Communication restored!

Well we are back in the land of the internet once again. After a delay of over 12 days we are once again able to get online at home. For those of you praying for our house sale, we lost communication just hours after faxing the final contract back to our real estate agent. Isn't it neat how God worked that out!
We have sorely missed being able to just email our family at will and even more we have missed being able to talk with them. Through the internet we can talk to our family using a regular phone. They can call a number in Pine Mountain, GA and it is routed to us through our computer to us here. It is just like calling a # in the states so our parents and my brother call us on their cell phone and it is free for them. Everyone just has to make sure it isn't the middle of the night somewhere. Although recently I would have gladly gotten up at 2 am to talk to them. It is wonderful to hear beloved voices from home. Hard to believe when our partners the Nelsen's arrived in 1994 that there wasn't even the internet here. The world is constantly shrinking!
We are still having power outages though. It is making life an adventure because we never know if we will have power or water. We haven't lost it for more than 6 or 7 hours since the bad storm 12 days ago so that is a blessing.
Ginger

Rain, flooding and no power

Well here we are again with no power and no internet. When we were looking and praying for a missionary position we looked at many where power was limited or sporadic at best. While we knew the power here could go out, the reality of it has been an adjustment. 10 days ago it began to rain. We had heavy rains almost constantly for over 4 days. This has caused flooding in some of the areas around us. It is a common occurance here and people just begin clean up and move on with life.
During the night of day 3 -Thursday, we also had a severe wind storm. Allan and Will woke up and shut not only the windows on one side of the house like normal, but all the windows because the rain was coming from all sides. This storm knocked out the power which also means we had no water. Thankfully we are able to get reliable drinking water from a spring-fed well at the kids school. Power was restored on Saturday just as we were preparing to turn on the generator. (Scott was out of town and so we were hesitant to do this for the first time with out him) We also have big storage tanks of water on the roof that has water for a few showers and flushing the toilet, but is not drinakble. We also couldn't get this to work. After the power returned the water was a little spoartic for another day, but we were able to catch a few showers under a drizzle and by Sunday we had full water again. Well the rains have continued off and on since that time. We have enjoyed the coolness of the weather. The Filipinos call it cold. We call it nice! Our power has had some trouble though. It has continued to flicker and today is once more off completely leaving us with no water again. While our phone lines are not down. Our dsl has been since last Thursday so we are once again out of touch with what is going on in the world. We are learning where some internet cafes are and can check our email at the school library. I am now at the Santa Lucia mall doing some grocery and hardware shopping.
We knew that life and power and water in the third world is not as reliable as in the US, but actually living with it has been an adjustment for us. Can't wait to see what happens during a Typhoon!
Ginger

Contract on house

Ginger and I have just signed and sent a contract to sell our house! What an answer to prayer. Selling the house will allow us to pay our medical school loan in full. In July, we had to begin paying back our loan and to continue to do so for any length of time was going to adversely impact our budget. I am sure there were people who knew our situation who could not believe that we would leave the country to start our ministry before the house sold. But we knew God had given us the timeframe to arrive and start work here. And as Bro. Al Jackson says "delayed obedience is disobedience". So we left in full confidence that our needs would be met as they always have been.

