Filipino Joke!

The rain is pounding on the rich green jungle plants of Jakarta as the thunder bashes and cackles overhead, and here I am, feeling like the negligent college-student, writing to loved ones with shame over how long it has been. Forgive me?

I have missed this opening of my mind and heart, it is therapeutic, yet I suppose, with the joy and happiness I have felt these past weeks, I suppose the need was not so great. To update those who are confused, I just passed 3 weeks in Manila, Philippines, with Jay and Steph, and then on Saturday, we flew to Jakarta to meet up with Jeff and Allison. So, in essence, I have gone from being a third wheel, to a fifth wheel, from smog to mountain mists, and weird Asian food to.....weird Asian food. :) Most recently, oxtail soup and frog legs have topped the list, and both were surprisingly a pleasure to ingest.

Since you missed these past weeks, I'd like to share some of the Filipino experience with you, and beg you to "para po" (respectfully stop) the business of your day to experience a bit of what I've embraced in Manila!

Jay, Steph and I arrived in Manila over three weeks ago, exhausted from an early flight and the a bus ride into the city. We were met by Techie, the adorable better half of the Torchbearer's Reps in Manila. She is the quirkiest person I've met, the most generous, unabashed, and forceful. Her husband is equally amusing, and lovely to be around. Half the time I didn't know if I was laughing with them or at them, or if they were laughing at me! And I lack the previous cultural experience to determine if it is a Philippine-ism or just a Loy-and-Techie-ism. Nevertheless, they were a blessing to share the time with. In Manila, we had the privilege of teaching two remedial English classes at two different public high schools, three days a week, and then 4 Values classes once a week. It was a fantastic schedule, Steph and I'd leave the house by 8:30, Jeepney for and hour or so, and start teaching by 10. Jeepney to the other school and teach till 1, before stumbling our hot and sweaty bodies (no air conditioning in a class of 30 students) to the nearest mall for a light lunch. The afternoons were blessedly free, for class prep, University applying, or essay writing. We would meet Jay for dinner, and then return to the Guesthouse where we were staying. That was the schedule, and I have to say, I felt so much more at home, more at peace, in the Philippines than I ever did in India. Part of me feels terribly guilty over this admission, for although I never loved India, I learned and grew and became a deeper person there, but this break was a welcome relief for the selfish side of me. Steph and I were free and independent in a city that was safe and traveller-friendly, catching the Jeepney as simple as the wave of your hand and you get to squish into a jeep-type bus that could be holding as many as 15 other jam-packed, sweaty Filipinos. We went and had a make-your-own salad with fresh mango and roasted chicken at least 4 times a week, we splurged for my birthday and had a Thai massage (I never knew I could stretch like that!), we were able to teach a class of over 50 students about God, in a public school, with no restrictions. Part of me feels like the enjoyment I received on this trip was selfish, yet I loved it, and it gave me a fantastic chance to prepare myself for what God has planned for me next year, as well as take on some of the most challenging spiritual questions and discoveries I've ever made.

And yet, let me say, it was not all a bed of roses.........picture this:
Steph and I are teaching our first day of values classes. We have already taught 2, one hour classes, and are sweaty and tired. We enter this third class to find about 48 students crammed into too-few desks, a solitary fan pumping uselessly from the corner, no coverings on the windows, and no moveable door, so the room is open to any and every possible breeze.....and distraction. We begin to introduce ourselves, when suddenly, in the courtyard directly beside our classroom, is host to the school's marching band, as they prepare for an upcoming cheer competition. The soundsystem is blaring, as well as the drums and bells being played directly outside of our window. Soon, we are no longer getting cries of "nosebleed!"(the Filipino idiom depicting their inability to understand the English language), but motions of squinted eyes and ear-pointing, so as to inform us that they are entirely incapable of hearing the words we are screaming at them from a meter away. Don't worry, though, it gets better. It is not a secret that Filipinos love to sing, and LOVE to sing Karaoke. Soon the band practice turns into an opportunity for the students to perform their favorite pop song, be it Josh Groban, to Beyonce. Also, DIRECTLY outside of our classroom. As if our students were not distracted enough, as we resort to sing language to communicate, THEY all love singing, too, and so join their voices in a lovely, LOUD chorus of song, as Steph and I look at each other, and begin to merely laugh as the sweat drips off our upper lips, and the final lines of "You raise me UP!" are blasted into our classroom.

And you thought all this practice at teaching would make me want to join the profession.

But don't worry, all of our classes were not like that. :)

I felt that my time in the Philippines was extremely timely, in that I could make some exciting plans for next year. Through an amazing opportunity, I was also able to experience something that I have dreamed about for a while now. As I felt very led by Jesus to apply for University in the subject of Linguistics (a crazy choice, something I had never before considered, but what was clearly God's direction....dude, when He gives you Bible verses that tell you what major to take, you listen!), a possibility arose for Steph and I to travel to another island in the Philippines to visit a school that I had dreamed about last year. It is called Mercy Maternity Clinic, and is a school for North American girls to become Midwives through a University in the US, with more hands-on experience than most students would get in years of practicums in North America. We flew to Davao on a Saturday morning, and were blessed with 2 days of experience that I will never forget. A friend of a friend welcomed us to stay in the girls' 'dorm' (a BEAUTIFUL home filled with 13 females and a LOT of estrogen :)) and we were able to go with her on shift at the Maternity clinic. My friends, I saw God breathe life into two new human beings. Two baby boys, with mothers younger than I, and was shocked at the entirely.....normal, natural-ness of this feat of Divine+Human nature. I loved it, and surprisingly enough, I also absolutely loved the time we spent doing prenatal clinics with the women that came. I can now, quite effectively, find the position, fundal height, and heartbeat of your baby. It was beyond brilliant to see the light come into each woman's eyes when they first hear the beat of life of the soul that is growing inside them.

So at the end of the weekend, did I want to attend? Well, it is complicated. I am too late to go this next year. It is very difficult to transfer the certificate/degree back into Canada. It is too expensive. Could I spend another two years, minimum, away from my family? I have no answer....and yet a plan is starting to form in my mind. I want to be home next year. I want to go to University. I have so much to experience, and so much love stored up from being away for so long, that I want to pour out onto my friends, family and overflow into any facet I can find. So maybe....I am at home next year. I go to University, and I save up as much as I can in the meantime. I use the time to determine, would the Midwife thing work out? Does God want me there? Does God want me to do missions? And if it is His will, I think about attending the next year. Although....I did celebrate another birthday a few weeks ago....20! I'm feeling old. Time is running out, man! But, one step at a time, I am trusting the Creator to unveil the picture He has for my life.

I was planning to attempt to explain to you my current Spiritual predicament involving the age-old debate over predestination.....but this is getting long. Let's leave it at: I am struggling through it, but hoping that the One who made me, and made doctrine, and is bigger than my confusion and unwaivering opinions. The verse I cling to, still, includes a line that I have to repeat to myself...."lean not on your own understanding"....which is difficult, but leaves me in a place of rest once more.

Dinner is calling...and may I leave you with a piece of joy? I am the new Lion Tamer at the Indonesian Zoo! And I have a picture with me and my friend, the Cheetah, to prove it. Whoever said missions couldn't be fun?