Adventure Three on Mindanao

    Our third adventure started similarly to the first two. Alex and Fritz hopped on motorcycles while David and Erin jumped in the car to go on a survey. So up to this point we haven't mentioned that David is a rally car driver. Erin was in good hands on these rough roads, and had just a little fun drifting around a couple of corners :) There is a big push here to develop highways through more rural parts of the country, and let me tell you some of these roads are crazy! Not only are some of them badly washed out and under construction, there is also the random animal laying there sunning itself, including but not limited to: dogs, goats, geese, and chickens. Oh, and did I mention that it is totally normal to dry your agricultural products like corn, coffee, and anything else on said highways. Almost forgot to mention that Fritz and Alex rode by a king cobra! Alex didn't even see it... 
    The goal of a survey is to see if the gospel has spread and will continue to spread within a language group. It was exciting to see how this was done practically and understand the challenges that come along with it.
    Arriving in the area we first met with local pastors. Filipinos have this amazing relational network. When meeting a new person one of the first things they do is start making connections of who both people know, and most of the time it doesn't take long before they've found someone that they both know. We want to partner with the local church to see the gospel spread rather than jump in and try to do it all ourselves. Most often the local pastors have a good idea of what is happening in the area and know the culture much better than we ever will - even after years of study.

Pastor Pablo (left) and Fritz (middle) were a huge help in surveying the area! Fritz often helps David (far right) on surveys.

        The real adventure began when we took off into the village. The roads were rough and the car wasn't going to make it. We knew that so we hired a skylab. A skylab is a motorcycle for hire that has two side racks for any cargo you may want to take. Often they pile rice, wood, or other goods on the side for transport in this case it was three of us plus the rider. You should see how many Filipinos they can fit on these things! Erin rode behind the driver while Pastor Pablo and I rode of the sides. It was very exciting and we were very sore by the end of the day:)

    The pastor of this church we visited was actually a student of Pastor Pablo. That Sunday they celebrated pastor appreciation day. After a message from a guest speaker, gifts and letters were given to the pastor and his wife. A huge meal was prepared and everyone enjoyed!

The Church we visited

Our group with the Pastor and his family

Just a little of all the food we enjoyed!

    At the end of the day we had talked to several pastors and locals in the area. Sometimes it is hard to immediately know if someone understands salvation by grace - just like at home. At times it takes more than one trip to build relationships and truly know how well the gospel is understood. David now has a better understanding of the area and how well the gospel will spread. For this specific location it did seem that there were some true believers! Please pray for them and that it would spread throughout the area. There are many church's that don't preach the truth. It is very common that all you'll ever hear from the pulpit is to obey God's commands to receive physical blessing. All in all, it was a great opportunity to see what actually happens on a survey and get some hands on experience. We talked about them quite a bit at school but practically didn't know everything that went into one.