Learning Tagalog with Ate Susing

This picture is of our language teacher, Ate Susing. Ate is a term of respect meaning "older sister". (The pronunciation is ah tay) Respect in the language is big here. If speaking to someone older you should always use "po" which kind of translates into Sir or Madam. They use po often even when speaking in English; ie "Thank you po". We spend 3 afternoons each week trying to learn the language. We then study and try to put into practice at the clinc the things we have learned.
If you've never been to the Philippines, and I assume most of you have not, then you might not know that Filipinos love words that repeat themselves. Our nurse's name is Ling Ling. This is common here. The pastor at the clinic has a son named Bo Boy. Now these are not actually their real names because Filipinos also love nicknames. Their philosophy- Why go by your real name if a nickname will do. Not only do people's names repeat the same word or similar sounds, but the language also repeats itself. Here are some examples--sing-sing: ring; bukong bukong: ankle; dibdib: chest; gabi-gabi: every night; bulaklak: flower. This is quirky, but it doesn't make the language difficult to learn. There are many things that do make Tagalog difficult. The main one is syllable emphasis. I think every spelling must have multiple meanings depending on which syllable you emphasize. For example hapon means either afternoon with the emphasis on ha or Japanese where you emphasize pon. I think until just this week I have been telling people "Beautiful Japanese!" as opposed to Beautiful afternoon. Allan and I are constantly placing the emphasis on the wrong syllable.
Another thing that makes Tagalog difficult is that it doesn't follow an English pattern of sentence structure. When I learned French at least the sentences followed a noun verb; subject then predicate pattern. Not so here. The sentence usually starts with the verb and then gets crazy after that with the other words changing "classes" depending on what you are saying. Here is another thing that is crazy--words change their spelling by where they are in the sentence or what you are saying. This goes way beyond I see, I saw, I said. We are constantly having to add something on to the end of a word called a linker. Sometimes you change the first letter of a adjective like when you ask how something is--"how sweet is the juice?" Sweet is matamis unless you ask this where it becomes katamis. Here is another "quirk"---most of the adjectives start with Ma. There are many that might only change one letter and have totally different meanings--malalim-deep, matalim-sharp, madilim-dark.
All these things combine together to make us want to scream or pull our hair out. Our teacher makes it worthwhile. She is very funny and has taught Tagalog to missionaries for the last 22 years. She is patient with us as we struggle to learn. Ate Susing is 58 and has never been married. When we asked her if she minded us putting a picture of her on our blog, she said that was great, but to let you know she is looking for a husband...an old husband. If you would like to hear a little Tagalog you can go to the main page of our website at www.philippinemission.com and hear Ate Susing read John 3:16 or Juan 3:13. It takes a while to load if you are using dial up. Oh here is another quirk--we have had to learn 3 sets of numbers. Ok so we already knew English, but we also use Tagalog and Spanish #s as well. Spanish is used for date(except the year which is English), time and Bible verses as well as occasionally price. So today is - a kinse ang Siptiyembre two thousand five. Well time to study
Ginger

Walking into a trap

Since Scott has been gone, I have been the only doctor in the clinic. This doesn't mean I have been the only one seeing patients. We have others who are able to see and treat many different problems. Our resident nurse (her name is Ling Ling) is pretty much at the level of a Nurse Practitioner. She is very capable of evaluating and treating many of the common problems seen in our clinic. We also have volunteers who are at various levels of training, including our newest students, who apply what skills they have to each patient encounter. For some that simply means observing for now, others are capable of obtaining vital signs, and some who have been working with our clinic for years can triage and evaluate patients themselves. The key is that we stress to everyone not to exceed their capabilities and comfort level in treating patients. Everyone has someone else they can call on for assistance.

During the past 2 weeks, I have returned to the clinic after our afternoon Tagalog lessons to make sure that everyone is seen and that any difficult cases are evaluated. The first day that I did this was just after Scott left and I felt like I was walking right into a trap. When I entered the clinic, there to one side was gathered in a huddled mass of chairs the sickest and most difficult patients of the day... and they were all waiting on me to arrive. It was then that I felt kind of sick myself! But I started one by one to hear their stories and decide what should be done. The day ended well and we were able to show the love of Christ to each one.

After our next Tagalog lesson, I returned to the exact same scenario in the clinic. But, this time I returned with a completely different perspective. Here in that huddled group sitting off to one side of our clinic was our group of sickest patients. I didn't have to sort through the runny noses, the coughs, and the aches to get to those who I may be able to truly change their health (hopefully for the better). I've enjoyed this filtered group of patients recently. It's a little like being on call in the hospital - you get called to consult on the "good cases".

I have added a picture of our new missionary training class to the blog below describing them.

