A New Year

New Years

New Years was very spectacular.  It's a major celebration.  Fireworks are legal and plentiful.  By dark, the firecrackers were continuous and then the aerial displays began. By 11:30 pm the skies were a continuous burst of color as far as you could see. The entire panorama alive from left to right.  Our 2nd story back window looks into some vacant area and give us an almost unobstructed view of 20-30 burst at any moment.  Finally about 12:15 people started to drift off to bed and things slowed down.

Watermelon

Most produce is trucked from the region during season. Pineapples were piled high at the street stands when we arrived last summer.  Now you can only buy them in the grocery stores, trucked in from a dole plantation someplace at 5 times the price.  Watermelons started about 6 weeks ago and were pretty good.  A few days ago, we bought a small seedless melon from a trike driver loaded with fresh melons grown about 2 hours away.  It turned out to be almost as good as the infamous green river melons.  We devoured in so fast that we drove back to where they were selling a couple days later and they weren't there.  Snooze you lose.

This week the Mango season started.  There are mango trees in many yards and so mangoes have suddenly become cheap and fresh. We'll be enjoying mangoes now for a few weeks unrestricted.

Pop Bottle Art

We commissioned a palm tree sculpture from an elderly Pop Bottle artist. She was making Christmas Decorations and selling them from a booth in front of her house. When we received the piece, it was an amazing amount of detail.  Take a look below.

Transfer Day Lunch

12 pizzas consumed in 12 minutes flat by 30 people.

12 pizzas consumed in 12 minutes flat by 30 people.

This week Thursday was transfer day again. Instead of fixing P&J for the transferring missionary's lunch we opted for pizza.  Shakeys 2 for 1 pizzas has long been a missionary favorite. So the night before transfer we drove to the other end of town in rush hour traffic, fought a crazy parking lot to find that Shakeys' at Robinson Mall had closed. So we reverse our route and went to the Shakey's at SM City.  We need to preorder 6 orders of pizzas on the 2 for 1 rewards card = 12 pizza.  We were informed that we could only buy 2 orders. We persisted and finally the manager agreed to 3 orders. So we purchased 3 orders. The girl said we could come back later and place another order.  We wandered the mall for a few minutes and returned to place another order. This time we were told we couldn't order the other 3 until the next day. So we walked 50 feet to Pizza Hut and preordered the rest of our pizzas on their 2 for 1 special.  We learned that (1) you can't trick the Philippine system, (2) missionaries like Pizza Hut better than Shakeys and (3) pizza hut 2 for 1 are cheaper than Shakeys.  Next time, where do you think we'll go?

Cute Kids

The other night, Elder Dansie walked a couple blocks to an in-home shop to buy "load" for his mobile phone.  Along the walk, we accumulated a small group of followers.  Kids this young know very little english and so you talk with smiles and high fives.

 

 

Trike and Jeepnee Loading

Here are some videos of missionaries loading into a Trike and Jeepnee.

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Top 10+ Trivia of 2016

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This blog will be a summary of the things we see and experience every day.

#1 -The Bridge to Nowhere 

This is our favorite story of 2016.  The bridge was built several years ago to replace the crumbling one way bridge over the stream.  Apparently, the highway planners haven’t had time to connect the highway to the bridge.  The old detour bridge is collapsing on one side. A large truck crossed in front of us so we decided it was safe for the corolla.  Down the road was an excavator and dump trucks laying new concrete.  They too must have crossed the old bridge because it’s the only way to travel the road that dead ends about 5 miles further.

#2 - "Not Available"

"Not Available" is the catch all phrase for  out of stock, we don't have that item, machine broken, out of service, being repaired, item has been discontinued, etc.  Here's an example. We went to Pizza Hut and...

 

I'd like the mango salad please.  Sorry Sir, Not Available
How about the Caesar then. Sorry Sir, Not Available.
What salad do you have? Sorry Sir, No Salads Available.
OK, I'd like the fettuccine pasta with...Sorry Sir, Not Available.
You mean there is no pasta either? Yes, Sorry Sir, No Pasta Available.
How about the Fish and Chips? Sorry Sir, Not Available.
The Chicken? Sorry Sir, Not Available.
What is Available?  Let me show you which pizzas are available.
Thanks but we'll come back another time....

So we went back a couple days ago. We tried to order the #2 special for 2 people for 249 pesos ($5.)  It included mushroom soup (Unavailable and can't substitute the french onion),  pasta (unavailable) and you couldn't have the 2 separate personal pizzas as shown in the picture.  You had to have the larger Christmas Special pizza. What, they couldn't divide the dough into 2 pieces?  But they did have the Mango salad this time which was not part of the #2 special.  

Also it's impossible to modify anything on the menu.  Like we've ordered Canton Panacini several times and asked the waiter to hold the meat and make it vegetarian.  Last time we ordered "without meat" they doubled the meat.  Try ordering a Big Mac without lettuce?

#3- Dance Contest

One of the zone activities included several contests.  Elder Dansie won for holding a singing note the longest.  Sister Dansie won for her energetic Dancing. You can view it here.

#4- Tip the Garbage Truck

We are lucky.  Garbage pickup is every other day at our apartment.  Many of the missionaries have no garbage pickup and must bury or burn their garbage.

You hang the wet garbage on a fence, off the ground, so that the cats and dogs won't eat it. The dry stuff can sit on the ground however, some one will come by and tear open your bag and remove the plastic bottles and cardboard. We put our plastic and cardboard outside the bag. But that doesn't stop bag robbers. Some mornings kids as young as 5 or 6 tear open your dry garbage looking for bottle and don't clean up the mess.

Before Christmas they ring your bell or bang or your gate and hand you an envelop asking for a Christmas gift/tip for team in truck #3.  Two days later, they rang the bell again.  I told him I donated last time.  He pointed to the truck #14 with the envelope extended in his other hand.

#5- You Can Stay in Our Guest House

The small shack on the right is plywood and tin roof with dirt floor. A family lives there. They have electricity because (1) there is a wire strung from the house on the left and (2) they play their boom box very loud.  Don't know about the plumbing other than there is a large field behind.

#6- Ice Cream from 7/11

The best ice cream is the Belgian Chocolate Ice Cream cones at some 7/11.  It’s super delicious, 18 pesos ($.36) and melts before you can get out the door.  I say “some” because one day in Clark City, we went to five 7/11 before we found one with an ice cream machine.  Or one night, we were traveling up the highway from the other end of town and stopped at every 7/11. The machines were either broken, out of materials to freeze or cleaned for the night.  Finally about 3 kilometers past our house we found a large gas station with 7/11 who had our cone.  The picture is of Sister Dansie dodging rush hour traffic in Zaragoza with our ice cream cones.  Elder Dansie was double parked in the street with hazard lights on holding up traffic (like every else does!)

#7- Basketball Everywhere

Basketball is the primary sport to the exclusion of almost all other sports. Basketball hoops show up everywhere.  Each neighborhood has a large pavilion with basketball standards at each end.  Every LDS church has 2 basketball standards in the parking lots. So a lot of hoops but few nets.  Elder Dansie was shooting baskets with a boy on the street one morning and the rim was made of rebar but barely the size of the basketball.  The pole was so wobbly that each time you hit the backboard, the pole tilted back and changed the angle of bounce.  Successful baskets were about 1 in 20 shots.

#8- Growing Rice

Once the rice is harvested, the fields are burned or plowed under, rest for a couple weeks, flooded again and the process starts again.  Rice takes 128 days from germination to harvest so most fields only get 2 crops a year.  This shot includes a “calickney” tractor plowing and a Caribou pulling a leveling drag.  The rice field workers, planters and harvesters are among the lowest paid jobs making 150-200 pesos a day. ($3-$4) Fast food and gas station attendants average 300-400 a day. A graphic designer job advertised at 400 pesos a day.

#9- T-Shirts

It’s just about impossible to buy a plain T-shirt in town. I don’t know who comes up with sayings but they run the course.  There are a lot of 2nd hand and liquidation shirts from the USA.  One fellow was wearing a John Stockton / Jazz Jersey.  Sister Dansie tried to talk to him about the Jazz but he didn’t have a clue about Stockton or the Jazz.  Many shirts have American references. One said “support the troops in Desert Storm” with an American flag.

#10- Typical Rush Hour

We were just finding out the rush hour times so that we could avoid the highway, then the holidays hit. All the kids are out of school for 2 weeks so the rush hour is pretty much whenever we get on the highway to drives.

