Miller & Consuela

This past weekend Dan and I, and about 30 others had the opportunity to go to a New Testament dedication and also the dedication of Genesis and Exodus in the language of Isnag. It was an awesome opportunity to see how God has been working in these people's lives.

What was it like in the Isnag village? For me, and many others it was an awesome experience. I'll try to give you a mental picture until we can add some photos!

We flew in on small, 6 seater airplanes and landed on a grass airstrip. Ready to greet us were dozens of friendly Isnag faces, who were their to meet us and also to help us with our luggage.

From the airstrip we began the 1 1/2 mile journey down a dirt path to a river where we crossed over in small canoes. (Being careful not to tip!!) Then we hiked up about 250 concrete stairs to our home for the next few days. Along the way our hosts were very gracious to stop and let us rest, as all of us visitors were not as fit as the Isnag's who lived here!

Once in the village we were brought to the translator's home where we could rest until we were assigned to our host families house.

I roomed with 4 other girls who are with our Discovery team here from the US and Canada (we'll tell you more about them later!) Our hosts were Miller and Consuela. They welcomed us with open arms, fed us coffee and breakfast each morning, let us borrow one of their two kerosene lamps, and just loved on us! Most of the Isnag people are farmers. They grow rice, pineapple and many other different types of produce. What they grow, is what they eat, along with meat only on special occassions. The same is for Miller -- he is a farmer and Consuela is the 1st/2nd grade teacher at the local elementary school.

The entire time we were their the Isnag people spoiled us with the most Nameet (delicious) pineapple in the world-- I think I ate at least 5 pineapples on my own over the weekend. Also, they were so generous with the meat and vegetables they cooked for us. We felt very special, and they became so special to us!

It was a sad time as we said goodbye after only 4 days, not knowing if we'd ever see these people again. We do know that the Isnag people have impacted our lives forever.

Team Update: Branch Conference Kids

Opportunity: Every other year, SIL Philippines holds a branch-wide conference, where all members come to one location to celebrate the work that is being done, and to plan for the future. While all of the adults are in their important meetings, many of the children are left with nothing to do during this 2 week event.

Solution: I was able to assist a team from Kansas to come to the Philippines to provide the children with a fun VBS-style program. This freed up all of the parents to fully take part in the conference, and let the kids have fun.

All kids love parachutes.

Practicing for the big "end of conference" musical.

U.S. Wrap-up

Well our time in the United States is done, and it's time for us to get back to our home in the Philippines. In the last couple of weeks, it's been a blessing to hear stories about Dad from his friends and business partners.

It took a bit of effort for me to stay in touch with all of the team leaders who will be coming to the Philippines this summer, but with the help of some friends, we were able to keep things under control. Ellen and I will lead a team of college students as soon as we get back, and we are really excited to get them up and running.

On the trip, we were able to get some time in to do some other things. One of the ones that I was really proud of was that I finally learned how to wakeboard (sort of). It took a bit of work, but Ellen's dad was pretty patient with me as he drove the boat. Thanks, Cliff!