Burn the Ships

Emily is studying explorers in school this year, something we did in homeschooling 2 years ago. She is currently writing a report on an explorer. That got me thinking about one explorer we studied in homeschooling. (so you don't think I am some brilliant scholar, it is also one that I know a song about) In 1519, Spanish explorer, Cortez, landed in Mexico to build a colony in the New World. In order to make this a success, he burned the ships so that there would be no way to give up and return home. We feel a little like those men must have felt. Leaving everything that is familiar and dear to us, there are times when each of us feels a little voice whisper, "go back to the life you knew." I think for Emily sometimes that voice is louder than for the rest of us. We have learned it is tough to be a 5th grade girl at a new school, but through it all we know this is where we are supposed to be. I am more confident of this than almost any decision I have ever made. "The one who brought us here is saying...

Burn the ships, we're here to stay.
There's no way we could go back
Now that we've come this far by faith.
Burn the ships, we've passed the point of no return.
Our life is here, So let the ships burn.

Nobody said it would be easy
But the one who brought us here
Is never gonna leave us alone."

Not that life here is bad. We are actually enjoying most of it. When we talk with friends from residency that have started "real dr jobs", we realize, we are enjoying life with no call, no insurance red tape, and none of the hassles that make American medicine a chore. After years of the busy-ness of residency, Allan and I are spending 20+ hours together most days. We eat 3 meals a day together. Where else could I be both nurse, pharmacist, and lab tech with no formal training. Life is very simple here and we like it, if only it weren't so far from home!
By the way, Emily and I had a "date" today for lunch. It cost us less than $4 to eat at KFC(her choice). I alone couldn't have eaten for that in the states.

**" Burn the Ships" by Steven Curtis Chapman from Heaven in the Real World

New training class starts

If you've seen the Philippine Mission brochure, you know that one of the goals of our clinic is to train missionaries (both Filipino and other nationalities) in community health and basic primary care. This week we had our first meeting with our upcoming class. We have a very interesting group who share different visions of using this medical training to spread the Gospel. Let me introduce you to our group.

Joey and Narlin are Filipino Southern Baptists who are training to go to Chiang Rai, Thailand which is in the heart of the "Golden Triangle". They will be working as church planters in the remote northern area of Thailand. The location where they will serve is a very strategic area within walking distance of Laos, Burma, and China. This area contains a variety of unreached people groups, many of whom are very difficult to reach with the message of Christ.

Tess is a Filipino church planter. She works with the missionary who first helped Scott begin our clinic. Currently she is using a children's ministry to begin a new church in the squatter area surrounding a river. She will use her skills to help improve the living conditions around their new church. She has over 100 children whom she works with weekly.

Sierra is a MK (missionary kid) who graduated from Faith Academy last year. (Faith Ac. is the school that Emily and Will now attend). Before starting her freshman year in college, she wanted to return to the Philippines to work with a few of the local ministries that are caring for the poor and developing the squatter areas. She plans to work this year with us and then return to the States for college and medical training. After that, she is open to but still undecided about full-time mission service.

Our fifth student, I have yet to meet but I know she is Korean and helps with teaching Bible in the Manila area.

Next Tuesday will be our first lessons. Please pray for me as I am starting this class by myself. Scott is enjoying a long awaited trip to Alaska to spend time with his son who is stationed there with the Air Force. Also pray for our students, the training is packed with information and trying new skills. We are excited about their potential to impact Southeast Asia for Christ which is the very reason this teaching/discipleship exists.

Self diagnosing Diabetes Mellitus

From the Clinic . . .
This is a patient's story that Scott and I shared in the clinic the other day. A middle-aged gentleman came in with an odd complaint. He said, " I think I have diabetes, because the ants like my urine." What he was explaining to us was a pretty astute observation, I thought. Whenever he urinated on the ground, all the ants around came in for the feast, sort of like dropping watermelon juice during your picnic. He was diagnosed with diabetes which causes glucose (sugar) to be lost in the urine. He is now seen in our clinic for follow-up.

