Tuesday, December 6, 2011

First Culture and Language Evaluation

We were privileged last week to have 3 other missionaries come into our village and help Chuck to see where he is at with language and culture learning.  They were able to give him some guidance of what he needs to do in order to get proficient in Ga’dang.

I could write all about it and what happens and everything but I am sure I couldn’t explain it as well as one of the evaluators did on his blog.  Please read what he wrote about Chuck’s evaluation and the how’s and why’s for this.

Just click the link below:

Language Barrier- Ga'dang

Thanks George for such a great explanation.

Rice Harvesting

In October of last year a major typhoon went through the Ga’dang area and destroyed much of their rice crops.  We thought that it was going to be a more challenging year for the people as they were short on rice.  We have learned throughout the last couple of months that in a normal year, most harvest enough to last more than a year.  This has helped many to have rice to eat until this years harvest.

Chuck has been out several times to harvest rice this season but I had my first opportunity to go help just a couple weeks ago.  I was amazed to see people still going out to harvest after a heavy rain the night before and off and on rain that morning.

Thankfully Chuck was willing to take me out to this field.  I wasn’t sure where it was and was told that it was “far”.  So off we went in the fun slippery mud.  It took us about 1 hr to get there and we had to cross the same river about 5 times.  I tried desperately to not get water in my boots but in one spot I thought for sure I was going to get water in.  Thankfully we managed to find shallower water and got across.  As we walked several people came up behind us…heading to the same field…and kept walking.  I think we were a little slow getting there.  We knew we were on the right path though as we could see the muddy foot prints of the people who went before us.

Soon enough we arrived at the bottom of the hill that was being harvested.  It was a rather steep climb getting to the top.  My friend Analyn was surprised to see me there because of the rain.

100_5701

Analyn was so nice as she took me over to the rice and showed me how to hold the cutting tool, grasp the rice and cut all with the same hand.  It is quite a trick…for me anyway.  (I laugh at Chuck as he has cut himself several times in that last couple of weeks while harvesting!) I was amazed that I didn’t cut myself.

100_5672100_5678

Analyn also showed me how to tie the bundles of rice also.  There is some co-ordination in spinning the bundles around too.

100_5686

This is one of the men twisting/spinning the tie around the bundles of rice.

100_5697

Here is some the rice that was harvested.  The darker is sticky rice, used for special desserts.  The lighter coloured is their everyday eating rice.  They place them together in groups of 8 and then count them after that.  There is special counting system for that.  Later they will stack them in a special way and there is a way to count that too.

I was so happy to be able to experience and learn so much from my good friend.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Home made

Each day we try to use our eyes and ears to learn about the lives of the Ga’dang people.  As time goes on it seems that some things just get “normal” for us to see.  We love having visitors in the village so we can see things new again through their eyes. 

As I looked through our pictures I noticed that we have been able to watch people make things lately and have seen what they use them for.

Here are a few:

100_5173

This is our neighbours little boy.  They have made him a home made walker/jolly jumper!  He loves to be in it watching his mom as she pounds rice for the daily meals.

100_5113

Can you guess what this is?  Our neighbour is making a nest for his chickens!  The hens lay their eggs in it.  They are usually attached to the side of the house so it is up high enough to keep predators out.

100_2252

This is a beautiful basket that an older gentleman in the village made.  They use these baskets for many things but especially when they are pounding their rice.  It is just a big bowl to hold it at the different stages.  I just learned the other day that they have a different word for a basket like this that is really big!

I look forward to discovering more things in the weeks and months ahead!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Meeting THEIR physical needs

We arrived home, in the village, 5 weeks ago.  It is always nice to be home and sleeping in our own beds but being home has added stresses too.

Since June I have had to take on the medical issues that come up in the village.  In the beginning it was just minor things, colds, rashes and fevers.  This I can handle, even if I don’t know the causes of the rashes, I can help by giving some direction to the cause, and some medicine to help the itch go away for a time.

Just 2 days after our return in August, we had our first major medical event.  We were able to call in the helicopter and get Analyn to town.  For the full story READ here.  At the same time another young lady in the village became jaundice.  We recommended she go to town to see what was wrong but she returned with no real diagnosis, just some medicine for her liver. 

