The Miracle of Christine

6/29/11

The young people of Amulong Ward north of Tuguegarao all gathered at the home of a family that lived on the national highway. They were waiting for the jeepney that had been rented to take them to the stadium where the Jubilee celebration would take place. There they along with wards from the entire Northern Luzon region would perform the dances they had been practicing for 18 months. The young people and their leaders loaded down with costumes and props carefully crossed the fast moving and busy highway. Just as the Jeepney was pulling away twelve year old Christine realized she forgot her shoes. In her excitement and rush to retrieve them from the house she forgot to look and darted out into the street. It was too late, because when she looked up she saw a fast moving transport van about to smash into her. She reports that just before impact she felt someone wrap their arms around her and hold her close. Christine’s body dented in the front of the van and shattered the windshield. The people in the jeepney were horrified, Christine lay crumpled and still on the street, they thought she was dead. She was immediately loaded in a car and taken to the local hospital. Someone ran the kilometer to her home to inform her parents that their daughter was dead. The van driver turned himself into the police thinking he had killed Christine. At the hospital it was determined Christine was alive, but unresponsive. She lay unconscious and unmoving for three or four hours then she awoke. She was kept overnight for observation, but was released the next day with only scrape and bruises. We had the opportunity to visit the barangay where Christine lives. The people told us her story and we were taken to meet with Christine several days after the incident. She is a sweet shy girl who lives in a humble home. She told us her story through a translator and was quick to give credit to heavenly intervention for saving her life. Pictures are of Christine, she and her brothers, the place she was hit, and some glass still on the street.

Awarding of Pigs

6/13/11
We just returned from the hottest place in the Philippines, tromping through the fields in 100 degree heat checking up on the harvest from the nutrition and food production project I blogged about on April 21st. This is our churches plan to hedge up against potential food shortages. Through a series of classes and practical training these people now have the skills and knowledge to compost with worms and grow food in small backyard plots independent of their work situation. Their obligation now is to mentor and teach another family and then supply them with worms and seed. The church supplies the families with hollow block and cement for the composting worm beds. The first participants who fulfilled their mentoring responsibilities, and had a successful harvest were awarded with a male and female piglet. We got there just in time for the baby pig distribution. The piglets were so cute (remember Babe?). The families were so happy, and some of them treated their pigs so lovingly. Of course the piglets were agitated and upset and it was so sweet to see these skinny rough looking old men petting and stroking their two pigs to calm them down. The pigs responded to kindness like dogs do. They even wagged their little piggy tails. It is sad at the same time to know the final outcome and purpose of these pigs. I am told that by May of next year each female should have had a litter (average of 12), the adult male will be killed, and perhaps the female also after the piglets are weaned. From these litters two babies will be given to the successful mentored families to fulfill the “pay it forward” agreement. Excess pigs will be sold to finance feed for the next generation and the process will be repeated.

No Bathrooms in Buhi

611/11
This was a busy day hiking around inspecting the progress on a huge Buhi water system. After looking at the trenches and pipes, then met with the town councils. Our first stop at 7:00 was a village 40 minutes away across the lake by boat. To dock the boat they just run the front up into the mud bank. Getting off the boat is always a challenge. The young people just jump off the front, it’s about a 3 foot drop, and about another two feet to clear the water. My fat old lady body and bones would not have cleared the water or taken the jolt upon landing. If the little Filipinos tried to catch me, it would kill them. This time, at my suggestion, two men got on the shore and each grabbed an arm and on the count of three I jumped as they pulled me forward. It worked and I was flung ashore like a slingshot. Everyone was surprised and commented that they never thought anyone could get off the boat like that. I was super cautious because the last we visited this barangay I fell twice so I was extremely careful, watching each step. Again this time it had just rained and was again muddy and very slippery. I made it safely through the entire village, the meeting afterwards, and the ribbon cutting. However it was not to be, as we were walking back to through the fields I slipped in the mud and fell face first into a rice patty. I was covered in mud all up the left side of my body. To make matters worse that was our first village. I spent the next 8 hours visiting all the different villages, meeting the officials covered in mud, which eventually dried to just dirt. Filipinos are very polite and pretended not to notice my situation. However as I walked out of one barangay hall (village center) a little boy commented in English, “You are dirty”. Each delegation would insist we have our picture taken with them. So in addition to the embarrassment of meeting these all these people so messed up, there are dozens of photographic images of the, “dirty old white woman”. The Filipino culture insists that you feed your guests so at every stop we were given something to eat and drink. Because we were honored guests it was usually something nice. We had things like fire roasted bananas and sweet potatoes, delicious fresh pineapple, mango, papaya, all types of fruit I don’t know the names of, wonderful steamed treats wrapped in banana leaves made of rice, or cassava, mixed with fresh coconut meat and juice. Each snack was accompanied by buko juice (young green coconut liquid) or a bottle of soda. After 6 hours of this I had to desperately use the restroom. Toward the end of the day I finally got up the nerve to ask if there was a “comfort room” handy. This request caused the ladies to scurry through the village to find a home with the appropriate facilities. I was too shy and embarrassed in my dirty state to walk through the village to the toilet. So I declined and suffered another few hours of incredibly bumpy dirt roads and ever increasing bladder pressure. Finally I could stand it no longer. At our last stop I again made my request and was shown to a home with an indoor toilet. It was a water sealed squat contraption located in an open alcove in the kitchen. At that point it was a most beautiful and welcome sight to me. There was no privacy, I didn't care, but the family in deference to me vacated the house. Well it is all an adventure that I’m thankful to be able to experience. What other senior citizen has the opportunity to see and do all these different and interesting things

