Hunting Trip

The times of running water have been less and we were without internet for the past 5 days. No, we have not been visiting a remote village, just a few reminders we are not in Michigan (or even Kansas) anymore but living in a third world country best described as "random." By the way the ATM is still not working for us here in Bontoc.

Thomas returned from Baguio late Wednesday night. He quite easily attained some cash from the ATM within moments of getting off the bus. Along with the cash, he successfully hunted down and bagged:
cheese
allergy medicine
2 pillows
4 movies
dried mangoes (some for a snack on the bus back to Bontoc and the rest to add to our homemade granola)
2 water heaters (so we can indulge in hot bucket showers when we have no running water)
4 notebooks (that was all the stock they had)
2 bottles of hand soap

I am not as efficient as he and usually visit many of the stores of the mall and along Session Road looking around. But Thomas is a hunter, not a shopper, which is why he could quickly capture many items on his "list" and still have time to enjoy some pizza in the mere 3 hours he was off the bus. Part of that time he spent in a taxi getting to the mall and back to the bus station. Pretty impressive, especially if one is familiar with shopping in the Philippines. There is no Super Wal-mart here. He had to visit a minimum of 6 different stores on different levels to get those items along with the pizza place.

All of us are happy to have him back and thankful for his enduring the 14 hours of the bumpy bus ride. Now we have cash to buy some rice.

Lisa

Bus Trip for Cash

Thomas left on the 5 a.m. bus to Baguio. Still not able to access any cash here in Bontoc, so to the big city to visit the ATM there. Hopefully, he will be successful in getting cash without difficulty there. He should arrive about lunch and have about 3 hours before catching the last bus back to Bontoc. This is the first time he has attempted the round trip in one day. It is also the first time he has made the trip without the rest of us. I sent along a list of a few things to pick up at the mall while he is there but shopping is not ever on his top ten list of things to do. Imagine sending your husband with a list for a store over 6 hours away in a foreign country and there's not a tool or electronic gadget on the list....
Lisa

A Busy Morning!

At our weekly health clinic, we typically have about 15 patients. Most of them visit regularly. This works well for us because our desire is to build relationships with these people. It also allows us time to talk with them and help them with their blood pressure and glucose levels.

This week was a little different. When we arrived, there was already a group of people waiting. We got to work right away, taking blood pressures, checking sugar levels, and repeating the need for a healthy lifestyle. But people kept coming and coming. We found out that our partners at the Municipal Health Office had put an article in a local paper about the clinic. In the end, instead of being there for an hour, as scheduled, we were there for a busy 3 hours and served 45 patients.

It was busy. It was hectic, at times. Plastic chairs are not meant for 3 solid hours of sitting. But amidst all of these complaints, we were able to touch a lot of people. Perhaps even make some new friends as I expect many of them will return for followup in the weeks to come.

One of the things I enjoyed about yesterday was the variety of patients we saw. Normally, our patients are in their 20s - 50s. Yesterday, we had teens to hunched over little ladies with their arms tatooed from their wrist to their shoulder that were in their 80's, even 90's. Interestingly, the little old ladies rarely had a problem with their blood pressure or glucose. I suppose all those years of hard work has conditioned their bodies well - except for their teeth and their backs. Lisa did note that it took some extra work to get their finger clean prior to checking their glucose. On the other hand, one of the teens I spoke with had high blood pressure.

This clinic is different than most would be in the US. Our set-up does not allow for much patient confidentiality. The waiting patients are within a few feet of the patients we are meeting with. This allows for a certain amount of positive peer pressure for people to improve their lifestyle. For instance the teen I just mentioned. She confessed that she smoked, "sometimes". This brought some disapproving, but not condemning, comments from the elders in the "audience". It is easy to tell when there are friends in the group. When high blood pressure is identified and I talk with the patient about lifestyle modifications, their friends in the chairs will begin teasing them. It's all lighthearted and fun. Perhaps as friends, they will encourage each other to make healthy choices.

