I guess I should write something... (a general update for you)

Hurray for a social life, because I have one. :)

Went out with some American girls last night, and some Greek ones tonight. Soon I may actually know the cool places to hang out in Athens, besides my house! There are some fun areas I have known about, so it's great to have people to go hang out there with.

My knee is doing much better, thank you for asking! When I got home from Thailand, I was in so much pain I couldn't walk. I hopped around my apartment for a couple days (until the best day of my life at the hospital). I don't know what exactly happened to it, although I that pain has come and gone ever since I arrived in Greece (though not for that long). But after ten days of anti-inflammatories, I haven't felt it. I can still feel my knee; sometimes it kind of locks, or feels like it pops out of place but then back again, but none of that really bad pain. So I'm happy about that. I'm faithfully doing my exercises at the gym to strengthen the muscles. :) But I am really missing running.

What else would you like to know? (I can't remember all the things you've been asking.) Ask away, if you like...

too much time on the internet...

Two things going around on Facebook have for some reason moved me to try them. First, this "imaginary band" thing - so many people have done them and I think they're so cool!

My Imaginary Band

1. Go to "wikipedia." Hit “random”

or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random

The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2. Go to "Random quotations"

or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3

The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3. Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”

or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days

Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4. Use photoshop, picassa, or similar to put it all together.

5. Post it with this text in the "caption" and TAG the friends you want to join in. (Whatever. Mine is above. And yes, it said "woman's" with an A.)

...

And second, this one makes me laugh, I got some really great ones:

.

Kelsey needs...

Rules: Type in your first name and the word needs in quotes ("Your name needs”) into your favorite search engine and see what comes up. List the first 10 sentences that make sense and then tag some of your friends!

1. Kelsey needs to stop being a mat for everyone to walk on.

2. Kelsey needs to quit throwing kids into the stands--this isn't WWF

3. Kelsey needs to find a way to trust her heart to the handsome psychiatrist.

4. Kelsey needs to find a home that will treat her like the little princess she is. (Amen!)

5. Kelsey needs more CAMERA TIME!

6. Kelsey needs some sleep.

7. Kelsey NEEDS anger management...NOW!

8. My Kelsey needs a lot of prayer!

9. Kelsey needs work in the area of social skills. (haha)

and, saving the best for last:

10. Kelsey needs to be in a mental institution...she was trying to kill the ducks at the park....while making extremely annoying duck noises.

Runner up: Kelsey needs a new pair of Pampers - [hers] stink - and maybe a pacifier.

Now, I must go. I have A LOT of important things to do.

Language fun for everyone!

So, contemplating last night's subway interaction ... I know that I responded (in Greek) to the "what do you do" question by saying that I work with women in prostitution. Upon further reflection, it is quite possible that I somehow told him I am a prostitute. I couldn't quite figure out how to say "in prostitution," and then again I'm not even sure if the word I used means prostitution or prostitute. So I possibly said something like, "I work with women. Prostitute." Excellent! His reaction was rather odd...

The other thing I keep confusing is the word that means both "spit" and "cheap" ... only differentiated by an accent on either syllable. Language is fun!

Not as good as my friend Katie in Thailand who told me her story with the Thai language (a tonal language) when I was there. The word for "excuse me" is the same as the word for "fart," just a different tone. So squeezing in on the subway or some other crowded place she frequently says "fart!" at the people by mistake! Of course they have no concept that the two are similar, because to them they are completely different words. Fun times for all!

as if I needed to be reminded...

Went on outreach tonight with Nea Zoi. I can go in the brothels, make coffee for the girls and hand them the Nea Zoi info card, but it's frustrating not being able to say anything. So I just stand there. I don't speak Greek ... or Russian ... or Romanian ... so many to choose from. Extra incentive to practice my Greek.

Speaking of which, I was on the metro home tonight with another N.Z. volunteer who doesn't speak English; she speaks Greek and Romanian (much more useful than I when it comes to talking to the girls!), so we were speaking a bit of Greek as we sat there. We probably exhausted all the Greek I knew, but I could communicate a little, so that was fun. [Ok - you don't need to write in and tell me I am useful; I know, I know.]

