Sister Missionary Conference
Monday we drove to Tarlac for the Sister Missionary conference. They had a great day together. Sisters Dansie, Whiting and Pugh put on a skit and training about gossiping at the end of lunch, just before the fashion show.
The mission Assistants to the President drove the mission van to Gapan and Cabanatuan to pickup sisters so that they would not need to ride the bus. Two of the sisters got car sick on the way over. The mission rented a Jeepnee to pickup the sisters from San Jose and Guimba. All the sisters from the Tarlac side are closer and they took the normal transportation.
We gave a ride to one of the car-sick sisters (and companion) who live in cabanatuan thinking that the car would be smoother than the van. It almost worked. We were about 4 minutes from their apartment when she got sick again. Fortunately, everyone carries a small towel to wipe your face in the heat. The towel doubled at the car sick bag.
New Senior Missionaries
Thursday we drove to Munoz (only 1 hour with no construction delays) to meet the internet installers and do the final cleaning on the house for a the New Senior Missionaries. The installers were due at 10:00 am and called to get better direction to the house. Houses do not have consistent addresses like we are used to. By noon they hadn't come so we headed to their office up the street. Of course it was closed for lunch. So back at 1:00 pm and the girl told us between 2-3:00 pm maybe. When we quizzed her further it was obvious that she had no knowledge of what the installers schedule. So we went back and waited. They showed up about 2:30 pm. We left the Zone Leaders to lock up after the installers and headed to Tarlac (1.5 hours) for dinner at the Mission Home with all of the Senior Missionaries include the Spung's who just arrived. Since it was late and raining after dinner we stayed at the Microtel in Tarlac that night. Friday we visited the WW II memorial at Campas
WW II Memorial
During WW II, about 74,000 Filipino and 11,000 American solders were trapped on the Batan Peninsula with no hope of rescue, no ammunition and food running out. So the decision was made to surrender to the Japanese who according to the Geneva Convention would to provide food and medical care.
History records that the Japanese assumed that there were 10,000 or so POW and accepted the surrender. The Japanese troops were also low on food and were overwhelmed with the actual numbers. The Japanese planned to move big guns onto the Bataan shore to drive the American forces off on the Island of Corregidor in Manila Bay---so they needed to evacuate the POW quickly. The infamous Bataan Death March began and soldiers had to walk to San Fernando about 90 miles in 5 days. They marched without food or water or medical help from the Japanese who were also destitute. Discipline failed and the Japanese soldiers inflicted cruelness and neglect on the POW during the March as the casualties mounted up by the hour. Local civilian's lined the way trying to give food and water to the soldiers and they were stopped by the Japanese.
"We march to the San Fernando station where we were herded into crowded boxcars like cattle getting ready for the slaughterhouse. Each box car could accommodate about 50 prisoners. There must have been 150 in our car." "In a mater of minutes we were suffocating for lack of air and were being cooked alive in a 110 degree oven."
The train to Camp O'Donell was only 4 hours and 30 miles but many died in each car during the short ride. About 10,000 patriot soldiers died on the march and ride.
After reaching Camp O'Donell, many were sent to Japan to help with construction projects. Some of the most sick were moved to a camp by Cabanatuan.
The conditions in Camp O'Donell were so poor that another 20,000 died of disease and malnutrition. POW doctors were seeing diseases that they had never seen before resulting from simple lack off basic nutrients.
The monument includes 31,000 trees planted in rows to commemorate those who had died.
Camp O'Donnell was originally commissioned by FDR and built by American's to train Filipino youth to be soldiers.
The American prisoners at Camp O'Donell were given some cement and so they made a cement cross to honor their fallen comrades. That cross was later relocated in 1992 to a National Historic Site in Anderson, Georgia and a replica stands in it's place at the monument.
We drive by the POW campsite outside of Cabanatuan regularly. It became famous when over 500 POW were rescued near the end of the war. There is a movie on NetFlix about the rescue and a book called "Ghost soldiers." Movie is pretty good. There is another monument at this campsite and a 2nd monument next door honoring the graduates of West Point who were at this camp.
Our 1st Typhoon
Typhoon Karen was the first Typhoon to hit our part of the country. It was rated as a hurricane category 1 possibly building to cat 2. It hit the coast town Baler (where we were last week) early Sunday morning with winds of 85 mph and tide surges. The 8 Missionaries assigned to Barangays (towns) around Baler moved into Cabanatuan friday night and are bunking with the Zone Leaders here. 10 Elders in a 2 story apartment a little smaller than ours. We took them 2 extra fans and a watermelon to go with their spaghetti on Saturday.
All missionaries were told to stay in their apartments until 2:00 pm Sunday or later if the rain was bad. All church meetings were cancelled today. The heavy rain/wind started at our house around 11:00 pm and was slowing down by 9:00 am this morning. Fortunately the Typhoon stayed Cat 1 and so it wasn't anything news worthy. We're spending the day inside too and some of the afternoon thunderstorms have been short but heavier than the main part. It's 3:00 pm Sunday now and the clouds are just a normal rainy season day.
The biggest problem will be flooding later Sunday and into Monday as the rain fills the river from the mountains. This photo is our street at 5:00 pm Sunday. Our street leads to another street which floods easily. If we go the other direction there is another sunken area that will also be flooded, so we're just staying home until Monday. All Missionary apartments are out of the flood zones and so except for some leaky roofs, everyone should be OK today.
The flood waters carry a highly contagious bacterial disease called leptospirosis. So the Mission Presidents wife asked us to buy a supply of doxycycline antibiotic to have on hand for any missionary who has to wade through flood waters. Fortunately, we have a member friend who works at a pharmacy and she helps us with issues like this without a prescription. In Philippines you only need a prescription for antibiotics and pain meds. Everything else is OTC. But when you deliver a prescription, they don't record your name in their computer and they hand the prescription back to you since it has the instructions. They only give you a sheet of blister pack pills.
Misc
We heard a plane flying overhead a couple days ago. First time we've heard a plane. Never even see vapor trails. There are no commercial airports or rail lines in this part of Luzon Island. Produce is only trucked a short distance so we really are eating "locally grown" vegetables. For instance, Pineapples and Mangos are out of season now and hard to get. 2 months ago, Pineapples were 3 for $2 at the road side stands.
Below are some photos with titles for your perusal with captions.
