Where In The World Is Datag? (Part 2)

I've looked on the best maps I can find -- but I still can not find Datag.  When I do a Google search I come up with a place on Bohol called Datag, but it is not the same location -- it is too far east from where we were.  We had traveled from Carmen into Sierra Bullones, which is to the west, and then up into the mountains from there.  I will try to get some better directions from Pastor David and see if I can actually pinpoint the location.

Novie at the entrance to  Datag Christian Church

So I left off telling about my arrival in Datag (DAH-tag) and how there were several children waiting to meet me.  Actually, it turned out that there was a total of 81 children gathered to meet Pastor David and myself.  There were probably 20 parents there as well. I was impressed.  Not because so many had gathered, but because this little church was holding itself together without the benefit of any "assigned" pastor.  The elders were leading worship services on Sundays as well as Bible studies during the week.  I was told that the list of 81 children was not complete . . . there were others who were unable to meet with us that day.  This was a very large church considering that the town was small and the church building even smaller. We have Sunday school rooms in American that are bigger than this church building.

Some of the children awaiting our arrival.

Novie and Sanny led the children in some songs, with David playing the guitar.  It was a mix of English and Bisaya -- I am picking up on the dialects a little . . . I heard a lot of Boholano "country-folk" pronunciations.  Then I was given a chance to talk for a while with David doing a running translation for me.  I'm not sure what they expected, but I did my best to tell some encouraging stories.  Afterward was a meal that the women of the church had prepared.  I was a little surprised at that.  These are extremely poor people.  Their primary means of subsistence are the vegetables they grow in little garden patches.  Even the church had beds of green onions growing.  They either use the vegetables for their own meals or they take them to into Sierra Bullones to sell.  One man told of his trip down the mountain -- about three hours walking from his place in Datag -- to sell some beans.  He was able to sell them for 150 pesos . . . which is about $3.75.  He bought some rice and a few other items they needed and then returned home . . . about four hours walking, as it is all up hill.  This was his income for his family for the week.  While most of the meal consisted of vegetables, there was some meat also -- pork and chicken -- which surprised me a little as well, as meat is very expensive for them.  I tried to slip some money to Novie for her to give to the woman in charge of meal preparation . . . the woman declined gracefully.  I left the money under my plate.

The children are very eager to sing and worship.

After our meal I sat down among the children and tried to engage in some conversation.  As is typical with Filipino children, they are shy and very reluctant to try their English around a real "kano".  But there are always a few bolder ones who take up the role of "go-between".  I've found that it is easier to get them to help me learn some of their dialect than it is for me to try teaching them English.  They all laugh at the funny sounding American and enjoy correcting his poor pronunciation.  We compared some similarities between Spanish and Bisaya - numbers, sapatos (shoes), la mesa (table) and so on.  It was a fun time and a good ice breaker.  I am sure I will be greeted warmly the next time I visit.

Soon it was time to go.  Junel had gotten the other motorcycle repaired and had joined us just in time for the meal.  David promised to take me on an alternative route -- it would take longer but would not require any walking.  That sounded good to me.  The roads were still unimproved, and there were many muddy places where we "slogged" through but nothing that required any walking.  After about an hour we intersected with a paved road.  Ah, civilization!  The remainder of the trip was uneventful and we arrived safely in Carmen several hours after beginning our ride home.  It was still better than walking.

Datag is one of those places that I will always remember.  I'm not sure how or when or why, but I know that I will return there again.