Bible, Bibles, Bibles

When I was helping build the new church building in Serra Bullone in Bohol, I noticed a handful of water stained Bibles sitting in a box to be taken to the new facility.  Apparently they had been the victim of a heavy rain storm that came up unexpectedly.  Well, think about it . . . you're in the middle of the tropics just north of the equator, surrounded by ocean . . . rain storms are going to happen.  Also, most of the windows in the facility they were using were open  -- no glass to keep out the weather, although most did have a screen of sorts to keep the "critters" out.  It shouldn't be a big surprise that things would get wet once in a while.  So . . . one of the things that Pastor Jose Arig  asked of me is if I could supply some new Bibles for the church.  Since the  new facility is reasonably weather proof, I do think that books and teaching supplies will survive a little longer.  Of course, humidity and mildew will always be a problem no matter what you do.

So when I arrive in the Philippines, one of my assignments will be to locate, purchase, and transport a couple dozen Bibles to central Bohol.  There are a couple of stores in Tagbilaran on the far west end of Bohol that I could get them from . . . but that is the opposite direction from where I will be at in Ubay, which is on the far eastern end of Bohol.  Sierra Bullones is almost directly in between.  So one of my days may be spent taking the van from Ubay to Tagbilaran to go shopping for Bibles.

Typical storage of books - notice the non-weatherproof walls.

Another option, which I like better, is that my first stop after arriving in Manila will be in Cagayan de Oro in northern Mindanao.  CDO is a large city with a couple of book stores and even a Christian book store.  So I  think I will try to purchase the Bibles there.  I will be visiting with Nemesio and his wife Terry, along with his daughters Rachel and Love (they run the Christian school in Ubay).  They have a small rent house in CDO where they often stay when working at the new church plant in Camiguin. They will be able to help me find the stores and get the Bibles to transport to Ubay after we spend the weekend with the new church in Camiguin. There is a cost to this assistance -- not that I mind, please don't misunderstand.  But the church in Camiguin also needs some Bibles - at least 20.  So . . . it looks like I will be needing to buy some Bibles for that church as well.

Camiguin is a small volcanic island between the main island of Mindinao and Bohol which is to the north.  It is one of the lesser visited places by tourists and expats seeking a refuge away from more crowded areas of the Philippines.  I'm looking forward to visiting there, as it looks like it might be a pleasant first venture of my trip.  Nemesio and his wife are already doing an outreach to many of the children in the community there.  The facilities are austere by American standards, but in the Philippines, any little bit of shelter can function adequately for a gathering place . . . and apparently there is a pizza place just around the corner!  Can't beat that!

Kids outreach on Camiguin with Terry Carbonilla

Bottom line . . . if anyone would like to help buy some Bibles, I will be glad to take a small donation -- $5 or $10 -- to help offset the cost.  I'll be glad to do the grunt work . . . you know, travel all the way around the world, travel on outrigger boats and on little motorcycles with funny looking sidecars, eat strange and exotic foods (some of them I don't really want to know what its made with), sleeping under mosquito netting and having to drink bottled water to keep from getting Montezuma's Revenge.  Of course, I will be doing more than transporting a few Bibles, but it's just one of the many tasks that I need to accomplish while in the Philippines.  You can leave a donation on my website at the PayPal "Donate" box at the bottom of the page: https://www.educatebohol.org/index.html  .

Stop back daily, please, as I hope to be adding new stories and tales each and every day.  And always with pictures and maybe even some video if I can figure out how to upload it here to my blog.

Salamat!