The Lost Plates of Jack and Leiana

 We missed the traditional Dinagyang festival as we were in Tacloban for most of it. We did see a few performances scattered here and there, plus lots of preparations. It is a festival to celebrate the national or aboriginal culture. These are some of the traditional dress, men on left and women on right. The skirts remind me a bit of the Tahaitian grass skirts if you added an extra hoop to them. A painting we saw of the men in the traditional gear. A random display on a country road in Aklan. Me trying on a traditional skirt. It is one long loop. You step into the middle, pull the sides tight then tuck them into the middle and roll the waist down. I would hope there is some sort of string that secures it, but not for the demonstration. While out touring houses, we filmed a traditional water dance where the dancers balance a glass of water on their head and two in their hands. They end up rolling around on the ground. It is very impressive. Here's the link to watch it: Traditional ...

 We stopped at the Weavers' Cave again. This time they not only showed us how they weaved and the materials they use, but they taught us how to weave as well. The kids were really cute. They had practiced a welcome in English they used for us. Traditional weaving You place a horizontal strip across the verticle ones with half on top and half below. They you manually move the straw across the horizontal strip, using your thumb to anchor them. Once across the row, you add another horizontal strip. Tedious but effective. The vegetation Of course, I had to buy me a coin purse and new slippers as the last ones I've gotten I have about worn out.

 We spent two nights and parts of days at the Pintuyan Resort in Southern Leyte. It was a nice resort on a rocky beach. The temperature was perfect for sitting out and pondering. We also got to go swimming with whale sharks, which are huge creatures. Us arriving at sunset to the resort Another beautiful day in paradise. Jack's first whale shark. When they dive, they disappear quickly! You can skip the first 16 seconds of this one. It's just getting to the whale shark.

 We stopped in Hinunungan to visit with the Williamsons. She is a dentist from the Philippines. He is a mechanical engineer from the Shetland Islands. They met in Scotland, fell in love, married and have 4 children. Or something like that. They had us for lunch and treated us to young coconut water straight from the coconut that came off their property. We then scraped the coconut out from inside it and ate that. We then had to climb said coconut tree in an reinactment of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. The tree is actually really short so we were standing on the ground for the photos.

 Jack and I took a quick trip back to Tacloban. When we arrived, the Udalls had a bunch of local missionaries over for dinner. It included Sister Asbell, Elder Salinas, Elder Familiar, and a few others we knew from before. I should have taken a photo or video of Sister Asbell and Elder Salinas coming in and seeing us. It was the surprise I was waiting to see on their face--joy, disbelieve, excitment.  We had a great dinner and Jack tried to be a Filipino. He got most of himself in the picture. I hope they don't keep us here until we can take a proper selfie. Jack, Elder Salinas, Sister Cuerno (new) me, Sister Udall, Sister Asbell, Elder Udall, Elder Overly, Elder Pilobello and Johnneil (a member of the mission presidency and general contractor for the temple) Elder Familiar is in front.

 We got to find a new apartment in Miagao, a city about an hour down the coast. Their church is an old bastillian type building. We toured it while searching for a new place. We were there at Christmastime and enjoyed their nativity. Notice that the sheep are fluffy with cotton balls pasted on them.

 Jack got his first traffic ticket in the Philippines. It is also one of his first tickets ever. We had just bought mattresses and were taking the U-turn spot by the store. However, unbeknownst to us, they had two weeks before decided to not let people U-turn there. There was a new sign errected and 2 policement there to give you a ticket. Since we were in Jaro, we paid it right away. It was only 500 pesos but it hurt. At the municple office, they had a stone seat of a caribou. I thought it was an apt place for a picture as we felt we had been gored by our ignorance. Oh well. 

  he Lizares–Gamboa Mansion, also known as Lizares Mansion or Villa Lizares, is a Beaux-Arts heritage house located in the district of Jaro in Iloilo City, Philippines. Built in 1937, it now serves as the chapel of Angelicum School Iloilo. Our tour guide was a graduating senior with excellent English. The house had been bought by the Dominicans. The downstairs dining room was converted into a chapel. There were all kinds of secret passages in the house. The maids weren't allowed through the main house. Instead they had stairs hidden in the walls. The stairs used to revolve. However, the blue prints were lost so they can't restore them. There is also supposedly a tunel that goes from under the stairs to the Jaro church a few blocks away. We didn't test that, either. The school was practicing for a celebration later that night. These two girls were practicing the Bala nga Sawa (or something like that) dance. They balance a cup of water on their head and have a cup of water in...

 One of our stops ended up being the former jail, now a museum. They had a few cultural displays for the upcoming Dinaygang Festival. The skirt is a big tube that they fold to stay on. There were 5 galleries. One was about rock formations, the next about animal life, then pottery, then clothing and finally artwork. We spent a lot of time in the animal one seeing the various flora and fauna that makes up the Panay Island. It was very fascinating. However we stayed too long and missed our next house to tour.

 Across from the Molo Church and the Molo Plaza is the Molo Mansion where the governor or priest used to live. Most town squares have this set-up- a plaza, a large cathedral and an old, impressive house. The Molo mansion was open upstairs so we got to see it. They had art displayed and some beautiful balconies. The houses are designed to make the most of the breeze that circulates. It was built in 1926  by the couple Doña Petra Lacson, a matron of the  Lacson  clan, and Estanislao Yulo Yusay, a prominent lawyer and judge from Molo. They had ten children together. In 1940, Estanislao died, and Rosario Yusay, one of the couple's ten children, inherited the house. Rosario lived with her husband, Timoteo Consing Sr., who served as Iloilo governor from 1934 to 1937. You can see the plaza and the church steeples across the street. From one of the balconies. While we would consider the house small, the family had 10 children in it. The upstairs serves as a revolving communi...

  Camiña Balay Nga Bato  is a 161-year-old bahay na bato in the Arevalo district , Iloilo City, Philippines. Balay nga Bato means  "house of stones". It's only a block from the mission office and we pass it all the time. We finally went to visit it. It's hard to see the stone from the outside. You can see the railing under each window. This is to keep things from falling out when that portion of the window is opened. Build in 1865, it is a two story house built on 24 stilts made from tree trunks.  It was built in 1865 and was designed by the first parish priest of Molo, Anselmo Avanceña, for Don Fernando Avanceña and his wife, Eulalia Abaja.  The family lived upstairs in case of flooding. Poor relatives who visited got to stay downstairs. The stairs up were about a 45 degree angle so very steep. They suggested walking up and down sideways. The floors upstairs alternated between light planks and dark planks making a cool pattern. The windows had tons of small pan...

 Libacao is a small mountain village we recently have put missionaries in. It's quite the drive through winding roads, some not paved. If it rains, it can have extra water on the road. However, the scenery is absolutely gorgeous. This is not Libacao but one of the towns in the lowlands that flooded. The river rose up enough to just come over the road.

 The public restrooms here are usually nice. However, you rarely find toilet paper in any of the stalls. Instead, they have one mounted on the wall as you walk in, or maybe by the sink area. You need to remember to grab what you need before you enter the stall. It's something I often forget which means I carry a little bit of toilet paper in my purse always. Be prepared is a great motto. This one was mounted outside the restrooms next to the hand dryer. That way you can see it after you have finished everything, just in case you forgot.

 One of the big deals here is pickleball. The mission presidents love it. Most of the missionaries in the closest zone come each Monday morning to play pickleball at the mission home. Here's Elder Smith playing with Sister Tongi from Maui. It's like a large version of ping-ping played with wiffle balls. The hardest part is playing in the heat.