#11- Alleys

If you look at the aerial maps, you’ll see clusters of roofs behind other houses with no apparent streets to get to them.  Actually, there are many alleys that wander back to the structures behind. Families also live together in quasi compounds.  You’ll often find that the alley zig zags back through several houses, all belonging to the same extended family who watch over and care for each other.

Christmas Arrived!

Does Santa Come to the Philippines?

Yes Santa does come to the Philippines on Christmas but the photo ops are few.  The Malls are all owned by Chinese companies who don't celebrate Christmas but they do close on New Years Day.  So on Christmas Day afternoon, you can visit a weary Santa at SM City Mall and have your picture taken.  

But there were a special few who had their picture taken with Santa aka Elder Dansie at the Kalikid Branch Christmas Party.  The lights went dim, the music blarred "Here Comes Santa Claus" and Santa arrived with Apples, Candy Canes and treat for anyone who would sit on his lap.  It was the first time that Santa had attended a Kalikad Christmas party ever.  There were no less than 10 cameras trained on every child as they visited Santa.  The 25 apples were gone in 20 minutes.

It was a chore to find a Santa suit, but we found a dress rental shop on the 2nd floor of the public market who also had some Santa Suits.  The largest one almost fit so we rented it for 500 pesos ($10) for 3 days.  The beard looked like it was made out of the twisted fibers of a mop so hard to fool anyone over 4 years old.

Christmas Conferences

Two Christmas Conferences were held on the 23rd and 24th.  One for the missionaries on the Cabanatuan side and the other for the Tarlac side missionaries.  The morning was filled with instruction.  Lunch was catered and it's amazing how quickly 100+ missionaries can fill a plate heaped with rice, chicken, vegetables and more. Afterwards, each zone brought a contribution to decorate the Christmas tree.  Decorations ranged from tree topping stars that were half the size of the tree to pop bottle ornaments to a fully lighted "Merry Christmas" placque.

Then the senior Couples took over and created 4 stations for 4 groups to rotate.  The Dansie's set up 3 activity do-it-yourself areas (1) Decorate and eat a sugar cookie, (2) Christmas coloring and (3) Photo booth with Elder Dansie being the photographer. We had an assortments of hats, leis, flowers and props for companionships to don making the photos light hearted keepsakes.

The missionaries from America spread the icing and sprinkles so thick the first day that we had to go buy another 2 kilo bag of powdered sugar.  Many of the local missionaries found the sugar overload surprising and their American companion finished them off.

More program and when ready to leave, the entire cultural hall floor was covered with Christmas packages from home.  The largest came on DHL and measured 30x30x30 inches. The freight must have been pretty steep. Ironically, it was for an Elder in Baler who got to lug the package to the terminal and a 4 hour bus ride home.

Birthday Party

The Cabanatuan zone missionaries, including the Dansie's were invited to a spaghetti / chicken lunch for a cute 6 year old member.  Everyone ate fast and were back to work in 30 minutes.

 

 

 

All I want for Christmas is a Power Saw

We needed 2 sheets of plywood cut to go on bed frames to keep the mattress from sagging. The plywood wouldn't fit in the Corolla so Elder Dansie jumped in Brother Alan's trike and headed for the lumber store.  The first three stores didn't have a way to cut the sheets to size and we didn't have a saw.  Finally we found a small back alley shop that sold a limited selection but most important they would cut it for us.  We bought 2 sheets, hoisted one on an outside bench. The carpenter drew a line and cut the sheets with amazing accuracy....for about 40 linear feet by hand.  We strapped them on the trike and delivered to the missionary apartment.  Check that off the list.

Christmas Omelettes

Christmas Eve, we returned from Tarlac Conference about 6:00 pm and decided to stop by Kenny Rogers for a Christmas eve dinner. Their roasted chicken is tasty and plump.  Most fast food chicken is breaded deep fried skinny chickens.

A Dansie Christmas tradition is Omelettes and Scone brunch on the 24th.  Elder Dansie found some yeast at a specialty baking store and Christmas Day we enjoyed Omelettes and Scones for lunch after attending Church.  Our cooking equipment is limited and so the yeast was inadvertently doubled.  But when the scones cooked, they were amazingly fluffy. Anyone holding the infamous scone recipe should double the yeast and stand back as they expand in the pan.  These may be the first western style scones ever cooked in Cabanatuan.

Chrismas is Coming

Merry Christmas Everyone!

This will be our first and last Christmas in the Philippines!  Even though the stores started selling Christmas Decorations and the Malls played Christmas music in September, houses were not really decorated until December.  We have a couple of pop bottle decorations outside, a small artificial Christmas Tree and a hand carved wooden nativity.

Elder Dansie has been invited to be Santa at the Kalikid branch Christmas Party on the 21st.  He asked if he was cast because he is the fattest in the branch.  The answer was, "Santa is white." We've been here long enough that we forget we are in the minority. We get around, shop and maneuver like a local now. So now we are on a quest to find or improvise a Santa outfit in 2 days. We'll start at the huge public market and go from there tomorrow.

Christmas is a Time for Tipping

Tipping is not expected in the Philippines. Most restaurants add a service charge to cover the tip.  But for public services, that's different.

Garbage Truck #3 came by ringing everyone's doorbell and handed out envelopes that say "Merry Christmas Garbage Collection Team #3." So either give some money or your garbage may not get collected.  Garbage collection is every other day. So Sunday morning the door bell rang again and I said, We gave money 2 days ago to truck #3.  He pointed to the #14 on this truck. So tip again.  Tuesday will be truck #? and we'll tip again I guess.

Then the doorbell rang again and a bunch of guys were canvasing the street.  This time the Barangay Police (community police.)  I didn't know we had police but a generous tips should ensure that they watch our house. 

Tonight when we drove into our parking and 2 young boys rushed up to sing a Christmas Carol. So "We wish you a Merry Christmas| cost us 10 pecos and they were off to another car pulling in.

Baler

During the week we made another trip to beautiful Baler on the ocean.  This time we made time for a full day of exploring the Dicasalarin Cove further.  What was different this time was that the tide was out and uncovered hundreds of feet of rock shelf.  The rain stopped for the entire time we explored and began again that night. There was a group of Porsche owners staying at the hotel. Each day they would journey off for a day trip and back. It was very unusual to see history Porsche in this part of the country.

7 Wonders Engineering Feat

We love this bridge as an example of planning ahead.  Notice that the old bridge is caving in.  Hope they figure out how to connect the road to the new bridge soon.

 

Finding A New Apartment Fast!

The Elders in a Cabanatuan ward have been living in a less than desirable location and searching for a better house. During transfer on Dec 8, President Clark decided to switch the area to be served from Elders to Sister Missionaries.  The house was unsafe for two sisters living alone so we needs a new apartment fast.  That night we looked at one and Thursday morning during transfer time we checked out more.  None of them were right.  The Sisters were already on the bus from Tarlac and no place to stay. So we prayed and asked the Lord to give us a hand.

We had been trying to text a good brother in the ward  to get suggestions but he didn't answer the text.  10 minutes later he showed up at the Stake Center and said that he was out of load and wasn't getting text.  

As we chatted he said that there was one new apartment built as the caretakers apartment attached to a nice new house. But he had talked with the Landlord two weeks before and the Landlord wouldn't rent to Mormons.  I asked him if he would take us (Zone leader and Elder Dansie) after transfer lunch anyway.

So about 2:00 pm we drove over to a perfect, quaint, private street lined with very nice large houses. It’s only wide enough for a car and trike. 2 cars won’t fit. We parked and Elder C and Jay went down the street to get the Landlord about 200 feet.

Landlord came out, they chatted while I walked up and introduced myself.

He said, I’ve met you (someplace I couldn’t Understand)

We shook hands as he said, Do you want to rent my house?

Across the street from his home, he built a beautiful 2 story house for rent.  It has a “servants” apartment attached.

I said I couldn’t afford his house but we need an apartment for 2 sister missionaries.

He said, let’s me show you the new apartment.

Then we went to the apartment next door. Newly constructed, paint buckets still on the floor.

We discussed needing screens and some paint touch up.  He agreed to all.

There is a nice small couch sitting in the living area. I asked if it could stay.  He said “sure.”

Then we talked contract and he insisted on using his own lease papers.

