Handicapped Access in Palawano Land

This past weekend was the Palawano Bible Conference introducing the Book of Acts. Three days of meetings, teaching Acts chapters one through six. On Sunday we topped the weekend off with communion, a potluck and baptisms. People showed up from far and wide. Sunday morning, a big group from Rora came, and I knew we would run out of seating space. I asked Indak if he could bring over some benches from Bright's house. When he and another guy brought them into the church, everyone was trying to figure out the best way to place them to squeeze them into the already crowded building. I heard one person say, Sebali beyean ni Ula, or 'We need a pathway for Ula.' That really cracked me up. You see, Ula is a crippled woman. A generous church in Temecula, California sent over a wheelchair for her a few years ago. Every Sunday that she is feeling well enough, Ula is rolled across the yard from her house, over the little bridge, and down the center aisle, to her spot right in the front of the church. The guys were thinking handicap access.

My mind flashed to different churches we were associated with back in the U.S. that had to enlarge their bathrooms and change their parking lots for handicapped access. Who would ever think that would be an issue in our jungle church? We don't have roads. No one owns a vehicle of any kind. . . Well, unless you count water buffalos. The church doesn't have a bathroom, nor do any of the people's houses. The only electricity is from solar panels and batteries in a very few of the houses. But our church needs to have a wide pathway from the door to the center aisle and down the center aisle for Ula and her wheelchair!

Ula is a blessing to our church. She is one of those angels God sometimes sends to a body of believers. She stopped growing and developing at a very young age as a result of a sickness. Most of her life she spends laying on the bamboo slat floor of the house she lives in with her elderly mother. For you or me, it would be a hard and boring life. Her mom has to do almost everything for her. But Ula became a Christian years ago. And she really, really loves the Lord. She inspires all of us with her joy and praise. Her two favorite songs are the Palawano versions of "Hearts Courageous," and "Forever Grateful." She always requests one or both of them on the Sundays she can come to church. For the Acts Conference, Bill distributed some verses and portions ahead of time for people who wanted to to memorize. During the conference, different ones would come forward and recite their verses. Ula memorized the most of anybody -- she did four verses from Acts and one other one.

Ula decided she wanted to be baptized at the end of the conference. Three of her brothers and Indak rolled and carried her wheelchair down the trail to the river, and right on into the water. Abil baptized her by pouring handfuls of water over her head. She loved being in the river for the first time in her life, so they let her stay there for awhile with the water flowing over her lap and through her legs. It was a joyful ending to a joyful conference.

Grating Sengley Kayo

The other day I visited Aming's house, and came across Bibi doing something I hadn't seen before. She had a big piece of sengley kayo, and was grating it into a plastic dish tub. Sengley kayo is one of the Palawanos' staple foods. It is the starchy root of a plant. Sengley kayo means "wood sweet potato." It is the shape of a sweet potato, but much larger, and yes, it is woody. The flesh is white, though, not pink or orange. And it is not sweet. They are easy to plant. Just take the stalks of sengley kayo plants that have been already dug up, chop the stalks into four- or five-inch sections, and thrown them on the rice field where you have just harvested this year's crop of rice. It grows with no attention. No weeding, feeding or watering are needed. It is a low maintenance food, but also one that seems to me to lack flavor and much nutrition. It fills empty bellies, though, when the rice harvest starts to run out.

Bibi told me all about what she was doing. She had traded for this bunch of sengley kayo from a man named Bilintino for some rock salt. Apparently Bibi and her husband had extra rock salt, and Bilintino had extra sengley kayo, so a deal was struck. She peeled off the rough dark skin, soaked them in water to get any dirt off, and then started grating them. She said they aren't too hard to grate. I asked her why she grated them. I knew the common way to cook them was to roast them over a fire, or boil them in a pot. She said that when you grate them you can use more of the root, even the tough middle part. So you don't waste as much food. Boiling or roasting doesn't allow the tough middle to soften enough to be edible, and then that part is wasted.

