This will be a fast catch up
blog. On Monday, December 7 the mission
home had their Christmas party. All the
employees of the local mission home, mission office and Sr missionaries were
invited. It is an annual thing. Each group or family had to perform some
talent they have so there were musical numbers, instruments played, singing
groups and kids doing dance numbers.
The two Sr couples and Sister Reeder sang Silent Night. It was a pot luck party too so there was and
abundance of food. There was some adobo
so I was very happy. This is the table
of food for the buffet.
There is more there than you can see. It was quite a spread of Filipino food.
A
friend of ours named Willie is holding his 7 month old grandson. This boy was very beefy for a Filipino
baby. He was a sweet little man!
It
was quite a crowd for the mission home.
On
Tuesday we met the sister missionaries in Pomplona in the morning and Pasacau
elders in the afternoon. We did
individual training's with the 6 companionship's. Transfers are a week away and we wanted to train all the Pomplona
zone so the ones leaving would be trained and ready for their new areas. Some of the missionaries we have worked
with in Iriga are here and trained but are going home. This is a brother and sister in Pasacau
where Joel worked. He baptized a few
people there. This is Raymond and
Memorie that Joel baptized. She told me
her whole conversion story that day.
She was using the church’s sewing machine to make a dress for her niece that day.
Filipino food.
We went to Sipocot on
Wednesday. It is a about two hours
north west of here. We trained the
elders and the zone leaders. The branch
president is a very interesting man. He
is a retired barangay sanitation inspector.
He is in very good shape because he would walk about 15 km a day for work. He has buried two wives and had five children with his third
wife. He has 8 kids in all and is
planning a sr mission with his wife next year. I will get pictures of him next time we go up there.
On the way to Ragay the next day, which is about
3 hours away we passed this giant bottle of soya sauce in a rice field. The White Swan company makes vinegar and
soya sauces of many flavors. They must
have a factory near here.
These
are the elders who serve in the city of Ragay.
We hope to go to church there soon.
They are very good missionaries and we had a great day with them.
On
Friday we drove to Libmanan to train the elders there. Elder Key is from California but moved to
Utah with his family a few years ago.
His parents are both Samoan and you can see why he played college
football for Utah state before his mission as a line backer. He is 6’6” tall and the sweetest man
ever. The district leader is a big boy from New Zealand. His name is Elder Afoe and his family are
from Tonga. Sister Cedron and her
husband are helping. She is the
district family history consultant and Memoria is her assistant. They don’t’ know each other yet but are
becoming acquainted through their calls together.
After
we finished the training in Libmanan we drove back to Pamplona to meet the
sisters to go Christmas Caroling. We
had a great time with them although, walking through tiny alleys and across
rice fields after dark is not easy as my feet are too big and I am a giant over
here. I am constantly banging my face
on things. I don’t know how these missionaries that are over 6’ can do it.
They must be bent over for two years.
These are the sisters we sang with.
We
are so over legislated in Alberta it is sick.
I am trying not to be involved in politics while we are serving here but
I have been reading about the new proposed farming rules and laws. There are no laws here and they do just
fine. They use the highways as their garages,
service areas, playgrounds, walking paths, front yards, rice drying areas…and
we all make it happen. It is a strange
thing but we make it work. The highways
a very congested with all the traffic and activity. We call the roads, “Multi-use areas”. Often when driving on the national highway we will see a twig or
a palm leaf layong on the road and that is the road flare that there is
something on the road ahead. Usually it
is a stalled truck getting repaired on the roadway. This next picture is for my friends back home who haul
things. Please note the warning flag
hanging off the metal rods. It is a
box!
Saturday
was amazing! We went to a baptism in
Igayugan across Buhi lake. Nine people
were baptized by eight people baptizing.
We walked about two miles into the jungle to get to the pool in the
river where the service was performed.
We called it the waters of Mormon.
The elders took a tarp and tied it between palm trees for a change
room. This is a picture of some of the
group but all of the baptismal participants.
We are practicing for a
Christmas service in Naga 3rd ward where we live now. We haven’t been to sacrament service there
yet but will next week for the first time.
We haven’t been in a ward for a year so it may be different. We have loved serving in the branches.
This is another week and we are on the run! We love you all…Merry Christmas! We hope the family will get together for
even a few hours over the holidays.
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