Soon after Mim left for home, Scott and Vicki Penwell flew out to
Boise, Idaho and will be there teaching workshops and seminars until
September. Their absence is felt keenly, and they miss their home in
Olongapo. We all look forward to when they will return to us once more. I
think they will be surprised with the progress we have made at the
clinic. The back bedroom is nearly completed now. I hope to put up some
images next week, if not sooner. The transformation that the dank, musty
shed has undergone are drastic. Within a couple of weeks, the concrete
block walls have been stuccoed and finished out, electricity has been
run into the room, a drop ceiling has been installed along with louvered
glass windows, the room is now completely sealed off from the outside,
an entry has been cut leading into the clinic’s kitchen, the doorway is
framed in, and the walls and floors are painted. I have already added
the ‘before’ images, and look forward to uploading the ‘after’ shots
into our photo gallery. We still need to install an aluminum door and
screens on the windows, as well as wire in the lighting, but the room is
finished out and appears to be part of the clinic. It blends rather
nicely, and we were pretty happy with the way it has turned out. Levi
didn’t like my choice of wall color and ordered a darker blue for the
accent wall, but hey, he paid for it. All in all, the room will benefit
the clinic and was a good investment, since the temporary clinic is
functioning in the community and will continue to serve the people of
Olongapo until the Mercyland clinic is up and running. Which could be a
year from now – though it is hard to say. The permits are almost
attained, there is just an issue with City Hall and the DNR. A DNR
representative is working with us and petitioning City Hall, so things
are looking brighter now in regards to the permits. Please keep praying
that the proper permissions are obtained. We greatly appreciate your
prayers!
Another progress update: we are constructing a CR at the second level! Huzzah! The septic is already laid, and it remains for the upper portion of the CR/showerhouse to be finished and plumbed out. This means a much more accessible restroom for those of us living on the Mercyland property. Our outdoor kitchen also has recently gotten a concrete pad poured down, and this is another huge blessing! Cooking there is even better than ever. Another addition that is coming soon will be … drumroll please … a refrigerator! We will be able to store items in a fridge! This is a huge benefit and I am so thankful! All changes are coming in gradual stages, and I am content to wait and not rush things along. Our most recent purchase was a gas dryer, which our team chipped in together to obtain, and it now sits in the Eheler house next to their washer. Now we can do our own loads of laundry at the property as opposed to lugging it into town. This will save us money down the road, and it leaves the Eheler family with an asset after we are gone. During the rainy season, it is hard to dry clothing because of the constant dampness in the air, so a dryer is a welcome addition.
John and John just finished their mechanic work on Ian’s van. It would not start, and the cause was the alternator – it was not charging the battery. And the new alternator had to be ordered from Manila. Once installed, the van’s battery was able to hold the charge and is now running great. While they had the van pulled apart, they proceeded to clean the carburetor, so his van is now in working order and ready to hit the road.
Levi and Jake have moved into the apartments, and John and my John and I reside with the Ehelers on the Mercyland. Joks and Jen, along with their boys Jasper and Ken-Ken, just moved into a small house last Sunday. This puts them in closer proximity to the temporary clinic. Joks, the MIA tricey driver, and Jen, a MIA midwife, are both happy with the change, especially because their house at the property was over standing water and was consistently musty as a result. Their hut at the land was moved to a drier spot, and Levi wants to claim it as his own. The guys’ hut is now the Mercyland schoolhouse, and John Langham has moved into the True girls’ old neepa hut. The schoolhouse was moved to the land for a number of reasons, among them: Ian and Rose Penwell will be leaving for Idaho in a few weeks, and also because the Eheler’s live at the property, and it saves them the drive to the apartments. The old schoolhouse was a room at the apartment complex where the Penwells’ and our team have been renting, and the rent was an expense that was deemed unnecessary. A solution to this combination of things was to move the school to the land, and so that course was decided upon and acted out.
So, as you can ascertain, there have been a great many improvements in the amount of time that I have not written an update. We are advancing forward here, and I feel as though John and I are beginning to put our roots down in Olongapo. As I walk up and down Bennet Road, it is feels like familiar territory. The vendors know me by name, and I frequent the sari-saris on a regular basis. I obtain my fresh eggs from an elderly Filipino and his grandson bags them for me as he smiles, eager to assist in the sale. My vegetables are purchased from the same woman, and she teaches me Tagalog words every time I stop in for produce. Somehow, her knowing that I am a resident, even for a year, makes me something more than just a tourist in her eyes, and more of a fellow ‘Filipino.’ It gladdens my heart that she is willing to help me learn the language, by this she is extending her friendship and accepting me into her culture. I usually walk to the bakery for our marienda, or midday snack, and instant coffee packets, and go across the street to the fresh chicken shop when I want to cook meat with our veggies for dinner. On the more intensely hot days, I amble over to the soft serve ice cream stand to enjoy a swirl of cold, creamy goodness in a waffle cone. When the guys ask for a chilled 1.5 liter of Coca-Cola or an energy drink, I head to R&J’s, and am always greeted with a warm smile. There is more of a sense of community when I shop here as opposed to back in the states.