There was a sleazy looking guy with a fanny pack sitting across from us, watching our interaction with an interested smile. We reached my traveling companion's stop first, and as soon as she got off, the guy started talking to me. He teaches Greek (except 5 minutes later he gave me his card and said he was a doctor who practiced acupuncture), he's originally from Russia, where am I from, yadda yadda. Too smiley, too complementary. I had the heebie jeebies. I was politely trying to make small talk in Greek with him, since he had moved to the seat next to me, and I was thankful when my stop came.

"Boro na ertho mazi sou?" he said, or something like that. He was asking if he could come with me. This wasn't his stop. He got up and began to follow me off, despite my shaking my head and saying I didn't understand (benefit of not knowing Greek - yet in this case it didn't work). He was a big man. He got off the train, as I was saying no no no, and finally I found the words in Greek and high-tailed it out of the station. I didn't turn around, but he didn't follow me. He wanted a willing companion tonight, which I was not!!!

I have his sleazy smiling face in my head still and I can only imagine how these girls must feel day after day as men come to them. They can shut it out and disconnect. But they are reduced to objects on a continual basis, and eventually it sinks into their heads that that is all they are. Every time I feel even a glimmer of that feeling, I'm, well, angry, but I'm reminded who they are and why I want them to know something better.

**Interesting fact...some of these Eastern European girls learn Greek within six months. Their secret? Soap operas. I need a TV! :)

I'm back!

...with no major traveling in the foreseeable future. Good news to my ears. Like music.

I thought you might enjoy this totally flattering picture of myself and Yota (iota), my translator. With our demon eyes that I am not bothering to fix. Our seminar finished up well on Saturday afternoon. I really enjoyed teaching this material the last couple weekends. We had a couple meetings with other ministries from a couple other churches who are interested in doing this too. One of the ministries there that I was able to go on outreach with Thursday night is in the process of opening a half-way house, and we talked about training for their future volunteers, etc.

We've made much progress as far as vision, mission, and goals (and starting to build the relationships and make connections) for our network, which you could call a "resource timeline." I will share more later. This is likely going to involve the beginning of a new organization, founded here in Greece, for our network/ coalition and resource center. Pepie and I have been thinking of names. :) It's really exciting!

We had a great last weekend in Thess, although I ate entirely too many sweets - that city is known for its bakeries and pastry shops! So much chocolate and moussey things to be eaten. :-/ Also, Kiki knows the best places as far as food and wine are concerned, so I'll just say we didn't go hungry. The city center has a few old ruins sprinkled here and there, many old churches, some big squares, millions of coffee shops, and a gorgeous waterfront lined with cafes. It's really a nice place to spend a week. I know we will be back.

This morning we woke up to a blizzard - perfect timing for us to head back to sunny Athens this afternoon!!

home is where my bed is.

I seem to have hit a wall of exhaustion this week, so I haven't been doing much except sleeping, studying for what I'm teaching this coming weekend, sitting in coffee shops with Kiki, and marveling at the self-admitted lack of commitment in this culture. :) Best that I don't get started on that one, not this week.

Being here makes me miss home. As in, America. I felt the same in Thailand. I guess traveling always makes one think of home, and when I think of "home," I still think of the good old West Coast.

I have meetings all day tomorrow (which is today, now), trying to understand and work with dynamics and perspectives that I wasn't expecting. It is SO COLD here, and I have also developed a cold, as I did in Thailand. Those weather changes are brutal! 26 of the last 34 days on the road...also brutal. I am missing my bed. My Athens bed. :)

Hands That Heal

The inaugural Hands That Heal training in Greece! :) This is a training course put together by the Faith Alliance Against Slavery and Trafficking, made up of the Salvation Army, World Relief, World Hope International, etc. It's really a great & comprehensive curriculum.

The first book (of two), translated into Greek:

Hanging out in the A21 office, with (L-R) Yota, a great girl who translated a lot for me during the course, Kalli, and Maria, who is the pastor (along with her husband) of the Philadelphia Church here. She is a lawyer, wears pastel blue lipstick, and likes to pinch my cheeks. This is an "action" shot of some of the local ladies behind A21:Pepie helping me with modeling and translation, and Phil, from A21, demonstrating his map of Thessaloniki during our "Community Mapping" session:Some members of the A21 Campaign and Philadelphia Church. A21, run by Hillsong Church in Australia in partnership with this local church, has opened a shelter recently in Thess, and has already been able to help five women. These are volunteers and interested community/church members who came to receive the training to work with trafficking victims:Kalli volunteered to be tied up...in this exercise we used pieces of rope to represent cultural and societal factors that contribute to trafficking. Then as they came up with solutions they came and untied the ropes. This is her husband, tying this rope...he probably enjoyed this a little too much:

This past Friday/Saturday training went very well! We will continue with this "Part 1" this coming Friday and Saturday, and then will finish with Part 2 in April sometime. My very own Voula is actually the esteemed translator for this material (she wears many hats), and she is fervently working on Part 2 to finish for April.

