Road Trippin'

Greetings to you all. I have had an interesting week since my last update. Where to begin?

Last week on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday I accompanied other members of the faculty, staff, and student body on a series of recruiting trips to supporting churches in the area that had eligible students interested in attending Aparri Bible Seminary. You may or may not know that Aparri is on the northern coast of the island of Luzon, that is pertinent information because on Wednesday we traveled east along the coast to areas called Santa Anna and Gonzaga. We also went to a few places that were inland along that route, although I don't remember specific names. One of my fellow faculty members was from this area and it seemed like every time he introduced me to someone it was his cousin. The rest of the week I asked everyone I met if they happened to be a cousin of Sir Alex. On Wednesday I also ate seaweed.

Thursday was probably my favorite trip in terms of scenery. We went west along the coast to Lasam, Claveria, and Santa Praxedes. Claveria is the name of a larger area as well as a town and the area was one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. Mountains that extend all the way to wonderful beaches. We stopped at a place called the North Shore resort in Claveria and I got a chance to dip my toes in the South China Sea. My medical advisors told me not to even wade in fresh water due to risk of parasites, so the ocean is the only real chance I get to cool off. The ocean directly around Aparri isn't something I'd really wish to wade in anyway, so I was happy to get the chance to walk in the water a little.

Friday was a trip to Tuguegarao City which is in the southern part of the province of Cagayan (which is where Aparri is). When I came into Aparri the first time I came in from Tug. City, but it was dark and I was asleep for some of it as well, so it was the first time I saw a lot of the landscape in that direction. Topographically speaking the Philippines is a very interesting country to me. A lot of variety. I enjoyed this trip as well. I tried pansit (I think that is how it is spelled) for the first time on this trip which is a dish with noodles, vegetables, and meat similar to a casserole. It was topped with hard boiled quail eggs, and was quite good. I have officially eaten quail eggs, I guess it's time to cross that off the list.

Sunday was another interesting day. First, that afternoon I joined a "gym" for roughly $3.50 American and proceeded to lift for an hour with my new friends Kit and Jay. Kit is the son of the President of the board that oversees Aparri Bible Seminary and the mission organization that it is a part of. Jay is the son of one of my fellow faculty members here. The "gym" is practically a sweat box because even when you aren't doing anything, you're sweating. Most of the equipment is pretty old and the place is kind of trashy, but it's not like I paid premium for a membership or anything, so I'm not really worried about it. It has enough things for me stay busy, and that's all that matters.

I mentioned in a previous post that I had been invited to preach at Aparri Church of Christ, and Sunday night was my opportunity to do that. By all accounts it went fairly well. There were a few light hearted moments, like when I assured the minister that I would preach 25 minutes, 30 minutes maximum and then proceeded to preach 45 minutes. Or when I turned a page in my notes and nearly knocked a flower arrangement off the pulpit. I thought the message went ok, it could have been a bit more streamlined, a little bit smoother, other than that it was ok. I received several compliments, which I appreciated. As a thank you for preaching I also received some watermelons, which I also appreciated. If nothing else I think it was a good experience, and I'm glad that I jumped at the chance to preach soon after I arrived. I also appreciated the fact that the students that I live with were there to support me. I very excited about the fellowship that God is building there.

I also now have a book to help me learn to speak Ilokano. I learn languages better when I can read what's going on in addition to hearing it, so it should help quite a bit. I'm anxious for classes to start, I'd really like to settle into a routine here. So far it has been wonderful and I've been very lucky and very blessed.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers,

Nick