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

Lanao del Norte/Misamis Oriental/Bukidnon Trip

So I just want to start by saying that this is the second time that I have tried to write this blog. Before lunch I saved my work and went downstairs to CFP to have pasta and salad with Jenna. When I came back I pushed something that closed my work, never to return again. Lame. I would also like to share the frustration I have with the fact that this blog likes to switch languages on me from time to time. All of my settings are put on English, but for some reason it switches to Tagalog randomly.

Now that I have aired my frustrations I feel like I’m in a better place to describe the wonderful things that took place last week…

Monday morning Jenna, Matt, Ate Kriz, Kuya Toto (the driver) and I loaded into the van shortly after 6:30 on our way to Iligan City. We were heading there to meet up with Mei who is stationed there and is in charge of the Peace and Reconciliation Medical initiative, or PAR Med. We would be spending the week meeting with a variety of groups and sharing with them the services that Coffee for Peace can offer them as well as sharing the PAR 80 initiative that has been undertaken at PBCI.

- Just to make sure you are all on the same page I want to clarify something here. PBCI is a Non-profit organization that is sponsored by Mennonite Central Committee, Mennonite Church Canada and Friends of PBCI. PBCI is who Jenna and I are working for. Coffee for Peace is a separate business entity that is very much its own organization and operates just like any other business in North America. PBCI provides the training and information to the farmers, which helps them get started on the fair trade road. Coffee for Peace is simply a buyer in the relationship. Right now Coffee for Peace has an order with Level Ground, the company that supplies Ten Thousand Villages, for 50 tons each month. The current supply at CFP’s disposal is maybe one ton for the entire year of 2011. The vision is that 20% of CFP’s profits can go to PBCI in the future, thereby decreasing the required support from abroad. It is PBCI that maintains the relationships and helps educate the farmers through its various PAR initiatives. Coffee farming is just one of many projects that PBCI has going that helps it interact in the various communities in the Philippines. These PAR initiatives are what keep PBCI moving forward. Ok, back to the story…

Monday was spent travelling from Davao to Iligan. The trip there was definitely an adventure. The closest comparison I can offer is to say that it is like being on a roller coaster for 8 hours. Toto, although he appears to be on the verge of losing control, is always aware of everything that is happening around him. His driving style is aggressive and very appropriate. Although he would probably be locked up for life if he drove like that in the Sates, all I can say is that he is the MAN! Upon arriving in Iligan, we picked up Mei and headed out for some pizza. It was nice to be out of the car and catching up with Mei. Over dinner we had a short meeting about the week’s schedule then headed back to the hotel to relax for the remainder of the evening.

Our first meeting took place at 10:30 Tuesday morning. People that were in attendance were a civic worker, a Doctor of agriculture, a Chieftain, a number of Datus (community leaders), two school Principals and a Sultan (highly respected person of authority in the tribe/community). This meeting was to introduce CFP and tell these leaders a bit more about the theology of Fair Trade and the Peace and Reconciliation initiative that PBCI has undertaken. Everyone in attendance was excited to hear about the prices the CFP was paying for coffee, but it was the principals and the Chieftain that really seemed to grasp the entire package. PBCI is looking to make long-term commitments with these communities which includes, but is not limited to, a profitable business venture. I believe that only those that see the two as a whole package will be able to move forward with PBCI.

After the meeting we went to Maria Christina Nature Park where there are beautiful waterfalls and scenery to enjoy. It was nice to have some time to walk around and enjoy nature after a long day of travelling the day before and sitting through a two hour meeting earlier in the day. Maria Christina is home to a small wildlife sanctuary which consists of alligators, ducks (food for the alligators), ostrich and a few snakes. There is also a series of zip lines, but they were unfortunately under repair while we were there. The most significant thing at Maria Christina is the power plants. There are seven different power plants that harness the power created by the river and waterfalls. These seven power plants provide 70% of Mindanao’s electric power. After our tour we headed to a coffee shop for a time of debriefing and our afternoon caffeine fix. I should note that since we’ve been at PBCI I’ve grown quite accustomed to having a ready supply of coffee all day long, since Coffee for Peace is right downstairs; I might have a problem.

