One week ago today...Part 5

The following is taken from my journal of our experience in Tabuk, Kalinga province in the northern Philippines. Here are a few things you'll need to know:

Tabuk - a city in Kalinga province, northern Philippines, a few hours north of Manila

Bugnay - a remote tribal village in the mountains a few hours away from Tabuk

Sagada - a city in Mountain province that attracts international tourists

Achao & Georgia Macad - husband and wife who started a maternity clinic in Tabuk (Achao is from Bugnay)

Crystal Meeks - a midwife who started a maternity clinic in Bugnay, a remote village in the mountains

Sara & Fonda - friends from the clinic in Davao

Sagada to Tabuk

July 11, 2012

We woke up around 5:00am and finished packing all of our clothing and gear. Sara made pancakes and the strawberry preserves we had bought were a great complement to them. So we grabbed all of our stuff and headed down to the multicab. Kuya Ligaya then drove us into town to the jeepneys.

One week ago today...Part 4

The following is taken from my journal of our experience in Tabuk, Kalinga province in the northern Philippines. Here are a few things you'll need to know:

Tabuk - a city in Kalinga province, northern Philippines, a few hours north of Manila

Bugnay - a remote tribal village in the mountains a few hours away from Tabuk

Sagada - a city in Mountain province that attracts international tourists

Achao & Georgia Macad - husband and wife who started a maternity clinic in Tabuk (Achao is from Bugnay)

Crystal Meeks - a midwife who started a maternity clinic in Bugnay, a remote village in the mountains

Sara & Fonda - friends from the clinic in Davao

Sagada – cave and town

July 10, 2012

We woke up in the cool mountain air of Sagada (still about 70°F inside). We made a breakfast of eggs and hot drinks. Around 9:00am we met Kuya Ligaya to take us to Sumaging Cave. We stopped in town to register as foreign tourists and pay a small fee. Then we picked up a guide recommended by the Ligayas. We stopped again so Jayson, our guide, could pick up his supplies, including a large gas lantern, which proved to be much better than using flashlights and headlamps (which we personally had with us).

One week ago today...Part 3

The following is taken from my journal of our experience in Tabuk, Kalinga province in the northern Philippines. Here are a few things you'll need to know:

Tabuk - a city in Kalinga province, northern Philippines, a few hours north of Manila

Bugnay - a remote tribal village in the mountains a few hours away from Tabuk

Sagada - a city in Mountain province that attracts international tourists

Achao & Georgia Macad - husband and wife who started a maternity clinic in Tabuk (Achao is from Bugnay)

Crystal Meeks - a midwife who started a maternity clinic in Bugnay, a remote village in the mountains

Sara & Fonda - friends from the clinic in Davao

To Sagada

July 9, 2012

We were up by 6:00am and finished packing our last few things. We went down and made and ate our breakfast of pancakes. We carried all of our things to the front door to be ready for the jeepney. We visited with a few locals until the jeepney arrived. But it was full! A few more people got on, but there was not enough room for all of us. Sara talked with someone to arrange other transportation.

One week ago today...Part 2

The following is taken from my journal of our experience in Tabuk, Kalinga province in the northern Philippines. Here are a few things you'll need to know:

Tabuk - a city in Kalinga province, northern Philippines, a few hours north of Manila

Bugnay - a remote tribal village in the mountains a few hours away from Tabuk

Sagada - a city in Mountain province that attracts international tourists

Achao & Georgia Macad - husband and wife who started a maternity clinic in Tabuk (Achao is from Bugnay)

Crystal Meeks - a midwife who started a maternity clinic in Bugnay, a remote village in the mountains

Sara & Fonda - friends from the clinic in Davao

Bugnay

July 8, 2012

On Sunday morning we got up about 5:45am. We made coffee and sat outside looking at our pictures from the jeepney ride. The temp outside was 71°F before we received direct sunlight, because of the high mountains. With the sun it quickly climbed above 80°F.

