Since the Days of Bicol

It's another weekend, and the SMP team adventure to the Bicol region is now complete. Did anything interesting happen there, youmay ask? You have no idea...

In short form, we
- had the Delica van, our mode of transportation, break down numerous times throughout the trip. Even the loss of AC on a 10 hour trip is as bad as a broken battery
- got caught in the middle of a thunderstorm while walking up a mountain... and with the jungle-like setting, pouring rain, deafening thunder, and water surging down the muddy mountainside path, it was pretty much a "movie moment"... that was appreciated much more once we were dry.
- saw an endless amount of breath-taking views of Mayon, a perfect cone-shaped volcano. Particularily during a night thunderstorm (it's rainy-typhoon season here, you know), the lightening would outline Mayon, and you could see a light red glow from the lava at the top.... absolutely amazing.
- visited the church ruins of Cagsawa, where the local people fled during the eruption of Mayon about 1814, but became trapped inside.
- visited a black sand beach for a Sunday picnic
- climbed a small mountain portraying 7 stations during the last days of Christ's life before crucifixion... and some people even picked some pineapples from a field on top.
- went for a caribau ride - which, by the way, is not the same as the caribou
- got covered in mud while planting some rice.... hopefully all without ruining the farmer's field
- ate some of the smallest edible fish in the world from Lake Buhi - Sinarapan/tabios
- went fishing by boat in Lake Buhi for some Tilapia fish (spelling unsure... again) and took some amazing photos of the lake and mountains before sunset
- made several more HIV/AIDs presentations for churches, pastors, youth, and another highschool.
- met up with some youth from Britain who were working with street children in the city of Legaspi
- spent some time with a tribal community, meeting them and hearing how they live. They are Chrisitians, making their life by tenant farming some of the most beautiful land I have ever seen. Their rice fields, surrounded by a background of mountains, buko and banana trees, are made as layered landscape for ease in irrigation, and I doubt I will ever see such a view like that again. It was, in short, INCREDIBLE!
- were spoiled with hotels that had AC and hot water for showers... except for the one without water, and the other with... cockroaches, very big cockroaches...

Unfortunately, I got a bad cold during the trip and lost my voice for a day or so, but as was well as we experienced and saw so many amazing things, particularily with the tribal community, and the ways of farming here in the Philippines. It was like God was just displaying his awesomeness left and right at every turn. There was even one day where we found ourselves with an empty morning, free of schedule. Once we realised this the previous day, we showed up at a national highschool, explained who we were and asked if we could make a presentation. Immediately, the prinicipal agreed and arranged for us the next morning at 8:30 am. Not only was it incredible that they were willing to take us in on short notice, but we were given two senior classes, and we presented to 140 kids at once. Normally, we have from 30-50 students! During one part of the presentation, the students break into 5 different groups for different stations, making nearly 30 students per station! PLUS it began to rain (again!), and with the schools set up as they are, with open windows and small rooms, many stations were outside under a covering, and we had to huddle together as close as possible for everyone to hear us. It was definitely a challenging but interesitng experience for the SMP team... not to mention that we only had 1 Tagalog-speaking peer educator with us to Bicol.

And now, here I am again, back in the province of Laguna at my host family's house. Today there were plans for a practice in Los Banyos to prepare for presentation in LB national highschool on Monday.... 4 presentations in one day. However... H1N1 continues to be a problem here, and as of now, the school will be closed on Monday because of the worry about H1N1. Not only does this cause another (as per usual) expected wrinkle in the schedule, but we can only pray that once the school does open, they will actually allow foreigners to come into the school at all.

Currently, the plan is to have a practice for LB on Monday, and on Tuesday, the SMP team will be heading on "vacation" to Bohol with Ate Gladys (our missionary) and her family. What happens after that is yet another adventure waiting to come.

Over one month into my stay here in Philippines, many questions remained unanswered, and I am prepared for them to remain so, even perhaps once I have returned back to Canada. But the incredible thing is, whether planting rice, climbing mountains, checking for cockroaches,or taking in the view, God never ceases to amaze and display just how AWESOME He is.

Is that not sweet, or what?

That's what I thought.