Top 10 from the Memorial Day Weekend in which we stayed in Lingayan and went to church in Malasiqui, my first area I served in as a missionary 13 years ago.
10. Lucy gets in the water. After spending most of the weekend avoiding the water, Lucy finally gets in the water mid-Monday morning.
9. Roadside Stands. One of the funny things in the Philippines is the way they will set up many stores selling the exact same food (usually vegetables and fruit) sitting exactly next to each other. We liked to count the numbers on each side. The record was 23 (12 on one side, 9 on the other). We also observed the goat (kambing) meat on the side of the road:
which was usually accompanied by the nearby living goats awaiting execution:
8. Bucket Showers. Our hotel was a bargain $15/night per room. This even included bucket showers, which Lucy greatly enjoyed. I didn't even try the regular shower I was so happy to have a bucket shower.
7. The Mouse and the Motorcycle. Our featured audio selection on the trip was the classic "The Mouse and the Motorcycle". If I have ever read this book, I had totally forgotten it. Great kids book. Kept them entertained for hours in a long car ride.
6. Sand Castles. Who doesn't love building sand castles?
5. The Beach. The wind, the sand, the salt. And the characters.
Ice Cream Boy: The thing I liked about Ice Cream Boy was his tenacity. Young budding entrepreneur.
Willy: The thing I liked about Willy was that when a sign got old and faded, he didn't replace it, he just made a new one. These videoke huts were everywhere.
4. Lingayan War Memorial. We stumbled upon the Lingayan Gulf War Memorial. Apparently Lingayan Beach was once stormed by 200,000 of MacArthur's troops. The boys of course enjoyed the guns.
3. Church. It was a great feeling to come back to find my way back to the chapel and go to church. It was great to see people that remembered me and it brought back a lot of memories. I got a great picture of myself in an American missionary there from Missouri. He was one month into his mission and Malasiqui was also his first area. He spoke in church (mostly in Tagalog) and I realized that's what I must have sounded like when I first started. It was very humbling. I assured him it only gets a lot better.
2. The Green. Manila is not green. But most of the Philippines is very green.
1. Family time with my sweet wife and children.
Aw, I love hearing about all your side trips and adventures out and around - much more exciting than our memorial day weekend (which we spent cleaning and organizing).
ReplyDeleteYou all look fantastic! Lucy is getting so big.
I bet it was very interesting thinking back about your first area on your mission! I am so glad that you were able to give some encouragement to that new Elder. Your kids are so cute! I can't wait to see them in another month and squeeze them. They better get their hugs ready for me.
ReplyDeletelove, Grandma
Looks like it was a fun and beautiful weekend. We're looking forward to seeing you guys next month!
ReplyDeleteThat ice cream boy picture is neat. Can you imagine how people would freak out about buying your meat from a roadside stand? Obviously un-refrigerated at that.
ReplyDeleteI like mouse on the motorcycle. Right up there with Indian in the cupboard. A classic
ReplyDeleteThat's a great family picture! Lucy has gotten so big. Looks like you guys are enjoying your experience, that great!
ReplyDeleteSheralie,
ReplyDeleteThis is Mike Barrientos. Hopefully you remember me from back in elementary/middle school orchestra and around PHS back in Poway.
I'm going to be in Manila visiting extended family in 1 1/2 weeks. Do you have any interest in meeting and seeing an old semi-familiar Poway face and catching up?
Let me know if you have any more direct contact info. My email is (first initial)(first 7 letters of last name) at gmail.