By Christian Clark
Before we dive in, here are some terms to know:
Province: a region “subdivision” within a country
Barangay: (abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.) is the native Filipino term for a village, district or ward. In metropolitan areas, the term often refers to an inner city neighborhood, a suburb or a suburban neighborhood. Like a “Brooklyn” or “Manhattan” essentially but smaller.
Jeepney: buses and the most popular means of public transportation in the Philippines; made from U.S. military jeeps left over from World War II; a combination of "jeep" and "jitney,” a "jitney" being a popular term for an American taxicab, and a "jeep" a newly coined term to describe a type of military vehicle
Tagalog: Officially named Filipino, is the national language of the Philippines, and is one of two official languages alongside English.
Pre-arrival to Ilagan City
Our team of seven people left Midlothian around 4:00pm (US Eastern Standard Time) on July 11th and returned on July 22nd. The Philippines has a 12 hour difference in time zones so it was really confusing to know what day I should consider myself in. Our team traveled from Richmond to Atlanta on a short flight before climbing aboard and embarking on the 14hr flight to Seoul, South Korea.
A flight that took 14 hours with limited space was as about as comfortable as you would think. It wasn’t. However, God is good and we made it to Incheon, South Korea just outside Seoul where we could finally relax for a bit and stretch our legs. The airport reminded me a lot like a mall with stores on every side of us.
The next flight from Seoul to Manila was through Korean Air and I was very satisfied with the service. I played a ton of "In-Flight Pac-Man to pass the time. When we finally reached land in Manila and grabbed our bags, there were hundreds of Filipinos waiting for their friends and families outside the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. It was definitely a sight to see the commotion of bustling cars and motor tricycles weaving in and out of the drop-off zone.
There, we met one of our drivers, Alfred, a very soft-spoken 19 year old guy. After loading our bags onto the van, We rolled through the city and paid a visit to the Mall of Asia, the biggest mall on the entire continent. This is where we met up with Nick, a missionary from our hometown here in Virginia who moved to the Philippines when he was just 18 years old. Now, he has a wife and a baby at the ripe age of 22.
We ate at a reliable American chain for lunch (TGI Friday’s) to get us a real meal that wasn’t airplane food (Thank the Lord). Following that, Alfred drove us to the Selah Garden hotel in Metro Manila where we would spend one night before waking up at 4am on a Sunday Philippines time and do the flight routine all over again.
I’ll skip all the details about the airport because it was pretty prototypical of what you would expect. Wait in line. Check baggage. Get past security. Find terminal. Board plane. Blah blah blah. The flight to Cauayan was a short domestic flight and was very efficient, lasting less than an hour. It was pretty interesting how the flight crew would hand us these yellow umbrellas to shade us from the sun. It was a unique sight to see as we walked to the building and picked up our bags.
Apparently, we had some unfortunate miscommunication with someone on the time to be picked up (told you it was confusing) because we to wait probably 90 minutes before we got out of the hot sun outside the airport. To pass the time, Nick used his fluency in Tagalog to crack some jokes with the security officers since we were the only ones left in the parking lot. In addition, Mr. Steve Chumley, our team leader, showed the guard his Virginia State Police badge which they seemed to like.
Our driver, Ernie, showed up a little later. I would definitely say I grew a solid friendship during the week in Ilagan with him. Ernie was a pretty eccentric guy who had a pretty interesting backstory. His English was okay but he still knows much more English than I did Tagalog, which ended up being around 30 words by the end of the week. Ernie drove us throughout the week, helped translate, and took pictures for the team which we appreciated greatly.
We drove to a nearby mall where we ate at Burger King. This was the first instance where several people were looking at us like we were aliens from another planet. I can’t hide around the fact that most Asian countries are homogeneous so when a bunch of Americans walk into their town, they will definitely be shocked since it is in no way a tourist destination. With this said, the notoriety at Burger King was only a prelude to what we would experience for the rest of the week
Ilagan was definitely not an upscale city like Manila was and I quickly noticed that as we drove through the town and took in the first sights of the countryside. About half an hour later, we finally made it to our living quarters for the week at the Juan Stop Hotel. To cap off the night, we had an orientation meeting with Miss Cora, Ramon Boniol (Nick’s father-in-law), and Pastor Rene to get filled in on what to expect for an action-packed week.
