Where else in the world can you find a grocery-store shelf filled will all variants of skin-whitening products?

I don't think it's a generalisation to say that most Filipinos want to look white. I heard a statistic saying that 1 out of every 2 Filipinas use whitening products, whether it be body wash, moisturiser..whatever!
The main question in my mind is why?
The thing is, you can't escape the promotions. Skin-whitening advertisements are everywhere - on television commercials, billboards in highways, women's magazines (not that I've read them of course) ...!
I guess Filipinos want to look white, because they're not. Humans of course are never satisified.

So there's the Philippines wanting to be whiter...and us Britons wanting the opposite. These guys wouldn't dream about spray tans, sunbathing or tanning beds.
What a paradoxical world we live in!

Okay, I'm mentioning all this because right now I'm neither of these. Not white, not brown. I'm as 'red as a tomato.' (thanks for pointing that one out Pastor Mon).
'Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer' is not the most elevating of nicknames. Especially when Christmas is out of sight!

Well, Summer has arrived, and don't we know it!
I've never experienced any place quite so hot. It's consistently a sweltering mid-30 degrees celsius...in fact, the other day, the temperature rocketed to almost 40 degrees.
"Sun-block is for losers!" - Okay, I take it all back!!
It's worse than this though. You take the mid-30 degrees heat and chuck it in with a whole lotta pollution...shake well, and there you have it. That's Manila.

It's been 2 weeks since I last blogged and I reckon it's been the busiest 2 weeks since I've been here. uh oh!
Don't worry, I won't give you the un-cut version. Just a brief summary of events. Yeeaahh right!!!

Weeks and weeks of planning and it finally arrived. REBAP Camp 2013!! So much hype and it certainly didn't disappoint!
Friday afternoon, March 27th and a 2 hour drive from Cubao to Sierra Madre Resort in Tanay, Rizal. The actual camp started the next day, but we were part of the advanced team, which is not as cool as it sounds. There was a lot of setting up and preparation to take place. Lifting, shifting and the last few delicate touches.

Ahh Sierra Madre <3 This area would rival Mount Bataleo as the most beautiful place I've visited since being in the Philippines.
Not all of us were hardcore. Most of us stayed in dorms rather than tents, all-inclusive of air-con and a complimentary bar of soap (this suspicously disappeared mid-way through the camp). Anyway, the dorms were surrounded by miles of mountains and valleys and waterfalls and gardens and swimming pools. Ahhh...C'est la vie!
I hadn't been swimming once in the whole 2 months that I'd been here, but I've sure made up for it in the past 2 weeks.
The title to this blog is actually my subtle attempt at a triple-wammy. 1) Quoting Finding Nemo :') 2) philosophically stating the need to keep moving on, 'never give up, never surrender...' and all that jazz, 3) highlighting the amount of swimming I've been doing recently.
Lame, I know!

At the bottom of this campsite a group of us took regular breaks to swim in the pool. This was right in the midst of a valley and was the perfect way to cool down after hours of sweating in the boiling sun. Swimming is a fairly uncommon activity in the Philippines, so most of the campers couldn't swim or weren't comfortable swimming in the deep end. I was told that last year CRBC had called for a volunteer to be the lifeguard for the week. It turned out that the guy who took it upon himself to sit there day and night watching over everyone in the swimming pool couldn't actually swim himself. However, I heard he looked pretty slick in his black shades, so all was good!
As I said in my last blog, Filipinos pride themself in their craziness and lack of organisation...This year, nobody stepped up to the plate. I guess they were hard shoes to fill (if 'nutcase' was the qualifying standard).

