Still Quarantined!

      Elder Smith went to the doctor on Monday and his quarantine was extended another 10 to 14 days so… He is healing well and on the mend but is still contagious.  The Mission Tour was this week and so we had to do some creative planning.  Tuesday was the meeting for our Zone (along with four others) in DasMarinias.  We had previously taught the new Mission Song to the Zones and had committed to leading the music at the tour.  Elder Smith drove me to the stake center and then sat in the car for 3 hours while I was able to enjoy the meeting and lead the song.  Yes, I did feel guilty!  But, Elder Teh was amazing!  It is always a pleasure to listen to a G.A. and this was no exception.  He is a member of the First Quorum of Seventy and in our Area Presidency.  We were scheduled to feed the Teh’s, Howards etc. on Tuesday before a fireside here in Naic.  Well, with Elder Smith’s guck we were in a bind.  We finally figured we’d somehow transport all the food etc. to the Naic Chapel and serve the meal there.  After checking with the doctor on Monday he said that as long as Elder Smith stayed upstairs and didn’t interact with the guests we could have the dinner at the apartment.  So, as soon as the meetings were winding down in DasMas we headed for home and put the finishing touches on dinner.  We prepared Beef Steak Tagalog with rice, mixed veggies in cheese sauce, rolls, cucumber salad and brownie/ice cream/cherry topping for dessert.  Dinner was scheduled for 5 p.m. with the fireside to follow at 6 p.m.  At 5:00 the phone rang and it was Pres. Howard.  They had been delayed in DasMas and were just leaving the Stake Center, a 45 minute drive from here.  We quickly put all the food on “stay warm” mode and then went to the Naic Chapel for the fireside.  Elder Smith was here to stir things once in awhile and make sure nothing burned.  We were all back at the apartment by 7:30 and ready to eat. 

It was actually a blessing in disguise as we were able to relax, visit and enjoy the time and meal together.  Sister Jean (our tutor and Naic Branch RS pres.) came over to help with the final preparations and serving.  She is such a sweetheart. 

                Tuesday morning we were up bright and early to head to Makati for the second day of Mission Tour.  Five more Zones were able to meet and enjoy Elder Teh and his message.  The Mission Song went well and was great fun.  Poor Elder Smith set in the car once again for hours!  Sister Teh is a former Manila Mission missionary and actually served some of her mission in Naic.  I was very inspired and uplifted by Elder Teh’s messages and felt so sad that Elder Smith missed them.  One thing is certain, we are here in the Philippines for a reason!  The Lord does issue Mission Calls and we needed to be here to serve.  We are so thankful for the things we are learning and for the blessings of being in His service.

Now for a little taste of home. Our KFC is Kapag Fried Chicken.  The original recipe tastes like home and the crispy is quite spicy.  All meals come with rice and gravy.

****3/5 Update****

Elder Smith went out in public today and was shaking hands and everything. Back to normal! Hooray!

Quarantined!

               Okay, so it’s boring being at home all the time!  Elder Smith was thoughtful enough to accept a case of viral herpes and now we’re paying for it.  He hasn’t shaved for a week so the sores can heal.  He has them in his mouth and on his right cheek and jaw.  We saw the doctor Monday morning and he has been on a ton of medication and is responding well.  In the meantime, we are grounded!  Oh well, we did clean a few cupboards and we’re way ahead in our Book of Mormon reading assignment.

                We had a fun FHE last week and then on the following Friday we had a work/service project here at the apartment.  The Elders worked hard and things outside are pretty spiffy now. 

While working one of the Elders found a baby boa constrictor.  No idea where Mama was!  Far away, we hope! 

After a hot dog lunch it was back to teaching.  We fixed a Mexican layered dip with Tostidos for lunch. 

It was a hit.  None of our natives had ever tried it and they were quite fascinated.  The Americans were elated.

                We finished up Area Book checks before the plague hit so the Zone’s we’re responsible for are up to date and looking good.  Next week is Mission Tour and so wanted everything in order before then.  Have a few supplies on order from SLC then they’re really going to be perfect.

                The fruit of the month is a Pomelo. We’re almost sure we’ve seen them in the States but never tried them before. 

They look like a large grapefruit.  The peel is quite thick and the white lining is bitter.  (Yes, I sampled it!) 

The sections are pinkish and are a lot like grapefruit except they’re quite bland tasting.  They have small white seeds which is a requirement for any fruit over here. 

There are seeds in nearly everything!  It didn’t make our “gotta have more” list but is better than some of the other things we’ve tried.

