On a Pretty Perfect Day....

So, I turned 26 on Tuesday. It was a pretty perfect day.

This momentous occasion was preceded on Monday night by a gift from a dear friend here in the Phils.....

Pickles! No better way to celebrate!

Another great friend gave me a loaf of fresh raisin bread so my breakfast would be special...

It was so yummy! 

I had made some little treats to share with all my friends and co-missionaries.... Little boxes filled with candy! 

 Two of my house mates and I decided to explore a local market for fun!

Check out the size of these fish!

 

 Fish heads for added yumminess! I actually tried fish eyeballs. They aren't bad!






This is the market where we buy at least half of our groceries.

 Fresh veggies! Vegetables are SO inexpensive! We can get about four bags of vegetables for maybe the equivalent of $8.

Everyone needs a source for that occasional recipe that calls for chicken feet, right? Well, look no further... They are a good price!

Liver lovers, you're in luck!

And those pickled pig's feet you were planning to make? Yup, we can get the ingredients here too.

These hand-woven baskets are beautiful! 

Fresh spices in measured amounts. These probably are about 1.5 tsp. each. It is very common for things to be sold in small quantities as the mindset here is very "in the moment". Planning ahead is not really a concept here, and buying in bulk is often more expensive than buying individual or portion sized items.

Rice.... It makes every food a little better.

We also checked out the beautiful blooms. Turns out that fresh arrangements are just over $1 at the market.

At the market, there are plenty of beggars. My organization encourages us not to give them money, but rather to support the local ministries and resources available to them. This way, we are enabling long-term aid, not just supporting a begging habit. I did, however, take two Badjao girls to Jollibee for breakfast. They were beyond thrilled, and it did my heart good even though they speak a dialect I do not know, and I couldn't speak with them.

Taxi-ing it up on the way to our next adventure... another market and lunch!

The food ALL looked delicious!

For P45, or roughly $1, I could get a vegetable, rice, meat dish, iced tea, and eggdrop soup. It seams that seafood in some creamy-ish sauce qualifies here as a 'vegetable'. Funny, in US, they would charge extra for that....

Enjoying a tentacle I found in my lunch.

Mussels and Lumpia (springrolls...kinda).

Jeepney rides home from market....

And finally, we met at the mall to fulfill my real birthday wish... We rode the motorized animals. These things are hilarious. They have an accelerator, a steering wheel, and a button that makes shooting noises. They also play you music while you ride! I think they were maybe invented for kids, but age should not limit your fun-having-ability.

Here is the lineup! They move at a couple miles an hour, have no track, and are able to be operated by small children. So hilarious!











I was able to wrangle my giraffe and keep her in control.

Then I took my picture with a really cute girl in the alley on my way home. I'd call that a good day, eh?




So the big question is How does it feel? To be 26.
                                                                        So old is the implication.
To that my answer is, I cannot rejoice enough in the grace of God! I am so blessed, content, and at peace. I am so sure that I am in God's will, and our fellowship has been sweet. This past year has been such a tribute to the goodness of God, and this next will be more of the same. I am really enjoying my 20's. 
Every moment.
I love where God has brought me in this life. He has given me a heart full of His goodness, and a life above my wildest dreams. I truly am living the dream, and this is my reality.

On my birthday, I was reading Proverbs 4:18

But the path of the just [is] as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

And I realized.

This is my life.

I feel like it just keeps getting brighter and brighter... Like the rising sun.

 Until the day when I will see Jesus... 

The Perfect Day.