Halfway
December 20th was a significant day for us. It represents the halfway mark of being out on our mission for 9 months of the 18 months we said we would serve. Since I was rather reflective of our mission and its positive influence on us last month, I will spare you my current thoughts, for the most part :).
The month of December at the temple was quite a busy one, from our perspective. Especially the last few days before Christmas, and the three days it was open between Christmas and New Years. They close the temple here on Christmas Eve Day, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve Day, and New Year's Day. Since these days were Tuesdays and Wednesdays, we had two four day weekends. (Wow, a Temple Mission sure is different than our CES mission in Montreal, Canada)
There was no lack of temple activity associated with those days. On Friday, December 27, there were 5 buses from the Bicol region of the Philippines (about 12 hours away) that arrived and added to the excitement of temple work during the holidays.
Saturday morning, I silently thought to myself "I think it has been a week, or maybe even two, that I have been able to do any sealings." I got to the temple a little after 5:00 a.m. that morning and it was as busy as it could be it seemed. As I was getting ready to leave around 1:00, I was told that two of the three sealers were not going to make it to the temple the final two shifts. I went over to talk with the one sealer there, (Brother Jose) and his wife to see what help they needed. While sitting there working out what help they needed, the Brother's Shift Coordinator came up and said they needed someone to officiate in the Endowment session at 1:30. They were short of trained people in that area. We worked it out so I went and officiated the Endowment session. I then came back around 3:30 and was able to perform two groups of sealings until a little after 6:00 p.m. I thought how kind Heavenly Father is to me to allow me to perform sealings that day. It was a long day, but one where I was carried through the day with all the energy I needed. What a blessing.
Most of the comments and pictures from December happened in the last two weeks, so that is where I will start.
Ward Christmas Party (Kapitolyo Ward)
We love being part of this smaller Ward. We were fortunate enough to work the early shift on Saturday, the 14th, so we could go to the Ward Christmas Party. We stayed for 2 1/2 hours and they had not even eaten dinner yet. (The pig was taking longer to cook than they anticipated.) We decided to leave early since we had worked the early shift and were a bit tired. Getting older....
Here are a few pictures from that party. They are definitely singers and dancers. They love to do some coordination also.
Laurie and I participated in one of the games. We will have to share how that went at a later time. Laurie did win some candy by doing a "guess the next stanza" when they played a Christmas song (well, a more modern Christmas Season song that is) She knew them all, and I was not an active participant since my memory is not that good.
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| Kapitolyo Ward Primary Children preparing for dance |
Malolos Temple Devotional
On Sunday, December 15th, Laurie and I were assigned to be the Driver and Navigator to take two members of the Temple President and Matron, (The Cabrito's) and one of the Temple Presidency Councilor and the Assistant Matron, (The Martinez's) to the Malolos Stake for a temple devotional the Stake was putting on.
Why we were chosen to drive (foreigners in a strange land :)) was a bit of a mystery to us. I figured it was that they needed some "humor preparation," with a bit of excitement thrown in prior to the devotional... Nevertheless, President Cabrito is our Mission President, so we did as he asked. It was pretty exciting for me since I had not driven a vehicle outside of Metro Manila before. I was hopeful to have less traffic issues.
It was about a two hour drive on a Sunday afternoon to get to Malolos. Our lovely Navigator (Laurie) got us right to the Church using Google Maps. I was able to use the RFID for the toll road we took. I was hoping to get a little experience with that for future driving possibilities.
The devotional was great (as far as we could tell since it was 90% in Tagalog). Afterwards they fed us very well and we got to try tons of local food types. Most of them were very tasty. I am always nervous to try new Philippine foods and then drive for a long distance. My stomach is just not that good. We actually met a Filipino woman (Sister Person) who is a current Portland, Oregon temple worker there. She was over on vacation visiting her children and grandchildren for the holidays. (Picture just below)
The drive back was in the dark and the road from the Church out to the main road was dark, narrow, and full of people you could not see. Frankly, it was nerve-racking (sp?). People just step out into the street all the time. There is enough room for 1.5 cars total (yes, you need enough from for 2.0 cars for oncoming traffic) and then you just happen to be driving a big wide 10 person van (that would be about 18 local Filipino's). I was grateful to get home.
