The Lost Plates of Jack and Leiana

 Jack and I went to the mall to find a zester to try some lemon cookies. We went to look at the flan before leaving. We were surprised when we turned the corner to see the sister who helped me buy gifts for the Christmas party singing in the mall. She is a recent return missionary from Thailand who often translates for me. She is going to school, working and also busking.  Since we are in the Philippines, we had to get a selfie with her in the background! Just so you can hear her as well, here's a short piece. I thought she sounded like Hannah Montana or Taylor Swift, but what do I know.

 The Philippinos rank #1 in the world for taking selfies. I believe that. You can't go anywhere without someone wanting to get a picture. Go out to dinner--all the wait staff take picture for you or take a selfie of the group. Meet a bunch of friends somewhere-- we need a selfie to remember the moment. Unfortunately, I have not adapted to this craze yet. I never remember to bring my camera or find my phone in time.  Here is one selfie we took at Christmastime in front of the Coca Cola Plant that is between our apartment and the mission office. They had all kinds of cool selfie backdrops for you to use.

 LDS Charities donated a bunch of emergency equipment to Naval Hospital for their ambulances, including a defibulator, an ECG machine, backboads, laryngoscope with video, oxygen tanks, etc. They had a turnover ceremony on Monday February 17. Jack and I were asked to represent the mission there and give a speech. Jack took on that assignment.  I got to spend some time talking with the nurse managers and an EMT and a few other hospital workers. I wrote most of the talk that Jack used. The parts that I wrote:  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members strive to care for those in need as Christ did during His mortal ministry. As followers of Jesus Christ, we consider this to be both a duty and a joyful privilege. Through volunteer service, collaborations with organizations, and donations, the Church provides worldwide aid and service to all of God’s children with the hope of building self-reliance. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Sain...

 We tease that Philippinos that here Christ would be known as the Rice of Life instead of the Bread of Life. They eat rice at every meal. If rice isn't served, it is considered a snack. We see rice fields all over as we drive. We also see people drying their rice on the side of the road. Sometimes, it is totally on the road and you have no option but to drive over it. People, wash your rice before cooking it. We may have driven over it. the sidwalk like looking things on the right side of the road is actually rice spread out on blue tarps to dry. I think we were able to dodge this set.  Sometimes we see very happy chickens or ducks enjoying the unattended drying stations. Some of the native missionaries mentioned that their job growing up was to chase away hungry animals.

A nice up close view of a man and his chicken. It really is funny how many guys you see carrying chickens around. Even young boys will carry their rooster.  It is quite common to see men walking around carrying a rooster. Cock fights are a huge sport here. You will often see tons of trikes and other vehicles parked along the side of the road. You know that there is a cock fight going on there.  This guy is actually stroking his chicken. It was sort of interesting to watch. Men can be sitting talking to each other holding a chicken. 

 The Philippines get a lot of rain. December is the rainiest month that gets about 10 inches of rain (274 mm). Januanry is second with 220 mm with June and July being close. The dry months are March, April and May. April only gets 105 mm (4 inches). This makes these months so much hotter. All in all, Tacloban gets about 90 inches of rain a year. It rains 21-22 days in the rainy months and only 13-15 days in the dry months. Lately, we keep getting messages on the GPS saying that our route may be affected by flooding. We have had to change plans due to the rainfall. We were driving missionaries home when we crossed some interesting rivers that used to be streets. The water is a couple of inches deep. On the right side, you can see the sidewalk that the water is running over. This is a street in Catarman that we actually drove through. You can see the buildings on both sides. I was worried our engine might get flooded, but we made it through.

 Probably not the most exciting post but it is good to know for when (if) you come to the Philippines. We are lucky and have a full flush toilet with the small and large flush buttons on top. At the side of every flush toilet is a little sprayer. I am not sure if it is a manual bidet or if you use it to clean the toilets after use. I have used it for both. There is usually a small garbage can nearby. That is to collect the toilet paper you use. Like many third world countries, they don't like you to flush the paper. It mucks up their systems. The other type of toilet you often see is just the base. nearby you will find a large bucket of water and a small scoop. You do your business and then scoop water into the toilet until it flushes. It takes some time and skill to get things to go down.  The shower, if they have one, is often next to the toilet so you can see all the shower supplies hanging above it in the first picture. The second picture, the elders cleaned everything awa...