Wednesday morning meant another meeting so after breakfast we loaded into Toto’s van and headed to Mindanao State University to meet with Dr. Celeste, who teaches in the College of Agriculture. I should note that CNN has said that this campus is the single most dangerous campus in the entire world due to the significant number of kidnappings. Although we knew this information before we went there, we thought it was best to share it with Dieter after we were back. The meeting was great and I was once again impressed by a person with authority that was making such a great decision to expose her students to the theology of CFP and PBCI. The principals from the previous day’s meetings and this teacher had the utmost concern for their students and were so excited to broaden their horizons in the hopes of a brighter future. After the meeting, we piled back into the van and headed to another meeting.

Meeting Sultan Dimasangkay was quite the trip. We spent about 20 minutes driving after the paved roads had stopped and arrived in a place that was anything but modern with two exceptions; cable TV and massive stereos that were on standby for karaoke. This particular Sultan is the only Christian Sultan in Mindanao and was preceded by his father and grandfather who were the first Christians. Hi grandfather originally made a peace pact with the surrounding Muslim communities that they wouldn’t fight one another. The message of peace was instantly accepted by the Sultan and he was eager to talk about the benefits of peace theology as well as fair trade coffee. He was so encouraging to listen to, with the help of Mei’s translation. After a good hour and a half of discussion he asked two men from his community to cut down several coconuts which he promptly cut open with his machete and served to us. This was an amazing place to be and I felt privileged to be there.

Thursday was the day that none of us were looking forward to. We had a meeting scheduled with ECOweb to discuss the partnership between the two organizations; ECOweb is another NGO that originally introduced PBCI to communities in Lanao Del Norte, where the PAR Med is based. ECOweb approached PBCI regarding some issues that they had with the way PBCI did things. Going into the meeting nobody was really sure what the issues were, so we didn’t really know what to expect. As it turns out ECOweb doesn’t really have an issue with anything PBCI has done, or stands for, just the way they went about doing things. The Philippines is a very title-oriented culture and one in which people show a lot of respect to authority. It seems there was some miscommunication between the two organizations, but the issues were quickly put to bed in the meeting and the two are in the process of creating a MOA (memorandum of agreement) to avoid mishaps in the future. All things considered this was a good meeting and good way to see what ECOweb and PBCI really stand for.

After the meeting with ECOweb we were in the van when Mei got a phone call. She answered the phone to someone who assumed she knew who she was talking to. She said, “Sorry, who is this?” … “Oh, hi Mayor!” It was pretty funny to hear her casually on the phone with a Mayor. He was very adamant that we join him for lunch even though we were running nearly two hours late. We arrived in his office to a real seafood feast. There were two huge plates of crab, a plate of prawns, another of fresh fish and a huge pot of rice. This guy seriously hooked us up and I couldn’t help but wish my brothers were there to enjoy the bounty from the sea with me.

The Mayor was by far and away the coolest civil servant I have ever met and he was stoked to hear about Jenna’s theatre work. He wanted a copy of the curriculum, which hasn’t yet been developed, by the end of the month. His exact words were that maybe bringing peace theology through theatrical arts could “be his legacy.” I was so excited for Jenna when he said this because I know how powerful she thinks the arts can be. We were so blessed to be with a person with such authority and have him be excited about what we were doing. The whole time we were there I couldn’t help but think how impossible this scenario would be in Indiana.

Friday’s mission was not very pleasant, but was very important. We were heading to Cagayan De Oro to go on a fact finding mission regarding a church that had been demolished. The scenario is that the government gave this group of people a large chunk of land that they were supposed to use as farm/living land for themselves. Two of the tree groups decided to sell their land to a developer, but the third group is unwilling to sell. I’m not quite sure if any of this is even legal at this point. Group number 3 has developed some of their land and had even erected a church where as many as 50 people would attend on a Sunday afternoon. To try and pressure group 3 off the land, groups 1 and 2 demolished the church as well as some of the houses that had been put up to house members of group 3. Groups 1 and 2 went so far as to take some of the demolished building supplies, mostly bamboo, and use them to build their own structures on their land that the developer was letting them stay on so they could watch the land. The situation is as stupid and sketchy as it sounds. For all the good things that happened during the week, this was the one thing that reminded me that some people suck. We took a lot of pictures and spent roughly 2 and a half hours with the two ministers that were our guides, along with the two police officers they hired to accompany us. I’m not really sure where we are going to go with this experience yet, but it was a valuable thing to see.