Day 1- Isabela National High School
The long awaited day was finally here. It was about a five minute walk or two minute drive on the jeepney so you could say that the school was pretty close by. As our vehicle arrived in front of the school, it was apparent that we would have our hands full with many of the 4,000 students that were enrolled at INHS.
My team and I were blessed to be able to share Romans 6:23, pray for students and give away Gospel tracks to all the students. It is pretty incredible that 30-40 eyes are all on you and eager to hear what you have to say. I’m also quite surprised how any random person can just walk into the school and ask the teacher for five minutes to talk about pretty much whatever you want. In America’s high schools, that’s nearly impossible to do without permission. We did give the school a heads up but still, that's wild to me.
When I walked on the dirt pathways to talk to the other classrooms, there were many people who stopped me and wanted to ask random questions or were just curious of why I was there. I definitely felt like a celebrity for the first time with all the attention I was receiving from both guys and girls. I did take about a dozen pictures and even signed one autograph before I left. Little did I know, Day 1 was relatively tame compared to some of the other days I went through.
Many of these people that we spoke to during the week, we may never know if they are believers, became believers, or simply disregarded the message. We did get to see the fruits of our labor as a young man by the name of Cedrick was baptized. It was part of a seed that was planted when last year’s team visited Ilagan. Our job is to share and after that, we leave it in God’s hands. Luckily, some people like Nick and Pastor Rene will be able to follow up with the students and see if they have any questions.
For lunch, we traveled to Northstar Mall. It was very nice considering the rest of the area. We decided to eat at Mang Inasal, a barbecue fast food chain, that originated in the Philippines. My meal consisted of the Chicken PM2 meal with one rice, Halo-Halo (mix-mix) which is a shaved ice Filipino dessert, and a side of leche flan. It ended up being my favorite restaurant during my visit and I’m saddened to realize that there isn’t one in the United States to my knowledge. I guess I’ll have something to look forward to the next time.
On this day, I realized that our team represented a numerous amount of groups whether we realized it or not. First, we represent the Lord. As messengers of his word, this may possibly be the first time that some of the students have heard of the name Jesus Christ. Most probably have as over 90% of native Filipinos consider themselves a Christian. Around 80% identify as Catholic whereas another 10% consider themselves Protestant. It was comforting to know that most people would be receptive to our message but as Christians, we are not called to comfort but instead, to do God’s will.
Secondly, we represent our country. Tourists typically visit Manila, Cebu, or Davao as their final destination to visit in the Philippines. As Nick mentioned to me, several of these outer provinces such as the one we visited, Isabela, rarely if ever saw a person that wasn’t native to the region. Add to the fact that we were Americans and it brought a whole new level of pressure if you thought that deeply.
Day 2- Back to INHS and Isabela School of Arts and Trade
One thing that was tough for me to do was to maintain the same energy in Day 2. The opening act at the schools was definitely draining with the heat and humidity of the climate but I was really for the challenge. We started off the day with breakfast and a devotion like we always did before heading out to do God’s work.
It was pretty hilarious when I introduced myself in some of the classes. In one class, here’s how it went: “Magandang umaga (good morning), Ako si (I’m Christian Clark). I’m from Virginia in the United States and I’m 19 years old. I also go to the same college where Michael Jordan played basketball at the University of North Carolina. After that, the class typically erupts in applause because of their love for basketball. Michael Jordan is an icon there and since many play basketball and watch the NBA, they are familiar with some of the popular players like Kawhi Leonard, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and of course LeBron James.
In some classes, after I said my age, some of the younger girls would scream and squeal which I found flattering and funny. They were probably “doing the math” in their head and seeing if I would be eligible to date them or something. Nick told me that’s pretty common. A couple of girls told me straight to my face, “you’re so handsome.” I even had someone offer to be my girlfriend in two minutes if I accepted. Several people there were super blunt and not afraid to share their true opinions. I was the only missionary on the trip that wasn’t married and they all joked they’d find me a wife. The funny thing was that I could’ve pursued that if I really wanted to but that’s not want I came to do haha.
One girl wanted to interview me for her publication so as a fellow aspiring journalist, I accepted of course. It was only a thirty second interview consisting of one question: why are you here and what goals are you trying to accomplish? I responded with a few words and then went on my way to speak to the other classrooms.
