Established August 1970

19 June 2015

Started our Saturday in Guimmeras best week of mission yet!

Saturday June 12, 2015. Wow!  What a great day!  We left our place at 6am so we could get to the roro headed for Buena Vista to make it to an ocean baptism at 8:30, that started at 9:30 but I was privileged to lead the music.  A young girl, 9 and a 13 year old boy were both baptized.  The tradition here is for the person who is baptized to bear their testimonies at the end of the meeting before it is closed.  It was so sweet.  The 13 year old boy ran away from the missionaries when they first came to teach him because he was so shy and he didn't return for an hour.  Now he bore a great testimony.  So fun to see the development.  After the grandparents who are not members provided all of us with a beautiful dinner.  Picture included.  They were so gracious!
Then we went to this cool park with all these statues of the life of Christ and other statues of saints.  Pictures also included.
Then we went to discuss with the police department head doing "My Path" and Foundation:  principles, Skills, and Habits.  What we found there was a great interest in the initiative of the church for their police department.  So exciting!  Then it turns out that the missionaries were invited to teach her children, a 12 year old and an 8 year old.  The husband is a seaman--gone 10 months, home 2 months and he was baptized in 1991 and he desires to make his family eternal.  I think the police head's wife is already LDS in her heart so we will see.  It looks so hopeful!  I just fell in love with these people.  I hope I can keep in contact with these people.
Immediately after this meeting, we went to the church to do "My Path" with the Buena Vista Branch--24 attended plus the two couple missionaries, Cushings and us.  It went well.  It was great!  Then we went to Cushings' to eat dinner at 7:00 pm.  A very full day!  It was great!  Cushings brought us to our hotel and they will pick us up for church in the morning.  I just feel so full of gratitude that Heavenly Father allowed us a day so full as today.  I just can't really express the feelings of this day.  Love.
Sunday, Cushings picked us up at the Backpackers Hotel at 8:30 for the Jordan branch church. The branch president came up to us and invited one of us to give the opening prayer in sacrament meeting.  We both pointed at the other simultaneously.  It was funny.  (Ray gave the prayer).   After church, we went to the Cushings' for dinner.  They served us lamps (fish), vegetables, purple rice.  Anyway, they are so nice.  Then we returned to the church for training of "my Path" with two district counselors, 3 branch presidents, 3 relief society presidents and others, being a total of 39 plus Cushings and us.  It was great!  One sister gave us mangoes as we left.  At the wharf, a sister met us and rushed up to the window and bought our tickets back to Iloilo.  They are so nice to us.  The taxi picked us up and took us to Jalandoni where the truck was parked and we got home at 5:30 for popcorn, mangoes, and calamansi soda with honey.  I'm beat.  Tomorrow we move to Sorillas.  I'll read scriptures now.  The Lord is so great to let us serve here, together, now.  Thanks and glory be to our God!
Monday we moved with the help of Elder Fogavai(American Samoan). He moved the refrigerator by himself.  He is so strong.  Also Elder Paxton, Elder Lazo, Roland Escallaro, and Elder Watkins, who just had surgery, carried the eggs, none were broken.  There were actually some heavy items... wash machine, refrigerator, stove and oven, closet, bed, and desk.  We took three of them to McDonald's after.  The other two already had a meal appointment.  We double checked the old apartment, took a little rest and went to the Center.  Seven o'clock, we are going to Sorillas for the end dinner with the zone leaders.  They fed us and we are salamit gid (so much thankful).  We are not in house business yet but we will be soon.  Gas to be hooked up, wash machine needs connections, hooks need to be put up for convenience...these are some of the to do list but we just need a little time.  To bed.
Tuesday we had district meeting and then took the zone leaders to the hospital to pick up Elder Watkins' medical records.  Then when we returned to the apartment, Brother Sorillas came to drill for the curtain rods, two walls are all windows, so now they are covered at night but let light in during the day.  It is a very happy place, though it is smaller than the bungalow but also cooler and lighter.  There is cement dust all over from drilling in the wall and we haven't been able to hook up the wash machine yet, but soon.  Ray hung some hooks for our convenience, the stove is hooked up, the water filter is attached...we are moving forward.  We had a little lunch and went to the Center.  We got a copy from President Ortega of the Area Presidency Meeting of last Sunday; Guimeras will watch next Sunday because they do not have Internet there so they will watch copies.  We went home and watched the meeting.  It was terrific!  Elder Nelson spoke about "I will be the one".  When they moved to the Philippines, his wife was moving a ladder and a man rushed over to take it from her and said, "Sister, I will be the one."  Meaning he would do the work, not her.  We also received emails from Elder A Robinson, and Rachael which we receive every week--thank you very much!  Charity's did not come until Wednesday which always gives me cause to worry but we were grateful to hear from her on Wednesday.
Wednesday we picked up Cushings from the wharf then went to another wharf to pick up Elder and Sister Green.  We are having a couple day.  We went to Fish World, a museum in Tigbuaun.  It was interesting.  I will send pictures of some interesting fish.  One fish was shaped like a box and had black dots all over it.  I think it is a "type one"😄. Then we drove back the hour to Iloilo for a buffet lunch at the Promenade.  It was fun to gather with some American couples.  We dropped everybody off at their respective wharfs and then went to two hardware stores looking for connectors for the wash machine.  We couldn't even find washers so we had to purchase two items we didn't need so we could get the washers that they came with.  Ray was able to make his idea work since he could not get connections so the wash machine is in business--two loads so far.
Thursday we met Maribel, the cleaning lady at the bungalow and paid her to sweep, mop, and clean the bathroom, and she also pulled weeds.  So it was left in good shape.  We gave Kyle Sorillas, a new returned missionary, a ride to a cafe where he was meeting some clients.  It is so nice he could come home to a good job and business that he will someday take over.  He is only 20 so he will also start school.  He is not looking for a wife, or even a date.  The tradition is to marry after schooling is done.  We went to the Center for a short time.  We returned a light bulb to the Atrium because it didn't work and replaced it with one that does.  We went to SM to get money and chicken.  I made a healthy drink:  lemongrass, peppermint, cucumbers, lemon juice, calamansi juice, and pineapple.  The lemongrass is tough so we will strain it after it soaks in the water and stuff.  I made Cajun jambalaya in a fashion(no Cajun spices here).  It is nice to make a few things and freeze some for when I don't have time.  Father's Day is coming up so I will make fried chicken, potato casserole and fruit salad, maybe rolls. It's the best I can do.  I also washed my eggs.  This is normal because the eggs have dedication on them.  We also purchased our drinking water.  There are filtered water stations where everyone buys their water for drinking. Finished the reading of the Old Testament today.  Now we have started the New Testament.
Friday we went to the Atrium where we met one of the sisters who has gone into business and we purchased 50 pizza triangles from her to take around to the missionaries as we do apartment checks today in south one.  We finished checks around 2:00 and treated our zone leaders to lunch.  We came home, hung our laundry to dry and went to the Center to type and send this.  Take good care of yourself and each other.  Love, Mom, Sister Robinson III. Keep holding to the rod, reading scriptures every day, every day, every day.

Fish world
More fish world
"Type one" fish. :)
Remember back when we went to Boraca, that is the kind of fish Elder Streng stepped on with both feet.  The spines stay in your feet.  It really hurt.  Over time, I guess they push themselves out but the nurse told him, you don't pull them out.😫

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