Floods, Forms, and Field Trips

Hey there! Here’s a little update on all that’s been happening since Julie’s departure...

As soon as we settled back into work, we started thinking about more practical ways to help those that had been affected by the flood. PBCI had organized a team of pastors from the Davao City Ministerial Fellowship to respond to the need for flood relief. One of the ways we responded was through a distribution of relief goods such as clothes and blankets. The distribution happened on a Saturday morning, and it was a wonderful way to connect with the community, handing out goods and giving people a small meal of lugao (basically a rice congee made with chicken, ginger, and garlic - so yummy). People seemed grateful for the goods and for a warm meal, no matter how small.

The next weekend, after hearing Kuya Dann’s sermon at Davao Bible Community, we participated in a relief operation in our colleague Joy’s community. A local church group of dentists, doctors, and nurses came to the community to provide basic medical and dental services. It was so, SO nice to be directly involved with the community we were serving, talking to patients and just generally trying to help out in whatever way we could. This reminded us of how much we desired to work directly with people. Honestly, our office work seemed extremely tedious in comparison, although we need to keep in mind that all the behind-the-scenes stuff has to happen in order for the fieldwork to happen. Anyway, it was a great afternoon of fellowship and service.

In the hopes that we could get more involved with the people in Joy’s community, Keith and Matt met with an engineer from Indonesia who works for an NGO based in Davao, Chuck Chuck, who had helped design a bamboo bridge for Joy’s community in the past. We made it clear to him that we were willing to help out in any way we could, including a trip into the jungle to harvest bamboo which would be used for rebuilding efforts. We’re hoping to help the community construct a community hall that could be used for various purposes, including shelter in the event of another flood, municipal meetings, and relief events. We’re also hoping to finish construction on Joy’s mom’s house, constructing a simple balcony on the second floor. As you might expect, the wheels in the Philippines turn quite slowly, so we’re not sure how much time we’ll actually be spending getting our hands dirty; nevertheless, we’re glad to help in any way we can.

In the hopes of better equipping the community in the event of another flood, the staff at PBCI has gone through orientation with a local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management organization. It was helpful for us to gather more information on the disaster situation in the Philippines, and we look forward to practical training for the community members.

Because we left Vancouver thinking that Jenna’s yearlong project would be a theater production, we feel it’s best to let you know why and how that project has been put on hold. Jenna has finished the script, with the help and revisions of our contributors who came to the storytelling session. PBCI had been in talks with a local theater company called Kaliwat, who emphasizes social justice and awareness in their work. We had hoped that Kaliwat would provide performers and musicians to carry out the production, since auditioning and training amateurs didn’t seem extremely feasible in our short time span. However, as has been the case over and over, PBCI works on a fluid schedule, meaning that when things don’t seem to ‘click’ we look for avenues that appear wide open. Because of multiple roadblocks, we decided that the production should be put on hold until a time when it seemed more in line with God’s plan for PBCI’s vision. That being said, Jenna still feels like she accomplished the goals of her job description, that is, writing a piece that reflects the whole story of Mindanao from the point of view of the tri-people, not just the migrants. We hope that in the future, perhaps when our term here is already finished, the production will debut in some way, shape, or form. Jenna also hopes that the script may be used as a resource for churches in the future.

As you can tell, the major goals of our job description have been somewhat completed. So, what to do now? Well...

Along with flood relief, Keith has been filling in as needed with the financials of Peacebuilders and Coffee for Peace, as well as collaborating with Jenna on project proposals, letters of response to people interested in Coffee for Peace and PBCI, and creating franchise documents for Coffee for Peace. He has also continued his research on various kinds of water projects and has made himself available to other missionaries who need help with their bookkeeping in order to stay active and make new friendships.

Jenna has had the opportunity to help with a few writing and marketing projects, including; interviewing and writing an article about an ambush survivor (available for reading on the PBCI website, here:http://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2011/07/ambushed-by-a-vision/); creating an advertising poster about the coloring books published by PBCI and the local artist Kublai Millan; collaborating with Keith on the above mentioned projects; and looking forward to creating a guidebook for practitioners of the peace and reconciliation theology outlined in our PAR seminars.

Although it’s been challenging to not have specific, long-term projects to focus on, we’ve tried to stay positive and creative as various assignments are thrown our way.

At the beginning of August we had the opportunity to go on a field trip to a coffee farm in Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon, and to a pastor’s peace and reconciliation seminar in Ozamis City, Misamis Occidental. We left on a Tuesday morning and were very excited about spending the week with Dann, Joji, Kriz and Matt. As this was only our second field trip in the six months that we have been here, we were chomping at the bit to get out of the city and meet some new people.