Just 10 days later, on a rainy Friday night, we were told that one of the oldest ladies in the village became ill with diahrea.  She is not well anyway and this just made her condition worse.  With the help of our American friend doctor in Manila, Skype and the Lord directing us, we were able to help her.  She is now able to get up and about.  Praise the Lord! 

Gibanay Balicnog, Paquito's mother

Right after that my language helper became ill.  She was having trouble with keeping anything down.  After sending her to town to get an IV and some texts, it was found out that she is pregnant!  This trip involved our buyer and Christina driving 2 hrs to pick her up and then another 2 hrs to get her to a good hospital.  Another young man was shot with an airgun in the hip area.  He had to be taken to town.  Thankfully we were able to arrange a ride for him from the end of the trail to town.  (Our pilot was in Manila, so we couldn’t fly him out.)

There have been fevers, sore ears, headaches, toothaches and runny noses going around.  And a flood of people thinking they have UTI’s.

100_2245

I am not a nurse or a doctor.  I am just a mom, with many medical books and friends to ask questions to.  But most of all, I have the Lord to ask for strength and wisdom as I talk to each person that comes my way.

Meeting the physical needs of the people here is just one way we can build relationships with the Ga’dang people.  Lord willing this will help to build relationships with them so we can someday share the Gospel with them.

Please pray for me, Shannon, as I look for answers to the questions the people ask me about their illnesses.

We are looking to start a fund that would help to cover the costs of medical flights for the people plus help with some of their medical costs if they need tests, procedures or have to stay in the hospitals.  If you are interested in contributing to this fund, please contact NTMC at www.ntm.org/canada  Please specify that it’s for the Medical Fund for the Ga’dang people in the Philippines.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5,6

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

First Medical Flight for Ga’dang People

Last night Christina learned that our good friend Analyn (she is 19 weeks pregnant) started having some cramping and bleeding.  Analyn has become a good friend to both Christina and I over the last year.  We were so excited for her when she became pregnant as her and her husband had been wanting another baby for about 2 years now.  They have 2 children already.

After talking with Analyn this morning we decided that it would be best to take her out to the hospital and have a checkup.  Christina having been home for just 2 days was happy to accompany Analyn to town.

100_2071

It is possible to get to town by land.  But it is a 2 hr hike, if you walk yourself.  She would have needed to been taken out by stretcher.  Then it is a 1 hr bumpy ride to the nearest town.  The hospitals there are not good.  It would then be another 1 hr drive to a town with a good hospital.

It was obvious that it was best to fly Analyn by our NTM helicopter to that town with a good hospital.  That is what we have the helicopter for. 

100_2073

The saddest thing for us is that we had to think about whether or not we can afford to pay for this flight. We do not have extra support to cover these medical flights.  It cost us $180 US for the flight alone.  Then there will be the hospital and doctors fees on top of that.

We decided to trust the Lord to provide for this expense.  We know He is faithful to take care of all our needs and the needs of the people we are ministering among.

If you would like to help us with this medical expense or any other medical expenses for the Ga’dang people, please let us know.  We can direct you the information you need.  Or go to www.ntm.org/canada/give  Make sure to include a note for Ga’dang Medical Fund.

Please be praying for Analyn and her baby.  We will keep you updated as we learn more.

Monday, August 8, 2011

Water

It’s finally done!  There is now a fresh supply of water for our village thanks to all the hard work of both the people living there and the recent NTM SUMMIT team that came from the UK.  It was 3 years ago when we promised the people that we would provide a fresh water supply for them and we are very thankful that the Lord allowed us to come through on our promise.  Here, with pictures is how it all played out:

Before the SUMMIT team arrived we needed to get the water as far as the village.  This meant laying 1 km of 1” pipe from the spring up in the hills down to the tank just above the village.  The men of the village helped me cut the trail, lay the pipe and pour the pad for the the tank. 

DSCF0364

DSC02554

When the team arrived, they got right to work digging.  We also had help for the village people for this as well.  They came up with the idea of using the plough to break the ground.  What a great help that was!