We chatted for a few minutes and he was suddenly OK with the normal Church provided lease and payment terms.

So 4 hours after we ducked in to the classroom in prayer, we have a new, beautiful apartment for sisters in the nicest street in the ward. Directly behind the chapel.  We moved furniture from the old house on Saturday and the Sisters moved in Monday. They bunked with some other sisters for a few days.

The Lord watches over Missionaries and softens hearts when needed.

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What Do Senior Missionaries Do?

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What Do We Do?

Senior couples are called to a variety of mission activities such as:

  • Service (Work in Church Programs Part Time, usually near when you live)
  • Humanitarian  (Internationally, Build wells, schools, teach agriculture)
  • Specific Program Oversight (Perpetual Education Fund, Self Reliance, etc.)
  • Temple (Work in temples)
  • Specific Assignment (Public Affairs, engineering, IT, Medical, Etc)
  • Office Couples (Work in the mission office, finances, apartment leases, correspondence, VISA)
  • Member and Leader Support (MLS)

Missions can be part time or full time. Live at home, same country or foreign. Senior Couple missions are 6, 12, 18 or 22 months.  Senior couples pay all of their own expenses including travel, rent, utilities, food....just like living at home.

We fall into the "Member and Leader Support" category. So what do we really do?  Anything that is needed to help the wards, branches, mission and missionaries. President Clark assigned us to the following assignments and asked us to use our initiative to figure out where we can be of most help.

Support the Bongabon District and it's 5 Branches

We attend the Kalikid (25 minute drive) and Palayan (35 minute drive) branches on alternate Sundays. The other branches are Bongabon (60 minutes), Galbondan (90 minutes) and Dingalan (2 hours drive) by the Ocean.  Look at the google map in satellite view and you will see that there are very few highways and rice fields as far as you can see.

The District Primary President recruited Sister Dansie to talk at the District Primary commemoration program.

Next the District President asked Elder Dansie to serve of the District (high) council with specific assignment of Family History and Sister Dansie as a Family History Specialist. So we're working with branches to get computers installed, branch family history specials called and trained, and motivate members to do genealogy. Because of the geographical distance between branches and most members do not have their own transportation (Trike, Motorcycle or Car) we will be setting up a family history area is each branch.

Elder Dansie and two other District Councilors are also putting on a Home Teachers training program at each Branch. Last week it was at Dingalan (2 hours drive).  It was supposed to start at 1:00 pm but actually started at 2:00 pm.  So we left home at 7:30 am for Church in Galbondon, then on to Dingalan at 1:00 returning home at 5:30 pm.  We take plenty of water and snacks along.

When national family week came along in September we joined the district in celebration and taught the Kalikid ward a couple of American games during a branch party.

We have also gone Home Teaching a couple times with Branch Members.

From the Mission side of things, we support the Missionaries in these branches also by attending their baptisms, district meetings and go with them to visit investigators and members.  Working with the missionaries gives us a first hand glimpse of the dedication and hard work they do.

Support Cabanatuan Stake

Since we live in Cabanatuan Stake, we also get involved with the activities there.  We put on a stake training for all ward councils and missionaries on how to be a team.  Sister Dansie talked about teamwork and commissioned one of the ward mission leaders to be the team captain of his ward...complete with a Detroit Pistons jersey we found at the public market.

We also support the 20 Missionaries in Cabanatuan Stake by attending their district meetings and their zone activities.

Missionary Apartment Checks

We also check the Missionary apartments to ensure that they are safe and healthy.  This includes filling the car trunk with spare parts, toilet seats, light bulbs, irons, ironing board covers, locks and fans. Each stop includes minor repairs like installing locks, fixing electrical problems, installing light fixtures, and fixing toilets!

The most use part in our spare parts is the handle on toilets.  Some toilets have broken handles that have not functioned for years. Locals just use a ladle of water from the shower bucket to flush the toilet. Yes it gets all over the room.  Getting toilets to function correctly can be very gross.

Also some bathrooms in older homes have built up with hard water deposits, especially the toilets.  But we found that if you squirt Muratic Acid on the walls and toilet then brush, you can clean almost everything.  Bathrooms in Philippines are "wet rooms" with tile and 2 or 3 drains. Showering in most apartments in a faucet about 3 feet up to fill a large bucket of water.  You use a ladle to pour over yourself.  They all have hand sprayers coming off the toilets so after the Muratic Acid it's easy to hose down the entire room and into the drains. WARNING:  Muratic acid is dangerous. Not good to breathe.  Splatters of concentrated acid eats holes in your pants as Elder Dansie found out one day.

We also get involved in relocating apartments when current locations are unsafe or unhealthy. One changed because the mold gave an elder pneumonia. Another because the owner sold the house. So life is interesting in the Philippines.

When we first arrived, we checked all of the apartments/houses on the Cabanatuan Side of the mission which was about 45 units and 6 tanks of gas. Another senior couple arrived and so our territory has been reduced to about 30. Fortunately we still get to go to Baler, a beautiful ocean community only 4 hours drive.

Mission Support

Sister Clark solicits our help in various ways like helping missionaries obtain special medications or once, evacuate a missionary from Dingalan because of a medical problem.

One fun quest was to find a regular supply of affordable white shirts for Elders.  In the Philippines the trend is to wear white shirts with a lavender tint.Getting the official missionary pure white is a challenge.  We finally found a vendor at the Public Market who was willing to drive to Manila and pickup from her supplier.  We held our breath until she returned with shirts that were pure white. The price was right also...about $6.50 USD.

Then there are zone conferences and other events we attend wherever they are.  The senior sisters put on a skit about gossiping at a Sisters Conference in Tarlac in October.  Sister Dansie was the biggest grapevine in the skit.

Each 6 weeks is transfer day.  Some missionaries complete their missions and leave. Others arrive. Others are reassigned.  Our job is to support the Cabanatuan side of the mission on transfer day.  This means feeding those who wait for the bus from tarlac and those arriving.  100 P&J usually covers the lunch. Then we get involved dealing with the fall out like suitcases left behind, packages not forwarded, etc.  One transfer day the only key to a house was left in Cabanatuan and after lunch we drove to LaPaz about 70 minutes away to deliver the key.

Twice  we have been the pizza delivery service to zones who achieve their standard of excellence award.  We order a stack of pizza from Shakeys (2 for 1) as soon as they open at 10:00 am, wait while they cook and race to the award party 90 minutes away.

We are also invited to more events than we can attend...especially at this Christmas Season. President and Sister Clark hosted a Christmas social for all of the stake and district leaders in the mission at the mission home Dec 2.  All senior couples earned our dinner by being on the program along with a 20 missionary chorus. Since the Mission home is 1:40 drive, we stayed overnight in Tarlac instead of a midnight drive home. Next day we took the long way home via Clark City (old Clark Air Force Base) to look around and have great pizza at the huge SM mall nearby.

Best of All

Best of all, every day is filled with a feeling of being guided by the holy ghost in everything we do. Missionary needs and work come together with amazing efficiency overcoming seemly insurmountable tasks.

To hear detail of some of the events, read the other blogs...

 

 

 

Thanksgiving? Just Another Day!

Thursday: Thanksgiving

Most Filipinos have never heard of the American Thanksgiving holiday so it's just another day in the Philippines. We drove to Penancia for an Apartment Check and then to San Leanardo to make some repairs. Then we joined the San Leanardo Elders for a birthday lunch of a new member.

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Along the way we stopped at a lady who makes items out of pop bottles.  We bought a Christmas Star and ordered a custom palm tree.  The tree went through the internal missionary handout from one elder to another and then got caught in transfer.  We have no idea which apartment is enjoying our pop bottle palm tree.

The birthday gentleman's extended family lives in 3 dwellings on a small farm where they grow beans, okra, papaya and rice.  They cook outdoors in a shared cooking area. The roof overhead is perfect for shorter Filipinos but Sister Dansie and I had to watch our heads as we walked around.

When we arrived, there was a table set with tablecloth, their finest dishes and a row of silver warming dishes like you would see on a buffet.  The table was set for we four guests. The rest of the family was already eating on other tables spread around the compound.

The meal was great, especially the deep fried spring rolls. The drink was RC Cola. Have you had any RC Cola lately? They sent a huge papapya with us fresh off the tree.  We enjoyed it along with all the other fresh fruit we buy at the market or roadside stands.

