#2 Life In the Philippines

If you were ever wondering how best to prepare for hiking in the jungle of Palawan, Philippines, I know exactly what you can do.  Find the muddiest, slipperiest cave you can find (the red clay is very similar to the mud here as are the formations carved by the water erosion).  Hike as often as you can up and down the steepest trails around, and practice stepping distances of 18-24 inches.  If you do that, you'll adjust much faster here because if you want to go anywhere, that is what all the trails are like.  It also helps if you can develop the skill of falling gracefully!  Soccer cleats truly are a blessing.  I'm glad I tested mine out before I came, and were certain they would do their job.  Hiking here in a skirt and cleats is not at all the same experience as it was in the states.  Although I still stick out being sweaty, covered in mud, hot, and tired, with a mountain yet to climb, it tends to make me not care what I look like at all!

It's hard to believe I've been here a month already.  To me time is going really fast.  I've already seen and experienced many things.  For starters, flying into Japan at sunset was amazing.  Taking a shower fully clothed with only a water pump and bucket and everyone watching you wasn't quite as fun.  Sleeping three feet off the ground in a shelter without walls, knowing that a deadly cobra was spotted about 20 yards from your hut was a bit disconcerting.  Going to a Palawan market where EVERYONE  (about 75 people) is staring at you feels very awkward!  Riding in the back of a pick-up during a tropical rain storm actually is fun (and cold).  Swimming in the ocean at night makes you feel like a fairy with a lot of fairy dust because of all the bioluminescents in the water.  When a caribou falls into a well that's 20 ft. deep, just give the Palawans a pulley and they'll have it out in no time.  Planting rice in a rice patty is a good way to practice learning numbers in Palawan.  Pounding rice with one or more people is super fun.  Freshly made banana chips salted, tastes a lot like french fries.  

One way life here is similar to life in the states, is that there is always more work to be done.  The differences?  Everything takes longer here.  Laundry, cooking, transportation, communication, cleaning, etc.  When you see cockroaches and spiders, you tend to ignore them.  When we have in-patients, we are both the day and night nurse.  Everywhere you go, you are constantly keeping your eyes open for snakes, elupians, and scorpions.  Off in the distance drums are being played 24/7 for the past three weeks.  They are played for the "God of the weather."  When you visit people, they always have time for you, even if it's for a couple of hours.  

The most unexpected thing I found here so far, is crabs.  Live ones in the mountains, in and near the creeks and rivers.  What I most appreciate is the same thing I appreciated most in the states.  The presence of God.  A question I find asking myself often is why am I here?  I found a quote that sums it up well.  "I wasn't called to be a missionary.  I wasn't called to the Philippines.  I was just called to follow Christ."  -Martin Burnham.   That's why I am here.  This is where God has led me.  And I am thankful to be right where he wants me.

#1 Polar Bears & Deserts

My heart pounded in my chest!  A large lump quickly swelled in my throat.  As I gripped the handle I noticed my hands were getting clammy.  A battle was going on inside of me, and I wanted to hide!  No Kasia, I said to myself.  You are going to the other side of the world where you will stick out like a polar bear in the desert.  You had better start getting use to the idea of sticking out, and learn to push forward no matter how uncomfortable you are...  And so my pep talk began.  Finally it came down to it.  I made up my mind, pulled the handle to my car door, and nervously stepped outside.   

Shutting the door on all that was familiar, comfortable, and secure I began to noticed other things like the warmth of the sunshine, a soft breeze, and freedom!  I began to move, one foot in front of the other, trying to keep focused on anything besides how I looked.  I heard a voice up ahead.  I froze!  It was everything I could do to not RUN back to the car!  But I was determined so I kept plodding on my heart still pounding!  

My mission?  To test out my new cleats of course.  They will only be the difference between skiing or hiking the jungle trails of the Philippines this whole next year.  Add to that a skirt.  Yes that's right.  The Palawan women all wear skirts always, whether they are clearing the jungle to plant rice, cooking over a fire, or swimming.  I myself had never climbed mountainous, jungle trails in a skirt (or anywhere for that matter).  Considering now is the time to make any adjustments to my wardrobe I figured I had better go test it out and the hill of our local ski jump was just the place for that.

I had planned to hike far away from the stairs everybody used so as to be hidden in the tall grass.  But it turned out the only place I could get to was right next to the stairs.  In fact the farthest away I could have gotten was only 6 feet!  Well, I promised myself that I would jump into this mission experience with both feet and I figured this counted.  I definitely got some weird stares and funny conversations out of it, but more than that my nervousness subsided, my confidence in my cleats increased, and I learned that being different is a great catalyst for starting conversations!

This summer I have been busy preparing for my mission term in various ways as you can tell.  Now I am only six days away from stepping out of my familiar, comfortable, secure homeland and entering a new place complete with a new culture, lifestyle, and language.  I fully expect to feel like a polar bear in the desert (especially until I get acclimated to the heat), but I know blessings are also in store. 

On that note I would like to thank you all very much for the blessings I have received through you from your support, which came in all sorts of ways.  Prayers, financially, encouragement, training, patience, gifts, phone calls, farewell parties, etc.  I would never be where I am today with out it!  I also want to thank God for his incredible love and faithfulness to me.  Only he knows how undeserving I am to receive any of his gifts, yet he lavishes them upon me.  For God loves to love his children, and for that I am very glad!  

Stay tuned for further posts.

Departure date: September 5, 2012 to Palawan Philippines!

To learn more about my journey toward missions visit my page on Adventist Frontier Missions website at www.afmonline.org/missionaries.  


Lessons learned through this experience: 

1. No one likes to be judged my mere appearances, look past the outside.
2. Don't be afraid to talk to people different then you.  You might be surprised what you learn.
3. Founding one's identity on superficial things is like building your house on the sand.  Inevitably it will shift and change and everything will come crumbling down.