After grating them, Bibi will wrap it all up in a rice sack and press it with a board to get the water out. Then when it is drained like that, the sengley kayo is ready to be cooked. Bibi said she cooks it two ways. Either she puts it in a wok with grated coconut and cooks them up together, or she wraps handfuls of grated sengley kayo in squares of banana leaves, and boils them in water, to make little portable snack-size servings.

I have to tell you, I was impressed. Here is a "food" that to my taste buds is virtually inedible. Yet Bibi was working hard to make use of every last bit of it, and not waste any of it. Am I rich and spoiled? Yes. I'll post a picture of her doing this next time we hit civilization.

Bethy!

We had a wonderful visit from Bethy! So fun to see her. She arrived here on the heels of hosting the Jimmy Carter Work Project, with hundreds of volunteers helping at her Habitat for Humanity affiliate's LA work sites. She said the time was hectic, but all went really well. She was interviewed on the KTLA morning show one day. Any country music fans out there besides me? Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood worked at Bethy's site.

After all those long days and hard work, she was really ready for a
break. We planned to spend two nights at a rustic island resort in
the northern part of our island, but it stretched on to two more,
because a typhoon hit the area. We didn't have the typical "fun in
the sun" time we expected. Instead we sat under thatched roofs,
safely out of the rain, captivated by turbulent seas, while wind
howled all around us. It was a wild experience, being so close to the
storm. We spent the time reading, eating, relaxing and playing games.

The day we planned to leave, a mudslide blocked the only road south. And the next day when we actually did leave, the boat ride off the island was pretty scary for me. The ocean was still unruly. We finally returned to the city, damp and dirty. Hot showers and clean clothes fixed that.

Then over the next two days we celebrated Bill's birthday, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Lots of food! Presents! We flew up and spent a couple of days in Manila. Took in a play, did a little shopping. Bethy went out to visit her old stomping grounds, Faith Academy. All too soon, it was time to send her back to LA on the��plane again. Our mission pilot has been sick for some time, and��couldn't fly us into the tribe as we had originally planned. But we��had a great time together, and are looking forward to Next Time.

On The Street Where I Live: Continued

This is Al-Al bringing me some kangkong��to buy. Kangkong is a green that grows in swampy places. Our rabbit��loves it. We love it too, saut��ed with a little garlic and onion. Once word got out I would buy this stuff that grows wild all over the��place, lots of people have been bringing it. Makes kids like Al-Al��happy to get a few pesos to spend. Makes the bunny happy. And when��I have too much, I pass bunches of it out to our neighbors and friends.

These little boys have some "mereitem" for us to try. Mereitem is a native��fruit with spiny maroon-colored skin, and sweet, translucent white��flesh. Delicious! Too bad it is only in season for a few short��weeks.

On the Street Where I Live: The Prequel

This is such a common sight on the street where I live that I almost
forgot about it. In fact, I couldn't find a good picture of the plane
in my files. This is a picture my sister Suzy took when they visited
us last Christmas. Our house is right on the airstrip, and the trail
runs alongside the strip. The plane lands in our front yard. We see
it at least once every two or three weeks. Sometimes we'll go a month
between flights. Other times, if a short-term team is visiting us,
the plane may land ten times in a week, shuttling team members and
supplies in and out. The Palawanos love to watch the plane land and
take off, especially the kids. If it lands when school isn't in
session, a crowd of kids will come tearing over to our house to hang
out and watch the action.

Got Guts?

Okay, I'll admit it. I made a funny language mistake yesterday. Even though it hurts my pride, I know people love to hear about these kinds of things. My life verse right now seems to be Ecclesiastes 7:8, "Finishing is better than starting. Patience is better than pride." God knows He is giving me lots of experience in building my patience, by losing my pride lately. Here's what happened. . .

Yesterday morning I went to see Rini. She hasn't come to help me with language this week. She's not been feeling well. Her stomach has been hurting, and she doesn't feel like eating, and wants to throw up all the time. She also missed a period. So it looks like she is pregnant. But in our conversation we talked about her stomach pain. That isn't a normal pregnancy symptom. Maybe it was because of some strong medicine she took for an infection she had, followed by medicine for malaria, we thought. Much of the conversation centered around talking about her "bituka," the Palawano word for small intestines, literally, but can be used for upper gastric area, where Rini was feeling pain. Loosely, bituka could be translated "guts."

