Calvary Gospel School of Ministry

January 10, Adriana and I headed to Talubin. I was going as a teacher and Adriana as a temporary student to Calvary Gospel School of Ministry. 

Adriana on the bus to Talubin

Just before our Christmas travels, the pastor who heads the school saw me and invited me to come and teach for a few days.

A view of Talubin from the church

 I began my lecture with a question and then sent the students into the community to ask the same question of people they met. The answers they found provided some of the discussion for our time together.

Janice asking questions for her assignment

In the 3 days, I taught about the church and teaching techniques. In talking about the church, we discussed what it is, its purpose, and why it exists. The teaching techniques focused on teaching oral learners, emphasizing the value of using the stories of the Bible. So often church becomes a place instead of people and teaching becomes more important than learning.

After classes each day we were able to spend casual time with the staff and the students. Adriana talked with the students as they went about their work and even lent a hand where she could.

Here I was teasing Adriana about watching as Geraldine was working.

Gina and Adriana

The students cook all of their meals in the dirty kitchen over an open fire. This task is as much about being together as it is about preparing a meal. With the cool days, sitting near the fire was a comfortable place to gather and talk.

A couple of the students were watching their little sister while we were there. Omeg and I became good friends. We could not talk too much, but since she is only 4 years old, language does not get in the way of play. One of her sisters said that she had not seen Omeg laugh and carry on the way she was with me.

Thomas and Omeg

While we were blessed to make new friends, we also enjoyed seeing a few familiar faces. Adriana was hoping that she would be able to see her friend Cassey while we were in Talubin. Cassey was part of our SSM program for a while, but now lives with her family in Talubin. One of the students took Adriana to Cassey's house for a surprise reunion.

Cassey and Adriana

We had a great time in Talubin. Classes went well and this time there was not as much of a language barrier so conversation was easier as well. Even though we had a great time, it was good to head home to be with the rest of our family.

Grace,
Tom

Calvary Gospel School of Ministry

Continuing with their mission to train God's people to study His Word, I escorted the Titus Project team to the nearby village of Talubin to teach inductive Bible study to the students at the Calvary Gospel School of Ministry. I really enjoyed talking with some of the students who were there when I taught a course there in 2008. In fact, one of the students who was there when I taught is now the pastor at Mount Praise Assembly of God in Sagada.

As the team taught the students how to study using the inductive method, they used Colossians as their text. In order to illustrate a portion of the text which talks about getting rid of the old and putting on the new, Victor went all out. As a surprise to both his teammates and students, we broke out the clippers and got rid of the old - hair. He then clothed himself with a new shirt and continued his lecture. He did need to put on a hat because the lack of hair was a little distracting to the class and himself. But I am sure it is a lecture that will be remembered for a long time.

Victor half-way through his new hair-do

That same evening, we celebrated Victor's 30th birthday with the SSM students at the base.

The finished project - with birthday cake

Batch 2009 - Collegiate Version

Today we joined two of our Student Sponsorship Ministry students in their college graduation. Nora completed her degree in Secondary Education. Donna completed hers in Criminology. This is a significant accomplishment when you consider how many of these students are the first in their family to earn a college degree.

Rather than a lot of text, here are some pictures that summarize our day.

Nora waiting for the ceremony to begin.

Nora and her brother

Nora and her family

Annalise with SSM students, Fe and Donna

Donna with friends and family

Alexie and a friend from her Values Education class

SISTERS: Ruth graduated from high school yesterday, Nora from college today

Lunch with Donna and the other graduates from Talubin.
(They all gathered near the river after graduation before making the trip to the village.)

Celebrating at YWAM Mountain Province with Nora's family and other Student Sponsorship Ministry friends.

Uphill Both Ways

The adventure continues! This morning on my ride to Talubin, my trusty steed got tired. She sputtered, her knees gave out, and she could go no further. The motorcycle would go no further for me. Nor would it start again. But the mountains were beautiful on this sunny morning.

