20 hours on an aeroplane can make you slightly crazy...

So i'm here!!!

What an epic journey it was. I left Nottingham at 4:30am and arrived the next day about 4:30pm Philippino time. When me and my mum got to the airport the man on the desk was really reluctant to let me board the flight because I didn't have a visa. I had been told by OMF that I could get one when I arrived. In the end though he came round but said that I may have trouble getting into the Philippines at the other end. Now most of you know that I am prone to worrying, thats my nature and this piece of information did not make me feel great. I felt really nervous for alot of the journey and subsequently didn't get much sleep on the flight. Despite this I kept focusing on God and he was with me all the way giving me peace, his faithfulness is amazing. Psalm 139 was a particular blessing as I kept reminding myself that he hems me in before and behind, therefore he had gone before me and was already at the Philippino boarder making a way for me.

So I flew to Dubai and had to get off the plane even though we were getting back onto the same flight, then to Brunei and then on to Manila. All went smoothly and I sat next to 2 Austrailan ladies who were very nice. My arrival was easy and I got through customs no problem, praise the lord!! I had to wait at the aeroport for Anke from OMF but she was 45 mins late. This was ok but I felt decidedly rough by that point and there were all these taxi drivers and security guards hanging around who kept asking me where I was from and if I was ok. Anke took me back to my condo and so I had my first real experience of life in the Philippino traffic. Wow it is crazy, there are no rules, no lanes. People drive where ever they want and come as close as they want and they love to use the horn!!

We finally made it back to the condo and I met my housemate Meg who is really lovely. Yesterday I was at OMF having a induction and I am now sitting in Meg's classroom at Faith academy writing this blog. The school is beautiful with an olympic sized pool  (I know!!) and it seems to be pretty well resourced. Over the next week I am going to be in school a couple of days and also staying at the OMF house and visiting some poor ministries with some of the OMF workers. After that I will be at school full time. Please pray for me to for me to feel settled as I'm feeling pretty much on the outside still. Pray for good relationships between me and those that I meet and Strength to face each day. I hope you are all well back home, will update soon!!!

The adventure is about to begin

So I've purchased a plug adapter, linen trousers and plenty of insect repellent, I think i'm nearly ready to go!! It's just a week until I leave for the Philippines and thought I'd create this blog so that if you like, you can follow my adventures while i'm away. Please bear with me as I am new to blogging and it feels slightly odd talking to myself...about myself. So I guess my next post will be when I arrive, how exciting!!