This is supposed to be the rainy season and now the typhoon
season and we haven’t seen rain for a week or a typhoon for 6 months. We will probably get hit now just because I
am whining about it. We have our 72
hour kit ready and naturally Valerie had stocked a few extra items in case the
local missionaries end up in need and in our place with us. The Gardners who were in our house before us
were without power for 10 days last year and no water for three days. They were troopers and lasted without a
generator. They finally caved and went
to Naga to a hotel until power and water were restored out here. I won’t have any heroic stories like that to
tell as we have a generator and the minute we are without water I am abandoning
ship and heading to the city comforts of the mission home.
While waiting for a baptism last Saturday we had
a flat tire. I had to change it in the
rain but had lots of help from the locals.
The bad thing was the extra trip to Naga to buy tires on Monday. We had a lunch meeting with President and
Sister Reeder and Hoopes at the mission home.
After a great lunch of “Hawaiian haystacks” we planned a mission
conference for the end of the month.
Then we went back on Tuesday because Valerie had a prescheduled hair
appointment and I had an oil change scheduled from two weeks ago.
It
has been “hurry and wait” mode here for two weeks. We don’t have enough time some days and too much on others. We have planned a family history event for
each of the branches in Iriga district but are having trouble meeting with the
leaders to get them started. It will
happen but it is frustrating waiting.
Last Sunday was amazing. After
all our meeting we went to Iriga to help several members and one investigator
family do family history work. This 12
year old boy did all the inputting on the computer to do three generations of
his investigator family. That is his
mom holding the baby in the background.
His father came and went but was interested in what we were doing. Their family name is Ressureccion. Cool name!
The missionaries were there to help as well and we got a lot
of work done in a short time. The
district has a two computer with printer family history library. It is a nice facility but most district members
can’t afford to get transport from their home branches to the district center.
Here are some of the missionaries with us and a
member who was supposed to hold up the ordiance sheet she produced but she
forgot. It is in her hand.
We had set up an appointment to visit our first high school
at President Tino’s school. We got
there on Thursday only to find it was a teacher’s convention so we didn’t get
to see the students. We are interested
in seeing a high school which are grades 7 to 10 . The government is extending school to grade 12 next term and they
don’t have the facilities, resources, teachers…to do it. From what we have seen in grade school, they
would do better by focusing on the quality of education in the grades they have
now.
Friday was another busy day in Baao. That branch is so alive. We did family history work all day but our
5:00 PM appointments didn’t come. We
were beat by then anyway. This is
“Pretty Boy” Icutan working with Valerie.
His father left the family when Brother Icutan was little so he doesn’t
remember him but always wanted to connect with him. Valerie was helping him search for any records in the military
because his dad was in the navy. We
have tried before without any success.
On Friday Valerie found his father’s death certificate and Brother
Icutan was crushed that he never got to talk with his father. It was sad to see his dream fly away. He is such a great guy and has done so well
as a husband and father. His father
will never knew what a great son he had.
In the afternoon we worked with the first councilor of the
branch presidency and his wife. This is
President Vebal and his wife holding an ordinance sheet with Valerie and Sister
Gloria Bacsain the branch consultant.
On Saturday Valerie had to see a local doctor to
get some antibiotics. My dentist has a
sister who is an MD and she treated us very well. Then we went to Buhi to the open house only to find the church
locked and the gardener said the date had been changed. We have found any communication around here
is very unreliable. We got back to Baao for an afternoon Family Home Evening that was
supposed to start at 1:00 PM. This is
what it looked like at 1:30…and at 2:30
It finally got going at 3:20 and we had to leave at 3:30 for
a stake meeting in Iriga. It did not go
well.
On Sunday we made arrangements for a Family History Event in
Bato and Baao in the next few weeks. We
can’t wait to try this idea. It will
take some management but once it gets going it will be an amazing tool for the
branches and missionaries.
Today the Sisters wanted to run with us as it is P-day. We told them to meet us at 5:20 AM and they
got there at 5:45 and then had to go to our house to drop their water. We started walking through the city to get
to the mountains and they began to lag behind.
They dropped out half way up the mountain and we had to run home 3 miles
to get the car to go back and pick them up.
We fed them breakfast and took them home. We love those girls but…
Hello to my world class family! We love you all sooooo much and miss you
horribly!
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