesn't hurt THAT bad - unless you are 5 years old or younger and think the world is ending...

Zach had fun climbing up into the banka and jumping off into the shallow water.
Mikayla is doing GREAT with snorkeling. I'm not guessing there are that many 5-year-olds out there who can snorkel independently. She loves it - but tends to ask about jellyfish before getting in the water now. :)We are so blessed to be able to enjoy this part of God's beautiful creation. Our God is truly a lover of beauty and design.