The weather is sweltering here in the Philipines.  Elder Roberts said that he felt the sweat dripping down his back during church.  Many chapels have no air conditioning. It was a busy transfer day this week, with nine missionaries departing and eighteen new arrivals, ten new Elders and eight Sisters. 

 Most of the new missionaries came from the Philippines.  We had others from Australia, Kiribati, Vegas, Idaho, Utah and even Scottsdale, Arizona! 

Before leaving the mission home, new missionaries receive fluorescent orange backpacks filled with supplies to sustain them for 72 hours during a natural disaster.  It is my responsibility to teach them about its contents and admonish them not to eat the Snickers Bars and other tempting food supplies unless there is an emergency.  

On Friday evening we were invited to go out teaching with some young Elders.  Being out with the young missionaries and meeting with the Filipino people is my favorite thing to do!  It is relaxing and a gratifying work to do after a long stressful week in the office. 

 I love to show them this picture of my family, and truthfully tell them, "I felt so much joy the day that my family was sealed together in the temple, that I literally felt like my heart would burst"

Many of the homes are built close together. 

 Seeing this cute little boy made me miss my little grandsons. 

I miss my family!  I'm grateful for the technology that helps to ease the pain of my absence from them.  With free apps such as, 'Whatsapp' and 'Marco Polo', I can instantly see and communicate with them as long as I have WiFi.  We can text, send photos & videos, talk, and video call.  I saw my daughter and granddaughters enjoying a vacation on the beach.  I watched my grandsons squeal with glee as they opened the box I sent them from Amazon containing their favorite 'Rescue Bots'  - Sister Roberts

BOODLE FIGHT

The week, we had another opportunity to step into ‘true’ Filipino culture.  We were invited by the District President to our first ‘sit-down’ dining experience in an authentic Filipino restaurant.  

By ‘authentic’ I mean, not ordering fast-food from a counter, and not a franchised restaurant, like Shakey’s Pizza, found in the SM Mall next to the Mission Home.  

The atmosphere at “Otep’s” was absolutely charming and we enjoyed our first “Boodle Fight”. 

The Urban Dictionary defines “boodle fight” as “a military style of eating,” in which food, piled on top of banana leaves and laid out on long tables, is to be taken with bare hands washed with water from jugs prepared on the side. The “eating combat” begins when the signal is given.

Sister Roberts is ready for 'Combat'.

Our host said to 'just start pushing it in your mouth'

Our experience lacked the ‘eating combat’, but was authentic in every other way.  It included Fish, Pork (feet as well as other parts), Chicken, cooked vegetables, noodles, a variety of sauces, eggplant omelet, cucumber water (which is very refreshing) and, of course, lots of rice! 

What a great evening!

Since this post is entirely about food, I decided to include pictures of some of the other local eating establishments we frequent and which we pass by during our occasional morning walks.  

Chicken is probably the most common source of protein.

Some things you just can't live without!

We just enjoy the name of this local bakery; besides the fact that it was persuasive enough to earn our patronage.

Elder Roberts

Time Spent Out of the Office

Every six weeks we have a zone conference for all the missionaries.  The ten zones are divided into three conferences.  The conference starts with a group photo, then training, lunch, more training, role-playing, practice teaching and contacting. 

 At the end of the day, the missionaries can pick up a Liahona (church magazine), mail, packages, and housing supplies that they have requested. 

We enjoy the opportunity to get out of the office, and see and talk to the missionaries face to face. 

Saturday night, two of the Cauayan missionaries called us at 5:45 and asked if we could go right away with them to visit some single women.  We gobbled up the piece of Shakey’s pizza we had just started, quickly changed our clothes and got on our way.  We started off in a very humble ‘Barangay’ which is the Filipino word for neighborhood.  As soon as we got out of the car, we were surrounded by little smiling children eager to shake our hands and touch us.  The smell of outdoor cooking fires filled the air.  It was dark and the only visible light came from a few of the houses that had electricity and a group of relatives cooking a meal and visiting under a tarp equipped with a single light bulb. 

Using the flashlights on our phones, we walked down a narrow, muddy path to the home of a Beautiful young woman and her mother. 

Rose is standing next to me

The missionaries passed out laminated copies of the song, “Families Can Be Together Forever”.  After we sang, the mother asked me to say a prayer. I felt prompted to pray that the Lord would bless them with their righteous desires and that their home would be filled with love.  The mother's eyes were moist with tears. There was a warm feeling in my heart as the missionaries taught a lesson about our Savior and God’s plan for us.

