Unique to the Philippines

This was a painting in the hospital where an elder was. This is how they move a "kubo".

THIS--Ladies and Gentlemen--is a REAL washing machine! I didn't know they even had something like this here! This one you just put your soap in and it works just like the ones in the states except it's smaller. This is at the Senior Sister's apartment in Dagupan--brand spankin' new! This is really nice!! All the other ones I have seen you have to fill the water--drain after washing, fill a different part to rinse and then drain again. No dryers here folks--the sun is free!
Sorry for the glare, that is what happens when you take it through the windshield. A man riding a pad-yak in the rain with a load of sticks for fire wood.

Visiting the LTO

First, I have to explain what led us to the Philippines Land and Transportation Office. We were doing a CSP (community service project) for the Senior Sisters that were coming. We were cleaning their apartment and we had asked several of the Dagupan missionaries to come help us. Rick was wearing his exercise clothes and it has big pockets. He was going to the chapel about 5 minutes away to pick up a carload of missionaries as they didn't know where to come and in on of those trips his wallet feel out of his pocket! BAD! VERY BAD! We didn't discover it until we were all through and ready to leave! This meant all the credit cards, ATM cards (which is our only way to access cash here) his Filipino driver's license (which took us 3 hours to get in Manila when we arrive) and his Arizona Driver's license. NOT to mention the 5,000 pesos ($100.00) he carried in his wallet for emergencies when we have to take missionaries to the hospital or doctor (as none of them take a credit card--they say "CASH ONLY".

We were told we needed to get to an LTO office and if they wouldn't issue us a duplicate we would have to go to Manila. (Bear in mind when you say Manila to us it puts fear and dread into our hearts! It was a nightmare just being IN a car coming up to Baguio when we arrived. We had driven in Europe - - that was NOTHING compared to Filipino driving!)
Just to show you how the Lord watches over his missionaries, especially his Senior Missionaries, a week or so ago we were driving on one of the roads we have been on at least 100 times, no exaggerating and I happened to look down from the bridge and saw a sign that said LTO--it would have meant nothing to me except Pres. Jensen was telling us that the senior sisters were going to have to go to the LTO to get a license before they came up to our mission. I just said to myself, oh there is an LTO office. I didn't know there was one in Dagupan.
Well, after the threat of having to go to Manila it clicked I had seen one but we were on a bridge and didn't know what street to take to get there. On Sunday after our meetings we drove around trying to find the road--it was on the opposite side of a river from where we were so we drove through a really scary poor part of Dagupan, where I think it was safe to say that no cars go down frequently--we got more stares than usual.
After a long round about way we ended up on the major city road looking for a road that we could turn on that led back in the direction of the LTO. We found it finally and drove right to it. SO--now we knew where to go--we would go back on Monday and try our luck on getting a duplicate!!
I should have taken a picture when we first arrived there were at seats 70 people waiting for 3 clerks and everything you do here is a "PROCESS" so we knew we were in for a LONG wait! Rick had been smart and photo copied our passports, he took that and off we went. There is no inside waiting with air conditioning--take a look at the people sitting in the background--that IS the waiting room! Keep in mind it is only about 100 degrees with about 85 % humidity! Twenty chairs MAX!!
Most men in the Philippines do NOT open doors for women or get up and let them have a seat--that is their culture, the more educated ones I have noticed do.

Of course we are the only ones who don't speak Tagalog but we see a sign in English that says they give priority to seniors and pregnant women! Finally a bonus for getting old!! We jumped right in front. The young man told Rick he had to go to another building across from the parking lot to get an affidavit of loss (which of course cost pesos) then he cam back and had to wait to pay money, then sit and wait for his name to be called. When they called his name there was his duplicate license!
He thanked them and off we went! NO DRIVING TO MANILA!! YIPEE!! It was really shocking the whole process only took us 1 1/2 hrs. I made a promise to myself that I will never complain at the DMV every AGAIN!!
The process of replacing lost cards and ATM cards was a huge headache because we are 15 hrs. ahead of the States and the land line is not reliable so it took us almost a month to get cards back to us and up and running. It could have been much worse but it was still a big headache! We were blessed that it ended well.

View of the Ocean Coming From Baguio

We finally had a clear day coming down from Baguio that allowed us to see the ocean.

You can see the white caps along the shore line. These shots were taken at the side of the mountainous road.

Another great shot showing the beautiful vegetation!!

A shot zooming out so you could see the surrounding country.

The Flower Garden

We have two sweet little Filipino women living next door, Jean and Victoria. Victoria (80 years old) has a passion for flowers and she is also blessed with a very green thumb. They must have around 100 pots with every kind of plant you could imagine.

Yes, these are orchids. They are a common flower here and easy to grow with many varieties.

They require no special treatment or tending, they just need water during the dry season.

Dangerous Driving

Driving down the mountain from Baguio is dangerous business. The bus drivers here are very scary, they drive way to fast, pass when there is not enough room to get back in their own lane and will NOT move over for oncoming traffic if they are int he process of passing. You either move off the road or you get hit. The rule here in the Philippines is the bigger the vehicle the more rights you have on the road so the bus wins!

The buses are not always in the best of repair, sometimes the breaks go out or they are going way too fast to make the curves coming down from Baguio. We have seen many bus accidents along the road when traveling to Baguio. This one was lucky it had a hill to stop them from going over the edge. When accidents in buses happen there are usually many casualties. I have no desire to ever ride in a bus here!

Nothing They Can't Haul!

We always see something interesting as we travel around the mission.

I will never cease to be amazed what they can put in a Jeepney. Talk about a versatile vehicle, this is one of the best.

Going for a Ride

This was so scary to me I had to get a picture, no one would believe this.
Not only did this little boy ride on the back with his Dad but there is a smaller child in front of him in a small basket.
Notice the dad's grip on the little boy, the one in front is on his own because Dad has his hand on the handle bar.