So, REBAP Camp 2013. The theme for the 3 days was 'The Means of Grace'. A theme divided into 5 different topics.
How good is your Tagalog?
Well, if you're up to the challenge, recordings were made available: http://www.crbc-ph.org/download.html
5 Means of Grace:
PREACHING, FELLOWSHIP, BAPTISM, LORD'S SUPPER, PRAYER
As always, translation was made available through the radio, but the pastors tended to speak in Taglish, so I got the jist of what they were saying, and what I understood was great ;) It was amazing and humbling to be part of a group of almost 500 believers all worshipping their Saviour...Praise God for times spent like these!

Only in the Philippines does a Camp programme start at 5:00am. sigh! I'm not gonna lie, the 3 days were tiring. I'm writing this blog now trying to keep my eyes open. I'm shattered, but I'm certainly not complaining.
I had been put in charge of being the official camp photographer and was given the opportunity to use the camera of Kuya Arnel. A camera complete with a multi-function zoom lens, flash gun, soft-box...ahh, I resisted the urge to shove it all in my bag and make a run for it. I was given the job of photographing all 500+ campers. Yep, you heard it! It wasn't exactly super difficult though, I used a tri-pod, clicked a button and hey presto!
During the sermons and meetings I would go to the front of the seminar trying to get close-ups of the pastors preaching and the congregation, etc. I also just wandered about taking pictures of the games, swimming and children's groups. My favourite job!

On the last night of the camp, a Fun night was held. The whole camp had been previously divided into 8 teams and we had been requested to come up with a 5 minute sketch or performance to perform in front of everyone.
Our team, 'Bughawain' (don't ask) had decided to do the Tinikling. Fine.
They decided that I would be perfect for the job. Not fine.
Being the spoilsport I am, I was saying 'no way', but the great Philospher, Sir Justin Bieber's undeniably wise words were ringing in my ears. "Never Say Never!" I decided to give it my best shot.
I was partnered up with Vem, a friend from CRBC, and 2 other members, ate Mabel and James, were to follow afterwards. We'd mastered it perfectly during the practices. In fact we were getting so good, that our teacher decided to spice it up with some more complex steps.
However, I guess the nerves of performing in front of 500+ people got the better of me. We stood there in front of everyone, all eyes on >the white man trying to be Pinoy< Bottom line is, I kinda messed it up and did some of the steps wrong. Thankfully only Vem had noticed and those famous words 'the show must go on' kept me going!I'd tried to cover it up by doing some other 'fancy' steps, and the round of applause afterwards confirmed that nobody had realised. Success!
I was told shortly after the dance that I'm now well and truly Pinoy. I've eaten balut, I've danced the Tinikling, I've learnt that eating rice with your hands is in fact easier than a fork and spoon (knives are useless)...Oh, the list goes on...

Overall, a fantastic few days. REBAP Camp 2013 will be remembered for years to come. I took around 650 photographs, had a go on a 250 metre long zip line, met many new friends as well as learning many new Tagalog words, and ... I learnt how to play a game called Pinoy Henyo (a complete rip-off of 'Who Am I?') ;)

Jonathan and Happy met here in the Philippines a few years ago (Jonathan is from Switzerland, Happy is from the Philippines). Their annual visit this year was a special occasion, because they were going to get married on April 6th. I had been given an invitation despite never having met either of them. So, a few days before the wedding, the 5 boy's and the house mother and father from CCM Boy's Home, Jonathan (and his parents), Happy and me all travelled to Laguna, an area 2 hours from Manila.
Splash Island here we come!!
If I hadn't done enough swimming while on REBAP Camp, well... we were about to do it again!! Those who know me, are aware of how much I love swimming, but this was for the whole day with the sun mercilessly beating down on us! Yes. I got sunburnt. No. The teasing did not stop. Even those who spoke no English or Tagalog still managed to point out how red I was. Ok, cheers for that!!
Still, I was able to put into practice that small amount of pointless French that I learnt in school for Jonathan's parents, ya know...the usual, like "Monsieur Boudier aime chanter et danser" or "le vache est sur la table". They didn't see the funny side to this. Awkward.

