Well this is new…
On the World Race, you’re bound to experience a few things that are completely new to you. The fun things like picking off some lanzones
from the orchard across the street from the sugar cane field, to
getting called up to preach the sermon for the day during the church
service in Africa. I learned a lot this month, such as how good I look in that big hat hanging out in the lanzones orchard. I was able to step out in boldness in a number of avenues, which are sure to be the first of many such steps. The Philippines felt like a good intro month to what the Race will look like, and certainly provided some great opportunities in reasonably safe environments. I’m excited about this adventure of a life that I am blessed to live for the next 10 months, and my prayer is that I don’t pass up on the opportunities that are plenty more ridiculous than what I’ve already seen this month.
Hey Mikey, I think he likes it
Who’s hungry? Coming to the Philippines, I thought the fruits were a pretty safe food group – they were never alive, and they’re usually sweet and delicious and good for you. Well, I soon found that in addition to the familiar main-stays of pineapple and bananas, the slightly less familiar mango and guava, there lies the truly unfamiliar. Some of the favorites were the small “hairy cherry” rambutans to the hand-picked lanzones, both nice little treats to grab a snack. The tiny lime-like calimansi are commonly used to add some extra flavor to most everything, and can make for a soothing tea on a sore throat. Grace, the mother of Mt. Moriah, shared her much-beloved atis/sugar-apple which is exclusive to more coastal areas, and quite delicious. Jeremy found us a huge jackfruit, which is shown below trying to figure out what part is good (relatively…) to eat. I kind of regret that I never had durian, a very popular fruit in the area that is notoriously despised in the mouths of foreigners. I tasted some durian candy, and I think that was enough.
On one of our visits to the local high school, we swung by their cafeteria and tried some favorites of the kids…chicken throat, chicken feet and quik-quik, a hard-boiled egg fried in unnaturally bright orange dough. They were all pretty good, especially the sauce on the chicken, slightly reminiscent of Frickers back home…
Really goes to show how the strangest thing can be taken without too much drama when presented as the norm.
Some meals, you might have your doubts about what it is exactly you are eating. Other meals, there is absolutely no doubt…
Of course, we also had plenty of exposure to some fun, living animals found regularly around the area.
“So the LORD God said to the serpent…he will crush your head” 
(Genesis 3:14, 15, applied entirely out of context.)
Speaking of firsts and local widlife, I’ve never really had an encounter with a cobra before. I was with Michael, Bethany, and Bridget exploring a local park with Donald and local ex-gangster Pastor Richard, admiring a pleasant creek when Bridget saw a little friend. With some provoking on our part, a snake exposed itself, appearing to be a cobra, defined by
“the characteristic ability to raise the front quarters of their
bodies off the ground and flatten their necks in a threatening gesture” (thanks wikipedia). As the beast made a move of aggression, Pastor Richard jumped into his suit of shining armor, snagging the sword (read: stick) from Donald’s hands and bludgeoned the snake in its tracks. It appeared to be paralyzed by the initial blow, but our fearless defender was not satisfied. Drawing upon some adrenaline-accessed reserve of strength, Richard took hold of a colossal boulder and subsequently crushed the front half of the serpent, eloquently capping off the stretched biblical allegory. If you thought that was over-dramatized, you should’ve heard what we told the rest of the teams upon our return.
You were born for such a time as this“
-Jake Hamilton – “The Anthem”
Like I said, this month offered with it multiple opportunities to step out in boldness and in faith. Some were more profound than others, but it’s all fostering the same consistent attitude. Last Friday the InterVarsity group put together a concert on their campus, and invited us to attend and to take part. Long story short, the decision was made to end the night with our performance of the song “The Anthem,” with Curt taking lead guitar and vocals, Chris on the drums, Matthew on piano, and me playing bass. You may be asking, “Tim, I didn’t know you played the bass.” Exactly. The song went great, I played my 4 notes over and over just like I was told, and the words of the song were effectively drilled into my head from the afternoon of preparation that we had (and that’s being generous). Earlier that week, I joined Jasmin and Leyna singing a song for the governer of Bukidnon Province. I was able to give my testimony to the group of high school scholars bible study, speak about the WR in front of 100-some public employees meeting for a seminar, and make a fool of myself dancing with the InterVarsity group.
I don’t want to toss all this into the bucket of cliches, but this Race (and life) is passing by fast. We have the advantage of knowing when our next transition is scheduled for with plane tickets bought, but time is always running out and it’s time we start living accordingly.
There are crazy foods to try,
governors to sing for,
people dying to hear YOUR story,
and a life waiting to be lived.
What are doing still reading this?
