66?   How did that happen?   

This post is rated PG.  l,v

HERE is my birthday present!  We finally were able to get the installers here for the a/c we were to told to put in.  Really nice to have it out of the dining room!  The part that goes outside is about as big as our car.  There is a small unit upstairs in the bedroom, and this is the cool season, so we have been OK with fans.  The ceiling fan you can just see here has run for 2 months straight, though, and I am sure it is tired.   We actually felt a little guilty, as we know how the other 95 % live!

WE did manage to take Bierocks (Cabbage Burgers)  to the FHE on Mon night, but not without a battle.  The oven and I don't understand each other, and it kept turning off.  We kept relighting it, until we realized that the temp in there was about 1000 degrees, which is why it turns off, but it is supposed to just cool down, not  GO OUT.  So, the first pan was overdone, and we had them for lunch.  The second pan went to Sis Jensen's for baking.  OH, the joy of having a sister in the neighborhood!

AT the suggestion of a friend, here is "A day in the Life", although every day is so unique that it won't tell you much.  However, here is my birthday:

About 5:30 I woke up and read my scriptures and said my prayers.   Elder usually sleeps a little longer than I do.  So, I went down and started a load of wash.  When he got up, we went for a walk.  That morning, we were able to talk to two different neighbors who were out.  One of them, Brother Rodolfo, was about 7 years old during the war, when my dad was here. His son was with him that day.  He told us some stories, and mentioned that he reads all the time.  I asked him if we could give him a book, and he was just so pleased.  So, we ran home for a B of M, and put his name in it, and ours.  He said he used to attend our church, and has actually read some of it before.  He wanted to know where the church is, pretty close to us, actually, but we don't attend there.  So we asked if we can introduce him to some missionaries that do.  He was pleased, and wants to introduce us to his daughter.  So, we have a referral for the sisters in this area, and an opportunity to get to know him better.

The other man, Tony, was very nice, too.  He told us "you are welcome here at my home anytime."  He admires that we are missionaries, although maybe less comfortable with which church we represent.  However, we will look for him, too, and try to build better relations.

We came home, hung up wash, had oatmeal and fruit for breakfast, and our Probiotic drink.   We have that or yogurt every day to help fight off the little beasties that upset stomachs.  So far, so good!  
I packed us a small lunch, and we put meat and vegetables in the crock pot so that our dinner would be ready when we got home.  
WE showered, left and took supplies to the Sisters in Dalaya,  a few kilometers from us, and then to the ones in Morong.  Part of our new housing responsibilities. 

Finally, we drove out to Sampaloc.  

First, we picked up the Elders, and then met AJ Aguilar, 15 and baptized in April, and Sister Rowena, who will be baptized next week.  We all went out to the relocation site again, to meet Victoria and Christian, and some of their friends, for another lesson. Remember them?  This is Victoria, with Christine, 3, and  Maria Chrisanta, 7 mos.   It had been raining earlier, and was very muddy.  

Of course, I was very muddy, too, and Elder had mud to his knees. The ladies with us, know how to keep their feet clean, or clean up as they go.  
The lesson went well, with two more investigators there.  The Elders have been there at least 3 times, now.  On the way back, as we slipped and slid our way down the hill and through the orchard, past the caribou, I saw these young ladies on their way home from school, cleaning up.   

THEN, I celebrated my birthday by stepping right into the middle of a huge, gooey, warm COW PIE!  I said, "OH.  Crap."  I was right.   The missionaries, AJ, and Rowena were so sympathetic, and trying not to laugh, but how do you do THAT???

So, I found a nice, warm, muddy puddle, and walked into it.  Thank Heaven for Crocks!  They are the tender mercy for Philippines Missionaries.   When we got to the car, I put my muddy, stinky, shoes and socks in a plastic bag, washed my feet with clean water, dried them, and put on fresh sandals. I had bottled  water, sweat rags, and antibacterial wipes. Yes, I am spoiled.  Don't care.  AJ and Rowena were still laughing, but wiped down my legs for me and helped me clean up.  

Just FYI, ELDER slipped through one of these nice surprises in his crocks, too. WE spent a lot of time the next morning washing shoes and all our clothes.  

