PROJECT APPROVED, Visits to Member Welfare Projects, Cultural Celebration, and baby goats

         September is flying by.   We have spent the past week with Brett Macdonald, who is the Welfare Specialist from Salt Lake who is the director for Member Welfare Projects .... so we have hauled him up in our mountains and out on our farm projects to let him see how the old ones are progressing and introduce him into our potential ones that we will be submitting for approval.      He is very optimistic and encouraging with our projects.     He, like we, feels that these projects can truly bless the lives of many of our poor members and give them the resources and training that they need to be able to provide for their families and become self sustaining.       We took Elder and Sister McIver with us as we brought Brother Macdonald with us, and gave them training on the Member Welfare Projects and hope that they, too, will be able to work with local Priesthood to see these come to pass in their area.

This little guy is doing the Filipino Squat
as he plays on this mother's Cell Phone.
Tiny children learn to patiently
'squat on their haunches' like this
as they wait or while they are
engaged in activities.      It makes
my legs ache just to watch them.
They amaze me.

Here are road construction workers watching off the side
of the road.   Road construction is literally everywhere.   The
 Governing authority of  the area gets a 'kick-back' from
 the Government when they sign up to have construction
in their area, and so the roads  are torn up
 'EVERYWHERE'.   The reason I snapped  this picture is
for you to notice the 'FILIPINO SQUAT'
  the man to the right is doing.    ...this is a extremely
common site.   They can squat on their
haunches for a long, long time.

This is one of the Young Women who
participated in the Cultural Celebration
for the Urdaneta Stake.   

This is a young girl who is doing the
Filipino squat in the back of the audience
as she watches her big sister participate in
a dance in the Cultural show.

This handsome young man is representing his ward
 as they put on the YM/YW Cultural show Urdaneta.
 He is one of the main 'bamboo men' who will beat in rhythm
 the Bamboo sticks.

This beautiful young woman played the part of the
Native Princess in the Cultural show that represented
the Cordilleras region.

I have to join with the Young Women in
their Display of the Pangasinan area in
their Cultural presentation.   It was
Pozorrubio Ward and we came as their
guests.    It was a fun afternoon.

Another beautiful young woman who
dazzled everyone with her sweet smile.
They danced  ... representing the Ilocos
Sur area and some of the old traditions
of the area.

This young man was a fun one to watch, and he
 put enthusiasm and life into his part of the dance.  
The Filipino young men are sweet and
willing to go the extra mile in their performances,,

This young man is a Returned Missionary from the Cebu
East Mission, and had served with Elder Kevin Bell and
Sister Kathy Bell.   This hat is a treasure to him ...
 Branch President Elder Bell gave him this hat.

This was one of my favorite traditional
dances from the Laguna, Bicol region.  ..
.  involved them dancing around
and on top of a tall bench ...
kind of like a balance beam.

Elder Bell was invited to pose with the Young
Men of the Pozorrubio Ward.   They are sweet
and  were answering all of my questions about
the Pangasinan Area and it's History.

Here we are in the final stages of the Pozorrubio MWP, and
our visitor, Brett Macdonald is gathering information and posing
with us all at the Piggery farm.    Bishop Viernes is a true champion
in this project.    It actually is covering 2 wards ... and he is
administering and overseeing the activities.    We use him as a
resource when other Member Welfare Projects contact us and want
to understand how to set one up.    He is truly and amazing Priesthood
leader.   (He is on the far right.  We love this special man.)

Here is Elder Gary McIver and Sister Teri McIver visiting with
Sister Luz Moises at the San Manuel MWP site.   Her husband was
just recently called to be Branch President, and they are
expecting their first child in March.    She is a very special
woman and will be an amazing mother.     We have so much
faith in the members as they are raising their families and
are strong in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

This is a cucumber hanging off a tangle of
upright vines on this farm.   They allow
the vines to climb up their other trees and
vines, which keeps the produce off the
soggy ground and away from the torrents
of ants and bugs that are everywhere.

This is AZOLLA, a small fern plant
that grows in shallow water and can
increase the growth and weight on
pigs and chickens.   It multiplies
extremely fast ( 4 to 6 days) and can be
harvested every week.   This tiered
AZOLLA garden is to keep the birds from
devouring their harvest before they can
bring it in and prepare to feed it to the
livestock.

This is a close-up of AZOLLA.   Many of the
Filipinos feel that this may be a 'cash crop'
 that will bring in much money upon Marketing.
 Brett Macdonald is telling us that this was
tried back in 2012, and then the big
push died down ... we have yet to determine if
there is huge market for this, or if it will have
different results as they continue to use
it for supplemental feed for the pigs and chickens.    

