And We're Off!

Today we are off on our immersion to Conception and the 4 surrounding barrios.  It will be a HUGE mission!!  Please keep all of us, our team of 26 missionaries, in your prayers as we feed, teach, and serve 430 families with dental and medical care, clothing, toys, school supplies and the love of God!  Thank you!!  Details to come in a few days.

Xxoo Sarah ❤️

Immersion

In October 2015, I went with the Oikos Sisters and their mission to a barrio called Carapdapan where we held an immersion.  When the Oikos Sisters do an immersion, they do just that....they immerse themselves deeply into the lives of others.  The Sisters spend three days in a barrio, living with the people there and building trust with them.  They cook food for them, bring clothes, school supplies, shoes, toys, they bring catechists to teach the children and the adults, medical doctors and dentists for the medical mission along with all the medicines they have in the charity pharmacy.  In Carapdapan, they brought a movie and lots of snacks to eat!  It was an amazing experience!  This year, we are going to a barrio called Conception, located in the northern part of Eastern Samar.  There is no easy way to get to Conception and so it is easily overlooked by NGO's and other aid.   When the parish priest of Conception and the surrounding barrios found out about the immersion program the Oikos Sisters do, he requested that they come.   Conception is a barrio with about 117 families.  That is where most of the immersion will take place, but with the medical mission, the Oikos Sisters are inviting three surrounding barrios to come, making the beneficiaries of the medical mission over 430 families!

I have spent the past two weeks helping to prepare for the immersion.  I have separated cloths into rice bags for mga bata (the children), mga nanay (the mothers) ug mga tatay (the fathers).  I have counted and separated into sizes over 200 of Tom's Shoes...yes, Tom's really does give shoes, and they are comfortable!!  Everyone who has tried them has liked them.  I have bagged up homemade baby diapers, beautiful blankets, tons of school supplies, over 300 toys for the kids, and reading and sun glasses.  I have made computer lists of all the medicines we are taking with us and have helped to pack up said medicines with stethoscopes, bp aps, thermometers, creams, and tons of dental equipment.  We are also bringing so many bags of rice, the kids play "King of the Mountain" on them!  Along with brown sugar, coffee, and some canned goods, each family will receive a nice food pack. 

We will be sleeping in tents and bringing our own traveling kitchen with us, along with a pot that is big enough to cook me!!  The utensils for this pot are huge...like the ones the Jolly Green Giant would use!  Also on this immersion, we are beginning two barrios in the FAITH Program, Food Always In The Home.  It will be a crash course on fruit and vegetable farming for their family's table and to sell in the market.  This is the biggest immersion the Oikos Sisters have undertaken.  Thank goodness that we are having more help coming!  Even as I write this, Mary Jane and Vic Trinkus are on their way to Borongan!  They will stay for two weeks and just happen to be getting here in time to help out in Conception!!

Here are some photos of our preparations.  It was hard work!!  But the fun part is coming up...where we get to give it all away!!

Please say a prayer for a successful immersion!!  Can't wait to tell you all about it!!  xxoo Sarah

Welcome, Welcome!!!

There is a welcoming spirit here in the Philippines that is so beautiful and humble.  The poor people in the barrios in and around Borongan really have so very little, and their homes are probably more simple than anyone reading this blog can imagine.  However, each and every poor person I have encountered here in the Philippines has welcomed, not only the Oikos Sisters into their homes, but also me...a complete stranger and foreigner.  And not begrudgingly either, but with a spirit of true welcome.  Never have I felt like a stranger in their homes.

Now, when I had my apartment back in Buffalo, NY, I was always torn as to what to do when my doorbell rang.  I mean, who knows who could be at my door...it could be family or it could be a stranger looking for money, drugs, who knows what.  I always appreciated when people called before they came over.  Perhaps as a single female living in an apartment, that caution was warranted...or perhaps it wasn't about fear at all.  There were definitely times when my house was messy and I was embarrassed to open my door to anyone for fear that they would see my sloppiness.  Too many dishes in the sink, too many clothes on the bed waiting to be folded, too many papers lying around in piles of  procrastination.  At least with the warning of a phone call, I could shove stuff into the closets!

