Week 71--October 31-November 5, 2016
The cucumbers are loaded with blossoms.
Our week started on Monday, October 31, with Power Scrub for the missionaries apartments which is to do a deep clean everything. We visited the apartments of elders. First we visited the apartment of the Sapang Palay elders. Here they are just getting started by taking down the curtains to wash them along with the rest of their laundry.
Need to clean up and put things away before the scrubbing can take place.
They have their week baptism chart appropriately displayed. Next to it was their list of investigators and lesson schedule.
This apartment is owned by a Catholic family. As I looked at their location to offer prayers to Mary I was struck by the similarity to the Rameumptom from the Book of Mormon. The stand was obviously made for only one person at a time. The site had beautiful flowers and a mote of water across the front.
We left Sapang Palay and went to Tungkong Mangga elders' apartment. They weren't actively cleaning when we arrived so we didn't get pictures at their apartment.
October 31 and November 1 are holidays in the Philippines. October 31 is All Hallows Eve and November 1 is All Souls Day. Both are dedicated to remembering the dead. The Filipinos visit the cemeteries on November 1 the same as we do on Memorial Day in the US.
Both days had a curfew for the missionaries to be in their apartments by 5 PM.
Since both of these days were holidays we didn't have to worry about our car coding. In a lot of the stores we saw costumes and jack-o-lantern buckets for sale but we didn't see any trick or treaters. Here at the Redwoods on the, Saturday before, there was an area designated for children with a spook alley and booths set up for them to enjoy the day. Traffic was extremely light both days.
We had dance practice again on Thursday. We are starting to remember the steps. We are the oldest couple in the group. We have some really good dancers that we keep an eye on and try to follow.
Friday evening was our date night. We went to dinner and then to see "Doctor Strange." It is a Marvel Comics movie with lots of special effects.
Saturday was a really busy day for us. We did our usual P-day things, but we had several events to attend. The first was a Young Men and Young Women Cultural Dance. Each Ward in the Stake was asked to pick a traditional Filipino dance and perform it at the cultural event. All of the costumes were very colorful and each Ward did a wonderful job of performing the dance. We were really glad we had gone.
Traditional dance performed with bamboo sticks.
Sister Broadhead was asked to give the bambll sticks dance a try.
This dance appeared to be a harvest dance as each dancer had two pop bottles covered with a corn husk.
The La Mesa boys are asking the girls for a dance.
The girls don't appear to be sure they are going to accept the invitation.
They do accept and the dance is performed. Each dance involved intricate foot work and talking with the hands.
This group started off with a war dance.
They concluded with a dance with their chosen partner.
Dancing on one foot with a hat on the other has got to be tricky. It requires a lot of balance. The boys had a bamboo drum on their waist that they played as they danced.
This dance started off with five sets of bamboo sticks that the dancers danced through.
The bamboo sticks were then put crosswise at 90 degree angles. As the dance progressed the pace increased. It became more and more exciting.
Our day ended at the Ward Home Evening. Just as the meeting began Brother Don asked Tom to give the lesson for Home Evening. Fortunately he had given a wonderful spiritual thought the week before at our weekly planning meeting on the importance of hymns and studying their inspired teachings. He used that message for the lesson and did a wonderful job. He referred to the message in "I Am a Child of God" and "Families Can Be Together For Ever." Since the Christmas season has started in the Philippines he concluded with a Christmas hymn. No Home Evening be complete without a few games. Sister Lata and Sister Aldemita did a great job with the games that were played.
We left Sapang Palay and went to Tungkong Mangga elders' apartment. They weren't actively cleaning when we arrived so we didn't get pictures at their apartment.
October 31 and November 1 are holidays in the Philippines. October 31 is All Hallows Eve and November 1 is All Souls Day. Both are dedicated to remembering the dead. The Filipinos visit the cemeteries on November 1 the same as we do on Memorial Day in the US.
Both days had a curfew for the missionaries to be in their apartments by 5 PM.
Since both of these days were holidays we didn't have to worry about our car coding. In a lot of the stores we saw costumes and jack-o-lantern buckets for sale but we didn't see any trick or treaters. Here at the Redwoods on the, Saturday before, there was an area designated for children with a spook alley and booths set up for them to enjoy the day. Traffic was extremely light both days.
We had dance practice again on Thursday. We are starting to remember the steps. We are the oldest couple in the group. We have some really good dancers that we keep an eye on and try to follow.
Friday evening was our date night. We went to dinner and then to see "Doctor Strange." It is a Marvel Comics movie with lots of special effects.
Saturday was a really busy day for us. We did our usual P-day things, but we had several events to attend. The first was a Young Men and Young Women Cultural Dance. Each Ward in the Stake was asked to pick a traditional Filipino dance and perform it at the cultural event. All of the costumes were very colorful and each Ward did a wonderful job of performing the dance. We were really glad we had gone.
Dancing on one foot with a hat on the other has got to be tricky. It requires a lot of balance. The boys had a bamboo drum on their waist that they played as they danced.
Our day ended at the Ward Home Evening. Just as the meeting began Brother Don asked Tom to give the lesson for Home Evening. Fortunately he had given a wonderful spiritual thought the week before at our weekly planning meeting on the importance of hymns and studying their inspired teachings. He used that message for the lesson and did a wonderful job. He referred to the message in "I Am a Child of God" and "Families Can Be Together For Ever." Since the Christmas season has started in the Philippines he concluded with a Christmas hymn. No Home Evening be complete without a few games. Sister Lata and Sister Aldemita did a great job with the games that were played.
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