We've reached the Philippines!!!!

We have had a very exciting trip so far!

DAY 1-3

We were so touched to have so many people we cared about to see us off. Before we left I asked Emma if there was anything in particular she wanted Chloe to find out about for her, and Emma said, "Umm... I want to know everyshing..." We don't know where to start!

We got to the airport and waited... and waited... and waited. (We were at the airport 6 hours before our plane ever took off...) We ended up checking the bags I had so carefully packed into carry-on size, since delays meant we would be sprinting to catch a plane in LA at 1:30 in the morning hauling three backpacks, the Hagen's computer, and a very sleepy girl! Matt commended me for my foresight in grabbing a couple pair of underwear, swimsuit, and change of clothes before checking them... And it's a good thing, because nearly four days later we still haven't seen them! (That's right... NONE of our suitcases are here or even accounted for... Jen & Steve have been very gracious to try contacting the airport repeatedly, but so far to no avail.)

Once we got on the plane in LA we sat back, caught our breath, and settled in for the 15 hour flight to Hong Kong. Matt and Chloe especially enjoyed the complimentary ramen noodles on the flight ;) We tried our best to sleep. but it was awfully hard! (My hip has been bothering me a lot with all the sitting, so please pray that this will not interfere with our visit and that I will not be too distracted or have headaches, etc., that sometimes result from the consequent back/ neck aches.) We were pretty ready to get off the plane by about 2 hours into it, but Chloe did a great job and we had some fun times with her.

Chloe pointed out the sunrise as soon as it was the least bit noticable... then we watched it progress and then saw the misty mountains and the gorgeous city of Hong Kong unveiled through fluffy white clouds! It was quite an adventure. We also enjoyed a two hour break before getting back on a plane for 2 more hours to Manila.

We stayed at a guest house there. We saw our first spider -- the size of Laney's head!!!! -- and Matt killed a 4" cockroach in the night. Chloe was a little unsure what we'd gotten into! But we were so blessed to be able to meet several of the staff and to spend some time with Steve and Jen's bosses, the Harveys. They were so sweet to not only show us around their company, but also to take us to the Mall of Asia (That's Chloe with her new underwear, since we were running out of clean options!) and to dinner. It is a very interesting city and we enjoyed the Harveys. They got to laugh at us as the jet lag set in! We went to the supermarket for Matt to buy deodorant and Chloe, who had fallen asleep in the car and at dinner, was so tired she appeared drugged. The poor thing was stumbling, bowing her head, and rolling her eyes! A lady in the store actually asked if she was alright. "Well," said Matt, "we haven't really slept in 2 days... And we just flew half way around the world... and we really need deodorant..." Obviously, it was starting to hit him, too!

We got up and left by 5:15 am to board our last flight. We flew in to a gorgeous airport where the Hagens were waiting for us and met them with teary hellos. It is SO exciting to be here with them, to meet the people they work with and experience the culture that surrounds them!