Holiday Parties

Just thought I would add a few more pictures of the people and their celebrations during the recent holiday season. Every year the Primary has a "musical celebration". This year it was Christmas Around the World. Sibulan Branch, in a draw out of the hat, was awarded Hawaii for their performance. That was a good thing as Sister Parsons got to teach the Hukilou to the youth.

This first is of Trixie. You can't get a better smile than from her as she runs to greet Sister Parsons or I. In this picture you will not see her smile, but she still shows personality.

This is Jose and EmJo. Jose just turned 12 and became our youngest deacon. He is on the left. EmJo is the Primary President's son and is 4 years old.

This picture was taken just before I switched to video. The video is great I just can't get a video to load into the blog. I assume it is because of the speed of the server, so you will just have to wait for the video until we come home.

Bacong Branch drew the US of A. These are not cat in the hat hats but Uncle Sam. The kids danced the waltz and some line dances. Kinda cool!

This shot is before the performance. The lady on the left is the Primary President. The one on the right is a Primary worker recently reactivated. Her sons are the boy, Christian, in yellow and the one in the hat on the far right of the group. His name is Nimrud.

This is a Branch party in November. The first activity in Sibulan Branch in over two years. The family is President Lumanog's along with a non-member they invited. Actually, the two girls which have joined them are not their daughter, Levi, but a neighbor's daughter, RoseMarie, and the Activity Committee Chairman's daughter, Elly.

This is Rue and Romil Anasario doing the Jitterbug. They are siblings. Rue is 20 and serves in the Branch as Sacrament Meeting pianist, 2nd Councilor in the YW, Branch missionary, and, District choir pianist. We recently released her from her callings of Sunday School Teacher and Relief Society Teacher. Romil is 17. He is a Primary Teacher and 2nd Assistant in the Priest's Quorum. They both are full time students at the local University. Rue has one year remaining to graduation as a nurse.

This is the Taylan family. The young man in the front is their house help named Romil. Inday is on the back right. Her husband works full time in Saudi Arabia and gets to come home, maybe once a year. The children are Ally (8), Eppi (9), and BimBim (12).

This is the Perez family. The father of this family works full time in Manila and has for at least the last 5 years. Sister Perez and Sister Taylan are sisters and live in their Mother's home with her and their children. The Perez children are Kenneth (15, not pictured), Ena (13), and Anjelo (11).

Well, that's all for now. Love ya' all!!

"Medical" Topics from Provencial Hospital

Update on Ricky Engresso

He is home and in great spirits, still believing he will be healed. He has started to have feelings in his lower body, albeit pain, but feeling at least. He also has movement in his toes! We still visit at least every other week. You may make out in this picture the wheel from his wheelchair just outside the door, and his Gospel Principles manual which is sitting on his copy of the Ang Basahon ni Mormon and Hymn Book.

The Elders and Sisters of the Dumaguete Zone, from Bayawan to Sibulan, chose as a service project during their Christmas Party to go caroling at the Hospital. This Picture is taken on the front "porch" of the hospital.
The Sisters were also lined up on the "porch". It took about 30 minutes to make the arrangements even though we were pre-approved to come on by.

Every where is the influence of the Catholic Church from the schools to the hospitals, even this public hospital. Many folks as they come through the front door stop for a little prayer at this vestibule whether it is gated closed as in this picture or if it is open for entry.

This begins the journey from Brother Doroy's house to our car to transport him to the hospital. Brother Doroy is 82 years old and speaks English very well. He is a farmer and lives up in the Bukid (mountains) above Sibulan. We found out he was ill and went to visit a few times before he decided he better go on to the hospital.

He is being transported on a hand truck, old dolly, which a neighbor allowed us to use. The neighbor is in the front. The man in the blue t-shirt is President Joselito Lumanog, Branch President in Sibulan. Above in the ball cap is Brother Edgardo Espina who is First Counselor in the Elder's Quorum as well as Branch Mission Leader. He has the effects of polio from when he was young, but you can't hold this dear brother down.

We finally made it to the car and rolled Brother Doroy up in a blanket and stuffed him in the backseat. The walk out was about 1 kilometer and we had to cross one stream, also, one small hills.

We put him in the hospital on Thursday, and he died on Saturday morning. We knew it was his time to go.

Going to Young Women's Standard Night tonight.

Love to all!!

Christmas Day in the Philippines

After delivery of 11 loaves of bread on Christmas morning and with one loaf left we felt that feeling to go and visit Sister Barada in Siaton. We found her doing laundry and trying to stay positive, as we found out that it was 3 years ago on Christmas Day when her husband died after being attacked and stabbed by a drunkard. We found, also, as we responded to the impression of the Spirit to visit Sister Barada that we were rewarded with joy and peace while enjoying Sister Barada and her three children, and the beauties of creation on God's green and serene earth.

This beach was just down a path from Sister Barada's house.

After shedding some shoes and rolling up some trousers for Elder it was off to wading in the surf and scouring the sand for sea shells of which we found dozens.

Too soon it was time to walk back up the path to the National Highway...

