Last night I had the honor of preaching at our weekly chapel service here at Aparri Bible Seminary. I don't know how long I spoke this time because I never looked at the clock until after I was done. Again, I received several compliments; again I don't know how good it really was, but then again I never seem to be happy with my speaking performances. They didn't ask me to speak on Wedndesday night until Monday morning, so I only had a few days to put things together. Considering that, I pleased with how it went. The text was 2 Corinthians 4:1-7. Based on this I encouraged the students to find a ministry they had a heart for (v. 1), to base that ministry on honesty (vv. 2-3) and to minister with an attitude of humility and servanthood (vv. 5-7). Lately when I preach I find myself using hymn lyrics a lot; this time it was the first and last verse of "He Leadeth Me." I didn't sing it this time, it is definitely out of my significantly limited vocal range.
I just returned from the Bureau of Immigration, my stay has officially been extended till September 2. That at least, postpones things for a while. I was worried about that before and I'm still worried about it; please keep it in your prayers.
Yesterday (Wednesday) was a holiday here in the province of Cagayan, so we didn't have classes; instead we had a sports spectacular that began with jogging at 5 AM. I then played basketball until 8 AM, and also played some table tennis in the afternoon. It was a fun day, but the highlight of the week so far was probably having a 1 hour Q & A session with some 1st year students here. Those young ladies asked me just about everything under the sun (What is snow like?, Have you met Barack Obama? Are you going to be an astronaut? Do you have any younger brothers/cousins/nephews for me? etc.) It was very entertaining for me, I enjoyed talking with them. The hospitality of people and building relationships with the students has definitely been the best part of the experience so far.
Something else to cross off the list: I have eaten Ube flavored ice cream. Apparently ube is some sort of root crop similar to a potato. I don't know if it's naturally sweet or not. Also the ice cream purple, I don't know if that is the natural color or not either, but it didn't taste too bad.
For your Ilocano update of the week: the phrase is "mangan tayon" (I think that is how it is spelled.) It is translated as "Let's eat!" and is a favorite phrase of Filipinos and Filipinas everywhere, but it literally means "Let's fight the food!" In light of this, whenever it is time to eat I say to the students that live with me, "Guys! Let's fight!"
That's all for this week; thank you for your time.
Nick
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Very (Noun)
The past week has been an exciting one. For the teachers out there, this week was the time that we (students and myself) started to settle down a little and get used to each other. In my class of Freshmen, they were actually confident enough to ask me to speak slower. This is, of course, a big improvement over them nodding and trying to transcribe everything I say, even if they don't understand. Last week I could have told them that water was dry and they would have faithfully written it down. As a corollary I'm starting to notice when they don't understand, even if they don't say so.
I'm also beginning to understand what the pacing will be like in each class. As I said earlier, in some classes I cover material faster so I need more prepared material. Also, slogging through a commentary on Romans is about as fun now as it was a few years ago in college and seminary. For you Biblical studies nerds out there, I was pleasantly surprised that the library here at Aparri Bible Seminary had a copy of all three volumes (but not the index) of the New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology. Thus when I was preparing to teach in Romans 1 I could go look up "righteousness" in the aforementioned NIDNTT and be that much closer to being properly prepared.
Just for fun this week, I had the first year students give impromptu presentations of an assignment that I gave them. The class is called Intro to Bible Study and the assignment was to read 2 Peter and take notes and summarize the letter. Now I know why people volunteer to teach speech, it was one of the most amusing class periods I've ever experienced, but we didn't have anybody get up to the podium and completely freeze; so I'm only considering it a moderate success. (Also, there were no speeches about the topic that my cousin Trisha prefers.) For most of them, it was the first time that they had spoken to a group of people; They did very well considering and I'm confident that they will improve.
Probably my favorite part of this past week has been getting to know the students better. I have a group of 7 students that have been assigned to me as my care group. This past Monday we met in care groups so that we could participate in campus day where we cleaned up the campus here. So I got to know my group a little better there, and last Friday night we had "get acquainted" time with all the students which was the first opportunity many of the students had to speak to me outside of class and ask me any number of questions about my family, my age, my marital status, and the United States.
One of the guys in my care group, Alfredo, knows English well enough that he likes to make jokes about how Ilocano phrases translate into English. When one says that it is hot in Ilocano, one literally says that it is "very fire." Using this as a base Alfredo likes to say things like "I'm very excitement!" even though he knows that it is technically incorrect. Thus Alfredo's new nickname from me is Very English. Since that Friday night I've spent a lot of time making stupid jokes that are highly amusing to me in this pattern, namely "Very (noun)" or other incorrect usages. The distance from the U.S.A. to the Philippines is "very length," and to learn the guitar I need to "very practice" etc.
