Day One in the Tribe

Today is moving day☺ I was so excited to fly in the helicopter, never having flown in one before and hearing about how amazingly beautiful it is☺ So flying in the Heli was amazing! Looking out at all the flora and fauna – rolling hills with small trees, led to huge mountains covered in jungle – looks like broccoli from above☺. Our pilot, zoomed out over the waterfall so I could get a better view. He kept asking how I was doing – he thought I was scared I think. I wasn’t really – just excited and exhilarated! Landing was so amazing! We flew over the tribe and then circled around the coves to come back in and land. The Majors videotaped the whole flight in, and some people were gathered round to help carry supplies (on the third flight) and greet us. Actually the people did not really greet us - just watched (the Agta are shy, but the Illokano are more friendly). We walked right to the house and got to look around and settle in! The rest of our first day was spent settling in, meeting people that came by to say hello to us. The 3 girls and I headed down to the beach to play for a bit. The trail to the beach went right through the Epps house. Their house is like a dream house! Nestled into foliage, with a boat rack under the house and located RIGHT on a private cove. The main landing pad for the helicopter is right off the 2nd cove which is much more rough. The people used to drink from that river; now they have a spring, thanks for the missionary team here. Now they use it to bathe in and wash clothes. Ate... took me down to her house to see my first pineapple (she is helping Bana at the house)! We saw the beach and waited until the girls came back from school. She wanted me to meet a girl who had been learning English with our co-workers wife, and might be interested in learning/practicing more with me. She is a beautiful, sweet 16 year old girl. I really enjoyed meeting her and her friends and discussing some Tagalog (national Filipino language) and English with them. Third Day: We visited the local integrated school today (K-highschool; they graduate at age 16)! Our new friends along with Ate... and her 2 children led the way to school. We had to walk way in on the beach because it was high tide. We crossed where the river and ocean connect – it was tricky and pretty deep with the tide coming in. Then we crossed a few more small rivers (nothing above my knees). It took us about 30 minutes to get to school and was beautiful! The path follows the ocean pretty closely. I took many pictures. The school is at the top of a hill, you can see the ocean in the distance. The girls were so sweet – and asked if they could call me Ate Mary, and made sure they were looking out for me the whole time. One of the girls stayed close to me at the school, answering questions and showing me around so I could take pictures. We gathered (slowly children and teens came) near a tree and this same girl taught me some phrases in Tagalog while I taught her some in English. The Parent/Teacher Conferences lasted almost 4 hours, beginning with the head teacher (who I had the pleasure of talking to: he has been there for 10 years, has a Major in Chemistry – but wants to pursue his Masters in Chemistry in Tuguegero) and following with every other teacher (from upper grades to lower). There was lots of laughter (not sure if there was meant to be jokes or the people like to make light of things). Sometimes a decision was made or questions called out (person would stand or speak out confidently). I heard money figures talked about near the end for the Christmas party. It costs the older students 250 pesos to go = 4.00. That is about or more than the average woman's daily salary. The head teacher invited everyone, with a special invitation to Bana and I, to the School Christmas Party in December. Part of the talk involved asking the parents to help discipline their children to not drink while attending school or be distracted by writing love notes. (Just Dreaming...) But all I could think about when at the school was coming back to teach there! The book Kisses for Katie rang in my head. What an awesome thought to consider moving to a 3rd world country to teach children where help is so desperately needed! Talking with the head teacher helped me to see that the need is great. He would often give pencils, pens and paper to his students as they have none. He said the students are very unruly in upper grades especially. I noticed they have lots of good conduct listed on the walls/posters. The school is very basic – chalkboards, chairs, in a cement room with metal roof. A few scholarly posters decorated the walls. I loved the visit to the school! I can’t wait to go back and see what the Lord has in mind while I am here.