                For Valentine’s Day we fixed some Muddy Munch snacks from Chex cereal mix.  It turned out well and after packaging it and adding some heart shaped marshmallows we delivered them to our Elders.  They seemed tickled. 

They are all looking forward to the next FHE as we’ve warned them that it is going to be a St. Patrick’s Day affair.  Over the years we’ve had some fabulous St. Patty’s FHE’s so this one will be fun. 

                We’ll be back to the Doctor on the 22^nd to get a clean bill of health for Elder Smith!  How’s that for confidence.  Then we can get back to visiting folks and going to Church and all that good stuff.

Picture from last weeks Zone Interviews

With Elder Whitman and Elder Cowen ** two of our Naic alumni

***Update 2/21***

Brother Smith is doing well and we're very optimistic that the Dr. will release him from his quarantine. 

Corregidor!

We loved going to Corregidor Island last Friday. All five couples in the Manila Mission went and we (Elder Smith and I) especially had a wonderful time. So much history! We left Manila that morning by ferry. It was a 90 minute ride. There were TV monitors we could watch and there were some videos about what we could expect to see. Then, one of the guides for the tour company got on the microphone and told more stories. Once we arrived at the island we went to a buffet lunch at the hotel. Overnight tour packages are available and we’d actually like to take advantage of one before we leave the Philippines. The tours are on open buses with about 30 passengers, driver and a tour guide.

We've arrived!Elder Smith in front of the Pacific War Memorial
Our guide was an American who lives on the island. His father was on Corregidor when it was captured by the Japanese and he and his wife retired and moved from Minnesota to live and study the area. He is currently writing a book about the events there. The Philippines was a vital link in WWII. We won’t go into lots of details about the actual battles and such as you can go to Google or whatever and read those. However, seeing the remains of the barracks, theatre, homes, tunnels, gun placements, bomb craters and more was overwhelming.

Remains of the Movie Theatre. Last movie shown there was "Gone with the Wind" or "Sargent York" according to rumorElder Smith and I both had fathers who served in WWII so maybe that’s part of our fondness for this site.
The Barracks were 1/3 mile long and 3 stories tall, hence the name, "Mile long barracks"Guns and a fascinated Elder SmithWe learned about the Death March in Bataan and other happenings in the Philippines during 1942 through 1945. The Japanese navy surrounded the entrance to Manila Bay and once they secured it many thought they would end up securing the entire Pacific Theatre. In 1945, U.S. and Filipino forces regained possession of the island which was a second huge battle on this small rocky piece of land. We saw where General Douglas MacArthur’s home was located while he resided on the island. We also went through the tunnel where the allied headquarters for the Pacific were located.Malinta Tunnel map. So much concrete! If you ever have a few extra hours and want to have us bore you with stories, we’ll be happy to oblige. Nearly everyone snoozed on the ferry trip home as it was a busy day.

Sunday was a meeting for all members in the Manila Mission area. Sister Allred, 1st counselor in the RS General Presidency was here for a training and leadership meeting. Elder Ko from our area presidency was also here. We met at the Buendia Chapel in Makati. We’re not certain what the final attendance count is, but surely over 1,000. The chapel, cultural hall, RS room, hallways and parking lot were all full. It was a very good meeting with lots of encouragement and information. Sister Allred is a dynamic individual and Elder Ko is terrific also. The meetings began at 2:00 and ended at 7:30 in the evening so it was a marathon of training. We were honored to be able to attend. It will be interesting to see if some of the things discussed will get implemented. Hopefully it won’t be like the U.S. where we tend to implement the things we like and sort of ignore the rest.

A week and a half update..

                It’s been an interesting few days. We haven’t remembered to update things, old age probably setting in.  Nah, that couldn’t be!  We were in Cavite Zone and DasMarinias Zone last week to check Area Books.  We will be checking the Naic Zone’s next week.  So far all of the Zone’s we’ve visited are practicing their Mission song and doing well with it.  Last Wednesday evening we had FHE with three families here in Naic.  There were about 25 of us at the Gromell’s home.  During the lesson there was a game.  The three couples, Elder and Sister Smith, Bro. and Sis. Gromell,  Bro. and Sis. Grameca , had to take a test.  We were each asked to answer 4 questions about our spouses, favorite food, favorite place to be, favorite song and favorite flower.  Yes, you’re all correct, we lost!  We’ve decided that we must have too many favorite things.  By the way, Elder Smith’s favorite food is spaghetti, favorite flower is tulip, favorite song is “As I Have Loved You” and favorite place is Cedar Mountain.  The only one I got was spaghetti.  We may need to be married another 42 years so we can get to know one another.