FROM there, we went out to the Aguilar home.  Elder Iosefa says, "Do you know what happened in the branch Sunday?".  Well, no, as we were in Tanay.  As it turned out Sampaloc had its own little typhoon, (Bagyo) last week.  There was a lot of damage.  Remember, new branch.  Very new members.  One of the counselors to the District President spoke to the people and was misunderstood.  Women left in tears, investigators cancelled their lessons and baptism dates, even new members told the missionaries they can't come out anymore.  Really pretty bad.  So, we spent the rest of the afternoon with Elder Iosefa and Elder Magno, trying to look sympathetic while they spoke in Tagalog to angry people.  Even Judith, Eva Aguilar's mother.  

I finally just put my arms around her, and bore my testimony.  I explained that if the Lord wanted me to only be a missionary to rich people, he could have kept me in the states, there are a lot more there.  But he sent us here because these people have pure hearts, and can hear the Spirit when He speaks to them. When they accept the gospel, and will do what they are asked, He will bless them with the means to do it.  
I said, "I didn't leave my own children and grandchildren to come here because I just wanted to.  (Her family was all around).  I did it because the Gospel is true, and has blessed my life, and I have been asked to share those blessings with you and your family."   She just cried and then said she will come back and give it another try.  Then down the hill, to another one just as hurt, with three boys ready to be baptized.  Rough afternoon.

FINALLY, we drove 1 1/2 hours home, and washed from top to bottom in hot, hot water and lots of soap!  Then we had dinner, really welcome.  Then, I get a call from Sister Jensen, who is tied up in Quezon and has a tiny hungry kitten at her house.  So, back in the car to take care of that.  (Now, we are not supposed to have pets.  But remember her, the one woman rescue mission?  Well, Elder J brought home a kitten last week, grabbed from the middle of the road,  wobbly and filthy,  not even weaned yet.  She has been caring for it until it is big enough to survive on it's own.  Weighs about 6 ounces, I think.) Walking past the AC in their yard in the dark, Elder tore another pair of pants. OH WELL!  Oh, I also bought two Dunkin Donuts in Tanay for my "birthday cake".  Happy Birthday to Me!  Then, we went to bed about 8:30.

That was the night they began bringing all the missionaries, 204 of them, into Quezon City to the PAO from the Tacloban area.  About 70 arrived that night, and they had a hard time. There is a lot of information at lds.org newsroom if you are not aware of what happened over here.    They are all here, and doing fine, and will be going to new assignments tomorrow, we think.

SOME of the senior missionaries we are coming to know are called to Public Affairs, and they have offices over at the PAO.  We didn't know that mission existed, until we went to the MTC, and met the couple called to go to Taiwan.  We said, "pheww, glad that isn't us!"  YOU all probably know how bad that choice would have been.  But, just in case you don't, here is a prime example:
                       I sincerely hope and pray that Wed this week was the worst day of my mission.  We went to Malaya to work with Elder Blessant and Elder Cendana, new to our area since the transfer.  Their plan was to call on less active families, and we had Sister Rose with us.  We drove nearly into the lake, which was so high from the typhoon that the road just ended, and we could not get to the family we were seeking.  Turns out, they went to Leyte anyway, to check on their family in the typhoon area.  However, at the edge of the lake was another family.  Also, members, and not coming. 

 This is Joann, isn't she lovely?  13 years old, baptized in 2010.  Doesn't speak much English, but I can say "Ano ang pangalan mo?"  And she could tell me, and spell it for me.  I was really excited to meet another Joann over here! She was playing with a baby duckling, cuddling it and talking to it.

She ran to get dad from the fields, and we waited for him.  


This is their home.  As I said, it is directly on the lagoon, with just the road between, only now the road is flooded from their place onward.  

While they spoke to her "pa", I tried to talk to her.  I asked her if I could take her picture, and she was OK with that.  I didn't realize that she had put the duck down on the road by us, and I turned around to go get a camera and 

stepped right on the tiny thing.

Truly, I wanted to die.  It was hurt, and she picked it up and tried to help it.  But it appeared to have a broken neck;  Could not hold up it's head.  Remember, no English, so Elder Cendana had to translate for me.  Besides, she was not talking to me much, and who can blame her?  She said to her dad, "duck is dead".  But it wasn't, quite.  I was trying to apologize, and she told Elder Cendana, "its ok.  only 15 pesos" ;  she bought it last week at the festival.  Then she said, "start boiling".  We think that was a reference to cooking it ???  

Elder Cendana took the poor little thing, see it here, and began blowing at its beak and rubbing the little chest.  He grinned at me and said, CPR!   Then he tried to help it straighten its head.  Not happening.  He said "it needs a cast".  

