Pastor and family inside the church perched on the mountain
Full church for our night service in the Mountains (notice coats)
A cold night but nice rooms. Burr!
Phuong is on the pastors' (background) bike.
DS Ochoco speaking to the pastors after the service.
Special song in the night service--such a good Spirit!
Going from Baguio (where Luzon Nazarene Bible College is located) to the Mt. Data area was full of adventure. Mountain roads that seemed to wind and turn endlessly were back dropped with scenic mountains that reminded us of the Rockies without the snow. The weather turned cool and also seemed to change with every turn. It took most of 3 hours to reach our destination where we held a night service in one of our churches. I was amazed and a little taken back when I discovered some of the pastors travelled 3 hrs to come to our service. They returned the same evening over the same treacherous roads to get home well after midnight. I spoke about 30-40 minutes thinking it was long enough for them since the travel was so difficult (not to mention my own fatigue). I miscalculated! I was later told I could have gone for over an hour for them. I'm not used to speaking that long; I'm too Americanized for that! I became aware how trained I am to watch the clock. My audience didn't care about time near as much I seemed to. It was still 10 pm before we reached our motel (late for me as most of you know!).
I was flattered how they listened so well. Every where I spoke people listened so well. It was my treat and privilege to witness their listening skills and kindness. Their churches do not have the comforts of home about them-- no heat, wooden benches and plain decor with toilets (CRs--comfort rooms) somewhere down stairs and outside. Be sure and carry a flashlight and other necessities with you!
The area is economically challenged. Most people work in the small towns or farm the vegetable terraces that supply most of the food for all of the Philippine people. Truck after truck can be seen laboring their way through the mountains carrying their precious cargo of carrots, beans, celery and potatoes down to the lowlands to places like Manila. Most of the pastors work in the fields or have jobs since the churches cannot pay them well. And yet, they graciously bought our lunch!
These mountain churches were started by missionaries like John Pattee. and the Copelands. The churches know their history and are grateful to this day for the pioneers who traversed the mountains to bring the gospel message to these remote mountain areas. I have a new appreciation for the missionaries who literally left everything to go and share the Good News in these places. Their work has been blessed of God. This area has many church plants and is one of the fastest growing areas. Many pastors use motor bikes to get around since they are cheap and go places cars cannot get to. Some of the motor bikes were donated by compassionate ministries like the one in the picture. It is difficult to express the great impact these churches are having. They may have little but they give much. Their love and kindness to us will always be remembered as one of the highlights of our trip.
We stayed in the Mt. Data resort hotel. It is one of the few places around to stay. It had no heat, and the temperature was in the 40's! At 6:00 a.m. we experienced an earthquake. Our bed shook and then it was over. No damage or harm done, just another quake in a quake prone area to add to our adventure.
Mt. Data Hotel dinning room where we ate a western style breakfast (omelets and bacon).
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