Before we left, we met with the principal and the staff. Personally, I thought we were getting in trouble but they brought us to give us some tea/coffee and thanked us for taking some time to talk to the students. Nick and the pastors also had a conversation with the administration of Isabela National High School about potentially partnering Nick’s ministry, Better Performance Baseball (BP2), with the high school’s sports program. That would be awesome to see if it materializes!
Day 3- First visit to local village
With an impending typhoon set to hit Ilagan City, the local schools were effectively canceled. As many islands are like, or archipelago in the Philippines case, the weather is unpredictable. Ironically enough, it didn’t even rain that day. So much for “100%.” So because of this, we had a change of plans and visited Brgy. Luluttan and was able to talk to some adults there. The children were very curious when we came through, as was everyone else. We were there for a couple of hours and it was a blessing that many people chose to accept Christ on this day.
Most people in this area were farmers so you would see the typical animals like chicken, pigs, and cows surrounding the area. Nick also explained to me how they have little convenience stores, called “Sorry Sorry” stores, in the villages. There was also people grilling food, hanging their laundry the old fashioned way, and getting water from a well. We also stopped by a rec center which was highlighted by a basketball court. This is where we would eventually come back on Day 5 and conduct our mini-VBS program with a message, skit, dancing, crafts, and a skit for the children.
Day 4- Visit to Alibagu Elementary and High/ "One Way" and skit
Our third day in the schools were not as long as the previous two visits but it was still meaningful. At the high school, I only got to talk to one class but it was still worth it to me. During the elementary school visit, we didn’t do much presenting as we really had to dumb down the message since the younger children under the third grade wouldn’t be able to comprehend much English.
I did sign a lot of autographs on this day however. It was absolutely wild. Ernie joked that I should charge $1 for every picture and autograph and I’d be rich. I probably took about 30 pictures and 100 autographs (including someone’s arm). I’m not sure why they wanted my autograph since I wasn’t famous but my philosophy was that if it made someone’s day, it would be worth it. I now realize how famous people feel and I immediately gained a lot of compassion for what they have to go through on the regular.
After we left Alibagu Elementary, we headed to Greenwich Pizza for the second time since it was Cora’s birthday while we were in Ilagan. The entire group celebrated how only Americans can: with pizza and cake.
In the afternoon, we went to one of the basketball courts in the barangays and conducted our first of two mini-VBS sessions. I brought out the popular crazy dances that the Americans know and love such as the “moonwalk,” “shoot,” and the “floss” during our performance of the somewhat cringy singalong of this "kanta (song)" called “One Way.” We also performed our skit “Heaven or Hell” where after a “motorcycle crash,” I was thrown into hell because I denied the Lord. Hopefully that skit is the closest that I’ll ever get to the gates of hell because I know how bad eternity will truly be without the Lord.
Since the event was pre-planned, the children needed to have a ticket before getting a snack at the end. Some people got pretty hostile about the snacks, grabbing at me while I was distributing some of the food and it kinda caught me off guard considering how nice the people were. I did notice that several of the people in the villages looked somewhat malnourished and I guess when free food is at stake, moments like that could take place.
I discovered that some families make just $6 a day. I made $8 in less than an hour at Marco’s Pizza. Obviously, Americans need more as the cost of living is much greater. Regardless, $6 a day would land you in poverty just about anywhere and it’s a shame I had to witness some of that lifestyle. It was also crucial for me to see so I understand just how blessed I am to live in the United States.
Day 5- Lights Camera Action
Day 5 was the last day of school visits and we traveled to another elementary school outside on the outskirts of one of the barangays. The children were a little distracted since they were brought outside before the message was presented. I had to tell them to “makinig,” which means “to listen” in English. I picked up a few words in Tagalog that Nick taught me and I figured a couple. Tagalog is about 7% English and 14% Spanish so there is a couple of recognizable phrases. All in all, it’s nothing like English so I’ll have to put in a lot of work if I ever want to be fluent.
We returned to the mall for lunch at McDonald’s and I thought it was cool that some of the students from the schools recognized us as we traveled through the mall. I heard a “Hey Christian!” and I was pretty surprised. I guess that our mission team made at least a little impact on them. I did wave back though but I really didn’t recognize many of the students since there were hundreds of them that I talked to.
