Monday, March 29, 2010

Perfecto and Sinanduming

Let me introduce you to the oldest couple in our village.  We haven’t yet determined the exact age of Perfecto or his wife, Sinanduming, but we know they’re at least 70 years old, based on the stories he tells us of the American soldiers.  They were in the area during WW2 when he was young. 

IMG_3408 I first remember Perfecto when we made our initial survey trip into the village.  As we passed by his house, he insisted that we join him and his friends for some food and coffee.  It hasn’t changed, as it’s not often we can pass by without Perfecto inviting us to join him for coffee. 

Since then, Perfecto has continued to help us in any way he can.  The house we rented while building Christina’s house is located next door to Perfecto’s house.  He was often at the door offering food, etc to us, or checking up on us to make sure we were ok.  He even allowed us to use his outhouse! 

When I was in the process of figuring out where all our lumber was, we had a meeting with the people to discuss it with them.  Perfecto was very bold as he voiced his opinion that they all needed to do whatever they could to help us and not cause problems for us, as we were there to help them.  (This is unusual for them to speak out like this with us around.)

IMG_3421 Sinanduming is the classic elderly tribal lady in my mind.  Don’t let her elderly look fool you though.  This woman could work circles around any of us any day.  I’ve seen her carry 50 kilo sacks of rice and 5 gallon buckets of water on her head like it was a breeze.  Not only that, but she’ll do it while climbing a muddy slope (I can’t even climb it on my own without being on my hands and knees!) with a homemade cigar gently clenched between her teeth. 

Perfecto knows Tagalog and even a bit of English, which he tries very hard to use with us.  Sinanduming on the other hand only knows Ga’dang and Ilocano.  That doesn’t stop her from trying to communicate though.  The other day she stopped me on the trail to ask a question.  I smiled and nodded as she talked, not really knowing what I may be getting myself into.  It turned out ok, as later she showed up with peanuts.  She had heard we wanted to buy some, and had been trying to tell me that she had some to sell. 

Please pray for Perfecto and Sinanduming.  We are hoping they will be able to live long enough to hear the Gospel message.  It has been a very slow process for us to get set up in the tribe and then learn the Ga’dang language, but it is for people like them that we see the importance of communicating God’s Word to them in their heart language.  It would be so exciting to see them rejoicing and praising their Creator one day, especially after living in spiritual darkness for so long.

by Chuck

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Juanito and Amelia

Let me introduce you to a Ga’dang couple who we have been getting to know over the last little while.  Juanito and Amelia have been married for about 3 years, he’s 28 and she’s 18 years old.  They have one son, Narvie, who is 2, and Amelia is expecting their second child in May.  I first remember Juanito when he helped me locate most of my missing lumber from our original order.  (He took the time to hike through the jungle with me for a whole afternoon, finding the wood that others had cut but didn’t deliver because the guy responsible for paying them for me ran off with their money.) 

P1010070 I always see Juanito smiling when I come by, and he jokingly tells me he’s ok, even though their life is difficult.  He enjoys carrying his son around, and I always see the two of them walk by the house early in the morning, Narvie in his dad’s arms, as they go to Juanito’s sister’s house to visit them.  Juanito has been a great help to me in working on the house as he eagerly gives it everything he’s got.  Whether it’s mixing cement or hand planing wood, he doesn’t slow down.

Juanito has also been there many times when we’ve needed cargo hauled in or out by carabao. On more than one occasion he’s taken one of our girls up onto his carabao to ride so they don’t have to hike in the mud.  He’s also proven himself trustworthy in going to town to fetch supplies for us, whether it’s gasoline, LPG, and other supplies. 

Amelia has been busy doing our laundry for us while we are in theP1010029 village.  6 days a week she comes to collect it so she can wash it in the river.  I’ve never seen my clothes come back so clean!  Early each morning we hear her down by the river, as they literally beat the dirt out of the clothes.  (It’s an amusing process to watch!) 

The thing I appreciate about Amelia is her willingness to come by the house and visit with Shannon.  Usually each morning after finishing the laundry and it is hung out to dry, she’ll come and sit on our porch to visit.  Even though they can only communicate at this point in limited Tagalog, she’s still been a blessing to Shannon as she helps her get to know the other ladies and children of the village. 

Recently, Christina’s house was broken into by some men from another village while we were not there.  Juanito made the effort to find someone with a cell phone and text me about it.  He was very concerned about whether or not anything was stolen, and the possibility of someone else getting in again before we could secure the house once more.  Erik was able to go in and investigate, and Juanito along with another man helped him secure the house better.  Juanito didn’t have to do this, but because of the friendship forming, he cares enough about us to watch out for us. 

