Anytime that you wait nearly a month to update your blog you will find that there are many things that need to be discussed. First, I'll try and bring you up to date. I spent a few days in Manila in late August just before I flew out for Nate and Brooke's wedding. During that time in Manila I was able to experience the massive huge shopping malls there. The experience was greatly enriched by the Aparri Bible Seminary administrator Sir Esmelito attempting to set me up with every sales girl we spoke to. It was actually kind of interesting speaking with them and asking them what part of the country they were from etc., I just hope I didn't lead any of them on (just pretend it's possible).
I then flew out for magnificent Indiana by way of Japan and Detroit. The flight to the states was uneventful, although I was ridiculously tired by the time I made it to Indy. Tired enough to consider taking a nap on the bench at the baggage claim area. The time in Indy was very nice. I managed to make it to Cincinnati one day to see my maternal grandparents and some friends in the city. Unfortunately I couldn't make it to Bracken County to see my paternal grandmother. The wedding itself was excellent. I was so thankful that I could be there and be a part of something so special. I also had a chance to reconnect with some old friends and make a few new ones as well; all things considered a good trip. Until . . .
I missed a connection at O'Hare on my flight back and ended up costing myself an extra $150 and spending 2 days in Chicago. I will freely admit it was at least mostly my fault for missing the plane. I should have asked questions sooner. For those unaware, O'Hare airport is appoximately the size of Rhode Island and I was in the wrong terminal because a flight was leaving for Seoul at appoximately the same time as my flight from the terminal I was in (terminal 1). I needed to be in terminal 5, which was a 10 minute train ride away. So I missed the flight and talked to one very helpful person from United, one clueless or irresponsible person from Asiana, and one person from Scandinavian Airlines who acted like she was barely resisting the urge to spit on me. God bless my travel agent Marianne who managed to sort all of this out for only the $150 change fee as opposed to having to purchase a new ticket.
One of the interesting benefits of this delay was meeting some of the people from Cornerstone Christian Church in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. The church is the forwarding agent for Aparri Bible Seminary in the U.S.A. Luckily when I realized I was stranded I remembered that Manang Daisy lived in Chicago and I also happened to have her business card. She collected me from O'Hare and took me to a cookout where I got to meet some people that I had heard a lot about from my Filipino friends like the Burns family. I also was lucky enough to partcipate in a Bible study on Tuesday night and had some great conversation with the guys at the study and with Kipp, one of the ministers at Cornerstone and my ride for the evening. P.S., we had ice cream cake!
So I was on a Wednesday flight for Seoul instead of a Monday flight, which ruined Sir Esmelito's schedule who was supposed to pick me up in Manila on Tuesday evening. I didn't make it until Thursday evening. (Brief side note, I think they served raw fish on the flight from Seoul to Manila; I tried it and liked it, but decided I wasn't hungry enough to take the chance.) Instead of driving home to Aparri I decided to take the bus because it was cheaper, but the next bus didn't leave until Friday evening, so I got to spend more time in Manila with Sir Esmelito trawling malls and flirting with sales girls. I also experienced the public transportation system in Manila via the jeepney, the taxi, and my personal favorite the vastly overloaded express vehicle. (There were 10 people in a compact SUV.) The bus ride to Aparri was surprisingly vanilla. It was scheduled for 12 hours, we made it in a little less than that, but I slept most of the first seven hours or so; that made the time pass much faster. Also, I think I picked up some bonus points for urinating in the lavatory of a moving bus. The final part of the journey was the tricycle (motorcycle with a sidecar) ride from the bus depot to the school, which was also a first for me.
I returned just in time for Deeper Life Week here at ABS. During that week we spent a lot of time with our care groups. We usually have devotion as one group (the whole school) on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and then devotions with care groups on Fridays. Last week we had devotions with care groups on Tuesday and Wednesday, we worked to beautify the campus here in care groups on Thursday, and then we had an outing where we spent time with our groups on Friday. We also had additional worship services on Monday and Tuesday night and Friday morning. It was a busy week, but an enjoyable one. I was able to get to know the students in my care group a little bit better. My extra time with Albert, Alfredo, Anabel, Harmony, Princess, and Zorem was pleasant and as always, interesting.
Only now are things finally starting to settle back in after my globetrotting episode. Would you believe the semester is almost over here? Finals are the second week of October! My epistles and Greek classes will continue into next semester unchanged, but Introduction to Bible Study will technically be ending and we will be moving on to Bible Geography next semester. That should be a hoot.
Thank you so much for your continued support. Praise God for my safe and eventful travels.
Grace and peace,
Nick
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