Christmas in the Philippines

The Filipinos are not worried about displaying their love for the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. We found nativity scenes in front of malls on the road, in stores and in front of homes. We loved their obvious love for the Birth of Jesus Christ and celebrate it with great zeal!

This is the same scene during the day. It is right across from the Dagupan 5 sisters apartment on the main road leading into Dagupan from Mangaldan. They are not ashamed to show their love for Jesus Christ, the Savior of mankind. They are a very religious people.

My Plant Collection

After my purchase of four plants the ladies next door decided I needed more plants so they gave me several starts of theirs. (They have about 40 pot filled with magandang (beautiful) plants.

My plant collection just keeps growing.

Zone Conference Nov. 2009

We always take a Zone picture after Zone Conference. Back row: L-R Elder Natindim, Cortez, Sangcap, Rabanes, Espinosa, Wallentine, Me, President Allred, Elder Lato, Gumapad, Podzokowski, Limnaon. Sitting: L-R Sis. Cerillo, Roman, Sis. Jensen, President Jensen, Elder Seva and Angustia. Front and center are our AP's L-R Elder Morales and Stone.

Saying good-bye is hard. Even though Sis. Payne wasn't in our zone I loved her bubbly spirit. She and Sister Dolojan took us to a Palenke to buy fruit and vegetables cheaper than in the market, and Sister Montera is part of the three-some because Sister Payne is returning home, just in time to celebrate Christmas with her family. She lives in Utah so it isn't so hard to say good bye to her--we will see her again, the Filipinos we know will never make it to the US and we know we will never come back either.

Fish, Fish and More Fish!

This is on the way to Agoo. Rick has nick-named it "Fish Alley". They take the fish that doesn't sell that day and dry it in the sun, once it is dried it will keep forever. The elders tell us they fry it up with a little onion and seasonings and put it on top of their rice. They tell us it is delicious.

They have to clean them, then de-bone and put them on the screens, it looks very labor intensive.

Sometimes the entire road is lined with all kinds of drying fish.

See what I mean! And this can go on for almost a mile on both sides.

Transfer Day--A Flurry of Excitment

This is a Zone picture right before transfers, usually at least three that get transferred. The shirts were made for our Zone but most of the missionaries forgot to bring them to district meeting. District Meeting is held on Wednesday the week of transfers, otherwise it is always on Tuesday. The Zone leaders are told who will be transferred and the missionary is told at District meeting. They don't know where they are going until transfer day. They pack their belongings and come to the meeting waiting for the announcement of who is going where. Anxiety and anticipation abound!

Transfer Day takes place at Mangaldan Chapel every six weeks like clock work.This is what the otherwise empty parking lot looks like on Transfer day. The mission hires Jeepney drives for the day, they bring missionaries from heir old areas with their suitcases and wait till the meeting is over, then they load up the newly assigned missionaries, luggage and supplies the missionaries have ordered for their apartments and the Zone leaders go with the Jeepney to get all the newly assigned missionaries settled. They do this in every town where missionaries are transferred in the zone.

The Baguio Mission has nine zones so nine Jeepney's crowd in the parking lot with all the belongings and supplies--they depart one by one as each Jeepney is finally loaded with all necessary items and missionaries then they are off!

This Transfer Day was a good one. Sometimes it is raining while all the loading, gathering supplies and good byes are taking place. This day it is just VERY warm!! No shade.

This and That!

This is Sister Mercedes in the wheelchair. She is a very sweet elderly lady that lives in Mapandan, only member of the church in her family and the elders, L-R Limnoan and Angustia wheel her to church every week as elders in the past have done. She lives right across the street from the church. She always asks me to come see her. She speaks very good English too.

This is the beginning of my plant collection! I finally talked my "asawa" (husband) in to letting me get some plants so it would feel more like home not temporary! Now all I need is to get some pots. (This is how you buy them from a nursery, in a heavy black plastic sort of bag with soil that looks almost like sawdust. I really don't know what it is made of but it is very light and the water flows through it very quickly, it doesn't absorb like potting soil does.

This is a beautiful poinsettia I got up in Baguio, it really is as big as it looks. Here I can keep it outside. I had it inside for a week and it was dying, the lady next door told me to put it outside--I could never do that in America!

Now You See It Now You Don't!

We got a call from the Mission Office about a week after we got the brand new car. Elder Duncan said that Manila made a mistake and the new car should have gone to the Thomsen's. They had the oldest car in the mission. (It was a text actually!)
I wanted to text back to Elder Duncan and say--You have GOT to BE KIDDING??!! But I didn't, I am sure it was a hard call to make.
He told us to just bring it to transfers and exchange for the Thomsen's car. We told him OK.
When we saw him at transfers I was teasing him about being an "Indian Giver" which in America means you give something to someone and then you take it back! He he he!
He said I really didn't want to make that call, I asked Pres. Thomsen if he wanted to call and tell us and he said no, you do it. He told us that was the hardest thing for him to do.
We just joked about it and told him it was perfectly okay with us as long as we had a car that ran!

Mangaldan Zone Pictures November 2009

Our Zone had shirts made, we unfortunately are too big for Filipino shirts so we just placed them over our "mataba" bodies. Some of the elders forgot to bring theirs so this is what it looks like when everyone is not on the same page! Back row: L-R: Elder Cortez, Anderson, Gumapad, Wallentine, Angustia, Podzokowski, Rabanes and Limnoan. Sitting: L-R: Pres. & Sis. Allred. Sis. Red, Sis. Roman, Elder Lato
Front and Center - Elder Seva. We love all of them and always hate to see then go on "Transfer day" but it gives us someone new to love!

We soon learned it is "Tradition" to take a serious then a "Wacky" shot. Guess which one this is??!

More Filipino Cuties

This cute little girl was in the Manaoag branch, Sister Roman is in the background. I couldn't believe she didn't have a ton of hair like all the rest of the babies I saw. Her mother solved the mystery. Her father is American. She is 4 months old and such a cute chubby little thing. Can you see why I can't get enough?

Filipino children are naturally shy, can't you just tell that by his expression. It's like he really doesn't want to be a part of this in any way shape or form! (We were in Aguilar, he is one of the care takers grandchildren.

This 4 month old cutie was in Aguilar the same day with her grandparents.

This sweet lady is Cora Garcia, her husband is lst Counselor in the Mapandan District Presidency, and her adorable daughter Liahona (she has a middle name but I don't remember it) can recite 8 articles of faith by heart in the tiniest of voices with no effort whatsoever. She is VERY shy, her mother had to keep asking her to do it. She is just a doll. The first time I met her she could do 5 with no errors but now she is up to 8--all at the tender age of 5.

My Little Neighborhood Friends

This is Justin, he lives across the street and down one house. I waved at him every time we drove by his house, he would just stare at me as we drove by, it was weeks before he finally decided it was okay to wave back. I wanted him to stand with the other kids so I could take a picture and he was shy and ran across the street--so I just turned around and took a picture of just him. I think he isn't old enough to go to school or his parents don't send him. It is up to the parents, there is no law that makes them.

Here are the rest of the neighborhood cuties. The tallest in the back is our neighbors nanny even though she is a niece. Jessica is a sweetie, she is the one with the big smile! Her little sister is Jocelyne, Kenneth is in the far back and JR has the yellow collar, I don't know the name of the boy in the white shorts. The little guy sporting the frown in front is the youngest son of our new neighbors, his name is Jo Mo!

These boys are Jesse and Cynthia Fernandez's children, they live in the apartment just east of us. The oldest is Emil, then Kenneth and Jo Mo. They speak excellent English and are very friendly. Jo Mo is spoiled but as cute as can be.