I said, maybe a splint?  So he broke a twig into two little pieces, and held it up to the neck.  I went to the car and got some gauze and a small bandaid.  We wrapped the "splints" against the neck and held it together with the bandage.

Here you can see the baby duck. bandaged and holding it's head up.  She kept speaking to it softly, and it would chirp back at her. 

Now, SEE why we are not in Public Affairs?  Can you imagine the damage I could do?  I am quite sure, even serving where I am, killing a little girl's pet duck is not good publicity for the church.

We told her we were coming back on Friday, and would come by to see how the duck was doing.  (I also gave her pesos to buy another duck, as I was sure this one was not going to survive).   I left bandage materials, too.  Just in case.  Sister Rose felt so sorry for me, she had her arm around me the entire rest of the afternoon.  

Friday, we went back, and it was really hard.  But, when we got there, Elder Cendana went to see, and  said to me "He lives'".  (the duckling is actually a girl, but the Filipinos have almost as much trouble with our pronouns as we do with theirs!)   Sure enough, I was invited in to see Joann and her duckling.  almost well.  One little eye is damaged, but who knows what a duck can see?  

Happy Ending to this Story!  

And then, there were trikes.  The elders we work with in Tanay, live down in the center of town, where the streets are narrow and dangerous to drive in.  One of them was ill, and we made a compassionate visit with some things they needed.  So, we took a trike, and it was FUN.  Of course, we got lost, even though Elder has been there twice, and we had written directions.  If we do nothing else for the Filipino people while we are here, we are a huge source of entertainment to them.  Getting on the trike, Elder S.  caught his pant leg on something sharp.  As Amelia Peabody would say, "Another Pants ruined!"  

Unfortunately, our learning method of choice has always been "trial and error."   Sadly, that often results in pain for us, and sometimes for other people.  But we learn;  we do learn.  In that vein, I made a mistake.  I told you the young missionaries can't ride trikes.  That is what I was told, but it is not true.  They can, and do.  But it is expensive for them, so they don't often.  I think they NEED trikes, so that they can go where they need to, and pick up a few pesos along the way.  But, Pres. Revillo doesn't always like my ideas!  

THIS is Mary Jane, the branch missionary we worked with.  She had a happy day on Sat.  as her first baptism is her mother!  

We had a baptism in MALAYA ,  three people baptized.  The little girl in front is Sister Francisco, 8 years old.  Sister Bumaga, Mary Jane's  mother, is next to me.  Beside her is Sister Gagatam, a young mother from a member family, who were what they call "Philippine Pioneers", here, That means, some of the first members, when the church was organized here in 1961.    The senior missionaries always say, "remember, it is 1880".  Or, in other words, the church is only about 50 years old, here. so we need to compare it not to what we know, but to what it was like in the US in 1880.  

I have to tell you, MANY things here are reminiscent of that time!   We went out to teach Sister Gagatam, and this is what we found.  Ever tried to teach a lesson to a turkey?  (Well, we all have, I guess.   Not usually one with feathers!)   

We were sitting on a bench, under a canopy, in her kitchen!   This is not all of the goats.  Some were over on the fire pit where her dinner was cooking.  

But, there is just so much beauty amid the squalor.  Everywhere, flowers and trees and vistas and beautiful people and handcrafted furniture and garden nurseries.   The pictures don't do it justice-  they make still life photographs out of a world that is NEVER still. 

This week, I am especially grateful for the resources that are available to us through the church to make our work easier and to help the people here.  As it turns out, we don't speak Tagalog, but we print it beautifully!   Elder has discovered how to print talks, lessons, etc.  in the language they need, to be able to understand and read what we are talking about.  We have a computer and a printer, which they almost never have.   It costs us so little to make their lives a little easier.  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ISAAC RICHARD !!

WE  have received a lot of positive comments from those of you who are taking the time to read our blog, and we are really glad that you enjoy it.  We love sharing the things we are doing with the people we love most.  Can we ask one favor, please?  The pictures and stories we share are special to us, and sometimes sacred to the people who so generously allow us to be a part of them.  If you like them, or can teach something from them, that is wonderful.  Please, however, don't repost anything we put on our blog to another website or network.  We don't use facebook or twitter for a number of reasons.  Thanks!

