Internet Proclivities Notwithstanding

I apologize for taking so long to update this. There is so much I've wanted to pass on. In addition to being very busy the internet service here has been "typhooning" lately after the two typhoons cut through Aparri in the same week. Some sites just wouldn't load and this just happened to be one of them.

First, I have many things to cross of the list.

1)[In Ilocano one =maysa] Listen to a meeting conducted in a foreign language that follows parliamentary procedure. This was about as exciting as things get.

2)[dua] Eat spicy Goat. Genuinely tasty.

3)[tallu] Ride in a van with no windshield wipers through a typhoon. It wasn't even a strong typhoon, but I'm not able to convey to you how interesting this experience was.

4)[upot] Be the guest speaker at a church's anniversary/thanksgiving service. This was just yesterday in Tuguegarao. I enjoyed myself and the church was an excellent host, very hospitable. As a thank-you they gave me a very nice formal barong. It's black with gold embroidery.

5)[lima] Referee a basketball game in the Philippines. I officiated the championship game of the sportsfest put on by Aparri Church of Christ this past Saturday.

6)[innem] Teach a semester at Aparri Bible Seminary. Finals are this week. So hard to believe. 1 semester done already.

7)[pita] Be interviewed on the radio. Should be airing Thursday in Tuguegarao.

(8 - wallu, 9 - siam, 10 - sangpulu) Disclaimer: I probably spelled most of these incorrectly. And ten might be sampulu. The Tagalog and the Ilocano are similar and right now I can't remember which is which.

I feel so blessed being here. Preaching yesterday was a fantastic experience that went really well. Attendance was estimated at about 300. The theme for Church of Christ Regional Center this year is "Turning the World Upside Down." I focused on the natural question that follows that; something like "I want to turn the world upside down, now what?" I preached out of Colossians 3:1-17, the premise being that if we set our mind on things above then we will turn the world upside down. I also got to meet the Stevens family that I'd emailed on several previous occasions but had never actually met, that was cool too.

I decided to try and brush up on my Hebrew, that is a big hole in my education that I need to fix if I'm going to get into a doctoral progam anytime soon. I need to add a semitic language to my collection anyway.

My favorite recent examples of English in the Philippines. "I like the fingers on your feet Sir!" "Sir, it's hard to English!" "Sir [redacted] is very turtle! He's so slow!"

Thank you for your prayers and support, God bless!

Nick