It was the best of times and ….not the worst of times, but there were some stressful times. The only stressful times revolved around our two turnover or handover of donations. We had two of them and they were both at rural health centers. And opposite ends of the island from each other. The first was in Roxas, two and a half hours north of Puerto Princesa. We were told by our purchasing employee that the goods had already been delivered except for a small box that contained delivery kit items. We thought that would be fine. Well, it was just the opposite: the large items, the things they really cared about, like delivery tables, had NOT been delivered. They were sent to Puerto Princesa by a forwarding company and they had contracted with a local company to take them up to Roxas. Well, that company said they don’t deliver to Roxas (couldn’t they have learned that sooner?) and the sent all the large items back to Manila!!! Oh, the frustrations!!! The doctor was so disappointed. They really weren’t sure we should even have the ceremony. It was held at the City Hall, with the mayor and others. It was very uncomfortable at first, but we were able to convince them that they would INDEED get all the items on the list in the not too distant future and to not worry. YIKES!

After our somewhat stressful turnover, we went with some members to see the ward farm (or garden). They have a very large piece of land that the Bishop’s wife owns and they have dedicated it to planting crops that can be shared with those in need in their ward. They even have two homes they have where two struggling families live. They also had an absolutely adorable little boy that was fascinated with Elder Huff’s hairy arms. He kept stroking them and using his fingers as scissors to “cut” his hair. He was so full of energy! That farm is the perfect place for a little boy to live. He was singing away, dancing, climbing tree branches and just generally loving the life! It made me realize how much I miss our little grandchildren. After an afternoon and evening in Roxas, we drove back down to Puerto Princesa. We spent the next two days there, mostly looking into how our two big literacy projects were coming along.

We visited 5 schools (a very tiring day, but a good one). Elder Huff was so tired that during a meeting at one of the schools with the principal and reading coordinator, they were talking to him and answering some of his questions when he actually fell asleep! While they were talking!! A bit embarrassing. But it was so hot in that office and right after lunch, so understandable. I wanted a nap myself, but fought it off. We came away realizing every school is doing the peer-to-peer literacy tutoring program in their own way, but that’s okay. Not all have really started this year, yet, but I think they will. They seem grateful for the materials and the program. We were able to visit with the two division’s reading coordinators and gave them our survey to give out to all of their schools. We are talking a total of 80 schools, so it’s a big project. Our controller would like to see results and feedback before we take this program to any more divisions. That is our goal!

Quezon

On Thursday morning, it was time to drive nearly 3 hours to the town of Quezon. We had a turnover of donation for the Quezon Adolescent Friendly Health Facility. Once again, most of the materials and equipment hadn’t arrived. We actually went to the vendor’s house (which was an interesting experience trying to find) to talk to him about the delivery issues. Not just with this project, but with an elementary school that was waiting for building materials to come. He claimed he didn’t get the purchase order until last week. We were told the materials were being delivered last week. Who knows! Anyway, I think it’s good we had a visit with him in person. I think he senses the importance of timeliness now. Hopefully, the items will come in good time! The good doctor, who is the officer in charge of the medical facility, was very personable and has a long relationship with the town, mayor, etc. The mayor was also there and was approached to make sure they do their part- which is to prepare the ground for the covered court that is going to be built for a reception area for teens- as well as to provide the labor. Fingers crossed!

President Balboa, district president, many young missionaries and many branch members were in attendance. It was great to be with them all! Later, we told them we were so disappointed to learn that the Tabon Caves, which is a National Museum site and is an archaeological site where artifacts and body remains dating to maybe 20,000 years ago were found, was closed. The doctor worked her magic and got permission for President Balboa to accompany us there. It was great to spend the afternoon with him. The site was interesting, even though we couldn’t see all of the caves. Also, the artifacts haven’t been returned yet. They are just finishing a very nice looking museum there, then they will be placed in the museum, instead of the Manila museum. It was a very hot walk along a very, very long cement boardwalk. You can see that the railings haven’t been installed yet, which is why it is closed. Seems like that is a lame reason to close it. It didn’t feel at all unsafe.

After we finished this, we took him out for an early “snack/dinner”. While there, I asked him about his conversion story. He proceeded to tell us his amazing experience (which should be written up in the Liahona). When he was 22, he was living in Tondo with his family. I was surprised he grew up in Tondo (the slum area where we have done so much work). I asked him how he turned out to be such a great guy. He said humbly, “God had a different plan for me”. He was in charge of cleaning his grandfather’s library on a regular basis. One time he was dusting and cleaning in there, when he noticed a new book that hadn’t been there before. It was the Book of Mormon. He looked at it and became very interested in it. He took it home to read and finished it in two days! He didn’t even stop when it was time for dinner. By the time he finished it, he decided to try out Moroni’s challenge to pray about it and ask if it was true. He didn’t really know how to pray about it, but did the best he could and received his strong answer that it was true. He noticed the name of the church on the side of the book and looked it up in the phone directory. When he showed up at church, he was approached by some missionaries and told them he had read the Book of Mormon and felt it was the truth. Can you imagine the joy the missionaries felt at that moment? He accompanied them to visit with investigators and share his testimony of the Book of Mormon even before he was baptized. We felt such a good spirit as he was sharing his conversion with us. I do think he was prepared and had lived a good life before this happened. He said his friends felt he was someone special and wouldn’t let him do anything that might get him in trouble, even though they went out drinking, etc. When he tried to drink beer, he had an allergic reaction to it. Smoking left him unable to breathe. Anyway, we are so grateful to have had the chance to get to know him and his story. He is such an influence for good in the small city of Quezon and the members there.

P- Day!!!

There is nothing better than having a vacation day in Palawan. We aren’t sure if this is our last time here, but there is a good chance it might be. If so, we thought we would just enjoy Palawan, especially Puerto Princesa. It’s a city that I think we could actually live in and feel comfortable for the most part. The local government has made improvements with the idea of making it a tourism destination, so some of the improvements are really quite nice. The new park, with walkways, towers, fountains is a pleasant place for the locals (especially couples) to hang out and just enjoy being outside together. They even have a small playground there and a reading nook! With books and free internet access. The Baywalk is another place that families like to go to in the evenings, especially. The kids can be seen riding these funny bikes and pedicabs along the walkway. It’s nice to see families out enjoying life . And of course, they have some really good restaurants there. On Saturday, we did an island hopping tour on Honda Bay, right in the city. We weren’t expecting it to be all that great, after going to the beautiful El Nido with their limestone formations and turquoise water,but we were pleasantly surprised. We just drove ourselves to the pier and waited for someone else to come that we could share a boat ride with. We shared with a Mom and her adult daughter, and they were great company. We went snorkeling in two different spots and that was better than expected as well. Our last island was Cowrie beach- nice, soft white sand and crystal clear water. We had a great seafood boodle fight lunch- so much food! I got sunburned, since we forgot to bring the sunscreen with us , but we really enjoyed our day. We also enjoyed our stay at the two hotels we have stayed at before. All in all, a great week in Palawan! We will miss it dearly!