It only took us about six hours to get to the Perrine family farm in Manolo Fortich; that was after a scenic mountain side view, a short lunch at Jollibee and an afternoon coffee break. The Perrine farm is like nothing we had experienced before. The estate lies on some 50 plus hectares and includes a number of houses and out buildings, a church, a weight room, horse pastures (they have 19 horses), numerous ponds and open fields, a large organic garden and of course, a coffee farm and processing center. John Perrine bought the land some 30 years ago and began planting trees in the mountain ranges surrounding the farm. In the past 30 years, the forests have grown, the average temperature has dropped 10 degrees and they experience rain on a daily basis. When John bought the land there were no trees at all.

We went to the Perrine estate to explore the possibility of forming a strategic partnership with them, but were unsure if they truly wanted to be Fair Trade, or if the simply wanted to appear to be Fair Trade. As it turns out, they are completely on board with all the Fair Trade principles and are excited to get started. They are currently producing coffee, but the quantity is well below what it should be and the quality is just plain pathetic. Our hope is to help the Perrines, and the farmers around them, get back on track. They have the means and the facilities to really make an impact in their community and can hopefully be a model that we can use all over the Philippines.

Our time on the farm was completely awesome. We were treated to food, wine, homemade rum and given every comfort you would expect from a first rate resort. We felt conflicted about all the wealth and resources that were being spent on us, but were also very energized by the Perrine’s desire to help make the Philippines a better place and provide people that are less fortunate with opportunities to better their situation. It was a wonderful surprise, a great get away from the hustle and bustle of the city, and a wonderful chance to connect with the staff members that were with us.

The second stop on our trip was Ozamis City, where we met with a group of about 20 pastors from all around Northern Mindanao. Kuya Dann and Ate Kriz were giving a seminar on the first portion of the PAR training. It was such a pleasure to finally hear what PBCI has been teaching people around the Philippines for the last few years. Jenna really enjoyed connecting what she heard with her Peace, Justice, and Conflict Studies courses in college. The pastors were extremely engaged (for the whole, long, 12 hour day!) and seemed very excited about the possibilities of practically applying their learnings in their own communities.

From Ozamis City we headed back to Davao, back to our own homes and beds. It had been such an enriching and exciting week, and we were so glad to get the opportunity to get out of Davao and into the field.

There are some exciting developments happening here at PBCI, of which we can’t quite share the details yet. However, we hope to be back with another blog outlining our new adventure in the next week or so. Until then, we wish you great love, joy and peace, wherever you are.

Vacating

As Keith said, we had a really hard time deciding whether or not to leave Davao for our pre-planned vacation with Julie. It was somewhat heart-wrenching, but we took off on June 30th for Siargao Island at the Northernmost tip of Mindanao.

Siargao Island is a small spot known for its world-renowned surfing. We were heading for a spot called The Boardwalk at Cloud 9, owned by an Australian man and his Filipina wife. We had hired our friend, Toto, to drive us up to Surigao City to take a ferry to the island. We thought the drive would take 6 hours, so we left at 5am to catch the last ferry of the day at 12 noon. It turns out, however, that the drive is 7 hours at a pretty good pace, so we arrived in Surigao City at 12:15, just too late for the last ferry. We had two options: charter a boat to the island for 10,000 pesos (about $250) or stay overnight in Surigao City for about 1,800 pesos. We chose the latter option and checked into a nice hotel for the night.

To fill up our time in Surigao City we went to a historical museum, walked around the city a little bit, and watched (cable!) TV in the hotel room. Julie had started feeling a little sick on the ride up to Surigao, and by the time we finished dinner and had gone to bed, she had full-on chills and a fever. Awesome. It was a restless night (a live music performance downstairs lasted until midnight and construction started at 7am), but we got through and headed to a ferry the next morning. It was not the funnest of 2 1/2 hour rides, as it was very loud, we were sitting on wooden benches, and lots of men smoked the entire time, but we finally made it to Siargao.

We hopped into a tricycle for the bumpy, 45 minute ride to the resort. It was such a feeling of relief to finally be there and settle in, especially since Julie was getting progressively worse. We relaxed for the rest of the day, enjoying the beautiful views and peaceful atmosphere of the location.

The next morning, after much deliberation, Keith and I left Julie at the resort so she could sleep for the day and hopefully recover more quickly, and we headed on a tour that had been organized by the resort to the Sohoton Caves. It was a beautiful day, and we enjoyed swimming in the amazingly blue-green, clear water, jumping out of trees into the water, swimming into caves, and snorkeling amid hundreds of non-stinging jellyfish, all while making many new friends. It was quite an amazing day trip, although it was tempered somewhat by the thought of our sick friend. We headed back to the resort in a little boat at sunset and even had the amazing blessing of seeing a few dolphins swimming beside our boat!

