I believe everybody that went to Dibagat has now returned home.  I will try to get more reflections from some more of the people that went along.  As we recover from the long trip back to the USA, and adjust to the 60 degree nights in Michigan. I continue to think of all the people I have meet there in Dibagat and not just from the Village but from around the world that were there celebrating and also working in their own projects in the Philippines and round the Asia area.   Stay tune for some updates.

 This is a relfection from Zack.

I’m an associate pastor at a Christian non-denominational church. I’ve spent years of my life overseas as a child of a parent in the military. So I’d consider myself well-traveled on top of my leisure travels. I’ve seen much of the known world. This trip…opened me to a new type of experience. I was invited by members of Wycliffe Bible Translators along with several other church leaders to attend a full Bible dedication. I saw testimony and heard stories of how countless hours and relationships worked together over many years to help bring a Bible to the Isnag community in their own language. It was awesome! They were really excited to have their own complete Bible. This group of people live off the land and have very limited resources. Jesus loves them just as much as you and me…and I could see how he was pursuing them.  This trip made me realize I can play a part in a bigger story and partner with people across the globe to bring the word of God to people. I look forward to the adventures to come!

When I came to Dibagat I was coming as an observer. However they welcomed me with open arms and instead had me participate in several ways. One of those was asking me and another pastor from Virginia to help do the baptisms. What made this so special were two different aspects. First was the percentage of people being baptized. Generally in the US you can have a church of a couple thousand and get 34 baptisms when it's time to celebrate baptisms. Here we saw a church of around 200 having that many baptisms. It was phenomenal to see the spiritual change in them. The second aspect that made this so special was we had to walk down the side of the mountain to a river to hold the baptisms. People ask the way into their 80's were willingly making the physically demanding journey. We were greeted with worship music, and spirit filled hearts. The scene was unforgettable...a calm windy day, minimal cloud cover, blazing and a winding river with a strong current. I could only imagine that was just like the Jordan River in Jesus's day. It was clear this Baptism meant everything to these people. It meant everything to me.

 

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday

     This will get us up to date with the day of the week we are at now.

     Monday like I said we left Dibagat via vans and drove to Tuguegarao airport. Mostly uneventful which is what we wanted.  Flew back to Manila and all the luggage made it and back to the guest house we went.  Had supper and to bed to get some rest with all the images going through our minds of what we experienced.

     Tuesday most of us went to the American Cemetery here in Manila Philippines.  It is maintained by the Philippine government in honor of what the United States of America did for the Philippines to be liberated from Japan in World War II.  The following are some stats that I learned about.

Headstones at the Cemetery: 17,097                  Sets of Brothers: 20

Names on the Wall of the Missing: 36,286        Medal of Honor Recipients: 29

Cemetery covers 152 acres

 

After the Cemetery everyone meet at Mega Mall and the resturant Dad's.  That is where Nard likes to take the groups that come to the Philippines.

 

Wednesday the Presedent of the Philippines declared a Holiday so we didn’t have any plans.  Some of us road a Jeepney which you have to walk to a main road and flag it down and hope it is not to full.  We got lucky as you can see in the photo and it was not full at all.  We took it to Cubao which has everything from normal malls to open markets where you barter on price a little, and everything in between.  We had lunch when we were out and took the Jeepney back to where we jumped on and then walked back to the guest house. After a little rest we went out to supper with Nard and Rudy.  Thursday the group from Wycliffe is headed home and Friday Nard, and the rest of us are headed home.  Keep looking for more post from other people that went on the trip.  I asked them to write something when they had time to process everything.

 

Day 3.  Sunday the Day of the Celebration.  

      We start with breakfast at 6:30am and there are a lot of guests in the village that need to have breakfast.  And that is when you see the Isnags at their best.  They have coffee for anyone who wants it, eggs, bread, and of course rice and pineapples.  What more do you need.  The service started about 8am in the Dibagat Bible Church. We have at least 3 visiting pastors from USA. Pastor Rob and Pastor Mark (retired) are from a church in Virginia Beach, Virginia that has supported Rudy for a long time, and Pastor Zack with the Wycliffe USA group from Orlando.  Pastor Rob and Pastor Zack took part in the dedication of the completed Bible and new Hymn book. Rudy had added new songs to the Hymn book  so that it was completed and timed with the newly completed Bible.   I hope to have both of them add to this blog so you can hear from them too.  

But after the service, some went down to the river to have 20 + baptisms.  So just a history note here, Pastor Mark form Virginia Beach also baptized 20 + in 2006 at the New Testament dedication.  

After the baptisms and the hike back up from the river, yes that river and that hike back up.  We had lunch with everyone who was there, Isnags and visitors alike. We sat and talked about families and where people are from and just being brothers and sisters in Christ celebrating the same thing together. What do you do if you don't have enough plates? You use banana leaves.

       After lunch was wrapping, up we were told it was time to distribute the newly printed Bibles.  We went into the church to help set up, and what happened next for me, is when you are doing something and you realize as it is happening that this is something you will not be able to express to other people in words very well.  So I got to hand the new Bibles to Nard as he is handing them to the people coming up to the front of the church.  I am crying as I am doing this. I don’t know why, this is a happy event and they are tears of joy.  As this is going, on some who have only the New Testament are turning them in as they pick up the completed Bible.  Some of them are worn out from being read and taken back and forth to church and bible studies that they have during the week. 

