We have been doing a lot of traveling so I am really behind on my blogging. Last week we were on Panay Island for four days and three nights meeting with stake presidents and branch presidents. We flew to Kalibo and met with stakes that evening, spent the night, drove to Iloilo the next day, about four hours, met with two stakes that evening, spent the night, drove to San Jose, about 2 hours, met with stake, drove back to Iloilo, spent the night and caught a flight from there the next morning to Manila. It is exhausting, but very satisfying, not only to accomplish the mapping but to see so much of the Philippines. The island is beautiful, full of rice fields and sugar cane fields and wide open spaces. Whereever we go the people are warm, friendly, kind and helpful. Tipping is not something that is expected here, in fact they are embrassed if you tip them.
We always have a driver as Sister Clark and I don't have the courage to face the traffic. In the Metro Manila area traffic is very slow and quite often at a stand still but out in the providences traffic moves very well, in fact, at first I couldn't understand how come the driver was going so fast, 80-120 miles per hour. At first, I checked to see if a fire was chasing us, there was none, guess when the drivers get out in the open country they make up for the slowness in the big city. We fly through the providences at 60 miles and hour, with the horn tooting, people all over on sides of road, businesses, etc. I often wonder which wears out first on the church cars, the brakes or the horn.
We went to Lingayen and Dagupen this week, three days and two nights. We drove about five hours to Lingayen, met with two stakes, drove two hours to Dagupen spent the night, met with only one stake as other two stakes got dates mixed up and came the week before. We visited One Hundred Islands and saw where General McArthur landed when he returned to the Philippines, spent the night again in Dagupen and drove home. Our drivers are usually brethern that work in the MSR dept with us, occasionally one is hired.
I love the chapels here, they are so open and consist of usually 2-4 buildings. We sit in our branch each Sunday, no air conditioning, the sacrament hall has nine fans blowing and the windows open. I hear roosters crowing, birds singing and feel a nice breeze, amazing is what I say to myself every Sunday.
When we travel I always sit in the back seat and look out both sides of the car. In doing that I finally figured out how rice is planted clear through the harvesting of it goes. It really is quite a process, I am told one of the biggest hazards of rice farming is cobra snake bites.
The senior missionaries are having Thanksgiving Dinner at the mission home on Saturday, but Sister Clark scheduled a mapping appointment that day, so don't know how long we will get to stay. I have met the two new couples last week and they looked as jet lagged as I felt when I arrived. Guess we all have to go through the process.
Everyone is getting very excited about the "50 Jubilee", scheduled for April 22, 23 24, 2011 in Manila. As we visit the different stakes, there are always youth practicing their dances.
Serving in the Philippines has certainly given me a new perspective on a world wide church, the Lord does love each of us wherever we live, wants everyone to return to live with him, and has his servants hard at work to accomplish that.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Sunday, November 7, 2010
October 27th - November 8th
Things are going fine here in the Philippines. I am still learning about the culture, loving the people and having great experiences.
We have had two Philippine holidays in the past two weeks. The day they vote is a national holiday: they vote every six years for a new president and every three years for barangay president, etc. (would be like our local elections). And All Saints Day, which is like our Memorial Day but lasts for about four days.
We went to another mapping meeting with a driver, he works in our department. It was up in the mountains and around a beautiful lake, the winding roads were a little rough at times. His name is Ralphie and he took us by his home to pick up his 4 year old son, Ammon, and 9 year old daughter, Lalia. His home was interesting, it is in a long row of house connected to each other, no yards and just a fire wall between their house, front & back, from the neighbors. The houses were dirty looking but at one time were painted eggshell colors, his house was pink. Right out in front of his house a lady had set up a street vendor to sell food she was cooking, all this in a street that equals one lane of our traffic. The kids rode in the back seat with me, it took them a little bit to warm up, but all I needed to do was scratch Ammon's back and we were friends. Lalia laid her head on my shoulder and fell asleep.
I have started a walking exercise. They have that treadmill in the apartments where we live but I have told you about that, it just doesn't work for me. I walked a couple of days back into the neighborhood that is near the office and that wasn't great but better than the treadmill and then I decided to see if walking around the temple grounds would provide the exercise I needed, so that is what I am doing 5 days a week. It takes me about 30 minutes to walk three times around the temple grounds, it is pretty warm but I am loving being outside and feeling safe walking.
We had a senior couple go home last Thursday and another senior couple go home today, another couple will go home on the 16th and the last for awhile will go home on the 19th. We had a new couple arrive last Monday to replace the couple that went home today. There is not a replacement for the first couple.
It is so interesting to see signs here, of course there is the US military influence but just how they speak english is interesting, almost sounds like baby talk. The filipino people say they love to hear Americans speak Tagalog because it sound so cute and formal. Some signs I have seen lately kind of give an idea how they put english words together: Construction sign- "Caution Men active", another construction sign-"bear with us"; temple sign-"no picnic or socials on temple grounds"; road sign-"Killing Zone-because of Recklass Drivers;" orange juice ad-"lots of pulpy"; name on package of toilet paper you put in your purse just in case-"Joy Pop Up". Well you get the idea, keeps me chuckling.