Keith had his first surfing experience the next morning. He did great and had so much fun, and we snapped some good pictures too. I think he turned into a lifetime surfing enthusiast. Julie was feeling a little bit better after breakfast, so the three of us hopped on a motor bike with our driver, Jersen (who was also Keith’s surfing instructor) and drove (through a tropical downpour!) to a lagoon and some rockpools in another area of the island. The place was beautiful, and we had fun swimming, rock-jumping, and taking lots of pictures. We then headed back to the resort and relaxed for the rest of the day, chatting with our new friends and just enjoying some rest.

For our last day, we decided to go kayaking through the mangrove area near our resort. Once again, Jersen was our guide and we paddled peacefully through this amazing ecosystem. We even saw some flying fish! It was a relaxing way to spend a morning.

We were a little tired of the food at our resort and wanted to do some exploring, so we walked down the (rather remote) road from our hotel, seeing what we would find. We came upon a beautiful resort and, after looking at the menu, decided to eat lunch there. This was probably the best decision I’ve made since arriving in the Philippines. The food was so good, and we were the only ones in the restaurant so it was quiet and peaceful. We found out later that the resort was opened by two Parisians who had come to Siargao and fallen in love with the place. It seemed so strange to find this beautiful food - probably the best we’ve eaten in our time in this country - in a remote corner of a somewhat deserted and isolated island. What a blessing.

We headed home the next day and had a much less stressful drive home than the one on the way to Surigao. We arrived back to our apartment, cleaned it thoroughly (many dirty people had trekked through after the flood) and had a wonderful sleep back in our own beds.

The rest of Julie’s visit consisted of more exploration of Davao: a trip to Eden Nature Park where we went on a beautiful hike; being guided through a Davao historical museum; and doing some touristy shopping. It was so very lovely to have a friend visit us here, even though the 2 weeks definitely had their stressful times. Saying goodbye to Julie was hard, but we felt ready to go back to work and get back to being productive.

Long overdue...

It’s been so long since our last blog that it’s hard to know where into begin. I guess I should start by apologizing for not being more consistent with our posts; we’ll try and do better in the future.

Our last post was on May 5^th, over two months ago by now, which sounds kind of pathetic when you see it in writing. I can’t say that there have been a ton of new developments for us and our work at PeaceBuilders in that time, but there are a few things worth mentioning. Jenna has continued to work on the script and has been busy writing other kinds of papers including financial proposals and even an interview article that will be very exciting to read once she is finished with it. She has also been a big help around the office, reading other documents for the staff and doing lots of editing and making many valuable suggestions. As far as my work goes, it took Joji and me the better part of two weeks to get a handle on the in-house accounting system for PeaceBuilders. Now that the major part of that project is done, the important thing will be to stay on top of the record keeping and making sure that we are staying consistent in all that we do.

Last week Jenna and I had a meeting with Dann and Joji to discuss our future at PeaceBuilders that went pretty well. We shared with them that we weren’t sure how to fill our time seeing as the major assignments we were given are either completed or very near completion. We weren’t able to find answers to all of our questions just yet, but there are some new and exciting things that we are looking forward to. In the next few weeks Jenna will be putting the final touches on the script which means that even if we are not able to have the production while we are still in the Philippines, it can be carried out at a later date. Both Jenna and I will be spending a few days at the end of this month with Dann, listening/watching him go through the three stages of the PAR seminars. The purpose for this is twofold: First, it will be beneficial for both of us to hear, and secondly, Jenna has been given the task of putting Dann’s spoken words into text. The point of this is that the text will supplement the PAR seminars that Dann does. This will give the people that go through the seminars a tangible resource that they can take back to their communities and continue to work through even after Dann has left. The guidebook will be mostly for practitioners who want to continue teaching others about peace and reconciliation. As far as my work goes, I can say that I will continue to try and be supportive of Dann, Joji and the rest of the staff in any way I can. This means that for the time being, while I may not have a large project to work on, I will be able to contribute to various smaller activities on a day-to-day basis.

