Philippines Day 3 Part 1...

Another day full of activities and great experiences. This post has two parts so check it out....

We got ride out of the city and up the mountains. Bike riders often cover themselves up because of the exhaust from cars and bikes alike.

The view from up top is beautiful!

This is the home of a chinese business person that Pastor Dubrico (more on hime below) is friends with who has helped him with many of his projects and ministries.

My man Jerrel and I got to ride on the back of this pick up truck through the city and all the way up the mountain. Awesome time!

Another view from the mountaintop.

We had this fruit called 'Star Fruit' (wonder why?). Delicious, kind of sweet but they put salt on it which made it all the better!

You'd think Tou has had practice chugging by the way he's downing this coconut! Not at Nyack of course!

This is the Star Fruit on the tree.

We also got to have some rice cakes in banana leaves with some Philipino tea.Very tasty!

This is Pastor Dubrico. He's a pretty incredible man who has impacted his community for the better in incredible ways. He's quite a character and is never short of telling stories of his life. He's still very active in his community to this day.

I had to include apicture of a kid today! How could you not when you see kids so full of life like her!

This is a group of two Chinese brothers, Pastor Dubrico and David Jennings at the mountain property owned by one of the chinese brothers.They were very generous by treating us to a nice morning.

One of my favorite people I have met is this old woman who was so gentle and so focused when they were doing a bible study. She had a sweetness about her I could shake off.

The chinese brothers have a bible study for their employees every week and bring Pastor Dubrico up the mountain to do it. They were studying the book of Matthew.

Philippines Day 2.....

We have a full schedule here and are up around 5-6am every day (mainly due to these roosters!) but also due to some snoring (we won't mention any names Tou!). :)

Here's today's summary in photos....

We got to visit one of the day care centers that educate children from a community in Cebu. There is 165 students in this program. For $200 a month we were able to subsidized the launching of this program. The program now runs completely on it's own. It's run by a couple (Fidel and Nene) who have been running the kinder 5 years. I love the intensity of this kid on his math problem, but I think he was trying to avoid looking at the camera!

This young man was not shy and loved posing for me!

These are called tricycles and they are everywhere. I love seeing how many people they can fit on one of these. This dude has so many people on here he's sitting on the handle bars!!!

Tricycles are used for anything, even transporting some pigs. This guy was loving the fact that we took pictures of him and his pigs!

As in all big third world cities the contrast of wealth and poverty is starkling! This shanty town right on the heels of the big city of Cebu.

I am still amazed that these people play basketball more than soccer! Hoops like this one are everywhere! It's the first country outside of the US where I have been that soccer is not king! Guess I have not been around that much!

I always love seeing how people make a living in third world countries. This guy has his own tailor shop.

This is the house (living/dining room) of one of the families at one of the schools we visited. It;s amazing how little we really can live with.

Lunch time! Chicken with rice! just a little different....

I love seeing these tricycles everywhere!

At night we got to help out Rick and Jiji (both Nyack College and ATS alumni living as missionaries in the community here) with their tutor time they have for kids in the community. They have several stations (solving math problems, puzzles, drawing, computer games, foosball, etc) where kids come and learn different things. Here they are solving basic math problems on the white board. Although I have to be honest I couldn't solve them all!

Finally found someone who plays soccer!!!! Just not the real thing but oh well it's better than nothing!

Philippines Day 1 photos....

We've had a busy first day here in Cebu. The following photos give you a feel for the community we are in and the people we have met and encountered.

This is Josephine. She's a beautiful girl daughter of the missionaries we are staying with, Rick and Jiji.

It's such a different world than NY here, people wash and hang their clothes to dry outside their homes.

I was kind of surprised that basketball NOT soccer was the most popular sport here. Crazy but true! these guys take their ball seriously! Here you see one of the Cebu boys drive past our American Abe!

Kids everywhere! I love the children. Despite their obvious physical circumstances, they are so happy, smiling, laughing and finding pleasure and joy in the simplest of things!

This is a look down the street where we are staying.

Everyone, I mean everyone, ride these bikes everywhere. Sometimes 3-4 people a bike!

This is pastor Ruben. He spoke to us this morning and told us about the history of the Philippines. We also learned about culturalisms that have helped us relate to people here. Ruben was a scholars program and supported by Dr. Eleanor Pease ( a professor at Nyack College).

This is an okra plant. The missionaries Rick and Jiji grow these in their yard. Not sure if this is a plant only grown here but I thought it looked cool!

Another beautiful girl in the community we are in.

We got to visit one of the day care schools in the local community here and the kids were jostling to get in the center of the picture.

Another picture of Josephine loving life.

As part of the many interviews we are scheduled to have for the social work students, we got to have a meeting with the Barangay (village) captain, which is equivalent to the local mayor. He told us about all his initiatives to improve the village and the quality of life of the people there. Students got an opportunity to pray for this new captain and his administration.

I love this picture. This little girl kept looking at me with such a sensitive glance. She represents the deep beauty of the kids here.

Phillipines Day 1...

After 18 hours of total flight time, a stop in Hing Kong and a fun van ride through the dense streets of Cebu, we arrived at our destination and home for the next two weeks.

I'm in Cebu, Phillipines. Staying in a very humble neighborhood with some incredibly welcoming and kind people. I'm staying with a group of students and faculty from Nyack that came to serve and learn from the people and community here.

We will be here for the next two weeks learning, serving, and just being with the people of this community. This is such a unique opportunity for all of us involved and we're looking forward to being immersed in thsi community.

I know we will all come out changed and with different perspectives on the world. We have already seen that...

More to come soon and of course photos. This time I couldn't download them yet and there is only one computer in a little house that we don't have access to all the time. Of course people here are not focused on being online as much as we are obsessed in the US. So life looks a little different for us!

Come back for more soon.....

Megan said YES!

November 9, 2008 will be a day neither Tim or Megan will ever forget! They both got a beautiful night in Central Park where Tim proposed to his love. I was able to capture the moments right after the proposal and spent a little time with them when neither could stop smiling from ear to ear. Absolutely amazing! Congratulations guys! Tim! All that planning and 'lying' paid off my friend! :)

Laura & Chris 11.1.08 - slideshow

This was my last wedding of the year and reminded me why I love to photograph weddings.....

Laura & Chris 11.1.08

What an honor it was for me to finish my wedding season with an absolutely gorgeous wedding! Laura and Chris got married in a beautiful Fall November day. There is nothing like fall in the northeast, and these guys were gifted with an amazing day!

These guys reminded me why I love doing this. The joy and love they felt for each other was palpable throughout the whole day.

I'll post their slideshow later this week. in the meantime enjoy these couple images.