Our Family Visits the Philippines

Last August, Michaelle's sister Joce and 3 nephews,

Kader 16, Kiegen 14, and Reiner 12

came for a visit.

Our first stop was Corrigedor,

where American and Filipino soldiers
fought side by side

against the Japanese during World War II.

A few days later,

Becca arrived to show her cousins around

the country of her birth.

Then we headed for Villa Escadero,

where we enjoyed the music and cultural dances.

When Filipino food, like this dried fish,

was difficult for the guys to swallow,

Jiffy Peanut butter became a welcomed treat.

On Sunday at house church,

Becca was Aunt Joce and Kader's interpreter.

When Becca gave her testimony,

folks asked us,

"Why does she speak better Tagalog than you do?"

Riding the carabao was Reiner's favorite activity.

The guys wanted to take one home with them.

Kiegen and Becca enjoyed a cousin chat

at Cagsawa Ruins next to Mt. Mayon.

By the way,

Cagsawa is a great place to buy a hammock.
When we hiked to the village of Mampili,

the guys saw poverty up close,

but that didn't stop them from playing with the boys.

Becca and Aunt Joce joined the Bible study.

Afterwards, we rounded up the group for a picture.

Their visit ended with a few days on the beach,

where this little boy and Kiegen became fast friends.

At Christmas, Matt and Rachel came for a visit.Rachel remembered drinking soda out of plastic bags

and wanted Matt to try one too.Matt went with Terry to the market

where they bought vegetables, of course.

December 23rd was our annual Children's Christmas party

with more than 100 neighborhood children.

The color of the children's name tags

divided them into 3 groups.

The first group enjoyed traditional party food

of spaghetti, hot dogs and marshmellows on a stick,

a cheese spread sandwich, and juice.

Matt and Rachel played games with the second group.The third group listened

to Lolo Terry tell the Christmas story.

(Lolo means grandpa,

a term of respect that lets us know

we have grown older in the Philippines.)

The final event was a water balloon toss.

Great fun on a warm day!

On Christmas Day,

we hiked to a church in the middle of nowhere.

As you can see by Terry's pants,

the hike was a muddy one.

This is where Matt and Rachel

showered gifts on their godchild and her big sister.

At house church on Sunday,

Matt played the guitar

and sang "Mighty is our God".

Lola (grandma) Michaelle taught the children,

and Rachel played games with them.

Just before returning home,

Rachel wanted to visit Ate (big sister) Juls,

a former helper who is like family to us.

Go Forth Cam Sur Mission Team

Meet the Go Forth Cam Sur Mission Team,

students from Manila on semester break.They arrived at out house in Bicol at 1:45 am

after taking a 10-hour bus trip from Manila.

After a few hours sleep,

the week began with breakfast.

Nat was the chief cook...

...with Rhea and Ara as her able assistants.Erick followed the team's guide

for devotional times and spiritual growth.

Out back were supplies

for taking baths and washing clothes.Preparations were made for the week's assignments.

Ara practiced a Gospel Presentation with Rhea.

Monmon and Mikey prepared songs for the children.

On the way to the village of Salvacion,

members of the nearest church joined the team.

They knew the people and their heart language.

Whenever people used the Buhi language,

they interpretted what was said into Tagalog.

The people of Salvacion live next to Lake Buhi.

This lake provided a living for local fishermen

and a rich food source for many Bicol towns.

Sadly, the fish were recently killed by sulfur,

which leaked into the lake from a nearby volcano.

First stop was a courtesy visit with the village captain.

The team then divided into three groups

each going into 2 zones of the village.

The first group rode on motorcycles into zones 5 and 6.Nat was able to share the Gospel

and Bible stories with Argen and Devine.A second group hiked to find hidden houses

along the mountain side.

Ara with her group were able to share the Gospel

and tell Bible stories to Rachel and her family.

When rain came unexpectedly,

banana leaves worked well as umbrellas.

Terry went with Ken, the team leader, into zones 1 and 2.

They first visited Sonny and his family.

Sonny's wife Rose was about to give birth to their first child.

They prayed for a save delievery.

But sadly, the baby died during delivery.

Relatives built a small casket for the baby.

After visiting Sonny, Terry and Ken moved on

to find the San Andres family,

who were interested in Bible study. Every night, this extended family

gathered at their grandfather's house

to hear and discuss a Bible story.

After school,

Ara gathered the children for games.

The team brought footballs,

which the children had never seen before.

When the children were asked what it was,

they answered, "A papaya!"

As you can see, a football has a similar shape to a papaya,

a common tropical fruit here.

Monmon taught the boys to play football Filipino style.

Using a football, they played the Filipino game 'Patentero'.

The boys never tired of the game.

The games continued until it became too dark to see.

By then more than 100 children had gathered.

The perfect time for Monmon to tell a story

and introduce the children to Buknoy, the puppet.Buknoy became a favorite with the children.

In the evening, the team bought balot from Manay Vicky.

CJ enjoyed eating this Filipino delicacy.
A balot is a fertilized duck egg.
Yumyum!

At the end of the day, the team joined a group of men,

singing songs and joking around.
The men are not sure what to make

of these energetic youngpeople.

Each night after leaving the village,
we ate supper at a toro-toro, meaning point-point.
We pointed at the food we wanted to eat, ...

...And the food was brought to the table for us to enjoy.

At the end of the week before the team returned to Manila,
plans were already being made for the next time they come to Bicol.