So right after that, I went home and got started baking some bread. I had some extra

Arlyn at Home

yeast, which in Palawano is "pibuka." So I told Arlyn, who was helping me, that she could have it. She looked at me really funny, and said, "Guts?" Well, I MEANT to tell her she could have the yeast. But I guess what I really told her was, "There's some extra guts. You can have it if you would like." Pibuka, bituka, same difference, right? No. Close, but not the same. So, we got a good chuckle out of that. At my expense. Sigh.

In Danger From Rivers

River in Flood Stage

It was one of the dumbest things she had ever done. It certainly was one of the scariest things that ever happened to her.��"Is my life going to end like this, tossing and turning down a murky, swollen river, caught in vines, and dragged underwater until I drown? I can't believe this is happening to me." Thoughts churned in her head as the river churned around her.��"Why didn't I go back and get someone to watch out for me while I crossed the river? Lord, I never imagined my life ending so soon. I'm not ready." She grabbed for a bunch of branches overhead, but they alluded her grasp. She was swept further downstream.��She gripped a vine, but couldn't hold it. Her body hurled��down-river��as the vine slipped between her hands, scraping her arms.��Much of the undergrowth along the river bank was rotten, partly decomposed already.��She clutched at another branch, and it broke in her hands��as the current pushed her along.��Oh no! Here was a whole clump of bamboo branches bent over the river. She would get caught in them. So she ducked underwater and swept under them. Thoughts continued to assail her, "Why was I so stupid? This isn't a good time for me to be seriously injured, and to be flown out to the hospital. Our translation check starts in a few days, and my husband needs me to be well." Finally she cried, out loud, "Lord, help me!" And right then she saw a sturdy branch of bamboo jutting out from the bank. She seized it, and it held her weight. She pulled herself along it, hand over hand, until her feet reached the bank. She was touching land at last!

��

* * * * * * * * *

I had an adventure last week. I washed��down-river and was afraid I would drown. The story is, last Wednesday was our partner's birthday. I had a present for her, and even though the river had risen and it was raining a lot, I wanted to get the gift over to her while it was still her birthday. Bill caught some kind of horrible flu while we were out and that day he was really one sick puppy -- in bed all day, fever alternating with sweating, cough, sore throat, sore chest, achy body. The worst he's felt in a long time. So I went across by myself to our partner's house. The river already was up to my hips, and when I stepped in a hole, it was up to my waist. I visited with them for awhile, drinking coffee and talking. Then I stopped by Nili's house to talk to her about something. Maddie, our dog, went with me, waiting for me on the bench of our partner's porch while I was inside. When I talked to Nili, she visited Brownie, Nili's dog. Then I was ready cross the river again to return home, but the river had risen a LOT. I could cross the smaller stream, but when I headed across the big river, it was up to my chest at the edge. It would be deeper in the middle. The water kept pushing me back, and my feet couldn't dig in on the pebbly bottom. I would step forward, but I wasn't getting anywhere. The current was stronger than I was. Maddie followed me, and must have continued on across once we hit the water. When she gets in the river, and it is high, she's committed. She has to keep going. I'm sure she washed downstream quite a way, but she's used to swimming across the river, and scrambling up the bank downstream.��

So, I decided to try swimming across. I've seen the Palawanos do it lots of times. I went back to our partner's house and dropped off the stuff I was carrying -- my umbrella��and a plastic bag of stuff. They offered for me to use the new dugout canoe they had made, but I said I'd try it alone first. The canoe didn't have paddles yet, or a rope to pull it across, and I guess I didn't want to hassle with trying to get together the guys that would be needed to help get the canoe across the river and back. Plus, I don't have a lot of confidence in tippy little Palawano-size canoes being able to float my American-size body. I thought I could handle it by myself. Mistake Number One: I should have, at the very LEAST, had someone with me watching me go across.