After we went with the Missionaries to teach another family.  It was a daughters birthday the following day and the extended family was making coconut flan in an outdoor cooking area.  The flan was super tasting.

Then we were off to visit another Sister and her daughter. The people we visited didn't know it was Thanksgiving but we were Thankful for them and their hospitality.

Friday: After Thanksgiving

The day after Thanksgiving all of the Senior Couples were invited to the Mission home for Thanksgiving. We were asked to bring our favorite side dish.  The problem is that we couldn't find the ingredient for the things we wanted to fix like Yams.  We ended up making a fresh fruit salad mixing yogurt with a super thick cream that comes in a box.  It's the closest thing we could find to whipping cream.  It was delicious.  Sister Clark surprised us with real turkey and ham. And for desert, R&S in San Fernando (Costco affiliate) had some pies and so we all enjoyed pumpkin and pecan pie.  Locals have never heard of "Pie"  and you would never find a pie tin to bake one for yourself.

We took a shortcut to save 40 minutes of driving, only the road through the little community was under repair so we had to detour down a picturesque farm road following a tractor. There was only one major mud hole but our trusty little corolla made it through. The sunsets on the rice fields are beautiful everywhere we drive.

 

 

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This and That...

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Fireproof Houses?

The typical construction for buildings up to 4 or 5 stories is concrete block walls and cement floors.  So when smoke started coming out of the house next door, it was a neighborhood curiosity.  We've wondered if there are fire trucks around. We found out...  

Turns out that the contents of a back room caught on fire. The people were not home and Elder Dansie could see the flames on the floor and curtains. A neighbor had already called the fire department and two trucks showed up with a partial volunteer crew.  The flames were out quickly.  Biggest problem was that we had wash outside on the cloths line drying and now smelled like smoke.  The neighbor came home, moved their furniture outside to wash off the smoke, aired the house out and everything was back to normal again.

 

Car Show

We were overnighting in Tarlac after a conference and so decided to take a quick run to see Clark City, the WW II air force base.  It's only 40 minutes from Tarlac on the wonderful toll road.

We tried to visit the museum but it was "not available" because of a car show going on in front. Total cars were about 20 but there were some pretty classic cars and impressive Jeepnees.

Open Air Haircut 30 Pesos ($.60)

Art or Necessity?

Not Sure How (If) This Works?

 

Visiting With the Elders in Dingalan

The Ash from Mount Pinatubo Eruption Makes Excellent Lightweight Concrete

Great Pizza in Clark City

Scene from Morning Walk in the Neighborhood

And Finally....

Sister Dansie winning the dance contest at a Zone activity.

Remembering The Dead

Day of the Dead Holiday

In the Philippines, All Souls' Day is known as Araw ng mga Patay (literally meaning Day of the Dead). November 1st and 2nd are two of the most important days in the Filipino calendar. Those two days represent a celebration that has close ties to the Catholic Church and the Spanish occupation.

People do literally honor their dead.  Cemeteries contain family plots with room for several generations. We stopped by a newer cemetery that does not allow much out of ground monuments.  Families setup a canvas canopies for protection from the sun or rain (we had no rain), chairs, blankets, sleeping bags, pillows and whatever it takes to be comfortable. Since they stay all afternoon and into the evening, there's a table loaded with food and in some cases, a propane cook top. Some even have fans with extension cords running to nearby power outlets.

It's a true day of remembering ancestors as family members hang out, visiting and enjoy being together.

We seldom see fresh flowers for sale in the market but someway thousands of fresh flowers replace bananas and mangoes in the roadside stands that day. We have no idea where they are grown since every inch of land is growing rice, beans or squash. The flowers become elaborate works of art. It's serious business for the families to adorn the grave sites with flowers.

Then we went to the oldest cemetery in Cabanatuan.  This one is a mixture of family plots defined with hedges and family mausoleums.  The mausoleums range from a century+ old to new buildings that look like a local housing development.  The two story duplex in the pix below contains marble and granite vaults and looked like a floral shop inside.

We tried to go back after dark to see the thousands of candles burning but the traffic around the cemeteries was grid locked and so we worked our way back home.

Chad and Kathy Dansie were experiencing the same holiday in Oaxaca, Mexico and were invited to create one of the tapestries for someone these honored.  They created one in behalf of Chad's mother, Judy.  It's interesting how these countries really honor their deceased more than dropping off some flowers while the car is still running.

Christmas Lights

Even thought the stores started selling Christmas decorations and playing Christmas Chorals in September, only now are the people getting around to decorating.  One Brangay (neighborhood) is advertising Christmas Lighting celebration for Dec 1.

We pulled up to one of the Elders apartment buildings and noticed what looked like Christmas lights wrapped around the railing.  Upon closer inspection, it wasn't Christmas Lights :)

Obeying Traffic Laws

When we went to get our Philippine drivers licenses, the posters listed "obey all traffic ordinances and signs."  Of course, nobody does.  Some of the best parking places are in front of the "No parking" signs.  It helps to turn on your hazard lights then it looks like you are only double parking for a minute or so.  However, we haven't found the hazard light switch in our Corolla. Can't find the heater or speed control either:)

Senior Couple Outing

President and Sister Clark invited all the Senior couples to spend the morning together and lunch at the mission home.  The sisters went to the quilt factory in Angeles and bought elaborate hand stitched quilts at wholesale prices. (Add the freight to ship home and they may not be such a bargain.)

The Elders Explored some sites around Clark, the old US air force base.  First was to visit a hanging bridge across the river used by locals to cross the river. First had to get through a makeshift security gate on the road.  Most of the security stops and really make work jobs. After filling out a form, they let us continue up the road.  We reached a point where some equipment was pushing dirt around.  It may be a landfill, not sure.  More security and people hanging around. We parked the car and asked them for direction to the bridge, even though we could see it on Google Map about 1/2 mile down a dirt road.  President Clark recruited a guide from the group and soon we were headed to the bridge with 3 security personnel.  they didn't have anything else to do and were happy to accompany us.

When we got to the bridge, they said that the boards were rotting and recommended that we not try to walk out on it.  Our guide about 90 lbs, ventured out a ways until the boards were rotting and stopped. 

Then we went to see the new (Korean money) master planned golf community being built. 27 holes, houses and a huge hotel.  18 holes are public and loaded with players.  They play in 6-somes and everyone has a cart on the defined cart path.  Well the guards at the gate didn't know how to let us in and just wander around.  President Clark had to exchange his DL for a pass. Then we had to drive up to the sales office.

The nice young Korean sales guy met us in the street and wanted to ride up the hill with us to give us the tour.   There was no room in the car for him so he decided we should come into the sales trailer/construction office.  I was expecting big screen video pitch and maps  Instead there was an empty conference table.  He invited us to sit down while he figured out what to do with us.  As I (Elder Dansie) moved a swivel chair to sit down, the top half of the chair fell on the ground and they were all panicked that I had been hurt.

At that point, one of the engineers said in Tagalog, "They are missionaries, they don't have any money so don't waste your time."  (President Clark understands tagalog)  So we got back in the car, the sale guy got in his car and we sent up the hill to the clubhouse for our sales pitch.  They have 4 models under construction and he hasn't sold any yet.  The entire course is hillside and playing in 6-somes was moving slow, but Vans were rolling in with more players. Green fees with cart are about $80 US.

This may not seem funny to you, but we laughed about the "security" all morning. PS, we were told to wear casual cloths but only Elder Dansie got the message.

And finally, have you heard the joke, "how many missionaries does it take to screw in a light bulb?" Seniors helped put up Christmas Decorations at the Mission Home.

 

 

 

 

 

Another Week

(Cover picture is stickee rice with coconut desert on banana leaf served after a baptism in Kalikid)

Today's Update

We've had very little rain since the Typhoons passed over.  Today its 92 degrees with 64% humidity creating a heat factor of 102.  No showers predicted until next weekend.  It's HOT! We have 4 plants on the balcony and 2 out in front of our gates.  The ones in front of the gates gets intense afternoon sunshine and nearly died until we watered them.  Imagine needing to water your plants in the tropics :)

It's Halloween day here which isn't getting much attention. All missionaries are on lock down at 6:00 pm for the night. Tomorrow is "The day of the dead" like memorial day but with vigor.  Both days are a holiday so schools out and traffic is delightful.  Everybody is hanging out at the malls with AirCon (Air conditioning) and loud music.  Tomorrow the celebrations moves to the cemeteries with all day parties, food and fireworks.  We'll swing by the largest cemetery and grab some photos for next blog.

