Home Away From Home

“Hurray! Now we can unpack and relax in our own home away from home.” Every one of us breathed a sigh of satisfaction as we moved into our apartment on Thursday. Living in the business hotel was a special treat for us, but after ten days all of us were ready to completely unpack and settle in.:-) Because our apartment was not yet vacant when we arrived to Manila, we had to stay at the hotel until a three-bedroom apartment opened up. Although it was a long hotel stay, we enjoyed every moment! So for the next five or six months, the Ascott apartments will be our home.


Instead of living on the 1st, 6th, or even the 10th floor, we live on the roof of the Ascott apartments! Well…almost. Our home is on the 26th level (the top floor), so we get a full view of Manila. Some of us (names will be kept anonymous to protect the innocent:->) are still trying to build up enough courage to walk over and peek out the windows. From our windows, we can see everything from mountains in the distance, houses peeking over the sporadic treetops, numerous skyscrapers, the evening sunset, and....Manila’s thick pollution.


Now that we have moved in, we are able to spend more time with the rest of the seven families from Texas Instruments. Because we live closer to them now, we can do more with the families such as shop together, swim with the kids, and visit with each other. Having other families with us makes the culture adjustment a lot easier. Each family is having their own culture adjustments as they change their lifestyles and prepare for new adventures that God has for them here in the Philippines.