Repeat? I hope not.

This is the Garden of Eden.  It is much better than we expected.  We are in a small bungalow and the landlords are very nice.  Of course, we do not have hot water but the shower is very refreshing.  We brought our own water purifier so that is great also.  The kitchen faucet is like your outdoor hose only plastic.
We cook for ourselves which we really like.  We are eating rice at least two times a day but we really like the garlic rice here, so I make that but with brown rice.  The mangoes are incredible, and the papaya and pineapple are really good and bananas are abundant.  We travel all over the mission and it is beautiful.  The people are so nice to us.  We teach an English class on Tuesdays and Thursdays and that is very fun.  We go to different wards each week except on fast Sunday we get to attend the ward we reside in.  We speak in the wards about The Lord being self reliant...and what manner of men ought we to be?  Even as I am, said Jesus.  It is a beautiful initiative that the Church leaders have created through the Spirit to serve these people, line upon line.
 Thursday we returned to Iloilo and fed Elder and Sister Green.  They are in another mission but they are self reliance pfrer(emergency relief) missionaries.  They returned to their island and we worked on our talks for Sunday.  Friday we finished last apartment check and took the zone leaders around to get reports, partly to help us remember where everyone is and also to help them get their reports.  Later we took Butch to the wharf to pick up some posters from Brother Boiser and then went to the center to put them together.  Saturday was the roll out.  Boiser was one hour and forty five minutes late!  People were waiting.  Butch filled in very well, but then he ran out, so I took the microphone:) you know I never run out of things to say.  Elder Robinson registered some people and Butch showed a video he had made.  He is suppose to send it to Raymond.  Yes, we are in it.  It is fun to see.  Boiser finally showed up.  He is a very entertaining guy.  People love him!
After that we went to two baptisms taught by the sisters.  Then at night we went to a stake presidents fireside, hosted by the elders.  Each ward was asked to invite one less active family and then the missionaries brought some investigators.  We had songs, prayer, spiritual thought, charades,and then each ward group separated and the bishops talked to their own group for 20 minutes, then song, prayer and pamahaw(snack, refreshment).  I visited with Maryanne, a sister with two children and a husband who is investigating.  She was in need of encouragement.  And I love to give it!
After all of that, we took the missionaries to the home of Rose (I told her we nicknamed our daughter rosebud). She liked that.  Anyway, she was interviewed for baptism and was baptized October 30.  She wants to have her dead husband baptized so they can be sealed for eternity.  It is very awesome!
Sunday we picked up President Insigne and we spoke with him at the Tiolas Branch. On the way back we stopped at Tigbauan Branch.  President set someone apart and I visited with the Branch Council about self reliance initiative.
When we arrived back at our bungalow, we were exhausted. We ate took a nap and wrote letters.(so this might have been a repeat.  Sorry) There was thunder, lightning, and pouring rain.  It really knows how to rain here.
Monday, we started our wash, ray played ping pong with the elders.  He lost on second round, so we are going to have to practice:)  we went shopping and I squeezed more fruity for calamari juice.  President Insigne scheduled a devotional for Saturday.
Tuesday we had district meeting, ate lunch and went to center to prepare for the English class. It went well.  I talked about my family scrapbook calendar and of course, my family.  Then they were asked to expound about their family.  It turned out great.  Then I gave them an assignment to write a paragraph about anything they are interested in.  We returned home to eat and study the last chapter of Preach My Gospel.
Wednesday we took a pump boat ride to Guimmeras, a close ride, about 20 minutes.  Elder and Sister Taylor are there but they will be going home this week and wanted us to visit before they left.  They have been member leader support missionaries.
They really showed us a good time. We went to a sisters home, her husband is less active but he was very gracious and hospitable.  Their next door nephew (55) climbed a coconut tree and picked three for us, then the husband took his machete and cut the top so we could drink.  It is suppose to keep you from getting kidney stones.  I drank a lot:)!  She also sent us home with a pomelo and a papaya that she grew.  Ray has sent pictures of all of this. Then we went to their house to eat and visit and then back on the boat home.
Thursday we purchased a blender just to improve our camping experience here.  We met Elder and Sister Sessions there and they wanted to take us to lunch so when we finished shopping, we went to Uncle Toms for a steak dinner.  It was less than $30 for all of us.  We hurried to the Center and taught English again, corrected their paragraphs and gave an assignment to write a story for this week.  I went home and made banana muffins.
Friday, October 31 there was no Halloween here.  We found a post office but it cost $25 to send a letter to the Government back home.  We hope it gets there.  We don't have much confidence in it.  We bought some law zones (fruit that have the texture of grapes, hint of taste like a sweet grapefruit, clear white in color on the inside with large bitter seeds); they taste good.  We had the truck washed and vacuumed and Butch met us at the center to give us materials to help with teaching the missionaries on Tuesday before they go home.  It will be about careers.  We also went to the bamboo craft store.  That was very interesting.
Saturday we picked up Annie and Erwin Boiser at the wharf, took them to McDonalds for breakfast then to Jalendoni church for My Path roll out.  About 65 showed up.  There turned out to be two business groups with Fifteen in each group, same with education for a better job and only one for my job search.  Some of the groups will start in two weeks, others not until January.  We will follow up and check on the groups.  Boiser took us out to dinner at Tatoys resort Villa Beach.  It was a very neat place.  Always interesting food.  I usually don't know how most of it tastes because of shell fish in so many things.  But I did have  vegetables this time and I like them.  Plus garlic rice, mango shake and pork rolls were served and I liked all of that.  Dad enjoyed the coconut dessert where the coconut juice has been frozen and then returned to the coconut, add some mango ice cream, red and green jello, fried banana slices, whole kernel canned corn..I know a little weird but it was drinkable if you avoided the chunks and ray quite liked it with the soft scrapings of the coconut.
I love you and and am praying for each of you by name(yes ray almost fell asleep). Take good care of yourself and each other, love mom