So now that we’ve pretty much summed up what’s been going on with us at work, here’s a bit about what we’ve been up to outside the office…

Matt and I finished the major work on the Jeep about 6 weeks ago. It was a wonderful experience that had numerous benefits. First of all, I got to know a different side of Matt and learn more about what he really likes and what he is really good at. It was also nice to spend a few days outside the office, working with my hands. I miss manual labor and having small projects to do around the house; truth be told, I even miss washing our cars, but having the opportunity to mix in a little bit of fun/work with Matt has been a breath of fresh air. Another positive is that it is just plain fun to drive around town. If you have seen any of our pictures on the internet, you know that we have gone totally overboard with the paint job and have created a Detroit Tigers tribute Jeep. We didn’t plan on doing this at first, but one thing lead to another and that’s what we’ve got now. It’s also really cool to see people’s reactions to seeing three white people driving around in a very “cheap” vehicle. Most white people here seem to drive very expensive vehicles, so the fact that our jeep is a very common and affordable vehicle surprises a lot of Filipinos. I’d like to say that they are more interested in our paint job than us, but most Filipinos don’t know anything about baseball, so they don’t even know who the Detroit Tigers are. So, long story short, the Jeep is totally awesome in every way and my only worry now is trying to figure out how I can get it back to the States some day.

Our good friend Julie Stauffer came into town on June 24^th. We were both very excited to see her and were looking forward to spending time with someone from home since we had started feeling a little home sick. For the first couple of days that she was in town we didn’t do a whole lot more than tool around Davao and show her the local sites. We had lots of good meals together and it was great getting caught up on all that was happening in her life. Julie arrived in Davao on Friday morning; it was on Tuesday night that things got really interesting.

We decided to go out for a late dinner with Matt, so around 8:30 we headed out for the evening. Just as we were leaving it started raining, which is no surprise since it’s the rainy season right now. The rain let up while we were in the taxi on the way to the restaurant, but shortly after we were seated it really started coming down. Again, we didn’t really think anything of it because it can rain like crazy here sometimes. To put it into perspective, think about the last time you were driving somewhere in the rain and you had your wipers on full blast, but they still weren’t able to keep up with the amount of rain that was coming down. That usually lasts for a few minutes here and there, and then slows down to a steady downpour. In Davao, it can rain that hard for 30 minutes to an hour sometimes, so we’re talking about an insane amount of water. Aside from the massive amounts of water than can fall, Davao’s sewer system is very inadequate. This means that in a matter of 15 to 20 minutes, water can start flooding the streets making it difficult to get around the city. Again, this is nothing new here.

Around 11:00 Matt got a 911 text from our co-worker Joy. She was in dire need of help, but we were more than 40 minutes away from her. We decided to get the check and head for home. As we made our way back to our place things weren’t looking any different than usual, but once we were about 3 kilometres from our place the water began rising rapidly. It wasn’t long before water started coming into our cab; soon the water was up to our feet, then we started floating. I should add that the entire time that this was happening we were telling our cab driver that he needn’t go any further; he replied by saying “It’s ok MamSir” and “I can manage.” Finally, the taxi driver admitted that we weren’t going to make it and tried steering the car to the side of the road. Once we had safely floated out of danger, we got out of the taxi and got ready to try and walk to rest of the way home. It took about 13 seconds to realize that there was no way that we were going to make it home, but what was worse was knowing that there was no way we were going to be able to make it Joy to try to assist her and her family.

We spent quite a while just hanging out on the side of the road trying to absorb what it was that we were experiencing. None of us had ever been in a natural disaster before so I think we were all in a bit of shock. The experience is very humbling, scary, kind of exciting, amazing to see, hopeless and somehow relaxing. It really is amazing to see how powerful water is and understand that there is absolutely nothing that you can do until the water stops coming. You can’t fight a flood; you just kind of experience it.

At about 2:00 we were rescued by Joji who was able to drive to a location we were able to walk to and pick us up. Making it to our pick up location meant that we had to walk back up the street to higher ground, through water that was 2 feet deep and very, very disgusting. Joji took us back to her place where we were able to have showers and get ready for bed. By the time we all got settled into bed it was about 3:00. I woke up around 6:30 to try and see if I could be of any help to anyone. As it turns out, we weren’t really able to get anywhere until about 2:00 in the afternoon because the bridge by our house had been structurally compromised by the ridiculous amount of water that had been there the night before.

Getting back to our place was completely shocking. On the way there we saw total devastation everywhere we looked. The flood waters had come up some 5 feet or more into many homes, businesses and stores. There was water, mud, trash and debris everywhere, but there were signs of hope. People were already busy putting things back together, rebuilding walls that had fallen and cleaning whatever belongings they still had. To be honest, I think the three of us were feeling more hopeless than most of the people we saw. I don’t think you ever get “used” to living in a flood area, but they seemed to just get right back at living rather than sitting around, dwelling on how bad things were and were going to be for the next few weeks and months as they rebuilt.