Definitely, for company to come over, I wanted to project the perfect image, the house always ready for guests, every thing in its place, no dust and something ready to serve the surprise guest.  Sounds a bit like Donna Reed or June Cleaver...but there is something about not wanting to be judged about the state of a home, isn't there?  Maybe not opening the door because of not wanting to be judged is a little extreme, or even making apologies about the state of your home...this is life and in life we live and in living we make messes.  That's ok.  Isn't it more important to be welcoming and making people feel "at home" than to be closed off or ashamed of what the house looks like?

There is something to be said for being ready for company.  In the Bible, Jesus talks of the virgins who are not prepared with their oil and they miss going into the celebration, of being prepared for you do not know the day or the hour when you will be called home.  Now, Jesus was talking about having the state of our souls ready, but as with many excerpts from the Bible, there can be more than one meaning.  Perhaps Jesus was also talking of the state of our homes, of our lives...that we always must be ready to welcome people into our homes, into our lives.  That person knocking on the door just may be Jesus, and in my ignoring the knock, I ignore Him.  Without a doubt, when I knock on the Gate of Heaven, I don't want St. Peter to ignore me!!

The poor people of the Philippines have little in their homes to boast about...no grand pianos, no luxurious furniture (sometimes no furniture), no works of art or the newest appliances...in fact, no appliances.  Most of the time, the floor is mud and the walls aren't painted.  But the truth is, upon entering a home, it is the people's smiles that light up the room.  It is the offer of food when they have so little that is so becoming, it is the sweet way they go out of their way to make us feel welcome and comfortable that is so charming.  And of their homes they are very proud...proud to be able to put a roof over the heads of their families to keep them safe, proud to be able to welcome guests, surprised by the visit or not.

And, perhaps there is something to be said also for living a simple life, not cluttering up your homes and your life with so much stuff that you have to shove it all in a closet to avoid feeling bad.  I don't know...I don't want to get all philosophical on you...I just know that when I close myself off like that, who knows the opportunities that I miss out on.  Certainly, most of the people, if not all, who open their door to the Oikos Sisters are profoundly happy that they did so regardless of the state of their homes.

Yep...still learning here in the Philippines!!  And happy to be doing so!!  xxoo Sarah

THE RAIN IN SPAIN STAYS MAINLY ON THE PLAIN

I just so totally had a "My Fair Lady" moment!!  Have you ever been in a situation where life imitated art so much that it caused you to stop everything and just laugh??  I love those moments!!  Sometimes it happens with a Seinfeld episode, and usually, as in this case, it is so out of thin air, that I am surprised and sort of delighted.  This time, I am happy with my Eliza Doolittle moment.

I am currently trying to learn the dialect of the Eastern Samar region of the Philippines.  While it is true that the national language of the Philippines is Tagalog, each region, it seems, has a different dialect, each quite individual and unique...so much so that when Sister Michelle, who is from the Antique Province in the Philippines, came to Eastern Samar, she had to learn the dialect here, which is Waray.  Antique is 18 hours and 55 minutes traveling by car, and they speak a totally different language there!  And so it is with each region of the Philippines.  Most people know Tagalog, and many know at least a little English.  But the many different dialects make learning and communicating language a bit difficult, to say the least!!  Now, the Oikos Sisters travel all over Eastern Samar helping people.  They go to the northern barrios and the southern...Borongan just happens to be in the center.  Even each part of Eastern Samar has its own dialect of Waray!  We wouldn't want to make learning this new language easy, now would we???

Over the course of this past summer, my sweet Aunt Margie taught me how to drive a stick shift car, as all of the cars the Sisters drive are standard transmission.  I remember being in the car with her one day and being frustrated that I kept stalling, I was becoming very agitated with myself.  But I realized that it has been quite some time since I tried to learn something new.  Children, who tend to pick things up relatively quickly, are in that new learning mode.  Their brains are set on receiving new information all the time.  My brain, although quite active, has cobwebs in the learning new things department!!  So, I decided to give myself a brake, so to speak, no pun intended, and give my brain time to adjust to learning something new.  I did get it, by the way, and I really enjoy driving a stick shift car, so thanks, Margie!!  (Driving in the Philippines is another entertaining post for another day!)

So now I am trying to learn Waray.  And once again, I am frustrated.  I want to be able to participate in conversations NOW!!!  To give you an example of what I am facing, here are a few words in Waray:

                                 I am not sleepy:                 Diri nahingangaturog ak.
                                 What time will we start?:  Ano nga oras kita magtitikang?
                                 I am going to the market.:  Makadto ak ha nga mercado.
                                 Good night:                         Maupay nga pagkaturog.