Yes, Thess!

I love Thessaloniki. More than Athens, in fact. I always secretly hoped I'd end up here; it's smaller, cleaner, cuter, and I actually have friends here. But, for now, I reside in Athens (well, Piraeus, actually, which is quite enjoyable too), and that's home. :)

Anyhoo, just a quick update for now...we taught Friday night and all day yesterday and I think it went really well! Pepie did Friday night on basic terms of trafficking and Greek laws and stuff, and I did all day yesterday. My throat is a bit scratchy today, due I think to talking too much and also to the VERY cold weather, but now I have a week to just relax and play with Kiki and prepare to do it again next weekend.

Yesterday was Valentine's Day, of course, and Kiki and Pepie and I went out for coffee and later (much later...like 10:00 - welcome to Greece) a really nice dinner. The place was packed, the food was amazing, and it was a lot of fun. As we walked home last night (in the pic above), there were some snow flurries. It is very cold here; I am practically wearing every single item of clothing I brought. At the same time.

Like I said, teaching went really well. I loved it, actually. I will post some pictures this week, I've got to get them off Pepie's camera. She goes home to Piraeus this evening, and then comes back Friday to help me with next weekend.

On the road again...

I am packing - and may I say, packing for ten days in freezing cold weather is much more difficult than for two weeks in hot weather, and also, didn't I just do this??? - and Pepie and I fly to Thessaloniki in the morning. I've been busy getting ready to teach for the next two weekends on things like "A Biblical Framework for a Christian Response to Human Trafficking," Community Development & Mobilization, Aftercare, Cultural Issues, etc. etc. I'm excited, actually. As a bonus, I get to stay with my friend Kiki who I stayed with last March. She told me on the phone today, "I'm looking forward to eating chocolate with you." Now, what is THAT supposed to mean?? :)

On an unrelated but actually rather related topic, my friend Charity sent me some articles today. She and Ruben and I (when I worked for Salvation Army) used to visit various hand carwashes in L.A. with suspicions of human trafficking or at least labor violations. We have known there is stuff going on at several specific ones. Well, look here and here! Indentured servitude is human trafficking. It is always exciting to see people freed from these situations, and hopefully convictions to follow.

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Ok, and finally, check out this absolutely outrageous "weather forecaster" ... she is on every night here, and we have been watching in disbelief that this is actually on television here! Tonight she was wearing a nurse's costume, other nights she is in lingerie. Be glad you don't understand what she is saying. Voula said her 10 year old daughter came home from school asking about Petroula the other day because the kids were talking about her. I am using this for the value of women in society part this weekend.

Happy Friday the 13th! (I guess I will see it before you will.)

misc. notes and a prayer request

I am so much more interested in blogging than, say, studying Greek or preparing for this training I am supposed to be doing in Thessaloniki starting on Friday night.

A few things:

~I updated on the ministry blog, so instead of my duplicating it on this one, go check it out here. Lots of thoughts and plans and why, despite my 80-year-old knee, I am feeling quite excited and encouraged these days!

~I was watching our Nuthouse video yesterday, and I think we should all revisit it together and remember the former life in California that is still so very near and dear to my heart (and the beloved former roommate). So hard to say goodbye, indeed.

~I have been planning to direct you to Grace's blog, a girl on my Thailand team, so you could read her hilarious accounts of our trip. You can (and should) still read those entries on her blog, but now perhaps you can keep in her prayer as well as she has been admitted to the hospital with a large tumor in her chest. Her sister is writing updates on her (Grace's) blog, "frogg files."

~My last point about snow in Thessaloniki this weekend seems a little trivial after that...

Love me some Thai food!

I didn't ever mention our Thai cooking class here. Or, I mentioned it, but never demonstrated it pictorally. On the blog, at least.

We had some amazing food in Thailand, from the pineapple & shrimp curry at Cabbages and Condoms to the yummy dessert pastry things in the food courts and street stands. And the mango & sticky rice dish! Oh my. I must admit I had Mexican food three times. And it was good. I was trying to load up, since I haven't really found any in Athens yet.