One week ago today...Part 1

The following is taken from my journal of our experience in Tabuk, Kalinga province in the northern Philippines. Here are a few things you'll need to know:

Tabuk - a city in Kalinga province, northern Philippines, a few hours north of Manila

Bugnay - a remote tribal village in the mountains a few hours away from Tabuk

Sagada - a city in Mountain province that attracts international tourists

Achao & Georgia Macad - husband and wife who started a maternity clinic in Tabuk (Achao is from Bugnay)

Crystal Meeks - a midwife who started a maternity clinic in Bugnay, a remote village in the mountains

Sara & Fonda - friends from the clinic in Davao

Trip to Bugnay

July 7, 2012

We woke up around 6:00am and finished our packing, then ate breakfast. Achao then drove us to Bulanao to get a jeepney going to Bugnay. After a little confusion, Sara and Fonda joined us. We all climbed on top of the jeepney, with all of our bags. We had to climb over 3 baskets of chickens! The inside and top were both very full. The top had metal bars to sit on, and a raised metal bar around the edge to help keep you on top.

The Value of Encouragement

I've been meaning to write this all week. Now I've had time to think about and reflect on it. And today I'm finally taking the time to write it.

So what is it? Well, it's a simple story really. And honestly, I won't be doing most of the writing. This post will basically write itself. How will it do that? Well, I'll be using quotes. Not just those quotation marks (imagine a post filled with these """'' """ """" """ """"""). But actual words from local Filipino children. And an adult or two.

Maybe you could say I'm cheating. I don't see it that way. You'll just have to read the entire post to understand. So go ahead. Click on the link to keep reading and find out what these quotes are and how personal they are to me.

Realization of the day

So today I realized something. I'm not a blogger. Maybe I'm just not a writer. Whenever I do think of writing a post, I can't think of anything to write. Even now, I feel like I have nothing to write. And I think the gecko outside my window is laughing at me. At least it sounded like he was laughing. Or something.

I'm distracted. I just wandered into the kitchen looking for something to snack on. Now I'm back and I still don't know what to write about. I remember having this same problem during college whenever I tried writing a research paper. I'd turn the TV on, listen to music or play a game for a distraction. Then go back and try to write some more. Sometimes I wonder how I ever wrote 12-15 page papers.

Well, let's see. What did I do this week? Something there must be interesting. Well, Monday I went to the market to get a few items. While there I came across some of the Rugby boys from our Wednesday night ministry. One of them yelled my name, so I went back to say hi and shake their hands. Most of them had been at the youth camp the other week (which reminds me, I never wrote about that...I'm a terrible blogger). I was only able to communicate a little bit with them. I could tell them what I was doing and where I was going, but I could not respond to whatever it was they said because I had no idea what they said. I was able to ask about Wednesday night, and they said they'd be there. And then I said goodbye because it's rather awkward being a white guy in the middle of these Filipinos in a public market.

Highlight & Lowlight

So I want to tell you about the highlight and the lowlight of my day yesterday.

Highlight:

Walk to the market: Free

Fresh, whole, mature coconut: 20 pesos (≈$0.50)

3 potatoes: 40 pesos (≈$1.00)

8 pieces of bread snacks: 40 pesos (≈$1.00)

6 pinkish-red roses: 120 pesos (≈$3.00, that's right, 50¢ each!)

Pedaled tricycle ride home by a guy who remembers me and knows where I live: 20 pesos (≈$0.50)

A happy wife: Priceless!

Char Lang!

I have a funny story to tell. It's about some stuff I said the other day, all in Visayan. I'll provide the translation in parentheses after the Visayan. So here goes...

Friday night I went to a youth fellowship gathering at a friend's house in Agdao. He works with YWAM and has helped out at the ministries I've been working with. He had asked me if I would share a word of encouragement to the kids. I agreed and went there this past Friday evening, for the first time. I don't think I had met many, if any, of these kids before.

Now that you know the setting, here's the story.

Anniversary Celebration

So last month we celebrated three years of marriage. To celebrate, we took a trip to a resort on Samal Island. We had visited Ilihan Beach Resort, and we decided it would be worth the difficulties of getting there. Overall, it was not very difficult, but it definitely was a new experience for us. And generally speaking, I do not like "new" experiences when I am in charge, yet at the mercy of others (or dependent on them). So it was challenging and stretching, but absolutely worth it!

Interesting Tidbits from Today

Today I ate lunch with some of the volunteers from the Wednesday night ministry. We ate at a Filipino restaurant named Penong's. You can get unlimited rice with many meal options. Today we had barbecue chicken with rice and some kind of soup. You can get a similar meal at several other local restaurants.

