The Phillipines: Part II

Welcome back faithful readers,

For two reasons this post will contain only the executive summary of our time in Cateel, Philippines and not a day-by-day account of our activities: first so that we can more rapidly bring this journal up-to-date with our current location (Cairns, Australia), and second, because a complete account of our doings in the Philippines would constitute an entire book that neither Carol or I feel compelled to attempt writing at the moment. With that said...

Tricycad: maximum capacity = 11 people (true story)

Our arrival in Cateel after many hours in the flatbed truck with pink flames was pretty joyous. We had just glimpsed the Pacific Ocean for the first time in our travels after cresting the foothills dense with coconut palms just north of Boston, and we gladly felt the cooler but still humid and warm coastal breezes coming off the water. This close to the coast we also started seeing larger groups of tents lining the roads still providing shelter to families who had been displaced over a year ago, and who had just five days earlier been under water from the low pressure area floods. Our first glimpses of Cateel were of green rice fields, temporary road-side gardens, bicycle or motorcycle powered colorful three-wheel taxi cars, shacks cobbled together from recycled building materials, and a few sturdier but weather beaten businesses in the center of town.

Hanging out in the Plaza with the youth group

Mr. R brought us to a local restaurant where we met Pastora B and learned that after our first night (which we would spend with Mr. R's relatives), we were welcomed to come live with her family for the next two weeks. After agreeing that we would use our tent to camp out nearby on the site where her church previously stood (having been totally demolished by the typhoon), we were distraught to find out the next day that B's family had actually evacuated one entire room of their already cramped house where fourteen people were already living!!! This was just the first of countless completely selfless acts by the Cateeleños people that we were to experience. We quickly learned that it is the custom and pride of Cateel to treat visitors (whether family, friends or strangers), with the kind of hospitality that is typically reserved for royalty in other parts of the world. Our initial horrified reaction that victims of so much recent devastation would be putting themselves out for us gradually gave way to an understanding that refusal on our part would not only be rude, but would also deny our hosts a rare opportunity to celebrate something out of the ordinary in a place which the 'outside world' is rarely given the honor of being welcomed into the Cateel family.

At the foot of Aliwagwag waterfall with our new friends

Clearly, we were being given a gift much bigger than we could ever give back, but we loved every minute of it. For starters, Mr. R piled about twenty-five people including Pastor C, his wife Pastora B, and many of the youth from their congregation, Gateway Family Church, into our truck and drove us 25 minutes up into the hills on paved/gravel/dirt roads to Aliwagwag, the most breathtaking waterfall we had ever seen. Set right into the dense green jungle and climbing up into the mountains like a massive staircase of whitewater, these falls are nearly undiscovered by the outside world. From our swimming hole, we could only see ten to fifteen of the eighty-four terraces which make it the tallest waterfall in the Philippines at 1,110 feet high. The weather that day was perfect for swimming in the pools of Aliwagwag, picnicking, riding around in the back of the truck, and getting to know our hosts a bit better. Throughout the week, as we visited other members of the church for times of encouragement, prayer, and of course eating, we also were introduced to another fantastic set of waterfalls called Tres Marias where we were treated to the traditional Bangus fish grilled right over a campfire and an exploration of the fantastic cave system that surround the waterfall. Another highlight outing took us to what must be the most scenic natural hot springs in the world, Balite Hot Springs in Baganga. One of the most special aspects of all these outings was the fact that each place was truly a local hangout. We did not see a single tourist in over two weeks.

Crossing the San Alfonzo River with our motorcycle

By this time we were entrusted with the use of Pastor C's motorcycle which we used extensively to get around town and out into the farmland, countryside, and mountains when visiting church members. One memorable trip even found us loading the motorcycle onto a dugout canoe in order to cross a river where a principle highway bridge had been completely eliminated by the recent flood.

Balite Hot Springs!!!

