Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Sorry for the delay. I was sick in bed all day Monday. Please continue to pray for our team as sickness is prevalent. Currently, Alexie has a fever and a cough while Adriana has an infected cut on her toe.- Tom

We gathered up our backpacks, having packed light for our next phase of outreach – the village of Caneo. Annalise and Lisa rode next to the driver in their jeepney. Annalise kept saying, “It’s so beautiful!” Thomas sat on top of the jeepney and agreed with Annalise’s assessment. We were blessed to have quality drivers to navigate the rough, rocky, winding road. Amazingly, flowers have been planted several places along the roadside. Many homes have flowers planted no matter how humble the homes may seem to us. The trip was nearly without incident, but within about 200 yards of the turn around 1 backpack fell from the roof and we nearly lost another.

When we arrived, two elderly women greeted us and began carrying our luggage. Annalise insisted on carrying her own backpack. The ladies seemed very concerned about that. Lisa assured them that she was strong and she would be fine. But it was good that Lisa was holding her hand as the path was very narrow and rocky. At one point one of her feet slipped off and down a couple of feet over the ledge.

Pastor Rudy took us to our home for the next 5 days: a room in the upstairs of the church. Two large windows let the light shine in. The room was small, but worked fine for us. At night we took our backpacks out of the room and there was just enough room for our 6 sleeping bags to lie on the floor. Thomas slept with his feet against the door and had to roll up his sleeping bag in order for anyone to enter or leave the room.

Pastor Rudy gave us some information about the village. About half of the 500 residents have gone to Bontoc or Baguio for work. Those here work very hard in the rice fields and harvesting lumber. The rice is used within the village whereas lumber is exported for income. The housewives are known for their expertise in weaving, especially cloth. (We watched Belha weave for a while. It took her a year of watching to learn how. Usually, girls begin to learn at age 12.) Many spend all day weaving to provide much needed income for their families. There is an elementary school, but no local high school. The only running water comes from the river and springs. There is some electricity though. Besides rice terraces, there are other gardens plus banana trees, limes, papayas, and pineapple. There are also the chickens and dogs that we have come to expect but many more pig huts than we have seen elsewhere.

Our team divided into 4 different groups to go on prayer walks around the 4 different parts of the village. Our family walked around the part of the village closest to the church. There was an older woman chopping some greens in front of her door. She had tattoos covering her arms. These represent status within the community.

Our group was asked to present a discipleship seminar beginning our first night in the village. After a time of prayer and waiting on God to direct us, Adriana suggested that we start with a puppet show we have of the parable of the prodigal son then teach on the Father-Heart of God. The Bontoc DTS students who have been preparing our meals agreed to learn the puppet show so there would not be translation issues. (They did a fantastic job of both the lost coin and prodigal son puppet shows!) Then Thomas presented the message.

The wood floor was okay for sleeping, but Thomas had a cough that kept him up much of the night. (As well as anyone else who couldn’t sleep through it.)