7/25 - Butuan City!!

Got up at 5:30am, took my shower and washed my clothes. The plan for today was to go to Butuan and run errands and connect with family before going to our next destination, which meant that we needed to leave the BOOST by 7:30am. Made tuna and crackers for breakfast and then brought it up to the Upper Staff House and ate with Jordan, while Bong and Sylvette took their showers and then joined us. After breakfast, I went back down, packed my knapsack, and then left with Jordan for the internet cafe, while Bong and Sylvette went to see her Lolo (grandpa), who ended up being out of town (he is a pastor).

Yes, Filipino Bachelors wash their own laundry!!

Renel and Weng busy at work

We spent an hour and a half at the cafe, skyping our families, checking emails, and I wrote a quick blog post too. My mic wasn't working for Skype, so every time I shared anything or answered questions, I did so through typing it in the text box below. Definitely memorable!! :)

Bong and Sylvette

Jordan and me

Us

Sylvette

Once Bong and Sylvette came, we went to 2 Thrift Stores to look for some pants for Sylvette, and I found a really cute peasant top for 100 pesos ($2.50).  From there, we went to a Medical Supply place to pick supplies for the Tinucoran Tuli tomorrow, G-Mall to pick up some stationery for Ate´ Bing, and then Weedols, where we had BBQ Chicken for lunch....that is definitely the best place to eat in Butuan in my opinion...

Gwapos 

Gwapas!!

Our excellent drivers

Afterwards, we went looking for a replacement hammock for the the one that got broken in Tinucoran. We finally found one for  400 pesos (orig. 450), and I got to carry it back to MJ, which was an adventure to say the least, as the hammock was woven out of some type of wood/bamboo, and then rolled for carrying, and so the wind went through it, but also wanted to pull it out of my grasp. :)

This bata gamay (little kid) was hanging out in the Tricee by himself....

From there, we went to the store to get food stuffs before going back to G-Mall to say goodbye to Eric and pray with him before he goes back to Davao, and then on to the U.S. Last stop before heading back to the BOOST was the bike shop to get the headlight on Bong's bike fixed.

Bike Shop

On the way home, we semi-raced (and safely) raced Bong and we won!! That was fun...Unfortunately, when we were almost home, the Jordan's bike (which had a ton of problems already, from a past user) went out of oil and something inside kind of broke. At the time, we thought it was a broken gasket, which could cause BIG problems if it affected the engine, but we needed to get to get across the river ASAP, and didn't have the 4-8 hrs. it would take to get it fixed; meaning (we found out later it wasn't so bad), that we were relying fully on the Lord to keep us safe.

We hurriedly took our semi-wet/dry laundry off the lines, packed our bags, and headed for Tinucoran to drop off the Tuli supplies and hammock (the Team was at a Bible Study), before heading to Subait (which is about a 25 minute drive from Tinucoran) to spend the night with the Team there.

Shall we gather at the river??

It was really good seeing the Subait Team again, catching up with them, and having dinner - Rice and Pancit. I got to sleep in one of the girl's hammocks, which was fun, especially since it was hung 8 feet in the air, and the only way to get on it, was to get on a 3-inch wide bannister, and then jump into it. At first, I wasn't good at it, but after a few times, I got really quick getting in (and out of) it.....

Amanda, Brittany, Shelby, Hailey, and Jordan

Bong, Sylvette, Bing (in hammock), Jemil

Hailey

Amanda

Bong (in the hammock I slept in)

Sylvette and Brittany

Hailey and Shelby braiding a special type of Filipino fiber to make necklaces.

Jemil reminds me SO much of my cousin Alex...her voice, temperament, and looks (though she has a Filipino flare Alex doesn't have)...funny, cuz when I went to Subait the first time, I actually wondered if it was Alex!! lol

You see, the Team has a Scourge in the inside bedroom....there a 5-6 lb. rat that lives under their bed, and sometimes scurries around the outward borders of the room. Sometimes, they find it in the bathroom in a corner--eyeing them...it usually wins, and now every time they go into it at night, they always check the corners with their flashlite. 

Before dinner, one of the girls discovered his 'stash pile' in the corner of the main indoor room under a table...there was food, missing necessities, and a bunch of other stuff... Then, during Team Time, he made his presence clear, by making a racket under the bed. Of course, the Supers and we were incredulous, and sure enough, after searching underneath the 'bed' (which was plywood over an empty area with a lot of junk underneath), we found that that was definitely his 'home'...but, he had escaped out the 'back door'. 

Team Time: Bing, Jordan, Jordan, Brittany, Hailey, Shelby, Amanda

That started a cycle during the rest of the night...during Team Time, we 'prayed' for the rat...things that it assuredly did NOT appreciate ;). Afterwards, some of the girls settled down for bed (in the 'rat room')-waiting for it to make a sound so they could alert Bong and Jordan, while a few more of us got in our hammocks, and the Pinoys sat on the table and talked (until past Midnight!). Every 5-10 minutes, the girls would shriek, and the guys would go running, and I'd jump down from my hammock with my camera in hand... (I really, really, really wanted to see that rat, which unfortunately never happened...)

So, 3rd time we went running, Bong and Jordan were lying on the floor, using sticks to search under the bed, hoping to scare it out, and I was sitting on the floor watching them, with camera in hand, and one other girl was semi-standing next to me, and most of the rest of them were huddled on the bed, when the rat--instead of running outside--ran up the wall and into the ceiling!!!! Funny thing was, only the girl next to me saw it. She screamed, which made me scream (first time since the beginning, lol), which made the rest of the girls scream, and the guys almost screamed just because of the chain reaction!! It was hilarious.....

So, now the rat is in the ceiling...which overlaps to the porch outside...where all our hammocks with their mosquito netting above are hanging..........  I wondered as I got back into mine, if I would see the rat watching me from above, but I never dreamed what happened would happen....the rat actually ran across the mosquito netting of one of the girl's hammocks!!! (Thankfully, the girl hadn't gotten back into it yet, but boy, did that make a scene!!)

We ended up putting rat poison in all Mr. Rat's hideouts, hoping that would take care of him in the long run..... That was definitely a highlight....

WHAT I LEARNED:
- God takes care of His own, no matter how scary the situation may be. If He allows something bad to happen, it's for our best in the long run.
- Prayer matters as does encouragement...everyone needs it
- A smile goes a long way
- Shanabalord means "Is he the one??" :)
- I STILL want to see a big rat!!!

Text for the day:  Always have a unique character like salt.......It's presence is not felt but it's absence makes things....tasteless!