Regardless of where we went, each outing found us discovering new and wonderful foods, the combined effect being that we were perpetually stuffed, hardly being able to ponder eating another morsel when the next meal arrived. Again, this was not what we had expected in an internationally declared disaster area, but our new friends were so incredibly excited and overjoyed to share with us that we could do nothing more than praise God and join in the camaraderie. Favorite new foods included camote (like a potato, but prepared in new and wonderful ways), cassava (another root, traditionally prepared with coconut milk and fried),  many different kinds of fish, crab, shrimp, and of course lechon!!! Lechon is a pig that has been stuffed with lemongrass and spices and slow roasted over hot coals for several hours, served whole on a plate of banana leaf, and attacked from head to tail by guests like sharks at a feeding frenzy once the host gives the signal. We were presented a special lechon dinner in our second week by the church family, and it was one of the most humbling moments of my life, as I realized how reserved I am with my resources (both financial and emotional) toward other people, whether they are friends, family, or complete strangers.

Our very first lechon dinner

In addition to soaking up so much love from our new friends and Philippine family (did I mention that we were living in a house with fourteen people?), we were also given the opportunity to encourage and hopefully inspire some people in Cateel. Not only were we able to spend time in church members' homes praying and listening to stories about what God has been teaching the Davao Oriental region through the recent storms, but we were also welcomed into school classrooms to talk to the kids about our travels, faith, education, and careers back home. In each and every conversation we marveled at stories of terror and survival through Typhoon Pablo (aka Bopha) that described cows, people, trees, and even houses being blown right off the ground by the wind while groups of people huddled together in places of dubious security waiting and praying for the storm to end and even confessing to one another in case the storm would be the end of their lives. One evening we had the privilege to share part of our own story at a massive assembly of the Cateel extension college students who were then given the opportunity to ask us some very insightful questions (though there was a lot of laughing at this meeting as well). Other opportunities to give back to the community a little came through Carol's physical therapy skills and my own love of fixing things. Carol also spent time in Pastora B's bakery shop (Blessing's Bakery) learning how to sell bread rolls and chocolanai (the best pastry invention ever) at the counter, and I got to play some basketball with the guys (Filipinos tend to love basketball), work on motorcycles, computers, sound systems, etc.

A team of pastors head out to their regional meeting from our house in Cateel

Living with husband and wife pastors we also learned a bit more about the challenges facing rural church leadership. Legitimate distractions from committed involvement to the church are everywhere (eg. how will my family survive without any form of livelihood), but every pastor we met was incredibly committed to helping their community survive both physically and spiritually no matter what the cost. We visited with a wonderful sixty-five year old pastor and his wife one morning. He took a break from nailing boards onto his nearly rebuilt house to tell us how he rides his motorcycle over an hour up mud roads each Sunday to preach to a village in the mountains. He wasn't lying. We made the same trip a week later with him, and he rode on the handlebars of a motorcycle carrying four people including Carol.

Joe fries up cassava in the kitchen

Despite fourteen people crowded into a small house, daily life at home was pretty routine. After a few days our hosts even let us start helping out with chores like hand-washing clothes with water pumped manually from the well, cooking fish, hot-cakes, boiled bananas, and other delicious foods in the outdoor open-fire kitchen, washing dishes after meals, and taking turns holding Bruce Rev, the seven month old nephew of Pastora B. Bathing was by bucket shower only, and at night the rain was deafening on the corrugated steel roof. Our house, like every other house in Cateel had lost its roof, several walls, and every household item when the storm hit, and by the time we arrived had been reassembled into a mismatch of recycled boards, USAID tarps, and donated roofing materials.

Carol having a cuddle with Bruce Rev

One final surprise that stretched us to our limits was being asked to speak in front of the church on consecutive Sunday mornings. Both Carol and I chose to talk about the various lessons that we have learned over the past few months as we have traveled around the globe, visiting various brothers and sisters in Christ and also simply enjoying the stunning work of our creator. It made the task of speaking in public easier, because we have learned so so so much, and no more so than in the Philippines. I won't repeat Carol's entire sermon, but a quick summary includes what the Cateeleños people taught us about how to respond when loss comes, joy in spite of difficult circumstances, boldness/willingness to be a light in dark places, hospitality, and the value of time spent in fellowship and worship.

