My family and I left Louisiana headed for The Philippines on July 8th, and after a 3 hour stop in Tokyo, we arrived in Manila 25 hours later. After a one night stay there we were off to the city of Dipolog on the southern island of Mindanao. On arrival there we were met by members of the Happy Church in the church jeepney.
A jeepney is a brightly colored vehicle used for public transportation. They originated from U.S. army jeeps left behind after WWII, and converted to carry passengers. Now many years later their decendents have become part of the Philippine national identity. They are manufactured in Manila, are very sturdy and still resemble the old army jeeps they were copied from with some colorful differences.
Before going on to our destination we stopped for a visit at the sister church in Dipolog City. While there we had our first taste of Philippine cooking on this trip, greetings from pastor Phely Ramayrat, missionary from New Zealand Lesley Dawson and many others of the congregation. From there we moved on to our home away from home, Happy House in Ozamiz City.
Ozamiz City is situated on the western coast of Illigan Bay on the island of Mindanao and is one of the largest cities on the island. Happy House is located just west of the main business area of the city. From it's roof you can see the markets and shopping center, hotels, crowded streets full of tricycles and pedestrians, and off in the distance the ferrie and shipping traffic in Illigan Bay.
