The Lost Plates of Jack and Leiana

 Jack and I decided to explore the farther river trail. We basically walked almost to downtown Iloilo. We went at sunset and caught some beautiful views of the water reflecting the sunset. This city also has some magnificent carvings and artwork.

 We had just gone to bed Tuesday night when the bed started to shake. I looked over at the curtains and they were swaying as well. Then the fan went off. We were in an earthquake. Luckily, our building was well constructed and the epicenter was a ways away, about 44 miles north of Cebu. The first report was a 5.3 magnitude earthquake but it was quickly upgraded to a 6.9 magnitude. Maybe it was just there were so many. As far as I can tell, everyone is fine in Iloilo. I do worry a bit about Tacloban Mission as they were much closer to the epicenter.  We were ready to roll over and go back to bed when the alarm for the building went off and we had to evacuate while they checked the buildings. We got to spend about 20 minutes outside. Luckily, it wasn't raining and the temperature was pleasant. Us outside with our building in the background. Only emergency hall and street lights are on.

 We had a typhoon past near us. We just got red rainfall warnings but no wind. Most of the schools and offices were closed for the day, which made it great for us who needed to get around. There was almost no traffic and plenty of parking spaces. There were sections of the road though that was under water, some of it pretty deep. We had fun navigating the roads.  One of the petty cab drivers had water coming up to his pedals. People were wading in water up to their ankles or higher. At one spot, water was spurting out of the drain creating a type of water fountain. Many of the houses had water up to their doors and windows. It was impressive to see how much the city shut down. The rain stopped mid-morning and by afternoon most of the waer had receded.

 I got to see my first cupping use. We had a missionary we took in for some PT. The guy did all kinds of cool things. One part was using cups to relieve pressure in the back. He put on little glass domes and increased the pressure in them by clicking with the gun. He did 2 psi this time. He can go up to 3 or 4 if the skin and muscles are loose. When he is done using them, he presses the release valve on top and when the pressure equalizes, removes the domes. The skin looks like little muffins inside the dome.  When that was over, he used a TENS machine. It puts electric current across the muscles to help them relax. He decribed it as ants crawling under your skin but it wasn't that bad. More like a massage or vibration.  They were just little white patches attached to a machine that could increase the level of electrical charge. The left and right sides were on different charges so he could adjust each side to comfort level. You can see the rings that remain on the skin a...

 Jack and I got to take the Roro (roll on roll off, their name for the ferry) to Guimares Island to make missionary deliveries for missionaries. It is always a beautiful island. While over there, we met a ward member for lunch. She first took us to her cousin's house to see the view. It was a sweeping view of the island and the city of Iloilo in the background. The picture doesn't capture it well.  After lunch, she told us of a shortcut that would help us save time so we could get back at a decent hour. She mentioned not to take the road through the town that started with an A instead of the one that started with an M, as there was flooding on the second road. Which did Jack pick? the second one. Here is a picture of one section of the road. Because it was paved, we went through it. Jack said if it had been mud, he would have turned around. It was the only paved section in the area.

 In the Philippines, they often make their own travel beverages. You will see people all the time with a similar style drink.  They basically put their drink in a long plastic bag, add a straw, then tie the top around the straw. It makes for a great portable drink but without the bulky packaging. I have never tried it because I can't guarantee that the contents is safe to drink. What water did they use to make the drink? Will I end up sick? I can wait to find out. 

 I can't post any pictures with this post. I spent a day freeing missionaries from prison, aka getting them out of the hospitals. It is quite the process. Half the time, I have to have them released AMA (against medical advice). Let me take you through a day of that. On Saturday I went to Dumangas to get a sister missionary out of hte hospital. She had been there since the wee hours of Wednesday night/Thursday morning. She had gone in for an anaphalactic reaction. While there, they discovered that her potassium levels were dangerously low, 2.5 when average should be 3.8-5. She could have a heart attack so we admitted her for several days while they infused potassium into her slowly. They finished Friday night but you couldn't get out after business hours. So late Saturday morning, I went to pay the bill and get her out. The nurse stated that she also had pneumonia that needed to be treated. I insisted that it could be done outpatient. They also wanted to run a few tests. I insi...

  Jack and I had some ill timing for our illness. I caught a bad upper respiratory infection, probably covid but I didn't have the tests to prove it. I was in bed for a week, the first 4 days with a temperature between 101-102. [38.8 C] I was coughing hard enough to throw up. Jack stayed with me a couple of days but also had to go into the office for a couple of days because it was zone conference and lots was happening. I had the immunizations all set up to be administered during zone conference and then didn't get to help with any of that. I really don't know what happened and can't find the notes. Also we were doing something for English Connect. Jack wasn't spared the illness, although his was shorter. He hit 39.4 C {Over 103 F] but was only out a couple of days. Afterwards we are just struggling to regain our stamina. We are ready for a nap by the middle of the day. I guess we really have become senior missionaries. 

 It's September 1st. That means Christmas decorations go up in the mall and you start to hear Christmas songs. This goes way beyond the debate about whether Christmas music should be played before Thanksgiving or after.

 The rainy season has started up again. It has added to the fun in the road. Not everyone is complaining about it, though. The ducks are delighted.

 We tried to go snorkeling at a Marine Preserve in southern Panday. We had the place to ourself, probably because it was raining. But hey, we were planning to get wet anyways. The water was nice and warm. The only problem was that the visibility was just arm length. You'd be floating along and all of a sudden there was a coral reef in front of your eyes. Fish were just things darking in your peripheral vision. I did finally see a few fishes and one fish decided to hang with me for a little bit. We only swam for about an hour or so until we got cold. We did take a picture of us as we left of the entrance sign. On our way to the Marine Sanctuary, we passed through this cool town with sunburst motiffs all over. It also had a cool tag about being the home of the risen sun and sons.

 Our friends the Udalls who are the temple construction missionaries in the Tacloban Mission had a week off between crews and came to visit us. We showed them around Iloilo a bit. Then for their second day, we packed them in the truck and did a delivery run. We went up the west side of the island between the mountain and the sea. So beautiful. We stopped at various apartments, dropping off supplies, checking the apartment for cleanliness and problems, and giving them a spiritual thought. It was pretty awesome. We got to the ferry to Boracay about sunset. We had to park the truck and walk onto the ferry. On the other side we took an electric golf cart to our resort for the next two nights. We enjoyed the pool and the beach, which were steps from each other. Jack and I did a supply drop, apartment inspection and inspirational thought for the sisters on Boracay. We also attended a branch activity. It was sad to leave the island as it was so pleasant. We made three more stops on our wa...

 The famous Molo Church is a Catholic church near the Iloilo river. On the outside, they have statues of Greek Goddesses. Inside the church, expect for the Savior, all the statues are of Women Saints. It was sort of unique. I had to snap a picture of each statue. My favorite is the one with the dragon at her feet. They also had a black Christ carrying the cross. A very unique church. The carvings on the various wooden structures were amazing.