After we ate, we had a few hours before we headed back to the basketball court for our second installment of our mini-VBS camp. We made sure we had enough snacks this time to accommodate for the large number of people we had anticipated based off of the free tickets. On Day 4, there were about 100 children. On this day, there was between 200-250 children and adults if I had to guess.
I had to tone down my world-class dance moves a bit on this day because I didn’t want to aggravate my (still recovering) partially torn hamstring too much. I still did my best to put a smile on the children’s faces. Working with children is one of my greatest joys and even though it was emotionally draining at times, it was ultimately worth it.
Day 6- Wrap-up
I won’t say too much about this day since it was designed to rest and recover a bit. Our team was slated to travel back to Brgy. Luluttan and have a worship service with some of the people we met. Half of the group went in the morning and I was part of the group that went in the afternoon.
After lunch at Juan Stop, we briefly looked for some souvenirs and visited the plaza in the center of the town before heading back to the hotel. Later, in the villages, Nick was able to preach a message in Tagalog to one of the families we had made a connection with earlier in the week.
For dinner, we went back to Greenwich Pizza for the third time. I wasn’t too pleased so Cora walked me over to have my first Jollibee experience. The Aloha Burger was very delicious with an interesting combo of bacon, pineapple, and cheese to go alongside the beef patty. Must buy if you happen to visit the Jollibee in your lifetime.
Day 7- Back to Manila/Home
After an exhausting week, it was time to head back home to the United States. Our alarms went buzzing around 4 in the morning. You could actually hear the rooster crow at this hour. We dragged our bags to the elevator, through the lobby, and on the back of Ernie’s jeepney. A pitstop at the Jollibee for breakfast was a necessity before arriving at the airport in Cauayan. We said our final goodbyes to Ernie before heading on the Cebu Pacific plane to Manila.
Since Sunday was our last full day in the Philippines, we tried to make the most of it.
We stopped by the Manila American Cemetery for about 45 minutes and learned about some of the battles that took place in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater during World War II.
We would spend the rest of the day shopping at the Mall of Asia to get souvenirs for ourselves as well as friends and family. I invested in a Tagalog-English dictionary that I bought at the National Book Store because “knowledge is power” and also when I return, I hopefully will have a better grasp on the language to be able to share more efficiently with the Filipinos.
To conclude this amazing trip, we took the escalator and looked out on the beautiful Manila Bay and the carnival-type atmosphere before heading back to the airport one last time to say our final goodbyes to Alfred, Cora, and Nick. Then, our long trek from Manila to Seoul to New York and finally back to Richmond began as we arrived back home almost two full days later.
It’s always a great feeling when you step into your home country and finally get off the airplane after a day of being in the air. I felt that way last year during my trip to Santiago, Chile. This time, I really felt like there was “unfinished business” here. I really wanted to spend more time in the Philippines. I will for sure look into coming back, maybe for a longer period of time.
Final Thoughts
It was truly incredible to see how the native Filipinos really look up to Americans and it was very humbling to experience everyone in the town treat us like celebrities. For some in Ilagan, they may have never seen someone like us in the flesh. Pretty much every child wanted a picture or an autograph, kids and adults were looking through restaurant windows, women inquired my number, and some even believed I was Michael Jordan, the best basketball player of all time. It sounds ridiculous but it’s true.
There’s a reason for all of the “celebrity status” treatment... They want a taste of what it is like to live the American lifestyle. They want a chance at a better life. Many people in this country live in poverty and have little money. I witnessed a firsthand account of it. Is the USA perfect? No. But no country can say that. In my eyes, it’s by far the best country on the planet and those that are blessed to live here should appreciate that.
Matthew 9:37-38 says that “the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” The new generation of Americans at least (I can’t speak for the rest of the world) is becoming more tolerant of sin and becoming more secular in my opinion. I respect others opinions and I’m not going to force anyone to take on my beliefs. However, as a follower and disciple of Jesus Christ, my job is to at least share with those who do not know him. Ultimately, I am only the messenger to plant a seed and it is God’s job to work in unsaved hearts and convict them. As Nick mentioned to me, we need more missionaries in the field because the field is “ripe” to hear about the Lord.