Matt and I finally made it Joy’s by about 3:00 in the afternoon. To put it simply, her family and most of the families in her community, who live right on the banks of the river that flooded, lost everything. Their houses were swept away by the rushing waters that crested more than 30 feet above normal levels. Again, the place was completely devastated, but people were upbeat and were busy putting things back together. Matt and I took Joy and her brother to the mall where we were able to get them some clean clothes, food, supplies to see them through the night, a new cell phone and some other things. It wasn’t much, but it seemed to help a little.

As far as our place goes, it was a total mess. When we arrived to our house we saw most of our landlord’s possessions outside the house. They had a number of people that were helping them clean things and get the house ready to be moved back into; they were miles ahead of most people that we saw. As it happens, we live on the second floor so we didn’t really lose anything. I think I lost a sock and Matt lost one of his shoes. The jeep had certainly seen better days. The floor was covered with about an inch worth of mud and it was clear that the water had been high enough to get into the engine and other important moving parts. We actually just got the jeep running this past Sunday for the first time since the flood. All things considered, we were very fortunate which kind of made us feel even worse about seeing all the crap that other people would have to deal with.

So, as you can tell, things were really crazy there for a while. We left town the following morning on a trip that we had been planning with Julie for some two months. It was really hard to leave and we all felt guilty, but decided to move forward with our plans.

I’ve written quite a lot now, so I’m gonna stop for now. There is much more to tell, so I’ll get back to it soon. For now, know that we are safe happy and that there are signs of progress everywhere we look.

Update

Hi friends,

Here is an update that we recently sent to our local congregations in Richmond and Goshen. Some of the info is a repeat from our last entry; sorry about that. Enjoy!

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.

It's all happening

On Tuesday, April 26th, we held a storytelling session here at the PBCI office. It was in conjunction with a Transitional Justice Initiative that Peacebuilders is involved in, funded by the Office of the Presidential Advisor on Peace Process (OPAPP). We invited leaders from each of the Tri-people groups here in Mindanao--Muslim, Indigenous, and Christian Migrant--as well as historians whose research focuses on Mindanao. The people present were Honorable Datu Kharis Baraguir, a Bangsamoro from Nuling, Sultan Kudarat who is part of the lineage of the first Muslim Sultanate of the Philippines; Ate Lualhati Abreu, a historian and author; Datu Waway Saway, an Indigenous community leader of the Talaandig tribe in Bukidnon; Instructor Sharon Obsioma Bulaclac, a history professor at Mindanao State University, Marawi City; Tirmizy Abdullah, a Bangsamoro history professor at the same university; and Sir Manny Tawagon, a Maranao retired historian and professor.

One of the purposes of this session was to have the guests look over and have input on the outline of historical events that I have put together which will be the framework for the script of the theater production about the history of Mindanao that I’m working on. I was so excited to have these wonderful resources at my fingertips to see what they thought about our presentation; however, I was nervous.

As an outsider, it is scary to present a proposal of a history that is not yours. Although I have read books, articles, and scoured websites to get a broad idea of Mindanao’s (and the Philippine’s) history, I can’t claim to really know much of anything about the country because I am an outsider. To present this outline to these learned Mindanaoans was humbling. However, they received it graciously, and even seemed excited about being asked for their contribution. I think it’s a universal truth that people like to talk about what they know, and we were giving these people a platform to do just that. They conversed openly about their country and island, and provided so much useful information, much more, in fact, than I could ever hope to incorporate in a two hour production.

It was especially interesting for me to see how the “mythical” stories of the Indigenous population regarding their heritage and creation have been incorporated into the identities of the Muslim communities here. Islam was introduced in the Philippines in the 14th century, but, of course, stories of Indigenous ancestry go back much farther than that. The Indigenous people who were converted to Islam integrated these mythical stories into their religious identities, creating a new identity that was an amalgamation of the two. For example, the Talaandig Tribe, of which we welcomed Kuya Waway Saway, a visual artist, musician, and generally amazing human being, believe that four of the tribes of Mindanao originated from one father figure. Two of these Indigenous tribes are now predominantly Muslim, having been converted by Muslim missionaries. As both Tirmizy and Datu Kharis noted, they have no reason not to believe that these stories are true, and they don’t go against the Muslim belief in the Oneness of God, so they accept them into their belief system.

This reminded me very much of a book I read during my time at Goshen College: “Christianity Rediscovered,” by Vincent J. Donovan. A Jesuit priest, Donovan spent many years in Tanzania with the Masai tribe with the intention of converting them to Christianity. Through his experiences, however, he discovered that in order to allow the gospel of Christ to flourish, he needed to allow it to be adapted and adopted in a way specific to the Masai culture. Did this dilute the gospel, or even pervert it in some way? The simple answer is no; in fact, if we limit the gospel to our own Western understanding of it, we are the ones who dilute the inclusive potential of it. Hearing from the Muslims of Mindanao who adapted Islam in certain ways that were appropriate to their lives was an interesting look at the potential similarities of Christian and Muslim missionary work in Indigenous communities, which, in a small way, supports my intentional message for this project, courtesy of Professor Joe Liechty and author Byron Bland, respectively: Reconciliation recognizes that “the differences that divide us do not go to the core of our being,” and that “those who have been deeply divided in the past do indeed belong together in the future.”