During all of my training of medical school and Family Medicine residency, never had I been taught to ask someone if the ants flocked to their urine as a way to diagnose diabetes. Maybe that should be added to the standard "Review of Systems" questions?

A date interupted!

Tuesdays is the day that the clinic has minor surgeries and their training classes in basic healthcare for non-medical missionaries going to unreached people groups. This Tuesday was an introduction for this years class. That being said Allan finished early in the morning, went with Scott to the bank and then they met Cindy(Scott's wife) at the mall. Allan and I had some shopping to do including groceries because no self respecting mall in the Philippines isn't anchored by a grocery store. This mall is called Santa Lucia and it is the closest to us--about 30-40 minutes. We go here almost weekly for our groceries and other items we might need that we find at the bookstore or hardware store. Isn't this what your mall has--Ace hardware and a grocery store? These malls are actually huge and the 4th or 5th floor is always a wonderland of video games and a movie cinema. Since Cindy was picking the kids up from school, Allan and I decided to get some lunch and go see a movie. We saw "The Great Raid" A great true story about the rescuing of 500 POWs held here on Luzon by the Japanese after the Bataan death march during WW2. I highly recommend it. I think it has had a bigger hype here than in the states becasue it is about the Philippines.
So Allan and I are sitting in the movie, which by the way cost us less that $2 a piece, when my cell phone rings. It's Emily telling me the boxes we shipped from the US have arrived and they won't let Scott or Cindy sign for them so can she? Here we are 40 minutes away and our stuff from the US has arrived, but they won't leave it. I texted Scott and Cindy and asked them if they could contact Ling Ling our nurse. She was the cosignee on our shipment. Scott texted back that everything was fine they let Emily sign. So we live in the same walled yard as the Nelsens and they couldn't sign, but they let our 10 year old with no id sign for delivery. Something just isn't right about that. This is typical of how things work here. We have been told to never ask why. It is a good lesson. Everything arrived here intact. We have one picture frame with broken glass, but that was all. All our stuff is finally here so I guess there is no going back. We are "home". If only that empty shell in Greenwood would sell.

What stinks?!

First of all, let me say that we try to write about are real experiences, good and bad, spiritual and not-so spiritual. We want to give a glimpse of what it is like to live a new missionaries in the Philippines. That said, if you are easily offended by gross stories, please stop here. If however, you want to experience everything with us, then read on brave soul . . .

For days now, I have been smelling something very weird whenever I sit down to use the computer. . . something a little like stinky feet smell. After many sniffs around the computer, around the computer desk, and generally just around, I could not figure out what the bad smell was. This happened to me repeatedly over the past week. I even thought one of the kids had been sitting in my chair with their feet and that was the smell. (Of course, this is on top of all the other weird smells that are around also.) Then today I noticed the same weird smell at the clinic and I began to really worry - was it ME?! It suddenly struck me that the smell was dependent on my sitting position which at the time was: fingers interlaced, elbows propped on a desk and chin resting on top of my fingers (sort of a "thinking position") With a direction finding sniff or two, I finally solved the stinky mystery. It was my watch, or more specifically my watch band which is made of canvas. Slowly over the past 4 weeks, it has absorbed water from the very high humidity here and was evidently growing some very funky stuff as a result. So another missionary lesson learned here in the Philippine Islands - everything, and I mean everything can and will grow fungus under these conditions.
Allan (Ginger made me sign this one so you wouldn't think she was the stinky watch person)

Our New Pet!