Sister Dansie's Trike Got Busted

Sister Dansie was headed to SM Megamall on a trike last week with a nice young driver.  They passed by an infrequent police checkpoint.  The driver had no registration, no drivers license and the license plates belonged to someone else.  "Are you in trouble" asked Sister Dansie.  "Yes" was the answer.  She paid him his P 20 for the ride and walked the last block to the Mall. The police were removing the license plate when she looked back but no handcuffs yet:) 

Passports Are Finally Back

Missionaries arrive with a 90 day VISA and we applied for 2 year VISA the first day in Manila. (See blog) Immigration finally delivered it to Manila and Manila office sent to Tarlac for us.  We need it to get our Filipino drivers licenses. Tarlac informed us early Tuesday that it arrived so we headed for Tarlac to pick them up.  Manila headquarters keeps them safe in their vault during our mission. So we sent them back once we got our DL. With 21 missions and 160-200 missionaries per mission, that's about 3,500 passports to keep track of.

Tuesday was also the day that 18 missionaries were heading home after completing their missions. So we joined the farewell lunch and testimony meeting at the Mission home while we were there.  It was sad to say goodbye to several new friends we have met but proud to know that they have unselfishly served the Lord for 2 years and heading home. After 2 years of dedicated focus and grueling schedule, they are fully ready to pursue their dreams.  Here are some pics of them loading in vans for Manila. They stay overnight in Manila at the Microtel by the area office and then fly out Wednesday.

On our way back from Tarlac we detoured to Jaen to take a replacement fan and to hang some curtains that Sister Dansie made for the Sister's Apartment. By then it was dark.  Sun sets around 5:15 and with no street lights, minimal house lights and many trikes not having working headlights dark is really dark for the drive back. Took about 40 minutes using the bypass around the main highway traffic. We try to minimize driving at night.

Drivers Licenses Finally

With our passports and 2 year VISA we were able to go to the Land Transportation Office and apply for a Drivers License.  We had to wait for the 2 year VISA because you must have at least 1 year left on the VISA to get a drivers license. The process was very well organized as we went from station to station. Everyone was very kind to help the English speaking Americans. About 45 minutes later we had our official temporary permits.  The department has a shortage of laminate to make permanent cards so they said to check back in 3 or 4 months to see if they have the materials to print the permanent version.

Thursday was transfer day again. 

Every 6 weeks transfers occur.  This time 18 missionaries completed their missions, 16 new arrived and many shifted areas to assume the roles left by the departing missionaries. Those companionships (remember missionaries always stay together as pairs 24/7) effected by the transfer arrive at the Cabanatuan Stake Center at 8:30 am to switch around.  Those moving to the Tarlac side of the mission head to the bus terminal and go to Tarlac as a group.  This time 15 were switching sides.  The companion-less companions wait as a group at the Stake Center until their new companions arrive.  They use the time to study and watch church movies.  But this time something was wrong with the TV sound and so an impromptu sing along of church hymns spun up.  This download may take a while but it's worth watching the movie.  (Took an hour for us to upload on our great internet!)

The new senior couple, the Spungs who now live in Munoz joined us for the transfer and after we gave them the quickee tour of Cabanatuan and lunch at Greenwich Pizza.

Saturday Change of Plans

Saturday we received a phone call at 6:38 am from the Bongabon Zone Leaders.  There was a last minute shuffle of a couple missionaries on Friday and could we help shuffle?  So Elder Dansie make a quick trip to Apartment in Ward 1 to fix an issue then we headed to the bus terminal to pickup a missionary who was on the bus coming from Tarlac (Mission  office)  

We picked up the new Missionary at the bus terminal then drove to Palayan to meet his companion (who was with the Zone Leaders temporarily) and then deliver them both back to Kalikid. They had to prepare for a baptism saturday night at 6:00 pm.

When companionships are short elders or sisters, the stakes often provide a 17 year old young man to be a temporary companion for 6 weeks until the next transfer day rolls around. The new missionary just turned 18 and is waiting for his own mission call.  He's spending the next 6 weeks in Kalikid as the temporary companion.

Then we returned to Palayan to a Baptism at 3:00 pm.  This gentlemen is 78 years old and has been waiting to hear the Gospel all his life.  His wife had a stroke and will be baptized in a couple weeks when she can get around better.

Since nothing starts on time, we missed visiting the Baptism on Bongabon at 4:00 pm but did make it back to the Kalikid baptism at 6:00 to enjoy the stickee rice desert after.

New Glasses

Sister Dansie couldn't resist the sale and got some new glasses, with frames and eye exam for P 1,400 (about $30.)  If anyone needs new glasses, send over your prescription and we'll facetime from the store for you to pick out your frames!

 

 

 

 

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OYM

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OYM

OYM stands for "Open Your Mouth."  OYM reminds missionaries to visit with everyone they see and find individuals who are interested in learning more about our loving Father in Heaven. While we as Senior Missionaries don't actively proselyte or teach lessons, we still have plenty of opportunities to OYM every day.  Elder Dansie carries a small bag with pamphlets to share with anyone who asks for more information.

Saturday we were at the bus station to pick up a missionary coming from Tarlac. Of course the bus was late so while waiting, Elder Dansie visited with one of the security guards.  The conversation went something list this: (This is short version)

Guard: "Are you a Mormon Missionary?"

Elder Dansie: "Yes, we are sometime called Mormons but we represent the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints."

G: "I have a neighbor who is a Mormon."

ED: "I hope he is a nice person (ha ha)"

G: "He is (ha ha). My sister is also a Mormon"

ED: "Have they shared with you our beliefs about Jesus Christ and his Gospel."

G: "No they haven't.  But I'd like to learn more about God."

ED: "I have some pamphlets that you can read.  Would you like some?"

(he took three:  The Restoration of the Gospel, The Plan of Salvation & The Gospel of Jesus Christ)

G: "Thank you, I'd really like to know more."

ED: "Where to you live? Which Barangay? (neighborhood)

G: "Over there in _____" (ED couldn't understand)

ED: "We have the young sister missionaries who live in your area.  Would you like for them to visit your house and tell you more?"

G: "Would they do that?  I really would like to know more about God."

ED: "They would be happy to visit with you. Would it be OK if I call them now on my mobile and let you speak with them."

G: "Now? Sure"

ED then guessed which area he might live in and call the sister missionaries.  There are 4 sister missionaries living together that cover 2 wards.  He lives in one or the other.

The sister missionaries spoke with him, got his address, phone and made an appointment to follow up.

While ED had the pamphlets in hand, another fellow who works at the terminal walked over, listened to the conversation, took 2 pamphlets and left before ED could speak with him.

G: "Do you have a companion?"

ED: "Yes, my wife is my companion. She is across the street in the car waiting for the bus.  I'll go get her so you can meet her."

Sister Dansie visited with the gentlemen for a minute and then the missionary stepped of the bus and we said goodbye.

Answers to the Quiz

Here's a few more pictures to enjoy before you read the blog.

 

The last week was a lot of this and that.  We are (were) going to put on training for ward missionaries on Sunday but it was postponed to Nov 27 because the Typhoon cancelled church last week and the training was not publicized sufficiently.   We did spend more time exploring the city to find props,  a shop to print a large poster and a copy shop to print the handouts. Turns out that there are many choices.

Tarpaulan and Billboards

Printing a tarpaluan (Vinyl) banner is available in many shops. The price is so inexpensive that we see vinyl banners all over. Many hang across the width of the road congratulating that so and so just passed the bar exam of earned their RN degree.  We have a 4x3 foot vinyl printed for the training and it cost $7. 

All of the billboards are actually Tarpaluan on metal frames.  And the bigger the better, there seems to be no sign ordinance.  A typical billboard may be 40 feet tall.  During the last typhoons the vinyls were taken down and reappeared a couple days later.

Public Market

In our quest to find the props for our training seminar, we wandered the large public market in Cabanatuan.  The main building is a full block packed with interior stalls with vendors selling their goods.  Around the edges are the vegetable vendors and one end the meat.  The aisles inside are so narrow that we American's can hardly get through.  The variety of booths is incredible.  It's almost like a super stacked Walmart loaded for Christmas.  We were trying to find a basketball jersey and we found just what we needed.

