This post has been needed for a long time! Us who are new to the Philippines have a phrase, "only in the Philippines" and we made a bingo game out of it and I've been capturing pictures to demonstrate what I'm talking about. Not a lot of words this time - but plenty of pictures AND.... this post will be repeated as I gather additional data!
Above: I'll start with Elder Philippi; one of our favorite young missionaries! He is hard working and amazing! Just looks at those eyes' girls!! THIS ... is a picture of him using a local remedy for a cold - whole garlic cloves stuffed up your nose until your nose runs and your eyes are crying and everything falls out. Locals swear by it, and this is both horrifying... AND...a great example of one of our Elders give local traditions a try!
Sinulog ... and Christmas for that matter are still going strong in some communities! Christmas displays are JUST beginning to come down. These are two lovely little girls celebrating Sinulog at their school this week and both are holding the little "petit senor" doll that is so popular during Singulog. And PS.... Filipinos are SOOO good about their pictures being taken. You ask them if you can take a picture and they POSE... and they are flattered. IT is so fun!
Above: we are still seeing parades every few days celebrating Sinulog in each little community. This and the picture below capture examples of local parades that happen in rain or shine and are an important part of the celebrating.
Now for some interesting photos on the lines of "innovation": Above is a pig on its way to being roasted! At first I thought this was an UNKIND way to transport an animal & then I realized that the pig no longer cared because he/she was unalive & headed for roasting for one of thy many local festivals feasts.
Below: a picture of a small truck carrying the cab of a BIG truck. The thing we found so interesting was that the people in the cab being transported were watching and actually had their hands on the steering wheel the entire time we followed behind... and we were quite a while stuck in traffic.
Below: the guys below were obviously taking their young coconuts to market .. on the best vehicle they had! We were on the same road with them for about 10 miles and passed then several times to get photos. They became very aware of it and started smiling at us. I wish I had gotten one of their poses... but we thought they were pretty innovative in using a giant bag of coconuts for a chair... and carrying their coconut harvesting tool all while they were riding a motorcyled!
Below: sugar cane is alive and well in the Philippines! They manufacture their own sugar products, and we use only locally grown sugar (and rice!). The sugar cane is still harvested by hand with back-breaking labor using machetes. We asked why ... & we are told that they won't go to advance harvesting because it provides labor and money for many people.
ABOVE: it is moving day, and you don't have a truck! I didn't get a great shot of this, but we really got a kick out of it. This is a classic example of making do with what you have. This family is obviously moving. They used a small trike-thing to get their nice, king-sized bed. If I remember correctly, we saw 5-6 guys holding the bed up so they could get it where it needed to go. Who says you need a Uhaul!!
Below; I'll finish with another picture of one of our favorite young missionaries. This is Jasmine Amai who was born in New Zealand and was raised the last 10 years in Australia in a Filipino community! She speaks Cebuano fluently! There are lots of families and couples working back-forth between the Philippines and Australia and New Zealand! Sis Amai is amazing & Today is her birthday so we have her on our hearts and minds. She is not only beautiful on the outside; but just as amazing on the inside and......she is 6 feet tall and does an amazing Haka! She is one of the hardest working missionaries in the entire mission and we absolutely love her and KNOW that the Lord loves her too and appreciates her sacrifice and the work she does! She is so cool and all the children LOVE her!
Comments