Last fall when we were here, Scott began raising bunnies as part of his agricultural project. He tries adapt new agricultural and livestock techniques to help Filipino farmers increase their yeild. This always causes a stir among our neighbors. They do not respond well to change and are a little sceptical of Scott's methods. It was hard to get this bunny project off the ground. Of the numerous bunnies Scott bought last fall only one survived. The kids named him Magic. Not because he did survive, but because he has black ears that look like a top hat. All winter we have received updates on Magic's progress.
It was with great joy that we arrived the same day Magic's "wife" gave birth to baby bunnies. The kids were thrilled with the little guys and often can be found hanging around the bunny pen. Bethany, the Nelsen's daughter, says these aren't bunnies, but rabbits. Bunnies are pet, rabbits are raised to eat. Emily and Will know this in principle and have even rejoiced when a mean one was killed for dinner one of our first few days here. It wasn't long though before they began asking couldn't they raise one until he is grown. So Friday, when they were weaned, they chose the runt to come be a part of our family for a while. They accepted this knowing full well that these are raised to eat, but I can already tell they will have a hard time letting "Caramel Swirl" become bunny stew. I have to admit I have also grown attached to the little guy. He is cute.

A view from our balcony

Here is a view of the clouds and trees in our backyard. Don't be fooled by the idyllic setting. This land is unihabitable and the only patch of woods for miles. It is nice to come home to after passing the trash heaped up on the sides of the road. It also doesn't smell as good as it looks. Someone is always burning something, that includes rubber and plastic. If you have never smelled burning plastic as the sun rises you've missed a treat!
We are also in the flight path for the airport, so if you ever come to see us you will fly right over the house.

Getting paid in a free clinic

The medical care given in our clinic is always free to the people we serve. That doesn't mean that we aren't paid though. Almost always, we are given gratitude with the commom phrase "Salamat Po, doc" or sometimes a mixture of english with tagalog, "Thank you Po". (The "po" indicates you are placing the hearer in the respected position.) Occassionally, I'll get a smile or "high five" from a child which is always welcome since doctors are known for doing some painful stuff to little kids. Sometimes the offering of thanks is more tangible and one of the most common is a gift of bananas. I would say that at least once a week or so someone brings in a fruit of their garden with bananas being the #1 gift. Considering that our patient group makes about $1 per day this is a big gift. And when I bring my portion of the bananas back home, I remember our patients while I eat and enjoy them. I remember how blessed I am to have enough food to eat, clean water, toilets, clean clothes, electricity, phone service, internet and so much more. I remember these things because the person who gave me the gift may not have any of these. And in remembering these blessings, I pray and thank God for them because it was by His grace that I am where I am.

"and a great cry arose from the people"

It is Friday at 1:45 (pm here, am there) After 8 days of no phone we are back online. Just moments ago the phone rang next door telling us service had been restored. You have never seen such happy people. Even Elaina the Nelsen's katulong(helper) cheered and I am not sure the phone being off has effected her life too much. Al had already left for clinic so I took it upon myself to replug the dsl back into the wall and voila' here I am. It was wonderful to feel connected to the world again. I read the emails from family and friends with tears in my eyes. Our lives weren't too impacted by the loss of phone service, but it sure is nice to be able to find out what is happening a world away. Didn't even know there was another hurricane!
Ginger

Welcome to the Third World!

In case any of you have tried to get in touch with us over the last few days, we have had been unavailable. It doesn't just feel like we have been run over by a cement truck. We have--literally. Well not actually us, but our communication systems. Thursday evening, the kids were in bed and we were enjoying some dessert and conversation on the Nelsen's lanai when we were suddenly plunged into darkness, followed by 2 small explosions. According to Scott this is never good. The explosions are a sign that for some reason a transformer has blown. In this case it was 2 transformers. A cement truck had some how caught some powerlines near the house, pulling them down along with a couple of power poles. Fortunately we were only with out power until early the next morning. While it was a little hot sleeping without the fans, at least it wasn't longer. The bad news is that during the night people came and cut the phone lines and stole the wires. Power is restored, but we are without phone service. This means no local phone and no dsl. Scott says it could take a couple of weeks for the phone company to replace the lines. Meanwhile we are experiencing mission life before the internet.
I am blogging this from an internet cafe in Mega Mall after church. We will soon be going to Ace Hardware for curtain rods and 2 new fans for our porch.(humidity and dampness means things often break here) Then we will have some lunch before heading home. There is a big debate on our lunch choice for today. Will wants to get his weekly hamburger in at Wendy's while Em thinks she would like to have something else. Who knows maybe Allan and I will win and we will eat at a real restaurant. We will probably avoid any type of Asian cuizine since we have rice almost daily at home and Will might start a rebellion if we ate it out too. Hope all is well with you.
Ginger