OYM

One of the missionary terms is "OYM" for "open your mouth."  It reminds us to talk to people everywhere.  We get many opportunities and curious questions.  For instance one of the booth vendors wanted to know more about how long we'll stay and how much we are paid.  This launched a fun conversation for 10 minutes and he now has a couple of the printed booklets that missionaries pass out--The Restoration and The Plan of Salvation.

Elder Dansie was waiting at the digital print shop while they printed signs for our training. A cute family of three arrived to have their picture taken since it was their 6 year old boys birthday.  My order was holding up the line so it gave us time to chat about why senior missionaries are in Philippines.  He also now has some new reading materials.

Answer to Photo Quiz

We only had 2 replies to our photo quiz.  One world traveler was 99% correct. The other didn't know where to start.  So here's the answers.

Advertising CR (Bathrooms)

Male CR is down the stairs

Cost is 5 Pesos to use the CR

Put 5 Pesos in the box on the table

Grab some toilet paper by the box if you need some.

 

 

 

Monuments, Typhoons and More

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.

Fall General Conference

With the 14 hour time difference between Salt Lake and Philippines, watching General Conference live isn't practical.  And since very few people have internet at home, watching sessions on demand also difficult. So on this side of the world, general conference is delayed a week. 

On Saturday, we drove to Bongabon Stake center (Hour's drive) to watch the sessions. Since people are coming from other communities, they shorten the gap in between to one hour--which gave us time to lunch with several of the missionaries at Nanny Eli's, the only real restaurant in Bongabon. 

It was an amazing experience to be sitting on the other side of the world, listening to the words of the prophet and apostles.  The spirit in the little Chapel was just as strong as sitting in the conference center.  Saturday sessions are not well attended because people need to do their work.

On Sunday, Elder Dansie drove to Bongabon for an early morning District Missionary Meeting and back to Cabanatuan for the morning session. That session was overflowing into the side rooms and also broadcast into the institute building next door.

The messages given were just as timely and appropriate to the members in the Philippines as the members in the United States. 

Baler and More

Baler on the Ocean

We spent 2 nights in Baler, a popular local tourist town on the ocean.  Baler is the coconut capital of the Philippines and the coconut orchards stretch on and on.  Combined with the tropical weather, afternoon rain and it's a beautiful area.  You do have to pass over a mountain range on good but windy roads which takes about 2 hours (another 1.5 hours from Cabanatuan to the mountains.) Highway engineers don't worry about maximum grades or snow so the roads follow the hills, up and down. The little corolla was often in 1st gear climbing the steeper hills. It's also a perfect place to gear down and save brakes.

The Costa Pacifica is the only major hotel in town. The others hotels go downhill fast and range from hostel rooms to local sleeping gazebos on the edge of the water. Baler is famous for surfing but while we were there, the waves with only breaking a couple feet and too close to shore to get a good ride.

The Costa Pacifica room faced the ocean with black volcanic sand.  We were looking forward to the wood fired pizza at their restaurant but discovered that their fish tacos were perhaps the best on earth so we had tacos twice and pizza only once!

Part of our visit was working with the Elders and doing apartment checks.  The four apartments are spread across 4 Barangy (villages) about 20 minutes apart.  This is rice harvest season and after the rice is harvested, it's spread on any flat concrete around to dry.  When we went to the Church for Zone training, the Church's driveway was being used to dry rice.  We just drive over it slowly and do our thing.

Roads in the Philippines are typically concrete and pretty much just lay on the ground without any cuts or grading.  They seldom back fill the edges and so the shoulder could drop of 10" or even into a deep drainage ditch. Below is a truck who missed the turn and will probably be there for years to come. There is no highway department to cleanup slides or fill pot holes.  

Typically when a side road comes in, the two lanes don't line up height wise so they just leave out 20-50 feet of concrete and you drive through the potholes and dirt to reach the concrete again.  Or you may be going down a great highway at 100 KPH and suddenly 50 feet of concrete is missing. Oh! 

This picture is called planning ahead.  A new 15 ton bridge was built over a creek but it's blocked off with a pile of dirt.  Cars have to drop over the edge of the new road, down a dirt hill to the old bridge.  The reason?  This end of the new bridge is 15 feet higher than the road and no plans to build up the road to meet the bridge.

 

 

One of the missionary apartments is in Marie Aurora. After a quick check, we drove down the highway heading to zone training meeting. There was a sign that said "Oldest Balette Tree is Asia.  So we made a quick U turn and drove down a beautiful road to the tree.  Of course there was concessions, souvenirs and a P 10 entrance fee ($.22 per person)

 

 

The #2 tourist attraction in Baler is the hanging bridge.  It's a pedestrian bridge over a river.  We parked at the end and paid the P 10 parking fee ($0.22) collected by a young couple who lived at the end of the bridge.  Parking fees and souvenirs sales is probably their primary income for them and their family.  Filipino families tend to be large even though the government is suggesting a family size of 3.

Here are some more pix of the Baler area for you to peruse.

With the time change, General Conference is postponed one week so Saturday and Sunday conference will be repeated in the stake centers via DVD.

Dicasalarin Cove Lighthouse Hike

While we were in Baler, thursday morning we were free to explore so we headed to the ultra arty lighthouse at Dicasalarin Cove.  The trip was so incredible that it's worth it's own blog. The road for the first 30 minutes followed the sea shore mixed with local dwellings sandwiched between the budget resorts.

Then the road headed up the mountain, following the mountain terrain with no cuts or fills. Fortunately they poured some concrete recently but workers are still building the curbs and runoff ditches.  The Toyota ground up the hills in first gear well.  We stopped on top of the point (probably 1,000 feet altitude) and visited the national weather station.  The guest log showed a couple people from Spain last month and no one from USA this year. Then we went back down the mountain on the dicasalarin bay toll road.  They called the toll a "use fee."  This road was a 10 foot wide strip of concrete with switch backs and hills that reminded me of four wheeling in southern Utah. 1st gear was a must both up and down. Here was our destination.

At the bottom of the road was the most incredible bay you'll ever see. Water perfect for swimming.  There is a picturesque resort at the bottom where people camp in gazebos.  They even had a wood fired pizza oven and offered 2 types of pizza. Not sure about the sanitation or how they keep things cold so we didn't order anything.  It would be a perfect family camp or scout camp for a couple days.

We headed across the beach to the lighthouse on the rock about a mile away. They poured concrete stairs from the beach to the top of the rock. Each tread and riser varied wildly to whatever worked (no building codes)  On top is the most unique lighthouse you'll ever see. Here are some pix of Dicasalarin Cove. There is a cave in the side of the rock if you walk around the back side.

 

 

 

 

 

A New Twist Every Week

Appliance Delivery

Tuesday we headed for Munoz to meet the delivery of new appliances and bed for the new Senior couple house.  Normally the drive takes 45 minutes but on this day, they were pouring concrete to widen the road through Talvera.  Of course the Redi-Mix truck just stops in the lane, maneuvers and blocks both lanes while it unloads.  In the meantime, traffic on both side gets antsy and soon the 2 lane road with shoulders is 4 lanes of stalled cars all heading in the same direction.  When the truck finishes the pour, no one can continue in either direction because there is no open lanes.  So a 45 minute drive became 2 1/2 hours.   Since the appliance delivery was going up the same road, we knew that they would be delayed as well.

Soon 2 trikes arrived.  One trike carried the queen size mattress, box spring, frame and headboard strapped on top.  The other had the refrigerator, stove and washer...plus wife and a 9 month old baby along for the rider.

These hard working delivery guys spend 4 hours round trip for a P 300 delivery charge.  That's about $3 each.  Since it was lunch time by then, they each received a significant tip on top of their fee.

Kalikid Branch Family Celebration

Friday night Kalidid Branch hosted a family celebration to wrap up Family Week.  Elder and Sister Dansie were the featured "lesson." But since it was really a party, we made the lesson fun.

First we talked about how every member of the family had a different responsibility and when we  work together, the  family makes beautiful music.   Only a few had ever head "row, row, row you boat," but they caught onto the round first tray and made beautiful music.

Next we talked about  how your family is always there for you even if you are not sitting next to them.  So we played musical chairs to mix thing up quickly.  The circle started with 50+ chairs and we but that to one in about 8 rounds of pulling 4 or 5 chairs each round.  That American game was new to everyone.

They played more games for a while then the  traditional dinner was ready.  The Relief Society had been outside cooking all kind of good food on charcoal grills and propane stoves.  The Relief Society knows how to put on a  good feed everywhere you go.

