THE COUNTDOWN HAS BEGUN

On June 11th I will join the Singson family as we leave from Milwaukee, WI on our journey to the Philippines.  Just thinking of all the items I want to carry with me to give to Kat's godmothers, our friend & my guide Ramon & the Ambal family is overwhelming - my pile just keeps getting bigger.  Here I have already offered to take one suitcase for Dr. S's sister so I will really be stuffing items - not clothing - in my checked luggage.

We have a lot planned for this trip.  The biggest, of course, is the medical mission in San Jose, Batangas, which is around 1 1/2 hrs southeast of Manila.  This is the hometown of the Ambal family and where they all have met every two years to host this mission at the Aya Elementary School.  The medical/dental mission honors their parents in a way that benefits the community.  This year Dr. S's daughter and her husband are joining the mission which means eye care will be offered for the first time.  In preparation, 500 glasses are being included in our supplies.  In addition to the mission there is a 50th wedding anniversary celebration for Ceasar and Chit (Dr. S's brother), Emma's 65th birthday (Dr. S's sister), a lechon parade and I am hoping to visit the Hospicio de San Jose (the orphanage of our granddaughter Kat ), a visit to an ecological park, reunite with Kat's godmothers, and wait, wait, get to the rice terraces.  So, you can see, lots to accomplish in my two weeks in the Philippines.

I will do all I can to post pictures to the site - the pictoral ledger of my exciting adventure.