 

                Saturday we were able to attend two of our Zone’s three baptisms.  There were 8 new members baptized. 

Sunday we were in Tanza Branch and got to teach the YSA class.  What a great group of young adults.  One of the men likes the Lakers so now I like him.  Another liked the Celtics but we didn’t hold that against him.  Basketball is so popular over here.  We’re convinced that most of the boys dream of growing 15 inches taller and playing in the NBA.  There are improvised courts and hoops everywhere and pick up games are the norm.  Sunday afternoon the Hussey’s stopped by and had lunch and a lovely visit.  They needed to pick up a few things for the apartments that we had stored for them.

                Monday was Zone FHE.  We told the Elders we would be eating Manila Mountains.  By Monday evening they were very curious. 

A couple of the U.S. Elders guessed from the ingredients when they saw them that we were having Hawaiian Haystacks.  What a fun meal.  Elder Smith explained the importance of the order in preparing the dish and then let them have at it.  We did have some mountains on the plates!  The consensus was “masarap”!  Several of the native Elders told us afterwards that they had never had some of the combinations before and loved it.  Golly, we thought everyone had celery, nuts, coconut and cheese with their rice and chicken.  Tuesday we left early for Manila. 

Took our car to the PBO for service and then went to the Temple for a session.  It was “going home” day for 2 Elders and 3 Sisters. 

We had dinner at the Mission Home and then a testimony meeting.  It was a lovely day and the traffic wasn’t too bad.  Got home late last night so slept in a bit this morning.  We’re heading back to Makati tomorrow for a Senior Couples adventure.  Details later on that.

This is what we had next to us while stopped at a light in DasMarinias

Still singing our way thru Manila.

It was a fun, musical, traffic filled week.  Monday we went to the Makati Zone for Mission song practice. We hoofed it home in a hurry as we had Zone FHE that evening. We’d put on the crock pot full of meatballs and spaghetti sauce at 7 a.m. and it smelled dang good when we got here in the afternoon.  We served a traditional spaghetti feast with meatball sauce, Alfredo sauce, garlic bread, tossed salad and rice!  Ice cream and donuts finished us off!  We really look forward to these gatherings and the Elders seem to enjoy themselves also.

Tuesday morning it was off to San Gabriel and Las Pinas Zones. Wednesday found us in the Paranaque Zoneand Thursday we went to Pasay 

and then Manila Zones.Elder Smith and I have reached a “Manila Traffic” driving agreement.  He drives and I close my eyes!  When my eyes are open I tend to shriek, slam on my driver’s side brakes and motion frantically with my arms and hands.  For some reason that seems to distract him so when my eyes are closed, we’re both happier.  After our last Zone stop I told President Howard that anyone who lives in Manila by choice is nuts!  He agreed.  Living in the Provinces is much quieter but still hectic compared to home.

Friday was low key for a change.  We had tutoring during the morning and then went with Sister Jean to visit some less active Naic Branch families during the afternoon.  It was lots of fun and so nice to find new friends.  Next Wednesday we will be going back to one of the homes for a FHE.  It will be great and we’re excited.  Most of the ones we visited were at Church today which is the biggest blessing.  Saturday evening there was a Naic Branch FHE.  The lesson was about Gossip and its negative effects.  It is great to know that the members have the same problems everywhere?  There were lots of fun games afterward and some sopas for dinner.  We are hopeful that someday we will be able to convince our wards at home that simple is good.  The games that are played and enjoyed here are just that, simple.  The difference between here and home is that everyone participates, laughs, has fun and enjoys themselves.   It is a noisy confusing mass of laughter.  It just “feels” fun. 

We’ve included a rehearsal copy of “The 12 Days of Christmas” (a bit late) in this post.  Just in case you can’t understand the words, here goes:

1 Dear John letter from my sweetie        2 sweat cloths                   3 boring ties       4 socks with holes

5 letters from home       6 cups of rice      7 dingy white shirts         8 roosters crowing

9 geckos climbing             10 miles of walking          11 ants ‘a marching         12 hungry skeeters

It was such a fun song and the Elders loved singing it.  During our visits to other Zones this past two weeks several have greeted us with lines from the song.

12 days of Christmas- Mission.wma

We are the Manila Mission

It has been a week of singing those words. Elder Smith wrote a second verse to the Valiant Song in the Children’s Songbook. It is about the Manila Mission and has been adopted by the Mission President and Sister Howard. We are traveling to every Zone and teaching it to the missionaries.