So I got across the smaller stream again okay. I climbed the short bank and walked upstream along the edge of the rice paddies there for a little way. It is good to get well upstream of where you want to end up before you swim across, since the current is going to be pulling you downstream. As I walked, one of my feet slipped deep into the mud at the edge of the rice paddy, and I couldn't get it out. I pulled and pulled, and finally pulled it out, but in the process the straps at the heel of my sandal broke loose from the sole. I was wearing heavy, strap-on Teva-type sandals, not just flip-flops. Mistake Number Two: I should have taken the broken sandal off. Mistake Number Three: I didn't go upriver as far as I should have before I launched out.

As I prepared to jump into the rising river, I thought, "This is probably really foolish. Someone should be out here watching me, at least." But I launched in anyway. I started swimming like mad, but the current was so swift, and with the heavy, broken sandal working against my kicking, I wasn't making good progress. I swam hard toward the steps on the bank going up to our house, but before I made it all the way across the river the current carried me past, missing them. I could see poor Maddie on the bank, watching me wash by. She had made it home and was sitting on the steps coming up from the river, waiting for me to get across.

As I washed farther��down-river from our house, I was swimming like crazy, trying to get a little closer to the bank. I finally could start grabbing at branches and vines that were overhanging the river, but the current was so strong, and I was heavy, so I couldn't keep my hold. They would either slip out of my hands or break. I was trying desperately to reach the bank, but couldn't. At one point I had to duck under a whole bunch of low-hanging bamboo, and got a mouthful of water. I kept trying to grab onto something that would hold and couldn't. Nothing would hold me. One after another, all the branches I grabbed at kept slipping out of my hands or breaking off. I was starting to get really scared. I was so afraid that I would get tangled up in some vines and not be able to get out, or be pulled underwater. I had no idea how far I was washing downstream, but the river was getting to a narrower and swifter part, and I was starting to be afraid I might drown. I was thinking, "I can't do it. I can't get to the bank. I could die like this. I could drown, or could really get hurt. I can't believe this is happening to me. This isn't a good time for this. Bill needs me well right now because he has this translation check coming up. He doesn't need a dead or seriously injured wife right now. What a hassle that would be! And besides that, I don't want to die!" I finally cried, out loud, "Lord, help me!" And as soon as I prayed that, I saw that bamboo branch projecting over the river that I was able to grab. It was sturdy enough to hold me, and I pulled myself along it to where it came out of the bank.��

At this point, the bank is really steep, straight up and down vertically, and covered with undergrowth. I just clung to the bamboo and bushes there for quite a little while, trying to catch my breath, half in and half out of the water. I had used up all my strength getting across the river, and I didn't have any strength left to climb up the bank.��My chest was heaving from the exertion of swimming against the current.�� But I was safely attached to land at last! I thought about screaming to Bill to come help me, but I didn't know if he would hear me. Also,��he was so very sick that he might not be able to do anything, anyway. Pretty soon, here came Maddie! She found me at the edge of the bank, and she waited up there on the flat ground for me to climb up. Good ol' Maddie-Pup.

Slowly, as I was able to breathe a little better, I could move one foot at a time up the bank from one clump of roots to the next. I had to climb straight up. My sandals were all entangled with the vines, and I had to work them loose for each step. I was so afraid I would slip back into the water. I finally got all the way out of the water, and up on the bank. But the bank was covered with thick bushes there. I had to fight my way through the tangle of vines and branches step by step. Finally I got to a place were it was a little clearer, and I started walking along what looked like a trail. I knew I was behind our house somewhere, but wasn't sure how far. Maddie went ahead of me on the trail, and then took another trail going up the bank a little higher, to show me the way home. If she hadn't been there, it probably would have taken me a lot longer to find my own way home.

So I survived. I walked into the house and straight into the shower to get all the river water and bits of leaves and broken bits of branches off of me and out of my hair. It took a really long time for my breathing to return to normal from the exertion. After I had a chance to sit down and think about it, I realized that apart from some scratches on my arms and my leg from the vines I was trying to grab, I had NO injuries. Not a broken bone, no bad gashes. Just one BIG cardiovascular workout. I was fine. And so very, very thankful! As the Palawanos say, "Nerga ko," I learned my lesson. I'll never do that again. But I also have to say that God was there for me when I cried out to Him. That really means a lot to me. I've thought about it over and over these last days.

