When I was looking back on our pictures from this past week, I was shocked to recall all the things we did this past week. It was a bit crazy, even for us! This coming week proves to be much more stationary and perhaps even a bit dull. Last week started off by us going back to Catarman in Northern Samar. We felt very strongly that we needed to go back for a meeting with the superintendent of the school division as well as the appropriate division level curriculum leaders to orient them regarding the literacy project that we did for 190 schools in their division in November. It was so discouraging when we had the training the first time and not even one person at the division level attended. We have NEVER had that happen before. We also took Sister Dorosan with us. She has been in the admin of Eastern Bicol University for 38 years and just retired. So Kenneth recruited her to help out with the literacy projects that we started. It is a good thing we met, because ALL of the division level positions are new, even since our training. We had a good productive meeting. We flew in at 8 and were finished by noon.

Since we had two hours until check-in time at our apartment, I asked if there was a nice beach not too far away. We took a tricycle ride out to a wonderfully long, flat, soft-sand beach. We had a great walk with not even one person in sight until we reached the end of the beach. The waves were crazy so it wasn’t good for swimming, but the best walking beach we have been to here, by a long shot. When we finally figured out how to get to our “apartment” (it was actually more like a tiny home), we discovered that they were having a brown-out, so no electricity. We really needed internet and we were concerned that there wouldn’t be any ventilation, so we got our money back and waited forever to get a trike ride back into town. Sadly, we had to give up our place in the country and stay at the same sub-standard hotel in the grimy city of Catarman. Disappointing, but we did have electricity! We flew out early the next morning, since they only have one flight a day in Catarman. It was good to be with Sister Dorosan and have her learn more about the literacy projects. She will be the one to continue to monitor all the projects, so important for her to understand what we have done. She will be a valuable resource!

The next three days involved visits in the Metro Manila area. On Wednesday, we went back to Jaime Cardinal Sin Village to meet with Father Jerry and their team there to talk about plans for the apostle visit next month. We still don’t know what is going to happen- if we will actually have our visit- since the Cardinal isn’t available and even Father Jerry and others aren’t available during that time. So it might not even happen, which is okay with us. We really enjoyed our visit with them, though. Father Jerry is fairly young- 45- and very humble and approachable. You will see him in his Khakis and t-shirt in the picture. On Thursday we accompanied Sister Bjorkman for a turnover at a large school in Mandaluyong. We were giving 20 desktops (their original request was for 100 laptops, but that wasn’t going to happen). They LITERALLY rolled out the red carpet, had balloon structures, singing, lunch after…. the works! I got a little teary eyed thinking that we are almost finished with these events. The Filipinos are so good at events. They have excellent MCs, put their whole hearts into these turnovers and generally make you feel so welcome and special. We weren’t really looking forward to going to this, since it wasn’t our project, but so glad we did! The last pictures in this set are from a school that I went to (Elder Huff stayed behind so he could get some work done). We had done the literacy project here, so the principal wanted us to attend her State of the School Address. That was a waste of my time- I had to sit in the front (since they were giving certificates to their stakeholders) and it was all in Tagalog. What we really wanted to do happened after this address: we met with the two reading coordinators to talk about the literacy project. We learned a lot from them and these teachers have actually developed some great phonics materials on their own. I would love to share resources like this with other schools.

PAGSAJAN FALLS

On Saturday, we had an outing! Some senior couples who work with medical and mental health at the MTC arranged a tour ( through an employee who moonlights as a travel agent) to go to Pagsajan falls. We just rode with the Meyers, so not in the van. I was really, really hoping to go down to the area and do the hike/rapelling that I had read about online. Then you take the canoe right back down the falls. I was soooo disappointed to learn that this particular resort didn’t offer the hiking, so we were stuck going both up and back on the canoe, AND we had to pay additional money to the church guy who arranged the tour. Grrrr! It was a beautiful canyon and it was interesting to watch the guys hop from rock to rock as they pushed us up the river in the canoe. If they just hadn’t kept hounding us about getting a tip…. We had some interesting cultural experiences while down there. They were having Fiesta time in the barangay so we got caught up in bands and mobs of people who were dancing along with their patron saint on their shoulders, getting drenched from hoses and water guns. Evidently the water represents getting blessed. Certain families were also throwing out snack bags of chips and the people were going crazy trying to grab them. It was an interesting day! I was also hoping to go to the same place we went to over a year ago to get their amazing chocolate cake (for my birthday), but we didn’t get to go that way. Another disappointment! So instead, we stopped at the Creperie on the way home for dinner and cake with the Meyers.