This week we were in Cavite Zone Das Marinias Zone Naic Zone

(We got Pizza for having the most baptisms in a month, again!) and Pasig Zone Next week we are going to Manila, Makati, Pasay, San Gabriel, Las Palmas and Paranaque Zones. What a treat it is to meet all of the missionaries! We’ve had great fun visiting with Naic alumni and meeting many we’ve only heard about before. We will be singing the song next month during Mission Tour and it is going to be terrific. We aren’t thrilled with all the travel time but we’ve cleared the calendar for the most part so that we can spend as much time as needed.

Last Monday evening we were invited to dinner and FHE at the home of some members of the Tanza Branch. What a lovely time we had. They treated us like royalty and the dinner was masarap! We’ve had Graham cake several times but not one as tasty as the dessert the other night. Yum! The nanay (mom) is the District choir director so we were visiting about music. I commented that I had enjoyed hearing the choir sing “Celebrating the Light” at one of the Branches last month. Since I’m a big fan of Michael McLean’s music I told her how glad I was that his stuff was being performed here also. She started talking about her favorite McLean songs and went crazy. The entire family is huge fans of his music. When she learned that we know him I thought she might have a heart attack. We are now the heroes of the Pesa family in Tanza. We’re going to arrange a time to watch “The Forgotten Carols” with them as they have the CD, love the songs, have read the book but have never seen it performed. Now, to get in touch with Michael and arrange for an autograph will probably secure us a spot in the Celestial kingdom.

We went to dinner in Makati on Friday evening with the Taggs, Husseys, Howards and the Hussey’s friends from UK, Mark and Mary. We had a lovely evening at The Spaghetti Factory. Not exactly what we’re used to in Utah and Nevada but actually very good. It’s a bit strange to go to an Italian restaurant in the Philippines and be greeted by the owner who has a German accent.

We were able to visit some investigators this afternoon with the Punta Branch Elders. We always enjoy going out with them and bearing testimony. We were able to visit about the Plan of Salvation, Restoration and Families today. We had the pagkakatoon (opportunity) of speaking in the Tanza Branch this morning. Elder Smith did great. He’s getting better all the time. I’m still just the back-up cheerleader. Really do hate to speak in Church.
I did mention the new mutual theme for 2010. I really like it! Everyone needs to read Joshua 1:9!

Whoa! What a New Year!

We were so amazed with the New Year’s celebration here in the Philippines.  Believe us, they know how to throw a country-wide party!  It was absolutely amazing. 

We were thrilled to have our Zone over for dinner and another sleep-over.  We even went with a traditional dish, Pancit Canton.  It was yummy even if the shrimps we bought spoiled before we could cook and add them.  It was supposed to have chicken and shrimp but ended up being chicken and hot dogs.  Don’t gag!  It was dang good.  The Mission curfew was 6:00 pm for New Year’s Eve so everyone was here by then. 

We watched “The Forgotten Carols” (only made it through part of it on Christmas Eve.)  It was a hit and we’ll probably watch it again soon.  The Elders wanted to have a fire for the evening and some brought a bit of wood.  We have an area in the front yard that was just right for fire making.  We sat around the fire and visited and shared stories. 

Then, we brought out the makings for s’mores!  It was a new experience in the making for many of the Elders.  They loved them!  They were like most folks and pilfered extra chocolate whenever possible.  At about 11:30 the noise began!  Not just the 14 horns blaring in the front yard but the entire barangay. 

We couldn’t believe our eyes and ears.  There was at least an hour of fireworks exploding all around us and noisy yelling, banging, blaring and music.  Fireworks are quite inexpensive here and I’m sure everyone except us bought some.  Most were the bottle rocket varieties that made tons of noise but there were many colorful, up in the air regular ones also.  They were exploding all around us and you nearly got dizzy trying to see them all.  We had 20 mattresses stored in our apartment for the Mission so each Elder was able to grab one and had a comfortable spot on the floor.  It was a New Year’s Eve we won’t soon forget!  The Elders were up bright and early and on their way the next morning.

The fruit of the month is one of our favorite things in the Philippines.  Calamansi!  This delightful little green fruit really packs a wallop.  It is a miniature lemon/lime with attitude.  It is delicious but you have to squeeze a bunch to get enough juice.  Actually, that little bit of juice goes a long way because they are so full of flavor.  We use them in cooking all the time.  They are great as a hot or cold drink.  They do have tons of seeds (something that happens a lot over here).  The seeds are edible but sour so it’s best to strain them.  Just thinking about them gets the saliva gushing. 

Calamansi is one thing we’ll really miss.  We’ve heard they aren’t available in the US, even in Asian markets.  We’ll be watching for some!

It's for real!  Sign over the toilet in the ladies CR.  Footprints are common on the toilet rim and seats (if there is one).