So it’s been quite a long time since we last sent you all a message on how we are doing and what we’ve been up to. Without going into terrible detail and without taking too much time, I’ll try and let you all know just what’s new with us in the wonderful land of the Philippines.
In these past two months we have put things together in our apartment so that we feel comfortable in our little piece of Canada/Indiana for the next year. We enjoy coming home after our day at the office and having a home cooked meal together and discussing the day’s activities, challenges and hopes for our work. We have also enjoyed getting to know the city of Davao and have found several places that we really enjoy visiting. There are a number of restaurants, places to watch live music and dance and a few beaches that we like to visit in our time away from the office. We have also become increasingly involved with the community at Davao Bible Community Church. I enjoy playing basketball with a number of men who attend there, there is a bible study on Friday evenings and one of Jenna’s major collaborators for her theatre project is in charge of the music at DBC.
It has taken us a little while to get adjusted to life in the Philippines, but as time goes on we are assured that we are in the right place and that God certainly has many amazing plans for us over the next year. As we learn more about the work that is being done in the Philippines, we see just how big the project of making this a peaceful land truly is. It is very humbling to think that maybe we can play the smallest of roles in bringing the peace of Christ to a people who have been torn apart by the destruction of war for centuries now. Although the picture seems bleak at times and the work feels overwhelming, we are continually uplifted by many amazing people that God seems to just drop into our lives here. I know that God is at work here at PBCI because so many of the people we meet and activities that happen seem to just fall into place at the perfect time with almost no effort from us. Make no mistake, the people at PBCI are very hard workers; I’m just amazed by the way God magnifies their efforts and makes things so much bigger and better than we ever could on our own.
We haven’t been out in field since our first trip two weeks into our time here, but have been very busy with the daily tasks associated with our job descriptions. Jenna has been hard at work gathering all kinds of information that will help her put together the story of Mindanao that will culminate with the theatrical production that is to happen sometime in December. It’s hard to imagine it now, but we know that Christmas time will be here before we know it. She has read numerous books and articles describing the history of the different groups in the Philippines, made connections with people and groups that will help this project get done and also hosted a meeting in the offices of PBCI that brought together various leaders from the Muslim and Indigenous communities, and academicians and historians. This meeting provided a platform for each group to give an account of their history and also gave space for each of them to describe their hopes for the future of the Philippines. This meeting made it clear that although each group has a separate history, a united future as one is the only hope they have for a peaceful future.
We would ask that you would pray for Jenna and all the people that will be participating in making this production a success. At this time there are a countless numbers of tasks that will need to be done, but the people that will do these and the funds that will pay for these are not yet defined. As time goes on, this project seems to get bigger and bigger, but time is working in the opposite direction. The current vision for this production is one that will be done at the highest level of professionalism and will attract the most affluent and influential people in Davao. Our hope is that by targeting the elite members of this community, they will in turn take the project on as their own and integrate it into their own communities which will magnify the impact that this production can have on the Philippines as a whole. Kuya Dann encourages Jenna to “Shoot for the moon, because if she misses she’ll still land in the stars.” So please pray that God would give Jenna energy, people to work with, the tools to get the job done and the resources to make this a true success.
My work sounds more boring than that, but I’ve really enjoyed the work I’ve been doing in the office. When we first got back from our field trip, I was hard at work gathering information that would help us provide water to the Talandig tribe; one of the tribes that Coffee for Peace gets coffee beans from. Since that time, we have made connections and gathered enough information that it looks like we will be able to begin the work on our first water reservoir within the next two months. At this time I am developing a schedule that would match the needs of the water system and other coffee related equipment, with the resources that are generated within the community. The idea is to empower the tribe so that they have their own resources to move the community forward in the future. I don’t really know just how far we will go with this particular project, but my major goal is to provide them with one functional water reservoir and a plan for more before our time here ends.
In the past week I finished revamping the in-house accounting system for Coffee for Peace. It was a long and challenging process that tested my skills of critical thinking, communication and imagination. I’m sure that I’m not 100% done yet, but CFP now has a system in place that is both useful and easy to use. I will continue to work with the staff here to make sure that any bugs in the system are fixed, but for now things seem to be running quite well. I would also like to note that CFP will be shipping 400Kgs. of green coffee beans to Level Ground (a distributor of fairly traded products in Canada, including to places like Ten Thousand Villages) within the month. This makes CFP the first exporter of Arabica coffee in the entire Philippines. Although I only did like 2 seconds of work on it, I’m proud to say I played a minute part in helping that happen. My next order of business is to do the same thing I did for CFP’s accounting system, for PBCI’s accounting system. This seems very overwhelming for me at the present time since the system is far more intricate, but I am sure that God will help me find a way to get the job done right.
Starting yesterday I have a new title at PBCI. I am now longer just the TSA; Technical Support – Accounting, I am now coordinating PAR FTFT; PAR Fair Trade Farming Training. I am very excited about this new title even though I don’t yet know exactly what all I’ll be getting involved with.
At this time I would like to explain something for those of you who are not quite sure what CFP and PBCI’s relationship is all about. (This may be redundant for some, so feel free to skip this part). We are here to work for PBCI, but part of the work that PBCI is doing involves training farmers on the concepts of fair trade farming and the benefits that come along with producing higher quality coffee with a higher level of ethics. PBCI hopes to create long-term relationships with these farmers, which will in turn give the organization a foot hold in the community and a platform for spreading the gospel of peace as Jesus taught it. In turn, CFP will give 25% of its profits to PBCI so that PBCI is no longer reliant on foreign contributions to the extent that they are currently. I should also note that Dann Pantoja is the President of PBCI and Joji, his wife, is the President of CFP.
Back to work…
In the next few weeks I will finish the updating to the PBCI accounting system. After that is completed I will begin dividing my time, 50-50 between field work and office work. The whole reason I wanted to take this job is because I believe that the financial future of CFP and PBCI will come by way of a new kind of Filipino farmer. I believe this farmer will be an intelligent, motivated and innovative person that will help bring the people of their communities forward as a united group. My hope is that by giving these people the skills to produce a better financial future for their families, we will give them an opportunity to begin making strides toward a united Philippines. For so many of these communities, the people are just hanging on by a thread - so to speak - and are constantly troubled with the reality of not having enough resources, which in turn makes it difficult for them to focus on anything other than their daily survival. My hope is that we can give them tools that will provide their families with resources both now and in the future, and that these communities will become the champions for peace in this wonderful land.
I know that this update has become rather lengthy, but please let me finish by telling you all that Jenna and I had a very meaningful Easter weekend. We spent most of our time at home and had lots of quite time to read our Bible and reflect on the importance of Christ’s crucifixion and his Resurrection. Spending this short amount of time in a place that truly knows the savageness of war, we are constantly reminded of the importance of Jesus’ teachings and the impact that we can have on others when we try and reflect the lessons Jesus has to offer us. It is more evident to me today than ever before, that the peace of Christ calls us to love everyone we encounter.
