Out in the country

This week we had the opportunity to get out of Metro Manila for an afternoon. Early in November there is a Mission President's seminar in a resort town called Tagaytay. The hotel is high on the banks of a lake and within the lake is are two dormant volcanos. It is very scenic. We are looking forward to spending a few days in the resort town in November.

Also included in this posting is a picture of "downtown" Quezon City. Metro Manila is made up of many separate cities; each city boasting a population of 500,000 - 2 1/2 million in Quezon city which is the largest. Our apartment is in Manduloung and the Area Office and temple are in Quezon City, the main finacial/business center is in Makati and some of the more historic cites are in Manila proper. The population of Metro Manila is about 12 million. Thats alot of people compared to what there is in Hill Spring.

On Sunday we drove to church. We are assigned a small branch in an out lying area, it takes us about 80 - 90 minutes to get there. As were were travelling we rounded a corner and came across an old timer riding a caribow. Caribow is pronounced similar to caribou but it ends with a bow..as in take a bow. Caribow are the traditional farm animal of the Philippines as you can see they are still in use. We couldn't resist this picture. Oops, where is that Caribow?

The wiring system here is most interesting. As you can see from this picture wire is run every which way you can imagine. Sometimes you see workers with their ladders proped up agains the wires and the workers doing their thing. We have also seen workers standing on the wires in their rubber flop-flops and working on wires up higher...I don't think they follow labor codes here. It is a great adventure. Stay tuned.

The picture of the temple is what we

see outside our office every day.

Today after church service Sister Gibb and I went and visited a few members of the branch. We went with a member of the branch as we would never be able to find our way around. We visited a family that have 4 daughters aged 14 - 3. They had a son that would be 12 but he passed away 2 years ago from brain cancer. Their house was about 15' X 25'. In that space was the kitchen, living room and bedroom (singular) for all 6. The "sofa" did not have a cushion, just a 3/4" piece of plywood to sit on. Their laundry was hanging outside--some on a line and some just in tree branches. It was something to see.

The Philippines

We departed Salt Lake City at about 8:45 P.M. on Thursday, August 28th and flew to San Fransisco where we had a 4 - 5 hour layover. We then had a 12 hour flight to Taiwan and arrived at 5:00 AM on Saturday the 30th. Somewhere in there we flew threw 14 hours of Friday--it just disappeared. We had a layover in Taipei and then boarded another flight to Manila. We got off the plane and there was a greeter with our names on a placard. He took us through customs, escorted to the front of all the lines and we didn't have to say a word, that was sweet treatment. We exited the terminal and there were 2 sister missionaries (there husbands were waiting in their vehicle parked nearby. I had not seen such a welcome sight in a long, long time. It was so good to see their name tags, their smiling faces and someone to take us by the hand and get us settled. We rode from the airport and I sat there staring out the window. I am not sure what was opened widest, my eyes or my mouth. The heat and humidity, the sites and sounds. There were so many people, so much traffic, I thought MacLeod Trail in Calgary at 5:00 PM on a Friday was congested. I now know the meaning of "culture shock." I'm not sure if I could define it properly but I know what it means; I have experienced it.

Elder and Sister Armstrong and Elder and Sister Whitney picked us up at the airport and took us to our apartment. It is a nice apartment on the 10th floor of a 42 floor building. After dropping off our luggage Elder and Sister Armstrong took us shopping to pick up a few items, sheets towels and few groceries. We got back to our apartment at about 6:00 PM and went to bed, we had been up for about 36 hours, we tried to sleep on planes and in airports with little luck. Bed felt very good. The picture upper left is of a trike. A trike is a small motor bike perhaps 90 - 125 CC with a little side car attached. Sometimes the side car is covered and sometimes it's just kind of like a basket. This trike has a basket and is loaded with 6 people. This is not unusual to see.

The tree (upper right) is located on the temple grounds, there is very interesting, lush and beautiful vegetation here.

Called To Serve

Sister Gibb and I entered the Missionary Training Centre on August 18th, 2008. Like all missionaries we could not resist to have our pictures taken at "the map" and at the enterance. The MTC was a fantastic exxperience. There were 25 other couples and 9 single sister. Two of those sisters were in fact sisters and were going to Germany to work with young adults in the CES. It was great to be able to feel of the spirit of the retuurned missionary instructors and observe their teaching skills. We made good friends with the other missionaries even though we were together for only 5 days. I cannot help but feel this mission will be the first. I don't know how many but so far I cannot rationalize not going again. Time will tell.

While we tried to prepare ourselves mentally for the Philippines; the prepartion fell short. I did not know what to expect but it far exceeded my expectations in every way. The city is more modern than I thought, there are more conviences than I thought, it is hotter and more humid than I thought, there are more unique odors than I thought there would be and there is more poverty than I thought there would be. And more than anything else, the traffic is far more wild than I thought it could possibly be. It has been quite an adveture. Everytime we experience something new we can't help but look at each other and smile, sometimes we laugh, there is nothing else we can do.

we attend a small branch about an 80 - 90 minute drive from our apartment. Our mission president assigns missionary couples to attend branches in outlying areas to offer support. Disneyland could not create a ride that would equal our drive to church. Patty took a couple of pictures but as you all know pictures do not capture what all the other senses can. When I learn how to download pictures I'll do it.

Remember when....

I was going through some photos from last winter and came across this. In the heat of a July aafternoon it is hard to recall the dark days of last winter. We had lots of snow and our driveway to the west was plugged by this and several other snow drifts. From about the middle of January until the end of March we could get in and out via the driveway to the east. It is hard to tell depth in this photo; the snowdrift is about 6 feet high. I think I will enjoy summer for a few more months.

Sunday, July 27

Jen and Jeff came to the Meadows' for a day or two to help us pack up our heavier belongings and move them out to our storage container. By Tuesday all but our most essential items will be gone from the house-the lighter items that Patty and I can haul out will be left for another week or two.

Most of you will know my younger brother Darryl was in a serious horse riding accident on Saturday, July 20th. He was treated first in the Lethbridge Regional Hospital. They were not able to stop the bleeding and he was flown to Calgary via a STARS airplane then taken to the Foothills Hospital where he was successfully treated and is now recovering. There was good news then a concern, then more postive news followed by some precautionary treatment. The first 3-4 days was like riding an emotional roller coaster. I can't imagine what it must have been like for Rena and their daughters.

Patty and I are in count down mode for our mission, 3 weeks tomorrow we will be entering the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah

It all started when....

This is my very post on my very first blog. For those who don't know, Patty and I have been called to serve a mission in the Phillipines for our church. We report to the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah on Monday, August 18th. We spend a one week there and then one week in the Church Office Building in downtown Salt Lake City. We then fly out to the Phillipines to start our new adventure. Stay tunes for updates....