I'm constantly impressed by how welcoming and loving people are here. One of the students in my care group, Harmony, calls me her twin. A 4'8" 100 lb. (approximating here) Filipina is my twin. Even though it's just a foolish seminary joke it made me feel very welcome and made me realize how much they want me to feel welcome here. It is difficult not to respond to that in kind, and it is just one more way that I feel the blessing and guidance of God here.
There's much more to tell, many more experiences, but not the time to do so. I miss home, but things are going well here. Thank you for your continued prayers.
Nick
I'm also beginning to understand what the pacing will be like in each class. As I said earlier, in some classes I cover material faster so I need more prepared material. Also, slogging through a commentary on Romans is about as fun now as it was a few years ago in college and seminary. For you Biblical studies nerds out there, I was pleasantly surprised that the library here at Aparri Bible Seminary had a copy of all three volumes (but not the index) of the New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology. Thus when I was preparing to teach in Romans 1 I could go look up "righteousness" in the aforementioned NIDNTT and be that much closer to being properly prepared.
Just for fun this week, I had the first year students give impromptu presentations of an assignment that I gave them. The class is called Intro to Bible Study and the assignment was to read 2 Peter and take notes and summarize the letter. Now I know why people volunteer to teach speech, it was one of the most amusing class periods I've ever experienced, but we didn't have anybody get up to the podium and completely freeze; so I'm only considering it a moderate success. (Also, there were no speeches about the topic that my cousin Trisha prefers.) For most of them, it was the first time that they had spoken to a group of people; They did very well considering and I'm confident that they will improve.
Probably my favorite part of this past week has been getting to know the students better. I have a group of 7 students that have been assigned to me as my care group. This past Monday we met in care groups so that we could participate in campus day where we cleaned up the campus here. So I got to know my group a little better there, and last Friday night we had "get acquainted" time with all the students which was the first opportunity many of the students had to speak to me outside of class and ask me any number of questions about my family, my age, my marital status, and the United States.
One of the guys in my care group, Alfredo, knows English well enough that he likes to make jokes about how Ilocano phrases translate into English. When one says that it is hot in Ilocano, one literally says that it is "very fire." Using this as a base Alfredo likes to say things like "I'm very excitement!" even though he knows that it is technically incorrect. Thus Alfredo's new nickname from me is Very English. Since that Friday night I've spent a lot of time making stupid jokes that are highly amusing to me in this pattern, namely "Very (noun)" or other incorrect usages. The distance from the U.S.A. to the Philippines is "very length," and to learn the guitar I need to "very practice" etc.
I'm constantly impressed by how welcoming and loving people are here. One of the students in my care group, Harmony, calls me her twin. A 4'8" 100 lb. (approximating here) Filipina is my twin. Even though it's just a foolish seminary joke it made me feel very welcome and made me realize how much they want me to feel welcome here. It is difficult not to respond to that in kind, and it is just one more way that I feel the blessing and guidance of God here.
There's much more to tell, many more experiences, but not the time to do so. I miss home, but things are going well here. Thank you for your continued prayers.
Nick
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Filipino Surprise
As I meet people here in the Philippines, I'm often asked how I'm adjusting to the climate. In case I have not adequately communicated the fact that it is very warm and very humid here; I wish it to be known that it is very warm and very humid here. I usually go on to talk about how it is too warm and humid for me here, but I feel like I'm adjusting a little bit. One of my absolute favorite things, is when a Filipino says, "Oh! It's hot!" I always ask them if they are surprised that it is hot. "It's hot everyday here!" I say, and they just laugh. That crazy Amerikano.
The last week has been pretty hectic. I mentioned in a previous post, that the previous week was spent running down immigration documentation etc. This week, classes started and my direct responsibility for those classes also started. I'm finding it most interesting right now that in one class, I can work off of a page of prepared material for 90 minutes, and in another class I can blow through 3 pages of prepared material in an 60 minutes.
For most of them, I am the first teacher they've ever had who speaks only English. So we're still in the adjustment period for the students, when they listen to me talk they usually have to stop and think about what I said for moment. Since they are making sure they understood what I said, they are slow to respond to questions. This is a little frustrating for me, but I think that as we adjust to each other the class participation will increase significantly. Also, for my Greek class I have 2 students. I'm going to be very interested to see how that turns out. It is either going to go really well or really badly.
Almost all of the classes here meet twice a week for 90 minutes. Since most of the students have part-time weekend ministries, and transportation here usually takes triple the time that it should, there are very few classes on Monday. Most classes meet either on Tuesday and Thursday, or on Wednesday and Friday. It is an interesting schedule which I find enjoyable thus far.