What did YOU see on your way to church today?  We are thinking, Not a jeepney, trying out for a part in UP?  *That is a huge bag of balloons, on it's way somewhere.  Sorry, Niece, about the photography.  It is hard when both you and the target are moving!*

THIS week began with a challenge.  Poor Elder S. woke up on Sunday 1 year older, and feeling like 90!  His back went out, and he was in a lot of pain.  We had commitments  though, so he took pain meds and we drove out to Sampaloc so that he could teach a class and we could begin teaching the Aguilar families the lessons they need to prepare for the temple.  He had a hard time, and after church, the missionaries gave him a blessing so that we could go up to the Aguilar home.  It has been a long week for him, but he is healing, and slowly getting back to normal.  

Monday we had to go to the city to meet with Pres Revillo, but we sent a text to Doc Jackson, and asked for a recommendation for pain pills and muscle relaxers.  Easy to get here, just go into a pharmacy and ask for what you want. 

 Then, in the evening a really great thing.  The Sister Missionaries in Morong, had planned a FHE for the branch, to teach them and help them understand the idea.  So, we and 6 other couples of seniors went.  We invited Pres and Sis, but he had 15 exit interviews to do, poor man.  It was well attended.  They prepared all the materials so that every family could make a FHE chart to take home, with all the assignments, etc., decorated to their own taste.  Then, they followed the chart and began:
 Just like a FHE, a song and prayer,  then did a role play to show how to do the lesson.  They had a video on the birth of Christ, then a game:

The YM and SA organized all the little boys into two caterpillars, and they raced around the chairs, inching along with the legs and feet of the one behind in the lap of the one in front.  It was hilarious!





The Relief Society provided a branch dinner, rice (of course) and Ulam, which is whatever you serve with the rice.  This night, it was a delicious looking chicken dish, but not adobo.  Also, a big pan of macaroni salad.  And a pan of brownies they cut into tiny pieces and served about 100 from!

Then, with the help of the YW, all the families made their charts.
A good time was had by all.  Good job, Sisters
Maagad, Kahui, Tingey, and Dudas.









These are all the YM, showing off for me.  The sign they make is to frame their face, and it means, GUAPO, or  "I am so handsome I should be in pictures".  They did a great job with the game, though, so I let them be a little proud.

Another transfer week, and we lost two elders in Tanay, plus had three replaced in Malaya, and went back to four in Sampaloc.  I felt like I had been robbed!  We work with these people and learn to love them very much in a short time.  Then, they are gone!  OUCH!   That hurts!  

Thurs began with the first of many emails from our family and friends about the Typhoon that was here in the Philippines.  We really were touched by how many of you were watching the weather and concerned for us.  We had a lot of rain Friday and Sat, and quite a lot of wind, but it was not bad here at all.  I know there are places south of us that are in serious need, and we may be asked to help with relief efforts as soon as things can be assessed. 


 But we were in Tanay, and we took the Elders to meet the Sisters, who needed to provide a Priesthood Blessing to Sister Josephina Perez.  She is a convert, all alone except for a sister who provides a small income for them, about $100/mo. She had prayed that she had no one to turn to.  Then, the Sisters found her, and 7 of us trooped into her tiny house. Here she is with Sister Tingey, Sister Dudas, Elder DelaSerna, Elder Aydelotte (on his knees in the back, he's about 7 feet tall) and Brother Espiritu, the branch mission leader, in the front.  We were so happy to find her, and will be working with her for the next few weeks.  She wants to go to the temple, has prepared, and is ready.  Just has not been able to make it happen.  So, I may ride a jeep after all, to get her in there!  She is 72, and has done the work for her parents.  Lots of blessings ready for her to come and take them.  

One of the joys for me out here, has been the opportunity to help in the primaries in the branches.  Now, these primaries have some minor and major challenges to deal with, but they are so much fun!   I don't want to mention names, but I am pretty sure I have found the naughtiest primary in the church!  Also, the most miraculous.  They are not the same.  (Surprised?)  This is the Malaya Branch Primary.  Sister Santos has been Primary President there for five years!   That is heroism, in my mind.  She is on the right in the sweater.  Next to her is the only teacher, Sister Rose.  14 Children, from 3 to 12. Sis Santos had a lot of questions and problems.   Her 10 year old daughter Mai Mai tries to play the keyboard, which we have at our house now, since the Baileys left and they have to come on a trike.  