DSCN9744

DSCN9711

It was hot, and every day of the first week with the team there it rained in the afternoon.  Rain or shine though, they kept working hard.

DSCN9751

We set up 6 faucets in the village, each complete with a cement pad.  The team worked on these as well.  The village guys thought it was amazing to see the SUMMIT team ladies right in there mixing cement and getting dirty!

DSCN9729

By the end of the 12 days, we were able to bury all the water lines in the village and hook up all the faucets, as well as Christina’s and our water tanks at our houses. 

IMG_0611

To say thanks to the SUMMIT team and to all the people in the village who helped us with the water project, we hosted a ‘blow out’ (party), complete with pig, pancit and dekat (sticky rice dish).

IMG_0685

IMG_0725

P1010638

We are very thankful to all who have given financially to make this project happen, as well as all those who prayed for us during this time.  A lot of other things happened that could have set us back but the Lord saw us through and we are blessed as a result.

By Chuck

Monday, June 20, 2011

Building a Vision for the Ga’dang

This short video was put together by some fellow missionaries that came to visit us a couple weeks ago.  I hope you enjoy it and that you will pray for us, our support staff including our pilot and the Ga’dang people.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Water Project & UK Summit Team 2011

We are very excited to finally be getting started on the water project for the village.  Knowing that this project was going to be a lot of work for us and the village people, we thought that it would be great to have the UK Summit team back with us again this July.  Every year a group of people looking to be exposed to missions and people wanting to help out missionaries, come together from the UK to the Philippines.  If you remember we hosted the team last July when we were trying to get our house to a point that we could move in.  Chuck and Christina had such a great time with them, we knew that all of us as a family would love to have them with us too.  Our leadership decided that it would be a great fit for the team.  We are really excited to host them.

This is the team as they met for a weekend orientation. (2 people are missing)

Summit Team 2011

What will they be doing?

We are bringing fresh water from a spring into the village so the people can have clean drinking water.  This will also help them in the times of dry season when there is little water in the village wells. 

There will be lots of digging, laying pipe, mixing cement, burying pipe and so on.  There will be so much for them to do.

Ga’dang people will be helping too.

Last week Chuck met with the men in the village so we could get them started on the prep work involved.  The hope is that we can get the pipe in the ground from the spring to the village before the team arrives in the second week of July.  Everyone was very excited and looking to help however they can.

100_1583

Will you pray for us as we plan and work on this project? 

There is still lots of planning to be done.  The people in the village are getting their rice fields ready for planting in July, so helping dig trenches will take away from that work. 

Pray for the Summit team as they plan to come.  Pray they will all get along and learn more about missions while here.

Pray for the finances for this project.  We need about $3500 to pay for all the materials.  For more information, send us an email.  Or go to NTM's Website to find out more.

Pray for us as we balance language study and working on the project in the weeks ahead.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Another Junior

Shortly after returning to the village in April, our neighbour had her baby.  She was very willing to have Christina and I attend the birth of her third child.  Our plan was to just sit back and observe how they do things.

It didn’t take long into the pushing stage, that we realized that we were going to be needed to lend a hand.  We had already known that her first 2 children were very hard deliveries.  It was very scary to watch and even help as she pushed for about 3 hrs before the baby was born.  I spent so much time praying for her and that little baby.  We learned so much by watching and helping, in how they do things.  This was the first baby that we have ever seen born.  We are so thankful that mother and baby were ok after all that hard work.

I do my best to visit almost every day.  I don’t want him to be scared of the white lady!!!  His most favourite thing to do just as soon as I get him in my arms…is to pee on me!  It is the running joke now.  Yesterday as him mom passed him to me, she said he didn’t have even a cloth diaper on, just little shorts.  Of course I took him and of course within minutes I was wet!

birth at Jovilyn's 2

Here he is not long after he was born.

100_4776

Now here he is at 5 weeks old.  I think he was trying to smile at me!!!

What a privilege it is to be a part of this family’s lives.

