Oct . 24

I turned 68 on Sept 22. We were invited to attend a birthday party of Baya Adille. Her father Carlo is the Volunteer Director of the Legazpi Employment Resource Center. It just so happened that we share the same birthdate. So of course we had to attend and celebrate for me too. We spent the night in the hotel where the party was held. Our first excitment was seeing a mouse scurry under the bed. Nancy was out of the room in a flash and calling for forces to take care of the intruder. The hotel staff took care of the problem very quickly for which we were thankful.
The birthday party was quite a celebration. The company was great and so was the food and even tho it wasn't my party, we had a lot of fun.

 Daddy Carlo with Bea.

Elder and Sister DeGrange with the Adille family.
The next day it was very nice just to get up  and drive to the Stake Center about 15 minutes. We had English Class that night and them home to Naga.

Cristine, Ruby, Cristina, Justine and Cristy are a few that have attended the class. The two on the ends have been our faithful ones. We have a great time doing Peas Porridge Hot

 We attended Chruch in Libmanan and this is one of the detours. The man waves red and green flags
to direct the traffic. Below is the chapel in Libmanan. The parking lots are never full.

I am learning how to bake via the crock pot. Here my try at Banana Cake. it was really very good.
I made an apple cake today. It is good also but more practice is needed.

 Our hotel, Pepperland, is the yellow building right in the middle.

 We had to take off our glasses because they were fogging up because of the humidity

 Carlo Adille and Nancy and Larry

 Sipping fresh buko water (young coconuts)

 After drinking the water the coconut is cut open and you get to eat the soft coconut meat.

Last weekend there was a training scheduled in Ligao and it was easier to spend the night in Legazpi and drive the 45 min to Ligao. Carlo decided to have us hike Lignon Hill to get a really good look at the Mayon Volcano. Carlo called at 5:30 and said "let's go, the sun is coming up". We quickly joined him outside and drove to the foot of the hill and started up. There were so many people already coming down. It was a nice hike a little steep in places and we had to stop and catch our breath and let the heart slow down. Reminded me of Mt. Tip in Utah just not as long. There is a swinging bridge and a zip line that looked like fun but we did't do either. The view from the top was great. You could see the volcano on one side  and Albay Bay on the other. We made it to the top in about 30 minutes. It was so hot but a great was to start the day. Look closely at the last photo and you can see a very thin line from the top of the volcano. It is fresh lava flowing.This is a active volcano and at times you can hear it rumbling and see a spectacular light show at night.

 This shows the results of the last eruption. The tree are all gone. The area growth is just starting to come back.

 The Yawa river from the base of the volcano to the Albay Bay and on to the ocean.

A small village at the base of Lignon Hill. There is also a wild life preserve here but will visit at a later time.
We were soaked to the skin. Back to the hotel for a shower, breakfast and a nap before heading to Ligao.
Here is a photo of the Ligao District Employment Committee.

It is now time for the October Career Workshop for the missionaries that are ready  to return to their homes.It is so great to work with these young men and women who have spent the last 18 months to two years serving the Lord. They are all great resource to the wards and branches that they will be returning to in just a day.

 Elder Hied from Georgia and Elder Chauncey from Las Vegas, Nevada

 Elders Green and Welker and Sister Hancock all from Utah

 The whole group working hard.

Eight hours of class and we all made it through.

Saturday was a Stake Relief Society activity. They had a couple of speakers on the importance of being self reliant.Then they opened it up for Market to Market. Each ward and branch had a table where they brought items to sell. It was amazing to see all the items that were available to buy. It is not a fund raiser. You buy from the individual that brought the items. So many people have a small self employment business and they were all there selling. We bought some homemade peanut butter, cookies, and cake. After about and hour the power went off and so we went home. Too many people in a small area with no air con. The rest of the day was going to be a class demonstrating how to make and decorate cakes. They had to bring in small ovens because none of the church kitchens have ovens. We had been sick all week so it really was time to go home.

 This is the display from the Naga First Ward. This is the ward we attend.