April Heat
It is that time of the year again in Manila where the heat starts getting turned on (outside). I have talked to quite a few Filipinos who have said it didn't use to be this hot when they were younger - even in the last 10 years. I guess it depends on the crowd you run with, and since I am older, that could mean 50 or 60 years ago, plus. No matter how you look at it, the nights of the hoped for - slightly warm breeze has exited the building, and is in another part of the world. High heat, high humidity, and sometimes even high tensions created from the high heat and high humidity ;).
Sister Randall is pining for a new hand-held fan. The current one may have seen it's heyday but I keep telling her that as long as it can charge up to 100%, she should "hold on" a little longer. We did fork out just under $5.00 for the fan on Lazada (the Philippines "Amazon"). Over a 1 year period that looks to be a pretty good investment. It looks like it may be a bit longer until she gets a new one since that 100% charge looks good in that picture :)
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| Yeah, that is at 100% charge, therefore...... |
Even though the heat is turned up again, the beauty of where we are and what we are doing is worth capturing. On the two days we serve on the early shift, I head up to the temple a little after 5:00 a.m. (As you know, the walk is pretty short). I decided to take another picture on my way up the steps to the front door of the temple. What a beautiful morning, as the day dawn is breaking. It continues to stir my soul that I even get the privilege of living on Temple grounds and being able to work/serve daily in the Manila Philippines Temple. What a gift!
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| April 17, 2025 - Manila Temple |
I know I say this occasionally, but I am going to say it one more time, and it probably won't be the last. Since most of our full time mission is spent inside the temple, and because we are not supposed to take pictures inside the temple, you really don't see a lot of what we do and how much we enjoy just being here.
I did manage to take a picture of a birthday celebration for Katt, our recording office employee that we get along with so well. The picture was taken in the lunch room in the Temple Annex. The Annex is not a part of the temple so I can take pictures there. However, since we don't work over there very much (me occasionally, and Laurie - not at all) we just don't have a lot of pictures of the group.
Yes, that is pizza you see in the foreground.
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| LtoR: Bruce and Laurie, Lyte, Jun, Katt, Beth, AJ, Eunice, Felix |
Here is a picture of a tree on the temple grounds down by where we live. I think it is a jackfruit tree but I really have no idea. Just seeing the size of the fruit on the tree was impressive. The length of that green/yellowish jackfruit (?) is about 12 inches+ long. It seemed so heavy for the tree. I will have to try some jackfruit now. There is a part of me that really thinks I have not correctly identified it. Have fun with that.....
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| Jackfruit ? |
At the first of April, on a nice hot Monday morning, the 4 temple couples got together and drove down to Intramuros. It is the oldest part of Manila and is referred to as the "walled city". I believe most of it was originally a walled city built in the late 1500's through the 1700's. We took a ride on horse-drawn carriages through the streets of Intramuros. Fort Santiago was a main attraction during the tour. Here are a few pictures of Intramuros, Fort Santiago, and the carriage.
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| Bruce and Laure at Intramuros |
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| St. Augustine Church - the only church that made it through all the wars and earthquakes, so far. |
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| Bruce, Laurie and the Carriage Driver at Intramuros. |
In the State of Washington, where 4 of our 5 kids live, it was Spring Break. Two of those families decided to venture up into Canada during Spring Break. They had two totally different types of experiences. Our oldest daughter Lacey, took her family from Kennewick, WA to Banff, Canada for a few days. It was super cold. They went on a hike with rented ice cleats to make it a safe hike. They said it was awesome. Here is a picture of my grandchildren on that hike. Just a beautiful view they said.
Laurie and I found it hard to believe that people wear coats anymore. We haven't put one on for over a year now.
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| L to R: Cole, Maddox, Kenzie, Brynna, Easton, Lacey |
On the west side of Canada, Jenny's family decided to head up to Victoria, Canada, with their eyes and stomachs set on a special destination - Chocolat Favoris. When Laurie and I were on our mission in Montreal, Canada, one of our favorite places to go to was Chocolat Favoris. Their chocolate was just divine. When Jenny's family came up and visited us in Montreal, that was one of the first places we took them. They loved it. Thus, why not. Jenny heard that there was one there and they had always wanted to take a ferry, so that is what they did. Here is a picture of them at Chocolat Favoris. It made Laurie and I a bit homesick, and hungry.
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| Matt, Jenny, Layla, Sophie, Conner, Quinn (I hope I got the twins identified correctly) |
Some good friends of ours, Elder and Sister Woods, finished their mission in April. They served for 2 and a half years. He was previously an Ob/Gyn doctor out of Seattle, WA, but they moved to Hayden, Idaho. He was the Medical Health Advisor for the Cebu area for the first 6 months and then they asked them to come to Manila and serve another 2 years. Wonderful people. We will miss them here.
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| Steven and Ann Woods, Laurie and Bruce Randall :) |
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