Philippines Trip January 2011 #12

I was struck by this youth prayer posted in the Cathedral. I think it deserves a separate post. I join the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in this prayer, not just for the youth of the Philippines, but also for our youth in Canada and around the world. Can you imagine how our world would be different if all of us would pray this prayer and God would answer it by his grace?

Prayer of the Youth
Almighty Father, God of life and love through time and ages, you love us.
You trust and choose us to participate in your saving work.
Bless us, Your young people, with Your grace.
Give us the gift of living life to the full
By encountering you Son in a personal way
And sustaining a relationship with him,
by learning what life truly from his words and works.
From his filial relationship with you,
and by living in true and fruitful communion with you
And with one another.
Empower us by your Holy Spirit to stand firm in faith.
May we bring our fellow young people closer to you
So that together, we become agents of change and builders of a society
Of justice and solidarity, love and peace.
Enable all of us:
Your young people, together with those ministering to us
In the church, in families and in society,
To make a decisive response to our universal vocations:
To live fully and fruitfully by doing everything in love
As we follow Jesus Christ along the path of genuine trust in You.
In communion with the rest of the church,
We pray that the CBCP Year of the Youth become a kairos time
For the youth ministry of Your church,
A period of growing in Your grace through our living in youthful holiness
And through our effort to reach out as a church
To those waiting for Your love.

Philippines Trip January 2011 #11

This is our second Sunday here. Yesterday was one of the warmest days we have had. Then mid afternoon it rained and the temperature dropped. This morning it was below 20C, the coolest it has been and more like what we will expect when we go up to Asibanglan in a few days. Today Christy and her family chose the 9:30 AM mass at the Cathedral and we will join them again. Services are scheduled every Sunday for 6 AM, 7 AM, 8AM, 9:30 AM and 4 PM. Although Ginny and I have grown up in another church tradition, I like to worship with the Catholic community here. That is by far the largest Christian community and under the leadership of the Bishop (see post #8) the worship here is alive and meaningful. I like to see how God is at work, building his Kingdom through the various communities of his people. The Cathedral has been built since the time we lived in Kalinga. It is quite large, accommodating at least 600 people. The builders used a tasteful mix of local materials, especially the beautiful hardwoods from the surrounding mountains. The stained glass windows are beautiful. The large windows at the front depict the coming of the Holy Spirit and the triumphal return of Christ. Along the sides are beautiful windows depicting the daily life of the Kalinga people wearing their colourful traditional dress. Higher up on the sides are various scenes representing the worshiping community in discipleship, family life, science and academia, reconciliation, and social welfare. On the opposite side the stations of the cross are carved on each pillar in local mahogany. The cathedral was packed today. The emphasis was on youth and what was very evident was that the population here is so much younger than in our country. The youth are particularly prevalent here because Tabuk is the place where most Kalinga young people come for college. The choir leading the worship today was mostly young people from the Kalinga National High School. At the last minute Eduardo’s men’s choir (Men without Borders – not sure I like that name) was asked to join with them. Like many of our churches in Canada, they sing with guitar accompaniment and the lyrics projected on a screen at the front. As this service was in Ilocano (the major Philippine language which most people in the north have in common) we did not know many of the songs and I could not understand everything. At other times when I have joined in the English service they have used many of the same songs we sing in Canada. Kalinga’s love music and in some of the songs at church today their native melodies were used. Like Catholic (and other) churches around the world, they follow the lectionary in the scriptures used. Today’s gospel reading was from Matthew where Jesus says that to enter the Kingdom we must become like little children and in the sermon the pastor explained what that meant for us today.

Yesterday morning I met with the Lubuagan Kalinga translation team again. This time the computer tools and the internet connection all worked flawlessly and we were able to end the week with a good experience. One of the translators had to leave early as he pastors a small Alliance Church in Lubuagan. Many Kalingas who leave the Catholic church choose the Alliance. I would say that Bible translation has contributed a lot the establishment and growth of Alliance churches in many native communities throughout the Philippines. Tabuk has quite a selection of other protestant churches as well. Tomorrow the SIL Director from Manila and one of the leaders of the Translators Association of the Philippines (TAP) and all the translators working in the “Kalinga Cluster” will come for a meeting scheduled on Tuesday. TAP is the national organization which SIL fostered over many years through intensive training and support. I was involved in the early stages when I was the SIL Director. We specifically asked for a national translator to be assigned to the Limos Kalinga project when I was asked to take on a Director assignment. Now all of the Kalinga translators serve with TAP. The meeting on Tuesday is important to the building of the “Kalinga Cluster” into a strong team of translators working in the remaining projects.

This morning Beverly, Christy and Syrine’s other sister, arrived with her husband and one year old daughter, Xyrielle from Baguio, a city on the western side of the mountains. They had travelled all night by bus and were quite tired when they arrived. Little Xyrielle really needs sleep and is still shy of all the new people wanting to hold her. The house is getting fuller, but as I have said before, there is always room for more in this culture and Christy does not seem to get up tight in her hospitality.

