Visiting Sta Barbara Ecclesia

Thursday, 11th August 2011

This morning, as most mornings, began with breakfast, cooked by Sis Tina, followed by washing the clothes.

Silas helping with washing the clothes, using the water pump

We travelled to Sta Barbara today to visit the brothers and sisters, and hold a Bible study. This involved taking a bus from out the front of the hall to Dagupan.

Waiting for the bus to take us to Dagupan

Jollibee - where we stopped for lunch
Every town has a Jollibee!

Eden enjoying the bus ride home, sitting on Tita Tina's lap

Taken on the bus, a roadside seller near the town of Lingayen

Passing view of farmland from the bus

Get your radiator repaired here!

We stopped for lunch at Jolibee's again. This is proving to be a quick and relatively cheap way to eat ($12AUD for four adults and three children). From Dagupan we took a Jeepney ride to Sta Barbara town, and from there we all squeezed onto a trike to take the ride out to the ecclesial hall. This trike looked to be relatively new and the man rode it like Jehu, we didn't have time to avoid the pot holes – so we just went over them all.

The ecclesial hall is set amongst vast rice fields, with some large mango trees for shade around the roadside and hall. It is a very picturesque setting. We were greeted by Bro Jonny DeVera, and
Bro Fernando Basa. All of the Christadelphian's in the area came along to the hall to share a Bible study and some merianda (morning/afternoon tea). We opened the study with hymn 290 (in the new/green hymn book), to the second tune. How exciting to find a small collection of Bre & Sis who can sing a rousing hymn (Matt's favourite) in a language unfamiliar to them without any accompaniment.

I gave a study on the daily reading of Mark 6, Bro Jonny translated into Pangasinan. It was a pleasure to work with Jonny, his Bible knowledge is great as well as his grasp of English. As I told the story of the disciples alone on the lake, Jonny was clearly getting enthusiastic.

We were all offered icy cold Coke© and little packets of snacks. The children encountered a small problem – amongst all these sweet little biscuits were packets of savoury tuna biscuits! Just the thing to bite into with a nice Coke!

Sta Barbara ecclesia as taken by Silas
Bro Jonny is standing behind his wife, Sis Joselyn,
who has her arms around their two children

Alongside the hall there is a new house being built for the eldest Basa son, we watched the builders putting on the roof iron.

I would have taken more photos at Sta Barbara, except that the battery on the camera was flat.
It was good to catch up with Bro Jonny after about ten years, he looks just the same as the last time that I saw him, and it was wonderful to meet his wife, Sis Joselyn and two children, Janna, 8 and Josiah 4.

We all boarded another tricycle back to the town, this trike was a little older, and a little smaller than the previous one. Silas was seated in front of the driver and I was seated side saddle at the back. Sarah, mum, Christina, Eden and Noah were inside the sidecar.

Eventually we arrived back at the hall, all tired and hungry. Sis Jinky was there cooking the dinner.

Eden and Noah playing "meetings" - very cute!

We did the Bible readings together, and then off to bed for the night. A small thunderstorm helped send us off to sleep.