Sunday, January 24-Sunday, January 31 2016

Sunday routine minus exercises.  7:30 off to gas station to pick up Darlene Casas, North Stake Relief Society President and Self-Reliance specialist.  We will attend Passi Ward.  When we arrived, we were asked to speak in sacrament meeting.😫JK joke.  We are always prepared.  After all the meetings, they prepared a lovely Filipino dinner for us:  white rice, fish heads, adobo, kang kong and pineapple.  It was so thoughtful.  The fish heads are much sought after.  Then we drove to LaPaz for "My Path" with North Stake bishoprics and high councilmen and their wives (128 present).  It went great!  They served all of us rice pudding, like cream of chicken with lots of rice.  I had a big blistery shingle on my small toe and my whole foot swelled up all bubbly.  So I took my shoe off and propped my foot up and a sister came over and rubbed "blue magic" on it and where she had put it, the swelling went down.  So we bought some from her and rubbed it all over. And within 30 minutes, the swelling was gone--not the blister but I could walk again.  5:35 going home
Monday routine.  8:30 picked up Sister Crisanto and Sister Averion.  Sister Crisanto will be going home and she was the first to take the English test this morning.  Elder Fongavai was next at 10:15.  11:30 testing is done and we gave Fongavai and his companion a ride to SM to catch the jeepneys back to their area on our way home for lunch.  12:45 stopped to purchase water, then to SM to fax Medicare stuff for me but we FedExed instead.  Jalandoni.  Sister Janice (Garcia) came in to visit.  5:00 Called to Serve.  This is held for outgoing missionaries and the parents talk and the missionaries bear testimony.  Three of them.  They leave on Thursday afternoon.  A sister Cayanan, her father is a bishop in North Stake.  These are some of his remarks:  Success in your family is not counted by how much money you have in your pocket (he worked in Dubai for seven years and was counseled to return home--he did) but by your presence with your family.  See to the welfare of your family.  No success can compensate for failure in the home.  His daughter expressed, "No such thing as problems, only opportunities."  It was a great meeting.
Tuesday short routine.  District meeting.  San Miguel dropped Bobby and Jessa.  She was the one who came up to me to tell me first that they were getting married.  They have two children.  But, I guess the pressure in the baranguy was too great and Bobby changed his mind😖😓--no marriage, no baptism.  Jalandoni next.  Then 12:30 shopped at Atrium.  Home.  Lunch.  (5 new shingles). It as rained for two days--so nice not to worry about the trees and plants needing water.
Wednesday routine.  (3 new shingles) wash, mopped floor, purchased water, went to Arevalo.  On the way we saw two bicycles with banana leaves for fenders to keep the rain water from splashing up from the tires.  We talked with Elder Frandsen, from Texas, about directions to Manoling on Sunday.  Also spoke with Sister Aquino.  We had a miracle in our mission this week: a Polynesian elder got dengue fever a week ago and on Saturday his platelets count went down to 6 (should be 150).  He was dying.  Sister Aquino and the AP Craythorn went to Roxas where he was in the hospital.  He was given a blessing.  His count came up to 15.  Monday morning President went up.  After that his count went to 45, then 87, then 150.  Perhaps he will leave the hospital tomorrow.  Dengue is from mosquitos and it causes internal bleeding.  It seems to cause foreigners more trouble than locals.  Home for lunch.  Jalandoni 2:00.  Welfare CSMs came in with the Church Welfare leader and asked if they could make their reports on the self-reliance room computers.  Of course.  Ray let them in while I waited for students to come--1hour late, 4:00 we started (3 students):  "Seek Learning By Study and By Faith".  President Hinckley "there is nothing quite as invigorating as being able to evaluate and then solve a difficult problem.""You are moving into the most competitive age the world has ever known.  You need all the education you can get.  Sacrifice a car, sacrifice anything that is needed to qualify yourselves to do the work of the world.  Do not short circuit your lives .  If you do so, you will pay for it over and over and over again.  The Lord will guide us to areas of learning that will help us better serve others."  Elder Nelson "Those who impulsively 'drop out' and cut short their education...frustrate the realization of their own potential."  He told when he took a short term job over Christmas break and the work was monotonous.  He resolved to obtain an education that would qualify him better for life.  I determined to stay in school and get an education as if my life depended on it."  It was a good lesson.  We played two videos.  And asked the students to give advise to a person who was at some crossroads.  It was fun. Walked a short walk on the Esplanade as I still have a shingle blister on my toe.  But it was a cooler walk as it has rained for three days and it was a dreamy walk.  6:00 home.
Thursday routine.  8:30 we took Kyle Sorilla with us to Jalandoni.  He was going to school and we are getting a taxi to the Ortiz wharf.  We met Boiser there and boarded the pump boat to Guimaras.  Cushings picked us up there and we went to a vermiculture    PART 1
(I have typed Thursday's twice and it keeps erasing right here on me so I will send this and add on the rest as PART 2). Frustrating😫