Saturday September 19-Friday September 25 2015

Saturday was all bishops, branch presidencies and stake self reliance committees throughout the mission: 4 stakes, 2 districts conference.  The turn out was good-80.  The meeting was all in Illongo so we don't know what was said.  The meeting was 9-11:45 lunch break, then 12:30-2:30.  We drove Boiser to the wharf to take the boat back to Bacolod.  We went to the center, remembered some caribou belts that Boiser forgot and we returned to the wharf and brought them to him.  Then we went to our apartment.  Fasting for the mission starts at noonish.  Sunday there was a quote, "it is better to cry than to be angry             because anger hurts others
    While tears silently soothe the soul                   and cleans the heart."
We picked up Darlene and Alex at the gas station and drove to Pototon for church and met with the bishop (new) about self-reliance.  We spoke in sacrament meeting.  The people are so kind to us.  We took four people into town after all the meetings and then went to San Miguel group for their meetings.  I led the music; Ray prayed.  At 5:00 we returned to our apartment, ended our fast, ate chicken and rice, popcorn and juice.  We will read and look over our week ahead.
Monday we are reading in Alma 19:22, 23...one of them...being angry with Ammon...went forth to slay him...behold he fell dead. 23...the Lord had said unto Mosiah, his father...it shall be unto him according to thy faith,...Mosiah trusted him unto the Lord.  Our prayers will bring upon our children safety as we trust our children unto the Lord."  I remember my father saying that there was not a better place for 19 (the age then for missions) year olds to be than on a mission.  What a wise, faithful father.  How grateful I am for those words of my father and for the words of Ammon and his father, and for the words of the Lord through His prophets.  At one time, I read the scriptures because it was commanded; now I read because I love the words, the counsel, the Spirit, the promises--if I get ahead of the mission schedule, I don't want to rest a day from it.  When the 7 pages are done as required by the mission president, I don't want to end.  I love the primary song, "Search, Ponder, and Pray." Today
Is p-day and we are doing wash to start.  I prepared some artichoke dip to take to Guimaras on Wednesday, also some bacon, fried and crumbled, grated cheese and the works for potato bar, also to take to Guimaras.  There aren't any good places to eat out there so we will eat at Cushings house.  At 9:30 we were at Jalandoni.  At 12:30 we went to withdraw money, purchase a few groceries--we saw the missionaries in our district there.  Every third Monday of the month, they are allowed to go to SM.  then we went home, brought in the wash, made our bed back up, took a rest, listened to Elder and Sister Claytons  YSA fireside.  At 4:30 we went to San Miguel for a fhe with the group.  We saw a sister from the group and gave her a ride.😃turned out we were an answer to her prayer because she didn't have enough Pesos to pay for the trip to the group and for her daughters lunch the next day so when we gave her a ride, she had the money for the daughters lunch.  Anyway, a new convert came, Sister Salazar.  Her son and husband also attended.  They are not being taught yet.  It was a good turn out.  All speak Ilongo.  Home at 7:30, had a snack, bed.
Tuesday my mom is getting married today.  In the states, it is Monday 21st but here it is Tuesday.  It is weird.  I have told everybody.  They are impressed that she would get married at her age.  Julie sent us a video of Raymond playing and singing, "Could I have this dance?"  They should be good company for each other--Harold Giles 90, my mother 94.  I'm glad they can have some company for the time they have left.  District meeting was this morning and President Aquino joined halfway through.  I think everyone was pretty nervous.  He did interviews after.    A n d gave permission for our zone to have an activity in Guimaras.  We are all excited!  After we took all the missionaries to pick up donuts and went to out apartment to eat them and read "Horton Hatches the Egg".  I was Mayzie, Elder Paxton was Horton, and Elder Robertson was the narrator, and the rest were friends, hunters, and the circus crowd.  We dispersed, ate lunch, had the truck washed and went to Jalandoni.  Butch came in and we talked about the next career workshop.  I am so homesick--5 1/2 months left.  I laid on the bed and watched and listened to Raymond's song at the luncheon and kept looking for people but no matter how I turned my iPad, I couldn't see the people there or Mom and Harold dancing.
Wednesday we prepared sweet n sour chicken over rice for dinner at lunchtime and waited for Strengs to come from Kalibo.  When they arrived, they were surprised how small our apartment is.  But we ate and drove to Jalandoni, took a taxi to the wharf, and onto the boat to Guimaras.  It is a delightful 15 minute soft breezy ride to Guimaras .  Cushings were there to pick us up and took us to their house to drop off the food I had prepared, then to our hotel, ZemKamp Chalet, then we went swimming in a huge pool with lane lines, the Woodland.  The Cushings had fixed us a fish dinner and we played games and ate chips and artichoke dip😋.  Thursday we had a great
breakfast at the hotel:  scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, pork n beans, banana and apple.  Best breakfast we have had here except for the buffet at Boracay.  Cushings picked us up at 9:00 and we went to the Buena Vista area where we boarded a small boat and looked at an underwater cave, then around the island to see Roca en Cantada, a beautiful house on its own island.  When we returned to the beginning, we drove a short way and went on a hike to Abakan waterfalls ( it was a little slippery and a little wet in places and we crossed the water or through the water, but it was not as slippery or muddy as a hike we took in Hawaii once with April and Mike and family).  It was great exercise and full of forest, tropical forest.  At the falls there was a. Oh who jumped in the water at the top (but it was not high like the one Andrew jumped off in Hawaii) but it was fun and we clapped for him.  I wore Levi's and what was even nice--I discovered they were baggy on me😃yeah!  We stopped and had lunch at an American burger place, Tito Kano, meaning Uncle American.  We drove to the Holy Family Hill and walked all around the grounds.  It really is a kind of spiritual walk of the Saviors life, death, and resurrection.  We went to our hotel to shower and changed and then went to Cushings house for potato bar and play "card golf"---9 rounds. 9:30 we returned to the Chalet.
Friday morning, Cushings joined us for breakfast then took us to the wharf to return to our places....boat ride, taxi, apartment, Strengs picked up their truck and left, we went to Jalandoni.  Another week.  We enjoyed the couples and the island.  Love, Mom, Grandma, Teresa