The guys took a jeepney to get there while the girls all rode in a car and had arrived first. A few minutes after the guys arrived, four girls got up together and left the table. I thought, "Wow. I guess it's not just American women who go to the bathroom in groups." Now in all fairness, they may have just gone to wash their hands, which is common as many Filipinos are accustomed to eating with their hands. But still, they went in a group. And I'm not saying anything is wrong. I simply noticed that a common practice in the US also occurred here in Davao. What I do not know is if it is common here too, or if today was just a kind of coincidence.

Update

So what's going on? Well, it's late. I'll be awake again in about 6 hours. So I'll keep this brief, but I wanted to write something.

Last week on Wednesday night, I had the opportunity to share. Well, Ezekiel 33:11 had been on my mind for a little bit. And the verses that follow are a very close parallel to Ezekiel 18. So I ended up sharing from chapter 18, about how each person is accountable for his own choices. It was a little difficult, first because someone had to translate for me, but secondly because I was just developing a cold and it was a little hard to speak clearly. But it worked out okay. I tried hard not to let my own words get in the way of anything God wanted to say through His spirit.

And now tomorrow I will be spending the day with some of these boys and leaders at Hagimit Falls. I'll be up early to see Christina off to day shift, and then I'll pack my stuff. I'm looking forward to spending time with these boys, but I fear the whole language barrier thing is going to be a bit of a problem. But I won't let it dampen my spirits. It will be a good day!

Where has time gone?

Wow 7 months into this journey of following the passion God has placed in my hearts~to help pregnant moms birth healthy babies. Valuing the vulnerable and underserved women and babies because they are precious!

(Click on the image to see a closer view)

The above photo mosaic is courtesy of http://bighugelabs.com/. It's free and fun for picture arranging. :)

Not in any specific order I have posted Baby catches #8 through 15. Even though getting to assist the mom as she pushes her little one into the world is crazy thrilling...I still enjoy more the 'ooo and awww' of enjoying the little bundle after they're out. At some point I hope to include short snippets of their birth stories...each one is unique and stand out in their own special way.

Wednesday Evenings

So it's time I tell you what I've been doing on Wednesday evenings. I've connected with a missionary couple also supported through the Second Tunic and I've been going to an outreach Bible study in Agdao, a poor section of the city. There are some other young leaders who volunteer as well. The kids are almost all teenage boys who live in Agdao and are also into sniffing glue. This is where I've been going since early October.

Interesting Experience

So yesterday I had a very interesting experience. Christina and I needed some supplies, so we headed to a local mall. Christina went into the department store looking for supplies for a project she was working on. I went searching for printer ink. First store- out of stock. Second store- out of stock. I walked around looking for other stores that might sell ink. Could not find our brand. An ink store did not have what I needed. So I kept walking, looking for other computer stores. It was at this point that I had my interesting experience.

Church

So I've been meaning to write about the church we have been going to since we've arrived here in Davao. On our first Sunday here, we went to church where the directors of Mercy go. It is called Christ's Commission Fellowship (CCF) and is located in the same plaza as Victoria Mall. So it's about a 15 minute walk for us. Their mission is to make Christ-committed followers who make Christ-committed followers. Simple. To the point. I kind of like it.

What a Week!

So we've had a very interesting week. I'll do my best to keep it somewhat brief, which is hard for me to do whenever I share a story. And this will be several stories. So I'll try to keep them short with just the necessary details. Anyway, here goes, in random order...

Life in Davao

Well, first of all, our internet connection seems to be rather unreliable at present. We've come to the conclusion that it works for about an hour a day. I just now got connected, so I want to type this quickly.

We've been kind of busy the last three weeks. That's right. Three weeks ago today we left Oregon. This Wednesday it will be three full weeks that we've been here in Davao. It actually feels like it's been longer. Christina has been busy with orientation and meetings. She is also spending lots of time in her books. I have been going shopping quite a bit, picking up all the little things we need around here. I've also been doing most of the cooking. I actually enjoy it. We bought a rice cooker, so cooking rice is such a breeze!

EUZ Fundraising Meal - July 11

So on July 11 we had our second fundraiser meal. The menu was basically the same as the first meal, but the location was at my parents' church. We got help from my parents and a few others for preparing the meal and clean up. My parents' Sunday School class provided a large and wide assortment of desserts for the meal. Thanks for that!