Today, Jomie and I went on a mission to lay part of the concrete foundation for the small room we began on Sunday. The house was located in the village on Olango Island. To get there, we drove through Mandau City, Lapu Lapu city, then took a ferry to Olango Island. It is an interesting journey, and not all that easy, because there are fees for the ferry, plus fees for the motorbike to get onto the ferry, then fees to have someone load the motorbike onto the ferry, then back off again. Thern there is another fee to allow the motor bike onto Olango Island, then another fee to get the motorbike off the island, and then the ferry fees again for the return trip.
It was another beautiful day, however, and we began our trek just after breakfast. Upon arrival, we found a small corner place to eat, then went on our way.
Jomie is 26 and a really humble young man. His family is very poor, but he works hard in the store that Molong and the other young men are establishing to help provide income to help the poor, and to help provide skills for people. At the store, they create bamboo speakers for cell phones, hammocks, fanny packs, and they fix things. Jomie is great in fixing things. The other night, one of the fans in the outdoor kitchen wasn't working. Jomie took it apart right there, oiled it, cleaned it, and put it back together again. It looked and worked like new. He fixed another fan for a restaurant we ate at on Sunday night. He asked if he could fix their fan, and he took the top part, that rotates back and forth, off the stand, and took it back to his shop. He fixed it, and we returned the fan to the restaurant on the way back to the Olango Island. It was my job to carry the fan while sitting on the back of a motor bike through busy traffic. It was really much easier than it sounds.
We spent severl hours completing the digging of the ditch needed to set "hollow blocks" in place as a frame around the concrete platform. In working the dimensions, we needed to know the diagonal dimensions in order to assure the 9'x9' square was truly square. To do so, I introduced the Pythagorean Theorem. Molong said it was the missing piece of the puzzle they needed to help them determine the diagonal. I showed them how to use the formula. Jomie keeps it in his notebook.
We completed about 4:00, or so. And, after drinking some fresh coconut water, we started back for home on the motor bike. The sun was starting to go down, and the tide was low. We boarded the ferry. Since the tide was so low, they had to take the motor bike down a steep slope onto the ferry (picture below). We had to pay 20 pesos a piece to these guys for their efforts, which is quite worth it.
We exited the ferry and drove back through the busy streets, over the bridges to other islands, and through the neighborhoods. When we went past the airport, a large jet had just taken off and flew right over us. Jomie's expression showed his amazement at the immensity of the mechanical bird above us. It was a reminder to me that my trip is coming to a close. I will be ready to return home. I've enjoyed my stay and the people I have met I will never forget. It will be hard to leave them, but that's life. Fortunately, it is easier to keep in touch, today, more than anytime in history, but there's nothing like being able to simply stop by and see someone.
As we drove, I enjoyed taking in all the sights, as much as I can. There is so much happening all around you as you drive, not only on the road, but along it as well, with so many people everywhere. Poor shacks next to businesses or larger homes. People simply going about their daily life.
When I returned, I got to meet another disciple, named Peter. No, it's not the one you might be thinking of. At least, I don't think so, anyhow. We enjoyed chatting a bit before dinner, then I retired early after a good day's work.
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