What a busy week this was. Sometimes we are forced to run faster than we have strength. We need to find balance! That said, though, it was also a very rewarding week. We had three turnover of donations, also known as handover of donations. This is the culminating activity- when the project has been approved, the goods ordered and delivered, the legal documents all written and approved, then it’s time to meet with the beneficiaries and have them sign the documents. This of course, always involves speeches, pictures, food, and lots of good will. The three turnovers this week were vastly different from each other in many ways. The first was to one of our favorite cities- Balanga, which is in Zambales province, about two hours north of Manila. The mayor is very forward thinking and education minded. He was educated at Cornell University and has great vision. We met in a huge auditorium that was beautifully decorated and air conditioned by solar panels. His father, who used to be a governor, donated the facility before he passed away. This mayor is a favorite of our supervisor, Jairus. So we ended up donating 92 TVs for use in the school division. They originally wanted 200, but we just didn’t feel good about that. The food was great, the company even better and it was a great time.

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For the second turnover that day, we drove about another hour to Olongapo for the Amelia Heights Elementary turnover. This was a much smaller project, but the principal was so thrilled and made sure I knew how heartfelt her gratitude was. We were giving them building materials so they can refurbish their broken restrooms (CRs) and handwashing station. They also asked for a printer and laminator so they can produce literacy and numeracy materials. The turnover was held at our church and neither the Stake President nor the Bishop had ever conducted a turnover, so they were quite nervous. They did a good job and the Division Superintendent was even there! They had their communications people come and take photos and lend support. The missionaries also showed up! I was hoping that Elder Sharp would be there (our neighbor in Hawaii), but he was off somewhere else. The ward provided some simple sandwiches, which was just fine. All in all, it was a sweet yet simple event. We visited the school afterwards to see if the items all made it. They did, and the teachers were proudly showing off their “reading nooks”, which were very cute, indeed!

Last but not least, the next day was Elder Huff’s pet project- Tondo Community Initiative. This is where we were donating building supplies to three different buildings. The building residents decided what projects they most needed. Each building has between three to five different projects they will be working on. The first phase of the materials were delivered on Wednesday and when we went there on Friday, they had already built a wall and had started repairing the roof. Keep in mind, these are basically warehouses they live in, so it’s still quite bleak, but the conditions will be improved. During the turnover, the residents talked alot about how it is bringing their community together with a sense of purpose and a feeling of accomplishment as they work together to complete the renovations. Tondo doesn’t bother me nearly as much as it did the first time I was there. It felt more hopeful or something. Or maybe I am just getting used to slums. As you can see from the pictures, it’s quite the contrast from the first turnover we went to this week. We had to speak, of course, but we had Jairus translate for us. I really wanted the people to understand what we were saying. And we had someone translate their speeches for us as well. When it was my turn to say a little something, I had the church members who were there all stand up and we sang “I Am a Child of God”. The missionaries aren’t normally allowed in this area, so it was new for them as well. Hopefully the residents felt that we care about them, God loves them and there is always hope. The leaders at the top want us to do even more in Tondo, so I’m sure we will be back!

Time for some fun and relaxation!!! The Senior Couples usually have an outing once a month. Many times we aren’t available to go, but this time, even though we had a zillion things to do, we decided to go and are glad we did. We drove for about two hours to some beautiful waterfalls. We had a great time swimming in the pools, chatting with each other and cheering on the oldest couple here as they did full frontal dives into the pool! It was replenishing! But the driving!!!!! Traffic was quite bad on the way back (as usual).

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On the way home, we stopped to see two Cathedrals. One was over 400 years old and it showed it’s age. There were lots of pilgrims there since Holy Week is fast approaching. They had an exhibit area as well, with many statues depicting Christ during his last week as well as other Saints. We even got to walk behind the “nave?” and touch their patron Saint. A bit weird, but I guess it’s cool to them and they graciously let us climb the stairs to do it. The next Cathedral was much more modern, but they have construction going on so we didn’t really see the cool part. A fun wedding had just taken place and the area had a very festive feel. This was in Antipolo. Crazy driving there, with lots of one way, narrow streets.