September 10 trip to Lutopan

View of the mountains on Negros - twenty miles across the water
from Cebu Island. We are on a high ridgeline looking west. The
dark blue in the middle of the picture is the water.

Sunday, September 10, 2006

We left about 6:45 a.m. for Lutopan and had a lovely drive. As we crested the last high hills before heading down to Balamban, we saw huge mountains across the water. This was the best view we had had so far of the mountains on Negros – 20 miles across the water to the west. We stopped to take some pictures, but were disappointed that they don’t show how really impressive it looks. We went over to Toledo District to visit two branches in Lutopan. They are both struggling - about 35-40 people attend in each branch. They have just heard that a big mine is going to open again and there will be employment for thousands of people. They are hoping that many of the members will return to the area as when the mine closed several years ago, many left to find work.

Both Lutopan Branches were very welcoming. I helped in Primary and we both spoke in Sacrament meeting in Lutopan I where President Reniva is the Branch President. We were disappointed that they started 30 minutes late – waiting for there to be at least three or four people before they began.

In Lutopan II, I taught Relief Society - really led a discussion with the four sisters there on Wilford Woodruff’s chapter on faith. It was quite interesting. They were talking about how it takes faith to keep the commandments – such as keeping the Sabbath Day holy. One of the women told how she and her husband sell fish for a living. He goes to the wholesale market in Toledo and gets the fish each morning then brings them up into the hills where Lutopan is for her to sell. On Sunday, the biggest day for Filipinos to cook and eat, they don’t sell at all. She says that they are doing okay so far, but it is scary to them.

Another woman told how most people work six days a week, so Sunday is the day to clean, shop, do laundry etc. For members of the Church who work it is a real challenge to get all these chores done during the work week – especially since many go to work at 7 and get home at 6:30 or 7…long days. I was so impressed with their dedication and their determination to keep the commandments.

I then visited Primary and had fun singing with the children. The best part was when we were singing “Head Shoulders Knees and Toes in Visayan and I mixed up the words for mouth and eyes. When I pointed to my mouth and said “Mata” (which means eyes) the children looked surprised and then worried. I realized my mistake and started laughing and then they all – teachers and children alike totally cracked up. We all laughed and laughed.

Later Bob and I both spoke in Sacrament Meeting – what a privilege to share testimonies of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Thieves and a Snake Skin

Fax machine - too big for thieves to get through the attic hole

Bob and Elder Crespo with 10 foot python skin

Wednesday, September 6, 2006

The morning began with a bang – a bang on the door that is. Delfin had run to get me to tell me that some one had broken in to the Stake Center and he wanted me to come and take pictures. I went. The thieves had removed a light fixture from the ceiling in a hallway that has a room and wall on one side, but is open on the other. They had then crawled through the attic and came down in the bathroom in the Stake President’s office. The only thing to be stolen there was the fax machine so they hauled in through the hole in the bathroom ceiling and through the attic to the hole outside. But, the hole was too small, or the fax machine was too big. So I have an interesting picture of a fax machine resting partially out of a hole in the ceiling!

The police were called, but since nothing was really stolen and the damage to the building was minimal, they weren’t very interested.

Elder Crespo arrived in the Office today. He has been called to be the new Assistant to the President and we are glad to have him back. He brought with him a 12 foot python skin. The snake was found by the neighbors swimming in a canal behind his apartment in Dumaguete. The men quickly caught and killed it, skinned it, roasted it, and they all had a neighborhood feast. They gave the amazing skin to Elder Crespo. I took a picture of him and Bob with the skin stretched out on the lawn

One year anniversary

Windy wharf in Bogo, Hannah, Gloria and Shefra


Shallow water fishing with nets and bamboo fences

Monday, September 4, 2006

Today is our 1 year mark in the Philippines! We went to Bogo – the first branch that we visited after we arrived. It was very exciting to see the changes from a year ago. When we first visited there were two small branches, 35 – 40 in Sacrament meeting. Reverence was deplorable with children running around during the meeting, people talking and going in and out the whole time. White shirts and ties were not common and there were very few men except for those on the stand.

Yesterday at the one branch (the two were combined into one several months ago), over 120 were in attendance at Sacrament meeting. Families sat together, with many men in the congregation in addition to those on the stand. All the men on the stand were wearing white shirts and ties (not important in and of themselves, but very important as a symbol of respect for the priesthood). Children were not running around at all and if any needed to go out, a parent went with them. It was really wonderful to see the great spirit at the meeting.

After the meeting, Bob had planned with Shefra Carabio for us to go over and visit Professor Estacion at his house. Shefra and her friend, Hannah, went with us. When we arrived, the Professor was not there. It turns out he is a Baptist minister and had gone out to help some Church members, but would be back ‘soon’. His son Duke welcomed us and invited us to sit outside in the shade and wait. He offered food and drink, but we explained that it was Fast Sunday. He then picked two pomegranates for me to bring home. Those are the first I have seen growing here. We waited nearly an hour and the Professor still didn’t come. We enjoyed talking with the girls about their boyfriends, or lack thereof. Both would like to be married and are sad that they are not.

Professor Estacion had left a message for Bob that he wanted to talk to us about maybe teaching another seminar at his University – perhaps on English – which is the reason we went to his house in the first place. Bob wrote down the cell number and email address of Duke and said we could communicate that way and we took off.

Just as we were leaving, Duke mentioned that if we went down the road about ½ a kilometer we would come to the community wharf and fishing area. Naturally we wanted to see that, so off we went. Both Shefra and Hannah had been there often – it being a frequent picnic/swimming place for the Young Single Adults. It was very windy, but interesting and we were glad to take a few pictures of the new-to-us type of fishing. Men were out in the water making a large funnel out of bamboo poles stuck vertically into the sandy bottom of the sea. Between the poles they stretched a thin, small mesh net. This forced the fish to swim into an ever narrower channel where they had spread their fishing nets with holes large enough for the smaller fish to swim through. Only the fish big enough to sell for eating were caught. We saw two groups of men in the hip-deep water. One group was working on the funnel poles. The other group was pulling in the net full of fish. This looked like a very effective way to catch fish in an area where the water is shallow for quite a ways out from land.

Afterwards, we dropped the girls off at the Carabio’s home and drove back to Cebu. It was a lovely day and we felt very good about the progress in the Bogo Branch. In the evening Bob and I prepared for the new missionaries coming in this week, by photographing and then reducing and printing out the missionary photos to go on their bank card applications. It is very easy and fast to do with out new camera and the computer and color printer.