Those are just some random sentences.  Of course there are tenses, the subject comes after the verbs, and let's not forget that if you put the intonation on the wrong syllable...it may mean something else.  Then too, some of the kids are taking a liking to teaching me slag, which I have no idea if it is proper to say or not...they think it is so funny!!

Well, today after mass Sister Clarissa was talking to a friend, and I knew what they were talking about!   And just now, in my room, looking at the nerdy flashcards I made, I knew a lot of the vocab!  And all of the sudden into my head pops the song, "The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain!"  I had a moment of realization that, while I am no where near fluent...I am getting it!  My oldish brain is beginning to light up with the vitality of youth, and I am happy!

I should say here that earlier this morning, I was reading today's passage from a great book called Divine Intimacy, given to me by a great friend, Kate Hahn.  It has been several days since I have read from this book and today, I felt a tug to pull it off the shelf and read it.  Today's message: 

     "Oh Lord, I do not desire knowledge that inflates, but the humble learning which comes from You, enlightening minds and enkindling hearts.  Give me knowledge, Oh Lord, and I shall be able to enter into study and work without any danger of vainglory.  I want to use the intelligence You have given me by employing it in Your service; I want to make it fructify for Your glory and for the good of souls.  ...  Sanctify, Lord, my studies, my work; grant that love may transform all into a means of apostolate."  St. Catherine of Sienna

So there you have it.  Ultimately, all knowledge comes from God, and quite simply, a little prayer said before studying, reminding me of why I am doing this, why it is so important, and who I am doing this for sweeps the cobwebs from my brain and gives me the stamina and patience to learn.  ...and a quick prayer of thanks afterwards never hurts!!

I'm not ready yet to do the Dr. Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle dance...I'm still at the part where he is putting marbles in her mouth!!  But I can see the end now, I know I'll get there, and I'll know who to thank when I do!! 

Praying for peace...hope you are too!!  xxoo  Sarah

Eating Time!

It occurred to me that I haven't done a post on the Filipino food I have been eating.  It seems strange that I didn't the last time I was here... food is such a big part of our lives, and sometimes when we cannot connect with people in any other way, a table of food can bring us all together like nothing else.

The Filipino diet, at least here in Borongan, is pretty light.  It has both Spanish and Asian influences, and tries to resemble the American diet as well...at least at the fast food joints. (ouch!!)  So, here is a breakdown of meals we have in Borongan:

Breakfast... rice, fish, eggs, pork, chicken, vegetables, sometimes bread (sometimes hot dogs), fruit*
Lunch... rice, fish, pork chicken, vegetables, pancet, lumpia, fruit*
Dinner...rice, fish, pork, chicken, vegetables, pancet,  lumpia, fruit*

*these are most of the possible items served, usually it is 2 proteins and 1 veg, with rice of course, at each meal.

It sounds pretty boring, but it's not!  Here they use an array of flavorings such as garlic, ginger, soy sauce and lemon grass, to name a few, plus many things are cooked in coconut milk, which is delicious.

The rice is just served plain, but most of the dishes have a sauce, or sabaw, that they drizzle over it.
There are as many ways to use rice here as there are people in the Philippines, it seems.  I don't want to get too "Bubba Gump" on you, so I'll spare you the long list of rice dishes I have had.  I'll just tell you my favorite... it is a sticky sweet rice that is cooked in banana leaves and served with a toasted coconut sauce.  It is just about my favorite thing to eat here!!

 The fish here in the Philippines are plentiful and delicious.  I have had fish sautéed, grilled, stir fried, deep fried, baked, steamed, served with a sweet and sour sauce,  and served in raw in a lemon and vinegar marinade.  They do serve the fish whole... like including the heads, eyeballs, teeth and tails.  That took some getting used to!!   And they are not deboned so you have to watch out for the teeny bones, but they are delicious!!  (the fish, not the bones!)  On special occasions when they serve shrimp, it is again served whole with head, eyeballs, legs....