Not only have I learned more about my Lord, and myself (proud? self-sufficient? stupid?), but this has turned out to be a great language and culture learning experience, as well.��Lots of my Palawano friends want to hear me tell the story of what happened. The first question they all ask is, "Who was watching you cross?" I knew I was being foolish, crossing a flooded river with no one there. Apparently I was being culturally clueless, as well. And the Palawanos have been quick to point out several OTHER bad things that COULD have happened to me. . . I could have been stabbed by a sharp piece of bamboo hiding under the water. I could have been bit by a snake or scorpion or centipede in the underbrush.��The next day I told Rini my story in my rough Palawano, and taped her repeating it in her good Palawano. Guess what? Palawano has a word for 'making your way upriver a little bit.' It is pegpekedaya-kedaya.��I've learned words for grabbing with one hand as well as grabbing with two hands. Also a word that seems to mean 'unfortunately.' Used when, unfortunately my sandal straps broke, or, unfortunately I couldn't climb up the bank well. One of our missionary friends quipped in an email when she learned what was going on, "This just goes to show that all things work together for good culture and language experiences."��

It is now one week later. The translation check is underway. Bill is recovering from his flu. My scrapes are healing up, and a shoulder that I must have wrenched in the process is getting less sore. It didn't start hurting until two days after my ordeal. I look back and say God is good. When I was in distress, He showed me His faithful love.��Thank you, Lord.��

Son of More of On The Street Where I Live

Here are two more interesting sights on view from our house. We call
these animals 'carabao' in the Philippines. Others know them as water
buffalo. When we moved into this location in the early '80's, none of
the Palawanos owned carabao. In the intervening years, many people
have acquired one or more of these beasts of burden. They are
extremely strong, patient, and mostly placid animals. The Palawanos
use them for plowing their rice paddies, and carrying heavy loads.

Arnel has the coveted job of mowing the airstrip. It takes him about a day and a half to mow the whole strip. He likes the income from the job, and we like saving the time, and the wear and tear on our bodies. Mowing a 500-yard-long airstrip in the tropical sun every week is no joke!

More Of On The Street Where I Live

Like I mentioned before, our house and the airstrip is on a major trail passing north-south through Palawano-land. We never know what we will see going by. Here is Teyek with a small shark some neighbors gave to him. They had been out fishing on the coast, which is about a two or three hour hike from our place, and brought back a lot of fish, so they had some to share. This will make a great meal for Teyek and Iping, to go with their daily rice.

And here is Tirino with some bananas he brought to sell to us. He is our regular banana supplier. He takes the money he gets from the bananas, then goes on to a little store in someone's house to buy some salt or sugar or kerosene.

Excuses, Excuses!

Kindergarten here was called off this morning. Do you want to know
the reason why?

Apparently a neighbor's water buffalo got inside the building and
left a large "calling card" in the middle of the floor. The
kindergarten teachers decided the classroom was not usable in that
condition, so they sent the kids home, then went to find the water
buffalo's owner to make him clean up the mess.

I've heard of Snow Days. At Faith Academy in Manila, our kids
sometimes had Typhoon Days. But this was a new one for us!

Sometimes I Have to Look Like I'm Working

The reading glasses are on the nose. The computer is up and running. The clipboard beside it is stuffed with papers. The coffee cup is emptying fast. It may look like I'm working. But really, I'm having FUN. This part of the translation process is called Exegetical Checking. What I'm doing is going over the chapters of the book of Acts that have been through multiple previous stages of work, to see if any exegetical problems cropped up while the Palawano wording was being smoothed out. 

This isn't the initial exegesis. Bill does that before he starts on a new book, and continues while he is making an initial draft. But at the end of the taping, after Bill and the translation committee work the material over, some changes are introduced. The guys focus their attention on so many things, such as which word to use, which affixation to use, which discourse features to use. Now it is time for an objective observer to re-check each chapter to make sure some part of the intended meaning hasn't been lost or changed anywhere. 

