Today is Father's Day, here in the Philippines as well as the States.  Today at church, we recognized all the dads, and I couldn't help but think about the Shelter boys who have no dads.  Some of the boys have had their fathers die, and some were abused by their fathers.  There are even some who have lost their fathers and can't find them.  I wonder what they're feeling today.  Are they numb to the pain or is it still very real to them?  I almost feel guilty for having such a wonderful dad.  I'm grateful that the pastor emphasized how we have a heavenly Father.  I hope the boys recognize this.  

This week was the grand opening of Life City Campus, the new ministry to college students surrounding the area.  The cafe was officially opened on Friday, and SBCC celebrated with with a ceremony.  We prayed over the physical building, the future customers, and the staff and volunteers.  Pastor Dave gave a short message before some of the elders cut the ribbon leading to the cafe.  Many SBCC members came to play games and eat food.  I made two refrigerator cakes (they call it a "ref cake") and have earned the title of "Chocolate Shake-Making Princess."  I'm just trying to keep up my reputation as a good cook!  Seriously though, it has been good to make food again.  I hadn't cooked in over a month, so I really missed it.  I have even helped prepare food with the boys this week.  They make fun of me when I mess up though.  Like one night we were having fried hotdogs, and the hotdogs needed to me sliced.  When I started slicing them into pieces, the boys laughed at me, took my knife away, and told me to put slivers along the side.  I've decided that I like being friends with a chef.  Chef Jasper took me and two other people to a fancy hotel that his company caters for, and he treated us to delicate desserts and coffee.  Yuummmy.  

I had a very interesting cultural experience last Sunday.  One of the boys didn't take his shower when the housemother told him to.  As his punishment, he had to stand on his toes, squat, hold an ironing board in front of his chest, and be still for 30 minutes.  On top of that, the boys placed thumb takes under his heels so that he'd have to stay on his toes.  The whole time they were pestering him and trying to make him loose his balance.  The housemother supervised with a belt in her hand to swat the other boys away.  My first reaction was shock, then pity, then humor (I know . . . I feel slightly bad).  It was funny because it looked so ridiculous, and everyone else was laughing too.  I know that this boy would laugh had he not been the one punished.  It's their standard punishment, so he knew what was coming.  I've been talking to other Filipinos and they've told me other creative punishment methods.  It's so different from America!

Yesterday I had a lot of fun just being with the Shelter boys.  After we ate lunch together, I joined them in their Bible study led by RJ, who is studying at a bible college to be a preacher.  When we finished with that, we watched some TV and hung out.  This week the boys have been teaching me magic tricks, so we continued that for several hours.  I'm encouraged because the boys are getting more and more comfortable with me.  I think most of them are shy about using their English and this is why they are quiet.  I was able to have some conversations with several boys this week though.  And I enjoy playing with them, because it makes me feel like a kid again.  I even played Pogs!  Haven't done that in many years.

I'm getting slightly frustrated with my research because I feel like time is slipping by too fast.  Please pray that God will give me research opportunities and the time to do them.  I have several ideas, so I need to talk to the caseworker about them on Tuesday.  I'm hoping to do a focus group with some of the staff who have seen the Shelter boys grow up.  I'm also considering designing a survey to give to the boys.  Please pray that God will give me wisdom for designing questions and analyzing the data.  I want my research to be as good and helpful as possible.

Here are some other things to pray about:

1. Pray for rain, which cools the weather off.  Sometimes I get so hot I feel like passing out.  (Don't worry though, because I am constantly drinking water.)  

2. Pray that I will enjoy working in the cafe

-that cooking in the kitchen won't be too draining or stressful 

-that God will give me courage to meet and minister to our customers.

3. Pray that I will be able to form relationships with all 12 Shelter boys (not just the ones who can speak some English)

4. Pray that I can get my microphone in my computer fixed (so I can talk to my family on Skype)

Thank you for thinking of me and keeping me in your prayers!