Wednesday night this week was the first chapel service of the year, which they refer to as convocation. Chapel this week was special because Phil Campbell and some of his family, as well as an Elder from his church in Washington Court House, OH were here visiting. Phil's father Norville was the first Academic dean here at Aparri Bible Seminary wayyyy back in 1953. The Campbell family is still very involved in mission work here in the Philippines and it was exciting to get to meet Mr. Campbell and some of his family, and Rob the unfortunate Buckeyes fan. Interestingly enough, Rob works for a power company and told me that he personally shut off the power of the infamous tattoo parlor in Columbus 4 times in one year. It's such a small world. Go Blue.
It has been great so far, and I feel like it will keep getting better. Please pray for the students. Please pray for the school. Please pray for my immigration status, I officially submitted the application for a long-term visa last week.
Nick
The last week has been pretty hectic. I mentioned in a previous post, that the previous week was spent running down immigration documentation etc. This week, classes started and my direct responsibility for those classes also started. I'm finding it most interesting right now that in one class, I can work off of a page of prepared material for 90 minutes, and in another class I can blow through 3 pages of prepared material in an 60 minutes.
For most of them, I am the first teacher they've ever had who speaks only English. So we're still in the adjustment period for the students, when they listen to me talk they usually have to stop and think about what I said for moment. Since they are making sure they understood what I said, they are slow to respond to questions. This is a little frustrating for me, but I think that as we adjust to each other the class participation will increase significantly. Also, for my Greek class I have 2 students. I'm going to be very interested to see how that turns out. It is either going to go really well or really badly.
Almost all of the classes here meet twice a week for 90 minutes. Since most of the students have part-time weekend ministries, and transportation here usually takes triple the time that it should, there are very few classes on Monday. Most classes meet either on Tuesday and Thursday, or on Wednesday and Friday. It is an interesting schedule which I find enjoyable thus far.
Wednesday night this week was the first chapel service of the year, which they refer to as convocation. Chapel this week was special because Phil Campbell and some of his family, as well as an Elder from his church in Washington Court House, OH were here visiting. Phil's father Norville was the first Academic dean here at Aparri Bible Seminary wayyyy back in 1953. The Campbell family is still very involved in mission work here in the Philippines and it was exciting to get to meet Mr. Campbell and some of his family, and Rob the unfortunate Buckeyes fan. Interestingly enough, Rob works for a power company and told me that he personally shut off the power of the infamous tattoo parlor in Columbus 4 times in one year. It's such a small world. Go Blue.
It has been great so far, and I feel like it will keep getting better. Please pray for the students. Please pray for the school. Please pray for my immigration status, I officially submitted the application for a long-term visa last week.
Nick
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Apparently I Was Wrong
I was definitely under the impression that classes started this week. Either I made it up or was misinformed, it has been long enough that I don't actually remember where I acquired the information that classes started on the 7th. Either way, they actually start on the 14th, which means one more week to try and prepare for my courses. I also now have a schedule for the upcoming semester. I'm teaching Introduction to Bible Study at 7:20 AM on Tuesday and Thursday; Romans at 7:20 AM on Wednesday and Friday, and Greek 1 at 9:10 AM on Wednesday and Friday. I may also assist with Physical Education which meets once a week in the afternoons. All things considered; a nice schedule in my humble opinion.
I've met some more students this week as they arrive to enroll. I'm really looking forward to the semester starting. Most of this week has been spent preparing for the upcoming classes and running down documentation for the Bureau of Immigration. No news yet on my visa, there's still a few steps that need to take place before I can begin the hurry-up-and-wait period, which I am, of course, eagerly anticipating.
My ears are starting to pick up a few more words of Ilocano. If you are a nerd like me and enjoy studying speech patterns, learning a new language that is constantly spoken around you is interesting stuff. Although occasionally there are times when I wish I didn't know what a word meant so that it would fade back into obscurity. If you only know a few words of a language, I think it's natural for your brain to latch onto those words when you hear them. "Kabsat" means 'sibling' in Ilocano, and it is used a lot in churches here as a formal term of address from the speaker to the congregation. Since it is one of the words I understand, it seems like it is every other word sometimes; I'm sure it's not, but it seems that way.
I'm still doing well, I'm in excellent health as far as I can tell. My living situation is comfortable, and I'm ready to get to work.
I want to send out a quick congratulations to some friends of mine. Billy and Jeana Melton have a new daughter, so congratulations to them. James and Jennifer Shanks have a new son, congratulations to them as well. I'm very excited for both sets of new parents.
