Most of the team did not stay up for the other films, but went to different houses to sleep. Five of us walked into the forest to a nice house on the hillside. There we slept on mats in the sweltering heat. Oh… did I mention the heat? Brutal! And it stayed hot into the night. One rooster had insomnia and attempted to give us insomnia as well. But we eventually fell asleep and woke up around 5AM to prepare for the next leg of our trip. Those of us riding with Darwin crossed the footbridge and crawled our way up the mountainside in his SUV, while the rest were to ride the jeepney out. We arrived in Baay around 7:30AM Baay is more developed than Baguionas. Any 4-wheel drive vehicle can reach Baay (in the dry season). More know Ilokano and Tagalog. A few know English. They have electricity, churches, stores, and a small medical clinic with nurse staff. We became disturbed as time passed and the jeepney did not arrive. Brother Darwin had to leave so we began setting up for the medical mission, with no team and no transportation. Our attempts to call the others failed since cell phones weren’t reaching Baguionas. We were stuck.

Around 9AM, it occurred to me that is was time to be a team leader. There was a large group of people ready to be treated. There were only four of us, but two were doctors and one was a dentist. We decided that if our team did not arrive by 10AM we would do the medical mission ourselves. We would get the nurses at the local clinic to do registration and blood pressure, Dr. Rene would do medical, Dr. Myla would do dentistry, Dr. Evita would run the pharmacy, and I would do crowd control. While we did not wish to skip sharing the gospel, we had a moral obligation to provide the medical care we promised them. Our hosts found someone who could go to Baguionas to fetch some of the team. I paid a lot (by Filipino standards) for him to do it, but to me, $15 for a two-hour drive was a bargain, so I did not haggle.

At 9:45 over half of our team crawled out of a jeepney full of brooms and stumbled into the medical mission site. The local people cut tiger grass and make very pretty brooms, known as “Baguio Brooms”. They are popular and functional, and provide a profitable cottage industry for the people. The jeepney driver we had reserved did not see the team immediately, so he drove off without them. In desperation a part of our team began hiking the long steep road out of Bagyonas. 1.5 hours into their hike, they were able to get a ride with the broom jeepney. The rest of the team who were left behind were picked up by the driver we sent out, so all were in Baay before lunch.

Despite the difficulties (adventures?) of the morning, it was a wonderful day. Baay is on a mountain and the weather was cooler. The people were friendly and took good care of us. At the end of the day, we all got together to praise God for the opportunity we had to help people in need. We gave medical and dental treatment and medicines and vitamins freely to 513 people between the two locations, and 364 people prayed to receive Christ (not counting those who did at the film showing). This trip had been prayed for and planned long before we got there. Jesus’ words in the book of John were so true: “I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.” Many lives changed in those two days, and many hearts have been prepared for the future.

Time to go. There was only one jeepney available to take us back to Naguilian. I remarked casually about the lack of space for everyone and everything. I said I would be happy to ride on top, and would almost pay for the opportunity. What was I thinking? Pastor Samuel replied that I could not do that since riding on top of jeepneys is illegal. This statement was, of course, not serious, and is akin to an American saying, “Why of course we can’t, speeding is illegal!”

We packed everyone and everything aboard. This same jeepney had repairs done that morning since the driver felt it was unsafe for passengers (an amazing admission in the Philippines). I thought the jeepney was full, but I was wrong. Several more jumped on along the way and disappeared on top somewhere.

Since, I told you much of the rest at the beginning of the story, I shan’t bore you with redundancy. I was blessed in being able to learn and be a blessing. Always pray for cities like Baguio, and towns like Naguilian. But don’t forget about the little places where the road or footpath widens, like Baay and Baguionas. The mapmakers may ignore them, but we are called to reach out to them all, with love.

<This all happened in 2005. I would like to think that I know a little more now than then.  Maybe not.>