It’s not all work and no play

For those of you think that all’s we did was work, work, work while my Dad was with me in the tribe, this ought to ease your minds.  As much as we did work hard (just ask Dad), we also took time to enjoy our time there as well.  Here are some pictures to show you:

The Ga’dang people grow coffee and therefore enjoy a good cup of coffee.  We enjoyed a cup with Paquito and Perfecto while we visited with them.

We were invited to go out to Danilo’s farm to eat papaya, and of course to drink coffee.  Was it worth the hike?  Just ask Dad. 

Every few days we’d hike up what we affectionately call “signal hill” to make a phone call, letting our wives know we are surviving without them, even though we miss them.  (Just ask Dad). 

One of my neighbours, Itang offered us some of her ‘ulam’ (meat to eat with rice) to have with our supper.  Yummy frog legs and fresh water shrimp!  Mmm!  (Don’t ask Dad.)

At the end of each work day, we all enjoyed soaking in the stream.  The little water fall just outside the village was a our ‘spa’; good for easing sore muscles.  Bob seemed to always be the first one in. (just ask Dad or Erik). 

On the hike out Dad had the opportunity to ride Danny’s carabao, at least briefly.  It’s not as easy as it looks (just ask Dad). 

Of course a hard week ‘in the bush’ deserves a treat. So when we got out, we went for a typical Filipino snack; halo-halo and coke.  Mmm, delicious!  Just ask Dad.

Dad’s week in the tribe

My Dad and I made it into the tribe this past week, along with our co-worker, Erik Peterson and Bob Hall.  We spent the week working on our house and then started the kitchen cabinets for Christina’s house.  The plan originally before my Dad came was to be ready to start framing the walls, but due to the amount of rot in the original order of lumber, we had to re-order new wood for the beams and floor joists.  Therefore the plan was revised and the goal (if the lumber had arrived by the time we got back to the village) was to get the beams and 1st floor joists installed.  Praise the Lord, the lumber was there and we were able to get right to work.  First, we had to inspect each piece to make sure it was good to use.  That meant a lot of scraping off mud, and lifting, looking and stacking.   Lumber in the tribe is nothing like what you’d find in the local lumber store in Canada. It's all wet, rough, and very, very heavy.  (Just ask Dad.)  My Dad and I got each piece of beam and joist cleaned up, straightened and ready for Bob and Erik as they worked on installing them.  It was a lot of hard work, but within 5 days, we were able to accomplish our task.   Now the job is ready for when Erik, Bob, and I return at the beginning of September to begin framing.  All the new lumber has arrived, and is stacked, ready for us to start. 

The last two days we were in the tribe, Dad and I started working on Christina’s kitchen cabinets, while Bob made a front door for her house.  Again, the lumber we used did not come prepped and ready for building.  Only after scraping off the mud, straightening it out with a circular saw, and lots of milling was the wood ready to be cut down into the sizes needed to frame up the cabinets.  My Dad quickly realised that building here, whether it’s a house or cabinets, is a much more involved effort than anything he’s been involved with back home.   He has a new appreciation for what the Lord has called us into and our perseverance in living here.  Thanks Dad for coming over to help us!

By: Chuck

4 men, a load of stuff and a tire going flat

This morning Chuck, his dad, Erik and Bob all headed off to the tribe for 8 days of fun in the sun, wait, that’s not right, make that hard work in the sun!!!!

The multi-cab arrived at 5 am, they loaded everything up and off they went.

This is just some of our roofing going in.  It will cover wood for now until we are ready to put the roof on.

Here is the load of stuff that went in with them.  Food, clothes, hardware and some chairs to sit on.

Off they went.  First stop, somewhere to put air in that back tire!!!  Elias came back for another trip to take cement and Christina’s eaves trough in.

And for those of you who know me well and happened to notice that it is still not very bright out, you will be amazed to know that, yes I did get up at 5 am to help get them on the road.  Mind you I went back to bed for a little bit too!!!

Please keep these men in your prayers this week as they have lots to do.  Pray for safety, good relationships to be built and that they would show the love of the Lord to the Ga’dang people.

Catchin’ up

Well it is amazing to think that after so much talk and planning, Chuck’s dad, Paul, and our new school teacher, Jessica Wease, are finally here.  They have spent the last couple of days getting used to the heat, playing with the kids and taking a snooze or two!!!

