Another week has FLOWN by and as always, we saw some fun things. Transportation never ceases to amaze me and what we see is living proof that necessity is the mother of all inventions! I’ll explain those pictures as I include them. We did see another VERY naked woman walking down the street…. Guess she was hot!
Today we traveled 3 hours one way, to the southern part of our island to Argao to check out a potential apartment and had some fun interactions with both the Elders and the Sisters! Several are about ready to finish their missions, and some are very, very new and have that “lost” look but it is always fun to interact with them. We often feed them, and our experience is that some very tiny sisters, can eat as much as the 6 foot Elders! The senior missionaries work hard to feed missionaries whenever we can and they really seem to appreciate it! We are also all working with wonderful office Elders that serve as Assistants to the President, Finance Clerks, Vehicle coordinators, AND…. This past transfer Roy and I got our VERY OWN set of missionaries to help with the housing! These young men and women are so impressive and w LOVE them and love working with all of them. We are also working hard to train our new, special housing missionaries to do contracts, interact with Lessors, help with furnishings, etc. They are helpful AND they work their little tails off!
Part of what we did this week was spending time catching up on General Conference (for you non-LDS folks, we have conferences every six months where we gather and listen to our Prophet and the 12 Apostles and other leadership members of the church) and loved every single talk! The whole process here in the Philippines is somewhat delayed but still wonderful. When we sit in a congregation of members it is wonderful to hear them sing, but it is even more wonderful to hear the audible, and LOUD “amen” after every talk. I love these people!
We did our usual apartment inventories this week and then shopping to help improve those apartments. It is a tricky balance to keep the apartments in good condition AND… use the Lords tithing dollars carefully and responsibly. Our mission president is very big on “self-reliance” so the missionaries are NOT pampered and live very simply and humbly. One time some missionaries found an apartment that was technically within our rental limits, but it was so pretty and fancy looking that President Fernandez said “no”… and then asked the Elders what people might think of how we spend our tithes and offerings by spending the Lord’s dollars on “fancy” places? The missionaries agreed with him and understood that their two years of service is humble work. Pretty cool!
Ok… other than that, Roy fixed broken things, and I made curtains and table clothes and lots and lots of cookies for hungry missionaries. We try to bring them treats when we visit them and although sometimes, we have to “counsel” them to keep their apartments cleaner …. They are always happy to see us because we bring yummy things to eat! We chew them out, and then give them cookies and it seems to be a magical combination! Several of the pictures are of eating but I promise that is not the only thing we do! One set of missionaries had really helped us with a move, and I made them a big batch of marshmallow brownies as a thank-you and I believe the entire pan was gone in under 3 minutes!
Another GREAT week and our hearts are happy!
Below: 1st a picture from Roy's own mission to Great Britain... he is only about 19... wow does time fly! The missionaries LOVE seeing our old pictures! Look at that ginormous, fat tie!
Below: I am always intrigued by how many people they can stuff into a vehicle; this one had three rows of at least three! They were taking pictures and having a blast!
This is obviously a truckload of pigs, and you would be surprised how many of those we see in a week!
Below: More pigs, this time on a trike!
Below: This time goats! I am not kidding here... this is an 18-wheeler FULL of goats. At first, I thought they were just on top & then we passed the truck (couldn't get a good picture of the side view) but it had three; yes a triple decker of goats! Not quite sure what they do with them... unlike Africa, very few people here eat goat and there is very little goat cheese, but I see them mowing a LOT of green stuff!
Below: I wish this one was clearer but there is a family of four on this bike.... very common but we have seen as many as six!
Below: Another family on a bike.. and no they are not Muslims. It is very common here to see people with towels and t-shirts on their heads to protect them from the sun. More pictures of that in another entry. Filipinos have AMAZING hair and they keep it well cut and groomed!
Below: Another common site. Mortorcycles are used for many things, and it is very common to see them with these big baskets carrying coconuts, produce, laundry and even pigs and chickens!
Below:, Elder Zayas and Ardon. We treated them to a special dinner at a good, old American Chilis. It was a fun night and we really love these two Elders!! I hope to meet their Mammas someday and congratulate them on their son! To my sister Laura - I want Hollis to marry Elder Zayas!
Below: The helpful elders we paid in brownies! From Left to right, Elder Tatafu, Tafiti, & Amarille. Absolutely LOVE these guys!! The Tongans, Samoans, Aussies and New Zealanders are crazy & fun!
Comentarios