Finally, after seventeen days it was time to head back to the city of Davao on the bus with Pastora B at our side (she had responsibilities in Davao at the same time that we needed to return in order to catch our flight) which was a huge blessing. The early morning of our departure was appropriately rainy, and the chaos of one motorcycle running out of gas and trying to keep our backpacks dry while racing through the dark wet streets to the bus station made saying goodbye to Pastor C a little less traumatic, but it didn't keep me from realizing how much I would miss his quiet, humble presence. The bus ride was uneventful despite muddy roads and having to get off the bus once while it crossed a rickety temporary bridge (thoughtful bus driver), and after a joyful lunch reunion with Mr. S and Mr. R, a couple trips to the shopping center to run errands, and a tearful goodbye with Pastora B, it was time to move on.

Thank you Pastors B and C for the most amazing adventure!!!

In conclusion, there are many things that we will miss about Cateel from the short time that we lived there. Cottage prayer each Friday night, Dawn Patrol at 4am on Saturday mornings, Mañanita serenading on birthdays (also at 4am), waking up to the sounds of roosters and pigs at 2am, bible studies on Wednesdays with the youth group, coffee with the Pastors each morning, sitting under USAID tarps listening to Pastors C and B play guitar and sing, and cooking with all things coconut! Most of all we will miss our new friends, but if we are confident about anything in this life, we are confident that we will see them again.

Next up: Carol will fill you in on our week in Cairns, Australia.

Peace,

Joe

P.S. Please check out our entire Philippines Highlights album, as there are many additional fun photos!

The Philippines: Part I

Greetings Most Excellent Family and Friends!

It is with such joy and excitement that we get to write this installment of the "Adventures of Joe & Carol"!  We have spent the past three weeks in the Philippines experiencing some of the most memorable, special and faith-stretching moments of our entire world tour. We ended up staying for two action and prayer packed weeks in the small village of Cateel on the Eastern coast of Mindanao. The likely question at this point is:  How the heck did you end up in such a remote village in the Philippines???

Locals prepare freshly caught fish at the wharf in Panabo

What lead us to the Philippines:
First: Back in Orange County, I worked with many Filipinos at Terrace View Rehabilitation Center and became interested in their homeland through my friendship with them and hearing their stories.  Second: At various points in our travels we have met other travelers who had been to the Philippines and raved about it describing as beautiful and not too touristy (except for the famous Boracay Beach that we were instructed to avoid). Third: While in Dubai, we learned of Super-Typhoon Yolanda which had left parts of Visayas region extremely damaged. Our desire to head to the Philippines grew, thinking we might be able to lend a helping hand by volunteering to help with some kind of relief work. Finally, while we were making our way through Cambodia our hearts were set on the idea of heading to the Philippines, but we still weren't sure how to get involved in relief efforts since we had no personal connections. Our prayers were the same as always (a little simple and a little scary): "Lord, show us where to go.  We want to serve you. We hand over this time in the Philippines to you, please show us the way!"

So, I posted on good ol' facebook to see if anyone had any contacts and quite a few people responded (which I appreciated so much) through which we were miraculously lead into the arms of a Filipino family that we will never forget. It all started with our dear friend Xander recommending we get in touch with someone else we know named Faith. Faith put us in touch with a fellow named Richard who knew a local community leader named Mr. S, who recommended us to Pastora B who loved us from the moment she first contacted us one day before we arrived on her doorstep. Whew, talk about degrees of separation! But, when we finally arrived in Cateel it was so evident that GOD had been answering our simple prayer perfectly, that he had actually been the one arranging all this and that our arrival was truly his appointment!

A view from the waterfront in Davao

However, before we got to that point of assurance and peace knowing we were in His steps, we had some bumps on the road. For starters, we flew from Singapore to Manila and found our way to the hostel we had booked in advance called "Our Awesome Hostel."  Unfortunately, the hostel wasn't quite as awesome as advertised. I had read online that it can be difficult to find, so googled the address and drew a little map to show our taxi driver in Manila how to get there. What I hadn't realized was that there were TWO "Kalayaan" streets in Manila which meant that we didn't find the hostel until about 3am after wandering the streets in the wrong part of town with many people looking at us like we were crazy when we asked if they knew where "Our Awesome Hostel" was. Some dear hotel workers at a nearby Marriott finally pointed us in the right direction and after another 10 minute taxi ride to the other part of town, we finally arrived at the Awesome Hostel. There was no receptionist at such a late hour so we snuck into the only unlocked dorm room, found two empty beds and enjoyed some rest.

