Planting seeds

While the agriculture team loves to work hard in the sun, they also have other important work to do - ministry. 

For four days a week, Tuesday to Friday, they work on the BOOST property, doing whatever needs to be done to improve & maintain the property. In the late afternoons they walk to surrounding villages and share the gospel and have Bible studies. On Friday evening they drive to one of two villages (they alternate weekends for each village) to spend the weekend doing full-time ministry. While I was there, we went to San Roque. 

We always travel with dogs.

San Roque is only a 15-minute ride from the BOOST. The village is on top of a hill, and does not have running water in the houses. Water must be gathered from the stream at the bottom of the hill, about a 10-15 minute walk. We stayed at the house of the pastor, who shepherds a house church in the village. He also raises chickens and goats, so at any time in the yard there were no less than 20 or so chickens 'clucking' around, and a few roosters 'crowing' with them. The two goats also made their presence known constantly through bleating. We enjoyed catching chickens a few times, and the kids seemed to love it more then we, for they would gather the chickens together and play catch.

The weekend days were spent sharing the gospel and having Bible studies. Like many villages, people here are open to talking about faith and religion, and listen to whatever you have to say. Some are interested, asking questions and trying to learn more, some accept Christ as their Savior. We had one man who had waited at a small sari-sari shop (think a bathroom-sized convenience store) for us to pass by because he wanted to hear about Jesus. This man eventually accepted Christ. 

On Sunday we had church at the pastor's house, with a congregation of about 10 including us. The pastor even had a ukelele to lead worship! I say even because I have been to multiple services where no instruments are present; worship is all acappela. But it is times like these I think of the Heart of Worship song. Certainly no instruments of man are necessary to bring praise to God. And thank goodness, for any tune I could play pales to the heavenly orchestra I imagine heaven can boast. 

The team is doing some cool things here. We're finding some interested people, some have come to Christ. Pray God would use this team to lead more people to Him but also to strengthen the believers here so that His word would continue to be preached and they would continue to grow in Him. The team gives thanks for continued strength and health. 

The kids were really shy at first, but we found common ground. 

Church at the pastor's house

Working Hard

The Agusan Agriculture team has been doing all kinds of work this summer. The team consists of Eric, team leader, Sam, and their Filipino partner, Weng. They started with planting rubber trees on a hillside at the BOOST during week one, which involved digging holes, filling them with goat manure, and planting the tree. At their peak, the team would dig 50-70 of these holes in a day. The downside is that they would come home covered in manure and dirt.

The team also poured cement walkways for the BOOST and spent time fixing water filters in villages. These water filters use sand and carbon to filter water, and are usually good for life. However, some water sources have high iron content that can clog up the filter, and if people scoop out the sand to unclog it the filter no longer works correctly. Some new sand and cleaning up does the trick to provide much-needed clean water for villagers.

Part of the fixed fence

When I was with the team we were fixing the barbwire fence around the BOOST property. Some wooden posts needed to be inserted and some cement ones reattached to the wire, which was often covered by fallen trees and other jungle foliage.

clearing foliage and trees off the fence boundary

Working in the sun (and with the high humidity) means that the team often comes home covered in sweat. Fortunately, they have pretty good facilities at the BOOST. They've rigged a hose to create a makeshift shower. They have electricity so they can run a refrigerator and fan. This means they can have fresh meat, relax with a fan and enjoy cold desserts such as mango float. Weng is an excellent cook, and comes from a family that owns a restaurant in Davao, so every night is another delicious meal. While the guys have once or twice expressed a pang of guilt because other teams don't live as nicely, they remember the first week of work and being covered in manure and they don't feel so bad anymore.

All in all, the team works hard. They get great facilities to rest hard. We had great evenings of music, food and fun stories to share. Though only a team of three, they plow through all tasks before them. And although Eric and Sam go to rival schools, Auburn University and University of Alabama, respectively, you wouldn't know it. I found in the team a brotherhood; three men who were ready to work as hard as they needed to to get the task done. Know that these men are doing well here despite the heat and hard work.

The BOOST... Home for the team and base for the local ministry they work with.
The healthcare teams are also operating out of this project. 

Burning out the bees. 

Rocks for a stable post base

a rubber tree sapling being planted

Fixing a water filter

Butuan City Teams: Living the first week

All the healthcare teams are off to their villages. We thought maybe you would like a recap of their first week here in the Philippines. 

The healthcare teams and agriculture team have been staying here at the Agusan Norte Boost (Baptist Out of School Training) Center. It's a small collection of buildings that are used to teach nationals about sustainable organic farming.  We've had a week of orientation about all kinds of health related topics from Kuya Bong, the extension worker. We also met the Mayor of Butuan City and visited some local churches. 

By the accounts of some of the team members, if we hadn't had this week of introduction to the vastly different lifestyle of food, culture, hygiene and living, it could have been too much for some to handle. All in all it was a week of adjusting to a new and exciting life - a life of being on the mission field in the rural Philippines.

God has brought us all here for His glory. These teams are now in their assigned areas and beginning to complete the task the Lord has set before them. It's cool to be in the company of such faithful people.

Pray that God would continue to give all boldness and strength to face any challenge that comes their way. I would like to give thanks for all the work He has already done here.

Mealtime

NBA: it's a really really big deal here. 

cooling off in the heat of the day with buckets of water

Meeting the Mayor of Butuan

Laundry

showers in the rain

The roof of a jeepney is not only for passengers but also for cargo. These guys are masters of hopping around the crammed jeepney and climbing the siderails to collect fares.

Rain cover 

Tud-Ol team! 

Crossing the Agusan River on the way to church

Sharing at church on Sunday

Mindanao: Food

You may be wondering what we've been eaten there in the Philippines, or how we make our food. While members of the healthcare teams were told to bring camp food that only requires adding hot water, those are more supplemental in nature. In other words, we buy food from the market and cook it over a fire. 

Foods at the market range from foreign to familiar. Spaghetti and hot dogs are eaten alongside traditional filipino stir-fry meals like chop suey and manudin. Markets have all kinds of options, and they even have frosted flakes. It turns out it will not be a summer of freeze-dried meals, but rather one of a menu as creative as the members make it. One staple of nearly every meal is rice, something that every true Filipino eats religiously. Each group will have to learn to love rice, as they are responsible for feeding their translator as well.

We've also enjoyed some Filipino desserts, such as mango float and mango shake. Mango is the national fruit of the Philippines. 

Teams are responsible for keeping a budget for shopping.  The conversion from US dollars to Pesos is about 1:42, but that doesn't mean we can buy everything – a jar of blueberry jelly costs around 150 pesos, for example – so we still need to watch our wallets. But some foods you can get for great deals, such as a loaf of bread for 50 pesos at the bakery. For the students who haven't shopped and cooked for themselves before this trip, the translators have been great helpers. 

In any case, know that food is plentiful and it's not all just ramen and freeze-dried meals,

Brian & teams. 

2013 Agusan Agriculture Team

  These two guys are going on the Agusan Agriculture team - they will be spending their summer helping farmers on Mindanao around Butuan City. This includes helping to develop land, constructing buildings, and developing sustainable farming. Whether clearing a field with a machete or helping layout the farm, these two will get it done while building relationships. 

Eric, team leader, from Dothan, Ala., attends Auburn University. His favorite verse is Romans 1:16.

 Samuel from Pell City, Ala., attends the University of Alabama. His favorite verse is Romans 8:16-17.

Finally, there's me, the traveling media man, Brian. I will be doing all things media for this group and some others this summer and telling you their story. I'm from Waldorf, Maryland, and just graduated from the University of Maryland. My favorite verse is Jude 24-25.