Pork is also a big deal here.  For parties, they will cook a whole pig on a spit and serve it whole.  But there are many ways to cook it... adobo style (slow cooked with soy sauce, vinegar and brown sugar), fried, stir fried, etc.  They use the whole pig, so sometimes what is served doesn't look totally appetizing!! (ie intestines, liver, heart...)  For the feast of St. Francis this year, I was in the kitchen making meatballs when I noticed Sister Michelle stirring up something very strange looking in a bowl.  It looked like a bowl of skin...and it was!!  It was the skin of the pig's head, including the ears, cheeks, etc.  Sister Michelle was marinating it with salt and oil.  It was then grilled to a crisp then chopped into a small dice.  Next, the pig's blood was boiled and mixed with the grilled skin and tossed with the pig's brain (which is about the size of a silver dollar!)  Yeah... I didn't try it.  Sorry, I'm not THAT adventurous! 

Chicken is served at almost every meal.  It is cooked in many ways, as you can imagine.  They have a delicious way of cooking fried chicken, but my favorite chicken dish here is when it is cooked in a sticky, soy barbecue sauce...yummy!!

Pancet is a traditional Filipino dish.  It is made with rice noodles and vegetables cut julienne style and is cooked in a broth with soy sauce and lots of onion and garlic.  It is served at every party and is a great "safe" dish to have when you don't know what anything else is!!  And, by the way, even though you have pancet on your plate, you still pile on the rice!! 

Lumpia is awesome!  It is similar to eggrolls, but it is made with a super, super thin flour tortilla and usually filled with an array of vegetables, although I have also had it filled with pork, cheese, or, my favorite, bananas with a little brown sugar.  Then it is deep fried and crispy and delicious!!  This is a rarity at our meals, but it's so, so good!!

There are all kinds of leafy greens here that are usually cooked with ginger and garlic, with a little soy sauce and sometimes peppers or carrots.  These are usually served at every meal.

Desserts are uncommon here, except for birthday parties.  Usually fruit is served at the end of a meal.  On special occasions, sometimes they make a dessert called Mango Float.  It is a layering of graham crackers, cream and mangoes...served chilled...very, very good!!  Gelatin in also a popular dessert, usually mixed with fruit, nuts and coconut.  If you read a previous post of mine with a description of my experience with Halo Halo, you probably know already that I tend to stay away from the gelatin!!

One of the biggest things I had to get used to here, in regard to the meals, was the absence of knives at the table.  They use spoons and forks only.  Instead of being cut, the meat is torn using the spoon and the fork.  Now, I am an old pro at it, but in the beginning, it was quite different trying to tear my meat, especially when it is well cooked, which most of their meats are.  When I started cooking for them and served chicken and pork that was juicy, they thought it wasn't done cooking!!  :)

When we cook for the people in the barrios, these are the foods we make for them.  But a local favorite among the people is Filipino spaghetti.  The spaghetti is served with a very, very sweet sauce and tossed with cheese and hot dogs! 

I really haven't had any food I don't like here... Well, I won't be eating balut any time soon...it is...I can't even write it...it you're interested, look it up!  I think I've been colorful enough with my description of the pig face dish!!!!  Anyways, aside from a few exceptions, I do like trying new things and I have enjoyed the food served here.  It is not fancy food, and it is not gourmet, but it is made with love by a people who love their culture!!!

Spreading A Little Bit Of FAITH

Today we went to a barrio (small village) called Surok.  Surok is a  small barrio not far from where we live in Borongan but you have to take a boat to get there.  The distance from land to land is not far... I would say it is about a quarter of a mile, and a few years ago, you could walk through the river to get to Surok because it was so shallow.  Now, though, after typhoons and flooding, a boat is needed to cross it.  We went there today to give awards for participants in the FAITH Program, Food Always In The Home.

FAITH is a program started by the Oikos Sisters to help poor people not only feed their families, but also support them financially.  It is an organic fruit and vegetable growing program in which beneficiaries are taught how to make their own fertilizer, grow food and sell it in the market after feeding their families.  The Sisters and their team are involved with the people for one year, first teaching them, then monitoring and awarding their progress throughout the year.  In each quarter of the year, beneficiaries are awarded for their progress with gifts of food and rice.  Today we gave out prizes for the first quarter.

