Heather & Maria in the Philippines: A lull before the storm

Today was a relaxing day for us. We were able to 'sleep in' (we didn't wake up until 6:50!). We then took our time getting ready and were able to read for a little while before heading down to see if there was anybody around.

Today is the beginning of the 3rd quarter exams for the students in Kinder 1- grade 4. Over the next 3 days they will have an exam in every single subject. Half of the students come to school in the morning to take their exam and the other half comes in the afternoon. We decided that it would be best if we did not sit by the playground talking to kids as they finished because we would become a distraction for the students who were still taking exams in the rooms nearby.

We were able to spend some time talking with Pastor Leo and Elma in order to plan an itinerary for the group of ZCS students who will be coming here in April, they have a great trip planned!

After some more relaxation and lunch we gathered all of our empty water bottles and headed downstairs. GCCS is fundraising by collecting garbage (recyclables) and selling them to a junk shop. So we took of the labels and the caps, got all the air out of them, and added them to the big pile of stuff that is ready to be sold.

Then we started walking around and we heard music coming out of a second grade classroom, so we went up there and watched them dance for a while. After watching them dance to a couple of songs, they decided it was time to attempt to teach us to dance again. After going through it about 3 times we are starting to get the hang of it, but they still keep laughing at us!

After talking with some students outside for a while and running around after a bouncy ball, teacher Girlie challenged Heather to a game of Badminton. We continued to play for about an hour between different teachers and students. It was a lot of fun.

Now we are enjoying a relaxing night and hope to go to bed early. We have an exciting day ahead of us with some visits to another church and school tomorrow.

Please be in prayer for one of the school families who lost their 2nd grader to illness. The student had been in the hospital for a couple of weeks and passed away today. Please pray for the family and the entire school community as the grieve the loss.