This was a traditional "family dinner."  First the tables were setup outside and covered with plastic. Then a layer of banana leaves.  Down the middle was a huge stripe of rice piled high. Every couple fee was a char grilled munk fish (whole of course.)  In between was piles of vegetables and a dish made with veggies and chicken.  And salted hard boiled eggs sprinkled throughout. 

Everyone lines up on each side of the table and eats with fingers.  We didn't get in place fast enough so we grabbed a bowl with noodles and butted in here and there to grab some veggies and fish.  They brough us both a plastic spoon as well.  Just like home, the food was gone in 10 minutes and the  table changed from a showpiece to a disaster.  After a couple  people gathered up the key scraps into plastic bags to take home to their dogs.  A quick roll up of the banana leaves and the party was over.

In Between

The rest of the week was filled with the normal routine--shopping and making some apartment repairs. Sister Dansie has had a cold and so while she slept all afternoon, Elder Dansie went visiting with the Kalikid Missionaries.  It's a wonderful experience to go out with them and meet so many nice people who are looking for the Gospel and the joy it brings.

One family we visited lives in Fort Magsaysay and about 8 Kilometers from the Church.  They expressed their difficulty in getting to Church regularly because with their family of 7 and no vehicle, it costs them more than P 600 to ride a Jeepnee to church and back. That may not sound like much money but in Philippine  buying power that would be about $50 a week to get to Church.  These rural branches face tremendouse transportation challenges. On Sunday tha parking lot will have maybe 2-3 cars, 5-6 Trikes and everyone else walked a long ways or hired a ride.

National Family Week

It's National Family Week in the Philippines and every takes it seriously.  The Stakes, Districts, Wards and Branches plan multiple events.  Saturday the Bongabon stake started at 7:00 am and the branches walked in a parade around Palayan each holding their own banner. After they spent the rest of the morning playing games and eating.  They passed out T Shirts but forgot that some of us American's need big sizes. No party is complete without Candy and so there was a lot of candy being thrown to the crows. The green "marbles" being used in one photo are actually a fruit like a key lime but tastes much sweeter.  They grow everywhere and served with meals to squeeze the juice on your food. We feel like celebrities because everyone wants a picture with the senior couple. When we left the party about noon, there was a very competitive game of basketball going on in the parking lot. Later there was a ward and mission baptism.

Sunday night, the Cabanatuan Stake held a Family Devotional at the their stake center and President and Sister Clark were the speakers. That stake is continuing the week with events every evening including a fashion show on Thursday.  Since the week just started, we'll see how much the rest of the community supports National Family Week.

Visit to Baguio 

We received permission from the Mission President to make a day trip to Baguio which is an hour outside of our mission and 3 hours from Cabanatuan (including 40 minutes of the wonderful toll road.)  Baguio is a totally different environment than the plains because it is built in the mountaintops at 5,000 feet. Trikes are outlawed so the streets were full of cars. The city runs up and down the hills kind of like San Francisco. The city grew from mining in the late 1800s and became the headquarters for the military leaders during WW II.  We went up a windy narrow road constructed in 1904 by American engineers, Filipino and Japanese laborers.  They blasted their way through rock and historically it was an engineering feat despite over 500 workers died building it. Today it's being repaired with sections under construction and so the 32 Kilometer drive up the canyon took an hour.

The temperatures were perfect 70 degrees. People were wearing long sleeves and sweaters. Baguio has one fertile valley that grows vegetables and strawberries so we prefer to buy veggies at Robinson's Supermarket since they feature Baguio vegetables. Since there is very little agriculture, the city looked more like a typical US city with colleges, office buildings, dozens of real sidewalk restaurants. 

We hired one of the 7,000 white SUV taxis for 2 hours to get a quick tour since the traffic was heavy. When we left we took a newer, wider road back down the mountain but found out that is the road for all the buses and trucks so it was still a long drive down the mountain with little chance to pass.  They don't have passing lanes. Since we were going to inspect/repair apartments in the Guima zone, we stayed overnight at a nice (?) hotel for $33. Breakfast was included in the morning....rice with either fried pork or fish. So we headed for Guimba and enjoyed hotcakes at Jolibees. (a low priced McDonalds)  Sister Dansie liked Baguio because we found a DQ Express in the SM Mall and a blizzard just like home. Here are pictures of Baguio.

Guess What Is In This Picture

Can you figure out what this picture describes? Click on it to enlarge.  Email your answers. You need to include at least 5 things you see. First 20 correct answers wins a prize!

 

 

 

 

Faith Promoting Stories

We haven't been sharing many faith promoting stories but they happen every day. Here's two.

Story #1:

In our daily prayers, we ask that we may be guided to make a contribution to missionary work today. In Baguio, (unlike the rest of the mission) people were not very curious about who we were and as a result very few smiled or said hello. As we were walking through SM mall to get back to our parked car, a lady called out "Elder."  It was a Member with her mother and daughter who had moved to Baguio 6 weeks ago.  They had not been able to find out where to go to church. I explained that we had only been in Baguio for 3 hours but that Google should know. My phone battery was almost dead but it lasted long enough to locate a chapel on Google Maps within walking distance of where they were living.

Story #2:

Wednesday night I was packing the trunk with all our inspection & repair supplies and I had an impression to verify that the car did indeed have a spare tire with air and that the jack and wrenches were functional.

Our prayers Friday morning included a request that our car would get us safely through the Guimba mission as we marathon inspected 9 missionary apartments. We turned off the paved highway onto dirt to drive to San Antonio.  Crews had been laying some sections of concrete on top of the dirt road as a "road improvement" project.  The crews just pour 10" of concrete and don't bother to back fill the shoulders or build dirt ramps to get onto the concrete. So our right rear tire was gouged severely in the side wall by the sharp concrete.  We drove 2 more miles of dirt to San Antonio and inspected the damage when we got to the apartment.  The tire appeared to be holding air. After the house inspection we drove another 5 miles of dirt and concrete, then down broken bumpy crowded concrete another mile, onto the crazy main highway for a mile and swung into town to navigate through the trikes and traffic of Munoz for another mile until we stopped at the Sisters apartment on an unbelievably quiet street. (red gate in the photo) It had a sidewalk and gutters!  

While inspecting the house I ran out to the car to get some tools and the tire was flat and thunder rumbling overhead. The zone leaders were with us, so together we unloaded all the tools and supplies (ironing board, fan, toilet seats, light bulbs, tool box and more) onto the sidewalk and changed the tire.  Neither the zone leader nor assistant had changed a tire so they learned something new. We repacked the trunk just as the first raindrops fell. 15 minutes later the rain was coming down in buckets full.  Why did the tire hold air so long?  You know the answer.

Neighborhood Beautification

This week we added some plants on our balcony and in front of our gate.  It's not as elaborate as most houses, but it's a start. Best thing is that we don't need to water them ever!

Keeping Busy

This week featured Mission Transfer Day and apartment inspections in Gapan (Philippines.)

Transfer Day

On Tuesday,  transfer day, 9 missionaries finished their missions and 19 new arrived. So it was great that they could reopen 5 areas that haven't had missionaries for a while.  Everyone on the East Side of the mission gathers at Cabanatuan and the West Side gathers in Tarlac to switch companions.  17 were switching from East to West and 17 vice versa. So those 17 in Cabanatuan load on trikes and head to the bus depot as a group for the 2 hour ride to Tarlac. The Tarlac group did the same headed to Cabanatuan.  

Sometimes it's bittersweet for the departing Elders and Sisters to be leaving their companion who they have lived with 24/7 for the past few months. They've become lifelong friends. The arriving group reminds us of a group blind date.  New companions meet for the first time knowing that they won't be out of each others sight until one of them is transferred again.

It's a test of faith for some because they have investigators who are nearing baptism and they won't be around to follow up. But everyone accepts the divine guidance that the Mission President receives as the new assignments are made.  Typically a missionary will remain in an area for 2-4 transfers. Each transfer period is 6 weeks so they will be in the area for 12-14 weeks.

Last transfer in August, the Cabanatuan ward 1 was short a missionary and so a 17 year old young man in the stake was called for 6 weeks to be a full time companion.  This transfer he returned home and is expecting his full time mission call in a couple months when he's 18.