A little toy

Last week as we were helping with the preparations for a birthday party, one of the kids pulled this python out of a water can.  It was quite a site to watch as some of the girls were a little freaked out by it.  But the boys didn’t seem to bothered by it.  One of the men spent some time playing with it as Kyle watched.  We later learned that they eventually ate it. (Snake tastes good.  Just not a lot of meat on the bones.)

python 3pythonpython 2

New puppy

We wanted to introduce you all to our little puppy.  Our dog Jojo had her first litter of puppies a couple weeks ago, although only one was born alive.

100_4574

Here he is at just after he was born.

100_4803

Now here he is at 3 weeks.

We are considering a name with the meaning fat.  This little guy just eats and eats.  We are really enjoying having this puppy around.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Sad news- Melagros

We just received word this afternoon, that after a couple days of being sick, Melagros has passed away.

We had been told that with her having cerebral palsy that someday she would likely get sick and that it would be bad and then she would likely die quickly.

We are very sad for this loss and sad that we are not able to be there with this family. 

We won’t be able to be home in the village until Wednesday or Thursday. We will plan to see the family right away.

Please pray for Melagros’ family.  Pray that we would be light to them in this time of sadness.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Colouring

Many days I have little girls coming up to me saying, “Ate…colour???”  Although the word colour doesn’t quite sound like we are used to hearing it, I have learned what they want to do.  The kids in the village love to come and colour on our porch!  It is one fun thing that our girls can do with them.

IMG_1904

When Paul and Chelsea Linscott were planning to come last November they asked us what they could bring.  The first thing that came to mind was colouring books.  They had many people give them colouring books and thus they brought a large stack with them.

This is what the stack looks like now.

100_4006

The ones on the right are fully coloured.  The ones on the left only have a small number of pages left.

Every time we are in Manila we look at all the book stores to see if they have any colouring books.  Sometimes they are hard to find and are often thin and expensive.

If you would like to help supply our porch with colouring books and crayons please send us an email and we can give your our mailing address or we can direct you to someone that will be shipping things to us in the coming months.

2011 Community Projects

#1 WELLS

One of the community projects that has been sitting on the back burner of our minds, so to speak, is to improve the availability and quality of water in our village.  This was one of the original requests of the people when we asked them if we could live with them 3 years ago.  Currently our village has several shallow wells, some of which do well even in the dry season, as well as a small river which is used for everyday tasks such as bathing and washing clothes. 

It has been our desire to improve the existing wells, as well as bring fresh water into the village from a spring located about 2 km away in the hills above.  We have been able to repair several of the wells in our village over the last year, thanks to one of our supporting churches in Ontario.

100_2402

Recently it came to our attention that the 2 neighbouring villages next to us have only one well in each of them, and at the moment are not doing so well for water.  Before coming out for break this time, we agreed to help them by providing the materials needed to install some more wells in their villages. 

100_3991

The cost for materials to install one pump is approximately $100.  We would like to replace 2 existing wells in our village and install one new one there.   In the two neighbouring villages we need to replace the existing wells and install 2 new ones in each.

That is a total of 9 new pumps and pipe we would like to provide for these 3 villages.

In the process of getting this blog post ready we spoke with Adam from Bethel EMC, in Lion’s Head, Ontario. He has told us that they would like to care of the funding for this entire project! Praise the Lord! These villages will be able to have more water very soon.


#2 FRESH SPRING WATER

As for bringing water in from the spring up in the hills.  It will be a significant project, as we will need to build a small collection reservoir at the source, install a 500 gallon holding tank at the village and approximately 2 km of durable water line.  This is going to cost approximately $3500.

100_3578

We are also looking to see if anyone would be interested in coming over to help us with the water project. Please let us know if you are interested.  We’re open to the possibility of a small team coming to help with it or individuals.  It would be an awesome opportunity to be a blessing to the Ga’dang people as you work alongside them. 

If you would like to give to this project please contact us at chuck-shannon_talbot@ntm.org or go to Give Information for more information, you can then click on the Donate Now on the right hand side of your screen. Please be sure to include our names and what project you would like it to go towards.