This is the Tanay Primary, the entire crew!  7 children and 4 leaders.  Sister  Sacramento, with the baby on her lap, is the President, and she has two counselors, and one teacher.  After sharing time, they divide up and two go to Valiant class and the other two stay to do CTR.  Again, no nursery, so the little one is there.  She is Truly Scrumptious, and that is her name, not my judgement!  No music at all here, they sing Acapella.  But they sing--see the songs on the flip charts behind them? 



I taught them for a few minutes from the sharing time lesson, and then put them to work drawing their "temporal blessings".

Here is the Sampaloc Primary.  Pres Dolleti has asked me to help in Primary whenever I am in the Branch.  OK by me!  The Primary President is Sister Aguilar, in front on the right, baptized in April and planning to attend the temple in May, 2014.  They live way out of town, and you have seen pictures of their home from our teaching there.  Her counselor is in the back with her baby on her shoulder. There is no nursery here, so her baby, and the two little Aguilars, run about while they try to hold Primary.  Last week, they were practicing for the Sacrament Meeting Program, held today, but I was in Tanay.  I felt bad to miss it.  On Sunday, we really wish there were three of us, as we have to choose where to be.  

 They have more materials, and a room set aside for them that they can hang things on the wall.  Sister Aguilar had all the parts written out on colored sheets of paper, and she handed them out to practice, and then collected them again.  She taught a short lesson from the Friend, and then they were done, with 25 minutes to go.  So, I asked if could teach them for a little bit.  They gathered around me and the chalkboard, and were darling   Again, about 15 of them, 1 year old to two new deacons.  They have a CD player, and teach the songs with that.  No one leads music very well, including me, when I don't have the book in front of me to help me with the time!  She had crayons for them, and pencils, and gave them worksheets for the older ones to write and the younger ones to color.  

About 11:15 things got quite unruly, in spite of the well prepared leaders.  I mentioned that their challenges were "steep", and she said,

"Sister Miller (the couple who lived up there but have gone home) used to  bring snacks.  But we don't have, (she was embarrassed, ) no money.   And the children are hungry." 
Some of them come a long way, walking or on a trike, and many just don't have anything to bring for their kids to eat.  
I immediately asked Pres Dolleti if I could do that, and he said, "if you can manage, Sister, it would be a blessing".  So, from now on, I will take snacks for three weeks, each time I go.  Sister Jensen and I have been brainstorming about what I can take that they can keep for three weeks, without refrigeration.  The week I go, though, I can take fruit or little sandwiches or maybe a boiled egg.   

If they come on a trike, they have to pay for it, which may be all the money they have.  I wonder if sometimes they don't even eat before they come.  The Aguilars do have a trike, it comes down the mountain with about 10 people on it! That is how he makes their living, as a trike driver. 

This is my first attempt to bake in the little gas oven here at the house.  Elder has to light it for me every time.  We want to take Bierocks, ( or Krautburgers) to the senior FHE tomorrow night, so I had to practice to see if I could make bread here.  Turns out, I can.  These little rolls were great.  We ate about 20 before bed last night.  My own Hot Pandasal Tindehan!

HALLOWEEN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CARTER AND ISABELLE!

I really think I am holding up pretty well over here, so far, but you can see poor Elder Schlager is aging fast, and his birthday was very hard on him!

Parties, parties, and more parties!!

This week began with two Halloween parties on Monday.  First, we met all the young missionaries in Morong for their p-day party.  I cooked 4 pork loin roasts in my crock pot, for days, to make pulled pork sandwiches for them.  
Sounds easy, right?  Well, first you have to find a pork cut that you recognize.  Two trips to S&R.  Over here, the pork is good, and plentiful.  However, a port butt is likely to be the top half of a leg, still covered with the hide, and with the foot attached or in the same package.  Then, there is no JACK STACK rub or barbecue sauce.  Elder S went on line, found a recipe, and we shopped and then improvised, and made our own rub.  We settled for Kraft BBQ sauce, happy to find it.  It was good!   Different, but good!   They all brought fruit, chips, drinks, veggie plates, and other stuff.  Sister Jensen made orange icing (also a minor miracle)  and brought cupcakes for them to decorate, with lots of choices for their decorations.  She also brought the donuts for the contest.  

This was a lot of fun, as Elder Vea is demonstrating here with Elder De La Serna.  Sister Kahui was a good sport, and all the sisters eventually took their turn, but by the time we got to this game, they had all eaten so much I think the Dunkin Donuts were not that enticing!      