It was only about 200 meters to the "saddle" where you go from being on one side of a mountain going up to the other side of the mountain going down. But it was a steep 200 meters and I knew it would take a very long time to push the bike up the hill. So I moved the bike to the side of the road and began walking. It took about a half an hour to walk the rest of the way. By God's grace, I was not upset or even anxious at this point. (Anxiety came later in the day.)

When I arrived, someone who had a signal on her phone sent a text to the owner of the motorcycle. We did not get a response. I taught the last portion of my class and we were finished by lunch. Still no contact with the owner.

After a nice lunch with the students and staff, one of the students accompanied me. (There was no way they were letting me venture off on my own.) We began walking up to the saddle to see if we could start the bike or at least coast it back down the mountain to Bontoc. Although the morning walk was beautiful, the afternoon walk was under threatening skies with thunderous accompaniment. But we made it to where I had left the motorcycle without it really raining.

Note that I did not say that we made it back to the motorcycle. We just made it to where I had left the motorcycle. (Remember the missing anxiety I mentioned earlier? No motorcycle = much anxiety.) I had expected it to be relatively safe. Other places along the road had motorcycles parked. There is not a lot of people travelling that road. Those that do are not just out on joy rides, they are going somewhere. The bike is old and another motorcycle parked along the way is much newer and in better condition. So there I am, 1/2 hour walk from Talubin, about 1.5 hour walk from Bontoc, no cell phone signal, no motorcycle. Did I mention it started to rain? Although it is very common to pick up hitchhikers here, my morning walk and afternoon walk had been just that - a walk. Nobody was willing to pick up the Americano.

Oh well, my companion, Ariel, and I began walking toward Bontoc. Fortunately, a pick-up truck came by and gave us a ride in the back. We made it back into Bontoc, along with a road crew that hitched a ride as well.

Ariel was so concerned for me. It was almost comical. I was wearing a rain coat, he was carrying an umbrella. Once it started raining, he insisted on holding his umbrella over both of us. Only two problems: first, the rocky road made walking closely, side-by-side a little difficult; the second, I am almost a foot taller than Ariel. It is difficult to hold your arm up high for a long time, so between the terrain and this height difference, I often found the umbrella coming down on my head. Please understand that Ariel was trying very hard to care for me. As we walked to the saddle he even asked if I needed to stop and rest. I recognize that I am at least 15 years older than he, but come on! I am not that old and out of shape am I?

Back to the bike. We get into Bontoc and I text Pastor Rudy, the owner of the motorcycle, to see if he had picked it up. No response. "Perhaps he does not have load," I think. So I call him. No answer. At this point he is either avoiding me or not getting a signal.

In the end, Pastor Rudy had picked up the bike but was in Maligcong (no signal - I ended up calling his wife, Bridgett). We were able to get Ariel onto a jeepney heading back to Talubin. I made it home with a great story to post. All that is left to discover is what happened to the motorcycle and what it is going to take to get her running once again.

Below are some pictures of my students enjoying some popcorn as we reviewed the exam.

Grace,

Tom

Yamaha

I flew solo today. After being accompanied for each trip to Talubin to teach each day last week, I made the trip on my own today. The original plan had been to catch the bus on the way there and the last jeepney as is returns to Bontoc in the evening. Last week however, that plan did not work out so well. A couple nights it took a while before we could catch a ride back. So this week I borrowed a pair of wheels. My friend Pastor Rudy loaned me his motorcycle for my commute. This was really a blessing.

This prospect had Lisa concerned. It seems all the westerners we know who ride motorcycles in the Philippines also got fitted for splints. Add to it that I have not ridden a motorcyle for more than 15 years. But hey, I ride bicycles quite a bit, how hard could it be? One last thing, the motorcycle was fairly old the last time I had ridden one. It had to have the brakes repaired just yesterday. (Rudy must also have been concerned about me because this evening I got a text from him to verify I was okay.)

So this morning, Rudy came by with the bike. After a few minutes I was refreshed on the gearing and brought up to date on things that no longer work - basically anything that uses electricity. Then it was off to the mountain roads.

It was a beautiful ride. The mountains and valleys along the way are breathtaking. The road can also be breathtaking, but that is related to the lack of suspension.

