A Day in the Life...a girls day out

One of the things I was most curious about when my husband asked me if I move across the globe was, "okay, but how do I live life there?"  In my mind there was a difference between surviving and thriving.  I wanted to know how normal people in that country go shopping, where they send their kids to school, do they take their kids to the park for a day out, what does a typical family do together on Saturday, do friends get together for coffee and chat, and what do they have for fun?  Will we go on dates after we move?  Will I ever have a "girls day out," or by agreeing to move am I signing away my rights to go on dates and have girls day out with friends?  Will my life only consist of pictures worthy to post in a missionary update letter?  What about the day behind those pictures?  So this is that post, the day behind the picture and my "girls day out."

My husband has been away for a few days at a conference.  He is having a good time with the other men and he has said it has been a very profitable conference so far and he has been encouraged, refreshed and challenged. (I will let him share an update on that conference later.)  While he has been away, we have had a long time family friend come and stay with me and the boys.  So I took the opportunity in this change in our schedule to have a ladies day out with some of the wives, ending with a mini women's conference about anger.  It was a very enjoyable and refreshing day spiritually and emotionally.  The type of day I wondered about before we moved here, and a very un-typical day which makes it extra special and makes me want to share.

My day started at the same time it does everyday, during those last few moments of night before the sun chases away the darkness.  My three organic alarm clocks woke me up right on schedule.  We had a regular morning and I squeezed in a little homeschool a bit earlier than normal so that I could still make my girls day out that was planned for me.

After we finished school I got ready for my day.  I don't wear makeup all of the time.  I do try to wear it on Sundays for church and a few other times during the week for a special occasion.  Having a girls day out with a mini-seminar on anger at the end qualified in my book as make-up worthy.  I have learned to modify my make-up routine.  I no longer put anything on my skin, no foundation, no cover up, not even powder.  Why?  Because I sweat so much here.  ha ha!  It truly feels like my skin is suffocating when I cover it with makeup.  I actually start sweating more and my face itches like crazy!  Plus it is just difficult, unless I apply my make up in a room with full air conditioning, it is difficult to actually apply it to my face when it is full of sweat.

I then make sure I have my purse packed.  There are a few items I always try to remember to bring with me.  First, tissue to go, or baby wipes, for those restrooms that are not stocked with their own supply of tissue.  You learn early and you learn quick it is always good to make sure you pack your own supply.  Second, a small towel or handkerchief that I can use to help control my "glow".  ha ha... right because women don't sweat they glisten?  Third, hand sanitizer because those restrooms that ran out of supply of tissue most likely ran out of supply of hand soap.  Fourth, I pack my cell phone charger because I am not yet sure if I am driving myself and I don't want to get stuck in a weird part of town without a charge in my cell phone all by myself.  Lastly, my umbrella.  It is rainy season after all so it would be unusually if it did NOT rain today.  Actually and since we are going into the actual city, parking is sometimes difficult so it is good to have an umbrella.

 
So I drive to my friend's house and we discuss final plans.  We are only driving 12.8 kilometers, which is only 8 miles, but that can take anywhere from 45 minutes to to to..... any unknown time (that's part of the excitement of driving in Manila, right?)  One of us has coding on our car, which means that according to the last number of the license plate you are not allowed to drive on certain days in the actual city limits during rush hour.  So we weigh our pros and cons and finally decided to drive together.... because if today happens to be the day where traffic takes 3 to 4 hours, it is much more enjoyable to be stuck in traffic with a friend.

We plug in Waze App on our phone and chart our course.  We both have been to our destination several times before, my friend much more than me.  But you never know what is the best route in traffic.  Waze App helps a lot.  You could be in gridlock and stuck in one spot in the road and not move an inch for an hour or more.  You never know.  ;)  So that is why you don't want to make a wrong turn.  Waze helps navigate the side streets and lets you know when gridlock awaits you ahead.

From the front door of my house to when we get to the hotel to pick up our friend, the speaker for tonight's conference for the ladies, it has been two hours for me.  Two hours and 8 miles.  But to our credit I did stop to drive with my friend.  So that is probably only 1.5 hours from my door to the hotel.  Which equals 11 miles per hour for our average rate of speed.  Not bad at all!  Traffic is light today and Waze has helped us.  The time spent in traffic is not put to waste, as my friend and I both completed the same biblical counseling course and certification, so we talk about biblical counseling cases, the Word of God and how exciting it is to the the Word change people's lives.

After we pick up our friend, the one visiting on a short term trip and the one speaking tonight for the ladies, the three of us head to lunch.  We decide on Vietnamese food.  It is delicious food and we pick dishes that the three of us can share so we all can try more items on the menu.  We talk about women's ministry and bible studies.  We find that the we are both leading bible studies for ladies on the Gospel of John and I am eager to learn more from an older lady who has more experience and wisdom.  After lunch we all grab a cup of coffee and continue our conversation.

We then navigate our way (using Waze of course) to a nail salon.  The three of us are getting our nails  done.  A special treat for all of us.  Getting your nails done here is about 1/10 of the price as it is in the US, but it still feels like extra pampering to me so I don't do it on my own.  The nail salon is such a beautiful ambiance.  The lighting, the music (wait was their music I can't remember?) the Christmas decorations.  Ha ha.... they start the Christmas season early here (October and even September) and I love all the festivities!

I get served and waited on and a gal brings me a glass of ice water on my own personal tray.  I am a bit timid and wonder if I am doing something bad, can we pamper ourselves this way?  I took a quick picture of my water glass to try to capture the moment.  But then I go over the scenario in my head.  The quiet place, with comfortable chairs and nice air conditioning all provide a wonderful atmosphere and opportunity for fellowship.  We share about our salvation testimonies.  We share about how we first met our husbands.  We share about difficult trials God has used in our lives for His glory.  In the end our nails are scrubbed and polished, but more than that our spirits are refreshed for fellowship with likeminded believers.

We finish quickly to make it to dinner with a couple more gals.  The gals we are meeting at dinner are involved with the hosting of the mini-conference.  True to Filipino nature, they are wonderfully kind, warm and hospitable to their guest speaker who has travelled from the US to give the talk on anger.  The place they choose for dinner is more of a yuppy coffee place.  We all feel about 15 to 30 years too old but we laugh and enjoy the food and company.  Once again we finish dinner quickly so we can all make it back to the church in time for the session on anger.

Sorry no picture from the talk!  Ha ha... and those are the pictures missionaries normally take, right?  The room is packed, so many ladies not wanting to miss out on the talk.  I am tired because I am usually not out late at night, even though it is only 7:30pm it is late for me.  ha ha... I missed the first day of the talk, but my heart is refreshed in so many ways.  She talked about 5 common heart idols of anger - idol of honor, appreciation, control, success and comfort .  I am convicted and encouraged all at once to see my anger in a new light.  I try to scribble down as many verses references as she shares to help put off anger and put on righteousness.

At the end of the evening people are packing their bags and heading home.  The ladies call out for a group picture.  About 5 cameras are used to capture the group picture of the ladies I spent my day with.  Five cameras none of them mine.  Ha ha... I think to myself that that picture will most likely be posted on Facebook and so many people will not see the day behind that picture.  But I smile and am ever so thankfully for my day out with the ladies.  I smile because I am not just surviving in this new country of mine, but I am thriving!  My soul has been refreshed and the faith strengthen to continue my Christian walk because of the day of fellowship I got with a handful of godly ladies.