Before the Journey

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Who, What, When, Where, Why

Hello! My name is Cameron. My parents have been in a small group for church for several years now. There is one couple in their group, Richard and Annie Holland, that have gone to the Philippines several times, as Annie is originally from there. One day I was washing dishes and my mother and I were talking. I said "Do you think maybe they might let me go with them sometime?". She asked them, and they agreed immediately.
When we go, we plan on visiting Annie's family as well as doing some outreach work in rural churches. Richard has preached at several churches in the Philippines, and Annie translates.
Right now, we're unsure of when we're going, but it doesn't matter to me right now because I'm having so much fun learning all about it!

'Luto' Means 'to Cook'

Since I was invited to go with the Holland's, I've been learning so much about the culture. Annie has been teaching me traditional Filipino cooking at her house every Saturday, and I've been watching videos and surfing the web while waiting for my Tagalog book to come in the mail.
With all the delicious variety of Filipino dishes, it isn't surprising that my first Tagalog word was 'luto', meaning 'to cook'.
Each week Richard picks me up at around 2:30pm, and we head over to there ranch style home on Shady Lane. I walk into the kitchen and am greeted with a welcoming 'magandang hapon!' or 'good afternoon'. I return the greeting by saying 'magandang hapon sayo din'. Soon, we're chopping away at vegetables and the house is infused with the characteristic scent of Kikkoman soy sauce and coconut milk. Each time I go over I'm introduced to some strange food that I've never even heard of. From jack fruit to taro, Annie has to make a pilgrimage to Asia Market in Cleveland just to get the basic supplies.
So far, my repotoire consists of Beef Caldareta, Pancit Bihon/Canton, Ginatan, and a Sticky Rice dessert. The pancit is my favorite!

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