This family has 5 children and the father is making these
knives to sell in the market.   So far, they have brought
themselves out of extreme poverty, and the MWP committee
have assisted them in purchasing supplies to cement their
tiny house floor and put up GI sheeting for their roof.   He is
now able to handcraft a product that he can sell and bring
in an income.    This has all been done through
funds that have been generated from this Member
Welfare Project and a wise Priesthood committee who
 are truly working to improve the lives of their members.

This is a Kerioke Machine on one
of the Member's front porch!  :)   This
is where all the YM/YW come to pass
the evenings and enjoy each other's
company.    Kerioke is very big
here in the Philippines.    

Did I share with you about the time I really had to visit the
restroom (long road trip with drinking bottled water) and
the service attendant had to crawl backwards through the upper
slot to let me in the door of the girl's CR?  (CR is what they
call their rest rooms.)     He was such a young man and I was
so appreciative of him.    Good thing they are soooo
skinny and nimble.

This is Brother Fababier explaining to Elder McIver where they
are planning to build a large Chicken Coop so as to raise over
3000 chickens to be sold on the market.    The land is behind
his house and belongs to him.  The Branch Project will build the
Chicken Coop, develop and raise a large Vegetable garden so as to
provide fresh vegetables for the members and to sell, and raise goats
for milk and meat.

This little guy is busy trying to win a game on his brother's
cell phone.      Technology has invaded our youth!!

You can always tell when it is wash day.
The people wash in buckets and tubs out
along the sides of houses and then hang
their clothes out to dry in the sun.    Not
 many households have clothes
 dryers in the Philippines.

Just a few more signs of wash day.   This is so common,
where ever you travel outside of Manila and the big
cities in the Philippines.

Yup .... almost everywhere you look.

On top of buildings, out the balconies or
windows of apartment buildings, along
side homes along roadways.    Washed clean
and sun dried.     

This is such a common site along the provincial roads.  
Vulcanizing shops are those that repair automobile, motorcycle,
 and bicycle tires. AND almost everyone has a bicycle
or motorcycle ... main modes of transportation.

This is a photo from the 'Smoky Mountain' Barangay outside of
Manila ... where the people are living just off to the side of
the 'smoldering dump site'.    It was made against the law for
them to live amidst the garbage ... so they have set up homes in sheds
and shanties, anyplace they can throw over a tarp or set up a
piece of galvanized metal and throw down some mattresses to
call it a home.   Then they burn their fires to cook their food or
to dispose of trash that is unusable in every other way.   It is a
conglomeration of discarded furniture and tarps, and people
living amidst it.

The purple building is set up off the side of Smoky Mountain, and this is
where the children have a place to go to school.   It has been built from donated
shipping containers that were engineered together and now is utilized
to give these 'poorest of the poor' children a school to attend and
teachers to teach them.    The PURPLE CENTERS is a non-profit
organization we have partnered with to assist them as they work
to educate and give these children a chance at bettering their lives.

Thank you for sharing with us a bit of our last 2 weeks of adventures.   We love the people here in the Philippines, and attempt to fill our days with ways of giving service and searching out projects and needs.   

  We just had our LIGHTHOUSE SANCTUARY project approved with an organization set up to provide a 'safe house' for girls who have been forced into sex trafficking or exploited into pornography or web sexual encounters.      Over 60,000 Filipino children are forced into these deciduous practices ... and there are not many private shelters available for these young boys and girls to be brought into once the child is rescued from the situations.     We have found and are working with one such organization who is completing a large HOME  to bring the rescued children into  (It is a Couple, the wife from America, and husband is Filipino and both are Returned LDS Missionaries) and they have set up a 501c3 non-profit organization.... in order to be a place of refuge for these children.    Already they have been contacted by the organizations that locates and then rescues the children.   Everything is being finalized so that the 'security untis' can to go in and pull the children from the horrors of their world .... and bring them back into this 'Safe House'.    This Sanctuary will house girls under the age of 12 (THAT IS A STARTLING THOUGHT -- ISN'T IT!)    LDS Charities is assisting them in getting bunk beds, laundry service needs, generator, security cameras, etc.        It is a great undertaking and fulfilling such a huge need in this world right now.    They will assist these children to be able to heal, to restore what is possible of their dignity and desire to live a productive life, and have a place that they can prepare to be re-integrated into somewhat of a normal life.     They will continue their education in this home, and work to assist the girls in realizing their self worth and give them back a bit of their childhood.   Usually they were sold or put into this UGLY situation by family members, and so often they will need to be placed into other homes that can assist them and help them back into Filipino living.   But this "Safe House" will be the first line of rescue and will keep the girls for the time that it will be needed.          The demand is great.

We see so many needs.    But we also see that these resilient Filipino people are happy and are good people.  We are humbled to serve amongst them, and grateful to be able to assist them in whatever ways that we can.    We see so many great things happening here and are so filled with appreciation for the Senior Missionary Program and the opportunity to give and to serve.   

We miss being with those we love back in the States.      Know that you are in our thoughts and prayers.     

See you back here in a few weeks, we hope.