NOW, THAT'S JUST WEIRD!!!!

I HATE to admit it, but this is one of the most common phrases at our house these days.  Things are strange to us, of course, and also hard to understand some times.  "It's the Filipino Way" is an expression used to explain many things, and even the church leaders have spoken about the difference between "The Filipino Way" and the right way.  However, we are trying hard to be appreciative and welcome guests in a country not our own, and not be judgmental or critical.  So, we made a resolution this week.  From now on, we are trying to say

THAT'S INTERESTING!!!

SO, I am going to begin this post with some of the INTERESTING things we noticed.  For instance, do you think it is interesting that they decorate for Christmas with snow men?  They even play Christmas carols everywhere, including "Frosty the Snowman" and "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas".  But Elder S had to explain in Sunday School one Sunday morning what snow is, and the cold that the Martin Handcart Company endured.

Or, these signs are all over on buildings both in the city and out here.  This one is a few doors down from the Sister Missionaries in Antipolo, in a gated community. A Lady Bedspacer is someone who rents part of your bed!   Or part of a bed, with other strangers.

 In the house next to us, there is a man named Nelson.  Not really sure what he does, but he drives a van, usually parked in the front of the house, making it difficult for us to get into our driveway and park.  But they are friendly.  Also there is a lovely young woman, his "househelp".  She seems to speak no English, except to say Good Morning, and Coffee.  Last week, they decided to go into the restaurant business.  Suddenly, she was outside under a canopy, with a display case of foods prepared for breakfast.  Next day, another canopy and a dining table.  The day after that, a barbecue, and dinner, and the day after that, another dining table, another canopy, signs, and music.  

They serve early morning and night, and people come on trikes, etc, and sit and visit and eat!  Actually, we came home one night and I bought some to be neighborly.  However, Elder thought it looked good, barbecued pork and chicken, and so he ate it for dinner.  I tasted the pork.  Not Too Bad!  Of course, they are not the only  "Tindahan"  operators in the neighborhood.  Many many people use their homes as their businesses.  (See the picture at the top, just up the road from us, of a busy little store decorated for Christmas.)


There don't seem to be any zoning laws here, and frankly, as paranoid as I am about government interventions, they could use SOME.   We drive into town along a road lined with shacks and chicken cages, where they raise, butcher, and sell the chickens.  Behind it is a new neighborhood of nice condos, and their front windows look down on the "chicken alley".   How's that for a "room with a view"?

Or, this work crew. They are building a rock wall for several kilometers along the Marcos Highway, over the mountain between the city and Sampaloc.  It is all done by hand; unloading the rocks and sand and concrete, stacking the rocks, cementing it all together.  It looks really great, and will protect the highway from debris coming down the hill in storms.  But, the labor is fascinating.  Over here, you can rent equipment, work ten days, and have the job done.  Or you can hire a crew, work 10 months, and put food on the table for a lot of families.  They usually choose option B.  It is "the Filipino Way".

Yep, that's a rooster!! 

Have I mentioned that the days begin VERY early in the Philippines??  

And mine usually begins with some of these crowing and waking me up.  That is often about 2:30 AM.  We live in a suburban neighborhood, but these are not just pets.  Rooster fights are legal and popular, and they fight to the death, according to Sister Jensen.  (With gambling, of course.)  You see rooster farms, where each one has his own little hut, and they are tethered there, as this one is.  You also see them in the poorest neighborhoods, tethered with a small cage.  But we also see them in the yards of the "squatter" houses, and they are there to  keep the hens at home, who walk all over the place, and sometimes on us.  OK, here is my funny story for the week.  When we go to help the Elders teach, they are amazing.  It is like being with Alma and Amulek, the spirit is so strong and powerful.  But, Elder S says the stronger it is, the more likely we are to have a rooster crow right in the middle.  Sometimes they are even under our feet or next to us on the table, and we have been known to jump pretty high!

