17/01/2013
Due to a late night and no Internet access up in the mountains, we’ve decided to combine three days worth of blogs into one. It’s going be a long one…
Our Saturday morning game was unfortunately cancelled due to the tragic death of someone in our opponents’ home town. We also bade “tata” to TaTa – our Filipino import for our Dumaguete game. Due to the game cancellation, we had a morning of R&R before our evening game in Bais city. This time we had to be taken on motorbikes as the muddy-bumpy road to the court was not accessible by our mini-bus. Moreover, the court was equally muddy and bumpy, and defensive slides became the natural order of the night. Hence, the game was more exhibitive than competitive in nature. Furthermore, we were blessed with a certificate of appreciation by the local church and Jai was almost roped into an arranged marriage. While walking back to our vehicle, a few of us witnessed a comet with a bright red-yellow tail. Mike, Andrew and Tim shared the moment by hugging each other – it was Andrew’s birthday by the way, which we celebrated back at the hotel after dinner. Even the ride back from Bais to Dumaguete was eventful with everyone making wise cracks that were cat-related. It was all sparked off by Greg’s recall of how he fed his students cat-food many moons ago (Fletcher was one of those students).
After breakfast the following day (Sunday), we headed off to the mountains. However, since Fletcher was unwell, Andrew stayed behind with him, and they both joined us in the evening. Prior to lunch, we visited the AOG church at La Libertad where Ps Gary preached and Carl got toshare his testimony. This was followed by a sumptuous lunch – minus a dodgy chef’s special pasta – at the Lalimar Beach Resort. Unfortunately, the toilet that Dave clogged up two days ago was still out of order. Due to an equally heavy consumption of coke (the drink, I mean), Jai went ‘higher’ than the mountains, such that a monetary incentive was given to Jai to take on the persona of a librarian. When we arrived at Cabacungan, we then checked in at a mansion with the volcano views. After a quick check-in, we made our way to a children’s home run by Ikthus Church. It was a heart-wrenching, gut-checking tour of the squalid conditions of the home. Yet, the children were smiling and happily playing in the dirt. Contentment is great gain! Even though we came bearing gifts for the kids, it was we who received the gift of the glimpse of Jesus in the people there (Matt 25). Next, we paid a visit to Ikthus Church where Andrew got to share his testimony and Tim preached. This was followed by an efficient food-packing exercise with the local congregation before heading to bed.
Monday morning saw us paying a courtesy visit to the mayor of Canalon. The mayor was modest when he said that his tallest player was 5ft 10’. What he didn’t tell us was that his players could jump high (one even blocked Greg) and had a three-point shooting percentage of at least 85%. No prizes for guessing who won that game – it was the Canalon team. Still, we managed a testimony from Mike and collected some tract responses (thanks to Bek). In addition, we handed out food parcels packed the night before to the people. After lunch, we had a brief devotion led by Tim based on Matt 25. Later, we were whisked off to the market place for our finalgame. The game didn’t happen as it was bucketing. Still, we managed some tract response collection.
