Leah & the tarzier

just wanted to say hi to ya and that i miss you guys.
we traveled yesterday from the bee farm at tagbilaran to a coastal and reforestation site. we met some people that are working on reforestation in the philippines and got to look at the smallest primate in the world. i have pictures with it, but the main thing with the tarzier is that it is nocturnal and it cant be caged or it only stays alive for a year. so we went to this place that is like a sanctuary for them, its a rain forest that holds them and people cant touch them or be loud or use their flash, becauses the tarziers are so sentitive to it. then we went to this other place to get a river tour and we saw these people having tarziers ILLEGALLY caged with all these stupid people taking pictures with flash. they looked so scared. we all decided to write the governor and get them reported.... but anyways. then we went and planted our own trees with tags on them that have our name. so how cool will it be if i get to come back and i get to see what i contributed to reforestation. but anyways... today we came up to a city called talibon and it is where casey served in the peace core. its a cute little place, and i am staying with 2 girls named alex and jen.... they are really nice to me and cool. and we have air con so i am excited. anyways, there is an internet place across the street from us in this market so i will be on tomorrow.... write me back with a family update... its too quiet here.
i love you
leah.

This is why moms worry

Brent called me early this morning & said, "Did you check your email yet today?" (he knows I usually get up early) I hadn't checked it yet & so he filled me in. Whenever someone starts out the conversation with, "Angelia is okay, but she was in the hospital...." a mom's heart sinks. Anyway, he told me her news & then I went & checked my email. No mom wants her child in the hospital (especially in another country) without them. It was upsetting, but thanks to Maren's wise words I felt okay. Maren's virtually a world traveler (giggle), & I knew she would have some wisdom about foreign health care (everyone needs a friend like Maren!) Anyway, Angelia sent me this email this morning. There's always excitement with that girl.

"This is pretty much the worst day ever, i was snorkeling on this island with my group...... then my snorkel broke, and i took in a ton of salt water, so i ended up in the hospital all day. i have been on oxygen for a few hours then 3 doses of a nebulizer. then they had to take blood to test my oxygen levels and when i got my results back the levels were supposed to be in the 93-98 level and mine was 55. so i went back on oxygen and they took an xray of my lungs and they had a decent amount of water in them. so they sent me to a different specialist and she told me that as long as i could breathe okay and i wasn't wheezing i could go home, so i did. i still need you mommy.... i cried the whole time at the hospital when you weren't there.iloveyou."

Reading over it again, I know she must have been afraid. She professes to not need her parents like all teens do, but at the end of the day it's always your mom that you want when you don't feel well. Thanks Lord for watching over her when we can't be with her.

pics from Leah!

Okay, I talked with Leah last night on AIM & was a happy mom! I was so proud of myself that once I got past the first day, I was FINE! But after talking with her, my heart was in tears. You know, the happy but please be safe kind. She sent us all kinds of fun pics.

Leah in Hong Kong.




Leah on the boat in the Philippines











The transportation












The dolphins










Okay, Angie, don't look at this picture. You'll be running over to the Philippines. These are street beggars. There are kids ages 2 & up who are homeless (live in cardboard boxes). They can't be adopted unless you're Catholic. Go figure. This completely tore at my heart strings. My favorite pic is of Leah looking out the window at them. She loves kids so much. When we talked earlier the kids were the first thing she talked about. Oh my......she's her mother's daughter.















The dancers in the Philippines.










Okay, candy crabs. (Leah is very hungry Maren! She found a Pizza Hut after not eating for 1 1/2 days!)









The sunset











One can be sure my daughter would find a place to get her nails done. Is my daughter a hoot or what?

Yeah!! We FINALLY heard from Leah!!!

Angelia JUST emailed me tonight at 11 pm!!! I'm so relieved. She should have been to Manila a LONG time ago, & I hadn't heard from her. Read her email below. It's so cute, especially the short person part! Make sure to comment on the blog because she checks it all the time when she gets the chance & has internet access!


okay so the flights got all messsed up and i have been in an airport since like 630 on monday morning.
we ended up flying to new york on monday... then to canada... then to china. where i am now and in about an hour i am FINALLY flying to the philippines but it costs 8 dollars to call home. if anybody wants me to call them... let me know because i dont want to call collect and everybody get mad. so if you want an 8 dollar phone call... email me back. i found free internet here. and i am not a short person here. but its cool.... i ate burger king. HA. and the last flight i was on was 23 hours. BUT i am having fun.... imiss you all. i will email again when i get the chance. LOVEYOU GUYS.!!!!


LEAH

Good-bye Angelia

No matter how crazy those teenagers get, when they go away it's still soooooooo sad. Angelia left for the Philippines early this morning. Brent took her & some of the other students this morning to the airport. Leah & I stayed up till all hours of the night packing so she could sleep for the 15 hour flight. She wanted to be exhausted so she could sleep on the plane. I know I'm exhausted & I'm sad. Well, maybe more worried than sad. I'm excited for her, but worry about all the things any decent mom would worry about when their 17-year-old daughter goes to a third world country!! Bill Bartholomew (Brent's dad) gave her a blessing last night. I am so grateful for that. Her flight has already been cancelled & completely changed. She's flying from Baltimore to New York to Hong Kong & then to Manila. I'm going to be a mess till she gets there. A mother's heart is so heavy.