Some Filipino moments

Here are a couple Filipino moments I (Joshua) have experienced:

Preaching after a typhoon:

A typhoon blew through Manila the night before I was scheduled to preach. Now a typhoon is essentially a hurricane that spins the opposite direction, this particular one was a signal three which roughly equals a category 1 hurricane (75 MPH winds). The morning after Joy and I talked to pastor Joey who was out of town preaching in Cavite and verified that church was indeed on. It takes more than a little hurricane to cancel church in the Philippines. So Joy and I got up and walked the long road out while it was quite heavily raining and stood with umbrellas getting slowly soaked as we waited for a taxi. This is a very inexact process as a free taxi willing to go to the next area over may show up in 5 minutes or 45 minutes. It took a while (I think 15-20 minutes) and when the taxi pulls over the next thing that happens is the discussion of where you are going and this is the point at which taxi drivers who think they have you at an advantage ask for more than the meter rate. Since we were standing out in the rain and the general public transportation traffic was pretty thin the taxi driver asked for a bit more than the typical fare which we complied with and finally got to church. At church the electricity was out and the congregation was mostly youth and people slowly arrived throughout the service, but the service went on as normal. I got up to preach, sans microphone, still damp. and when we were done, since most of the youth were there, we decided we would have youth service and sent one of the leaders (Jon Sabinano) out for Pancit (a Filipino pasta dish). We had a short Bible study and some longer discussion time (since I hadn't planned on having a youth time the Bible study was what I came up with and prepared in the 30 minutes between the end of service and the beginning of the youth meeting). All in all a good time was had and Joy and I headed home where the streets were somewhat flooded so that the taxi couldn't take us all the way back, we had to ride a jeepney the rest of the way (since they have higher clearance).

Shower fun:

I was sitting at the computer in our bedroom in Naga City and heard a squeal from the bathroom. I hesitate to call it a squeal but the sound was high and sharp with a certain amount of terror like a scream but not very drawn out and not yet in the ear-piercing range. So mildly concerned (I do hear these from time to time) I get up and poke my head in the bathroom where Joy is showering and I see her obviously avoiding an area of the shower. She points down and there is a big (3-4 inch) slimy leech hanging out partially under the shower curtain. So I grab a washcloth and toss the leech into the toilet and flush it away to leech heaven, or more likely to the sewer system where it will grow into a person sized monster and terrorize the bicol region for years to come... or something. After that little experience I am a bit more circumspect with the lights and looking around in the bathroom to see who else I am sharing it with at the moment.


Flip Flops:

I have never really worn flip-flops for long periods of time but in the Philippines about 75% of the people at any particular time are wearing flip-flops. I think at church it may be down to 50% but that is the only exception. So I figured I need to develop my flip flopping and started wearing flip flops around. We actually got the first pair because the sandals I brought with me got messed up in Puerto Galera and I needed some sort of footwear for the journey back to Manila. So Joy got me a cheap pair there. I wore those for a while and they built up interesting callouses and I learned that the typical scenario why flip flops are so loved (constant rain and wetness) also makes wearing them a little challenging since you feet need keep holding on to somewhat slippery footwear. So aside from the callouses I have been learning the additional skill of walking with slippery footwear. The final test of course is not just the callouses or the slipperyness but going out while raining and riding on the back of a motor cycle in a tricyle carrying 5 people with a bag in your hands, i.e. today. Actually it was not that challenging of a ride, and I passed with flying colors (no wobbling or footwear lost). My current most challenging tricycle ride has been the ride from the main town of Caramoan to the beach. The road back and forth is extremely bumpy and there is one ridiculous bump which is the transition from dirt to concrete (a little like jumping a curb) only the road at that point goes steeply up so the tricycle has to be moving relatively quickly. At one point I had to basically hold momma Nacion in the tricycle because it was bouncing her out of the backward facing seat. That was a bumpy ride.


So there are some of my Filipino moments.