June 13

We had a busy week. Monday we went to the Kearns for Family Home Evening and dinner. They are a family in our ward. We couldn't find their house and the phone number got deleted and we just sat around the house hoping they would call and they did. Brother Kearns met us on the corner and directed us to the house. They have 3 children at home. John Paul who at 16 is starting college with a full scholarship.Their daughter has finished college and looking for a job. The youngest boy is the only one attending elemetary school which started on Monday.  They had a opening hymn, prayer and spiritual thought and then announced that we were the lesson! We told about our selves and Elder DeGrange shared what he thought was one of the most important things he had learned about the gospel. He shared that keeping the commandments was one of the most things that he had learned. Dinner was good. Sis Kearns had fixed a spagetti noodle chicken dish, fresh pineapple, 2 cakes that she baked on top of the stove as she does not have an oven. I need to learn how to do that cause we don't have and oven.
Tuesday we were in Legaspi. We are finally able to drive there withour getting lost. The ERC manager Carlo Adille trained Elder DeGrange on how to do the paper work for the credit card we use for ERC expenses. Wednesday we found the CES building. It is a very nice building. They teach seminary and Institute classes.The classes start at 3:00. This is after the school classes have ended. Seminary is studying Old Testament. The are several differnt Institute classes offered. There are about 80 kids that participate in the programs.Thursday we went to the Mission Home and practiced the power point presentation on the Career Workshop that we will be giving on Monday and Tuesday to the missionaries that have completed their missions and returning home. There will be 14 in the class. Saturday we got up at 4:30 so we could be in Legaspi shortley after 8. We made really good time. Not much traffic at that time of morning. We met Carlo and drove to Tabaco for a ACE  (Academy for Creating Enterprise). This is a 5 day class teaching how to start your own business. It goes along with the Employment Resource Center but is a nonprofit business. The class has to have a minimum of 15 returned missionaries. On the was home we saw a road that went to Tabaco so we decided to go back. We drove around the other side of the Meyon Volcano. Just after enetering Tabaco there was a road that went up the side of the volcano. It is a very narrow steep road and it takes you up about halfway.There is a beautiful view of the ocean. The  clouds were very thick so we did not have a good view of the volcano.

Picnic area at the visitors center on the road up the Meyon Volcano. Costs 10 pesos to use the tables. The markers were located all the way up. At the top there is a religious shrine. Did not look up translation.

 There were even impatients growing at the visitors center. The top pic is the planetarium. We went inside and saw a movie about the volcano. The planetarium was put on this side of the volcano because the lava has never flowed on this side.
Our neighbors had their house painted this past month. Here are a few pictures of house painting in Naga, The house was painted with a bucket, a brush and a roller. One of the painters was always barefooted.

New building construction is also interesting.They do so much work by hand. House in our subdivision.

This is how we identify where we turn for our subdivision. It is a rooster fight arena. Every weekend the parking area is fillled. There are food vendors across the street wanting to sell to hungry patrons.

For nine days in May all the Philippines Catholic Church members have a celebration that ends with a night candlelight parade where all the young girls are dressed up and walk in sort of a float and they are called Raynas. It doesn't matter when in May but it does have to be 9 continual days. We went to the parade in our neighborhood.

Banana growing in our neighborhood. The boys playing basketball thought it was very funny for me to be taking pictures of banana. I just laughed and said I had never seen banana growing before.

More bananas in the same area. The photo were supposed to be together and I guess I touched the wrong key.

We passing a large truck loaded with rice. The photo above is a tricie loaded with rice. There are rice fields everywhere. The farmers are starting to plant again. They harvest about 3 crops a year.

We stopped along the road to Pamploma and bought 6 small pineapples. Elder DeGrange does a great job of getting them ready to eat. We paid 100 pesos for them. That comes out to be about 35 cents each.

 They mow the lawns at the churches with weed eaters. Have not seen a lawn mower.

This is the church in Legaspi. We work here on Tuesdays and Fridays. It is about 60 miles and it takes us 

usually 2 1/2 hours to drive. We drive the National Highway but it is no freeway. 50 mph is about top speed and most of the times we are driving 35-40 mph.

This little guy looked so relaxed riding  home from a hard day at school.

                           The jeepneys load on as many as they can. This is kids going home from school

Most of the students wear uniforms.Skirts and white blouses for the girls and the boy dark pants and white shirts. School started here the first part of June.They leave for school around 6:30 and get out about 4:30.They really have a long day. Now with everyone getting ready for school, if we want a morning shower it has to happen between 5-5:30 or there is no water.

We taught our first class of missionaries returning home last week. There were 14 in the class. As you can see they worked really hard. We teach them how to present themselves for a job. They were a great group of missionaries and we enjoyed getting to know them. There is a group going home every 6 weeks. They leave for home on Wednesday and the new group arrives on Thursday.

Look close on the left and you can see piggies headed to market.