And so you find us in Olongapo, investing in the community and content with where we are. We are making our neepa hut a home, and I find I miss it when we are gone. Life is simple and our priorities are straight, and we are living for Jesus Christ.
originally posted July 30, 2011
Another progress update: we are constructing a CR at the second level! Huzzah! The septic is already laid, and it remains for the upper portion of the CR/showerhouse to be finished and plumbed out. This means a much more accessible restroom for those of us living on the Mercyland property. Our outdoor kitchen also has recently gotten a concrete pad poured down, and this is another huge blessing! Cooking there is even better than ever. Another addition that is coming soon will be … drumroll please … a refrigerator! We will be able to store items in a fridge! This is a huge benefit and I am so thankful! All changes are coming in gradual stages, and I am content to wait and not rush things along. Our most recent purchase was a gas dryer, which our team chipped in together to obtain, and it now sits in the Eheler house next to their washer. Now we can do our own loads of laundry at the property as opposed to lugging it into town. This will save us money down the road, and it leaves the Eheler family with an asset after we are gone. During the rainy season, it is hard to dry clothing because of the constant dampness in the air, so a dryer is a welcome addition.
John and John just finished their mechanic work on Ian’s van. It would not start, and the cause was the alternator – it was not charging the battery. And the new alternator had to be ordered from Manila. Once installed, the van’s battery was able to hold the charge and is now running great. While they had the van pulled apart, they proceeded to clean the carburetor, so his van is now in working order and ready to hit the road.
Levi and Jake have moved into the apartments, and John and my John and I reside with the Ehelers on the Mercyland. Joks and Jen, along with their boys Jasper and Ken-Ken, just moved into a small house last Sunday. This puts them in closer proximity to the temporary clinic. Joks, the MIA tricey driver, and Jen, a MIA midwife, are both happy with the change, especially because their house at the property was over standing water and was consistently musty as a result. Their hut at the land was moved to a drier spot, and Levi wants to claim it as his own. The guys’ hut is now the Mercyland schoolhouse, and John Langham has moved into the True girls’ old neepa hut. The schoolhouse was moved to the land for a number of reasons, among them: Ian and Rose Penwell will be leaving for Idaho in a few weeks, and also because the Eheler’s live at the property, and it saves them the drive to the apartments. The old schoolhouse was a room at the apartment complex where the Penwells’ and our team have been renting, and the rent was an expense that was deemed unnecessary. A solution to this combination of things was to move the school to the land, and so that course was decided upon and acted out.
So, as you can ascertain, there have been a great many improvements in the amount of time that I have not written an update. We are advancing forward here, and I feel as though John and I are beginning to put our roots down in Olongapo. As I walk up and down Bennet Road, it is feels like familiar territory. The vendors know me by name, and I frequent the sari-saris on a regular basis. I obtain my fresh eggs from an elderly Filipino and his grandson bags them for me as he smiles, eager to assist in the sale. My vegetables are purchased from the same woman, and she teaches me Tagalog words every time I stop in for produce. Somehow, her knowing that I am a resident, even for a year, makes me something more than just a tourist in her eyes, and more of a fellow ‘Filipino.’ It gladdens my heart that she is willing to help me learn the language, by this she is extending her friendship and accepting me into her culture. I usually walk to the bakery for our marienda, or midday snack, and instant coffee packets, and go across the street to the fresh chicken shop when I want to cook meat with our veggies for dinner. On the more intensely hot days, I amble over to the soft serve ice cream stand to enjoy a swirl of cold, creamy goodness in a waffle cone. When the guys ask for a chilled 1.5 liter of Coca-Cola or an energy drink, I head to R&J’s, and am always greeted with a warm smile. There is more of a sense of community when I shop here as opposed to back in the states.
And so you find us in Olongapo, investing in the community and content with where we are. We are making our neepa hut a home, and I find I miss it when we are gone. Life is simple and our priorities are straight, and we are living for Jesus Christ.
originally posted July 30, 2011
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