A Long Hike and a Late Night

We spent last weekend in Can-eo and Chapyosen.  First we had to take a jeepney to Can-eo.  It is about an hour through the mountains.

Are we there yet?

Lisa took some time to talk with Rosita, a teacher and mother in Can-eo.  Rosita was busy separating camote greens.  When Lisa asked Rosita to show her how to help, Rosita was concerned that Lisa would get her hands dirty.  As you can see, Lisa was able to convince her that it was okay to get her white hands dirty.

Lisa and Rosita chatting and chopping.

Saturday morning we began the hike to Chapyosen.  It is a beautiful hike along the river, but it was a long hike under the hot sun.  (Annalise stayed behind with Bridget in Can-eo.)

Wendy and my lovely ladies on the way to Chapyosen.

Crossing the hanging bridge to enter the sitio of Chapyosen.

When we finally made it to Chapyosen, we were hot, tired, and surrounded - by children.  The kids especially liked it when Wendy photographed them then reviewed the photos on her camera.  In this place without electricity and isolated by mountains, they don't see many foreigners or photos of themselves, so she garnered a lot of attention.

Let me see!

Adriana, Alexie, and Alayna all enjoyed holding the little ones of the village.

Espirita, one of the believers in the village, invited us to have lunch at her house.  We shared our peanut butter sandwiches and she shared her rice and potatoes.

Lunch at Espirita's

While we took a break, we set the Proclaimer in the sun to charge.  Espirita's sons sneaked over to investigate.

Investigating the Proclaimer through the curious eyes of a pair of boys.

Above our heads as we ate, we noticed this spear.  I understand that most spears and shields have been sold to antique collectors over the years.  It is the first time I saw one outside of a store or museum.

A not-so-fierce warrior!

When we returned to the house where the church meets, the girls played the Read Aloud Bible Stories for the people as they gathered.  People of all ages listened intently as the Ilocano translations of the stories were read.

When we were preparing for the trip and talking with Pastor Rudy, pastor of the Can-eo Station Church and fellow YWAMer, we found that several of the mothers in Chapyosen had expressed a desire to have a Bible.  So before going, we obtained Ilocano translations.  Before beginning our Bible study, Lisa wrote their names in the Bibles and presented them with their own Bible.  The first passages they asked about were the stories they had just been listening to.

It was exciting to see them intently follow along in their own Bibles when we listened to the Proclaimer later in the teaching.

With Pastor Rudy's translation, I taught an overview of the Bible.  Afterward, Pastor Rudy talked about how helpful this type of teaching is for this group of people.

Thomas and Pastor Rudy teaching an overview of the Bible.

The "Bridge Illustration" in Ilocano

The roof was too low to stand up all the way.

We made it back to Can-eo in time to make supper and lead the evening Bible study at the church.  Wendy presented We are Going to See the King using sign language.  The congregation requested her to teach them the motions.  After service was over, many stayed to have Wendy work with them until they could do the signs on their own.

In our preparations for the weekend, Pastor Rudy did not tell us about the Bible study.  But Saturday he asked who would be teaching.  Lisa volunteered and taught from Colossians.

Some of those attending Saturday night Bible study.

It was a full day and when everything was over, I believe everyone slept well.

Grace,

Thomas

Weaving

People and Places

Since Wendy has come we have been enjoying introducing her to the people, places, and culture of Bontoc.

 The Bontoc Museum was a first-stop destination.  

The museum has a native village exhibit.  Here Adriana, Annalise, Alayna, and Alexie are sitting outside of the building that served as the girls' dorm.

One of the joys of having a visitor is that you look at your place again through new eyes.  Wendy has enjoyed exploring the unique varieties of plants that grow here.  This variety of ground orchid caught all of our attention at the museum.  Annalise insists that she will always call it a bee-hive plant.

Friday morning, Wendy had her first trike ride when she joined us for health clinic. The Regional Health Unit was closed for Cordillera Day but the doctor made sure someone would be there to open the door for us and our patients.

Later on Friday, Wendy got to experience her first jeepney ride.  It was also the first time she got to travel through the mountains while it was light and the views were not lost in clouds and fog.  But more on that trip later.

Grace,

Thomas

Special Delivery

The other day I was assigned to travel to Manila to collect a special delivery - Wendy. Wendy is a friend from church in the US who traveled to the Philippines to physically partner with us in life and ministry for a few weeks.

The plan was to meet her at the airport in Manila and escort her back to Bontoc.  As we have mentioned before, Manila is not nearby and travel is sometimes less than reliable here.  So I took an early bus to Baguio where I got on a more comfortable bus for the trip to Manila.  Both legs of the journey went just fine.  This left me with some time to kill.  So I headed to the Mall of Asia so I could get something to eat and have a safe place to wander around until it was time to head to the airport.

There probably are not many malls where you can watch ice hockey practice.  I seriously doubt there are any others in the tropics, anyway.

I was expecting to be as bleary eyed as this picture is blurry by the time I got to the airport.  Her flight was not scheduled to arrive until 11 pm.  But I was not as tired as I expected; plus her flight came in a little early.

I knew where to look for her, but it didn't hurt that her height, hair, and skin color made it a little easier to sneak up behind her.

Amazingly, we were able to get a taxi to the bus terminal by 11:40 pm and catch the 11:45 bus to Baguio.  I thought I might be tired but really expected Wendy to be exhausted.  By the time this picture was taken when we sat down in the bus, she had been traveling for nearly 25 hours.  I felt a little bad shuffling her to a bus for another 6 hours of traveling bliss.  But she had a great attitude.

We spent a few hours in the morning resting at a friend's house.  (Thanks Noel!)  Then we got some groceries, had lunch, and hopped on another bus for the 6 hour ride to Bontoc.  Wendy was so gracious every step of the way and God blessed us with an uneventful journey.

Grace,

Thomas

A Little Twisted

It is easy sometimes to fall into certain routines as a family and forget the fun of being together. In order to break out of the rut, we decided to do something together with a little bit of a twist - make soft pretzels.

Concentration is the key to good pretzels, as you can see on Annalise's face.

First, you roll 'em.

Then you twist 'em.

Then you dip and season 'em.

EAT 'EM!

We all extend a special thanks to Mom who served as seasoning expert, oven manager, and ace photographer so we can remember the event and as well as the taste!

Celebrating Freedom!

A flag waving,

treat eating,

toe tapping,

FOURTH OF JULY!