  

What makes a good prize for a winning missionary?   Well, Something he remembers from home, of course!

  

Then they went out to play basketball, and Elder McCoy, in the door with a brace on his knee, managed to sprain his ankle, too!  

I tell you, you take your eyes off them for five minutes...........!

And then we went on to another party, at a really gorgeous home in the city, where the McAllisters live.  He is a full time church employee, in the legal department here.   
They had us all there for a chili and cornbread supper and we decorated more cupcakes, to take to share with the people in our neighborhoods and apartment buildings.  It was a lot of fun, but boy were we tired!!


The next day, we had a district meeting, and then out to Sampaloc to work, and Elder McCoy was bravely walking around on his wrapped ankle.  We went to another relocation village, high up in the mountains.  See how gorgeous it is out there?  But they live in little shelters all over the hill, around a dirty stream that is all they have for water.  

The Elders found it a little while back, and talked to a man, and he said, "can you come back and teach me and my friends?"  

However, they have no cell reception, so you can't make appointments with them, they work on the mountain making charcoal when they can, and are paid in food.  They rarely have any money, so won't be able to come in to church.   

Here is the village:  

Still, they welcomed us and we taught them in their "kitchen", with his sister on the right with her baby.   He and his wife have the two little ones, and the little girl between them was just really funny.  Already learning to read, which I am not sure her mother can do, and she had a tiny yellow pocket on her shorts, with a very tiny banana in it, which she pulled out and ate during the lesson.




Just one of the boys!!!  Elder tells me he needs one of the bags the guys carry to hold their pamphlets and scriptures and things!  We got him one for his birthday.............

On Wed, we began our new duties as housing missionaries, with a day long trip out to see where most of the missionaries live and how you deliver the things they need.  We spent the day with Elder and Sister Horsely, who have been doing ALL 50 + of the apartments for the last 6 months.  They drive a nice big van, and when the missionaries need things, they order them.  Horsely's purchase and deliver, everything from bug spray and dish soap to sheets, new mattresses, and desks.  There is a member who builds the desks, drying racks, bunk beds, etc.

Some places are hard to drive into, so they deliver by Trike.  

Haven't told you much about the trikes.  They are everywhere, a motorcycle with a side car and a roof, and most of them are part of a Trike Owner Driver Assoc. which means they are owned by a company who hires the drivers. They say AMTODA, or SMGTODA, or something. on the back.  Elder calls them todas, not trikes, and it is sometimes very much a four letter word!   They are the taxis in the Provinces, as they charge a flat rate for the distance, and if you can "share a cab" your cost is lower.  So, sometimes they put about 10 people on them!  Jeepneys are more like a bus----each person pays the same, regardless of how many are on it.  They get overloaded, too.  Sometimes people are all over the roof, going down a steep hill at high speed.

The young missionaries can't take the trikes, too dangerous.  But Elder Schlager and Elder Horsely jumped right on, with the driver and his son, and two fans, and a box of supplies, and a pillow, and headed off to the the Tanay Elders, who were ill that day.  You can just see Elder Horsely sliding on to the seat behind the driver. You can also see, in the trike behind them, the people trying to be polite and not laugh too hard!  I suppose I could have gone, too, there is room on Elder's lap!  A lot of these are privately owned, as well, and are the "family car".

Thursday more teaching, back out to Malaya.  Remember Josue?  Well, we were teaching his mother.  And, we had another Branch Missionary with us.  I wish I had her picture.  19 years old, joined in July, after her 23 year old brother.  Now, her parents and younger brother are planning for baptism!  She is lovely, and so sweet.  

Friday we took the morning off and went in to the temple.  One year to the day since we woke up and found ourselves retired!   WHAT A YEAR IT HAS BEEN!

Then:

Another party!  We went to Jensen's for a pizza party to celebrate Elder S's birthday and to say "goodbye" to Elder Alvarez.   He is going home.  Not that he has a home to go to, really,  But, he has learned English, and to be a leader.  I told him to stand tall, those narrow shoulders of his are going to have to carry a heavy load back out in the  country, as he is a "stake of zion" all by himself.   He squared his shoulders and said, "I want to be a good leader".  Here he is in the middle, with his companion, Elder Fausi, after eating his first corn dog!  He asked me, "What is this?"

