Three-day delay!! Tried to post this blog but had a few technical issues but finally getting it posted now,
This is our second “fall” or as they call it in the Philippines … the “brrrrrr season” and I never quit being surprised when I see little babies with furry hats and furry boots in this tropical climate! A lot of it has to do with going in/out of air conditioning. This season is wet & rainy ushers in the typhoons (about 20 per season) but also the holidays and fall fiestas with carnivals and political speeches and parades and beauty queens and feasts, LOTS of feasts. There are two things that have become very clear and endearing; Filipinos celebrate with food and music. I have already heard Christmas music at church as well as in the malls! And in a business just downstairs, from our apartment they have already set up a lovely Christmas tree!
Experiencing a few health issues these past couple of weeks. Roy has a nagging cough that the mission doctor feared might be a case of walking pneumonia and was getting worrisome. Luckily, he tested negative, and it appears he has some allergies that have turned into asthmatic symptoms. The doctor is great AND … it just so happens we have a renowned Respiratory Therapist here assigned to the Cebu Temple to work. We are spoiled and Roy is already showing improvement. Mine was simple, just a miserable flu bug that is sorting itself out.
Don’t think I mentioned this in a previous post, but we have grown close to the staff that works here in our hotel/apartment setup. We have security guards, custodial staff, and office staff. We love them all and they suffer through our Cebuano language training on them! We have some laughs over our SLOW progress on the language, but in our defense, this is NOT an easy language… and we are old! One of the staff is pregnant and all of us old, missionary gals decided to throw her a baby shower. This is her fourth baby, and she hasn’t ever had a baby shower. We did some of the typical, silly baby shower games and shared food and lots of mother-baby talk. It was a LOT of fun and Kathren was thrilled. We shared the decorating, food etc., and then got her some great little gifts and she cried and cried. The very first picture is Kathren in a full-crying mode when she saw the stroller! Again, this is her fourth baby and her very first stroller! She is beautiful and although she looks 20, she is actually 35. Some of us got to cart her gifts home for her and meet her husband and other children. It was great! Its not just beauty .. these are sweet, kind people who are grateful for any kind thing we do.
A couple of fun surprises; Our mission president was hoping that we could start working in the area recently added to our mission boundaries, the Bogo District. We drive back and forth OFTEN searching for rental options, but things are just not falling into place. We spend hours/days traveling back and forth and do our best to help missionaries and members and we will continue that work BUT…. President Fernandez has asked that we just travel for now and help in the northern area, but in January when our friends Glen & Susy Cary return home from their 18-month mission – asked that we move south instead of north and take over the work that they are doing on the southern most point of our island! It also means we take over the house they are renting right now so our search for a new home can stop! We were relieved and shocked but happy to accept and since the other plan just wasn’t falling into place, we felt like the Lord must want us south instead of north! We will continue to do our housing work, which keeps us VERY busy and help out in the church units where we are needed and have fun with it all. The other “fun” thing was just as much of a shock; President asked us to extend our mission and return home on July 2, 2026 instead of May 27th. Of course, we said yes…… BUT…. I really, reallllly miss my family and there will NOT be any additional extensions to our work! Even with the mess our country is in; 25 months away from home and family is enough for me! Pres./Sis Fernandez tease us about going home for just a few weeks.... and then... coming back so we can serve the entire three years that Pres/Sis Fernandez serve …. But that would be TOO much for me no matter how much I love these people, our work, and this country! I NEED to see seasons again, I want to ski again AND….need a break from sweating like a pig! (do pigs even sweat – where did that statement even come from?)
Ok… Another transfer has come and gone. About every six weeks we send missionaries back to their homes wherever they came from. These same missionaries we have come to know and LOVE in the 14 months that we have been here, and it is HARD to send them home. We know they must move on to the next phases of their lives, but we miss them. Hopefully when we get home, we can start attending their weddings! We have gotten to meet a few of their parents when/if they come to pick them up which is always a wonderful experience. As part of that transfer process, we get to meet new, incoming missionaries from all over the world and by the time we return home….. we will know and love them as well! OK… I’ll include some pictures and try really hard to get to this blog ON TIME next week! LOT of love – always.
BELOW: Kathren in a full-bawling mode when she saw her gifts. That baby shower was very fun. A couple of additional pictures of her looking at gifts and a final pose of her with the new baby hat I crocheted for her.
BELOW: Kathren, her husband and her 3rd child not yet in school. PS.... just yesterday They had a fat, healthy baby boy weighing in @ almost 8 pounds! Mother and baby are fine..... BUT... they don't let Dads in until after the baby is born.. AND... she is staying in a hospital where she shares not only a room with another mother - but also shares the bed with her! We are spoiled rotten in the US with our health system. I know it is declining quickly but we are SO much better off than most countries!
BELOW: Departing missionaries ... Elder Sainsbury, Elder McKewan and Sis Lee. These are GREAT missionaries!
BELOW: Another example of this beautiful countryside! Just a quick snap of a hillside while we were talking to Roys brother Wes.
BELOW: yet ANOTHER example of what folks do with scooters and motorcycles here. Just another day of furniture moving in the Philippines!
BELOW: Another example of beautiful children and school uniforms. We were stopped in traffic and saw all of these kids together and they are soooo typical of kids everywhere BUT... Filipinos have a gift for posing for a picture. You can see the shy one in the background, the two lovely "gwapa" girls posing and the "cool gwapo" guy who had a very fun attitude reminding me of my wonderfully rotten grandsons! Anyway - I have become a huge fan of school uniforms, and this particular plaid is one of my favorites. Each and every school has their specific plaid. The Brrrrrr season brings kids back to school just like in the good ole US.
BELOW: I just had to show off my sister Jan's flower garden. She has the MOST green thumb and somehow in between her farm-garden, quilting, school teaching, AND canning... she finds time the grow the most beautiful dahlias in the universe! Thanks, Jan, for sharing!
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