Although I have put together an outline for the script that reaches up to the present, I wanted a portion of the production to focus on hopes and dreams for the future of Mindanao that are realistic and of the people. For this I was reliant on the storytelling session. Ate Kriz, who was the facilitator of the meeting, asked each of the guests to share their hopes and dreams for the future of their land. It was inspiring to hear the words of these people who have lived in conflicted land for their entire lives. How can you envision peace and reconciliation when all you’ve known is perpetual conflict? Their dreams ranged from the very practical (self determination for the Bangsamoro people) to the abstract (recognizing the beauty in each of the people groups of Mindanao and learning to respect and cherish that beauty). It was inspiring to hear these people take ownership of their country, and realize that the solution to their problems will have to found within themselves. I found this especially encouraging because of the reality of the pervasiveness of the “white savior” idea still very present in the Philippines. To hear these Mindanaoans understand and claim their own power and potential to rebuild their country was remarkable, and something that Peacebuilders really struggles to put at the forefront of their philosophy of NGO work.

And now, my work really begins. This storytelling session was to be the last big resource tap for me in finding material for the script. I’m now moving on to finalizing script elements and beginning to write. Let me be completely honest: I’ve never written a script. I didn’t take Playwriting at Goshen, opting instead for Directing, the lesser of two evils for me at the time. And now I’m being asked to write material for a two hour production. Lovely :)

That being said, I do envision many of the stories that make up the history of Mindanao to be portrayed through dance and movement, something that I have a little more experience in. I’m so excited to create pieces that express the richness of the culture here, and hopefully communicate the deep joy, perseverance, and resoluteness of the people of Mindanao. We are working with a local performance group, the Kaliwat Theatre Collective, who will be holding a weeklong workshop for our performers, teaching us traditional dance and how to use traditional musical instruments. I am so very excited for this collaboration, as Kaliwat’s mission is to bring peace and justice through the arts. We recently went to one of their performances and it was incredibly inspiring to see the way they honored the Indigenous communities that they have worked and lived with through movement and music. They also invited us up on stage to dance with them, an offer which I accepted extremely hesitantly :)

Kuya Dann has big plans for this theater production and sees it fitting into the PAR80 initiative quite clearly. We are hoping to specifically invite the elite upper class of Davao to the performance, hoping that those who have the power to change the system will do so. In the next few weeks, I am going to meet with the Mayor of Davao City, introduce the project to her, and work to garner support from the local government systems. Although I didn’t realize this initially, in all honesty, I suppose the ruling elite is my intended audience for this production. I want to push people to action through a discomfort with the unjust situation of so many in Mindanao portrayed in the performance. The oppressed population, however, needs comfort and hope, not discomfort and gritty reality. I am praying that I find this balance in the material we create; that those who are in the depths of oppression will be lifted up, and those who are apathetic and yet hold power will be inspired to act.

Birthday Blog, a couple days late...

I had such a great birthday yesterday! If someone would have told me ten years ago that I would be celebrating my 28th birthday in the Philippines, I would have told them they were nuts. I had such a great day yesterday and I felt truly blessed to share it with Jenna and the awesome people that were around the PBCI offices. To start the day, Jenna and I went for an early morning workout at the gym. I stayed a bit later than Jenna did and swung by Jolibee for some coffee to take home. Jenna was already cooking buttermilk pancakes by the time I arrived, we definitely were off to a good start. Shortly after arriving in the offices, we headed across the street to order pizza for the office party. After pizza was over, we did as little work as possible then had coffee, Naniamo bars and carrot cake around three. We went for a late Japanese dinner around 8:30 where we had Sushi and the best tempura ever. For my presents, Jenna got me a pair of Crocs which are super sweet and a French press, which is something I’ve been looking forward to the entire time we’ve been here. Now we can finally have our own CFP coffee at home on the weekends.

Those of you that know me best know that I love numbers. For as longs as I can remember I’ve been much better with numbers that I have been with words. When I took algebra in school I think I got something like 160% in the class, which means not only did I get almost every question right all the time, I also got most of the extra credit questions right. Aside from doing simple math I also enjoy doing more complicated things involving numbers such as accounting work, financial forecasts and statistics. In fact, my favourite sport which is baseball has so many statistics that there are statics for the statistics. Not really, just saying there are statistics for everything. So as a tribute to the aging that my body is doing I thought it would be fun to break my life down into a few statistics for those who would be interested.