I am loving the branch we are attending even though it takes an hour to get there. The missionary couple we ride with started teaching a family history class two weeks ago, so for the last two weeks I have gone in their class instead of the gospel doctrine. Sometimes it is just good to hear good ole english during a lesson, however I will be going back to the gospel doctrine class next Sunday. I saw this little baby boy and went to his mother and asked if I could hold him, she handed him to me and he immediately kissed my cheek, well I am in love with 8 month old Enos and held him for a bit again yesterday.
Sister Beckstrand and I were asked to bear our testimonies in RS and then I was asked to teach the RS lesson on Nov 21st. Sister Clark teaches piano students during sunday school and RS and they are doing very well, she says one of the girls father decided he wanted to learn with his daughter so she is teaching him, too.
We will be going to Iliola mission next week for four days and hope to complete the mapping for that mission while we are there. Elder Bunnell who is over the mapping of the Philippines told me that no where else in the world are they doing the kind of mapping we are doing, we are the pioneers, doesn't seem that complicated to me, I have learned it very quickly , the first time I sat down to try the mapping, I suddenly felt like I had done it before. This truly is the Lord's work and need in the Philippines and I am thrilled to be called to be part of it.
We have had two Philippine holidays in the past two weeks. The day they vote is a national holiday: they vote every six years for a new president and every three years for barangay president, etc. (would be like our local elections). And All Saints Day, which is like our Memorial Day but lasts for about four days.
We went to another mapping meeting with a driver, he works in our department. It was up in the mountains and around a beautiful lake, the winding roads were a little rough at times. His name is Ralphie and he took us by his home to pick up his 4 year old son, Ammon, and 9 year old daughter, Lalia. His home was interesting, it is in a long row of house connected to each other, no yards and just a fire wall between their house, front & back, from the neighbors. The houses were dirty looking but at one time were painted eggshell colors, his house was pink. Right out in front of his house a lady had set up a street vendor to sell food she was cooking, all this in a street that equals one lane of our traffic. The kids rode in the back seat with me, it took them a little bit to warm up, but all I needed to do was scratch Ammon's back and we were friends. Lalia laid her head on my shoulder and fell asleep.
I have started a walking exercise. They have that treadmill in the apartments where we live but I have told you about that, it just doesn't work for me. I walked a couple of days back into the neighborhood that is near the office and that wasn't great but better than the treadmill and then I decided to see if walking around the temple grounds would provide the exercise I needed, so that is what I am doing 5 days a week. It takes me about 30 minutes to walk three times around the temple grounds, it is pretty warm but I am loving being outside and feeling safe walking.
We had a senior couple go home last Thursday and another senior couple go home today, another couple will go home on the 16th and the last for awhile will go home on the 19th. We had a new couple arrive last Monday to replace the couple that went home today. There is not a replacement for the first couple.
It is so interesting to see signs here, of course there is the US military influence but just how they speak english is interesting, almost sounds like baby talk. The filipino people say they love to hear Americans speak Tagalog because it sound so cute and formal. Some signs I have seen lately kind of give an idea how they put english words together: Construction sign- "Caution Men active", another construction sign-"bear with us"; temple sign-"no picnic or socials on temple grounds"; road sign-"Killing Zone-because of Recklass Drivers;" orange juice ad-"lots of pulpy"; name on package of toilet paper you put in your purse just in case-"Joy Pop Up". Well you get the idea, keeps me chuckling.
I am loving the branch we are attending even though it takes an hour to get there. The missionary couple we ride with started teaching a family history class two weeks ago, so for the last two weeks I have gone in their class instead of the gospel doctrine. Sometimes it is just good to hear good ole english during a lesson, however I will be going back to the gospel doctrine class next Sunday. I saw this little baby boy and went to his mother and asked if I could hold him, she handed him to me and he immediately kissed my cheek, well I am in love with 8 month old Enos and held him for a bit again yesterday.
Sister Beckstrand and I were asked to bear our testimonies in RS and then I was asked to teach the RS lesson on Nov 21st. Sister Clark teaches piano students during sunday school and RS and they are doing very well, she says one of the girls father decided he wanted to learn with his daughter so she is teaching him, too.
We will be going to Iliola mission next week for four days and hope to complete the mapping for that mission while we are there. Elder Bunnell who is over the mapping of the Philippines told me that no where else in the world are they doing the kind of mapping we are doing, we are the pioneers, doesn't seem that complicated to me, I have learned it very quickly , the first time I sat down to try the mapping, I suddenly felt like I had done it before. This truly is the Lord's work and need in the Philippines and I am thrilled to be called to be part of it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)