Good Times! 1/4/2016

 Hello Again!  Here are a few more pictures from life here in the Philippines.  Explanations are in the captions.  Coming up in another post will talk about Christmas and New Year celebrations.  We hope your holidays were happy and filled with wonderful family memories! 

We went on a visit with the District President, to see Brother
Torres.  He is raising his grandchildren.  We have counted
at least 6.  He is a recent convert and so faithful! They
are playing in a sidecar of a tricycle (motorbike).

A beautiful Fiesta FEAST put on by the Miranda Family.
Our eyes were bigger than our stomachs!  Delicious!

Waiting outside the house described below. 

Waaaaaaay across a rice field lives a little old woman
in a tiny little shack.  She takes care of the goats and chickens
in return for her tiny little house.  No electricity and no water, but  it
provides shelter for her and her grandson.  She has
been a member of the Church for many years, but has a
very hard time getting to church due to health concerns.
We had such a nice visit with her!

Meet the extended Umlas Family.  The matriarch, Nanay Umlas,
is seated on a chair, second from the left.  She never
misses a Sunday at church.  Her leg is twisted and looks so
sore to walk on, but she goes without complaint.  We got to
join in at a Family Home Evening one evening.  Lots of fun!

This is Elder Vuetibau, an elder that served in
our zone several months ago.  We became very
close with him and we admire him.  He is a
wonderful Elder.  

Some of our great sisters, Sister Sarfraz and Sister McMillan.
Sister Sarfraz is from Pakistan and has an amazing story about
growing up in the Church in her country.  She comes from a strong
family who have endured through persecution.  

Waiting for the bonka boat to take us across the river
to an investigator living on an island.  The "driver" pulled the
boat across with a rope that was attached to poles on each side of the river.

We're off!  5 pesos per person each way, which is
about a dime.

The view down the river.

          

Here is Sister Cora, the woman that lives on the island
with her sons.  She became a widow at a young age.  We loved the chance to help teach her about the Gospel.

(Keep scrolling down.  I can't figure out how to get the below pictures up higher!  They won't behave!)

Later that day we got to meet a new investigator.  We were
excited to get to know Sister Canlas and her sister.

The view from our teaching appointment in the
house below.

We have introduced you to the Dorimon Family before.
Sister Dorimon, in the black sweater, built a new house since the
first post where you met them.  Her daughter (the one holding
the pamphlet), has now joined the Church.  Hooray!  We love
this family!

I hope this movie works, but you probably
have to use your imagination.  Imagine a
dirty river below and a rickety bridge that
swings as you walk. I have talked
about this bridge before.  It should be
called "Faith Bridge" since it takes
a lot of it to get across.  It helps to look
straight ahead, not down!

This is Nanay Dorimon's husband.  His job is to make coal
for people to cook with.  Imagine doing this all day in
this severe heat!

One of the fun things we get to do sometimes
is to deliver mission calls to prospective missionaries.  Who do you think is more excited- mom or missionary?It was a toss up!  Most mission calls here are to servein the Philippines as there are 21 missions here and some
are not open to foreigners.