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.
No comments:
Post a Comment