Friday, March 9, 2012

Just a few last things we need

We are so thankful to all of you that have been helping us to get things together for our time in Canada.  We are just days away from flying and there are just a few things left that we are in need of.  Maybe you can have something extra for us to borrow, or know someone else who does.

8 Passenger Van- We are in need of a reliable van that will fit 6 kids.  We have 2 in car seats still and 2 teenagers as well.  If we don’t have something lined up when we get there, maybe some one has an 8 passenger vehicle we can use for a couple weeks until we can get one.

Snowsuits/winter jackets, boots for the kids- We still need a winter jacket for Eli (men’s small or medium).  Sophia needs a winter jacket (size 4/5).  Jenna also needs a winter jacket (size 2).

Bicycles for the kids-  The 4 older know how to ride and Jenna would love something she can be pushed around in/on.

Please send us an email if you would have any of these items for us to borrow or buy. 

chuck-shannon_talbot@ntm.org

We are looking forward to seeing you all very soon.

Saturday, March 3, 2012

I am going to miss…

We have done a lot of writing about the fun things we are going to be doing while we are on home assignment.  And about the things we are not going to miss.  But yesterday was a sad day leaving the village and saying goodbye to so many friends.  We are so amazed at the people God has brought our way in this last year.  We have made many friends and we will miss them.  We look forward to getting back to them next year and learning more of their language and culture so we can share the amazing free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.

1.  We, Jenna and I, will miss Febiolyn.  She has been Jenna’s “yaya”, nanny, since June.  Jenna waits at the door every morning for her Ate to come.  And when she leaves she keeps asking “Where’d Ate go?”

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2.  For those of you who know me, Shannon, I love babies!  It was an amazing experience to be at the birth of our neighbour’s baby last year.  This year 5 ladies in the village are expecting.  And all of but 1 of them work for me!  I am so sad that I will miss the birth of these babies.  I am sad that they will be scared of the “white lady” when they see me for the first time.

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3.  Kyle is going to miss his best bud, Ogie.  These two boys have been friends since the first time Kyle stayed in the village, in 2009.  Everyday Kyle waits until 4pm when Ogie is done school and off he goes to find him and do something with him.  They often times spend a whole Saturday riding carabao (water buffalo) hauling lumber into the village.  Many times they go to find and cut bamboo for Kyle’s latest fort project.  They play Uno, Lego and build puzzles together too.  But best of all they laugh together.  If you ask Kyle how they communicate, he says, “a bit of Tagalog, a bit of English, a little Ga’dang and a lot of hand gestures!”

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4.  Chuck is going to miss his right hand man.  Gaton has been working for Chuck since June.  Chuck has trained him to use the tools and work on many projects around the house.  Gaton has also been Chuck’s main language helper.  He has learned a lot and has been a huge help to our family.  Chuck is going to miss the times they get to laugh together.  It is a wonderful thing to hear!

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5.  We are going to miss our dog Jojo.  She is a wonderful fun dog.  We are so thankful that we have friends that will look after her while we are gone.

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6.  One of the best parts of living in the jungle, is the coffee that grows around us.  The people harvest this coffee every year and dry, pound, roast and pound it again so they can drink it.  It is a Barako coffee that is mild and not bitter.  I, Shannon, can even drink it!

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7.  Sweet Potato on a stick!  This is so delicious!

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8.  We are defiantly going to miss all the birthday parties in the village.  We are able to attend most birthday parties.  The best part is the food.  There is always pancit and nansilot.  It is so good!

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9.  Every Friday morning we have coffee on our porch with those who are working at our house that day, and anyone else who happens to be around.  It is a great time to ask language questions to see what different people think of words or phrases.  They can then discuss it with each other.  We had a great laugh one morning talking about how to say tomorrow morning.  If you were to say tomorrow or morning with another time word, they are both the same word.  So we asked do you just say it twice to mean tomorrow morning???  Oh the laughs and smiles that came from that!  It is a running joke still!

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10.  Chuck is going to miss his hammock.  He is going to miss a little siesta in his hammock every afternoon or swinging with Jenna in the hammock on the porch.

OH WAIT!  It’s packed to go with us.  He won’t miss it after all!

 

We are so thankful to the Lord for the relationships that we have built with so many people over the last 3 years but especially this last year.  I remember wondering after our first year here in the Philippines, if I would ever be sad to leave.  I watched another family after they had left their village for their home assignment and they were so very sad to be saying goodbye.  After a year of being in the Philippines, I was still so homesick for my family and friends that it didn’t seem possible to want to be here more than there.  Today I can say with confidence that I am sad to be leaving.  We look forward to our time with our family and friends this coming year but we much more look forward to being back with our friends here.  We see with each passing day their need for a Saviour.  We know how they can have Jesus as their Saviour, we just have to get to a point in their language to be able to share it with them.  This means a lot of hard work ahead of us when we return.  But we are excited to do it.  Thank you Lord for allowing us to be a part of the work you are doing here in the Philippines and especially with the Ga’dang people.

Things I am looking forward to “not” doing

We love our life here in the tribe.  We wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.  But sometimes we just wish we didn’t have to do things the way we do.  So here are some things we are looking forward to “not” doing over the next 11 months!

1.  “NOT” using a flashlight to get to the bathroom in the night.

2.  “NOT” having to turn the generator on or off everyday.

3.  “NOT” not flushing the toilet! If it’s yellow let it mellow…

4.  “NOT” saying “please repeat” a million times a day.

5.  “NOT” saying “I don’t understand”  many more times a day.

6.  “NOT” having to sign out/borrow a vehicle when we want to go shopping.

7.  “NOT” having to start my grocery list 2 weeks before someone else goes shopping for me!

8.  “NOT” having to carry a sweat rag with me everywhere I go.

9.  “NOT” carrying tissue for every bathroom break we make at the mall.

10.  “NOT” having to sleep under a mosquito net.

11.  “NOT” having to tuck in the mosquito net every time I get in and out of bed!

12.  “NOT” checking for spiders hiding on the shower curtain—make that BIG spiders!

13.  “NOT” watching the ants swim in my cheerios while I eat the cheerios.

14.  “NOT” wearing rubber boots majority of the year.

15.  “NOT” waking up to the sound of roosters crowing, not at dawn but all hours of the night.

 

I am sure there are other things we are looking forward to not doing but we won’t dwell on them.  We are looking forward to all the things we are going to do throughout the rest of this year.