#3 RICE

Another project we are looking at is a result of Typhoon Juan, which passed through northern Luzon as a category 4 typhoon last October.  It happened just as many were beginning to harvest their mountain rice crops.  As a result, much damage was done to the local people’s fields, as well as their other food sources such as the fruit trees.  As we have talked with our Ga’dang friends, they are telling us that many of them will run out of rice to eat soon because they need to hold on to some of the previous year’s crop in order to plant again.  Rice supplies were already being stretched due to the 6 month drought in the first half of 2010 which caused widespread rice crop failure and/or extremely poor harvest.

IMG_5429

The local authorities have been able to help some in offering free rice seed, but it has only come in the form of seed for low land wet paddy rice.  Unlike mountain rice, which cannot be bought as seed, paddy rice seed is readily available anywhere in the country.  Mountain rice on the other hand, must be seed from the previous crops.  Most Ga’dang people only grow mountain rice due to the hilly terrain and so were unable to take advantage of the offer. 

IMG_5434

It has been a good opportunity for us to observe the community spirit and sense of strong family connections as we watch the Ga’dang people work through this together.  Many are sharing their reserves of rice seed with others so that everyone will at least have a little to plant in June.  We are amazed to see the resourcefulness of them as well as they come up with opportunities to provide the necessities to survive. 

We will continue to watch and be open to how we may be a blessing to the Ga’dang people in our area.  It may be that we will need to purchase sacks of rice to pass out to them to help them make it until the next harvest in October.  The average Ga’dang family of 6 can consume a 50 kg sack of rice (which costs about $40) in less than 2 weeks, especially when there is nothing else to supplement the meals.  That’s a lot of rice in a village of 100+ people! 

If you would like to give to this project please contact us at chuck-shannon_talbot@ntm.org or go to Give Information for more information, you can then click on the Donate Now on the right hand side of your screen. Please be sure to include our names and what project you would like it to go towards.

All donations are tax deductible and we receive 100% of the money donated.

Solar Power Project

Living in an remote area brings with it challenges for accomplishing everyday tasks, such as providing a consistent and reliable power supply to the house.  We didn’t realise how much we take for granted that we can flick a switch to turn on a light or plug in the computer and not have to think about starting the generator first.  Up to this point that is what we have to do to have power in our house. 

Fortunately we have a small Honda generator that is fuel efficient, and so we run it for several hours each morning to charge up batteries, etc. while our twin tub washing machine is being run.  I also have to turn it on again each evening to charge up batteries again and have lights inside the house. 

We are hoping to be able to make the step of purchasing solar equipment in the near future.  This will help minimise the amount we need to run the generator, and therefore be more cost effective.  Just one more way we can be good stewards of what our financial supporters bless us with. 

It is going to cost about $10,000 to set up our house but we can get started with a basic system for about $5,000 (we would still need to run the generator for a couple hours a day.)

If you are interested in helping us with this project send us an Email for more information or go to the New Tribes Mission of Canada website and follow the links to give.

Zach

During this past February, we were blessed by a young man named Zach.  Zach is currently visiting the Philippines for several months through another organisation to expose himself to the many aspects of missionary work.  Although we didn’t personally know him, we were approached about the idea of allowing him to visit us for a few weeks to see what missions is about from the tribal missionary perspective.  Of course we said yes!

During his time with us, we tried to give Zach a wide variety of opportunities to experience life with us.  He sat in on my language helper sessions, visited with the local people both in our village and the neighbouring one, and even got a taste of birthday food tribal style.  Of course I had to give him opportunity to do a little work around the house as well.

100_0591

One of the things that stood out to me though was the amount of time he spent simply playing with and talking to our kids.  In some ways it was like Zach fit right in with us, whether he was playing peek a boo with Jenna, piggy-backing Sophia or building a fort with Kyle. 

100_0515

It was a good reminder to me as to the importance of our kids in our ministry amongst the Ga’dang people.  They can see the relationships we have with our children, and hopefully it’s a good example of how we (and they in the future) have a relationship with our heavenly father.  It was also a reminder to me to not ignore the spiritual needs of our children as we minister here to the the tribal people.

Please continue to pray for us as we focus our efforts not only on the Ga’dang people but also on these little ones in our family.  Their spiritual well being is just as important, if not more so.