Last week, I was asked to lead a Bible Study devotion in CRBC for their weekly Prayer Meeting. I spoke for 25 minutes from Colossians 3:1 & 2 about Paul's exhortation to be heavenly minded, "Set your mind on things above..."
I won't pretend I wasn't nervous because I really was. Speaking in front of the 2 pastors and many of the members I've grown to know and love was a little bit daunting. However, God really answered my prayers and when I stood up all nerves and anxieties were gone and I was able to speak both about, Christian desires and about the difference between being a 'participant' and a 'spectator'. Try and fit yourself into the first group...there's always much less competition!

Well, there is a new visitor staying here in CCM from the UK, who arrived over a week ago, Angie Pike. No time for jet lag recovery...time stops for nobody over here. Sophie also returned a few days ago with Cous Cous. She's officially gone up in my estimations since bringing some British food to keep me going. Masarap! One of the foods she brought were Mini Eggs....now they are real Easter Eggs. I'm sorry, but balut or hard-boiled eggs do not count!!
Non-conformism has it's downsides.

It's a good job I've had a bit of practice with Wedding Photography in the past because I was able to put it into practice at Jonathan and Happy's Wedding on Saturday. There were already 3 official wedding photographers for the day, so the pressure was eased off me considerably.
I've never been to a Garden Wedding before, so the whole day was a bit of a new experience for me too. The problem with it being held outside was, once again down to the heat! The wedding was due to commence at 9:00am sharp, so when 10:00am arrived, the wedding adjudicator thought it would be a good idea to perhaps begin the ceremony. By this time we had been sitting in the sun for so long that I sat watching as people were gradually leaving their seats and rushing for the shade. You can hardly look your best when your sweating buckets and squinting in the bright sun! However, it was still a beautiful location and I managed to get some snaps before the humidity became too much for me. I wimped out and made some excuse that I was looking for 'a better angle to take shots'. That place happened to be lying on the sofa on the second floor of the wedding reception. Shh!!

"Peechurr!! Peechurrr!!!"
"I've already taken 30 photos of you in the space of one hour"
"But not in front of the roasted pig."
Can't argue with that!

Filipinos LOVE having their photo taken. No, that's a major understatement...they simply can't get enough of it! 'Photo-bombing' is an increasing trend as well. Getting a portrait of one person is a rare and close to impossible task. The moment you try and get the photo, suddenly someone will jump in the shot, and...before you know it, you've taken 10 steps back in order to try and fit everyone in the shot. "Say cheese!!" simply results in a mixture of confused expressions..."why would we say 'cheese'?" Oh forget it!

Now if I hadn't embarressed myself enough, I was about to make up for it. Two weeks of practice and now I was to perform the Carinosa (a traditional Filipino folk dance) with 7 others from CRBC. Great!
Recordings were made available, and no, you may not have a copy!
It was a 5 minute dance which consisted of various steps and arm movements. I'd memorised it so well that I'd done a couple of practices beforehand whilst eating my dinner or texting. Don't get me wrong. I was to take this dance very seriously. *ehem* It was commented after the dance that I'd apparently just laughed the whole way through; however, I wasn't out of time and Jonathan and Happy said they thought it was 'napaka tawa' (very funny). Not exactly the response I was looking for, but at least we entertained them. ;)

Weddings in the Philippines tend to be very traditional. That's something that surprised me. For some reason I thought they would contain many different cultural practices, food etc. But to an onlooker it was just the same as any other typical English wedding. My favourite moment of the day was when the couple were to release a couple of doves from a beautiful gold cage. Nobody thought about opening the windows and the doves both flew straight into the wedding cake. Two beautiful white doves covered in sticky icing. A romantic thought, that's what counts eh!! The good news is, some of the wedding cake was salvaged and those who didn't mind a side order of white feathers were all satisfied!

After the wedding there were 3 swimming pools in the reception venue. I felt I had to make up for those 2 months I'd missed out on swimming, so some of us lazed about in the pool for the rest of the afternoon until our fingers were all wrinkly and our hair felt like it had been ruined by chlorine. Mission work eh!!