Elder and Sister Dansie's primary involvement is to have lunch ready for 40 people when the bus arrives around noon...Chips, P&J, tuna sandwiches and ding dong type cake for desert...and a bottle of water. Once the bus arrives and they meet their new companions, everyone grabs a quick lunch and head to their areas...some areas are still a 3-4 hour bus ride from Cabanatuan.  Some of the arriving Elders and Sisters just arrived in the mission the day before and so it's fun to greet them and reassure them that this be a rewarding experience for them (we are old timers now at 7 weeks!)

An Afternoon Diversion

Just after the bus to Tarlac left, someone discovered that the only key to the LaPaz apartment (by Tarlac) that was reopening was still in Cabanatuan.  Of course Elder and Sister Dansie were the logical ones---since we have a car---to deliver the key to LaPaz about an hour away.  The traffic was unusually lite and so the afternoon ride was easy after we cleaned up the lunch.

Apartment Inspections

Inspecting missionary apartments is a good way for us to see the country because missionaries are spread apart to be in all the villages and neighborhoods. The neighborhoods are called a Barangay.  We live in Barangay Caridid.  Sometimes apartments are newer and inspections go fast.  Other times, old houses have a lot of problems.  We have a tool box in the trunk and several plastic tubs full of replacement parts ranging from light bulbs to fire detectors to toilet parts and seats. We fix what we can and tell the missionaries to contact the landlord to fix the bigger issues.  The bigger issues seldom get fixed!

Some of the toilets suffer from aging hard water stains that won't clean off with normal toilet bowl cleaner. So we now carry muratic acid and we can turn an aging toilet and stained basin into a near new look.  Any apartment over 1 year old needs a muratic acid refresh.  It's also amazing how many toilet tank levers breaks so that the handle won't flush.  Since many toilets don't have tanks, missionaries just use the dump a bucket of water into the bowl to flush.  But once we replace a broken lever and adjust the workings, most missionaries are very appreciative for the repair. As you can guess, some of the issue are electrical so I went to the hardware store and bought a pair of wire strippers and voltage tester!

Wards, Branches, Groups

Some areas are so geographically spread apart that members cannot practically get to a ward house. Remember very few own cars and it costs a lot of money for a family of 6 to take Jeepnees or trikes to the next village to church.  So this week, we inspected 2 areas that have "groups" which is a portion of a ward.  In both cases, they rent a house for the meeting house and call a group president to preside.  Once the group gets larger then it becomes an official branch. When a branch has an average attendance of 120+ for a year, a new church building will be constructed for them.  In the meantime, groups start with a small house, graduate to an upstairs in a store or whatever it takes to hold the congregation.  The spirit and enthusiasm of the Members is just as great in sacrament meeting in the living room as in the newest chapel. The Gospel is the same everywhere in the world because it's the Gospel of our Father in Heaven.

Food

Food this week ranged from normal to interesting.  The Stake President told us about a great local restaurant. Since we were on our way back from Gapan late afternoon we decided to stop. We could not read anything on the menu and the waitress's English was a about as good as our Tagalog. So we tried a couple of things just for fun.  Sister Dansie had Pork Dinaguan. When it arrived it was in a dark chocolate looking sauce.  We later found out the Dinaguan is a rare delicacy because the sauce is made from pigs blood. Another lunch we ended up with tripe. Never again are we going "authentic" unless someone is with us to read the menu!

Fortunately we had a great meal at Kenny Rogers Roaster in SM City Mall. The rib eye steak was char grilled and very good, even though it was only 3/8" thick. The big Mac's and whoppers are pretty good too. He also found Edna's cakes....world famous bakery products with long lines.

Another Event Filled Week

The last week was another event filled week.

Zone Bowling P-Day Activity

Remember when we used to find an old bowling alley where the pinsetters setup the pins? Welcome to 2016 in the Philippines.  The Cabanatuan zone went bowling for P-Day activity. The pins are about 1/3 height.  The balls the size of softballs. Paper for scorecards. You get 3 balls per frame--never did figure out how you track spares, strikes or the third ball. But who wants to keep score.  Sometimes the balls would hit a ridge in the alley flooring and bounce or head in the different direction. Reminds us of playing croquet on the bumpy lawn. But it was a fun outing.

San Jose Trip

We were inspecting 8 apartments in San Jose on Thursday so we decided to go wednesday afternoon and stay overnight to get started early.  It's between 1.5-2 hours drive. We stayed at a fun little Farm House Hotel and Cafe for $34 with breakfast.  It even had hot water and TV. The breakfast was the usual hot dog, garlic rice and runny egg so we went to McDonalds. They have an egg McMuffin on a sweet bread roll that is very good for only 49 pecos.

 

 

Christmas Comes in September

Starting September 1, the stores are decorating, selling Christmas decoration and playing Christmas Music. Even Christmas songs at church. I guess they don't have halloween or Thanksgiving so why not start Christmas early.

Police

Marked police cars are pretty non existent. We're only seen one person getting a ticket and that was because of an accident. Anyone can have flashing lights. Even trikes often have flashing red and blue lights. Today I was followed by a white vehicle, flashing red/blue lights, hazards and even an electronic siren. Should I pull over?  They passed me and it was just some kids in a pickup with a couple in back who wanted to get through the traffic faster.

Hair Cuts

Sister Dansie decided to get her hair cut so Elder Dansie did too. Cost $4.50 each.

Never a Dull Moment in the Mission Field

The past couple weeks have been busy in a semi-normal way.  Monday August 22, we picked up 8 pizza's from Shakey's in Cabanatuan at 10:30 am and delivered them to a zone party in San Jose at 11:57 am.. (There is a huge crossover of spanish names a a carryover from when the Spanish controlled the philippines a long time ago.  City names, street names, even family names.)

That week was four combined zone meetings strategically located in geographical areas.  We attended the meetings on Wednesday in San Jose and Friday in Cabanatuan.  Both times enjoyed a Filoppino lunch catered by local catering.

The following week we attended a special zone leader/district leader training in Tarlac on Tuesday.  The Mission president implemented some new programs. with the drive it ends up being a leave by 7:30 am and back at 6:30 pm.  The zone leaders then put on separate zone training of the new materials on Thursday. Here are some pix of training, apartment inspections and other fun with the Missionaries.

Friday we went to Tarlac again for a senior missionary get together and training.  We decided to let Google map us a shorter route via a "farm road."  Never again do we trust google.  It was about 20 kilometers of skinny overgrown trail that ran through the landfill, past squatter shacks, goats and more. The people in the fields looked at us in unbelief.  The car needs a good buffing because of all the grasses and bushes that rubbed the doors. I suspect that is the first and only car that has traveled the road. Usually trikes, motorcycles and tractors.

After the Tarlac luncheon at the mission home, we all headed off to S&R in San Fernando.  We went because it is a chance to drive for 45 minutes on a toll road and regain some feeling of driving on a real road again.  S&R used to be Costco but sold to  a local company.  It was possible to buy real milk (instead of the reconstituted powdered milk) and other American  styled stuff. Once we finished at S&R it was 45 minutes of toll road and 2 hours of traffic again to get back to our apartment.

In between all that, we completed more house inspections and helped find a new apartment for the Santa Rosa Elders.  Our inspection in Santa Anna pointed out serious mold in their existing apartment and declared it unsafe.

After leaving another apartment inspection the road curved and we found ourselves in the middle of the public market.  It took 15 minutes to get our car through the crates, carts and produce.  This is typical driving in that you never know what to expect and when you find out, it's too late to do anything about it but wait.

When we were at North pacific mall, we stopped for a spa/pedicure haha.  Cold water and no electrical to make the spa swirl.  Good thing it was only $6.00!

Sunday (sep 4), we left at 7:15 am and drove to Gabaldon for Church at 9:00 am and met that wonderful branch. On the way back we stopped in Palayan and went home teaching with a couple of Brothers until 4:00.   So it was another long day with alot of driving. Here's a bunch of photos just to look at. Sister Dansie is getting out of the car at the Gabaldon Branch who meets above the feed store. About 100 in attendance.

We're still struggling with Sister Dansie and BYU games.  The first game was played at 10:30 AM PHP time Sunday.  It's recorded on her Dish DVR but we don't have enough bandwidth in the evenings to get playback.  She's hoping that she can get a good stream later tonight or Monday Morning.  Please to not email her comments on the game until she's had a chance to view the recording :)

Until next time...

Mahal Ko Kayo

Elder and Sister Dansie