The Infamous Power Slide

This is my first installment of fun stuff from when I lived in the Philippines. I lived there for two years, so there's lots to tell.

I moved to Davao, which is a major city on one of the southernmost islands, for my second year. My roommate, April, was doing college ministry there, so I got involved in her ministry during the daytime and did my design work at night. The students were amazing, and they always talked about this annual camp that happened each spring. In addition, April had relayed her personal experience with The Power Slide from camp the previous year (now remember that she was the only american at the camp).

There's an entire day at this camp that is filled with games. It's super hot in the Philippines with no air conditioning in most places, so they start the insanity really early in the morning - 6 am early. The last game of the day is The Power Slide. They put a piece of plastic on the side of a hill, and you're expected to run UP this soapy plastic while they continue to douse your feet with even more soapy water. Every person from your team MUST make it up the slide. Poor April never made it up the slide, so there was bit of intimidation and stress involved in my participation.

Here's my account of that fateful day:
It came time for the power slide, and my heart was literally about to beat out of my chest. It was my team's turn, and they each easily scampered up the hill with absolutely no difficulties. I was amazed that it seemed so easy after hearing about April's experience.

My turn came. As I was standing at the bottom of the slide exhausted from the day of games, only two thoughts came to mind. One, I thought, "Katie, you MUST do this!" Two, I though about the movie Gladiator. You know the part, where he's in the middle of the arena after kicking some major butt, and they're all chanting his name. I felt like him...I am Russell Crowe in this experience, just without the butt kicking. EVERYONE was standing around chanting my name...KA-TIE, KA-TIE! No pressure or anything.

Here goes nothing. I run up the slide about halfway, only to fall to my knees and slide back down. Big let down, but this is Christian camp with lots of chances. :) On about my fourth try, I ran halfway up and still fell to my knees, but I managed to cling to that spot for all I was worth. I inched my way slightly up very slowly until I could reach my teammates hand, and he pulled me the rest of the way up. Thank goodness! There was lots of rejoicing that the pathetic white girl could make it up the hill. Wahoo!

Now you realize why that day is so infamous for me. What would a great story like that be if I didn't include pictures of myself? :) I can't find my original negatives at the moment, so I had to scan these out of my scrapbook, and I included a couple extras.

Wales

I'm not sure if I'd ever even heard of Wales before I ended up there in the summer of 2001. If you, like me, don't know where Wales is located...it's on the same island but to the left of England. It's a land of one lane roads, sheep, accents, hospitable people, and so much more...

I was on a backpacking team, and we would spent our summer traveling throughout southern Wales. During our orientation, I rolled my ankle playing soccer, so my hiking days almost ended before they really began. Thankfully, my three teammates helped me and my backpack over to our first hostel. That's right, I committed to staying in hostels for the entire time (if Sarah were reading this, she'd be cringing inside). I ended up enjoying it way more than I initial thought I would. I can't say that communal living has ever been up my alley, but I was so amused by all of the interesting people we met and spent time with. There was even this elderly lady who was more agile at getting into her top bunk than me at just a mere 21.

This was also at the same time that Foot and Mouth Disease was spreading through the area, so some of our planned hiking trails were closed. Bummer! We were basically on our own for about eight weeks to travel around from hostel to hostel, so we changed the plan. We met this guy Russ, and we ended up going with him to a different hostel to do some construction work. Normally, I wouldn't advise going off with strange men, but I was with three other people. Plus, we were working for Jesus. He would protect me, right? Ha! We didn't die, and Russ was actually a cool guy who took us to north Wales. We hiked a mountain there named Snowden, and it almost killed me. I was totally out of shape...ironic, since I was on a hiking team. :)

There's also a great museum in the capitol of Cardiff. They have Monet paintings that I could barely tear myself away from. They're so compelling up close (don't worry, Sarah, I didn't touch it).

I cannot mention it enough; the coast of Wales is gorgeous! I had an amazing time with God sitting out on a cliffs admiring creation in a temperate climate with the wind blowing through your hair and the waves crashing below. Amazing! You should definitely visit!

Prepare for next week...the Philippines! I spent two years there, so I might need more than one week for all my stories.

Istanbul, Turkey and Beyond

It was 1999, when an organization I was involved in decided to take a trip to Istanbul, Turkey for fall break. I was 19 years old and so stoked about my first trip out of the U.S. Shortly before our scheduled departure, an 7.2 magnitude earthquake aftershock struck in Duzce. I don't remember what our original plans were, but they quickly became earthquake relief.

It was November and growing increasingly cold, so we bought blankets to distribute. On our third day, my team went out to the earthquake zone to distribute the blankets.

I think that day and the following days changed me forever. I saw the complete devastation with my own eyes. Buildings flattened, families on the street, the smell of death in the air, and some people still buried underneath all the rubble. It was unimaginable for me, but it was a complete reality for the people of Turkey.

I distinctly remember one place that we stopped for distribution. The people there were living in a self made tent city. Their shelter was comprised of found materials. During the distribution, I spent my time talking to people, playing with children, and throwing a football in a nearby field. I was invited, along with some friends, into one family's tent for tea that afternoon. I was completely blown away by their hospitality in the face of such desperate circumstances. They had nothing, but they were still very quick to offer up what little they had to us.

Later, we returned to our bus. At that moment, everyone was standing around waving and watching us leave. I know we were a spectacle there, but I felt completely helpless as we left. I wanted to do more; I didn't want to leave. I cried for a long time after that; I couldn't help myself. I tried to stop, but I couldn't get over what I had seen and experienced.

On a semi funny note and to make matters worse, our guide told us that the field we played football in was where they were throwing out their waste. That's right, I had played in feces. Not only were we filthy, but then we didn't go back to Istanbul. We stayed in a hotel for the following two nights without a change of clothes because commuting back to the city was just too far. This hotel smelled like death, had no hot water, and no electricity. They also kept serving hard boiled eggs for breakfast; I'm pretty sure I didn't eat anything but oranges I bought on the street for three days. Despite all of that, I still felt like the luckiest person on earth.

One thing I learned and continue to learn is that life is short; it can be gone in an instant. I'm doing my best to make the most of what God has given me...right here, right now!