Nick
I've met some more students this week as they arrive to enroll. I'm really looking forward to the semester starting. Most of this week has been spent preparing for the upcoming classes and running down documentation for the Bureau of Immigration. No news yet on my visa, there's still a few steps that need to take place before I can begin the hurry-up-and-wait period, which I am, of course, eagerly anticipating.
My ears are starting to pick up a few more words of Ilocano. If you are a nerd like me and enjoy studying speech patterns, learning a new language that is constantly spoken around you is interesting stuff. Although occasionally there are times when I wish I didn't know what a word meant so that it would fade back into obscurity. If you only know a few words of a language, I think it's natural for your brain to latch onto those words when you hear them. "Kabsat" means 'sibling' in Ilocano, and it is used a lot in churches here as a formal term of address from the speaker to the congregation. Since it is one of the words I understand, it seems like it is every other word sometimes; I'm sure it's not, but it seems that way.
I'm still doing well, I'm in excellent health as far as I can tell. My living situation is comfortable, and I'm ready to get to work.
I want to send out a quick congratulations to some friends of mine. Billy and Jeana Melton have a new daughter, so congratulations to them. James and Jennifer Shanks have a new son, congratulations to them as well. I'm very excited for both sets of new parents.
Nick
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Road Trippin' 2: Electric Boogaloo
The travels for this episode were a result of our staff retreat at Aparri Bible Seminary. I saw a lot of new places on this trip. We went west from Cagayan (the province where Aparri is located) along the northern coast, through Claveria which I mentioned in a previous post. We continued west to another province known as Ilocos Norte. We passed through the capital city of Ilocos Norte, Laoag. We continued our travels by heading south into the province of Ilocos Sur. The capital of Ilocos Sur is Vigan, which is the site of an early Spanish settlement, and is also the site of Philippine Bible Seminary. Brother Danny Roca and the rest of the staff at PBS acted as our hosts. We used PBS as a home base for our continued travels.
On Tuesday we traveled to Baguilo from PBS. Baguilo is a mountain city established by Americans in 1900. The elevation is approximately 1500 meters or 5000 feet, and the drive up to the city is absolutely spectacular, because it starts near the shore and covers nearly all of that vertical distance. I'm unable to convey in words how stunning this city was, just an absolutely beautiful city (with an equally beautiful climate). Some of the views were literally breathtaking, like the one from Mines View park. We also visited the Philippine Military Academy which is in Baguilo. This provided one more chance for me to pose for ridiculous pictures.
We returned to Vigan late Tuesday and then spent Wednesday exploring Vigan. We went to a zoo known as Baluarte in Vigan and there are now pictures of me holding various birds, snakes, bearded dragons, and iguanas in various combinations. There also exists a picture of me and my buddy Jay within a meter of an actual Bengal tiger which, by the way, was huge. Its paw would cover my entire face easily. We then went to a place known as the "Hidden Garden." It was a really neat place where they sell various kinds of native and non-native (like lemon trees) plants. The place also contained the largest bamboo plants I've ever seen.
Our trip through Vigan continued to a public park where we went for a swim, which was very refreshing. As I've said in previous posts I have to be very careful about swimming in fresh water, but this place was using chlorinated water from the town reservoir, so it was cool. I've felt like swimming just about every day that I've been here, but that was the first chance I had to actually swim, so it was nice.
Wednesday afternoon was spent exploring the old Spanish part of the city proper of Vigan. They actually filmed portions of the movie "Born on the 4th of July" in the area that we explored. There is a neat touristy type market in the Spanish part of a town, and also there is a street that is closed to all traffic except the horse-drawn carriages that the town is famous for, that I think are called calesas, although I could be mistaken.
That was the trip. The best part, by far, was the chance to spend some time with the people I will be working with and their families. Everyone went out of their way to make sure I got to see all the sights etc. The family of one of my fellow faculty members here, the Agresor family, was particularly kind to me, and it was much appreciated.
It was also very exciting to meet even more Christian brothers and sisters here in the Philippines. Perhaps it is cheesy, but it is such a blessing to know that even if you travel half-way around the world, there are still people you have things in common with; that share your concerns. Filipinos love corny jokes, so someone like Mark Hamilton would fit in perfectly. And that is part of the encouragement, that no matter where I go, there is a fellow Christian that I can make stupid jokes with. It made me think of this. It seems like it always comes back to Rich for me. No matter where I am in my life, Rich wrote a song about it.
This first month has been amazing. What else is in store for me? I don't know, but I can't wait to find out. Classes start next week. I know many of you are praying for me, let me assure you that I appreciate it; please continue doing so.
Nick
P.S. I'm still raising funds, if you haven't donated please consider making a donation. Thank you.
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