I think the cooking class was one of the highlights. Essentially we cooked and ate for four hours straight. :) Our instructor first took us to the market, where we bought all our meat, coconut, vegetables, etc.

We set to work washing the veggies, cutting up the meat, beheading the shrimp and pulling the guts out (so disgusting).

His set-up was great; in one room we made our coconut milk, in another we prepared each dish (pictured below), and in a third we ate!

Out on the balcony were all the stoves where we finally put all the ingredients together to cook it.We made: 1. Tom Yum Gung (spicy shrimp) Soup; 2. Laab Gai ("Northern Chicken Salad") with sticky rice; 3. possibly the best Phad Thai I've ever had (I don't usually like it!), 4. Green curry with chicken.Grinding up the green curry paste was quite a task; we all took turns.

And for dessert, Tub Tim Grob, or "Rubies in Coconut Milk," made from water chestnuts soaked in fruit punch, rolled in tapioca powder, then soaked in hot water. The result is like a chewy jelly candy thing, which is then put in coconut milk.

We had a great time and were very full afterward! :)

If you ever do find yourself in Bangkok, look up this cooking school. The guy is really great & explanatory and the menu changes daily. He also gives you a little recipe book with what you made. Yummmm!

No running, no cycling, no stairs, no kneeling, no no no.

Allow me to translate for you what I heard as the doctor spoke these words to me yesterday: DOOM!

First of all, do not ask me why I had a doctor's appointment on Sunday afternoon. For the same reason that Voula's sister had a doctor's appointment at midnight a few weeks back. It's Greece.

I was happy though to meet with this specialist as a second opinion. He is a friend of Pepie's cousin, and as Pepie was also having knee troubles, he agreed to see us - and he didn't charge us. A little blessing in itself!

This doc studied my x-ray and found some issues with my kneecap, as the other one did, but pronounced a more detailed problem and treatment. I am young enough that the eroded cartilage should mold back into position with proper rest and exercises (muscle strengthening to make my kneecap work properly), without surgery. But this entails doing basically nothing that involves bending my knee. Try doing that for even an hour!

The anti-inflammatories that the other doctor gave me have helped the pain subside for the most part (why can't I take these forever?), and today I went to the gym to do some of the isometric exercises. The words "lifestyle change" have definitely been sitting heavily in my thoughts the past two days. I should be able to have normal function in my knees again, but things like running would only continue to aggravate it. There is a pool very close by that I will be joining when I get back from Thessaloniki. I don't love swimming. But I'm going to learn to like it!!! (I'm still holding out for mountain biking in the future!)

Goodbye to my running days, triathlons, etc. Wow. It's kind of a big deal for me! :(

Phnom Penh, part 2

It is clear that the city of Phnom Penh is still recovering from the loss of so many lives under the Khmer Rouge Regime and from the lasting blow to its economy. As a result, the streets don't seem as crowded as they do in other big cities, and the population is noticeably poorer. Tuk-tuk drivers and motorbike "taxis" aggressively pursued me, and once delivering me to my destination, they would often insist on waiting for me in the hope of a return trip - which I soon realized may be one of their only chances for business for the day with tourism having taken a recent downturn. (This picture was an accident, but hey, it shows my view for a better part of the day)...I felt slightly out of place here as a female tourist traveling on my own; at one point I walked down a road toward a temple I could see in the distance and quickly noticed I was the only female in sight. Worse, there were monks everywhere, and they, along with the other men, were accutely interested in my activities (which only happened to include walking down the street). I saw monk robes hanging in doorways, drying from recent laundering, and hordes of monks congregating all down the street. I finally saw one old lady, a vendor trying to sell her product to a few men who were busy avoiding being struck by a group of teenage boys playing with a hackey sack. However, I decided the temple wasn't worth it the weirdness I was feeling; I've seen plenty of temples on this trip! So I turned back.

As I was exiting the street, a young monk caught up with me and started talking. Is that allowed? In Bangkok we were told repeatedly don't touch the monks, they can't touch women. I guess I assumed that meant they wouldn't be talking to us either. :) But he wanted to try out his English and be seen talking to me in front of his friends, who were waiting down the street in a tuk-tuk, grinning at him. I had to laugh.
I was also intrigued that they use US dollars as their currency; all prices are listed in USD and my familiar green bills came shooting out of the ATM. In fact, when I arrived, I had to change my Euros into dollars. I don't even know what their actual currency is called; I only saw it when my change was less than a dollar. Rather than use coins, they give you thousands of their Riel (I just looked it up); one dollar is around 4200 Riel.