Grace,
Tom

p.s. Our camera batteries were dead at the clinic, so the picture is from the Am-Among Festival in September.

Anticipation of the Cardboard Box

After spending the last few weeks diligently searching through a catalog and researching on the internet, I have finally placed the order for supplies for next year's school year. Those of you who know me or ever stood behind me while I checked out several armloads of books, realize how hard it is for us to be without a library. There is a library here, but most seem to be leftovers from someone's garage sale back in the US and when I asked about children's books, I was told there were 5. Part of a set of encyclopedias. We do not even have water 24 hours a day, so it is not surprising the library is lacking. Anyway, sometime in the next several weeks, we will go to the post office and find what looks like an ordinary cardboard box addressed to us. But really it will be a treasure chest containing:

5 art supplies
3 craft kits
5 games
2 CD-ROMS, one to go along with biology and one for history
one microscope and 2 biology lab sets
and 126 books!

Treasures to help us during the long rainy season and materials to educate four daughters in Grades 2, 5, 7 and 9! History, science, art, music, math, grammar, literature....oh, my!
Can't wait...
Lisa

My Sister Made Me Do It

I asked Annalise earlier this week, "Why do you think you are having such a hard time obeying?"

"Because of my sisters' example," she promptly replied.

Opened Doors

Bontoc Fire Department in their new, formal uniforms.

Today, I was invited to attend the flag ceremony at the Municipal Plaza. I often attend this ceremony prior to meeting with the Philippine National Police for the Moral Recovery Program. But today was for a different purpose: I was being presented a certificate of recognition for the fire gear that was donated by my coworkers back in Michigan.

I was a little uncomfortable with accepting the plaque because all I had done was share the need with some friends at home. They had done the work and shouldered the expense of gathering and sending the gear. (What a blessing when people generously respond to God's promptings!) I was glad when the presenter credited the donation to my friends at the nuclear plant.

Best of all, was afterward. The available officers of the fire department joined me for a snack at the diner across the road. We had a good conversation about some of the differences between fire fighting in our community in Michigan and here in Bontoc. (They are the only fire service for all of the Bontoc barangays - some are an hour away.) We talked a little about how communities are divided: provinces, municipalities, barangays, etc. We also talked about Jesus. I was able to share that the resurrection of Jesus changes everything. That the forgiveness of sins comes through faith in Him, not by the good things we do. One officer seemed a little surprised when I said that Ghandi was a good man - but his righteousness could not save him.

Once again, I want to say thank you to those who have partnered with us in this ministry. Because of support from people at home (through prayers, finances, and special gifts like the fire gear and diabetes testing supplies) we are given the opportunity to make connections with people here in the mountains of the Philippines. We rejoice over the relationships that are growing and the opportunities to bear witness of the Good News of freedom, hope, and salvation.

Rejected Again

This is not the ATM in Bontoc, but there is a similar feeling recently.

This is the ATM in Bontoc
.

Today after once again having our ATM card rejected, we noticed a new sign posted:

This is the newly posted note by our ATM.

We will see whether international transactions are once again accepted before our cash runs out. We haven't made a trip to Baguio yet. The card may work there. If it does, that would resolve the issue. If it doesn't, I will have made the 6 hour trip and spent more of our available cash for nothing. Right now, we are waiting and praying.

This situation creates quite an irony. Lisa has been busily planning for our next school year. Because there is no usable library in Bontoc, the number of resources we plan to order is larger than it has been. So we are able to spend a rather large amount on school supplies from another country using the same card that won't buy us a carrot here in town.

The good news is that this is all God's problem. He called us here. He knows our needs and has promised to take care of us. We are called to be obedient stewards. So we need to do what He says, but He promises to carry the burden.

Please pray with us that the issue will be resolved soon. (That's part of doing what He says, pray.)

Grace,
Tom