First Day on the Job

We've been here since about the middle of January, about three months. We've seen and done a lot of things since we moved. Most of what we've been posting here has been funny little stories or cultural situations that we have found ourselves in and somehow connected to our spiritual walk with God.
So at some point, some of the 40 or so people who read this blog (that's right, I know) may start to wonder just why are we here, and what are we doing, what are we supposed to be doing?*
Well, wonder no longer! The weather allowed me and my national partner, Rudy to make a trip out to Dinagat a couple of weeks ago, our first such work trip. We were supposed to meet at a mall at 5 am to get to the bus terminal to get to a city called Surigao City, about three and a half to four hours away. We were on a time crunch because the ONLY ferry that went to where we were going on Dinagat that day left at noon. Well, I missed my alarm and woke up to Hollie saying "Jeff, the sun's up", then speed walking to the mall to meet my very patient partner, we set of to the terminal and got on the cheap bus, without AC.
The buses are interesting, much like the city multicabs, they pick up whoever flags them and fills up the bus way more that it needs to be...
At one point, while most people on the bus were trying to take a nap, we were at another terminal getting yet more passengers when blaring rock music poured onto the bus and a semi blind man walked on singing and begging for money.
A few hours later this guy brought four or five roosters on the bus in woven bags to keep them calm.
Not much else to say about that.
We finally made it to Surigao and got a motorbike to carry us to the pier and made it onto the right ferry with a few minutes to settle in and get some water (we had missed breakfast and lunch by this point and had nothing to drink) before the ferry left for Tubajon.
We made it safely and walked to short walk to the church where we would be staying.
After some kape and pan (coffee and bread) we got to work meeting with the Pastor. We spent that afternoon and all next day seeing how we can help him and his church with the vision God has given them to do evangelism all over Dinagat.
We also spent some time taking about plans for the upcoming mission trip this summer and we were able to do some surveying of Tubajon for future work.
While we were there we got to participate in a cottage prayer meeting, where​ we learned that two new families started going to that church because of work that SRC was apart of, and so that's really cool to see that fruit.
We sang hymns in Cebuano and had a lami kaayo (very delicious) soup-like dessert made with sweet potato and banana. I got a chance to try my Cebuano out and overall it was an awesome experience with other believers.
That night we settled in for a brief rest because we had to be up at three to catch the ferry back to Surigao. This time we sat at the very back of the bus where we learned what "whip lash" really means while eight people sat in the space of four seats.
After arriving at the bus terminal cramped and somehow sunburned I had another multicab and a tryke to get me home. Then a good cold shower and spending time with my family. Aahhh
Overall it was a really good trip, where we learned some of the challenges that await us on Dinagat while getting a chance for fellowship and planning.
I can't wait to go back in May, when their Church anniversary is with all of the Rathbuns, that will really be an adventure.

*I would like to say that our main focus right now is language study. That is our job now, taking up 15+ hours a week, and if/when we don't treat is as such then we run the risk of not pushing ourselves and falling behind in class.

Need Bread to Live

During language class, Jeff and I try to find mnemonic devises to help us remember the Cebuano vocabulary that we are learning. Jeff came up with a really clever one for the Cebuano word for rice. The word is kanon. Now, if you are speaking Biblical Greek, kanon doesn't mean rice. It means "a rule." So, how does knowing the definition in Greek help and what is the mnemonic device? In Filipino culture, it is basically a rule that you have to have kanon, or rice, at every meal. Rice is so essential that here in the Philippines it is eaten at every meal, without fail.

And now you get to learn a little about me. Rice is to the Filipino culture, what bread is to me. Bread is essential. What's a meal without bread? I have memories revolving entirely around bread. I've been known to dream about bread. I may or may not have cried tears of joy and awe when I first experienced Central Market, simply because of the freshly baked breads. It's not just eating bread that I love. I love baking bread. I love smelling it while it bakes. I love cutting into it too early, while it is still supposed to be cooling and seeing the steam burst forth the moment the knife breaks through the crust. I love schmearing it with butter and drizzling it with honey. I could go on, but I'll spare you from feeling like you are intruding on a private moment.

