We have now been in the Philippines just more than two months. We were talking about this the other day and were very surprised at how much our point of view has changed over the past two months. I am still NOT crazy about living in a huge, noisy, overpopulated city, but occasionally we get into a “country” area that is so beautiful it makes everything OK. Hidden from our view for now, but in the background, hidden in the mountains, are farms and agriculture. Most of the bananas shipped around the globe come from the Philippines! Little farmers markets are everywhere and the fisherman fish all morning or during the night, and then bring their fish to the market to sell. The only piece of produce I’ve seen that is NOT grown right here are apples. I miss apples but am completely falling in love with the southeast Asian fruits and vegetables! I’ll take some pictures and talk about the wonderful fruits/vegetables in my next blog. BUT…. my point in talking about this is how amazingly self-sufficient the Filipinos are! It truly reminds me of the US many years ago when farmers markets were not “craft fairs” with ridiculously priced fruits and veggies. Most people go to their local market (just a table under a tarp usually and they line the streets!) almost every day. They all have their favorite banana merchant and their favorite egg person. Etc. etc. I see little hand-woven containers that contain just enough rice for their evening meal. They buy fish from the fisherman the day it is caught, and most people have chickens! They eat a LOT of eggs and a LOT of chicken here… oh, and a LOT of rice! They have “unli” rice in many little restaurants and that basically means “unlimited” …. I’ve seen hungry missionaries make a rice tower in the middle of their plate that is almost a foot high and then eat it all! So far we really like the food here although they do some things that are strange to us. Instead of ketchup in a dispenser at McDonalds, they have a gravy dispenser for their rice/chicken meal! Oh another thing that is fun and I’m not sure where or when it started but table knives and almost unheard of here. The locals (I’m learning) use a fork and a spoon much in the British fashion BUT... they use their spoon as their knife. Most think it is so funny when we ask for a knife, and they show us how it’s done. It’s quite efficient and I’m sure I’ll come using utensils just like them!
Another really cool thing that happened is that we got to meet the couple that is in charge of the entire Philippines mission area. He is a "general authority seventy" which mean to anyone not a member of our church... a person that was asked to "serve the Lord" for the rest of his life! He and his wife accepted that request and have been serving in the Philippines for over 4 years now. They left their grown children and grandchildren and came to the other side of the globe to help do good work and spread the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to others. We got to have lunch with them, and they are amazing people.
We also flew to Manilla AND BACK in one day to get fingerprinted. We know this can be done electronically but we do what we are told. It is an important step in getting our 2-year VISA and we hope it comes soon. If not, we lose our driving privileges, and our "work" will be MUCH harder to do. In the course of this past week ... we saw many little miracles to help us get things done and we thank the Lord every day for blessing us so richly.
Something that has really felt good in our hearts is that we feel more and more at home here! Every day we get a little closer to the people and customs and don’t constantly feel like “I wanna go home!!” and I am ashamed to admit that has been a BIG step for us. Roy is the AMAZING outgoing one of us! Most people think I am more sociable than I really am, but Roy is really cool! He is VERY outgoing and gets people’s names and shakes their hands and talks to them and then I feel braver and do the same!
I had a fun moment in church yesterday… I always crochet or knit when I’m sitting, INCLUDING when I am in church. This intrigues many people and is a constant conversation starter when they ask me what I am making. I had a young man of 12 or so approach me while I was still sitting on the bench in church after the meeting and asked me what I was making and then asked me if I would make him a hat. He says he loves royal blue, so I am going to find that kid some royal blue yarn and make him a hat! I wish Susy Pruiett was here – she is the Goddess of hats!! But I am going to do my best. Right after we struck our little bargain his mother came up and worriedly asked me what he wanted, and I laughed and said that he wanted me to make him a hat. We had a fun conversation. In spite of the heat – I am shocked how many people here wear head coverings.
OK…. Once again, I am rambling and better shut this down. I am going to include a few fun pictures for this week, and we’ll be back again next week!
The LDS Manilla Temple
A fun "sculpture in a mall
Old fashioned rickshaw .. pulled by a horse instead of a person.... Popular tourist thing!
Saved the best for last; this is the sign for the area of Dumaguete on the southern part of Negros Island. Notice the top play on words DumaGetMe. The reason for that is that the women are so beautiful in this part of the country that long ago, the Pirates would prey on the people of these islands to steal their women into slavery! I unashamedly begged my grandson Landon to come and visit and we would find him a wife here! The people being funny at the sign were our tour guides at the end of our snorkel trip day. They were great and we have really enjoyed the island of Negros!
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