Philippines Part 3: Davao

 After our week in Manila, we hopped a plane and headed south to the island of Mindanao.  More specifically, we went to Davao, a city on the southern coast of the island.  Kris' high school soccer coach and middle school teacher now lives there, and teaches at the Faith Academy campus in Davao.  We stayed with him and his wife - Mr. and Mrs. St. Clair (Steve and Dottie). The days we spent with them were amazing.  They are missionaries in the purest sense of the word.  In addition to their ministry at Faith, they have started a church for homeless people in the city - Bible Fellowship of Davao.  To even further their ministry, they have taken in a handful of homeless teens.  It was amazing to be a part of their lives for those few days and we are thankful that we had the opportunity to see them and spend time with them.

 Faith Academy Mindanao

 Steve showing us his classroom (he teaches Middle School Social Studies)...

 The first night we were there, Mr. Hause and his son Drew joined us for dinner.  Mr. Hause was Kris' Middle School science teacher and another high school soccer coach.  He is now the principal at Faith in Davao.

 

 Kris had the chance to play some ball with the Filipino kids who are living with the St. Clairs.  I thought about playing, but it was soooo hot!!!  Yes, I am a wimp.

 

 The St. Clairs took us into the mountains to spend a couple of days at Eden Nature Park. 

 As we drove up, we had a continual view of the mountains in the distance....

We also had a view of lots of tricycles.  I continued to be amazed at how many of these were in the street at any given time!

At the entrance to the park...

 Alan (a friend of Steve and Dottie's) and Steve...

 

 More pretty flowers!

Lots of peacocks roaming the resort.  Much better than the geese we have around here!

 

 Kris was able to help Dottie get Skype set up on their computer....

Steve and Dottie immediately Skyped with their daughter & grandson....success!

 I seriously ate so much fruit during my 2 weeks in the Philippines.  A LOT of mangoes and a LOT of pineapple. I also had some really yummy desserts, like the one all the way to the right - cassava cake.

 

 The first day at Eden, we went horseback riding and ziplining.  Sorry for the blurry photos....they were taken with my phone, and when I enlarged them, they got fuzzy.

Kris is pretty serious about getting his gear on!  Oh, and in the 2nd photo, if you look really closely, you can see me "flying" in...

During our second day at Eden, Kris and I took a hike through the mountains.  It was beautiful, though tiring (I am so out of shape!).

Here we are posing at the beginning of the trail.....this little statue is a bit creepy if you ask me!

Don't mess with him.  He has a leaf.  A really big leaf.

Lots of bridges to cross...  

 Look closely at this next one....do you see him?

 Pretty waterfalls...

Great views...

 

 Lots of bamboo...

 Cheesy.

 Butterfly garden...

Some more "while driving" photos....

Hmmm, pretty sure this style of riding along wouldn't fly around here...

 Water buffalo!

 Mickey Mouse Fruit...

 Banana Trees!  If you look really closely, you will notice the white plastic bags hanging from many of the trees.  The bags are used to cover up the banana bunches.

The last day in Davao with the St. Clairs, we played Ultimate with some of the Faith teachers, as well as some others.  For some moments, I forgot we were halfway across the world....until I realized that I have never ever (that I can remember) participated in an athletic activity in such humidity and heat.  Yeah, I was sweaty.  Even more than normal.

My next (and final) post about our trip to the Philippines will chronicle our time on the island of Samal.

Click here for Part 1 and here for Part 2.