"Tao Po"

 

 You don't knock on Filipino doors.  The custom is to stand outside and call "Tao po, Tao po, Tao po" until someone comes out and invites you in.

Last week I had a brief encounter with a lovely young woman while standing in the checkout line at the supermarket.  She asked me where I was from and told me that she had recently returned from working in Dubai for 10 years. She said that she wanted me to come and visit her.  She wrote down her name, address and phone number and went on her way. 

Addresses in the Philippines are much different than the states.  They consist of a Purok, a Barangay, a city and a state.  A Barangay (neighborhood) is divided up into 6-10 Puroks.  Wikipedia states that there are 20 – 50 or more households in a Purok.  To find someone, you go to the area they reside and start asking residents if they know where the person you are looking for lives.  Today we set off to find her with two young Elders and a google map.  We found her at the third house we stopped at, and called, "tao po".  She threw her arms around me, kissed me on the cheek and told her mother that I was her friend.  After a short visit, we learned that she had returned home to help her mother take care of her father who has an advanced stage of cancer. We prayed and sang with the two of them and taught them about eternal families and the restoration.  We left them with a promise that we would come again soon. - Sister Roberts

Missionaries use 'My Family Booklet' every day.  

We literally use the fan chart as a fan!

 The rest of the busy week in Photos:

8 Missionaries returning home to begin the next phase of their life's journey

11 New Missionaries

While Elder Roberts negotiated a contract with one of our 65 landlords, I got to meet the people gathered in the common courtyard.  I found a family of 5 that the Elders taught the next morning.  

I spent many hours with the Sister missionaries teaching this young man.  His expression says it all!

We love the young missionaries!  It was a Great Week!

MORE FUN IN THE PHILIPPINES

The 'matchy-matchy' Senior Sister Companions

This week was very busy and frustrating.  At the end of each quarter, I make deposits into the accounts of all our landlords for the next three months rent.  Banking is fairly primitive here, and waiting to see a teller is kind of like waiting in a busy doctor’s office.  It’s not uncommon to wait for 20 – 40 minutes.  Generally, you take a number and wait.  Multiply that times a dozen or so different banks; throw in the occasional “SORRY, WE ARE OFF LINE” notice that comes up and it can take several days to get the job done.  Also, some of the landlords will close their account without telling you, forcing you to go back and repeat the process.  I planned to go out first thing on Monday morning, only to learn it was a bank holiday.   Zone Conferences on Tuesday – Thursday gave me a pretty short window.  Oh well!  Our Mission President’s wife has a saying; “It’s just more FUN IN THE PHILIPPINES!”

This round of Zone Conferences was special because it’s the last one for our Mission President and his wife.  They will return home at the end of the month.  One of the caterers prepared a ‘special’ lunch in their honor.  

The Missionaries enjoyed ‘crown-roast’ and apple pie with ice-cream.  What a treat!

We are all very excited to meet our new Mission President.  He served as a young missionary in this area and I think he will be astounded at the changes.

We usually get the opportunity to participate with the Elders and Sisters in their training.  We are practicing how to hold the Book of Mormon when Contacting.

Saturday, we were going to attend the dedication of a new chapel in another city.  

We had to change our plans when I was asked to speak at the funeral for one of the members in the Naguilian Branch.  Most of the deceased brother's extended family were not members of the church, so it became a real opportunity to ‘teach and preach and work as Missionaries do’!

What a great last ride!

This is a family we met with this evening who is ready for baptism next week.  The Elders reviewed the baptism interview questions with them and gather the information necessary for the BCR, and I tried to distract their little boy with a ball.

Sister Roberts and I have subscribed to MLB.TV so we can watch the Diamondbacks baseball games.  Of course, watching the games LIVE would typically require getting up in the middle of the night.  I confess I have done that a few times, but usually, we just have to pretend we don’t know the final score. 

Elder Roberts

Happy Father's Day to my favorite Husband

"Twalking"

Elder Roberts calls this exercise "Twalking" because we walk and we talk.

I started training two weeks ago to get in shape to hike the Banaue Rice Terraces.  Every six weeks the Mission President and his wife take the departing missionaries to the 2,000-year-old Rice Terraces.  I went with them in January and wasn’t able to complete the trail, because of the numerous very steep steps and I was out of shape.  This may be my last opportunity as our President and his wife are nearing the end of their three years of service and will return home on July 1^st.  The new Mission President may decide not to continue this tradition.  I walk brisk laps around the mission complex and go up and down the flight of stairs several times.  Elder Roberts suggested I go up the steps two at a time which really makes me feel the burn!

Most every week we get the opportunity to go out with the young missionaries.  I’m in awe of their ability to speak Tagalog and teach with confidence.  They work diligently every day in the heat forgetting themselves and serving others.  I'm super grateful that the office I work in has air conditioning or as they call it in the Philippines, 'aircon'.

This talented bamboo artist works in a little outdoor studio behind his home.  He calls himself, “the Bamboo Guy”.  He supports his family by creating plaques, picture frames, nameplates and scripture boxes that all include intricate detail. - Sister Roberts

The Rest of the Week in Pictures:

At the outdoor baptism of a grandmother and her granddaughter, she exclaimed to me over and over, “I’m so happy, I’m so happy!”

My pineapple upside down cake was a hit at the Senior Couples Family Night.

A visit to a very modern dentist office just a short walk from our apartment.

Photo Essay

We stopped in at a Jollibee for a quick hamburger and were greeted by the "Jollibee" himself.  Turns out he is a member of the Church!

Cleaning up the Mission Storage Room.

We worked up quite a sweat, but it felt good!

We spent the day bringing much-needed supplies to the Missionaries in the southern parts of the Mission.  These are some beautiful Sister Missionaries we visited.

Bringing supplies to the Elders also.

This Elder ran out of clean shirts because of the heavy rain.

Last time we checked this apartment, it needed a LOT of work.  They repented, and this time it looks GREAT!

These Elders needed a new refrigerator.

Thank goodness for young backs!

Job is done! Now, what do we do with the old refrigerator?

SOMETIMES YOU JUST NEED A TOSTADA!  EVERYBODY NEEDS A TOSTADA NOW AND AGAIN! Sister Roberts cooked beans, fry tostada shells, cut up fresh salsa, and cooked Spanish rice.  The Mission President's wife made a scrumptious tres leches cake.  

DON'T FORGET THE SPANISH RICE AND CHIPS & SALSA!

Mexican Food is a treat because, Pinto beans, tortillas & good iceberg lettuce are hard to find