The other day I was walking around Cubao after the evening service one Sunday night. I came across a church called 'Iglesia ni HesuKristo'. The doors were left wide open right in full view of the noisy, busy traffic of Manila. I stood there for a couple of minutes watching the service take place. No message, no preaching, just waving hands, crazy women and a whole lot of shouting. I was intrigued, not for the same reason they were hoping I was there for. After a few minutes one of the men approached me asking if I would like to come and 'join the Spirit'...I was shocked. His english was good so we stood chatting for some time. He showed me a poster to the side of the building which featured hundreds of members of the church who had been healed from various diseases and received large financial gain since being in attendance at this church. It was all a con. I asked where these people were now, to which he replied, they are no longer in attendance. What, none of them? After a time of explaining what I thought about all the euphoria and madness taking place in the church, I left. Health and wealth churches are rampant throughout the Philippines. Besides Catholicism it is the dominant denomination of 'Christianity'. There's nothing innocent about it, many of them are a complete scam, set up by ungodly people to rob people of their money (and spiritual growth). I'm not generealising when I say that most of these churches are simply after your money. Stirring the emotions in order to support their pockets. It's sad to see people getting drawn into these places, mkistakedly thinking that the Spirit is alive and at work at that time. The Bible tells us to pray for the big things, so I don't think it's too much to pray for this New movement which is spreading throughout the Philippines. Pray that the Light of God's Word would shine upon the darkness and our Lord would be sought after and glorified!

On the other hand, it is amazing to be part of Cubao Reformed Baptist Church where God's Word takes first priority. On Sunday we were able to witness the Baptism of a man named Israel. Later that night he was received into membership. We also heard the testimonies of two church attendees, Novem Garcia and Crisel Cadalin. Praise God for what he has done in the lives of these people! The people here are not shy to pray for revival...a great challenge to me personally!!

I'm continuing to lead devotions at the girl's and boy's homes every week, which have in many ways helped me more than them. There have been many ocassions recently when the girls have said to me that they would love to become a Christian and that they love Jesus. However, they are distracted by the attractiveness of their future. Everything seems so exciting and this is their biggest hinderance. Last night I lead a devotion speaking about Jesus being "Ang daan, ang Katotohanan, at ang Buhay" (The Way, The Truth and The Life). A message which we are all familiar with, yet something we often neglect to recognise. We have been shown the way, we can read of the truth and receive the greatest life! Pray for the lives of all of the girls and boys housed in CCM that they would entrust their future to the Lord Jesus.

Years of following CCM, it's ministries, it's activities, it's needs. We see the glamorous side. Of course, I'm not trying to say there's some dodgy marketing going on behind closed doors. Of course not ;) But day by day, I am here witnessing the personal struggles, the strains, the stresses of the workers. Working on the camp, in the offices, home visits in the slum areas...the list is endless. There are many amazing blessings and excitements, but it's not all easy...the house mothers, fathers and social workers devote their life to this ministry. Please continue to pray for daily strength and perseverance!

2 and a half months ago, I arrived here in the Philippines all alone. I felt like a child, completely lost in this crazy new world. Everything was new and daunting, but I feel so settled now. Don't get me wrong, there's always something new in store, but I no longer feel that I'm on my own anymore. I've made friends, actual friends...of human origin. ;)
This is such an answer to prayer. Thank you so much to all those who continue to encourage me and bring me before the Lord each day.

DVBS Holiday Bible Club, EAP Camp, Youth Assembly, Fellowship Meetings, Sports Fest, Pointless information. These are just a few of the activities you can expect to hear about in my next blog installment. Keep tuning in! ;)

The 6 months are creeping up. I've almost reached the 3 month mark already. I can't believe it. Part of me wishes time would just slow down!

You still here? Good going!