East Coast Weekend Trip!

Wow, I had the best weekend ever! (Well, one of the better ones traveling).

On Friday, we left Ohio towards North Carolina. We visited a Japanese steakhouse called "Kanki". The food was okay, but the chef was hilarious!

On Saturday, we arrived in South Carolina. I met some awesome CollegePlus! people and we hiked in Caesar's Head State Park. Apparently, it was also here that they filmed the Hunger Games and the Last of the Mohicans. Had a great time fellowshipping with Alex Smith, Elizabeth Fox, Johannah Voeller, and Laura Frahm. :D I missed the dinner, though.

On Sunday, we visited Georgia. My family wanted to see the First Baptist Church of Atlanta, the home of In Touch Ministries. The church is huge! I went to the College & Career class, and it was nice. Afterwards, we had a lunch in the Lakeside Grill they had, and then we headed to the World of Coca-Cola. The tasting room is a must-see.

Then we headed home, and arrived in Columbus on Monday. I missed this place.

Operation Mission Vacation

Incoming Transmission...

Briefing:
Flew from Port Columbus International to Chicago O'Hare to Seoul Incheon International Airport.
     The flight time consisted of 24 hours overall, about two hours per time zone crossed. This includes time spent in the airport waiting.
Watched the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, South Korea.
     Witnessed the North Koreans threaten to launch a nuclear missile, thinly disguised as a spacecraft carrying a satellite.

Flew from Seoul Incheo International to Manila Ninoy Aquino International.
Transported to Baguio City, Philippines.
     This city is my birthplace. I still somewhat recognized it apart from its now-hotter weather and smoky buildings. My family stayed in my grandma's house.

"Operation" Finished
     This trip has a threefold purpose: "Operation", a surgery; "Mission", a missions trip; and "Vacation", a time of relaxation. My dad had surgery on various parts of his body. Since the healthcare system was slow back in the West, my family decided to have it in Asia, where medical operations do not need much paperwork. I thank all that prayed for him! He had some tumors and growths that were removed and he recovered in two weeks.

"Mission" Finished
     My family went around the country to minister to several small churches. We provided some free tracts from the Fellowship Tract League of Lebanon, Ohio; helped in distributing said tracts and helped in soulwinning and visitation; sang some specials in church services; preached sermons for the congregations; and basically helped around, like missionaries. Here they are in order of attendance:

 Baguio Family Independent Baptist Church
 Victory Baptist Church
     My first church, the church of my childhood. The church celebrated a reunion of its pioneer members and the anniversary of my dad and mom. I preached a short message on "Celebration".
 Cornerstone Baptist Church
     This church has an awesome youth group, by the way. Well, all of these churches do, but this is the first that struck me as different from, say, American youth groups.
 Fishers of Men Baptist Church
 Makhasi Irisan Baptist Church
 Mountain View Lighthouse Baptist Church
     Pastored by my uncle Jovito Garcia. This church is in the middle of a tribal territory high up in the mountains. I taught Sunday School with my sisters and cousins as my dad preached in the main auditorium. The people here were very kind to us. It was somewhat strange living inside the church for the weekend.
 Bethany Makati Baptist Church
      Attended the "Youth Quest", an annual youth conference. This church has its own Christian school and Bible college and many daughter and granddaughter churches. Bethany Makati solidified my view on the "advanced" state of spirituality here, especially among the young people.

"Vacation" Finished
     To top it all off, we toured and went sightseeing and shopped and reunited with other friends and family. We went to the beach several times, particularly San Fabian and Lingayen. In Lingayen, we also visited a World War II Memorial, the site where General McArthur returned with the American forces in helping liberate the islands from the Japanese. I met many of my cousins, uncles, and aunts; nevermind that some of them were second and third cousins removed.

Transported to Manila City, Philippines.
Flew from Manila Ninoy Aquino International to Seoul Incheon International to Chicago O'Hare to Port Columbus.

Status: Operation Mission Vacation Accomplished

This message will self-destruct in T-minus 10 seconds.

Home Is 12 Time Zones Away

I'm currently one day ahead, about twenty thousand miles or one hemisphere away from home. It's weird chatting at night with people whose time is day.

Why am I here, you ask? And where is "here", by the way?

Well, home, my temporal home, is Columbus, Ohio. On the opposite side is China. I am not in China.

I am in Southeast Asia.

I am here because my dad has surgery in a few days. But also to see some family I haven't seen in a long time.

It took about 20 hours being imprisoned on planes and straddling the airports to get here: an hour's flight to Chicago's O'Hare International from Port International Columbus, then a 15 hours flight from Chicago to Seoul, South Korea, and finally another 4 hours to Manila.

Flights run by Asians are way cooler than American flights. Flights in the States are casual. They may serve a drink or two the entire flight. But in contrast, Asian flights offer meals, and not sparse meals, either. It comes complete with salad and a desert. Also, they serve drinks and refills multiple times for free. Coffee, tea, ginger ale, soda- I had them all. Except alcohol, of course.

In Korea, I watched the Nuclear Security Summit. Apparently, the North Koreans are threatening to launch some missiles and blow up the "free" world again.

In the Philippines, I saw my grandmas(my grandpas are dead), my cousins, aunts, and uncles. We visited our old church to help out with the witnessing. We've done lots of shopping. Sadly, Wi-Fi spots are rare.

It's great and all, but I'm homesick.