Summit Mission Trip to the Philippines (part 2)

Travel Around Palawan
Travelling to and from the tribe required a few early starts and found us on a variety of vehicles, all of which worked fairly well. Leaving the mission guest house on Palawan we hired two 4-wheel drive vans to take us on the first leg of the journey to a lovely costal town of El Nido. Hidden away in the N. West of Palawan a good number of tourists still find their way to this place. An overnight there, another early start and we packed our supplies into a very tired looking jeepney for the next part of the trip. There was a water container on the roof that drip fed the radiator until the driver could stop at a river or other water source to top up the container – seemed to work ok! The tyres didn’t look the best and we wondered about the wisdom of carrying portable gas tanks strapped to the front – should make for an exciting collision! Of course there were people and goods inside and on top and some passengers hanging off the back too but we made it safely to the little fishing village where we got our boats to the island. With all our supplies transferred to two boats we had an uneventful voyage to the island, simply enjoying the remarkable beauty of our surroundings.

Morning in El Nido

Leaking already, we pack up the Jeepney

Along the Road

One of the Boats to the Island

On our return journey all went well until we got into the 4-wheel drive vans again. The roads were incredibly rough with massive potholes and trenches everywhere. The suspension broke on one of the vans so the drivers spent a couple of hours doing roadside repairs while we watched the world go by. Further along the road, and behind schedule for the drivers, there was an explosion followed by some serious hissing; the air-con system had blown. The driver’s solution to this was fairly quick and easy – open the side sliding door and travel with a nice breeze coming in. In his frustration he seemed to be taking a little less care, especially with the many dogs that lie on the roads. One poor dog just wasn’t quick enough and became the final statistic of our return journey.

Roadside Repairs

Watching the World go by

Second Project
Our second project and the one we had intended to be working on for the entire time was at the mission guest house on Palawan. Obviously we didn’t get as far with that as we would have but we did make significant progress with the beginning of a new building. This building will replace an older wooden one that has been crumbling down for a few years now. After marking out the area we dug the foundations, made up steel reinforcing cages and mixed and poured the concrete footings and floor. It was hard work mixing, wheeling and levelling all that concrete but the entire team pulled out all the stops to get the job done.

Touristy Days
Although we only spent a short time in El Nido as we passed through we couldn’t fail to appreciate its beauty. We were able to look around the town, swim in the sea and enjoy a meal on the beach at one of the beach front restaurants. Our accommodation didn’t register on any ‘star’ rating but who cared with views like this.

El Nido Beach & Bay

Children in El Nido

Before we left Palawan we spent a whole day ‘island hopping’ on Honda Bay. This is an unbelievable experience, white sandy island beaches, crystal clear water, beautiful tropical fish all around… …well there were many long days of seriously hard work in the heat, just in case you get the wrong impression!!

Starfish Island

Summit Mission Trip to the Philippines (part 1)

Tribe & Island
About 10,000 people from the tribe of the Calamian Tagbanwa live scattered in the northern part of Palawan. Marked by great poverty, they live a simple life, gathering their main livelihood from fishing and harvesting mountain rice on little patches of land.

They live in fear and spiritual darkness, held captive by animistic beliefs that demand they worship spirits, pray to their ancestors and sacrifice animals.

Konrad & Betty Binder and Nate & Megan Ingvoldstad are preparing to move with their families to live with these people. Initially they will be studying culture and language so they can effectively present the good news of Jesus Christ. They want to see churches established among the Calamian Tagbanwa that will thrive and function according to New Testament principles.

The island was a beautiful place and the people made us very welcome. As is often the case, the children enjoyed the activity and attention and always wanted to pose for photos.

Our Project

Our first project this year in the Philippines was to help Konrad with the construction of his house. Another group of men had been working on the house prior to our arrival, so at least there was a ‘roof over our heads’ while we worked in the heat on this remote little island. Facilities were minimal and our cooking, eating and general living area was a simple tribal style field house. We had an excellent cook with us who worked wonders in the ‘kitchen’ and an excellent team who took all the inconveniences in their stride. There was always something going on to liven up our days – and nights! We had to move our mosquito nets during thunder storms depending on the direction of the rain, and those downpours rendered the ‘comfort room’ out of action as it only had plastic walls and no roof! Then there were various little creatures that came to visit including a monkey who became a regular. One of his favourite places to sit was on the end of our clothes line. I don’t know if he didn’t like the coloured towel that was often drying there or if he just threw the towel down to make room for himself. Our work included erecting walls and a frame for solar panels, fitting doors and windows, painting and various other smaller jobs.

Home from Home

Shower House

Work on the House

And in the 'Kitchen'

Although we had just a small team with us there were others from the Philippines who joined to help with the project including Paul & Cathy Wright from N Ireland. They have been in the Philippines since the beginning of the year and are making good progress in language study in Manila. I think they were glad to get a break from language for a while and we certainly enjoyed having them with us.

Our TeamPaul & Cathy Wright