Saturday was the best day of the week for me. After another ride in the van, we arrived in Songko where the Talaandig tribe resides. We were there to do an “Ocular Inspection” of the land in the hopes that we could develop some kind of alternate energy driven water system. Doing this inspection would require us to hike 7 kilometres—or 4.34959 miles—up into the mountains to see where the coffee crops were. But, before I talk about that I want to describe the village a bit. This place was pimp. The houses were made out of bamboo, some of which were up in the trees some 40 feet off the ground. There was a building in the centre of the community called The Hall of Peace which was where groups could come to learn how to paint, play music, do their native dances and all kinds of other culturally relevant things. The artwork that was on display was simply amazing. The two artists we met, Waway and Raoul, paint in a way that I have never heard of before. They don’t use paint. What they do is they hike up the mountain and find different colours of dirt, mix it with glue and that’s their paint: Frickin sweet. While we were there, there was dancing, music being played and I even got to play a little Djembe that was, of course, made by hand by the people of the community. Getting a clue as to why this place was the highlight of the week for me? I could go on from here, but suffice it to say, this place was the bomb.

Back to the hike now…

So we’ve got to go up 7kms (4.34959m) and I mean it was straight up hill. We started out a little rough and after the first 15 minutes we weren’t sure that Mei was going to be able to continue, fortunately she did because I’m not sure how we would have communicated with the locals without her. The path—and I use the word path very loosely here—up the mountain was anything but smooth. There was mud, cow crap, dog crap, rocks and places where water had completely washed away two feet of dirt leaving massive holes all around us. I took some video on the way up, but I’m not sure it does justice to what the path was really like. It took us almost 2 hours to reach our first destination where we met up with another guide who was going to take us to the water. There was no path leading us there so we were bushwhacking our way through the jungle on some thick and muddy terrain. When we finally made it to the creek we had to jump from bank to bank, sometimes falling in the mud, or water. I should note that the 7 or 8 guys that were walking with us were either barefoot or just wearing flip flops.

We made it to the junction of three small creeks and had some time to talk with Mei and the members of the tribe. As it turns out, Jenna, Matt and I are the only white people to have ever been allowed to go there. Again, amazing right? The tribe was approached by a water bottling company, but the tribe refused to let them have access to the water. We talked for a while about how and what to do with this source of water, then headed back to one of the farmer’s house where we were served fresh coffee and some kind of corn-tortilla wrapped banana that was amazing (Jenna’s note: It was called “shuman” and kind of tasted like a sweet tamale with banana inside, wrapped in a banana leaf). After a brief rest we headed down to one of the farms that would benefit from the harnessing of the water and spent some time seeing all the different kinds of crops they grow on the mountain. We also got fresh passion fruit and guava, pulled down from the trees by one of our guides who was like a monkey in his climbing. Did I mention this place was awesome? The views were breathtaking.

As we continued down the mountain we encountered a number of farms that are in desperate need of some kind of water supply and I was wishing I could stay on the land until we had finished the installation of all the necessary equipment. It was also on the way down that Raoul decided to mention to us that there are a number of very large King Cobras that call that particular mountain home. He assured us that we were never in any danger and that the locals refer to the snake as “The Friendly Snake.” I could go on about this place, but I realize this blog has gotten completely out of control already, so I’ll cut if off now.

I hope you all get the point that Jenna and I had an amazing week and are very excited and motivated by the work God is doing here in the Philippines. Please check out our pictures on facebook!

Peace for now,

Keith

Field Trip!

Hi all,

Sorry it's been a while since we've posted; we've been busy moving into our apartment and getting more acquainted with our work situation, as well as preparing for our first trip to the field.

We're heading to Lanao for about 6 days, visiting with a variety of Peacebuilders partners and making more new connections. We're excited and somewhat nervous for our first field exposure, but we trust that it will an enriching experience.