Zaldo and Tintin

I’d like to introduce you to another couple we are getting to know here.  Zaldo has been mentioned in the past, as he’s my main language helper.  I first met him when Erik and I made our initial survey to this area, I did not know at that time how important Zaldo would be in becoming a part of the local Ga’dang community.  Not only has he been very patient with me as I struggle to learn his language, but he has been a huge blessing in acting as a ‘go between’ when I’ve needed to negotiate or otherwise communicate with the other people in the village. 

100_3392

When we returned to the tribe from our Christmas break, Zaldo informed me he had a girl friend and was planning to get married.  We were very excited for him, especially as he is 33 years old now and it is uncommon for the guys in Ga’dang culture to wait this long to find a wife.  Needless to say, we wanted to meet the girl but she was extremely shy of us.  It did happen eventually and everything is looking like they will get married shortly after we return to the tribe this time.  Zaldo even made sure to ask us when we planned to return so that we could be sure to be back in time to participate in the wedding. 

100_3984

It has been a great cultural learning opportunity already for us as there are events in Ga’dang culture that must occur leading up to the actual wedding day.  One such event which has already happened was a procession of the family and village elders from our village going up to Tintin’s family’s village to announce the engagement.  It was a time for traditional music and dancing, killing a pig, all the elders giving advice to the couple to be wed, and of course the two families discussing the date of the wedding.  As we found out, this ‘date’ decision alone can take days!

Pray for Zaldo and Tintin as they will soon begin their lives together.  We look forward to seeing the day when the Lord uses this couple to bring the Gospel not only to our village but also to the one where Tintin’s family lives as well.

SSayy Whhatt?

I’ve finally started the next step of the process of our reason for being here in the Ga’dang tribe.  Hurray!  The Lord has blessed me with a language helper, Zaldo, who is eager to assist me in this daunting task, even when it hurts his ears. 

For example, we were practising making sentences using places to go to, how we got there, who went, and when we did it.  Sounds simple, eh?  Maybe in English!  Here’s a sample: “I rode a water buffalo to the school yesterday”.  In Ga’dang I should’ve said; “Naddaffuwak se ageskwelan se gafi.”  This is a case of not easier said than done!

Notice the double consonants?  Zaldo, along with everyone else listening was able to hear it when I didn’t say those double consonants right.  Then there’s the ‘a’ sound, which can almost sound like a short ‘u’ (as in cut)or ‘a’ (as in cat) instead of ‘a’, as in ball if I’m not careful.  Those really hurt his ears!

Here’s a few more fun ones with double consonants I twisted my tongue around:

Nallakarak – I walked

Sintaw naggabwatannu? Where did you come from?

Ansa nadingngangngo? What do you hear?

The trick (I think) is to split the doubbles between syllables without making it too obvious.  That offten gets funny looks too.

100_3400

Pray for us as we dig into the language here and try to make sense of it.  Clarity of speech is essential for when we present God’s Word to them someday, hopefully not too far in the disttant future.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Melagros April Update

Over the last 3 months we have been helping a little girl with cerebral palsy because she was so malnourished and her mother didn’t know what was wrong with her.

We have been so happy to see her and her mother come to us each Monday to get Melagros weighed.  Then we send her home with more formula, baby cereal and vitamins. 

We are amazed at the growth in this little girl.  She has gained 2.4kg in 3 months!!!  That is truly amazing.  She is still small for the average almost 2 yr old but she is doing so much better then she was.

100_3391 

What a difference in her!

100_0608

Thank you for praying for her.  Please continue to pray for her and her family.  Someday we will get to share with them about what Christ did for them!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Happy 1st Birthday Jenna!!!

I can hardly believe that my baby girl is 1 year old today!!!  This last year has flown by so fast.  Jenna has been such a joy to our family.  We love her so very much and can’t imagine our home without her.

Today we started our birthday fun with a chat with Nana!  Then we went to our friends house for a swim and lunch.  We had a great time with the Easton family.  Then we went for dinner with our other friends, the Harada’s.  Their daughter Grace shares her birthday with Jenna.

Here are some pictures and videos of our fun day!

100_1448

That looks yummy!

100_1454

No need for hands!!!

100_1456

Give me more cake!!!

100_1459

Wow, that was good!