I sent this picture to the rest of Chuck’s brothers and sister.  Here are a few of the comments.

“Just wondering who owns the crown.”

“Well look at that! All that’s changed is the scenery.”

Dad and Jessica are here!!!

We are so excited to have Chuck’s dad, Paul, and Jessica, our new school teacher, here with us in the Philippines.  They arrived safely Sunday night, (the 2nd even though the picture says the 1st!!!)  Although, Jessica’s one checked bag did not arrive with her.  So she filled out the papers she needed to and thankfully it was delivered to the office 2 days later.  We are waiting for it to come up in a day or two.  Thankfully she had a few clothes with her in her carry-on.

After a bit of sleep Sunday night we headed back north the next day.  Another plane ride but thankfully it was a short one.

Here are Chuck and Paul as we get ready to take off.

We are thankful for their safe arrival and the time they have with us.  We are all enjoying it very much.

Jessica has spent a lot of time already playing with the kids and getting to know them.  They are really liking her.

Another “need” we have!!!

Have you ever thought about how nice it is to have a sink to wash dishes in?  What about a table that you can wipe off?  Did you ever grumble over the amount of dirt on the floor?

I have never been so thankful for a sink to wash dishes in or table that I can wipe the dirt off and I will never complain that the floor is too dirty again!!! (or at least I will wait another week to complain!!!)

This was our kitchen in the village:

There has no sink, just some sheet metal to set your dishes on.  But it leaked at the front.  So if you leaned into “the sink”, you ended up wet, looking like you didn’t make it to the C.R.!!!  The table had 1 inch gaps between the boards and was rough lumber, thus making it impossible to wipe without chewing up your cloth.  There was no fridge or oven or cupboards to put the dishes away to.  Yes, those are dirt floors too!!!  There was one bench and a lot of buckets to sit on. 

But we were thankful for that table because the first day we were there, there was no table at all.  We were also thankful for the dogs that just wondered in as they pleased.  They kept the floor free from the food the kids dropped thus keeping down the cockroach population.  Although we did have to hang up any garbage bags when we weren’t there as the dogs would pull it all apart!!!! Yuck!!!  We were also thankful for the abundance of banana’s.  They were great!!!

You might be wondering were we slept too.  We slept in the upstairs of this house.  It was one room for all us to share, including Christina.  I forgot to take a picture before we left, so this is how it looked with just Chuck and Erik sleeping up there.  Just picture 2 more beds and a playpen added to the room with mosquitoes nets.

PS Chuck wired up a couple small fans to a battery to keep the air moving for me and Sophia!!!  What a sweet husband I have.  Erik was able to enjoy them too!!!

Comfort Room—aka C.R.

There are some things in life that us women count as being REAL important.  The first one being a bathroom!!!  After living in the Philippines for more then 3 years you would think that strange, dirty, wet, stinky bathrooms would become normal and “ok.”  But I tell you I still don’t like them. 

Over that last several months an outhouse has been in the works in the village in anticipation of us ladies and children coming in.  But seeing as it was just men in there, it was not high on the priority list.  We arrived in the village with a “house” for going to the bathroom in but no hole and no seat!!!  Come to find out the seat was made but just wasn’t in yet.  So quickly my loving husband got the seat and a saw and cut us a hole, attached the “seat” and voila we had a bathroom.  If you hadn’t noticed, yes that is tape on the tarp and no it didn’t stop the leaks.  When it was raining you really did have a shower!!!

We also used this lovely “comfort room” as a place to bathe.  The last time Christina was in the village she had to bathe in the river or at one of the water pumps.  It is not easy to wash with clothes on and it is also a very muddy climb back to the house.  Makes you not very clean when you get home.

This trip in we had the privilege of having a missionary come along with us to help in the building of our houses.  He is an experienced builder and has helped build houses in the Philippines a number of years ago.

Well, Bob really wanted a nice C.R. to use while in there, seeing as he was going to be in there for a month at a time.  So he decided to put his C.R. on top of Christina’s septic tank.  Problem is Christina’s house is a little ways away from the house us ladies were staying in!!!  So after several days, here is what Bob got to use.

 

Now that’s what you call a comfort room!!!

Lord willing next time we are in there that toilet will be in Christina’s house and we won’t even need to go outside to go to the bathroom!!!

By:Shannon