Mormons at Mass

5/16/11

The project of building homes for victims of the typhoon is finished. In partnership with Catholic relief 660 homes were constructed. In celebration a Mass was held in the beautiful cathedral. It was presided over by the Bishop of the Ilagan Diocese. It was very regal and impressive. We attended with a Mormon delegation of a stake president, district president, area seventy, bishop, branch president, their respective counselors and wives. After the mass we had a ceremony where the people were awarded the deeds to their homes. When we visited the building sites before, I wrote in my blog on 4-18-11 about a woman who had cared for her son for the last 18 years. He was paralyzed and bedridden at the age of 22. I was so happy because we were able to bring him a special wheelchair. But I absolutely surprised and so thrilled when I saw their new house. Originally when I saw the living conditions of this family I spoke impulsively, out of strong emotion, having no real authority. I said I wanted, beyond the standard building plan, a cemented area in front, like a porch or deck, which looked out over the rice fields. I wanted the deck to have a roof for shade so the man could sit in his wheelchair and watch life going on. I wanted the house to be completely wheelchair accessible so rather than being confined to his bamboo slat bed this man would be more able to experience the social part of life. I said I didn’t care if the cost was more than budgeted per house because LDS Charities would pay for it. That statement was absolutely out of my area of authority, but at that point my brain was hijacked. Never the less the neighbors and friends who built the house for this family must have felt the same emotions because my wishes were carried out exactly and there was no mention of the extras. Below are the before and after pictures

Philippine Jubilee

5/5/11

This year 2011 marks fifty years that the church has been established in the Philippines. There were many activities commemorating this event (like each member providing 50 hours of community service), but it all culminated in a nationwide cultural celebration the end of April and first of May. Each region participated locally, however we attended the event for Metro Manila. What an event it was! I have never witness such a spectacle. First it was held in a huge indoor air conditioned coliseum, it would be comparable to the Tacoma Dome. The music, sound system, lightening, colors and costumes were fantastic. The young people who provided the dancing and singing had been practicing for at least 18 months. I was told there were over 5,000 participants. The months of dance practice was evident in the hundreds of participants who moved in perfect unison. The Philippines was occupied by Spain for 400 years so some cultural dances had a definite Spanish feel to them, but the ones I liked the most were the tribal dances with quick bold movements and a heavy drum beat. It was definitely a far cry from the standard “LDS Road Show” lineup. My absolute favorite was from the southernmost part of the Philippines where there is a strong Indonesian influence. The main dancers were carried in standing precariously on horizontal bamboo poles balanced on the shoulders of four young men. That dance, the machete dance, another where dancers leaped from one elevated bench to another and a dance where a lit candle was cradled in a handkerchief and twirled over ones head I doubt would ever be performed in the USA. We can’t even light a candle in our church buildings let alone have kids dancing on poles over a cement floor. However no one fell and cracked their heads open, or caught on fire, and it was awesome!!

Construction of Ilagan Homes

4/18/2011
We are finally finishing up the construction of humble homes for people who were left homeless due to the typhoon and had no means to re-build. We along with Catholic relief have completed over 800, and now we are finishing up the last few. It is all volunteer labor with the exception of a contractor/supervisor. It has demonstrated the spirit of cooperation and helpfulness. The project took place in a town called Ilagan in the nothereastern part of Luzon. The first picture is of the dancing policeman. At the main intersection of Ilagan they play peppy music and the cops dance as they conduct traffic. The second pictures is a home being built. Next is an old couple in front of their completed home. The fourth picture is a home that will be eventually taken down. Their new home is being constructed just below it with a view of the valley and a stand of palm trees. In this house is a 40 year old man who has been paralysed for 18 years. We saw him and he just lays there under a mosquito net on a bamboo bed. From what I can understand he suffered a stroke at 22 and can't move the lower half of his body. The skinny old lady in the pink shirt is his mother who takes care of him. She has no husband, and just one daughter, in the white shorts, to help her. The other people are just curious about the strange white people with a camera. We are providing the son a special wheelcahir and have requested the new house have a concrete slab in front with an overhang so he can at least sit and look out at the valley below. The last picture is the home of a family with 12 children. I guess they had no other place to go so they are living in the old house that is leaning so much. I imagine when ever the wind blows they get really nervous. We are building them a bigger house in front of their old one. Hopefully they will all fit.

The Inspirational People of Amulon

3/30/11

We met one group of church members that were an inspiration to us. They and some of their non-member friends are part of our new Amulon agricultural project. Their little community is not accessible by road. The Saturday when we visited there were 45 people helping transport by foot sand, cement, and cement block out to build their worm beds. They live in very humble circumstances, bamboo huts with no water, electricity, or bathrooms. They cook their food outside over a fire in a cooking shed. The picutres are the kitchen, the cooks, the water source which is not that close to the kitchen and me in the bathroom. Next to the tree (which is for support for us old people) is a hole that you squat over. Not much privacy.

Around their homes these people have small gardens for vegetables, a few chickens but they make money by working as farm hands in the rice fields. Their daily wage is from $2 to $3 dollars per day. Their work is not consistent depending on the crop and the weather. So in a good week the most they could make would be $10 to 15 dollars.

However this is what is inspiring to me: To get to church they need to walk through the rice fields a little more than a half a mile to get the main road where they can catch a jeepney. In the last picture I have the view from the village to the main road which is where there is a stand of trees. A jeepney ride cost about 30 cents each way, which is 60 cents round trip. If the average family size is five people that would cost $3.00, at least an entire day’s wages to get to church and home again. If they don’t have the money sometimes they walk and that is 10 miles round trip. The rest of my life I promise I will never again complain what a hassle it is to drive 37 miles to get to church.