The Lost Plates of Jack and Leiana

 We are moving to yet another apartment. This one is supposed to be permanent, at least until we leave the Philippines. Our ward had a Family Home Evening at our house. We had about a dozen people come over. We sang a song, had a prayer, had a lesson, played some games, then had dinner. Jack had made macaroni and cheese, sweet and sour chicken, and salad. I had bought a cake for dessert. American cooking at its best. They seemed pleasantly pleased with it. The lesson and games were fun. I will see if I can explain it. First they had everyone say something easy they want their neighbor to the right to do. There were things like dance, sing a song, do jumping jacks, drink water, etc. Jack wanted me to do tree pose for 30 seconds. I wanted Elder Tantarat to pat his head and rub his stomach. We went around the circle and told what we wanted our neighbor to do. Our bishop is military so the Elders' Quorum president, Raymond, wanted him to do one handed push-ups. We then read Luke 6:31. ...

 One thing we see all the time is lack of safety. OSHA would have a hay-day over here. This isn't a great picture, but I tried to snap it as I was driving home. I am stopped at a light on a busy 3 way intersection. This guy comes into the middle of the intersection with his metal ladder. He leans it again the overhead electrical wires. Another guy holds the ladder from behind while the first guy climbs up the ladder. The traffic is driving on all 3 sides of him. No safety harness. No helmet. No cones to keep cars away. A metal ladder against electrical wires. What could go wrong?

 Today I got the answer to the age old questions: which came first, the chicken or the egg? We were driving back from a delivery and noticed the cars in front of us. Right in front of our truck was a truck piled high with eggs. It was a lot of eggs. In front of it was a larger truck full of chickens. So in this case, the chickens came before the eggs. 

I found some interesting statistics recently.  The restored gospel of Jesus Christ was first taught in the Philippines in June of 1961 when the first 4 official missionaries were sent to Manila. In just over 60 years of history, the Philippines has become the 4th largest concentration of latter-day saints in the world. The top few countries with their membership are as follows: The United States - 6,868,793 with 1,709 stakes, about 2.1% of the population, 100 + temples Mexico- 1,516,406 with 287 stakes, less than 1% of population, 27 temples Brazil - 1,494,571 with 230 stakes, less than 1% of population, 27 temples Philippines - 867,271 with 131 stakes, less than 1% of population, 14 temples Peru - 637,180 with 115 stakes, about 1.9% of the population, 10 temples     What surprises me is how quickly the Philippines has become a major player in the church culture.  In just 60 years, it is a powerhouse of strength.  The church started preaching the gospel in Mexic...

 There is definitely a cost to being American in a third world country. We find that things double in price when we ask about something. Let me give you a few examples: Our taxi ride for Jack and I from the airport to the Cebu Temple- 675 pesos. Our taxi ride for Jack, me and two Filipina sisters from the Cebu Temple to the airport- 330 pesos. We went over the same roads both ways. A trike ride that should be 80 pesos usually costs us 150 pesos. I was so shocked when I got a ride from a trike owner who charged us the correct rate. It brought tears to my eyes to see such integrity in a country that feels if you have it, they can take it. This is a petty cab. He is able to bike with one hand and carry an umbrella with another. A petty cab {a bicycle with a side cart for passengers} ride that usually costs about 20 pesos cost me 50 pesos. When I talk to missionaries about it, they just nod their heads. This is business as usual. There are laws that say you have to charge the current r...

 Our ward went to the Cebu Temple. We got to join them there, although we didn't take the overnight boat. Instead we took the 45 minute plane ride. We stayed the night in the Patron Housing and spent a day and aa half in the temple. I have so missed the spirit in the temple. There were times we just sat in the temple to soak in the spirit. It was super hard to come back to Iloilo and be a missionary. the group we went with This is the little prop plane we flew over on. It loaded from the back and only had 2 seats on each side of the aisle. The seats were vinyl over a metal frame, similar to a camp chair. The trays were help up by a thick rubber band. No refreshments. 

 The month of September is dedicated to families in the Philippines. They usually have a celebration the end of the month. Ours was postponed due to the typhoon so it happened the first Saturday of October. The stake got together by wards for games and activities. We started with a fun walk at 6:30 in the morning, followed by zumba. I wasn't going to get up to zumba but the music was catchy and my toes were tapping, might as well let the rest of the body join in. I ended up winning a prize for best zumba with a lady in Molo first. What can I say, we know how to swing our hips in Molo area. They gave us shampoo, soap and a wash cloth. Not sure if I should read anything into it, but no one stood by us. They also had a cheer competition. We had a fun time with ours. Our bishop is famous for making losers of games in FHE spell things wiht their hips. He's a master of it. He also used to be in the military and can still do one legged push-ups on his knuckles. Someone grabbed a video...