I have to admit, I am not a fan of fowls, except at my birdbath and feeders!  

We Eat quite well over here, mostly, when we have the time to cook.  We are becoming especially fond of a big batch of stir fried veggies over rice, and it is easy, once the vegetables have been purchased, washed, rinsed, and refrigerated!  

But I am getting a little tired of chicken, so often I use no meat, and we eat a LOT of bananas.  

How much do you (want to) know about bananas?

They come in so many different varieties over here, from three inches to 8 inches, brown, gold, yellow, and green,  and they are sometimes wonderful and sometimes not so much.  Have you ever eaten boiled bananas?  Sister Eva offered them one day at her house.  She just puts them in a pot and covers them with water and boils them for about 20 minutes.  Then, she put a big bowl of them out on the table, gave us all a dish and spoon, and we put them in the dish, peeled them, and ate them!  They taste different, more like a vegetable than a fruit.  But not bad!  

In the life of a banana, the time between "perfectly ripe" and "overripe" can be but a fleeting moment. That's why God invented banana bread.

We gets lots of fruit, and have tried several new kinds.  Mostly, they are not winning any awards with us!  But the mangoes are wonderful and sometimes the oranges are good, although seedy!  

This week, I couldn't face more chicken, so I made Beef Barley Soup, with hamburger.  But, no barley, so it has rice in it, (of course), and we tried a new vegetable.  It is Chayote or Sayote, or  vegetable pear.  Elder S saw one in a sister's kitchen, and asked her about it.  She said it tastes like celery, and it sort of does.  I threw it in the soup for a new taste, but it is so mild, it is almost like zucchini.  I think you could use it for anything.

WE DID work this week, too!   On Tuesday we were with the Elders all day, at their district meeting and then preparing their songs and skits for the Mission Christmas Party.  

On Wed, we had a great privilege.  We took Sister Perez, along with Sister Tingey and Sister Dudas to the temple.  The Jensen's came also, with two Elders, Wilde and Anderson.  After the session, we all went into the sealing room to seal her parents and grandparents.  Here she is, a happy woman.   

Thursday we were in Tanay, for teaching several families.  This is the Aurillo family.  Their father returned on Thursday from Saudi, where he has been working for FOUR years!   Three sons, two daughters, all members.  They had made an appointment with the elders, and we got there before they did, so we watched them all climb out of the transport van and welcome us in.    Can you imagine that they welcomed us to come in and teach their family?  But they did, and it was really a special time.  
The oldest boy is married, and his wife is pregnant.  She chose not to be photographed.

 This is the girlfriend of the next son, an investigator.  She wants to be baptized, but cannot while living in his home.  But, she has nowhere else to go, except home to another island, and she wants to do it here.  A challenge for the branch, to step up and find an option for her!  Sorry, I forgot her name.

And this is the Dela Pena family, baptized on Saturday in Malaya.  Father Noel, Mother Elvie, and Daughter Erica.  The little boy was too young, of course.  They have a story too.  Elder Blessant has been teaching them since he came 4 months ago.  But, they were not married.  So, he had to arrange a wedding for them first!  They were married on Thursday, and the baptism finally accomplished on Sat.  Confirmed today.  Happy family.

Although we seemed to get a slow start, we are now busy all the time.  One of the first things we were told, was that "senior couples" plan their own schedule.  I know that is not true for many assignments, but in MLS it absolutely is!  And we have to make decisions all the time about where we might be able to do the most good.  Many of our efforts are small and probably not significant in the big picture.  but we love the work, and the people, and the opportunity to serve our Heavenly Father.  We love those of you who we left behind, too, and pray for you always.

WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO DO GREAT THINGS,

BUT WE CAN DO SMALL THINGS WITH GREAT LOVE.

Mother Teresa

Happy Thanksgiving

We received so many kind messages to wish us a happy holiday this week.  Thank you to all of you, including my sweet Aunt who sent a card, and it miraculously arrived on time!   We are grateful for all of you, and the love and support that constantly flow to us.  It is our hope that we can just be a vehicle to carry it with us to the people we are learning to love so much over here. 