Here we go: I’ve been alive for 28 years now which means I’ve seen 336 months, 1,456 weeks, 10,220 days, 245,280 hours, 14,716,800 minutes and 883,008,000 seconds. My life expectancy is something like 80 years so that means that I have already lived 35% of my life. During that time I have spent roughly 9.24 years sleeping, I have blinked my eyes 176,592 times, my heart has beat 1,030,120 times, I have consumed roughly 8,584,80 Kgs of Oxygen and have taken something like 51,100,000 steps. As far as what else I have been doing in that time, the best I can come up with is to say that I’ve been playing baseball for as long as I can remember, I’ve been playing drums for nearly 18 years now, I’ve enjoyed fishing since I was nearly the same age I was when I started playing the drums and I also started getting into golf around the same time. I started driving when I was 16 and since that time I’ve averaged at least one speeding ticket per year. If you figure that the minimum ticket is $175 that means that I’ve paid at least $2,100 in traffic fines not to mention the expense of taking defensive driving at least four times by now. I’ve been to the emergency room more times than I care to admit. I’ve had two surgeries, one broken leg, two root canals and at least 6 concussions by my count. On a better note I can say that I’ve been in love with Jenna for exactly one day less than 6 years as of today.

So those are some of the statistics that I could think of that somewhat describe what my life has been like so far, but it’s not only the statistics of my life that make me who I am. The “Sum” of my life seems to be much greater than the parts I mentioned above. I once heard someone say that we are the sum of all the people we’ve met in our lives. If that is true than I think the sum of my life will greatly outweigh the statistics of my life. So again, only if you want to keep reading, please allow me to share with you what I think the sum of my life adds up to…

I think everyone knows that I lost my birth mother, Kathy, at the age of seven. The presence that her spirit has had on me is impossible to describe so I’ll just say that she is with me always and leave it at that. Since then I’ve been fortunate enough to have two other women in my life that I can call Mom. When Barb became my new mom she had no idea what she was getting herself into and despite the ups and downs that we’ve had over the years, the positive influence she has had on my life have been both invaluable and immeasurable and I thank her so much for the parts in me that she is responsible for . My newest mom Sue has brought a light to my heart that has helped me in more ways than I could ever hope to describe. The many hours spent sharing the intimate parts of my heart have continued to push me forward on the path to being a true man of God. Most people only get to call one person Mom, I’m lucky enough to say that title truly fits three amazing women. Thank you to my three Moms.

For a long time I would have said that the single closest person in my life was my Dad. I have countless memories that are just of me and my Dad. He was always around and spent Lord knows how many hours with me at various sporting events over the years. My Dad taught me how to do many of the things that I enjoy most today and it was with him that I began to discover what is probably the most enjoyable part of individual life for me, blues music. My Dad laid the foundation for what I understand being a man is all about. Although many of the lessons my Dad tried to teach me didn’t sink in until much later that he would have liked, his perseverance and continual guidance have given me the skills I need to make the most difficult decision I face now and will face in the future. My Dad prepared me to make my own life and house and was the person I looked up to the most as a teen. He remains one of my heroes to this day. Although time and distance have come between my Dad and me in the past few years, I know that we will always be bonded at the deepest level.

My siblings and I have a bond that is hard to put into words. For a number of years it was hard to tell where one of us stopped and the other one began. This was probably not the healthiest time in our relationships, but none the less we enjoyed the countless hours we spent together. My sister Holly has been a constant source of support and love from the day I was born. Her unconditional love and care have guided me through many difficult times and for that I will be forever indebted to her. The mere thought of my sister warms my heart. My brother Matt was who I always wanted to be when I was a little kid. As I got older I began to look at him more like a trusted friend and mentor than I ever would have thought when I was a kid. Matt and I have gone through many difficult times together, but we have always come out better for our struggles. Matt has taught me more about life and true happiness than I know today, and as we grow in our relationship together we always find ways to push each other closer to the men we both want to be. For his continued love and challenging support I am truly blessed. Mark and I have always been very close friends. We enjoy doing all kinds of things together. He has been a true companion to me on the journey that has been my life. On many of the best days of my life, Mark was present and on many of the brightest that are to come I know he will be there. Although we sometimes struggle in our relationships, I truly love Michael and Jen. They have both enriched my life and I will always do whatever I can to let them know I love them.