We only spent one day in Manila making our final arrangements to head down to Davao City where we would meet with Mr. S who we hoped would shed some light on whatever it was the we were going to be doing in Mindanao. Metro Manila is a bustling city with 13% of the country's population and is the center of economics and politics for the Philippines. We were ready to head to quieter pastures after just a day in Metro Manila and Cebu Pacific Airlines took us safely South to Davao. As we approached Davao we enjoyed beautiful views of blue sea waters, acres of coconut palms and gorgeous coastlines.

One year after Pablo the coconut groves are scenic, but too sparse to bring income

Joe found a gem of a hotel to stay in upon arriving in Davao called Hotel Uno for a mere 300 Pesos/night ($7). A little nervous about the number of unknowns that were stacking up in our lives, that evening we finally met with the soft-spoken, highly respected, and God-fearing Mr. S for dinner.  It turns out that he grew up in Cateel, and although he now works in Davao City and Panabo, he has a huge heart for Cateel. Over dinner he gave us a little history of the place we were headed, but no detail or plan as to what we would actually do. His roll was simply to "keep us safe" as he put it, and "make sure that we came back alive." But, before sending us off, he introduced us his right-hand man Mr. R (who he had designated as our body guard and driver for the seven hour drive to Cateel), and gave us a spectacular tour of the Panabo coastline, fishing trade, and banana plantations. As it turned out, the extra day touring around Davao was also necessary to determine whether the roads to Cateel were indeed fully passable after torrential rains had caused massive flooding and landslides which had blocked all roads in and out of Cateel just 5 days earlier.

Our awesome transportation between Davao and Cateel

Cateel is located about 350km northeast of Davao City on the island of Mindanao and is about a seven hour drive from Davao City partly due to poor road conditions and washed out bridges.  The population is about 38,000 people with one of the most significant sources of income being coconuts.  On December 4, 2012, Typhoon Bopha (aka Pablo), a category 5 Super-Typhoon, struck Cateel and the surrounding regions devastating homes, buildings, farms and destroying almost all of the income generating coconut palms. Since then, Cateel has been in rebuilding mode but had another set-back just 3 weeks ago when the tropical depression "Agaton" brought heavy rainfall for several days straight causing massive flooding, landslides, loss of homes, lives and crops, many of which had just recently been rebuilt and replanted following Bopha.

On a side note, living in Cateel was like a crash course in meteorology and words like Super-Typhoons, Storm Categories, Tropical Depressions, Low Pressure Areas and Storm Surges became part of our vocabulary. (See bottom of post for some definitions :)) We also learned first had what it's like to live with the very real daily awareness of destructive weather on the horizon. At home my awareness of weather doesn't go much beyond sunny, rainy or perhaps maybe the occasional frost.  In Cateel, weather is a daily concern with people checking the forecast via cell phones or relying on relatives in the city to see if a Low Pressure Area (LPA) is heading their way. Thankfully, the weather was beautiful while we were in Cateel, and we were happy to hear that the storm "Jun Jun" forming out in the Pacific Ocean during our first week decided to change course and keep us dry.

Temporary shelter for flood and typhoon victims line the roads

But I've gotten a bit ahead of myself! By the time dinner with Mr. S came to a conclusion, we were still very much in the dark about our purpose in the Philippines. We had little more than Pastora B's name, and the knowledge that God had miraculously provided a truck and driver for our transportation to a remote location that we had never heard of until that morning. It's hard to describe how we felt that night as we prepared to leave the next morning at 4am with Mr R. A few emotions though: confused, nervous, out of place, inadequate and fearful. Yet, at the same time we also felt deep in our hearts that God really was answering our prayers and desires to serve and that we were exactly where He wanted us to be and just needed to continue to take steps forward in faith.

