Joel and Missy Davis Expanding the Reach of the Gospel in the Philippines We have officially been here for 2 months! Can you believe it? We have been incredibly busy and the time has flown by. Here’s what we’ve been up to.
Excursions
Before language study began, we had 8 days of what NTM calls “excursions”, or days that we got to venture out into the city to learn about the history and culture of the Philippines. Here is some of what we saw!
On the first day, we visited the palengke, or market.
Here is the meat section!
And the poultry section...
There was also a huge seafood area. This lady was amazingly fast at cleaning the fish.
They had lots of different sizes of prawns... and on the right of this picture is a platter of small squid.
On another day, we got to learn about lechon baboy… or roasted pig. Lechon baboy is very popular here for large events, celebrations, and holidays. They are cooked for several hours over charcoal.
We saw the whole process... from this poor, unsuspecting guy...
to this... after cooking many hours on a spit over charcoal...
...to this! We got to try it at a restaurant, and it was delicious! They serve it with rice and gravy.
We have also been able to try lots of new fruits and vegetables! Here is a bowl full of fruit we bought at the market, and tried at home…
Recognize anything? We didn't either. 
Joel was particularly excited about this one. It's called "rambutan" and to us, looked a little like a hairy strawberry.
Hairy on the outside, sweet and delicious in the middle!
We also really enjoyed learning about some of the history of the Philippines. We got to visit many historical sites, a museum, and some places of worship.
Language School
So after we were done with excursions, we started language school! We’ve had almost 3 weeks of class so far. We are learning about 50 new Tagalog words each day… wow! There are times that our brains already feel very full, and we have yet to scratch the surface. Pray for the ability to study and learn more every day!
Here is Joel with one of our language teachers. This phase of language learning is called "Total Physical Response", or "TPR". For the first week we were not allowed to speak at all, just listen and point.
THANK YOU for your continued prayer for our family as we adjust to living in the Philippines! Moving to another country is a constant stream of new information, and it can be overwhelming at times! We are excited about the small bits of progress we see ourselves making… we can now get to a few areas of Manila by ourselves on public transportation, use the Tagalog numbers to tell the jeepney drivers how many passengers we are paying for, and we can also tell them a few street names now! Most people in Manila speak some English, so between that and lots of motioning and pointing, we are able to get around.
Most of all, it helps so much to come back to square one. God has called us here. We desire to serve Him in this cross-cultural context. We are excited to be where He wants us to be. Even on the most homesick days, it is such a comfort to know that HE is with us, wherever we go, and HE will give us what we need.
God bless you as you serve in your corner of the world! Look for more updates from the Davises soon!
