3 Gifts for Anabel

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This weekend we had the opportunity to visit the village of Anabel. This small village has a unique setting with a memorable bridge.

When we arrived at the village, we looked for Kindel who had arranged for our visit. Kindel is a former SSM student who then completed the Tribal DTS and just completed staffing the Family DTS in Baguio. We found her sorting through coffee beans.

Adriana and Kindel sorting through coffee beans

Coffee beans growing on the tree

When she was done with the coffee, Kindel took us for a walk around the village.

There is always a hill to climb

We did not play any basketball, but I thought the goal was worth a photo.

Basketball anyone?

As with every village in the region, Anabel is an agricultural community. You can not walk too far without passing pigs and chickens. In the photo below, the pig that had been standing with the rooster has matching coloring but was too shy for the photo.

Below is Agnes who has always been so kind to open her home to us when we stay in Anabel.

Agnes giving a lesson on weaving banana leaves into a packet to hold sticky rice

Going to the villages is always a great time to practice our Ilocano with new friends and old.

Paulina was threshing the rice she recently finished pounding in the mortar on which the basket is sitting

It was decided that we would install a solar bottle-light in Paulina's house. The room in which we were to install the light was completely dark if the window and door were closed, and there was no electrical lighting in the room.

Saturday evening, Pastor Marlon and others gathered to see how the solar bottle-light was prepared and to see the rocket stove I had brought.

Preparing the solar bottle-light which would be installed in Paulina's home the next day

I could see there were many people crowded into Agnes's house, but because I was busy, I did not notice how many people were also outside of the house.

I described the construction and use of the rocket stove, but most of my attention was given to preparing the bottle-light for installation. As the pastor and I worked on that, the ladies investigated the rocket stove. It was not long before they had it outside, boiling water in a tea pot.

Adriana, Kindel, and Jacqueline looking over the rocket stove

In the morning, Arthur came over from next door and asked if he could use the rocket stove.

I had expected the bottle-light to be of most interest to people, but it was obvious that people could see immediate benefits to the rocket stove. Behind Rudy, the man in the black shirt, you can see the dirty kitchen at Arthur's house. Most homes in Anabel use dirty kitchens (referred to as dirty because of the soot build-up from the open cooking fire) because LP for gas stoves is expensive and heavy to carry from the jeepney, across the bridge, through the rice fields, and up the hill to the village. The rocket stove is helpful because it creates less smoke and uses much less wood than an open fire.

When I went next door to talk with Arthur, his neighbor brought over a large can and asked if I could make her a rocket stove using the large can in the picture below. Rudy and I cut and fitted as people brought the cans we asked for.

I had not made one this size before, but it seemed to work well. Instead of using ash to insulate the chimney, we tried a 50/50 mix of clay and rice hulls. I hope to hear which works better so I can teach the best technique as I introduce the rocket stove to other communities.

The title of this post refers to 3 gifts for Anabel. The first two, the solar bottle-light and the rocket stove, will hopefully make things a little easier for their daily living. The last gift has a much more important and lasting goal. The Proclaimer the YWAM Salem CDTS team brought did not work, so when they returned to the US, they got a replacement and sent it to us. After presenting a teaching about God's story of redemption through an overview of the Bible, we used the Proclaimer to listen to the climax of the story, the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. We then had the honor of presenting the Proclaimer to the people of Anabel. We pray the gift of God's word will transform lives for eternity.

Listening to the crucifixion and resurrection in Ilocano using the Proclaimer

Presenting the Proclaimer to Pastor Marlon

After I taught Pastor Marlon to use the Proclaimer's controls, he brought together some of the leaders within the congregation and taught them.

Pastor Marlon and church leaders

After church, we met Pastor Marlon at Paulina's house for the solar bottle-light installation.

Paulina's house

While we installed the bottle-light, Alayna read to the children from the translation of the Read Aloud Bible Stories we have been working on.

Alayna reading a translation of a children's Bible story book

The installation went well with the exception of the nails we used to anchor it in place, Pastor and I both bent a couple. The wood was hard as rock, having been baked beneath the galvanized roofing for so many years. Of course it was hot on the roof, but my biggest concern was making sure I was only putting my weight on the supported portion of the roof. A wrong step would have put a much larger hole that intended in Paulina's roof.