Will's Class

Here is a picture of Will's 3rd grade class. There are 2 Australians, 6 Americans, and 6 Koreans. His new good friends are Lawrence, Caleb, Noah, and Erika. He loves school, his class, and especially his teacher--Mrs. Brooks. Who by the way graduated from Auburn. War Eagle!

Old Yeller Update

OK here is an update to the below post "Old Yeller". If you haven't read it you might want to read it first.....
I (Ginger) have now eaten dog! I had to have a true Filipino experience and try it. Not too bad. If I hadn't know it was dog, I might have just assumed it was beef that was a little gamey. I am not saying I want to add it to our weekly menu, but in the case of a famine......Bonnie beware.

Manalangin - Please pray

Please continue to pray that our house would sell soon. The equity in our home is what we had planned to use to pay for our medical school debt. In every month that passes, we must make a payment on the student loan that we had not planned for.

Old Yeller

If you read the below post about driving, you know that there is an abundance of dogs here in PI. We had a special treat yesterday. Our neighbors by the clinic came to bring us a special treat---barbequed dog. It seems the dog was barking too much at night so they decided to put it out of it's misery and enjoy a delicacy at the same time.

Actually, I (Ginger) opted not to try this Filipino favorite. Maybe today I will get a little. I hope the Nelsen's didn't eat it all.

This Picture is of the Nelsen's new dog Bonnie. She is a great little Dachsund and Will adores her.(Emily too!) Don't fear - she is not on anyone's menu . . . Yet.

Driving!

Well, it wasn't long after our arrival that we had to jump into the world of driving. We picked up our van the Monday after our arrival and began driving in this crazy world. If you have ever been in a 3rd world country you know what I am talking about because I think they are all pretty much the same. The lanes are really just guidelines of where you might want to drive. All along the roadsides are people--people walking, people talking, kids playing, people going to catch a trike or a Jeepney, people basically not watching for you coming down the road. So we are constantly watching out for people and the multitude of dogs that seem to abound in this country and choose to nap in the middle of the road. If that was our only concerns it would be Ok, but traffic is heavy and as I said lanes are only a guideline.Cars, trucks, trikes, Jeepneys, and motorcycles are constanly swerving, changing lanes, and generally trying to get ahead regardless of what we are doing. The general law in regards to wrecks is that whoever is ahead is not at fault. Which seems crazy since that guy probably pulled over in front of you and tried to get in front of you. I try to drive without flinching and there have only been 2 major incidents when I have actually gasped. Both times Allan was driving. Once was when a semi truck began pulling over into our "lane" and literally came with in centimeters of our mirror and side of the car. I am not joking. I could have touched the side of his truck with out reaching very far. Much closer that what we would consider a close call in the states. The other incident was that same day on the way home. The truck next to us quickly slowed down. Allan began to slow too just in response, when a child darted out from in front of the truck. She was running across a major 6 lane road with outeven looking. This is so common that the truck drivers didn't even seem flustered, surprise, or anything. We on the other hand were shaken and had a nice check of our heart functions (they are working well). Many children (and adults) are killed from crossing the road. They don't even watch for cars. They seemed surprised we're there when we honk at them to watch out. I am not finished telling about driving. I am going to post again about my driving in particular. I will also attach a picture of our van which seems to be a question we are asked alot from the states. Above you can see a picture of a Jeepney and a trike. Both are forms of transportation for hire. A trike is kind of like a really cheap taxi and a Jeepney is like a bus. The Jeepneys are owned by individuals though and the places it travels between are listed on the side.