To be continued...!
All our love,

Carol


Tropical Depression: winds less than 38mph
Tropical Storm: winds 39-73mph
Typhoon: a tropical storm in the Indian or Western Pacific Ocean, broken into five categories (#5 the strongest can have winds greater than 157mph)
Super Typhoon: a super typhoon is equivalent to a category 4 or 5 hurricane in the U.S.
Low Pressure Area: a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations which can result in heavy rainfall and flooding
Storm Surge: a local rise in sea level due to winds and low pressure areas

Reunion Time in Singapore

A visit to the US Embassy in Singapore

Greetings Family and Friends!

Today we are writing to you from Davao City, Philippines as we anticipate an early morning departure tomorrow for Guam, but it is high time we catch you up on recent events considering the fact that our last update was from Vietnam three weeks ago!

Following our rapid traversal of Vietnam from South to North, we caught a flight from Hanoi down to Singapore for a 2.5 day 'layover' which we spent with the legendary Jason Wong from Cambridge days of yore. The stay was short and sweet, but with Jason as our tour guide we saw more of the city than we originally thought feasible. Based out of our ABC Hostel abode in the Arab quarter of Singapore, we kept up a marathon of sightseeing with aid of multiple cups of coffee from the numerous US Embassies (aka: Starbucks) scattered throughout the city.

Smelly flowers at the Botanic Gardens

For starters, Jason escorted us out to MacRitchie Reservoir where we enjoyed a trail run through some of the dense jungle that permeates any undeveloped regions of the island. Although Jason and I saw a lizard over a meter long cross the road in front of us at one point, and the jungle was full of amazing plant-life, the true highlight of the run was the fact that Carol was able to join us for a small portion of the run without any knee problems or side-effects from the running (Praise God!).

Singapore reminds us to be kind to others

We also managed to fit in a stroll through the incredible Botanic Gardens of Singapore, which were just as enjoyable (and free) as described by our close friends almost 7 months ago in California. The fresh air, enormous trees, and quiet pathways made us forget that we were in the middle of a big city for a couple hours, and we marveled at rainforest, medicinal, fragrant, floral, and many other amazing plant-kind. We also enjoyed lunching in Singapore's China Town, and because we arrived on Jan 19th, China Town was in full swing getting ready for the Chinese New Year which was to be celebrated on the 30th.

Supertrees are the best!

Later that day, we walked down to the riverside for a late night street-food style dinner, and afterward enjoyed the immensely weird yet wonderful sight of the Supertree Grove (enormous illuminated steel structures that look like something Tim Burton might perhaps design for a Star Trek movie) in the Gardens by the Bay. The night came to a dramatic conclusion as we ran flat out through the station to just barely caught the very last MRT train around midnight back to Bugis and our hostel.

The final excitement of our stopover in Singapore was the fact that we almost didn't get to leave!!! It wasn't until we were checking in for our flight to Manila, Philipines that we were told that we needed to provide documentation proving that we would be leaving the Philippines within one month of our arrival. Singapore Airlines wouldn't let us get on the plane unless we had this documentation, but since we were planning to leave the Philippines on a standby flight, we had nothing to show them.

China Town winding up for the Year of the Horse

We were stuck, and time was running out for us as the check-in desk would close in less than 30 minutes. Mom and Dad to the Rescue!!! Carol's parents received a 3am wake-up call from us on our computer after Joe ran over a mile through the airport to find someone who could provide us with a wifi password, and despite a painfully bad phone connection Ann understood what we needed and provided us with a standby confirmation number for a flight out of Manila three weeks later. We were literally counting down the seconds to 6:30pm when the check-in desk would close, and Ann's email with the details arrived as the clock struck 6:29pm. So, not only did we get on the plane but we had a wonderful flight being thankful for Ann and Lee, watching documentaries about giant Humbolt Squids, and wondering what on Earth the Philippines held in store for us.

We look forward to updating you on our incredible experience in the Philippines soon,

- Joe