Many of our Elders come from other areas of the Philippines, and even Tagalog is not their first language.  So, they learn two!  English, which is required so they can go home more employable,  and Tagalog, which they mostly teach in.  We are just in awe of them.  They have to be told all the time not to send their support money home to their families! We had a cake, for both of them, with Happy Birthday and Goodbye on it, and balloons, and lots of food.  Vanessas family, Marivics family, the Borhas, baptized last week. Another family there got baptized on Saturday!  

  

See Yanni on the end?  What kid doesn't like pizza and corndogs and mac and cheese? Especially with catsup?  sorry it's so blurry.  

On the way to our party, we had to drive through several others.  This is a Filipino graveyard.  Nov 1 is a BIG holiday here, All Saint's Day.  It is even creepier than Halloween.  They all get together as families, and it is sort of Memorial Day and Halloween all mixed up.  Along the roads, vendors selling beautiful flowers and arrangements and lots of candles.  The day before, they are all in the cemetaries, washing, painting, and decorating the graves.  Only, they don't "bury" here.  They just stack up the vaults.  Then, they come out on Nov 1 in droves, and settle on the vaults, and have a big party, with candles and food and drinking.  Some families have a small concrete Mausoleum for their dead bodies.  Children climb all over them.  

Anyway, kids, stop nagging us.  WE have finally decided where we want to be stashed!!  Just pile us on top of each other away from the road!  (Joke Lang!  ) that means, just kidding!


Several Things you might find surprising:
I have been cold more than I have been hot.  I should have brought the two sweaters I didn't pack at the last minute! This is the cooler season, and the air con is sometimes too much.  Won't stay that way, though. 

The beautiful people here don't like their dark skin.  Seems they want to be lighter.  So, they carry umbrellas in the sun more than in the rain, and don't like it if I don't have one, to protect my skin.  Also, you have to be careful when you buy skin care products, as most of them have a "whitening" agent in them, which is not healthy.

There is English everywhere, and they seem to read it alright, but don't like to speak it, at least not out here where we are.  And more than you think, can't read.

Eggs are never refrigerated!  Well, except at my house!

We bought an adapter for the AC/DC thing, really worried about our electronics.  Turns out, almost everything, computer, tablets, cell phones, even our electric toothbrush, are dual voltage.  

 I have had a lot of questions about the hygiene over here.  Sorry, but most of it is too graphic for my grandchildren to read!  So, just ask over the phone or in emails.  But, this is a basic survival kit, and if you are lucky,  there might be a place to use it.  Never leave home without it.

A couple of things that might NOT surprise you:
Elder S. has, after a few hairy starts, learned to navigate the traffic and the traffic laws very well.  We get where we are going, on time, and pretty calm, mostly.   

I DO not consider a gecko in my bathroom "good luck".  I had to go gecko hunting yesterday before I could shower, and, I am not mentioning any names here, but my HERO preferred ignoring the dragon to defending me from it.   So, I chased it around, they move really fast, finally covered him with the trash can, slid a piece of plastic underneath, turned it up, and carried him outside.  He either was, or played dead.  I probably gave him a heart attack with all my chasing.  Better him than me!!!!

I love Visiting Teaching.  I have a very strong testimony of that wonderful program.  So, I have a story to share that I hope you will enjoy. The Senior Sister Missionaries shared it with me this week.

Recently, just before I came, they planned and held a "women's conference" for the women in the mission.  The purpose:  to help the Relief Societies here "catch the vision" of Visiting Teaching.  About 100 women came, from all over the mission.  The missionaries, all of them older and mostly from the US, did the usual things to make it fun and interesting.  They had lunch, (of course)  But, they also had to begin right at square one, with what VT is and how we do it and why we do it, bearing in mind the many challenges these women have.

  They all thought it went pretty well, and felt satisfied with their efforts.  The next day, Sunday, Sister DuPaix went out to the ward they are assigned to.  The RS pres there had worked all night, and proudly showed her the VT districts and routes she had prayerfully arranged.  There were THREE visiting teachers to each route.  
Poor Sister DuPaix!!  She thought they had not really understood, and she felt bad about it.  She gently explained that usually, visiting teachers go "two by two", like the elders do.  This sweet woman, said, "Oh no, Sister.  In the Philippines we need Three sisters, so that two can go, and they don't know when they will be home again.  The third one has to stay home and do all their work and tend their children."  

Not really sure who is teaching whom, out here!