Paulina and Thomas with her new light

"Yesterday before that one was installed it was very dark." ~Paulina

Before we left to catch the jeepney, we were invited to pray with Manuela for her daughter in Baguio recovering from surgery.

Lisa, Manuela, and Adriana

We thought we would leave then, but were told there was a while before the jeepney would arrive and there was another request for a rocket stove. So Pastor Marlon and I made another, working until someone said it was time for us hike back to catch the jeepney.

However, our timing was a little off and the jeepney had already left. Plan B - hike up to the road and catch a ride with a passing jeepney, bus, or vegetable truck. From Anabel to the road is about 1.5 kilometers in length and about 400 feet up. We were all glad to have some sugar cane to snack on as we waited especially since our store of water for the weekend was basically depleted.

Alayna and Annalise enjoying sugar cane

After an hour, we began to doubt that Plan B was going to work out. A resident from Anabel who was also waiting for a ride suggested our best plan, Plan C, was to hike to the next village, Tocucan, another 5.5 kilometers. Fortunately, Jerry was gracious and offered to carry one of our large duffel bags with our bedding.

Jerry leading the pack on the hike to Tocucan

It was well after dark when we arrived in Tocucan. In the 2 hours it took us to hike to Tocucan, no large vehicles had passed us, only a few motorcycles. One of these motorcycles was driven by our friend Steve on his return from pastoring in the village of Saclit. He offered to take Annalise to Bontoc and wait for us there. In Tocucan, Jerry made arrangements for a trike to take the rest of us to Bontoc. It would take two trips. Not long after Lisa, Alexie, and Alayna left, another friend showed up. Steve and Annalise had arrived at Pastor Rudy's house in Bontoc and he took his truck to fetch us. Pastor Rudy had stopped the trike the girls were in and they were in the truck when he came to get Adriana and me.

Finally, we made it home. It was a good weekend which will be memorable for many reasons.

Grace,

Thomas

Anabel - October 22-23

On the way to Anabel is a sign which indicates the general religious outlook of the nation. This is a sign along the road, perhaps 12 feet high. It looks very familiar, but if you look closely, you may find something missing.

This road is the same as the one to Sadanga. We are thankful that the road is open, but when you look up, you often see large boulders suspended precariously above you. (Please don't break down here...)

Looking up from the top of the jeepney

From inside the jeepney, most people don't have view of what is above them. Even the people riding on the outside of the jeepney are usually looking the other way - at the often very narrow strip of soil between the wheels of the jeepney and the steep drop down the mountain. The video below gives you an idea of what that sometimes looks like.

Anabel has a very picturesque setting.  The village sits on a hill in the middle of a bowl shaped valley.  On one side, the Chico River runs down from Bontoc and continues winding through the valley and on to Kalinga Province.  Wrapping around the other sides, are the many rice fields and terraces which are so familiar to anyone traveling in this region.

Anabel, a city on a hill

Once you arrive at the end of the road that leads to Anabel, you need to cross the bridge. This, like the road, prompts prayer in the hearts of many.

But Anabel is a beautiful place.  From the bridge, there is a 15 minute hike through the fields.

I enjoyed getting to spend some time with Jerome and Agnes who have always been so kind as to be our hosts when I have come to Anabel.  Their daughter, Hazel, is not shy and it was not long before we were playing together again.

On our walk through the village to Jerome and Agnes's house, we passed by a gathering of people as they were burning the hair off a pig and preparing to butcher it.  When we arrived, we were told that a thanksgiving feast was being prepared because a family from Anabel had just acquired a tricycle.  We were invited to join the community in celebration of this occasion and to bless the tricycle.

Pork, boiled and chopped

Sonny Boy was quick to try to befriend us.

Large meals in the village are not like going to Grandma's and eating off the good china. Rice is served generously on plates. They may be individual or shared by a few people. Some vegetables or a bowl of broth may accompany it. Then the meat is distributed. Some men carry around a winnowing basket and hand out (literally, as in with their hands) pieces of the cooked pig. I noticed that they were careful to try to distribute the meat and the fat fairly as they went around. According to local tastes, the chunks of fat are the prize pieces. Washing the silverware is as easy as licking your fingers.

After lunch, we hiked back to the road to pray for God's blessing on the tricycle. This is a great opportunity for the young family to have an income.

