Back to Work

Well, Holy Week is now long gone, and things are starting to get back to normal. We've gotten back into the swing of things with language school, and we're poised to finish our classes a week from today (Thursday).

After we are done with classes, we will then start to shift into the "work" that we actually came out here to do! This is really exciting, because it has been such a long time coming. I'll be ramping up my involvement with planning short-term assignments for the summer, and Ellen is looking forward to the possibility of substituting at Faith Academy.

Today's Tagalog lesson:

"Pwede ba akong magpraktis sa Tagalog?"

"Can I practice Tagalog (with you)?"

Live Crucifixions on Good Friday

Note: In this entry, I am sharing about a Filipino tradition that can be seen as quite gruesome. Please use your best judgment if reading this with your children.

The Easter season is celebrated very differently in the Philippines. For instance, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are national holidays, and there is a lot of ritualism tied into celebrations that are held on these days.

Larry and I decided to check out one of the more famous Good Friday celebrations in the town of San Fernando, which is about one hour north of Manila. We arrived in San Fernando around 9:00AM, and we saw some penitents preparing for their march around town. (During this occasion, a penitent is a person who thinks that God will listen to his prayers if he intentionally whips himself.) They all filed into the street, and began whipping themselves with wooden sticks attached to the end of long ropes. I had read that shards of glass are implanted in the whips, but after accidentally getting hit by one, I saw that this was not true. (Thankfully!)

So, rather than scourging themselves, the bleeding actually came from small incisions that were made in the penitents' backs by a man who carried what looks like a hairbrush embedded with glass. The whipping seemed to keep the blood flowing, with an after-effect of slinging blood into the crowds.

Halfway through the procession, each of the penitents laid belly down on the ground, and allowed the bystanders to hit them on the backs with sticks. Oddly, you would think that this would be a somber occasion, but it was truly a festival. One lady was hitting one of the men with a stick, and the she looked up at me and said, "Come! Take a picture of my brother!"

The main event was the crucifixion that took place at 1:00PM. Again, believing that God would hear their prayers if they actually suffered like Jesus did, about 11 men were willfully nailed to crosses. They hung there for about 5 minutes before they were lowered down and carried off by medical teams.

After the crucifixions had finished, a guy standing next to me asked what I thought. I said, "I don't understand why they do this. This event uses the symbols of Christianity, but the Bible does not say that we must do things like this for God to hear us."

He thought for a moment and replied, "You're right."

Rest Awhile

The week between Palm Sunday and Easter is called "Holy Week", and there are many festivals and parties that take place in local communities. We decided this would be a good time to take a break from our Language School studies and go to a local beach for a few days with some of our new friends who are also serving here in the Philippines.

Before we left, our Director sent us a quote from Richard Foster that said, "Sometimes the most spiritual thing we can do is take a nap." I agree.

The 1 hour trip to/from the beach was provided by the "Brian Boat" in the background. It's larger than it appears (note the guy with the bag walking up the gangway); and has a set of bamboo pontoons on either side that keep it afloat.

Walking Home from Language School

I took a couple of pictures as we were walking back from language school. Thought you might like them.

Ellen fights the pollution like many other women in the Philippines--with a hankie.

She found a pet store that has some great dogs. Sure, they aren't Molly, Emma, and Charlotte, but they appreciate the love anyway!

Larry the Neighbor

This is Larry. He's our neighbor at SIL. He likes to drop by our place and chat. Sometimes he'll play games or eat dinner with us. He's currently working with a Filipino architect, trying to determine how we can best use our facilities here in Manila. He's a funny guy.

"Do not attempt to adjust your screen--my shirt really is this color."

3rd Grade

As of this past Friday, I accepted the position to teach 3rd grade at Faith Academy. I am incredibly excited, though this is a grade I have never taught! There will be two 3rd grade classes next year, so I will have an experienced 3rd grade teacher to walk beside me! My one question for one of the up and coming 3rd graders we've gotten to know was whether or not they still hug their teachers. (this is a very important part of school for me!) and he told me yes, so that was the final selling point!

Starting the 2nd week of April, I will begin to volunteer up at the school. This will give me a chance to get to know many of the students and teachers!




When we visited in April, I was able to visit the 1st grade class. Some of the kids will be my 3rd graders next year!!



Here is my future school!

The Ambassador's New Book

A former Philippine Ambassador to the United States recently released a new book that talks about his experiences growing up in the Philippines. He has always been very gracious to SIL and he showed it once again by inviting us to come to his "book launching". It was basically a big party where people talked about the book, and songs were sung from lyrics that he had written for another book. Even the Secretary of Education showed up for the launching!

For being such an important man, Ambassador Ordoñez was very approachable, and even met us at the door as we came in!

Our first week of language school.

This past Monday we began to study Tagalog at a language school here in Manila. We attend 2 classes in the morning and then are studying in the afternoons. We will go to this school for about a month and then have individual tutors after that time. It has been challenging as they introduce a lot of vocabulary and grammar each day. I have so much admiration for people who are able to speak many languages! By the end of the week, we knew a bit more, and had several opportunities to use the bits of sentances that we know with Filipinos. Over the weekend we went with some friends to see a few parts of Manila, which included stopping to watch the sunset over Manila Bay! How refreshing!



Our school! People come here to study English, Tagalog, and a few of the smaller Filipino languages.



Marlon, one of our teachers, hard at work!


Sunset over Manila Bay. Isn't it beautiful! Feel free to come and visit!

Two New Organizations

You're going to be hearing a lot about two new organizations that Wycliffe has asked us to work with, so I thought it would be good to give some introductions.

The first is SIL (Summer Institute of Linguistics), an organization started in the U.S., with the desire to develop translations for indigenous peoples all over the world. (If you want to know more about SIL's achievements only in the Philippines, click here.)

The other organization is called TAP (Translators Association of the Philippines), which is comprised of Filipino-born translators who share the same vision as SIL. Of course, their committment is for all indigenous peoples in the Philippines to have a Bible translation in their heart language, but they are wanting to expand their vision out into the rest of the Asia, also.

We'll primarily be working with SIL while we are here, but TAP has already asked me to help recruit Filipino college students sometime in the fall!

Badminton

A very popular sport in the Philippines is Badminton. Friends of ours invited us to come and play, as they belong to one of the local badminton clubs. It was an indoor room with several courts all in a row. This was our first experience with a true badminton game. We had great coaches and enjoyed the workout!


Here we are in court #1, looking as serious as possible!