I saw in the Philippines that there are so many opportunities to share and we need people to step up in faith and be able to sow the seeds of the Gospel either domestically or internationally because as Christians, we know that eternities are at stake. I truly believe that following the Lord instead of submitting to the ways of the world is the best decision that we could ever make. At some point, material things will undoubtedly fail you but having a relationship with Jesus Christ will make up for that as we will be rewarded in due time.
From learning a new language from scratch (Tagalog), meeting new people, trying Filipino cuisine, and spreading the name of the Lord, I’ll always remember this week in Ilagan City. I definitely plan on being back for sure as it was a truly eye opening experience. I’m excited to see how God opens up new doors in my life in the years to come!
I'll be back...
P.S. Thank you again to everyone helped support and pray for this trip! I am eternally grateful!
Food Rankings
#1. Mang Inasal (3x)
By far, my favorite Philippine fast food restaurant. If there was one in the US, I’d be broke because the food is so delicious and I’d be coming back for more. The chicken was flavorful and moist. Meanwhile, the desserts were beautifully made and tasted great.
Food I ordered:
PM2- Pecho with Rice
PM1- Paa with Rice
Pinoy Halo-Halo
Leche Flan
Crema de Leche Halo-Halo
#2. Tita Ludy’s Garden Cafe (3x)
Tita Ludy’s wasn’t a chain restaurant like the majority of the restaurants we ate at during the week. I thought that the menu was very diverse and it had a great mix of Philippine cuisine and American food to please everyone in the room. The staff was very nice and accommodating. I would definitely come back again if I come back to Ilagan. We went there three times since the food was extremely cheap so I tried to order as many items as possible.
Food I ordered:
Lumpia Sariwa
Pancit Canton (Chow mein)
Beef Mami
Chicken Mami
Pizza Dilla
Ham and Cheese Omelette
Cookies and Cream Shake
Banana Shake
#3. Italianni's (1x)
A very upscale Italian restaurant that reminded me of this place called Biaggi's when I lived in Bloomington, Illinois about a decade ago. It was high quality food and I ended up being very satisfied with my meal.
Food I ordered:
Fettuccine Alfredo
Ripe mango shake
#4. TGI Friday’s (2x)
Not much of a difference from what you would expect from the American chain. Quality burger, quality mango shakes.
Food I ordered:
Friday’s Signature Burger w/ fries
Ripe Mango Shake
Green Mango Shake
#5. Jollibee (2x)
They are the mecha company in the Philippines. In fact, they own Mang Inasal, Greenwich, and the Chow King (not mentioned). That’s crazy to me. The Aloha burger was very tasty. I’ve never had pineapple on a burger but the flavor definitely surprised me. However, the chicken leg wasn’t as great as KFC is. The breakfast was decent but not something that I would go out of my way to get. Still pretty solid all in all.
Food I ordered:
Aloha Burger
Chicken Leg w/ gravy
Bacon and Egg Breakfast Sandwich
#6. McDonald’s (2x)
It’s what you would expect with a few new twists. A Big Mac is a Big Mac. A McFlurry is a McFlurry. As I call it, ole’ reliable.
Food I ordered:
Milk Tea Float
Cheesy Burger McDoo w/ fries
Big Mac w/ fries
Oreo McFlurry
#7. Juan Stop (1x)
A restaurant, hotel, and convenience store all in one. What more could you ask for? We ate breakfast here every morning and it was typical for a hotel breakfast. However, the Sisig was my personal favorite during the one day we ate lunch at Juan Stop. Sisig is a mix of minced pork and grilled onions. Very tasty!
Food I ordered:
Sisig
Scrambled Eggs
Tocino
Ham
#8. Burger King (1x)
Of course they have rice. Like TGI Fridays and McDonalds. Pretty much the same thing.
Food I ordered:
Bacon Pepperoni Burger w/ Fries
#9. Greenwich Pizza (3x)
The rest of the team was impressed with Greenwich Pizza but I definitely wasn’t. The cheese was falling off the pizza. The pizza was only enjoyable when you are super hungry and honestly, because I didn’t have much of a choice. The fact that we went there three times didn’t make things much better. When I say I don’t like a pizza, you know it’s bad since pizza is my favorite food. I will say that I really enjoyed the cinnamon dippers and potato waves as a snack. That was the lone highlight for me.
Food I ordered:
Pepperoni Pizza
All-Meat Pizza
Potato Waves
Cinnamon Dippers w/ Chocolate Dipping Sauce
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