Saturday, March 7-14

This is our first and last March here.  I am looking more fully at my surroundings and wishing I could capture the Philippines and bring it home.  I wouldn't understand what I see if I wasn't here.
Saturday we did laundry(we do a load when we can; we have to wait for a load to dry before we can do a second load and it mostly takes all day to dry, even in hot weather).  I cleaned the refrigerator, prepared for Sunday (we speak all Sunday's except the first--fast Sunday) and we get to bear testimony when we go to the group in San Miguel.  We went to the Center and we got to talk with Raymond and Julie and Sam and look at Eve.  Meryl Gison came in to talk with us.  She is a volunteer and I have been kept abreast of her love life.  She is young, but a returned missionary and he is a lucky guy.  Anyway, she is moving to Cavite,  Luzon (same island as Manila) to work and date for two months and then probably get married.  He is a returned missionary from her same mission.  Butch also came in to visit with us, and Cushings' also stopped by to say "hi".  They are the mls missionary couple on Guimaras.  It was all very fun!  But I didn't get to talk to any of them to my satisfaction.  I really like these people.  It is fun, they treat us like royalty.  Everyone wants to shake our hands wherever we go and they make us something special to eat.  President Insigne took us around to two more places for rent.  I think we will probably stay where we are unless the Church asks us to move.  If Sorillas fix up their place, we might move there.
Sunday we left bungalow and picked up Darlene Casas, North stake specialist, and headed to Dumangas, a large branch about an hour drive away.  We spoke in sacrament meeting along with two of the Elders and after the block of meetings, they fed us rice and really good pork adobo and some Filipino vegetables.  We started "My Path" devotional about 1:30 with about 29 participants.  After all that, they served us hot Spanish rolls.  They have like some kind of sweet filling, very yummy.  We gave Darlene and two others a ride back to town.  It feels so good the way we are treated.  It is a good lesson to me on how to treat others, you know...like they are special because they are.  Home about 6:30, ate cucumbers and tomatoes in balsamic vinegar.  It tastes like childhood when my mother use to put cucumbers in vinegar, a taste of home is especially good when you are a half a world away.  And of course, we had our Sunday popcorn.
Monday we had eleven missionaries attend career workshop before they go home.  There were six that had already left. We are going to check with the President and see if we can't do it on Monday afternoons so we don't miss the Americans and other foreigners.  It was over at noon.  We stayed at the Center until 2:00 and then returned for dinner.  Ray filled in the names of the participants on the computer for Jordan, Guimeras and Dumangas branches.  We waited for Boisers call to pick him up at the wharf at 5:15 and took him to the Center.  We change the meeting to 7:00 so we could attend Aiko Cuzzens "Called to Serve" in the Institute area of the Center.  This is a going away for the missionaries before they depart with songs, videos, testimonies...Aiko is Japanese/Filipino from Mandurriao Ward and she will be serving in Vancouver, Canada, Mandarin Chinese speaking, so she will be at the Provo MTC for six weeks first. She is such a charming, beautiful young missionary.  At 7:00 we went to our meeting but Darlene was the only one to show up.  Boiser ordered pizza.  Then at 9:30 we went to Cuzzens house because Aiko leaves tomorrow.  We stayed and visited until 11:30. I know.  We forgot about mission curfew.😣
We had an email from Kris Beckstead about our Preston house; it has caused some struggles with the Spirit for me.aagh...  Elder Boligao returns to Manila, another elder to miss.  He has been working in the office as an assistant.
Thursday we went to the office to call Bailey Beckstead.  I will leave it in the Lord's hands.  We came home, had breakfast, read scriptures, made muffins...then had the truck washed, shopped while that was happening, then to the mission office...transfers, new missionaries(no Americans); we had fun talking to everyone.  Many of our favorites are in Guimmeras.  The Cushings will take good care of them.  Then we went to the Center, then to SM Mall to pay electric bill and phone bill; some things like bills seem to be eternal 😝, picked up a Big and Tasty at McDonald's...really?  And home.
Friday we grabbed a chance to do laundry again; looked for some missing screws for the truck which took several hours, traffic, different places, but we persisted and we found some at the Robinson Mall hardware store.  We went to the Center then came home early, did one more laundry load since we will be going on a trip to Bacolod.
Time seems to be going faster.  I am looking forward to Conference feast in April.  We live in the future and back home is in the past, except for conference and we have to wait an extra week.  I'm looking forward to feasting at the Lord's table.  I am enjoying His University experience in the Iloilo Mission.  I have experienced a bit of heaven in my relationship with my eternal companion.  It is a great blessing to serve together.  I love you all and pray for you a.m. and p.m. And continually in my heart, Love Mom, Sister Robinson III