The Dept of Licensing

One never knows what will happen at the Department of Licensing! I saw this brown mass crawling along the floor behind a secretary's desk last week. It turned out to be someone's sack lunch; a bunch of crabs tied together. Personally, I think peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are easier to handle. An even greater mystery is what happens to your papers when they take them inside and how long it will be before you see them again.

Patience and endurance are what it takes to get a license or vehicle registration here. James wanted to get a driver's license so Heidi took him down and started the process. The first major trial was getting through the crowds of men wanting to "help" you through the very tricky process. You feel like a rabbit running through a wolf pack. Once you are inside you have to figure out the process which involves many interesting hoops to jump through.

James taking his driving test

For example, for the written exam you get questions like, "How do you drive if there is rice on the road?" or What shouldn't a driver do when passing a blind person?" The driving test is interesting too. You don't have bring your own car. You can rent one for about a dollar. They have a little track around a parking lot and you have drive around the track once. Sounds easy, but what you don't know is that the examiner is sitting next to you and he is controling the gas and has his hand on the wheel. Whether or not you hit someone is really up to him.

Fortunately, James passed all his tests and had the endurance to wait in line for 8 hours. Good job, James! Congratulations!

July Trip

Last Monday, James, Carrie, and Thomas packed their bags and headed off for a week at Bible camp a few hours south of Manila. They were excited to go and Heidi and I were excited too, because we had been planning our own trip.

After they were safely on the bus heading south, we got in our van and headed north. It wasn't long before were enjoying seeing beautiful northern Luzon again. The mountains, ricefields, and fruit stands were a joy to see after many months of living in the city.

Wow! Fresh pineapple only 3 for a dollar!

We were in our way to visit our newest ministry team on the island. Christina, the Petersons, and the Talbots are living in a small town up north while in the process of building houses in a village where, after learning the local language, they plan to teach Bible truth. We had some supplies for them and Heidi planned to help with canning meat for them to use in the village as refrigeration is still not possible there.

This is a picture of the canning process beginning.

And this is a picture of the final product. The ladies turned out 47 pints in one day. Good Job Ladies! I worked downstairs helping with getting window screen frames built. We really enjoyed our trip up to visit this new team and the time we were able to spend with their children.

This is taken in Christina's livingroom. She has the roof top suite in the building she shares with her landlord and partners.

Erik and Dana Peterson

Chuck and Shannon Talbot with their sweet Sophia.