Trip to Manila

Each one of these walls is covered with names of Americans and Philippinos who died here in WW11. Medal of Honor recipients' names are in gold with a star by them.
Just one of many vistas with crosses and Star of Davids.
At the Manila Temple with Returned Missionaries Sister Bacatan and Sister Agustin

Beautiful wreath at the front of the Memorial.
Pres. Burtenshaw, the Thompsons, Kimberlins, and Snows in the rain. We didn't realize this was the beginning of Typhoon Frank.
More of the beautiful grounds surrounding the Memorial.

Typhoon Season

I believe this was a service station, the whole front is blown away. We asked some of our friends to the South how they survived, they said its just life in the Philippines. Needless to say, they get no government help, no FEMA, they just roll up their sleeves and go to work rebuilding.

This is driving down the National Highway, you can see the poles blown over, trees uprooted. The poles here are hollow concrete with tons of rebar. In places they were snapped like matchsticks.

Needless to say, typhoons are just terrible. This picture of Santa Cruz is where our couple missionaries live, this is the street to their house. The Snow's, they are from Virginia, lived using a generator for a month. They had to fill it every night with gas so they could have a little air conditioner going. We didn't hear them complain much, that's probably because the people they work with lost their homes and everything.

Pictures of Interest

The newest member of our Branch is Julie Ann. She reads everything given to her cover to cover. The Sisters who taught her are Sister DeGuzman and Sister Bulan.

Aeta's are a dark group of mountain people that live among us here and sell things like you see in the picture. There seems to be a lot of prejudice against them , they are viewed as a lower class. The ones we have become familiar with in town seem friendly enough.

No one is shy here about choosing alternative life styles , and there are many that choose alternative styles.

Eddie on the left and Ruth on the right are the mission kittens. We raised them when their Mom was run over in the street, at that time they were three weeks old. We love playing with them.

The Branch in our complex bought new uniforms this year for the sportsfest , volley ball and basketball are taken very serious here.

Once after a day in the office, Sister Burtenshaw and I walked on this beach close by and bought necklaces from the Muslims. It was very beautiful.

Death March

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April 9 here is Araw ng Kagitingan or Day of Heroes, a national holiday. Great battles, campaigns, victories or losses are celebrated with a day long fest in Balanga, Bataan, and the Bataan Death March parade is the main event. The organizers have acquired replicated uniforms, both GI and Japanese, with authentic Filipino garb, and they paint blood, wrap wounds, everything for realism, then they march in a parade, complete with floats depicting battles in progress, with the Bataan Death March as the finale, complete with uprisings, riots, and punishments. They especially appreciate the American and Canadian Missionaries, for the realism, they are fed before and after the parade, all the makeup and uniforms are provided. It is held in April as was the actual march, and even with all the festivities, you can still feel at least a bit of the pain felt by the real POWs, as they made their way in the heat of summer. But if you've read the history, it doesn't take much imagination to remember the actual brutality.

Corregidor Island

This was the day we went to Corregidor, the island off Mariveles, Bataan. Its where the US had built what they thought would be a saving place for troops forced out by the Japanese. But the bombing of Pearl Harbor stopped the Navy from forming any rescue. We went over in three of these boats. The trip took about half hour. Pictured is the group that made the trip, its Pday for the Missionaries, so they got to go. That's Sister Bulanon modeling Pday attire. There is a lot to see of the history, like this memorial. The tunnel that MacArthur holed up in is still there, and a tour takes you through it, complete with sound effects of the bombing outside. The large bombed-out building is a barracks built for the troops.This is one of the big guns of Corregidor, it could lob shells clear to Mariveles, but couldn't help do anything about the Death March, for fear of killing POWs, both American and Filipino.

New Calling

If you speak in Conference here they give you a flower to were, all most makes it worth it. The second picture is of Elder Kimberlin who is a part of this new Branch Presidency. President Lambino is in the middle, he speaks some English and the Brother on the right is Brother Centeno he speaks a few works of English. Communication is one of our biggest problems here.

Work Project

We love our Sister Missionaries ! Sister Drio and Sister DeGusman

Work projects are the best for getting to know everyone. Elder Kimberlin was so happy to get to use his big bolo knife, and he didn't have to see any snakes. They cleared bamboo and trees.






Yum, fish with their heads still on.

Cooking with the Ladies

Brother Navarro is really a good cook. The people that live in the house cook this way everyday,this is their stove.