Sunday, October 12 week

More conference on Sunday.  The stake president played them back to back.  I am afraid I wiggled a lot.
Monday was p day again.  We ran into the mission president and office elders at the Atrium store.  They probably saved us from getting booted because we parked in a no park zone.  Duh...:) we couldn't tell.  Anyway we shopped and ate at McDonalds!  I know...crazy!  Now it is a big treat!
Tuesday was district meeting and 2 of the elders weren't there because they are zone leaders, so it was just 6 of us.  But Elder Baccay gave the lesson and he is really a great guy, strong testimony.  We gave the elders a ride home and did apartment check.  Their apartment is new. They are opening a new area.  Their apartment passed. His companion, Elder Staples is new with us, he is from Utah.  Understanding is hard for him, but it is nice when there is one Filipino and one English speaker because they help each other learn each language. The Filipino is suppose to pass the English test by the end of his mission.  Then we went to the center, we are starting to get ideas of what to do and how to assist.  Butch, a volunteer at the center.  He is very good.  He made up fliers for our English classes.  I think we might have to do them in batches if there are too many.  But one bishop said that is what his people need to get better paying jobs here.  We watched him teach a computer program class (word).  Then we gave someone a ride home and got lost.  It was dark, but Dad eventually found his way.
Wednesday we went with Erwin Boiser, our SR boss to Antique.  Dad took lots of pictures.  It is beautiful!  Looks like the Garden of Eden to me.  It is never cold, food grows everywhere...rice, coconut, mangoes, pineapple...what else do you need?
We met with some of the leaders and hope that they will take the initiative and get volunteers and get invested in this.  It will make such a difference in their lives.  We had a nice dinner at a restaurant, I always have to have plain rice because the other rice has shrimp in it.  Rip off!  Same with the chow mein.  It all looked so good, but I had sweet and sour chicken and cece.  It was yummy!  Dad is still not impressed.
Thursday we returned to Iloilo and are getting ready to feed Brother Boiser and Butch.  I made a pulled pork roast boiled in Pepsi then added some spices that I made up.  They really liked it but I would have needed a recipe to make it tasty enough for my family.  And I served brown rice cooked in chicken bouillon. We also had mangos and magnum bars for dessert.  It was fun to have company.  Then Brother Boiser took Butch home and went to his hotel. Dad is working on an email to send to some district president in Guimmeras so we can visit them next week.  So far we are good cheerleaders and are going to get better.
Today is Friday and the elders came to our bungalow and were looking for a service project so we asked the landlord if they could plant some plants that were laid out.  He got them a handheld small shovel and a big coconut knife and they planted 8.  It was a good start with the landlord.  We gave the elders a ride to their apartment and we are waiting for Brother Boiser to pick us up at the mission office.  We will be going to Roxas where the self reliance group are having what they call a "rollout" of the self reliance initiative.  There were 4 talks that I heard about self reliance and seeking out the poor among us!  Elder Holland, D. Todd Christopherson, Elder Davies of the Seventy...I can't remember the other one right now.
I love you all and pray for each of you.  I am so grateful that you have your own testimonies and that you understand that The Lord will provide for us if we do our part, keep His commandments, and act upon His words.  We will prosper in the land as promised in the scriptures if we serve the God of this land, who is Jesus Christ.
      Halong, Mom and Grandma