My hotel was great - minus the 15 mosquitoes I killed in my room upon arrival and also the power outage in the morning - and I had the best night's sleep there on the whole trip. It's only too bad I didn't have more time to enjoy it:

Walked down near the river and around the city a bit...I didn't take too many photos here, but this was priceless...

Why not have an aerobics class in the park? I also saw one in a large u-turn lane on a busy boulevard. What fumes?

Two days in Phnom Penh (part 1)

So, early Monday morning I flew from Bangkok to Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital and largest city. Phnom Penh is a city that is very much shaped by its relatively recent history. There is a lot of great architecture, with French colonial influence and traditional Buddhist palaces, and the people were very warm, but it is still recovering (along with the whole country) from the brutal policies of the Khmer Rouge regime that ruled Cambodia for four years starting in 1975.

In April of 1975, Communist Party leader Pol Pot implemented a radical scheme to turn the country into an agrarian collective, leaving the cities mostly empty from forced relocations, imprisonment, and executions. The entire population of Phnom Penh was ordered to leave the city and take on new lives as working peasants in the countryside. Under Pol Pot's directive, the Khmer Rouge tortured and executed nearly all educated people, including teachers, doctors, writers, and their entire families. Many more Cambodians died due to malnutrition or starvation. By the end of the Khmer Rouge's four-year rule, between two and four million Cambodians lost their lives.
I visited the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, a former school that was used as a Khmer Rouge prison. It is quite a heavy place, as you can imagine; it still houses torture devices and extensive blood stains remain all over the place. Room after room of photos depict victims before and after their torture and death. There are mugshots of each victim that were taken before (or sometimes after) their execution: men, women with their babies in their arms, young children.
I didn't have time to go out to the killing fields, but saw a video and many photos of the mass graves, skulls, and a memorial monument. It is really a horrific and terribly sad place. You can feel the weight of what took place as you walk through the buildings. It's a sobering way to spend an afternoon, but I think it's important; there are so many things that we hear little about in the west because it doesn't affect us financially. Yet you can't be in Cambodia without facing the reality of what took place - it affects every level of society.

I didn't particularly enjoy my time in Phnom Penh. I don't think it was Phnom Penh's fault; traveling alone finally got to me, I think. I saw what I wanted to see, but I didn't feel 100% comfortable being there on my own. Also, it could have been the heaviness and overall feel of the city. Anyway, I was sure glad when that taxi came to take me to the airport, kind of...

oh, the goodness

You know the canned pumpkin I bought in Bangkok? (Had to go all the way to Thailand for canned pumpkin and chocolate chips!?) Anyway, it's gone now. I made pumpkin chocolate chip muffins and bread tonight. For some reason I have really enjoyed baking since moving here; funny since I can't get half the ingredients I need. Bake it, and give it away.

Please ignore the half-muffin in the bottom of the picture. ;)

Adventures in Greek Health Care

I am not finished with Thailand/Cambodia posts, but I need to take this brief time-out to discuss the ongoing saga of my knee, culminating in today's highly emotional Greek public hospital visit. Over the last week my knee has grown steadily worse; occasionally too painful to walk, and regularly now I am reduced to a very becoming hobble. Can't put too much weight on it, must avoid stairs, can't walk far enough to get to the subway to even go anywhere. I'm pretty much a cripple.

I thought I was prepared mentally for the craziness that is public health care; my appointment this morning cost 3 euros and the x-ray was just 4.50 euros, so you might imagine the clientele attracted by this hospital. I prepared myself for lots of waiting and prayed for an English-speaking doctor.

Side note: I get this tinge of anxiety deep down when I sense something might not go as it should or I may not be able to figure something out (happens occasionally when overseas on your own). I got this little tinge as I entered the hospital this morning after Lydia dropped me off; loud swarms of people everywhere, crutches, casts, every ailment imaginable. The receptionist (is it still called that when it's a man?) spoke English so that put me at ease, and he pointed me to the door of the orthopedic surgeon. There were about 15 people surrounding the door, looking as though they were ready to tear it down and ambush the poor doctor and his assistant inside. Every time the door opened, us new arrivals had to hand them our form and then wait, while those who had been waiting longer tried to push their way inside and the assistant struggled to close the door against them.