Our holiday was a little different, as there is no celebration or day off here.  We had a great time working with the missionaries in Tanay, and then came home and ate a hot dog.  But we were able to meet some of the other senior couples on Saturday night for a catered turkey dinner.  The caterers did their best, but obviously had no idea what a pumpkin pie was before this, thought we were crazy to want to actually EAT turkey, let alone pay the premium price it costs, and were very surprised when we arrived, to learn that we wanted the mashed potatoes to be served HOT.  (The Sisters took them down the hall and heated them up in a microwave!)  

Probably not a Thanksgiving Day we will forget, though!

This is the scene at the Manila Temple.

And now it is            CHRISTMAS TIME

                     IN THE PHILIPPINES !!!

Our subtle effort to assert the fact that we ARE Christians, and celebrate Christmas along with the rest of the country!

Decorations are going up all over,  just like they do at home.  Every night, when we come home, we find more houses all lit up.  

See the little guy hanging from the deck over the carport?  They love these little hanging santas, and some houses have about 20, hanging on swings, or from parachutes, or on ladders.  They always look to me like they have been "hung by the neck until dead!"

AFTER  we worked with Sister Precious, we were going home, but she was going to the church to work with the YW, so we took her to get something to eat.  We ordered a big Halo Halo, to share for dessert.  THIS is Halo Halo, a sort of sundae.  There is a big scoop of shaved ice in the middle, over which they pour cream.  Then, they dress it up with all sorts of good things.  The yellow in front is custard, the purple is ube pudding, the green is Not Jello, but young coconut that is flavored and colored and sort of jelly like, there are BIG tapioca, and pieces of candied mango, and macapuno balls, and ,... So, we lifted off a bite or two for us, and gave the rest to her.  She then proceeded, to show us "how to eat it properly"   Halo Halo means  ALL MIXED UP.  So, you are supposed to stir it all together and then.eat.  Wonderful.


On Monday, we had to go to a hardware store for Elder to find things he needed for the apartments, and so we went down to the malls. There is a big Wilcon Depot there, really really nice.  I decided to take the opportunity to go back to David's Salon for a visit with Bea.  It was really good that I fed Elder S. first, and sweetened him up with Halo Halo.

Elder, of course, does not take me to the Salon when we are at home.  And the first visit here was just a quick haircut.  But this time, the whole kit and caboodle. Washing, coloring, highlighting, conditioning, cutting and styling. And, of course, a massage.  3 hours!!  Heaven for me.  Elder thought he was in a nightmare and couldn't wake up. And then when we left, to add insult to injury, a hefty P4100, plus tip.  (About $100, which of course is not all that out of line, but remember, he never has gone before.)  
Unless I can find a drug that induces amnesia, I will never get him in there again!!

THIS WAS FUN.  Several of the sisters who are joining the church have a small problem with the skirt thing.  Not that they are disobedient, only poor.  And in Sampaloc last week, after visiting RS, Sister Jose felt strongly that we should  not be so afraid of offending that we don't teach them.  The missionaries, of course, always leave behind anything we have left that is not in rags. There won't be much from Elder and Sister S!  We have been working on it a little bit, and the women at church suggested a UK UK store, a sort of thrift shop we see here (now that I am looking for them).  So, I saw one in Teresa, stopped, and found these 7 skirts.  I paid P300, or about $7.50.  (So don't start collecting skirts, please.  It will cost too much to send them.)  Anyway, I laundered them, repaired one hem, and took them to Sister Rowena.  I told her to keep whatever she could use, and give the rest to Sister Tapiador, the RS Pres, to offer to the others.  She was SO excited.  She told me today she kept 4 and passed on three, so I will have to do more shopping, I think.   They were pretty fun, the turquoise is silk, the red one is velvet, and I would have worn some of them.  Except, of course, that most of  the waistlines are about 16 inches.  Even Scarlet O'Hara would have trouble with that!  

