* Christmas Eve Service in Batasan Hills (SK)

We went to church on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas day this year. Pastor Andres (Batasan Hills) requested that we do a service for him today. So Daniel prepared a Christmas message from Luke 2 -- the angels appearing to the shepherds. We picked up Rev. Smit and the three oldest, then Jeff and Katie, and then Brother Dick and another man. So we had 7 adults and 3 kids in our vehicle. We were still about 3 people short of Philipino style though. :-)

Worshipping in the Christian Faith Ministry in Batasan Hills

We had a merienda (snack) after the Christmas service. It was a noodle dish with garlic, shrimp, and squid in it. We had graham crackers and then a delicious dessert. I asked Mrs. Andres what was in it. Graham crackers with fruit cocktail on top and then a mixture with condensed milk poured over everything.

We really enjoyed the people and we had such a nice time. I tried out a few words of the language. I’ll have to keep trying. There are a lot of children in that group and they are all adorable. Two little brothers sang "The Lord unto His Christ hath said..." for Daniel. He got it on video.

A group of kids was next to the car when we left, giving us a send off - about a dozen of them.

The Farewell At Our Car Window

It took us an hour to get to Batasan Hills and an hour and a half to get home. The distance? 35 miles round trip! We figured it out and our average speed was 14 miles an hour. Only in the Philippines! :-)