Philippines Trip January 2011 #10

Yesterday was a full day of working with the Lubuagan Kalinga translation team. All are native speakers of Kalinga. One of my big goals on this trip is to get them setup and working well with our latest computer tools for Bible translators. Normally when I work with translators in Canada one of my young staff, like Jeff Klassen, who are much better at using and teaching the computer tools than I am would be doing this. However, since I am the only support person here for this team, this falls to me. If things can go wrong with a computer, they usually do go wrong with me and I certainly have had my share of frustration getting everything to work properly. One of the translators has an old and VERY slow computer. This didn’t make things any easier. I also discovered that our internet access is not quite as solid as I had thought. Apparently the connection drops from time to time, especially when a lot of people are using it at once. One of the functions of our new tools requires good connectivity on the internet. Right off the mark yesterday morning I ran into a snag that I just could not resolve. I had followed some careful directions that Jeff had sent me. Finally in desperation I decided to try to get in touch with Jeff. It was about 9 PM in Canada (13 hours back from our time) and Jeff of course was at home and not on his computer. However, Syrine, our Kalinga daughter in Canada was on, so I asked her to call Jeff and let him know I needed help. Jeff graciously came on and spent a couple of hours working me through a solution to the our problem here. By the time we were done it was well past midnight and past noon here and I had a headache, but we did get all 3 translators set up. We did run into another snag I couldn’t solve later in the day. So I went to bed early and then got up at 1 AM (noon in Canada) and contacted Jeff at the office. He walked me through the solution to this problem in a short time. I sure hope we don’t hit any more snags today because it is Saturday here and I doubt if I will be able to connect with Jeff again until next week. It sure is great to have better communications these days. When we lived in Kalinga the only communications we had with the world beyond was through our SIL supplied single sideband radio by which we could talk with our SIL support centres in Bagabag and Manila. Now almost everyone here seems to have cell phones. Today we expect our colleagues Fred and Bel. Bel is the Philippine translator who completed the translation we started in Limos Kalinga. They have been battling the flu and getting their son settled for his schooling in Manila. When they arrive today we will finalize plans for the library dedication next week.

Philippines Trip January 2011 #9

This week has been quiet , so I have had some opportunity to read. Two of my favourite books so far on this trip are: “The Naked Now: Learning to See at the Mystics See” by Richard Rohr and “Present Perfect: Finding God in the Now” by Greg Boyd. As the titles imply, both books focus on living in the present moment. Both build on the thoughts and writings of earlier mystics and contemplatives to encourage what brother Lawrence called “practicing the presence of God.” Reading these in the midst of all our adventures so far has reminded me of how much I need this discipline – to see people and events from the perspective of faith and of God who is in me and all around me. Especially the adventures associated with the trip up here on the 5th made me aware of how much I still want to be in control and have things my way rather than seeing and appreciating what God is doing and allowing every moment of my journey with him. Isn’t it great to still have the opportunity to grow and mature at every age and stage of our lives.

On Tuesday we went to visit Theodoro, the Asibanglan village chairman, at his house in Tabuk. Theodoro and his wife Margarita are both retired teachers and like many Kalingas of some means they also maintain a house here in Tabuk, the provincial capital. We had heard that he had come down from the village to Tabuk, but when we went to his house he was out on official business. We did have a very nice visit with Margarita, who is very hospitable and sociable. Yesterday Theodoro and 3 other village leaders came here to Christy’s house to see us. We had a great time discussing and firming up plans for the library dedication next week. The community leaders appreciate this investment in their village and want to do all they can to support the event. We will provide a couple of pigs to butcher and the community will supply rice and people to do the work of cooking and also carrying supplies and our luggage up the steep mountain trail from where the road ends in rainy season. Today I expect to work with the Lubuagan translation team again. One of their parents was gravely ill, so I have not seen them for a few days. It made for a more relaxed pace so far this week.

Philippines Trip January 2011 #8

Our visit with the Bishop yesterday went exceptionally well. He had asked us to come at 9:30 and then stay for lunch with an international group he was hosting. When we arrived he greeted us warmly and even left his own staff waiting while we talked about the translation projects in Kalinga. He is VERY supportive of the translation projects as the Scriptures are at the centre of his vision for ministry in this province. He is especially interested in the Lubuagan Kalinga project which is the one on which I am consulting now, as Lubuagan is his home area. He again committed to providing someone from his staff to reading through the translation in preparation for him to give it his official endorsement. We also chatted quite a lot about peacemaking in Kalinga, including the dangers involved. He asked for prayer as sometimes the peacemaker ends up being misunderstood and targeted by both sides in a conflict. He spoke well of one of the Mennonite peacemakers who has been here for a couple of seminars and he is looking forward to the visit of our friend Dann next week. After we had chatted for a while he invited us into his dining room for coffee. He had the table set for 15 people and had a meal cooking in the slow cooker. Apparently he is without a cook right now, so he was doing the cooking for lunch. We were impressed all along by his warm hospitality, humility and servant leadership. The guests included a Kalinga married to a Korean and another Kalinga married to a German. Also at dinner was a medical doctor from this community who is half Spanish and a school Director from Lubuagan. So at lunch we got to hear and speak English, German, Kalinga, Ilocano, and a little Korean and Spanish. It was also very interesting to chat with the school Director and her principal from Lubuagan. They include daily Bible sharing in their curriculum. They would be very interested having the texts for their daily readings in Kalinga to use for their Bible sharing. This looks like a good opportunity for the translation team to involve a significant group in the local community in reviewing the translation even before publication. Yesterday was a cloudy, cool (about 25 degrees) day with some light drizzle. This morning it looks like we will see the sun again. So far the weather has been quite pleasant and a good break from the deep freeze in Canada.