CONTRARY to how it may appear, we do not spend all our time eating and shopping.  'This week we were able to teach with the Elders three afternoons, and it was wonderful.  We taught a new family with two small children who were referred by a member, and the lesson went so well.  He is a fisherman, and makes the Lambats, or nets, they use to fish.  He showed us the nylon they use.  WOW!  I thought I was pretty good at knots with my crocheting.  

Then, we went to teach Sister Christine at her home in Pililla.  Her family all joined the church in 1990, but she was only seven, so was not baptized.  They did not all stay active, and so she never was given another chance.   Now her father is gone, her mother is ill, and she has a small son,  This is Lorenz, and he is, believe it or not, playing with an IPAD.  Daddy is working in Abu Dhabi, until next May.  She wants to join the church, but is not sure how he will react to the idea.  She cried.  We told her that the church is not in the business of dividing families.  We unite them, in our temples, for eternity.  We suggested that she pray, and talk to him, and do what is best for her and her family.  She had a blessing, and was at church today, with her son.  Also at church was Sister Marione, a woman we helped teach last week, with her son.  She plans to return next week with her baby daughter, too. 

And Saturday morning, we attended the baptism  (again, in the swimming pool, only it was raining a little bit!)  of Sister Esponilla, shown here with Elder Purificacion.  We met her the second week we went out to teach in Sampaloc, at the Besario home.  She has been steadily making progress, and read the whole Book of Mormon, and is just a darling.  We had a visit with her on Tues, preparing her for baptism.  She has so much desire to do all that she can.  She kept saying, "THIS is it!  THIS is it"  I have never seen a new convert that I was so sure would be there every step of the way.  I am glad we have more than a year left, as I know we will be in the temple with her next Christmas.

The Elders sang for us during the Baptism.  We lost Elder Magno this week, Emergency Transfer, but have a new one, Elder Cubbage, from Alaska.  He is third from left.                                                            Have I mentioned before that the songs are always in English, and very often done a Capella?   The person directing sings the first line, to get the tune and key.  Then they say, "Ready,  Sing"!  It tickles my funny bone every time, but it works.

    

Today, we attended church in Tanay, where I was asked to teach the sharing time in Primary.  OK with me!!  Then RS with Sister Marione, the investigator, then up to Sampaloc to teach Temple Preparation classes to the Aguilar family at their home.  We found a feast going on at the chapel, sort of a "break the fast",  but we were still fasting.  Elder S asked President Dolletti to come out to Aguilar's home to discuss the worthiness interview for the recommend.  So, he and his wife came, taught, and then went down to Tanay to put his donations in the computer, as the renovations are not complete at the Sampaloc building.  Here they are, on the "family transportation". 

This is another souvenir for us to bring home.  A real, carved, Filipino Nativity Set.  I love the palm tree, and see the little rice farmer with his caribou?  Also, the three wise men, of course, bearing gifts of coconuts, bananas, etc.  I am not sure what the wood is, but hard.  It is our gift to ourselves.  

Does Anybody know what these beautiful bell shaped flowers are?

They are blooming everywhere.  It is like even Mother Nature is decorating for Christmas!  And guess what?

Watermelon Season here is Nov through Jan!  Can you think of a more perfect Christmas fruit?

• 

ISN'T it amazing how perspective changes??

I can still remember how I felt the day we arrived, in the airport and driving out to the mission home.  The whole country looked to me like the pictures of the dilapidated areas of Detroit and Chicago. Only worse, because they at least began with walls on the buildings, etc.  And for the first month or so, we would drive around and see nothing but garbage and things that needed painting, cleaning, fixing, or trashing.  

Now, we drive around and see thriving businesses, people working really hard to make a few pesos to buy rice, happy smiles, polite manners.  We say, "Oh, look, there is a really nice bakery (or  a car service center, or a bookstore, or a restaurant, or a tailor, or a shoe repair shop, or a dress shop or a dime store or a fruit stand or .........)"   