Anyways, you can imagine my sinking heart when I walked into our house here in the Philippines for the first time, and realized we have no oven. No oven, no baking. No baking, no bread...at least not the type of bread that I know and love. Forget culture shock! Life without bread is like life without smiles. And life where the only option is a sweet, slightly rubbery bread impostor is like life with only fake smiles. Okay, okay...maybe I am over-exaggerating. Lots of people in the States live without bread and (somehow) they are doing just fine. But when your life is being shaken about and then turned upside down like a cup of Yahtzee dice, sometimes having that one familiar comfort from home is the difference between a good and bad transition. And for me, it seems, bread has fallen into the category of familiar comforts that I am having a hard time living without.

But no longer! After 3 months, thanks to sweet friends who sent us some money with specific instructions on what to spend it on, we finally have an oven. Granted, it is a glorified toaster over, but it is an oven all the same. So I whipped up a sourdough starter and made my first two loaves of bread here in the Philippines. I cut into it too early, while it was supposed to be cooling and watched the steam escape as the knife broke through the crust. The girls and I had toast and jam for breakfast, peanut butter sandwiches on homemade bread for lunch, and each had a slice of bread with our dinner that day. (Jeff would have joined in, but he was out of town.) It was a very welcome day full of familiar foods and everyone went to bed feeling thankful.

A Bar of Soap

A friend of mine sent me a bar of soap in the mail and I have found myself treasuring it, saving it for a special occasion. That may seem silly, considering that we are not without soap here in the Philippines. Why is it that this little gift, this little bar of soap, holds such value to me?

Imagine for a moment, that you are spending the day without air conditioning. It's hot, and the sun beats down on you as you walk to the highway to catch a multi-cab to the market. In the multi-cab you sit on a bench squished between several other sweaty bodies, all on their way to and from different places. You sweat and think about how you need to drink more water. Then when you get the the market, you get out of the multi-cab. The traffic passing you on the street kicks up dust that surrounds you and clings to your sweaty legs. You walk through the market, checking fruits and veggies for ripeness before you buy them. With each thing you touch, your hands get a little more dirty. By the time you are done shopping, your bag is heavy with produce for the week, and the extra weight is enough to make you sweat a little more than you already were. On your way to catch a multi-cab home, you notice that the sun has been hidden behind dark clouds, and you feel the first drops of what will be a heavy rain shower. Thankfully, theres a multi-cab close by, because you forgot your umbrella at home. As the multi-cab makes it's way down the highway, the back of your head gets sprayed by the rain coming in through the windows, and you can feel it dripping through your hair, down your neck and soaking the back of your shirt. At your stop, you jump out of the multi-cab and catch a motor-tryk as quickly as your burden of vegetables will allow. In your haste, you walk through a muddy puddle that is twice as deep as it appeared, drenching your shoes. And then you finally make it home, hot, sweaty, wind-blown, and completely dirty. Nothing would feel better right at this moment, than going upstairs and taking a nice hot shower. So that's your plan. You go up stairs to the bathroom. As you are peeling off your wet clothes, you see a new trail of red biting ants crawling down one wall and across the floor. You don't know what they are after, but you know you want to avoid them at all cost. You stand in your giant plastic bucket that you use to catch shower water so that it can be recycled for flushing the toilet and turn the shower nozzle. Water barely trickles from the spout. It's not a pleasant realization. There is no water. And just like that, your perspective shifts. You know that your hope and joy should be found in Christ, but right at that moment you have to work extra hard to feel thankful.

In an alternate ending to the day, you go upstairs, stand in your bucket, turn the nozzle and cool clear water runs over your hair and body. And with a simple bar of soap you are able to wash away not only the dirt and sweat, but somehow even the heaviness of the day comes away. It all gets rinsed off, running down into the bucket of now dirty water at your feet. You come away from your shower feeling fresh and new and like you are ready to take on all of the other hard things that come along with living in the Philippines. You thank God for the opportunity to be here. You thank Him for the ability to learn the language enough to go the market and buy what you need without a translator. You thank Him for the transportation that got you home so that you didn't have to carry your giant bag of produce on your tired shoulders the whole way. And you thank God for the water and the soap, little blessings that might seem so mundane in another world.