Baguio mountain high (post #1200 at PeacefulOnes!)

Friday, August 7, 2015

When I get back from town, I see that my sweater is inside out. Sigh. That’s what you get when you dress in the dark and don't pay attention. No one said anything but it’s the first thing I notice when I get back to the flat.

We’ve decided to stay one more night in Baguio and catch a ride in to Manila early tomorrow. The APTS locals kindly provide suppers each evening. 

The president and his wife, hosting visiting faculty

This has been a wonderful week alongside 13 enthusiastic and dedicated doctoral students from 9 countries.We meet faculty from New Zealand/ Ireland/ England, Australia, China, Malaysia, the USA, Canada, etc. The sound of dozens of Chinese students chanting English drifts in the window each afternoon. They're here for a few months to improve their language skills.

At first, we must keep pausing as we walk up the hill from our flat to the academic building. Each building has multiple floors: some have 6 or 7 because the campus is on the side of a hill. The killer is not the slope (though the roads and walks are very steep) but the altitude! We are over a mile above sea level here.

Packed chapels

Breathing is a chore at the beginning at first: our lungs don't fill up the same way. I take the stairs at a run whenever possible, chuffing breath in and out as though I'm doing a marathon. By the end of the week, we're almost acclimated and not winded like we were upon arrival.

W teaches a tech and theology class and I teach the blogging part. With a little extra coaching late last night, everyone has a blog, some idea what they plan to write, and their first post written. It's fun to see the stats after the first day: some have hundreds of readers across the world.

A fine class

They're also familiar with PPT, can shoot and upload videos, and have been introduced to digital sound production. Wow, what a week.

These block courses are exhausting for faculty and students but they net 40 hours of class time in a week. W’s pretty much tied to the classroom.

Dickie H, an American faculty member who’s lived on campus a long time, knows just where to take me for an outing. We visit Narda, a women’s weaving store founded to keep women busy “so they’re not making babies."

The second stop is a crafting factory that wholesales its wares to the USA. Entry to the factory outlet is by relationship-only. There I discover what’s being shipped across the ocean for Christmas: ornaments and candles, trees and wreaths, jewelry and silver sculptures, woven metal bags and baskets. The items are beautifully designed right here in Baguio by a devotedly Christian team. No pictures are allowed.

Narda: traditional looms and beautiful wares

I can't take much back and feel obligated to eat the chocolate we brought along; it's heavy right? So noble! haha Good thing they don't weigh passengers coming and going; I've probably gained 5 lbs with our limited mobility. We are pushing the flight weight limit with W's gear already. (My things fit in half of a suitcase and a tote bag. W needs 1 1/2 suitcases plus our two carry-ons for tech stuff that the class can test-drive.)

Dickie treats me to the Narda weaver outlet twice: the first time to gasp in happy amazement at the work, and the second trip for a much-needed blue sweater and woven handbag.

"You can wash any of this," Dickie assures me. "The tight weave will hold up like new for years."

Home away from home this week

I tease her that she could earn a commission but I'm happy with the classic lines and long-wearing fabric = a good investment at a great price.

During the days, I write our monthly update to partners, send a "New Normal" post (a photo of something 'normal' here but 'strange' in the West), and study for the courses I'm teaching in the fall. And there's time to read a novel or two, just for relaxation.

Tomorrow my parents celebrate their 63rd wedding anniversary. What good role models they are! They still love and like each other, too. Congratulations, you dear two.

Read more:

*After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied. Isaiah 53:11 NIV

*Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you-unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place. I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me.

Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 1 Corinthians 15:1-6 NLT

*Christ humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him. Philippians 2:8–9 ESV

Moravian Prayer: Dear Lord, your humility is our salvation. Your surrender is our strength. We are resurrected by your burial. Your cross is our salvation. May we exalt you by faithfulness to your eternal servant spirit. Amen.