This is a bahay kubo, or basically a "cottage". They are made of bamboo, and are the souvenir of choice for senior missionaries.  Trouble is, of course, none of us has yet come up with a plan for getting one home with us!!  
We actually see them being built and for sale along the roads, and this is the one I love.  Can't you see it in my backyard? 
 However, we also see them in yards and sometimes even teach in one.   The man who built it is there, and I was sorry to tell him that I was "just looking", although he was still glad to pose for me.  



This is the one he wanted to sell me, and you COULD live in this, here, really, as it never gets too cold.

You can't really tell, but it is sort of a house. 


Notice all the pretty touches he has done with stain on the bamboo. 

The "kitchen", a small sink, and some cupboards,  is directly across from the door, and the "great room", or sitting area with benches all around a table for eating, is to the left.  


To the right is the bedroom, and it has a double bunk, so that the little window upstairs is for the the people who sleep on top.  It is really beautiful, and would make a great beach house, I guess, if you owned the whole beach!  

IT is a very good thing that tomorrow is "p-day", as we are pretty tired.  In fact, we think P stands for "we are too pooped to go another day".  Truly we love our life, and would not choose to be anywhere else, but some days it is really obvious that we are not so young as we once were. 

  Our adventures this week were really pretty unique, even for us.  

WE began on Monday with some shopping for some needs in the primaries.  I haven't told you too much about the shopping here, but there are several big malls on the way to the city.  Where ours are mostly clothing, though, these have very little of that.  They are mostly electronics and household goods and some restaurants and bakeries.  Also, services like hair stylists.  SHOES are a big item, though!  Interesting, since they live most of their life in flip flops.  Not the customer service people, though.  

Very often the young women are dressed to the nines in beautiful uniforms complete with high-heeled shoes and hosiery to match.  

These young people helped me buy a CD player.  They are on the floor, because they don't sell you anything without pulling it out of the box, plugging it in, and  trying it to prove to you that it works.  Then, they have you fill out the warranty card, and repack it for you in the original packaging.  (Sometimes, that is amusing for US!!)

They are polite, but on occasion the communication gets a little chancy.  When you are ready to pay, they always tell you the amount, and then when you give them the money, they say, "I received P1000," or whatever amount you handed to them.  

AFTER shopping our way into town, we went to the Mission Office.  There we found Pres. and Sister Revillo with the 17 new missionaries that were assigned to our mission from the Tacloban Area after the typhoon.  They were taking pictures with each of them and welcoming them to the Quezon City Mission.  

We were there to pick up the two that have been assigned to work in Tanay.  Sister Revillo had been looking after them and making sure they had what they needed and taking them shopping and generally just mothering them for about 3 days.  She took me aside to remind me that it was their p-day and whatever they needed us to do for them was OK.  As we drove off with them, she was running beside the car telling me what she thought I needed to know.    We took them shopping again, and then to Tanay, got on trikes, and took them to their apartment to meet the other three.  So, now they are five.  

Tuesday was district conference, with birthday cake, so they were there, with a new zone leader, also from Tacloban.  He is quite a drill sergeant, and will keep them all in line.  Because all the elders were busy, we took a car load up to Sampaloc, and then drove home.  Home before dark!!!  

 Wed we were in the city again for Zone conference.  Sister Revillo  (her name is Maritas   MAR e toss) had two of those to do this week, too.  Catered luncheons each day, snacks before they head home, and speak at least twice in each one.  She is amazing.  The local church members have been packing humanitarian kits for the people in the Typhoon, so the building was stacked, and they were still working on it that day at another building.

Sadly, the government is making it very difficult to help the people there.  They want to control ALL the relief efforts.  Any guesses on why?