There are many other family members that have enhanced my life aside from my immediate family members. My nieces and nephews have blessed my life more than they could possibly know. Form the minute I first became an Uncle, I was completely in love with each of them and couldn’t be more proud of who they are. Each one of them has enriched my life in a unique way and watching them grow has been a privilege. The entire Nickel/Knickerbocker clan has embraced me as one of their own and getting to know each of them has been a true joy. The many golf rounds with Jesse and Dieter, countless meals with Liana, Birdie and Hiada, the extended family gatherings with the Nickels, or the Knickerbockers and vacations to Cultus, Pender and Sheridan have all made me feel so very blessed to be a part of those amazing families. I feel very lucky to have such a diverse family that stretches from the far west side of Canada all the way to Aunt Gayle and Uncle Bob’s summer cottage in Maine. As I have gotten older the value I have for family has increased and although not all of my relationships are as close, or as strong as I would like them to be, I truly love and appreciate all the members of my many families.

Jenna is the love of my life. I’m not sure that there is much more than that to say. The love she has given me is indescribable. Since the day I fell in love with her I have been truly blessed by her gentle spirit and kind heart. If it’s not to mushy to say, I’d say that above anything else I’ve done so far, loving Jenna is what I was made to do. I know it sounds presumptuous, but God made us for each other.

I couldn’t hope to name each friend by name that has had a major influence on my life. There have been so many amazing people over the years and each one of them has painted their stroke on the canvas that is my life. There are childhood friends, sports and music buddies from high school, college friends, buddies from work, fellow musicians in all kinds of bands (most notably Cornerstone) and friends that have been there through it all. I hope that I have done a good job at letting those closest to me know what they mean to me, but undoubtedly I’ve come short with nearly everyone at some time, or another. The grace and love that has been extended to me in the past 28 years is simply mind boggling. I hope that when I am asked to give an account of my life before God I will be able to say that the life I led reflected the hope and love of Christ that is in my heart.

So without sounding like an idiot, I’d assume that the sum of my life far exceeds the statistics of my life. My life has been awesome and I hope that I have had an awesome influence on someone. So long 27, hello 28!

Reflections on Peacebuilding

First and foremost I’d like to say that Kuya Dann Pantoja is a true man of God! Dann and Joji have created an organization that not only understands what it means to be a true Christian in today’s world, they are actively living the kind of life that Christ has envisioned for all of us. In a place where the people have been taken advantage of, marginalized and abused for centuries now, Dann and Joji are a breath of fresh air in a place that so desperately needs the healing life of Christ. The Philippines are the only Christian nation in all of South East Asia, but they are also the single most corrupt nation in the same region. Something clearly is not working for these people. In a place that claims the saving blood of Christ, how can there be so much pain, so much turmoil? The initial thought for many people, including myself at some points in time, would be to say that we really need to get Christ up front and centre for these people. We need to rush to them with a sense of urgency and get these people “Saved.” Bringing people to Christ is, after all, what we are called to do as followers of the Lord, isn't it?

Make no mistake, this is exactly what Dann and Joji are doing and the work that is their lives. During communion with the staff at PBCI this morning, Dann posed a question to us; are we Peace-builders or are we Peace-makers, and is there a difference? To understand the difference this quote from Leslie Newbigin is a great place to start:

"It has become customary to classify views on the relation of Christianity to the world religions as either pluralist, exclusivist, or inclusivist … [My] position is exclusivist in the sense that it affirms the unique truth of the revelation in Jesus Christ, but it is not exclusivist in the sense of denying the possibility of the salvation of the non-Christian. It is inclusivist in the sense that it refuses to limit the saving grace of God to the members of the Christian church, but it rejects the inclusivism which regards the non-Christian religions as vehicles of salvation. It is pluralist in the sense of acknowledging the gracious work of God in the lives of all human beings, but it rejects a pluralism which denies the uniqueness and decisiveness of what God has done in Jesus Christ."

—Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, 182-83

“Making” peace is a very active thing, whereas “Building” peace is an act that involves others. Christ made peace with his life and death. He actively gave his life so that we could have the opportunity to walk in righteousness with him. Christ extends the invitation to us to take up the cross and be willing to die for his cause. This is the active Peace-making that we talked about this morning. Peace-building, however, is what we are able to do out in the world once we have been equipped with a true understanding of what Christ is calling for us to do. We want to build peace with others, but the peace that we want with them should be Christo-centric, meaning that the peace should reflect the peace of Christ, not the peace that we want for people. Dann suggested that we should be like a compass: the needle that guides and directs us is Christ, but the entire circle of humanity--the pencil in the compass--is who we should serve with and for. With this understanding we should not be afraid to embrace all kinds of people from all kinds of backgrounds. We should be willing to meet people wherever they are and commit to walking beside them as we both journey towards a better understanding of God.

- Keith