Newness Galore

Hi friends!

We're coming up on finishing our first full week in Davao and it's been a very exciting six days. For the last little while we've been discovering the city, meeting lots of new friends, and slowly adjusting to the different patterns of life here. It's been wonderful, frustrating, challenging, exciting, and a million other things...

On Thursday morning we had a long meeting with Kuya Dann to go over our job descriptions in more detail and to more fully understand how he envisions us being a part of the Peacebuilders team. It was so great to hear Dann's vision and it got us very stoked for the role we can play here in Davao.

Keith's assignment is pretty much what he expected; however, we were able to hear more about how PBCI and Coffee for Peace run and what kind of finances they will need to achieve their goals in the next few years. Keith sees himself in a support role for Joji and Bennette (who is the financial controller, so to speak) and is excited about how he can contribute to the operation.

My assignment became a little more clear as we talked to Dann which was peace-giving for me. It sounds like I will be putting together a presentation incorporating visual arts, music, dance, and drama to communicate the story of Mindanao and its diverse people groups. Although the venue will be in a church, we hope to present it to Muslim and indigenous persons as well. Dann hopes that this presentation will help Christians understand the plight of the marginalized groups in Mindanao and their history here, helping them to realize that Muslims are not just violent terrorists, while also expressing to the Muslim and Indigenous persons that their story is understood as important and valuable in the story of the Philippines as a whole. It's a huge task, and I'm supremely intimidated by the prospect; however, I'm super excited about touring Mindanao, collecting stories, developing relationships, making connections, and hopefully presenting something that builds bridges and promotes understanding, peace, and justice in Mindanao. PBCI is hoping to distribute the script and compositions we develop throughout Mindanao so that people can use the presentation around the island and, eventually, the country. Exciting!

Keith and I have been spending a lot of our time trying to get to know the city. We finally bought a Davao map and that's been a helpful reference point. We're also navigating the transportation system of taxis, jeepneys, tricycles, and pedicabs. Jeepneys and tricycles are our preferred system of transpo (and also the cheapest, at 8 pesos per person - about 20 cents) but they're a little harder to navigate. We ventured out on our own on Saturday and managed to conquer a jeepney ride on our own, which was satisfying. Baby steps :)

For the last few days, Bruce and Helen Glick from Ohio have been visiting Peacebuilders to assess the Disaster Risk Management project sponsored by MCC that's going on in the Northern island of Luzon. Of course, the Mennonite game is being played ridiculously well and we're all very aware of our connections. On Friday night, Kuya Dann took us out on the town and it was probably my favourite excursion so far. We started by going to a Swiss restaurant for dinner that I discovered also has wonderful European imports. (Sidenote: I've been missing having the facilities to cook so much. As Keith mentioned, it's getting old having to eat out all the time. We went to a HUGE outdoor market the other day and I just wanted to buy all the fresh food in sight even though I couldn't do anything with it. Only a few more days til I have a kitchen again...). We then went to the home of one of Kuya Dann's friends, a local artist called Kublai. He runs a hotel/venue called the Unconventional Center and, let me tell you, it lives up to its name. The man is only 38 and I swear he is the most prolific artist in history. The entire four story building is covered in his artwork in all different mediums and the visual stimulation is slightly overwhelming. His family lives on the top floor and it was like walking into the jungle of the lost boys on the 'Hook' movie set. It was probably the most amazing home I've ever seen. Art everywhere, suspended seating arrangements that look out over Davao, sculptures of lizards that double as staircases, bottles roped together that act as dividers between rooms, and little naked kids running around. It's incredible and also very hard to explain. We'll post pictures :) After this amazing experience we went to hear Kublai's wife's band play in an outdoor restaurant near the PBCI office. She plays in a band called Mabuya which consists of 5 women and 2 men. They are amazing musicians and singers and they focus their music on telling stories about Mindanao and talking about the importance of family, ancestry, and being connected to others. It was simply amazing and I can't wait to hear them play again. I'm also excited about tapping the resource of knowing Kublai and his wife, Ma'an, as visual artist and musician, for use in the presentation I'll be helping with.

Although we can't share every single thing we've been doing, I do want to share something that I've noticed at PBCI that really excites me. Kuya Dann is a self-proclaimed dreamer and visionary: when he envisions something, he makes it happen. This means that even if the funds aren't in order at the beginning, PBCI starts a project and has faith that God will provide for their needs. Although that seems somewhat backward to a Western way of thinking, I have so enjoyed and admired the faith with which this organization functions. They aren't constrained by finances and allow their big dreams to be entertained. Very often they come to fruition. These big steps in faith are exciting for me to see and be part of, reminding me that we can ask big things of God and God will be faithful.

We've been staying at a Guest House for the last five days and yesterday we moved to Kuya Dann and Ate Joji's house to live there until our apartment is ready on March 1st. It's nice to be able to visit with Joji since she's been cooped up in her room with her broken leg and to keep her company while Dann is away for ten days in Luzon. It's also helpful for us to get to know another part of the city.

It's kind of annoying to post pictures on here, so we'll soon post pictures at another location that you can all look at. Hopefully. If you have access to facebook, there are pictures on there, too.

Love to you all. Thanks for all your prayers.

- Jenna