WE GOT Elder Tiongco (Filipino, the short one) and Elder Losaki (Tongan, on the floor).  Here they are on Thurs, already out teaching.  Neither one speaks Tagalog, so they have to learn another language, now.  The sister in front is Sister Precious, 22 and waiting for her Visa to go to Salt Lake to serve her mission on Temple Square.  She teaches English to Japanese Students.  These people are so incredible.  When I did a small prayer in Tagalog, they were all very proud of me---like proud parents when their child takes two steps alone!!


FRIDAY back to the city to go to the Bookstore and to arrange for the temple trip for Sister Perez.  President has given permission for us to take her and the Sister Missionaries from Morong on Dec 4.  We are all excited!  
Then out to Sampaloc to attend Sister Rowena's baptism!   Here she is with Elder Iosefa, Elder Magno, Elder McCoy, and Elder Purificacion.  And here is the baptisal font:  The swimming pool out there.  The guys had to drain it, clean it, and refill it, and were joking that it had to be done with buckets from the river.  

Not so--they had a hose.  It is so beautiful out there, and the guest house is fabulous.  Incidentally, while we were in the PAO that day, the man in charge of real estate for the church said, "Oh, you are the ones living in Antipolo and assigned to Sampaloc?  We have a house out there.  Your lease has to be renewed in Jan. Do you want to move out there? "  

Well, NOOOOO!  Although the pool table is a real temptation to Elder, and the lovely kitchen with a real stove and a dryer are tempting to me!  But as beautiful as it is, there is nothing there but a small public market.  You have to go all the way to Tanay just to buy a few groceries.  We were visiting with the owner today, and he would like it.  He will even do some minor remodeling to make the concrete steps and ramps safer for us.  We just told them that we are happy and settled where we are.  

WEll, maybe except for this!  We have spent the week in Cockroach hell.  We are not home much, of course, except at night.  But we were getting pretty good at keeping the critters out, or so we thought.  Not sure what happened this week---they exterminated in the neighborhood a few weeks back, or maybe we just got a little lazy.  Anyway, we have killed an army of these this week. WE find them in the morning, mostly, laying on their backs and looking dead.  But when I try to sweep them up or spray them, they are very much alive!  It is like they have had a big party in the night and are exhausted, and asleep. We have a great insect spray, kills them in their tracks!! I am pretty used to it, but when I open a cupboard and they run at me, I have had it!!

THIS week was the district Primary Christmas activity.  All of the primaries were practicing for weeks, and they came in droves to Morong.  They rented jeepneys, and carried food and Christmas presents and costumes and it was really a riot.  We went for a little while, to see some of our friends perform.  
Here is the Malaya Primary, 

And here is Marivic, arranging his costume for Tiguro, her youngest. Marjorie is next to her in the Santa costume.  We left before the gifts and food and all, to attend another baptism.  It was pretty loud and disorganized, but that is just how they do it!

Here are Elder Blessant, Elder Cendano, Elder DePaz and Elder Tipini, at the baptism of Brother Sarmiento.  He is the last in his family to join.  His wife is in the RS presidency, his son is preparing for a mission, and his daughter left for her mission last month.  The guys promised her when she left, that they would baptize her dad while she was gone, and they did it!



AT Sister Jensen's suggestion, I have a new baptism gift.  It seems to be very welcome.  I put a nice new white towel in a bag, with this verse to accompany it:

In spite of the hours we spend in the car, Elder S is feeling better, and his back is healing.  Who knew that he would be driving more now than when he was working??  But he is getting used to it, and to the traffic.  Several times a day, I hear a quiet little "DUDE!!" from the seat beside me.  

But just in case you think he does nothing but drive us, he is very busy too.  He repaired a leaking faucet for the guys in Tanay, is replacing a deadbolt for the ones in Teresa, delivers goodies to the sisters like new rugs and frying pans and fans, and talks to all the neighbors when we walk.  

In addition, he spoke at two baptisms, in Sac meeting, and at the Priesthood Preview today!! 

 Can you see why we are pooped   worn out?