In years past, I did this step with books spread out all over the table. Now most of what I need is right here on my computer, thanks to a program from Wycliffe/SIL and UBS called Translator's Workplace. It contains multiple versions of the Bible, several commentaries, Greek helps, and other resources. Bill loads my laptop with the latest work via his thumb drive. He gives me both the version in the Palawano language, and a back translation of that chapter. The back translation puts the Palawano version back into literal English, to make it possible for someone like a Translation Consultant, who doesn't know Palawano at all, or me, who doesn't know Palawano super well, to check the translation. I print out the back translated chapter I want to work on, and load it on my clipboard. Then I start opening up all the resources I want to use. The program even allows me to magnify the size of the type, which helps these middle-aged eyes!

I look at all those resources to double check that each aspect of the meaning is accounted for. Word order is different in Palawano, so sometimes it isn't easy to sort it out. Some information that is implicit in the text has to be made explicit. For example, Acts is full of place names, but Palawano demands that you say whether the place is a town or country or lake or sea the first time the place is mentioned. You can't just say, "Antioch in Pisidia," but have to say "town of Antioch, in the country of Pisidia." And when the apostles meet up with Simon the Tanner, or teach at Solomon's Colonnade, well, the Palawanos don't have tanners, or colonnades. So a bit of explanation is sometimes necessary. 

Here are some examples of things I've noted: In Acts 1:10 and 7:55 it says, "gazing intently into heaven," but needs two verbs in Palawano -- one that means "looking up," and one that means "staring, or looking intently." Acts 2:9, in a long list of nationalities, "Medes," and "Elamites" were inadvertently left out or got accidentally deleted during editing. In 6:11, the back translation said only "incited" but NIV says "secretly persuaded." It turns out that the Palawano word used, sutsot does inherently contain the element of "secretly." Some of my comments to Bill are simple, and he can fix them right away, for instance a typo, or a phrase actually in the Palawano version, but accidently left out of the back translation. But other times a question will arise that he needs to go back to the committee to check on.

To me the whole process is like doing a puzzle. I enjoy seeing how all the pieces fit together. It also reminds me of a treasure hunt. I have fun unearthing clues from my different resources, and following the trail through to the end. The end, of course, is a clear, accurate Palawano New Testament. 

As of today, I have exegetically checked chapters 1-18. But my part here is just one small step in the process. More steps follow exegetical checking. The next one is the "naive" Comprehension Check. In the comprehension check, we bring in a "naive" Palawano, that is, one who has not been involved at all in the translation process so far, and see how well he or she understands Acts. Then, after any problems discovered are corrected, it is time for the Consultant Check. That is the big deadline we are working toward right now. Our translation consultant is scheduled to come in and do her check in mid-September, but she needs the completed Back Translation sent to her several weeks ahead of time, so she can go over it before she comes in. That means it needs to be all finished and sent a couple of weeks from today! We are down to the wire.

So, even though we are having fun, we realize the seriousness of what we are doing. We would appreciate prayer for wisdom and strength for us and for all the Palawano people who work alongside us in this project.

Dogs Allowed, Shoes Optional

Those are the rules. Be aware of them if you come to visit us over a weekend. Also, chickens are allowed, crying babies are allowed, and the neighbor's cat can visit. Almost any kind of clothes are allowed, but you won't see a suit, or heels and hose anywhere. Wheelchairs are welcome. Well, we only have one wheelchair in the valley, but Norayma is very welcome when she is pushed in on it!

What am I talking about? Palawano Church on Sunday, of course. Anticipate singing until your voice feels hoarse. Scripture recitation is expected. Iping shares a new Psalm she's memorized every week. Don't be surprised if the little girls get up to sing a special number they have selected, and you can't hear them. The littlest ones get nervous and forget to sing when they face all the people. But they make up for it in looking cute.

The door is open to anyone. Some people hike for two hours over muddy trails to join in the fellowship. We slog across the river every week. Because the people here marry and start their families so very young, it is not unusual to see a mother and daughter nursing their babies, sitting side by side. And the open-topped bamboo walls can't keep out the critters. So you can assume that there will be a carpenter bee or two buzzing overhead. The benches may be hard, but the fellowship is sweet. That's Palawano Church.