...and Sister Barada's balay. (house)

While driving back to Sibulan, we stopped at our favorite pit stop in Siaton, when this multi-cap drove up. Our first thought was that someone got married on Christmas Day. We could find no proof by way of a bride. Only these young men, and upon closer inspection all the ribbons are made of the receipt rolls from a cash register. Sooo funny!! But, then again, so appropriate that for some folks the revelery of Christmas is in the shopping and the buying not in the Christ child and the celebration of His birth.

Hoping your Christmas was merry, and Wishing you a Wonderful New Year!

Elder and Sister Parsons

Merry Christmas -- Malipayong Pasko

'Tis the Season to be Jolly

These are the decorations

for the Sibulan Christmas party

on 19 Dec 2008

The Sibulan Branch Primary
in their pose for the Nativity Scene.
Notice the angels in a single white sheet,
and the sheep below -- also in a single white sheet.
We did not have enough materials
for individual sheep and angels, therefore,
let your imagination help, please!
One wiseman has a crown
and another has a headband
(Bet you didn't know one wiseman wasn't interested
after all those miles on his camel.)
Joseph with the white sash is Ged Galvez
whom we taught and
he was baptized by his Father
3 weeks ago

Another Nativity Scene which
we saw in front of a local native crafts shop

Here is a tree displayed
inside the same shop made of
a burlap type of cloth
scrunched and colored
to give it the right shapes
-- kinda cool!

Then, we caught this one

in the process of being made of corn husks.

It is being displayed outside a grain store

in the marketplace

Another tree is shown

from a local fast food joint, Jollibees,

which is seen as you leave the drive thru window

This one is in the window of the Petro Station,

made of cans of engine oil.

and finally, the one at our house!!

Merry Christmas to all,

and to all Good Night.

On The Road -- A Site for Sore Eyes

A motorcycle bite which was experienced by the automobile driven by Elder Nebrada in Bacong.



These little Rusco trucks are very popular both on the back of trucks being hauled in and ........

On the sales lot, and on the street. The man's uniform standing in the middle of the road says he is a "traffic control officer." I hope you can appreciate the irony of that, since there is no control of traffic in the Philippines. He is standing in front of a school at Maslog, just 500 meters towards town from our apartment. His main function is to watch for a break in traffic and hussle the students across the street without them getting hit.

This is a shot of downtown Dumaguete just after festival. These are the streamers which will soon show up on a rice field near you. The business on the left called Greenwich is a pizza place. Just past it is a smaller maul. On the right side of the street under the blue tarp is our fruit vendor where we buy mangos. They have also lately had Washington apples which we have enjoyed with peanut butter. They also recently had plums which were enjoyed at the couple missionaries apartment.

What we have here is referred to as a MacArthur named after the US General from WWII.

Just a family walking along thru the construction site we were parked in for Sister Parsons to visit the local dress making shop.

Another family's mode of transportation while waiting at the dress making shop, public transportation.

and anothers mode of getting around, also public transportation.

Some families pick private transportation, but choose to travel in disguise, I guess.

but all do not travel in disguise after all.


A good look at the construction site. They seem to have more road construction than Denver and Wyoming combined. We think they have a meeting at midnight and decide, "Hey, lets see how the public responds to us tearing up this stretch of the road." Then within hours the pavement is no longer on the street. They don't even wait until one project is finished before the next is started.

What is so interesting?

The runway begins, or ends I guess, at the edge of the National Highway between our house and Dumaguete, and every day 4-6 airline airplanes land and and take off. The road comes to a standstill as everyone stops and observes the take offs. The landings are not as well observed because the planes kinda just appear out of nowhere.

Well, that's all for now.

Catch ya'all later.

Hello, It's Us Again

The cleaning method of choice in the Philippines. These brooms and dustpans are everywhere. They even sweep up the ground in front of their houses. These happen to be in the back foyer of the church on Pinili St. in Dumaguete.

A site we see quite often is the caribou pulling a cart. We were waiting for this one to pass so we could get to the next scene.

This is on the beach in Sibulan where we drive by on the way to the Fontelo home.

The Filipinos are equal opportunity employers as you can see below that Cattle also may serve as engines for the carts.

I am confident they were not about to milk this animal despite the presence of the bucket, and if they had they would been out of luck. We really liked the coloring on this animal.

The washing was completed and this seemed like a handy place to get the clothes dry. This scene is in Siaton.

This shot is of the beach where Lolo (Bampa) and Lola (Bamma) scoured to find the shells we sent to the mga Apo (Grandkids). The tides come in and out often and each time the roots of the shoreline trees get weaker and weaker until the trees give up and become floaters. We had tuna fish sandwiches on the beach on the day we found the shells.

One day we will have to stop and read the sign on this historical site. It is right on the Boulevard which runs up and down the beach in Dumaguete.

I really didn't realize that you could tie a baboy (pig) to a tree and expect that it would be there when you returned, but it happens all the time, we observe.

but then to lead them around, one handed even, really tells me that these pigs are entirely different from the ones we raised in Erie. This hog, by the way, is penned behind our apartment. We took this shot from our bedroom window which is, approximately, 100 yards from the pig. I love a good zoom lens.

Well, that's all for now.