The Lost Plates of Jack and Leiana

 Since you can only drive on a foreign license for 90 days, we are now no longer able to drive. It means we got to take a Jeepney for the first time. We had been dropped off at the hospital in downtown Tacloban with missionaries who needed something removed from the eye. Since we didn't know how long it would take and there is no parking downtown, the office elders just dropped us off and said they would come back for us later. We waited over an hour to see the doctor but it was a quick and easy proceedure. These missionaries had a ward member in a hospital near there so went to visit them, and give a blessing. They ended up seeing other members of their ward there and gave lots of blessings. It was good for them. Anyway, before they left us, they helped us flag down a jeepney to take us back to the mission office. Jack got to sit up front next to the driver and I crawled into the back. There was a seat right behind the driver. The jeepney was full of women and children. I had star...

 Jack has been taking morning bike rides while I sleep in. He often rides down to McArthur Park in Palo. It has lifesize statues of McArthur and some of his men returning to the Philippines to help them gain their freedom in World War II. He had been driven from the islands in 1942 by Japanese forces. McArthur was only gone two gloomy years. However, during his absence the Bataan Death March occurred in the Philippines.. His famous saying is "I shall return" and he did. I've seen the statue in Palo where he landed. This is Jack behind the statues with the commemoration of the 80 years since the event on Oct 20, 1944. I find it interesting that we don't put as much emphasis on the Savior who also said "I shall return." Maybe because it has been several centuries now and most people have forgotten him. The parallels are interesting to me. 

 We have talked alot about the crazy roads in the Philippines. By far the largest number of vehicles are motorcycles. We joke about it being the family car, but there is a lot of truth in that. I have seen 6 people riding on a motorcycle. We often see a mom, dad, and several small kids, often including an infant, on a motorcycle. I have been trying to get a picture of it. However, it's hard to do as I don't have my camera ready. Here are a few poor attempts of trying to get pictures of people on motorcycles. It's hard to see but there are 4 people, plus bags, on that motorcycle. Yes, that's a walker they are transporting The front motorcycle comes with a roof overhead and yes, the kid in the middle is texting on his phone.

 We had a class 1 tropical storm hit Tacloban on Tuesday. It means that the wind is up to 60 miles per hour and there is lots of rain. We were taking missionaries to their new areas as neither of the companionship knew where their apartment was and both had lots of baggage. We were driving down a narrow country road in Canmogsay in the wind and rain, about to round a corner, when Jack said "all we need now is for a coconut tree to blow down in front of us." Well we rounded the corner to find this:  It wasn't a coconut tree but it was a tree down in the road. There was already a guy there trying to cut off limbs with a meat cleaver. While we were debating what to do, a second tree fell down behind him. More neighbors showed up with machetes. We decided to get out and help pull the brush and severed limbs off the road. Eventually, a guy showed up with a camera and was taking photos. Hopefully we made a good impression on the new neighbors as the missionaries' apartment ...

 I am constantly being bitten by mosquitos. They can't seem to penetrate Jack's hair layer so they come after me with renewed vigor. This is an example from when we were in the van. Jack got before and after pictures. This bite really swelled up. I'm just waiting to get dengue fever. It's my blood splattered on the window.

 You never know what you will find on the roads. Here's someone taking their water buffalo for a Sunday drive. Sure beats walking.  We now have a joke about turning at the dog in the road. The problem is that there are so many dogs in the road, that you are constantly turning. We also see cats, goats and the occassional water buffalo in the road. The few horses and mules we have seen stay safely on the sides of the road.   

 The struggle to learn Waray is real. While I am getting better, can recognize some words and make simple sentences, I just don't know enough. I don't get much practice using it as everyone in the office speaks English. It is only at church or on ministering visits that I hear Waray spoken. And there everyone speaks a mix of Waray and English so I can usually follow along. One of the elders made a list of the various letters in Waray. As you can see, there aren't many letters and only 3 vowels. No wonder everything sounds the same.