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| The Randall's and Sister Persons (Portland, OR temple worker) |
Random Pictures
As I was driving the other day, I was stopped in traffic and right next to me, also stopped in traffic was one of our international competitors. They really aren't a competitor since our company back home doesn't do records management in the Philippines, but I couldn't stop myself from taking this picture.
The next picture proves that I love my wife. I made sure Elder Olpin took this picture to prove to Laurie that if she ever doubted my love for her, she could look to this picture and know "for sure" that I really do love her :). Please take notice of the smile on my face. You might also notice how tight Laurie is hugging me. All "sure signs" that love is in the air!!! (I might also add that perfume in a Metro Manila mall is no less expensive than if you get it in the US....)
Tagaytay and Taal Lake/Volcano
Well, on New Year's Eve day, we had one of the temple workers (Val Magtoto), who is also a Grab (like Uber) driver take us south from Manila to the Batangas and Cavite provinces. We didn't have a lot of time, because we wanted to be back for New Year's Eve early enough to get Val back to his family and us to be home. (6:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.)
Here are a few pictures from that day trip just a few days ago.
People's Park (interesting place to read about, it was fogged in so you couldn't see the view we were supposed to see) We did get to ride in a Jeepney though up to the top. It couldn't have been more than 200 yards or so, but since we didn't know when we would get the chance, and since we were the only riders, it was quick, easy, and fun. I thought you would want to see the back and the front. This really should be packed with people, but we would have never made it in the back if it was. (you enter in the back with your back bent over)
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| The Olpin's and the Randall's in a Jeepney |
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| Jeepney driver's area - Val Magtoto (our guide and driver is in the red shirt) |
Taal Volcano
After Peace Park we went down the mountain to Lake Taal. Within the lake is an active volcano termed the Taal Volcano. This concept reminded me a lot of Crater Lake, Oregon, where there is an island in the middle of the lake that is a volcano. The last major eruption for the main Taal crater was in 2020, but just last month there was "A minor phreatomagmatic eruption at the Taal Main Crater occurred at 5:58 AM today, 3 December 2024, which lasted four (4) minutes based on visual, seismic and infrasound records of the Taal Volcano Network (TVN)."
We decided to take a boat ride around the volcano. The ride lasted a couple of hours but I was fascinated by all the things we saw. Also, there were a couple of times my eyes closed.... Additionally, there were hundreds of fishing platforms in the lake around the volcano. It looks like they were about 20-30 feet square. There was a scaffolding looking walkway that may have been about 2-3 feet wide and the middle of the square was the lake. I will include a few more pictures than you may want to see, but it was an interesting trip.
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| L to R Elder and Sister Randall, Val Magtoto, Sister and Elder Olpin |
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| Northern Taal Volcano - not as active. |
There are hundreds of fishing platforms like the following in the lake. I would guess these are floating platforms. I took a quick picture of one of them. You will need to magnify it to see better what I am talking about. Fisherman get bags of fish feed (notice the big 50 lb. looking bags the guy is packing on the right side of the picture. This is their livelihood. Tough way to make a living.
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| Fishing in Taal Lake |
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| Main Crater of Taal Volcano |
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| Not too sure - Fisherman's house was the explanation |
Val was very excited for us to have Bulalo (bone marrow soup). He said that Tagaytay was the Bulalo capital of the world. He had been here before and was pretty proud of the experience. So, with great trepidation, we went to the Tagaytay Marketplace. There is a meat market and then a vegetable market. We walked into the meat market and the smell was overpowering. They just hang their meat in the open air. We walked up to the second floor and had Bulalo for lunch. We got family style soup. The soup was actually quite good. I chose not to eat more than a nibble of the bone marrow that he scooped into my bowl. Here are a few pictures of that portion of our day.
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| Tagaytay Beef Market - Note Val's car is the black Mitusbishi on the bottom right of pic |
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| L to R - Olpins on left, Randall's on right. Taken prior to eating. Happy Faces? |
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| Toilet Use Tickets (10 pesos per). I "generously" (desperately) bought these just after the meal. |
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| No AI here. |
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| Looking West towards Manila Bay |
1 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
2 For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.9 Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.
Manigong Bagong Taon! (Happy New Year!)
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