Am-Among 2008 Festivities

Wednesday the Am-Among Festival began here in Bontoc and will continue through the 16th. Am-Among means "gathering." The scope of the festival is a gathering of all of the municipalities that make up Bontoc. There will be games, seminars, dancing, parades, and vendors. (I doubt I will find an elephant ear or corn dog, though.)

We are looking forward to learning more about the culture of the people we now live among. We really enjoy seeing the dances and hearing the traditional music. But it was disturbing to read the first official activity listed in the program was,

7:00-8:00 - Butchering of the Sacrificial Chicken-c/o Francis Pel-ey

Not exactly what you might expect to find at the county fair at home. This is just another reminder of how much the people need to know Jesus. We hear more about the animistic and spiritist practices of the people here on a regular basis. Just yesterday in our staff meeting we learned of a man in the village of Can-eo that had sold his fields and his inheritance so he could purchase a pig to butcher as an offering in an effort to attain physical healing. When that didn't work, he was left with nothing.

Coffee, Bad - New Friends, Good

Yesterday I accompanied Patrick to the provincial headquarters of the Philippine National Police. We were there to give the invocation and exhortation during their Monday morning flag raising ceremonies. This opportunity is given us as part of the Moral Recovery Program within the government. Since our time here last year, my heart has been to build relationships with these men and women. I hope to be an encouragement to them. I also hope that through that relationship I can introduce them to my greatest friend, Jesus.

Usually, we pray and share a few thoughts then we are dismissed as they continue with their morning agenda. But yesterday I was invited to join them for coffee.

-- Allow me to interject here. Until a month or so ago, I had never tasted coffee. The smell of it is not appealing to me so I never tried it. In order to taste it, it has to be too close to one's nose. So I never said that I did not like it, just that I was not yet old enough to drink it. But in order to accept hospitality, I have now tasted it - yuuuuck-o! How do you people drink the stuff? And to think that some of you pay $7 for a cup of it. Sure, it might be special blend yadda, yadda, yadda, but it has the same basic ingredient.

Anyway, I joined several of them for a little bit of coffee with equal parts sugar and creamer - each sip chased with a good sized bite of the pancakes that were also served. We talked about many things: family, YWAM, foods, crops grown in Michigan, etc. But I was also given the opportunity to share with them that my faith is not about religious traditions and rules, but about Jesus and a God who desires relationship with us. One officer in particular had many questions about faith. I pray that God is able to use the discussion we had to draw each of them closer to Himself. I look forward to getting to know these men and continuing to show them Jesus.

Thank you so much to those who are standing with us so that we can be here and allow God to use us in this way.

Grace,
Tom

Family Affair

Yesterday, my friend Ariel was in Bontoc. (Ariel was the student who accompanied me from Calvary Gospel School of Ministry the day the motorcycle broke down.) He was visiting our church since the school is on break between trimesters. His plan was to stay in town overnight so he could catch a bus in the morning to go home to visit his family. We took the opportunity to invite him over for dinner in the evening.

We played a couple games of Skip-Bo. (He won the first and did well in the second.) As we were just sitting down to supper, Pastor Rudy, the owner of the motorcycle showed up. (The motorcycle started right up for him and he was able to drive it home the other day without any problems. Operator error, I guess.) So he joined us as well.

As we were talking after dinner Ariel made a comment that I found interesting. He talked about how much he enjoyed our family. He mentioned how most Filippino parents do not give much attention to their children. They work hard and when they come home, they have dinner and go to bed. He really liked that we spent time talking with our girls and playing games with them. I would have dismissed his compliments as flattery, but he mentioned it several times. It seemed like a new concept for him. He said how he wished his parents had done that and how he hopes to spend time with his children when he has a family.
We have also had fun as students who board in town have dropped by to visit. Three girls in particular have shown up a couple of times. Their parents live in a village about 5 hours away. Saturday, they came over and watched a movie, ate some popcorn, and played a game with our girls. (One actually colored with Annalise while the others played.)

I am reminded of the time I spoke in Can-eo when we were here last year. I was teaching about the Father-heart of God. Pastor Rudy was translating. I mentioned how much I love my daughters' affection - their hugs and kisses. When he translated this, the audience began laughing. I did not understand. Rudy explained that here it is not common for parents to hug or kiss their children. I remember feeling sad for them as they are missing such a wonderful blessing.

I suppose this is one of the benefits of ministering as a family. We are given the opportunity to show others how a family can work. Of course, our family has no claim to the prize given to perfect families. But we do enjoy time together and are not scared of showing affection. May God use this imperfect family to bless the people around us.


Grace,
Tom

Food, Fun, and Missing Flip-Flops

Friday night fun night held true to its title once again. But beginning last night, it has a new twist; all of YWAM eats dinner together before the games begin. We look forward to the increased sense of community that will result.

We all enjoyed our potluck meal before diving into the activities for the evening. Last night, Noel was in charge of the games. We had a rousing round of Duster Hockey. No blood was shed, not a tooth was lost - so hockey may not be an appropriate title - but it was fun nonetheless.

The disappointment for the evening was when we were leaving. Our sandals were gone. Someone had seen some young boys running around earlier in the evening. They are prime suspects given that they had black underwear over their heads with eye-holes cut out. Most of the shoes were found hidden in a bucket nearby. Only a few of us ended up without finding ours. The legend of the BVD Banditos begins.

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

Our Little Scholar

Congratulations to Alayna!

She completed her journey through the Bible today.

She decided to read through the entire Bible this year.

She did this without any requirement or prompting from us.

It was just something that she wanted to do.

Great job, Sugarplum!

Love,

Daddy

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