About a week ago, the Oikos Livelihood Team went to Surok to see the progress of the people involved and tally up the winners.  Each participant is given paperwork to fill out regarding the various foods they are growing, what they are selling and how much money they made at the market.  With no pun intended, this part is largely done in good faith, but you can see for yourself how big the gardens are (or how small) and that completes the picture.  Here are a few of the gardens:

   

 

 

The plants are on risers because of flooding issues and are grown in biodegradable plastic bags.  Sister Clarissa told me that the bell peppers in the last photo are sold for a high price at the market.

 

 

We gathered today in the chapel in Surok and Tom Palada and Jeffrey Mata, two of the Livelihood Team members, began the meeting.  Two professors also came with us today from the Eastern Samar State University School of Agriculture.  They are our expert helpers and donate their time and talents to help make this program succeed. 

 

 

Pictured above, Jeffery and Tom are calling out the names of the winners.  To help keep up the motivation, every participant is given a prize.  The top prize is a bag of rice, the next two prizes are an assortment of food and household products, and the remaining prizes are bags of 2 kilos of rice, coffee and brown sugar.  Here are the top three winners...

 

 

Helping to hand out the prizes is Sister Clarissa, Sister Minerva, Dr. Judith, one of the university professors, and the barrio captain of Surok.  By the end of the event, everyone leaves happy and energized!!  It is great to see! 

 

 

So, the next time the team goes to monitor the gardens and figure out the winners, I'll be able to go with them and see hoe it's all done, and check out all of the FAITH gardens in Surok.  There are 53 participants, by the way!!

 

 

Lastly, something totally cute...as we were waiting for the ceremony to begin, some children were playing in the street and I realized they were playing a game I was familiar with...London Bridges Falling Down!  They were even singing the song in English!  So sweet!!

 



 



 

Well, that's all for today, folks!  I'm tired and ready for supper.  It was a fun day though.  I know there will be many more like it!!  Good night and God bless!!  xxoo Sarah

 

Arrival and Travel Whimsey

I received a great welcome when I arrived in the Philippines!  I was greeted at the airport in Tacloban by Sister Aileen and two of the Oikos Scholars studying in Tacloban, Mariano and Deo.  Truly, even though 6 months have passed, there was not even a moment of awkwardness.  With open arms and bright smiles, I was greeted and welcomed.  And it felt great!

The first few days here I spent sleeping mostly!  I had been traveling about 38 hours, doing the airport “hurry up and wait” dance for a few days, eating bad food and trying, without success, to sleep on the airplanes.  I was so grateful to my Tacloban welcoming committee for putting me up in a hotel for a night so I could sleep!  And sleep I did…like a ton of bricks, as my grandfather is fond of saying.

One fun airplane story (yes, there is such a thing as a fun airplane story…keep in mind in the past few years I have been on many, many airplanes and this is my first fun story.  If you haven’t had one yet…keep at it, it’ll come!)  Anyways, the night before I left for the Philippines, I was having dinner with my parents, my grandmother and my sister Anne and her children Natalie, Penelope and Elijah.  Anne asked me if there was anything else I needed before I left.  Quite coyly I said that since coming back from the Philippines, I haven’t had a double chocolate caramel Magnum ice cream bar.  If you’ve never had one, GET ONE NOW!!!  It is vanilla bean ice cream wrapped in a layer of chocolate, coated in a layer of caramel and finished off with a second, decadent layer of chocolate.  It is simply amazing…and all of the sudden I totally wanted one.   Another sacrifice, I thought…not too terrible of one, but, hey a sacrifice is a sacrifice…let’s not go around weighing them against others!!  So fast forward a few hours and there I am, on a huge airplane in Detroit soon to leave for the Philippines via Tokyo, and I look at the in-flight menu.  You’ll never guess what the snack was… well, you probably have guessed it, but I’ll tell you just the same… a double chocolate caramel Magnum ice cream bar!!!!!  I kid you not!!!  Am I sad that God has taken away an opportunity to sacrifice… uh, not even for a teeny tiny millisecond!!!  Believe me, there will be ample times of offering sacrifices over the coming year!  I felt so taken care of…like God was saying to me, I’m proud of you for taking this step…have a cold one on Me!!!  Well, I don’t really know if God does things like that, but to me, in that moment, I felt like God got it, He got me, and together we would do really well over the coming year.  That’s a lot for a double chocolate caramel Magnum ice cream bar to deliver…but it so totally did!  And I so totally enjoyed it!