We are extremely excited to get out of the city for a while! It can be somewhat overstimulating with all the people and noise and movement in this city. On Friday, the PBCI staff participated in Armed Conflict Area Survival Training (ACAST) in preparation for our trip(s) to the field, and we drove up to a place called Hope Mountain to do this. It was so amazing to look out over Davao and realize how lush and green the surrounding area is. Sometimes it's easy to forget this in the midst of the concrete of the city. Part of our trip to the field will involve hiking and we are so excited to be out in nature!

Please pray for us as we venture out this week. Although we are super excited, it is also always a bit nerve-wracking to be venturing into the unknown. We look forward to sharing with you our experiences in the field when we get back next Saturday or Sunday.

Until then, peace be with you all! Thanks for your continued support and lovely comments on our blog :)

- Jenna

Random observations about the Philippines...

So please allow me to share with you a few of the things that I have noticed in our short time here...

1. Whenever you are walking past a store in the mall, or by someone's stand on the side of the road, they always say, "Yes Ma'am," (pronounced 'Mum') or "Yes Sir," or my personal favorite "Yes MumSir."

2. Filipino men will pee just about anywhere whenever they need to.

3. Is that a radio I hear? Oh no, it's the Filipino person walking behind me and singing Taylor Swift, rather loudly I might add. I am sad to say that Filipinos tend to over estimate their abilities to sing well.

4. Speaking of loudness, everything is loud here. Appliance stores, CD/DVD shops, arcades can be heard as soon as you walk into the mall; again, everything is LOUD. Except of course, the way people talk.

5. Filipinos are always ready and willing to dance.

6. Two things about driving: Use your horn all the time, and it's always appropriate to pass even when: there is oncoming traffic, you are in an intersection, you are making a turn. My brother Matt would excel at driving in the Philippines.

7. Malls are everywhere around Davao. The city isn't even that big and there are at least a half dozen malls. I should also note that you have to go to the mall for just about everything. We haven't gone one day so far without going into at least one mall.

8. Filipinos have no problem making loud noises to try and gain the attention of a white person. This includes, but is not limited to, honking the horn repeatedly, yelling "Hey Joe," or "Papa Americano." This also includes simply yelling "HEY!"

10. Even though we have seen other white people every day, Filipinos stare at us as if we had an extra arm growing out of our foreheads.

11. When paying for things in cash you should use bills smaller than 500 pesos otherwise someone will have to go make change for you at the gas station. 500 pesos is roughly $11.00 so I find that quite surprising.

12. A twenty minute taxi ride only costs about $3.50 which includes a generous tip, but a crappy toaster that looks like it will break in two weeks costs $80.

13. When using the bathroom, or 'Comfort Room' as it is known in the Philippines, make sure to take your own tissue paper.

14. Filipinos keep their cars very clean. Even if their car/motorcycle is not very nice you can be sure it is clean. Getting a large van/suv cleaned at a car wash only costs about $2.

15. Electricity costs money, so to save money there are not as many lights in places that you might expect them to be. For example, there is probably only one light in the bathroom which can make it rathe difficult when shaving. If I thought I could pull it off I might grow a beard while we're here.

16. You can pay to have someone do just about everything for you.

17. When going for your early morning run in the Philippines, be on the look out for dog poop in the middle of the road; stray dogs are everywhere and they're not afraid to poop whenever they need to.

18. FLA - Filipinos Love Acronyms. Since being here I have heard approximately 4,000,000 acronyms.

19. Lots of Filipino men grow facial hair, but their beards may only consist of 20 hairs.

20. The Philippine culture is very title-oriented. It is how they understand their frame of reference to each other.

21. You could use a system of Filipino's cell phones instead of tornado alarms to warn people of an incoming storm. Even on the lowest setting it can be heard for miles.

22. When you are invited somewhere by a Filipino group, they are so excited to give you whatever they can. Whether it is coffee, coconuts, crab, or bananas they are so happy to offer you the best of what they have.

23. Glee is the official soundtrack of the Philippines. Okay, maybe not, but it should be cause it's on everywhere we go.

Note: These things aren't meant to be criticisms, they're just random observations and differences we've noticed. We really love it here, I swear!