When my name was called only a few minutes later (to the great consternation of those still waiting) I went inside, and after discovering that my knowledge of Greek can only get me about 2.4 seconds into a conversation, they told me to wait and found a doctor who spoke English very well. Thank you God. He examined my knee and told me I had to go get an x-ray; I have osteo-mumblemumble (something in Greek), and it's very bad, made worse by standing and walking.

Here is where the fun really began, and I'm sorry I am incapable of telling a short story; the doctor pointed across the street to another part of the hospital, told me to show this paper to the secretary, get an x-ray, and bring it back to him. Simple enough. I took the paper, hobbled my way across the street, and was greeted by even louder and larger throngs of people in the entry way, 7 possible windows to approach, and no semblance of a line anywhere. After showing my paper at three of the windows and staring at them blankly as they released a stream of Greek in my general direction, I felt that tinge start to become stronger, and an uncontrollable wave of every emotion I've felt since moving across the world by myself two months ago, my dissatisfaction at not knowing the language yet, the frustration of being totally incapacitated by my knee since arriving, and every other possible thing I could feel began to bubble over. There I was, standing in the middle of all these people, helpless and confused, and I started crying. So awesome.

At the 4th window I blubbered something about needing help and not knowing what I was doing, and the lady said, "need appointment. Downstairs." I bawled my way all the way downstairs, which looked like deserted storage areas and a construction zone, finally found a window, where the lady took my paper and wrote "12:50 19/2/09" on the back. I was pretty sure I was supposed to have this x-ray done before February 19, since the doctor across the street was waiting, but I had no way of communicating that, and this woman didn't speak english either. Pretty much I found myself a bench as removed from everyone as possible, sat down, and promptly lost it.

A little later and still doing that deep heaving thing that little kids do after they just had a major melt-down, I was out on the street. This poor old man (not to mention everyone else who passed by) kept looking over at me as I tried to get myself together. I called Lydia and barely was able to explain what was going on and she said she'd come. With three kids and tons of stuff to do, she had only been able to drop me off earlier. Around this hospital there is no parking; the streets are tiny, people park on sidewalks and next to other cars in the middle of the street and police write tickets all over the place. Both Lydia and I were praying fervently for a parking spot for her as she came, and she found one immediately. Unheard of. She found me, took over, and 10 minutes later I had my x-ray and was back across the street looking at it with the doctor.

So, as you can see, my cartilage has eroded and my kneecap is grinding on my bone, there (you get to keep your x-rays here, isn't that exciting). He gave me anti-inflammatories to take for 7-10 days while resting my knee. If it doesn't get better, surgery might be necessary. This is like what happens to you when you're 60. Not 29. I can't deal with this here; I have to be able to walk. I've given up on running, which is depressing, but walking is kind of a necessity. I already feel so dependent on everyone around me. So frustrating. :(

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(We will now resume regularly scheduled blogging.)

Pattaya

Last Thursday we took a day trip to Pattaya, about an hour and a half away from Bangkok. Pattaya was once just a small fishing village with about 100 families, but after the Vietnam War it became the official "R & R" center for American armed forces. It is still home to many war veterans, a popular retirement spot. With the expats and the tourist boom that followed, the number of shops, bars, hotels, etc. increased to meet the demand. Also came the hostess bars and brothel/bars...and now Pattaya is known for its sex industry. An estimated 20,000 girls and women in Pattaya are involved in prostitution. Sadly, many of the bars and brothels throughout Thailand are owned and operated by these vets!

The beach, "Walking Street," and the street along the beach (we hung out at Starbucks watching the sunset; after dark, the area takes on a whole new persona: red light district) ...
The transformation of the Walking Street:
During the day, we visted Tamar Ministries. They have a three month training program for girls and train them to work in their hair salon, bakery, coffee shop, or cardmaking business. Like Night Light they also offer discipleship classes and counseling. The coffee shop: Bakery:On the walking street that night, we saw this table set out with a meal on it. This was an offering meal to a spirit. The red drink indicates that it is for a "kumantong" - an aborted fetus spirit. They believe these "babies" are still with them, and they take care of them as though they were living babies. Some people can physically see these spirits as babies walking or crawling around in the room. Just one of the many spiritual beliefs and strongholds present in this culture.