Dinner preparations were a little different than usual.  Sister Agnes was so concerned because they had not had the opportunity to get their LP tank refilled so I had to cook in the "dirty kitchen".  It was no problem at all, just different.

(On a side note, for lunch the next day I made macaroni and cheese. I obtained hero status with the team, even though it was Lisa's idea. Although it was tempting to take all the credit, I did fess-up and let them know that Lisa saved them from peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.)

After dinner, we went to someone's home for the evening Bible study. We hoped to use the other Proclaimer the team brought and then present it to the church Sunday morning after service. Unfortunately, it failed. Fortunately, someone was able to read the passage from an Ilocano translation of the Bible and the  study went well.

In the morning before church, Alayna and I led the team on a hike around the hill the village sits upon. It is a pretty hike and all of us wanted to stop and go swimming in the river - perhaps next time. But I did get a great photo of Alayna along the way.

During Sunday School, Alayna helped Amy and Trina with the children outside.

Anabel is an incredible place and we look forward to going there again. Maybe we will even be able to present them with a Proclaimer. But at the same time, we were looking forward to being home in Bontoc once again.

Alayna lovin' that Top Load ride

Titus to Anabel

(Now its two weekends ago. A trip to Baguio interrupted the completion of this post.)

This weekend we escorted the Titus Project team to the village of Anabel where they continued to teach people how to study the Bible. Anabel is about an hour away from Bontoc (plus a 20 minute hike from the jeepney). It is a village of about 140 families with nearly all of the homes built on a hill that rises from the river and the surrounding fields.

It may not be made of just rope and boards, but you do feel a little like Indiana Jones when you cross this bridge. It is easy when your steps are in time with the bouncing and swaying, but a little tricky if you get out of synch.

After the bridge you get to hike through the fields before you get to the village.

And hike some more...

The team spent all day Saturday and then Sunday morning teaching at the Anabel Christian Church.

The church building is on the right; the elementary school is on the left.

Leslie giving some historical background as she teaches on Saturday afternoon.

Some of the congregation that attended the Saturday evening session.

Most of the people in Anabel are subsistence farmers, working to feed their own families.

A pineapple in the early stages of its growth.

A farmer working her camote (sweet potato) field.

Camote is grown in long, raised mounds. Both the leaves and the roots are eaten.

The girls enjoyed helping in some of the farming tasks of the family that hosted our group. Annalise enjoyed having the freedom to use a knife as she helped harvest camote (pronounced cam-o-tee). Both our kids and the children of the team got involved and tried to follow in the traditional methods - even how you carry your harvest.

Annalise with some camote leaves.

Elise with a bucket full of camote.

Adriana's camote hairstyle.

Kenna too, joined in the fun/work!

This little one was born a few days later than his siblings so he sleeps in the house at night and is fed with a bottle in the shade of a banana tree during the day.

Annalise and Alayna helped shell beans while waiting for lunch to be prepared.

Of course, no trip to a village is complete without playing with some of the children. There were a lot of kids. It is fun to see how quickly our kids make friends when we go to a new place.

Skipping rope with a stiff piece of rattan.

Hazel's family opened their house to us while we stayed in Anabel.

The kids loved arriving after the rice had been harvested. It gave them a large area to run and play - even teaching the local children how to play Duck, Duck, Goose.

Why? Because it is there...

What can I say?

Our hosts, Jerome and Agnes, opened their home to our team. Lisa, Annalise, and Alayna stayed close and comfy.

Lisa, Annalise, and Alayna slept close and comfy.

Brittnay, Adriana, Alexie, and Leslie slept on the floor outside of the upstairs bedrooms.

Sunday morning, Brittnay preached a message on the armor of God. As in all of their teaching, she used good visual aids and incorporated the local dialect beyond just oral translation.

Brittnay teaching with Nora (an Anabel resident and former SSM and TDTS student) translating.

While the adults were hearing a Sunday School lesson inside, Victor was teaching the children outside. When I went out to see how things were going, I saw that one child was killing him and chopping off his head. David and Goliath was a great story to act out with this tall Canadian and a young Filipino boy.

Victor and the kids talking about what was learned after acting out the story of David and Goliath.

Adriana enjoying the view from top-load on the jeepney ride home.