We've Moved

Last Monday the Fershtuts headed out so we moved into the apartment next door that they had vacated. Had our first warm shower in 6 weeks that evening and it was great. We now have a microwave, newer fridge, stove with an oven, washer, dryer and better dishes and pots and pans. We are definitely “moving up”! The apartment layout is the same as the other one but has a few inches larger CR. Will post some pics so you’ll be able to see the new digs.

Kitchen/Dining Area


Living Area


Birthday Gift


Bedroom with special Pillow Cases


Monday and Tuesday were spent moving and practicing with our Elders Choir.

Wednesday we mainly recovered and finished putting things away. We bought a pantry of sorts and love it! Is so much nicer than stacking food on a side table. We helped the Zone Leaders get their stuff moved back into the old apt. They were thrilled to be home again. They make great neighbors so we’re glad they are there too.

Thursday, Friday and Saturday we had our first official tropical storm. Whoa! Talk about rain, wind, lightning and thunder! They classify the storms as 1, 2 or 3. This was a 2 and it was a doozer so can’t help but worry about what a 3 will bring! We were quite safe and cozy in our place. I was actually loving it because with all the rain, things cooled down a lot.

One strange feature of rain is the frogs. Yes, it’s true. When it rains, the frogs come out at night and croak like mad. Imagine for a minute that we’re at Duck Creek and Loney and Darrel are sleeping in adjoining tents. It’s about 2 am and the sounds are carrying like crazy. They both begin snoring at full volume. That’s the frogs here in Naic. Unbelievably loud! We had a frog in the kitchen last night. Wasn’t very big but was quite colorful and could hop mighty fast. It is also Gecko birthing season. We always have tons of them but right now there are also tons of tiny baby ones. Gotta love a lizard that eats bugs.



Thursday we went to Manila for a multi-zone conference at the mission home. We left home at 5:00 am to make the 50 mile drive to town. We were late for our 8:00 am meeting! Took over 3 hours to drive that far with all of the traffic. The conference was great and our choir sang and did a super job. I asked them if they were ready to quit now that we’ve performed. The answer was a resounding NO! They want to continue so every Tuesday after district meeting we’ll be working on something.

Friday we went visiting families with the Ternate Elders. It was raining and stormy but we headed out anyway. We visited 7 families including 3 inactive ones. We’re trying to help re-activate some of the branch members. One of the families lives off the beaten path so we had to hike in to their home. We went through muddy, flooding jungle, detouring around bamboo tree clumps and other dripping vegetation. We “forded” streams and the whole ball of wax. Once we arrived, the home was amazing. It was made of bamboo, vine ropes, and palm fronds for a roof. Had to climb a ladder to get inside as it was up on stilts. The family has set August 8th as their baptism date.

I was so excited because Darrel finally saw Godzilla! He was in the laundry area off of our kitchen. There is a drain in the floor there that he came through. Needless to say, the drain is now securely closed. There is nothing quite like an actual sighting to make you believe about the size of a rat. He agreed that this fellow could make mince meat out of Mo. We are the animal headquarters of the Philippines. We’re out in the country and in the fields around the apartment we have cows, goats, sheep, geese, chickens, roosters (noisy buggars), turkey, frogs, rats, mice, dogs, cats and enough insect life to feed most of the country. Friday evening we were eating dinner and glanced up to see a cow peering through our front door screen. She and three of her friends had got through our gate and were eating and fertilizing our grass. Ah, the joys of country living.

Last night, Saturday, was amazing. We had 20 baptisms in the district. We went to the Punta/Carissa branch meeting house and watched as 19 new members were baptized. Was so wonderful. There were 5 families including the 2 that were part of the triple marriage last week. Several bore their testimonies afterward and it was so touching. The other baptism was in Tanza branch. 20 in one night just might be some sort of record. Our Manila Mission is averaging well over 200 baptisms per month. Last December they had over 300 for the month.