Philippines Trip January 2011 #7

Yesterday was a restful and relaxing sabbath. We had decided to go to the 8AM mass at the Cathedral, so it was a bit of a rush for Christy to get the little ones ready. She made us feel at home by not fussing over our breakfast and just letting us fend for ourselves. This was just one of many ways that Christy and her family have made us feel at home already. We were always close to her family, but we had not had the opportunity to get to know Christy very well as an adult with her own family. Already in this week we really feel that we have been accepted as parents and grandparents in her family. We feel at home and at ease here. After mass we met the Bishop and made an appointment to visit him this morning. Then we went up to the provincial capitol which is on a ridge overlooking Tabuk with a beautiful view of the whole city. From there we went out to the dam on the Chico River (about 10K out of town). This dam was completed after we left Kalinga and Ginny had not seen it before. The Chico river drains the mountains in upper Kalinga province and then broadens out into a wide delta around Tabuk. The dam provides irrigation for a large area of farmlands in lower Kalinga and even in a neighbouring province, making this a prime rice growing area in the Philippines and attracting many new immigrants from other parts of the country. While we were at the dam site Eduardo decided on the spur of the moment that it might be fun to have a boat ride on the river. There are boats which ferry people across to villages on the other side. The boats are driven by a small Briggs and Stratton engine which drives a propeller as soon as the boatman yanks the rope to start it. It was a fun ride for all of us. By then we were all hungry and stopped at their favourite Sunday restaurant for some “pancit” a favourite Philippine dish of noodles, vegetables and meat. Then we came home for a nice Sunday nap. After the nap Christy took us to visit our good friend Contes and his family. Contes is the only surviving member of our original translation team. He is 84, but he still hopes to join us for the hike up the mountain into Asibanglan next week for the dedication of the memorial library in honour of those who have gone before. Our evening meal was lighter than usual, just the way we would do it at home and then we even had popcorn at night. We spent the evening in quiet pursuits like reading, working on a puzzle that Ginny had brought and listening (and some singing along) to worship songs I had saved on my computer. During the night we got some rain – a bit of a problem for Eduardo because the construction on the second floor has required opening up some of the roof. So there was a bit of scrambling up above this morning to stem the leaks caused by the rain. As we welcome a new day, most of you are at the end of yours. I hope it has been a restful day for you too.

Philippines Trip January 2011 #1

Happy New Year to all. Here is a quick update from Manila. We arrived yesterday afternoon and were met by Rambie (Syrine’s boyfriend whom we are supporting in seminary here. As expected I am up early this morning (3 AM). It takes a while to recover from a trip to the other side of the globe. But I like mornings and it is quiet and cool here right now. Our trip was long (about 40 hours start to finish) but other wise uneventful. Ginny came down with a sinus infection (high fever and all) 2 days before our departure so we had to get her on antibiotic for the trip. She did really well and is recovering well from the infection. It is good to be back in the Philippines. We plan to spend today in Manila just relaxing and meeting some friends and then head up north to the Kalinga province where we started our translation work almost 40 years ago. This is the coolest month of the year. Yesterday it was about 30 degrees on arrival, but it cools down to about 25 at night – very pleasant. Not much to report so far. I will be in touch through e-mail for most of the time we are here. The following are our 3 main goals for this month:
1. Provide consultant support to several translation projects in languages related to the Kalinga language where we started the project 35 years ago. We have meeting scheduled with the Kalinga cluster (a group of translation teams working on translation in 4 Kalinga dialects) while we are here and hope to work more intensively with one of these teams.
2. Participate in a dedication of the memorial library we helped build in Asibanglan to honour our co-workers like Pedro, who gave their lives for the translation of the Bible. That is scheduled for the weekend of January 22 and will involve a 6 hour trip into the mountains, the last 2 hours hiking in the mud.
3. Fostering relationships for peace making in Kalinga province where peace is often disturbed by revenge killings and inter-tribal conflict. Specifically we will be helping to make connections between the Catholic Bishop in Kalinga province who is very active in peace making and a Filipino couple sent by the Mennonite Church in Canada to develop a ministry called Peacebuilders Inc. The Catholic Bishop in the Kalinga province has been very supportive of the translation work there (past and present), even providing office space for the teams.