"Unavailable Sir" and "No Damage"

This weekend, we took a three-hour drive to Lagawe.  We stopped in Bagabag to pick-up the Zone Leaders so they could interview a young woman for baptism.  Upon arrival we ate lunch at Pedro's, enjoying three different kinds of pizza and some french fries for an appetizer.  We had anticipated enjoying a Dr. Pepper with our meal (a rare treat in our mission), but the waitress told us, "unavailable Sir".  That's a phrase we hear a lot.

We went with the Elders to their baptismal interview, which was followed by a lesson on being a missionary.

It was a very hot day.  "Sobrang Manit!"

Two children from a family of seven, that the Elders are teaching

Walking through the public market known as the "palengke"

 The closest  hotel was a 45-minute drive to Banaue.  We woke up this morning to a beautiful sunrise.

Lagawe Chapel sits up on a hill overlooking the city.

This beautiful 12-day old baby's mother is on maternity leave from teaching at the MTC.  

The Faithful Sisters in the Lagawe Relief Society

I'm flattered that all of these young adult women wanted their picture taken with me.  They are each like a lovely flower that when put together make a BEAUTIFUL bouquet!

A story from Stephen:  

The other day I was trying to park the mission vehicle in a tight spot and 'lightly' taped the front wheel of a tricycle parked behind me. This reminded me of a story one of the other Senior Elders told about driving a mission van in heavy traffic in Tuguegarao (the large city to the north).  While he was stopped waiting for traffic to move, a tricycle driver attempted to squeeze in front of him.  (This is VERY common in city traffic)  In so doing, the hub of the sidecar wheel caught the front bumper of the van, totally ripping it from the front of the vehicle.  Headlights and everything lay on the blacktop in front of the vehicle exposing the radiator of the van.  The senior Elder wondered, what would the tricycle driver do since none of them carry insurance.  Amazingly, several of his fellow drivers jumped into action, and to his astonishment, they reinstalled the entire system, wiring harness and all to the front of the vehicle in a couple of minutes.  Apparently, there were no bolts involved in this installation.  Everything was held together by clips.  When they were done, the driver announced to the Elder "NO DAMAGE!!" and went on his way.  After bumping the tire, I jumped out of my vehicle and looked at his front wheel and my rear bumper and made the proclamation,  "NO DAMAGE!.

Other Photos from this week:

One of my favorite duties is taking photos.  President Craig snuck this photo of me while I was arranging the missionary leadership council for a monthly photo.  I take several photos a week and post them on a private mission page for the families of the missionaries.