Before we left Baguio we packed down and left some things here at the seminary that we wouldn’t need to make our backpacks lighter for hiking. Dave emptied out his bag figuring out what he needed and we just had to try it….. So here I am inside Dave’s backpack.
I got all the way inside it all zipped and strapped up. The rest of the team wanted Dave to put me on his back and walk around our apartment at the seminary but we quickly decided that would be a bad idea!
Driving through the mountains we have seen some amazing views and to the people that live here it’s just a normal everyday thing. This is the view from the house we stayed at in Sinipsip. You can see the terraced fields. It’s pretty amazing to me that you can make crops grow on the side of a mountain with cliffs that seem like they go straight down.
When we were in Guinzadan in the province of Bauko, our host sister, Alarene, informed us that their town fiesta was going on and she wanted to take us to it. When we arrived at the fiesta, called Begnas di Bauko, we assumed that we were just going to observe the festivities; that we would just slip in and watch from the crowd. But as soon as we arrived a woman came running up to us welcoming us and asking us if we would sing a song for the battle of the bands. When we agreed to sing she rushed us up to the stage to sit in chairs up front. We received a welcome from the Municipal Secretary, Tom, as their special visitors from the U.S. We ended up singing 5 songs throughout the afternoon there, with Ua on an extremely out of tune guitar using a piece of a phone card as a pick. We also got to participate in some of the festivities. They did their native gong dance and the girls dragged Jenny and me out to dance too. The men walk around dancing and playing gongs and the women dance around in a line and circles with them. It’s a good thing Jenny and I had gotten a chance to practice this dance when we were in Tabuk. During the dance I unknowingly got engaged when I accepted a guy’s outstretched hand. Sorry Dave…. And uh, Mom and Dad there’s something I have to tell you…. Haha, thankfully the guy is already married and they don’t actually stick to that cultural tradition anymore. So here is a picture of Jenny and me dancing out in the middle of the square.
During the Begnas Luke got to attempt to catch a greased native pig with four other guys wearing native cultural attire. It is a piece of woven cloth which is wrapped around your waist and through your legs, looking like a combination of a diaper, a kilt, and a loin cloth. I would put a picture up but I don’t think Luke would be very happy with me. :)
We have been doing more hiking now that we are up in the mountains. We are realizing how out of shape we are and our lungs are relearning how to work hard again. It seems unreal at times looking out over the mountains as we hike around. This is picture of Dave in Catlubong looking out at the gorgeous view from the church.
They really take care of us girls here. At first I was really frustrated because it seemed like they thought because Jenny and I are girls we are weak, don’t like being outside and can’t handle much. While the boys were in the back of an open pick-up looking out at the amazing mountains Jenny and are were squished in the pick-up cab not able to see anything but the road in front of us. I knew I could handle being in the back of the truck just as well as the boys. I grew up loving being outside, climbing trees, running around and being active and there was never anything that I couldn’t do because I was a girl. I think that’s because I was kind of a Daddy’s girl playing sports and most of my friends when I was really little were boys. So recently I was a little salty when they would make Jenny and I sit in the front. I am really starting to appreciate how they take care of us girls though. It hit me when we were leaving Tawangan in a truck and Pastor Jerry opened up the cab door and said, “Here’s your throne. Haha.” It’s not that they think we are weak or can’t handle things, they just want the best for us and to make sure we are taken care of. I have really appreciated that when they have the boys from the church carry our big backpacks for us. In the last week, Pastor Jerry and Pastor Luis have been having the guys from the churches we go to carry all of our bags, including the boys’ bags and the instruments. It is their way of serving us. Pastor Luis explained that it’s what they have to offer to us and they want to help us even though we could carry them ourselves.
On Easter we were at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Tawangan, in the province of Benguet. The day before Easter and on Easter I missed home quite a bit, thinking about my family and how we usually celebrate Easter and home and my church. The Easter service here was very simple and I appreciated the simplicity of it, but there’s something about the familiarity of being home for Easter and singing, “Christ the Lord is risen today! Aaaaaaaalleluia!” We did a program for the congregation later in the afternoon on Easter and before the program they sang us a song to welcome us. It’s called “Welcome to the Family” and here are the lyrics.
As they were singing this song to us I started to feel much better. I still missed home but I found comfort in the fact that I am with my brothers and sisters in Christ, so I am with family. The program on Easter was a lot of fun and the people made us feel so welcome. Here’s a picture of us with the kids of St. Paul Lutheran Church.
These past two weeks we have spent with Pastor Luis and Pastor Jerry as our guides. They are two amazing pastors that have been so helpful and good companions. They translated many of our programs for us as we visited their many congregations. Both of them pastor over seven churches each, many of which they have to hike a long ways through the mountains to get to. They said that we have had a big impact on their ministry and encouraged them to keep going. Seeing their dedication to these congregations was inspiring to us as well. Pastor Luis and Pastor Jerry have known each other since high school and watching them interact is so much fun. We had some really good laughs with them. They both really made an effort to get to know each of us and that was really appreciated. We were only with Pastor Luis and Pastor Jerry for a couple weeks but it felt like so much longer because we got to know them so well. We already had to say goodbye to these guys, but we are hoping that we will be able to attend Pastor Jerry’s wedding on April 4th in Tinoc. Here’s a picture of us with (left to right) Vicar Matthew, Pastor Jerry, and Pastor Luis on Easter Sunday.
This is a picture of us with the people of Good News Lutheran Church where we did a program in Ballay in the province of Benguet. Our program was in conflict with a wedding in the neighboring town that many members went to, and the church was still full! I can’t imagine how many people would have been there if there was no conflict.
We are now back in Baguio, with time to rest. It is definitely needed, as we have been pushing it pretty hard these last couple weeks, with programs just about every day. Ua and Jenny are getting over colds, Dave and I are battling allergies and…well Luke is healthy. :) Our time in the Philippines is fleeting with only a few more programs left. It is going to be very hard to leave the Philippines. I am really going to miss the people here.
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! LOVE FROM MOM VANDERCAR <>< +
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