Our Day with the Urbiztondo Elders

Well, just like the sign says, Welcome to Urbiztondo! (I think this is the farthest area in the Aguilar District) We arranged with the elders there, Elder Eligio and Elder Woodson to come pick them up and take them to places in their area they can't afford to get a Jeepney too and some are so far there is no transportation there at all, at any price.

First order of business is lunch! We don't usually by things off the street, we were told not to but Elder Woodson assured us it was safe they eat at this Big Mak stand all the time! We had a hot dog and a drink. That was a bold move for me because the hot dogs here are bright red--like the sign, but this one was actually the color of a hot dog in the states so I was a little more confident, just a little! It turned out to be good--that is weird when you are excited about eating a hot dog!! (only thing--no mustard)

This is the Branch Pres. of Urbiztondo who lives right across the street from the elders. His wife is very adamantly against the church. Elder Woodson said he had never seen her smile all the time he has been there till the day we went over and introduced ourselves. Her daughter is next to her and the grandchildren are in front (they want to join the church but the daughter and wife are against it.)

This is a hilarious sign we saw there, I asked the elders if the preacher was named Manna! He He He! They have lots of different named churches here, this just happens to be the funniest one I have every seen in my life!!

Unusual Shots!

Does this shot of the driveway at a chapel look a littlte odd to you? (This is in the town of San Carlos)! A basketball standard smack dab in the middle of the driveway! This does not pose a problem for most members because they either own a tryke, a motorcycle or hire a tryke or pad-yak. However, for a car, even our little car we take extreme care going in and out of this parking lot! I thought it was funny. BUT--you have to understand the Philippines--the Filipino people LOVE, I mean--REALLY LOVE basketball. If there is an empty space somewhere, they have erected a basketball hoop (it doesn't matter if it is dirt that they play on, as long as they can play. One place we have seen has been played on so long it has packed the dirt so hard it looks like cement and even stays that way with all the rain we get.) and there is always someone playing basketball there. Even at our chapels, most have a basketball standard in the parking lot--not many Filipinos own a car so there is always room for non-members and members to play a game. When the gates are not open (they keep them locked here when the chapel is not being used to prevent vandalism) non-members scale the fence and the game begins! They even have hoops along the side of the road and if a car comes along (on our street it is usually us) they just move out of the way till it passes and just keep right on playing! THEY LOVE THE GAME!! Pres. Allred always stops when we come across a street game that has to stop for us and asks: "Who is Michael Jordan?!" The Filipinos always get a big kick out of it and sometimes will point out one of their players! The elders have told him how to say that in Tagalog but he hasn't learned it yet!

This is a little girl (about 8 or 9) at the end of the street where the "Palenke" (market) is. (She is sorting through the pile of trash for things that can be sold at a recycling center. There are many people who go around town trying to find things to sell at these centers. Sometimes that is their only source of income.) The vendors all bring their trash to the front after mornings business here because the trash is picked up daily at this corner. Filipino towns all have a Palenke in the center of their towns. The Filipinos sell vegetables, fruit, dishes, and everything you would normally find in a store--they do the food along this street--it is the street where the Mangaldan elders live. It can be very smelly but it is packed with people selling a variety of items. You can NOT drive down the street at all during the day--you are lucky to be able to walk down it. This section where the food is sold closes around 12 noon. We were walking down this street at 4:00 a.m one morning recently to take some medicine to a sick elder and it was a beehive of activity at 4 a.m! Many people were already buying their food for the day, several children were with their parents at that hour. It was still dark! (Filipino people go to the market every day for their food, most have no refrigerator to keep things fresh. It is their way of life) The rest of the Palenke where clothes and staples are sold stays open almost around the clock, they have shifts. It is like one elder explained to us--The market almost never closes down!

San Jacinto Chapel

The branches here are very simple here. This is the office of the branch president in San Jacinto. It is a small branch but the branch is very supportive of each other and you can feel the unity among the members.

This is the chapel. The chairs are removed when they need to use the chapel for a cultural hall. There is no air conditioning in any of the chapels here except the one that is the District Center (like our stake centers). In this chapel they have a standing fan rotating back and forth on each side of the chapel. A young boy of 12 is the pianist, teaching himself to play the hymns. I love the members here, they always welcome us with open arms and love. It feels like home when I walk in, Christ-like love is there.

The Way Things Move

This is a kaliglig, they use this with a different tool in the rice fields to get their ground ready to plant. When it is not needed in the fields, they use it as a vehicle to move people and anything else that needs moving. It has a long handle that is guided with a handle similar to a lawn mover but these are much harder to maneuver.

Trykes don't look very strong but don't let them deceive you--they can haul all sorts of things. We are constantly amazed to see what and how much they can put on one of these things!

Hauling wood? No problem.

Have Tryke? Will Haul!

The Making of a Kubo

This is the beginning stages of constructing a kubo.
Kubos are very popular here in the Philippines. Some people have them as a relaxing place in their yards if they are wealthy. This is home for many people but most are not this fancy or big. As a general rule most Filipinos spend a lot of time outside because it is not as hot outside as inside a cement structured home.

The basic structure emerges.

It begins to take shape. This is much bigger and fancier than most.

They can create almost any style a person would want. Bamboo holds ups very well with all the humidity and rain the country experiences.

A Visit to Easter Weavers

This is a weaving factory in Baguio that also has a shop upstairs that sells all the different items these people weave. They have shawls, tablecloths, napkins, wall hangings and purses just to name a few.

They sit there all day (it looks like back breaking work) and move forward and back to create the design that is to be made at their loom. They feed the stick through the threads just like the type of weaving looms the Native Americans use to make their blankets. They can pass that stick with the thread through the loom with such precision that you can hardly see it happen; it doesn't get caught as it passes through to the other side either. You can tell these people have been doing this for a very long time by the speed at which they work.

This is what the other side looks like, where the threads come from. There is a huge spool of all these threads even and straight. I tried to figure out how they could get them so straight and perfectly aligned so they won't have tangles. I couldn't figure it out. Whoever loads all that thread on the big wheel (you can't see it) has to be very precise or you could never create such beautiful things.

The weavers were happy to let us take pictures as they work. The weavers are happy to have us come and watch. We were amazed at the designs that were being created when we visited. This lady was busy at work but happy to pose for a picture. There were about 12 looms going. I don't know their work hours but most Filipinos work a 6 day work week and with long hour days.

Little Streams of Water

President Thomsen, lst Counselor in the Philippines Baguio Mission came up with this poem to illustrate a common sight we see everyday and everywhere. Can you figure out what he is referencing?

Little streams of water, flowing to the ground

From men that seem to simply be, standing around.

Their back is facing traffic,

Their face against the wall.

It's hard not to notice them, when they don't hide at all.