Back from the Philippines

Originally posted 05 September 2006

Well thats it for another year we got back home on Sunday evening rather tired and what a difference weather wise. From 40oC to 14oC at least the humidity is low in the UK.Our journey from leaving Newcastle to getting to Manila was bang on schedule, we even managed to catch the earlier flight to Cagayan de Oro thanks to Philippine Airlines and with the mobile phone to hand we contacted our relatives to rearrange our collection arrangements to take us to Talakag.
When we reached Talakag our house was welcoming and so was my bed for a well deserved siesta.
The bermuda grass that we had planted in December had spread beautifully and covered our front garden like a green carpet also the plants we had potted had grown and flourished thanks to the mountain rain.
The back yard had been filled with top soil and Papaya trees had been planted which will fruit by our next visit in 2007, also the Mango trees I planted last year are thriving along with the lemon grass and Egg Plants.The garden is beginning to mature slow but sure.
Our son and daughter could not believe how nice our house was in reality having only ever seen pictures before.
It was their time to catch up on the news with their cousins and of course the (tsismiss).
That night we had a party with all the family in attendance and with bellies full and thirsts quenched we retired to bed for a well earned rest.
Talakag never fails to amaze me in as much as it's always changing not the major changes of the city but progress in it's own way. The town hall is making good progress with one wing fully completed and funtional in fact the front entrance when completed will rival that of the White House.Even the all weather covering of the basketball court on the Plaza is under way as we speak and will be completed this year all going well.
Things are looking up in Talakag watch this space.
So it was off to my favourite place for a visit, thats Bethany Christian Home for Children.When we arrived Greg was attending a meeting to plan the 50th anniversary celebrations taking place during the first week of September.In his absence we walked from the Library to the residential quarters on the other side of the creek to visit the Cemetary where Miss Lynips grave is and pay our respects to the great lady.Miss Lynips grave like the other graves in the cemetary is very plain and simple and I felt that she was not being afforded the recognition that she deserved but then that was Miss Lynip to the end so very humble and unassuming and one has to respect the great lady's wishes it was what she had planed and agreed with her friends and staff at Bethany.
The office of Greg and Rose Longcob is bright and welcoming and sets the scene, the whole grounds of the home are well kept and maintained and the work being carried out to transform the old wooden cottages to the more modern concrete style is very effective.
The Bethany facility is well run and managed and I'm sure the good work started 50 years ago by Miss Lynip will continue provided the necessary funding is maintained.
When we visited the toddlers cottage it was a pleasure to see the smiling faces of the children and meet and chat with their carers who do such a good job in both looking after the children as well as maintaining a very high standard of cleanliness of the facility.
Next it was the infants cottage where we found three girls of around 5 years old as well as a boy of between 7and 8 years old.We had little gifts of soft toys for the children and they all instantly took to them.We chatted with them for a little while and then moved back down to the school to chat with Greg on the progress of the Home etc.,
Whilst we were at Bethany my wife Marilou presented Greg and Rose with a donation of Peso 10,000.00 from the staff of Durham University Business School (Distance Learning Faculty) and friends. It is hoped that we will be able to put greater effort into our fund raising in the coming months and substantially improve on this amount.
The heartfelt thanks of all at Bethany go to the University staff who donated on this occasion. I also wish to thank them for their kindness.