  After the Bibles were distributed most of them asked the visitors to sign their bibles so then could pray for us by name after we leave Dibagat.  Ken VW a pilot from Wycliffe who used to fly into the village with Rudy and others or to pick him up, had many Bibles to sign.  It was very neat to see. He said he was getting writing cramps in his hand.  

Then the people slowly started to return to their homes and some visitors had to start the way back to home. We as a group that was left just sat around looking at each other and talking about what had happen that day were in awe.

The day ended with a rainbow in the sky, now the Isnags can read what that means in the Bible, about the promise God gave to Noah and symbolized it in the form of a rainbow.

 

        The Team is back in Manila.  We made our way back today starting out with vans on the new “Highway” that runs past Dibagat now. After a 5 hour ride on very winding back and forth roads back to Tuguegarao airport then flying back to Manila. 

       I am trying to get some of the team to type up their experience for posting here, but I will give you my impressions for now. 

       Coming to Dibagat, you get the same greeting no matter how you get there.  If by boat up the river or by plane, or now helicopter.  They come to greet you with big smiles and ready to carry your luggage or bags that you brought with you. This is because we would take a lot longer to bring them to the village if we were carrying them.  The hike is not too bad from the helicopter pad, not like the airstrip like before where you would hike down the mountain, cross a river and then go back up another mountain to the village.  Now it is just a 15 min hike mostly flattish but the heat and humidity are what gets to us Americans that are not used to it. After all flights were completed and we were shown where we were sleeping, it was supper time.  Things just taste so much better in the village.  Don’t know why that is but it just does. The pineapples are always the best I have ever had, every time I get to Dibagat. (Just ask Nard he will tell you) Supper ended and we went to bed, because we were all tired from the travels of the day.

       Day 2 was getting ready for the celebration and having more guests arrive.  Some from the southern Philippines, more from Manila, some from Taiwan.  Also had a little time to hike down to check out the river.  The down is the easy part, the back up to the village is the hard part even when you cool off in the river, by the time you are back up to the village you are soaked in sweat. So you really have to think about going down the river before you go.  Then after supper we had a pre-celebration service in the church on Saturday night.  We had dancers from nearby villages come, singing of Hymn’s and songs.  And ended by the passing of the Light to the World.  Everyone gets a candle and then one candle is lit and then the flame is passed around the whole church until everybody’s candle has the “light”.  Of course we turn off the lights when this starts and it is neat to see how the church gets brighter and brighter as the flame is pasted on.

      I posted some pictures below and will give an update of Day 3 Celebration Day tomorrow.

      The big day has arrived. We are headed to Dibagat tomorrow (Friday for us)  morning at 3:30am we leave for the airport to fly to Tuguegerao.  From the airport in Tuguegerao we shuttle everybody in via helicopter.  Only 4 people and some luggage per trip.  It is about a 30 min ride in 30 min flight back to get the next group.  So pray for good weather tomorrow, the afternoons have been heavy rain in the area.  Then on Monday we will be busing it back to Tuguegerao then flying back to Manila.  I don’t believe I will be able to update the blog when we are in the village so don’t worry if it is not updated. Nard didn’t make us start working in the rice fields.

       Today we heard updates from the many organizations that are serving here in the Philippines.  The picture is the group that was in the meeting which included Wycliffe Philippines, SIL Philippines, TAP, and Wycliffe USA, and friends.

 

So the group is getting use to the time change. For most of the group, it is a 12 hour time difference, meaning when it’s 5pm in Philippines it is 5am at home where they might still be sleeping and not ending the day with dinner at the guest house.  The first day is not too bad but the rumor is that the second day is not as easy.

             The group was taken to the “wet” market today which isn’t far from the Manila guest house.  But far is measured it time, not distance.  (Example: When I landed in Manila airport, it took me and Noel (the gentleman and longtime friend from SIL Philippines who picked me up) took us 2 hours to get to the guest house in Quezon City which is 16 KM or about 10 Miles.)  But to the market took about 15 to 20 minutes so that is “Close”.

      Those of you who have not been to a “wet” market the smell you never forget.  One side was pork, chicken, some beef, the other was every type of seafood you'd ever want. Add in the temperature in the 90's and the humidity in the 80's and you can imagine what it's like

When we walked in they saw some Americans coming and one gentleman had a lobster and he had it out and was ready to sell it to us.  There is also a fresh fruit area also at the market and that has some very interesting varieties (Jack fruit, and Dragon fruit for just a few).  After that we went to lunch and were able to spread out and pick from a food court area in a mall.  Then made our way back to the guest house some RR in the afternoon.      

      A group from Virginia Beach and I had supper at the guest house and when we were finishing up, Kermit a translator working in the Philippines since 1972 walked in and we started talking.  We talked for about two plus hours about so many subjects from translating to farming in Minnesota, and we found connections back through churches and people that both groups know.  Then hearing about the first translation Kermit did, on a small island south of Manila in central Philippines.  How he would ask the fisher men if they had extra fish for him and when he was sick of fish he would ask for someone to sell him a chicken.   These are the connections that God has planned ahead of time and we just sit in awe of him. 

Thank you for your continued prayers for safe travel and clear weather and good health for everyone that is part of this exciting event.  May God be glorified as the Isnag's get the Old Testament in their heart language.