Please pray for Juanito and Amelia.  As kind and helpful as they are to us, they are still lost in their sin and going to hell.  They still don’t know that Christ died on the cross to pay the price for their sins and that this alone is enough to have a personal relationship with the God who created them and loves them very much.  They don’t understand that trusting in that alone is good enough to give them eternal life, once and for all.  Ga’dang people believe in a form of reincarnation so they must do many good works for their eternal salvation.  One day we will know the Ga’dang language and be able to share the Gospel with them.  We look forward to that very much.

By Chuck

Monday, March 22, 2010

Helping Hands

So here I am, finally sitting down to say thank you to all who have come over here to help us get our tribal house to where it is today.  THANK YOU!  At the beginning of the year we had no idea how it was going to all come together, but the Lord reminded us to simply trust Him and watch Him make it happen.  In all, 8 men came from various places literally from around the world to assist us. 

IMG_0054 First, Grant came.  Grant is a single guy and friend of ours whom we have known since our Bible college days more than 10 years ago.  He also is serving with NTM here in a different region.  Grant was with us for two weeks in January and was a great blessing in helping to finish preparing the lumber.  Thanks Grant.

Then came Adam and Robert from one of our churches back in  Ontario.  Adam told me that he really felt the Lord wanted him 100_1874to come and help, but didn’t know if it would work out.  Everything came together, and Robert was willing to accompany him.  They were here for 10 days, and we were able to get the 1st floor plywood down and walls framed.  Thanks Adam and Robert.

Plans for the next 3 guys didn’t come together until 2 weeks before they showed up.  Tosh, Dave and Alistair arrived 100_2066on the jeep in the village which came to pick up Adam, Robert and my family.  Talk about perfect timing!  Only God could make it happen as smoothly as it did.  These 3 came from New Zealand, and boy could they work!  They framed up the second story, put up the roof and got the siding on 3 sides of the house.  Thanks Tosh, Dave and Alistair.

P1010122 While our New Zealanders were here, Ryan also came in to lend a hand.  Ryan and his family are enroute here in the Philippines to serve fulltime, and he wanted to come beforehand to see what’s happening.  We were able to make good use of him as he helped me with much of the bracing inside the house.  Ryan was able to see firsthand the tribal work in the beginning stages as he watched us building not just our house, but also relationships with the local people we will one day be able to share the Gospel message with.  Thanks Ryan.

P2220003Of course, where would our house be without Bob.  Bob and his wife  are serving here as associates from Australia.  His building experience as a professional contractor has been invaluable to us as he has helped to orchestrate this building project from the beginning.  Bob was able to come in again and help during the time the guys from New Zealand were with us.  Thanks Bob.

SDC10663 Finally, (I know, this makes more than 8) Erik was a huge blessing to me.  He kept busy going in and out of the tribe, picking up supplies and people, and ordering parts for the thickness planer (more than once!) from the U.S.  He and Grant planed thousands of board feet of lumber and carried many gallons of water. When Shannon and the kids left, Erik jumped in and became ‘chief cook and bottle washer’.  He kept everything running smoothly behind the scenes in so many ways.  Thanks so much Erik.  Much appreciated.

By Chuck

Sunday, March 21, 2010

March Updated House Building Needs List

We want to thank so many of you who have contributed to the building of our house in with the Ga’dang.  What a blessing you have been.  We have updated our needs list so you can have a better idea of what we still need to purchase.  If you are interested in helping out, just send us a note and we can head you in the right direction.

Materials

Corrugated metal roofing-– $1320—We have enough money for this.

20 sheets 1/2” marine plywood-- $510

foam insulation-7 rolls-- $840

4” nails-6 cases-- $135

Gutter-- $90

Spade & drill bits --$120

Utility knives & blades --$30

door knobs– 12-- $360

white caulking- 24 tubes-- $90

3” hinges --$285--$200 received Thank you

Sewage & plumbing supplies-- $480

Hudson’s Floor Urethane-- $720

Laundry faucet--$30

Kitchen sink faucet -- $50

Double kitchen sink-- $240

Toilets, vanity sink & faucet – 2-- $240

Shower stalls -2-- $240

Showers head/hose --$15

Light fixtures, switches, face plates-- $85

Electrical outlets (220/110V) --$15

‘cigarette lighter’ outlets (DC)—$90

Wiring – 12/2, 14/2, 14/3 --$60

Pulleys – 34-- $150

Plywood for interior walls-$480

Sheet metal for window shutters-- $210

Plywood for window shutters --$425

Gas for generator-- $200

Labour- 4 guys for 36 days (6 weeks)—$900

Household
small wood stove
1 large kettle
Stove top percolating coffee pot
Pressure cooker
Cereal containers
8 ct. DC freezer or propane refrigerator- $1200
Gas dryer- $400

Total still needed--$5,395

Plus we need about $10,000 for solar equipment.

Thanks for partnering with us to see the Ga’dang reached with the Gospel.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Upstairs Tour

Here is the upstairs of our house!

Still lots to do but so much has been done already!!!

This is a tour of the first floor of our house.

Outside our house!!!

Here is a walk around the outside of our house!!!