I arrived at the school without too much problem. I did stall the engine once when the grade changed on me as I came around a corner and I did not downshift quickly enough.

Since I am writing this post, you know that I survived. I am not even in one of those hospital beds with cables and weights pulling traction on my various limbs. By God's grace, the heavy rains passed through while I was still in class. So I even made it home dry - which is more than I can say for Lisa when she came home from the market this afternoon.

Grace,

Tom

Rushing Wind

This morning my friend Walter, another YWAMer, joined me in Talubin for the Calvary Gospel School of Ministry. We caught a bus right in front of my apartment and got dropped of right in front of the school. The bus was definitely made for Filipinos. Even at that it had seen better days. My knees did not know where to go. The light overhead had bare wires exposed.

The school was as welcoming as yesterday. The staff has even made accommodations for me to be able to take a nap during the lunch period. (It was more tempting today than yesterday, but I had fun with the students as they worked at learning a song they heard during one of our breaks. - I had my mp-3 player hooked up to some speakers.)

Class went better. Students seemed more comfortable with me today and Walter did a great job of engaging them in Ilocano. I don't think the difference had much to do with me or my skills.

But the most amazing thing that happened had nothing to do with how to develop objectives or why evaluation is a good thing. As we were wrapping up class for the day, one of the students had a question. The question was only loosely related to the topic, but it led to some discussion. We played a worship song and I gave what we expected to be a closing prayer. But then the Holy Spirit poured through the room. The closing prayer became an opening prayer for an extended time of intense prayer. Students were sobbing, both men and women, as the Holy Spirit worked in their hearts. One student who had been questioning her purpose at the school and perhaps her faith in general encountered God and was reminded why she was there and who she is in Christ. Another young lady had talked to me yesterday and this morning about how she had been feeling far from God and had not felt His presence for a long time, was crying and knew she had been in His presence. Even many of the young men were crying as Walter and I moved about praying with students as God put them on our hearts. It was an incredible time!

Certainly there was nothing in what I did or said that prompted this move of the Spirit. I was so blessed to see God touch their hearts. Even after most had left, several students could still be heard behind the curtains of the stage, crying and praying.

This all began as we were wrapping up class at about 3:45 to end at 4. A little after 5, Walter and I finally left the room to see about heading back to Bontoc. Guess what, the last jeepney rolls through town about 5. So there we were, stuck. But the director of the school sent a student down to the road to stop every vehicle that drove by to see if they would take us back to Bontoc. About 40 minutes (and 6 or so vehicles) later, they found a ride for us. There was a vegetable truck heading this way. Fortunately for us, we were able to squeeze into the cab instead of riding in the back. (We are currently experiencing the additional rain of another typhoon so we would have probably been thoroughly soaked. The back of the truck was covered, but I am guessing not water-tight.)

In summary, the day was okay. The ending was fantastic.

Grace,
Tom

Calvary Gospel School of Ministry

Today I began a two-week teaching series on Christian education for the Calvary Gospel School of Ministry. I was invited to speak by a pastor who is part of the steering committee for the Moral Recovery Program.

But as often happens, what I was expecting was somewhat different than what I encountered.

I was expecting to be teaching to the 12 second year students. It turns out that because I was coming, the school decided to have the first year students attend as well. This would not be a huge problem, but I had prepared handouts and activities for 12 and needed to be prepared for about 30.

This is an important consideration because of the language barrier. Most of the students are not confident in speaking English. A few are very limited in their understanding of English. I had anticipated that this may be the case and created a number of handouts so they could follow along easier. But the extra copy did not cover the additional students. I let fellow YWAMer, Pastor Rudy, use the extra copy since he was asked to translate as we went along. (I am glad he came.)

The other challenge that I faced today is the reluctance of the students to ask or answer questions. I do not like to lecture; I prefer lots of interactions with the students. But in most of my experiences so far, quietness reigns. Most came up to me afterward saying thank you and shook my hand even though they had been so quiet in class.

Okay, enough complaining.

I did enjoy teaching today. I am excited about all of these students eager to learn more about serving God's people. I think it is great that the school is available to them. I pray that what I present to them is relevant and will be useful.

Grace,

Tom