We walked a little further to a little home, where we were greeted by some young children in a room lit only by a tiny oil lamp hanging from the ceiling.  Behind the home, we found their mother washing the family’s clothes in a large tub on the ground.  We directed our flashlights to her task.  One Elder quickly dropped to his knees and began to help her with the washing and the other missionary immediately followed.  The single mother had just returned from working all day in the cornfields and was now faced with many other chores to take care of her children.  These young insightful missionaries knew at that moment, what this mother needed most was help.

Outdoor cooking fire

The last place we visited was the home of two young sisters whose father had died and their mother had left them.  The single room they lived in was neat and tidy with very few furnishings.  We all sat on the floor as the missionaries taught a lesson.

 We arrived back home with muddy shoes, muddy pants and skirt, but our hearts were filled with love for the people that we met and for the young Elders who sacrifice two years of their lives to bring hope and teach faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement.
 - Sister Roberts

Baptism Bus

Almost every evening we can hear the loudspeaker and horn from a basketball court about a block away from our apartment.  They love the game and have regular tournaments.  One evening I decided to walk down and observe.  The announcer said, “We acknowledge the presence of Elder Missionary at the game tonight.”  I felt like a celebrity and waived.  To my disappointment, nobody applauded.  The announcer came over after the game started and I learned that he was a member of the church.  We talked basketball until he had to get back to his post, as the first quarter was ending.  That was a fun evening!

Saturday we attended a Baptism at the Naguilian Branch.  I drove one of the Mission vans with 10 people on board.  Sister Roberts called it the “Baptism Bus”.  The Baptism was at 4PM on a very hot day and the building had no air conditioning.  We sweated terribly waiting for the meeting to begin.  All in attendance were blessed with the spirit as 3 new members were baptized.

Our faithful elderly Sister came as she always does. She is a wonderful example of the Doctrine of Christ thru enduring to the end.  Her birthday is tomorrow and she will be 81.

 I think everyone there would have liked to get into the outdoor font just for the opportunity to cool off.

Sunday morning we went back to the same building for Sacrament meeting.  When it was over we found that the roads all around the building had been covered with corn that the locals put out to dry.  They do this all the time and no one gets upset when you have to drive over it in your vehicle.  It just feels strange.

After the Sacrament Meeting, we drove back to Cauayan to catch the primary children in the 2nd Branch before they dismissed.  Sister Roberts had collected copies of ‘The Friend’, published in their local language, and she wanted to pass them out to the children.  

We found them taking turns reading from the Book of Mormon.  You could see the excitement in their eyes to each have their own magazine with bright colorful pictures, stories they could read and pictures they could color.  Coincidentally, the artist who did the front cover is the son-in-law of one of the other Senior Couples serving with us.

Elder Roberts

Pythons, Corn & Booties

Saturday is our ‘P-day’, short for preparation day.  It’s the day we are supposed to do laundry, shopping, cleaning, and other personal errands.  We often are busy doing other assignments on Saturdays and don’t get a full ‘P-day’.  But, yesterday we had time to experience a real adventure!  I almost felt like Indiana Jones, wandering through bat infested caves, holding an albino python and hiking to a waterfall. Honestly, I was too chicken to hold the large, scary looking python, but I was happy to participate in a photo op with Elder Roberts letting the snake dangle around his neck!

Yesterday was a sunny warm day with a high in the 90’s.  Several of the local farmers had spread their corn and rice along the road to dry.

Apparently, they only use the corn to feed their animals and don’t care if you drive over it.  They grow a lot of corn here!  I am bummed that you can’t buy cornmeal because I am hungry for some warm cornbread dripping with butter and honey.  Elder Roberts told me that he would get me two stones and I could grind my own.  😁

Tamara and her neighbor, Betty

Back home, my friend, has a dear elderly neighbor who spends all of her time knitting matching baby caps and booties and donating them all over the world to those in need.  She has a world map on her wall with all the places marked that she has sent them.  I was blessed to be able to bring some of her handiwork to the Philippines. 

Last Friday, Elder Roberts and I took the precious little booties and caps to a government-owned hospital for the poor. The room we visited had seven beds, with seven new mothers holding their babies. They were all very grateful to receive a gift made with so much love.  It was a small miracle, that I had just the right amount of hats and booties for the babies that were born that day and also the right colors for the boys and girls. (I didn’t have to give any boys pink booties!)

Our kids sent us a picture of them enjoying a delicious Mexican dinner. I zoomed in on the food so I could see what they were eating.  It made me hungry!  I miss Mexican food!  I'm so glad that Maggie organized this event and sent me pictures.  I love and miss my family!  They are my greatest treasure!  A.R.Y.M.L.Y. - Sister Roberts

Families Can Be Together Forever